Photos: Camp Casey: Nature

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Sunset

July 10, 2009 (9:34 PM)

(Sunset today was around 9:10 PM)

Note: The building seen on the right of the photo is Camp Casey Inn.

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A deer calmly strolls around the field. With her were her two fawns (not shown in this image).

July 11, 2009

Note: Thanks belong to Carolyn Pastoriza and Todd Foley, parents of Vivian Foley, who told me about the deer.

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Late afternoon photo of the shoreline next to Camp Casey

July 11, 2009 (4:11 PM)

Note: The Puget Sound is the body of water in the background.

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Stormy sunset

July 11, 2009 (8:26 PM)

(Sunset today was about 9:10 PM)

Note: Four hours later the weather had changed for the worse as storm clouds rapidly moved in after dinner. The rain began to fall quickly and steadily a few minutes after this picture was taken.

Note: All of these pictures were taken at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island in Washington state at the 2009 Families with Children from China Heritage Camp.

Photos: Camp Casey: S'mores

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After a barbecue dinner of grilled salmon, Lydia is roasting a s'more on the grill, and doing this was a new experience for her.

Note: One Biblical verse that I often recall is that "children are a gift from God", and being able to witness a child's new activities is part of that gift experience. One parent of three children eloquently summarized those sentiments in the form of a poem as follows:

Children Are A Gift From God
by Sandra Tolson

God sent me three packages

That needed special care"

Take care of these tiny gifts

For they are very rare.

Watch over them with all your love

And let them feel your touch

Take care of their every need

For you are needed very much.

These gifts will grow up very fast

As you soon will see

Love them with all your heart

And let them be what they will be.

When these gifts have fully grown

Look at Heaven up above

Know they exist because of God

And all his precious love.

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Lydia is enjoying the fruits of her labor.

Note: "A s'more is a traditional campfire treat popular in the United States and Canada, consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker. The name "s'more" means "some more", as in: "give me some more!". (Source: Wikipedia)

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"Delicious" would properly describe Lydia's response to eating a s'more as she ate the entire dessert.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on July 11, 2009 near the Barbecue Pit area at Camp Casey, which is located on Whidbey Island in Washington state, during the 2009 Families with Children from China Heritage Camp.

Photos: Camp Casey: Province Parade 2

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The parade has begun, and Lydia is enthusiastically waving her ribbons.

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Signs of various provinces line the wall of Barracks F.

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SiowFong and Lydia head towards the field.

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Ribbon lady Lydia

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A wide angle view of the procession


Note: All of these pictures were taken on July 11, 2009 in the field besides Barracks F at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island in Washington state during the annual Families with Children from China Heritage Camp.

Photos: Camp Casey: Province Parade 1

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The signs for Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces

Note: Lydia was born in Fengcheng, which is in Jiangxi province.

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Lydia stands near other Chinese children who were born in Jiangxi province.

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Lydia is playing with ribbons.

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Lydia is ready to march in the annual Parade of Provinces.

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Lydia, who is attired in the red Chinese outfit that we bought from Melody Xie (her Chinese dance and language instructor), is eagerly demonstrating her ribbon dancing skills.

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Once the procession reaches the field, the children are asked to form a circle.

Note: All of these pictures were taken just outside Barracks F and in the field next to Barracks F at Camp Casey, which is located on Whidbey Island in Washington state, during the 2009 Families with Children from China Heritage Camp.

Photos: Camp Casey: Watching Chinese Dances

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SiowFong and Lydia are sitting in the gym, awaiting the start of the Chinese dances that have been choreographed by Melody Xie. Just behind them are the Foleys, our friends (Vivian on the left, Todd in the middle, and Vivian on the right).

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Other adoptive families of children from China are also waiting for the dance program to begin.

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SiowFong, Lydia, and Vivian Foley are watching the dances with great interest.

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The ribbon dance

Note: This dance, which was performed by four- and five- year old girls, is one that Lydia has encountered through her Chinese dance and language classes taught by Melody Xie.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on July 10, 2009 in the gymnasium at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island in Washington state during the 2009 Families with Children from China Heritage Camp.

Photos: Camp Casey: At Martinez's Home

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Lydia is carefully ascending this wood climbing area on the playground set.

Note: During the adoption camp weekend on Saturday afternoon for a few hours, we also visited Teresa Martinez, one of SiowFong's friends, coworkers, and fellow adoptive parent (of Michael, her son who was born in South Korea and who is about a year younger that Lydia) who lives on Whidbey Island. Teresa was a very gracious host, giving us a tour of her home, her yard, and the small winery that she and her husband own and operate.

Unfortunately for Lydia, Michael's paternal grandparents were taking care of him today, so she did not get a chance to see him, but she thoroughly enjoyed his playground equipment.

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Lydia gingerly makes her way to the top of the wall.

Note: Any parent of a preschool child knows the wonder of seeing his or her child do something for the first time, and as SiowFong and I think about Lydia's capacity to move on the monkey bars and to navigate through this wood climbing wall, we know that her motor skills have come a long way since last summer when these tasks would have been impossible for her.

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After successfully ascending to the top, Lydia wanted to do this activity again. She did it several more times before playing with other parts of the playground equipment.

