2009 Reunion Trip

Hi all,

We had a great trip the the Smokey Mountains, Tennessee for our annual Travel Group reunion. This year The Grahams, The Bowens, Therese and Lydia Byrne, and Bridget and Fiona Sheahan got together for a great time.

Friday, July 10th:

First we all gathered and met for dinner. McAlister's Deli had no idea what hit them! The girls were so excited to see each other. We took over the place and they had a blast.

Saturday, July 11th:

Cirque de Chine held their First Annual Adopted Chinese Children Association Reuion. It was a full day of events including; games for the children, group photos, a terrific authenic lunch buffet, and of course, the amazing 2 hour show with drummers, acrobats and motorcyclists performing amazing acts.

Lydia and Margie posing with some of the performers.

The girls had such a good time. All of us really enjoyed the performances. The people who run the show were terrific and you can tell they were genuinely happy that the children were adopted and had wonderful families. There were over 400 families registered for the event. It was a really great event.

That evening we all gathered in the hotel's lobby/breakfast area. We got pizza and let the girls go wild. Everyone enjoyed catching up and spending time together. We also got to bed early because the biggest day was to come.

Sunday, July 12th:

DOLLYWOOD!

We got there when it opened at 9am and left as it closed at 8pm. It was a long but wonderful day!

The girls had such a great time riding the kids rides, seeing shows and running around together. We rode the train, saw an animal show and a puppet show, and had a blast watching the girls on the kiddie rides. Eddie Graham was brave and took a zip line tour above the mountains of Dollywood, a 1 and a half hour tour, that took him high above the park on a zip line...loads of fun!


















Kate, Lydia and Fiona enjoying "water play" at the kids playground.























Monday, July 13th:


Most of us parted ways. Therese and Lydia, as well as the Bowens headed back to Nashville. Bridget and Fiona stayed until Tuesday. The Grahams made it a full vacation and left Thursday.

A good time was had by all. We hope next year to do it in a more central drivable location. If anyone has any ideas...let me know. We'd love to see more of you next time. In fact, Cirque de Chine is already planning next year's event for Saturday, July 10, 2010. Mark your calendars!

Hope you're all doing well. Please send updated photos of your families. It's nice to keep in touch and see how much everyone has grown.

Love to all!

Christi, Eddie and Kate Bowen