Halloween Party

Fun, fun, fun!!!! We had such a GREAT time today at the Halloween Party! We had 6 families including us. It was so good to meet some new people and to see "old" friends. And the kids had a blast playing with all of Madelyn's toys and then out in the backyard on the swing and slide. There was a beautiful angel, the cutest Tinkerbell ever and an absolutely adorable cowgirl. I want to thank everyone who came and especially Jen for the adorable and delicious ghost cookies. I also want to invite everyone to join us next month at City Park's Storyland and amusement park. It'll be November 15 at a time to be announced.

The Mandeville Lakefront

Well, it was a beautiful day for a picnic at the Mandeville lakefront. We were met there by Jennifer and Lily. We had a great time hanging out and the kids got to play in the little playground. Jen and I spent a lot of time talking about the October Halloween Party and we're so excited about it! We love Halloween! We hope to have a great turn out for the party, so spread the word if you know anybody who has a Guate tot!!!

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LAST CALL!!!

We are all set for tomorrow's picnic! We'll meet at the Mandeville Lakefront at 11am. Take Monroe St to West Beach Drive. Right on W Beach Dr and go to the end of the street. You'll see the lake in front of you and a small playground area for the kids. Plenty of room to spread out to eat and a small playground for the kids to play. And it promises to be a B-E-A-utiful day! Hope to see you there!

August Get Together - The Monkey Room!

The SELA August get together was today at the Monkey Room in New Orleans. We had 4 families join in the fun at the indoor playground. I know Madelyn had a blast again and was so pooped that she fell asleep almost before I could get her buckled into her car seat! But boy oh boy did she have fun! She got to play with her friends - Jeanne Maria, Allie, and Lily - and she got to climb on things and run around and slide (her favorite activity in the world!). And the adults got to hang out and talk and have fun, too! We can't wait to get together again and we hope more of you can make it next time! I've attached some pictures from today... Please forgive the quality of the photos. I forgot my camera at home and so we stopped at K-Mart and bought a couple of disposables. They take awful pictures, but they'll do when you're desperate!

July Get Together - LA Children's Museum

(from the Mexican toy exhibit)

The July Get Together was a small, intimate event. Madelyn was the only one there. But that's okay! She had a blast at the LA Children's Museum. And we had a back-up plan - we were met there by a very good friend of mine and her two daughters. They're not a Guatemalan adoptive family, but they are definitely like family to us. So, we were very glad to get to spend the day with Aunt Tiffany and her two kiddos. Anyhow, it was Madelyn's first time at the Children's Museum, and there was just so much there to see and do. So much to do, so little time! She ran around most of the time not knowing where to stop and what to do. But she had a blast doing it. So we're glad we went. And there was an exhibit of Mexican toys which was pretty cool. After spending about 2 hours in the LCM, we went to the Riverwalk for lunch and walked around window shopping for a while. As soon as we put Madelyn in her car seat to go home, she was out like a light. And she slept the whole way home. The sign of a very good day! Well, we hope that next month we'll have some other Guate kiddos to play with (as that was the whole point of this group). :-) Hope to see y'all in August!!!

June Get Together - Audubon Zoo

The SELA GuatAdoptive Families group met for the first time at the Audubon Zoo on June 28, 2008. About 11 families were in attendance. We started out at the Elephant exhibit and then meandered through the zoo going to the Petting Zoo, the play area, Merry-Go-Round, and Monkey Hill. It was a typical SELA summer day - HOT, HOT, HOT! We ate lunch at the restaurant in the Swamp Exhibit which was a nice break from the heat. And it was good because the kids got to run around and play on the stage and the adults got to sit back and relax and talk for a while. I don't think the other people in the restaurant were too happy with us, though! LOL. Anyhow, we had a great time and we can't wait to do it again.