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Lydia could be called "the little monkey" in this photo.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on July 11, 2009 at the home of Greg and Teresa Martinez on Whidbey Island in Washington state.

Photos: Camp Casey: Meal Times

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SiowFong and Lydia are standing near the potluck dinner table and trying to decide which entrees they should sample.

July 10, 2009

Gymnasium

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Lydia's mom and Lydia are ready to eat a breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

July 11, 2009

Mess Hall A

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"Yummy" describes Lydia's response to bacon since she not only liked to hold it but also liked to eat it.

July 11, 2009

Mess Hall A

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"Friends around the Breakfast Table" might be an appropriate title for this image.

(left to right, first row): Todd Foley (Vivian's dad), Vivian Foley, Lydia, Carol Stuckey

(left to right, second row): Carolyn Pastoriza (Vivian's mom), Lydia's dad

Note: All of these pictures were taken during meal times at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island in Washington state during the 2009 Families with Children from China Heritage Camp.

Photos: Camp Casey: Magic Show 2

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Dr. J. D. Zhang is performing the highly difficult "King of Masks" magic tricks.

Note: "Originally from China’s Sichuan Province Dr Zhang uses rapidly changing facial colors and expressions through King of Masks, displaying different motifs of China opera in a split second." (Source: Families with Children from China Northwest's website)

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His mask turned from red to blue within seconds.

Note: As an illusionist who has performed at Lincoln Center in New York city and at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Dr. Zhang's mastery of Chinese magic was evident to us and the other adoptive families in the audience.

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After finishing the "King of Masks" set of magic tricks, Dr. Zhang concludes his show by turning ordinary paper into cash.

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Pleased with his results, Dr. Zhang is counting his cash.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on July 11, 2009 in the Auditorium at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island, Washington during the 2009 Families with Children from China Heritage Camp.

Photos: Camp Casey: Magic Show 1

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This year's special guest was Dr. J. D. Zhang, a medical doctor who lives in San Francisco and a skilled practitioner of Chinese magic tricks. Here Dr. Zhang is preparing to stand on raw eggs without damaging the eggs.

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"Look ma, no hands!"

Dr. Zhang stands on the raw, unbroken eggs without crushing them. This act drew much applause from the audience.

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He follows up his previous feat by hoisting two buckets.

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At the end of the session, Melody Xie takes one of the eggs on which Dr. Zhang has stood and cracks it open for the audience to demonstrate that these were normal eggs.

Note: All of these photos were taken on July 11, 2009 in the auditorium at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island, Washington during the 2009 Families with Children from China Heritage Camp.

Photos: Camp Casey: Kite Flying

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Octopus kite

Note: During our trip to Oregon, we stopped at a kite shop in Newport to buy more durable kites made of nylon instead of plastic. The owner recommended this kite as a user-friendly one for young children since it was both easy to set up and easy to launch. We found that it was easy to set up, but it was difficult to launch. Fortunately, Lucia Valverde, another child who lived on our hallway in Barracks H, knew how to get it into the air, so she played with this kite.

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Lydia's old kite featuring Winnie the Pooh and Tigger the Tiger

Note: This was the kite that SiowFong flew tonight.

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Lydia is confidently handling her kite while her mom watches.

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Lydia's new kite

Note: This kite, another one constructed of nylon that we purchased in Newport, Oregon, was not only easy to assemble but also easy to get airborne, so Lydia flew this kite tonight.

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Lydia and her dad

Note: All of these pictures were taken on July 11, 2009 at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island in Washington state during the 2009 Families with Children from China Heritage Camp.

Photos: Camp Casey: Candy Hunt

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The volunteers scattered candy throughout the gymnasium's floor before the children come in for the flashlight hunt.

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Vivian Foley (the girl in blue to the right of Lydia), Lydia, and SiowFong are walking into the gymnasium before the candy hunt begins. Behind Vivian is Carolyn Pastoriza, her mother and one of SiowFong's good friends at work who (along with Todd, her husband) is in the process of adopting a second child from China.

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SiowFong is examining Lydia's bag to see what Lydia was able to collect during the flashlight candy hunt.

Note: This was our first year of attendance at the annual Heritage camp on Whidbey Island, and the expressions on Lydia's face and her mom's reveal that our first day has has been filled with some good experiences.

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Lydia is enjoying the fruits of her labor as her mom allowed her to eat a few pieces of the candy that she had just gathered.

Note: All of these photos were taken on July 10, 2009 in the Gymnasium at Camp Casey, which is located on Whidbey Island in Washington, at the 2009 Families with Children from China Northwest Heritage Camp.

Photos: Camp Casey: Biking

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Attired in her Dora the Explorer bicycle helmet, Lydia is relishing her tricycle ride after supper during the first evening of the Heritage camp.

July 10, 2009

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Tricycle riding was one of Lydia's favorite activities at the camp. Lydia is riding her tricycle from Barracks H towards Mess Hall A, where lunch is served.

July 11, 2009

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Lydia is preparing to disembark from her tricycle after her mom has removed her bicycle helmet.

July 11, 2009

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Row of tricycles and bicycles outside Barracks H

July 11, 2009

Note: All of these pictures were taken at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island in Washington state during the annual Families with Children from China Heritage Camp.