How Are They Doing?

I have had a number of people ask me to post an update of how the kids are doing on the blog.  On August 9, they have now officially been members of the Crossgrove family for 5 months.  They are now speaking English very well, and Ashton admitted that it is harder for him to understand Spanish now, since all of his time is spent in an English world.  We had the opportunity to go to Dutch Wonderland (an amusement park in Lancaster, PA) and they had a great time.  Ashton loved the roller coaster and the high dive show the most.  Alia loved the last thing she was on "the most".  It was a great time, and a very tiring day.  We have gift certificates to Hershey Park that have to be used this season, so we are planning to take the whole family for a trip to Hershey before school starts.  Both the kids are looking forward to going to school in a few weeks.  Alia will be in half day Kindergarten, and Ashton will be in 3rd grade.  They have settled into life in the Northeastern US, but although we have talked about the cold winter ahead, I am not sure they totally understand what it will be like.  It is fun to watch the kids interact with their big sisters and with Ariana's boyfriend, Aaron.  In June, my sabbatical ended and I returned to work, which has taken time for the kids to adjust to the fact the Papi has to go to work, or that he has work to do at home, or has another meeting at night, but they are starting to understand.  Ashton has begun playing soccer in our local community league and loves it. He has a lot of raw skill, but doesn't have any understanding of positions.  His coach is doing a great job of teaching him offense, defense and has even put him in goal a few times.  Thank you for your support and for asking how things are going.  I will try to post updates now and then.  Here is a family picture that we had done recently.