Consulate Appointment and Red Couch

This morning was our consulate appointment and oath ceremony. You are not allowed to take cameras in so there are no photos to show anyone. We were back at the hotel at 10:00am so we went to breakfast and then caught the bus back to the island to pick up our laundry and hang out. Longji took a picture with a gentleman named Michael. He owns one of the shops on the island and he remembered us from the last trip. We ate a snack at Lucy's and took a picture of Longji next to the motorcycle picture. He pointed to this picture and said "motorcycle" during our first meal with him two years ago. Since we are not at the White Swan Hotel where the famous red couch is there is no group or family photo opportunity set up by our agency; however, we did make a stop by the red couch and took some of our own photos. We didn't make Yiqun wear her silk dress because it is just too cold. She did have a mini meltdown earlier and we actually saw some tears. This is really the first time she has cried while she has been with us. Right now she is napping and Longji is playing with his Nintendo DS. We are eating dinner later with some other families and then tonight we begin the packing. Tomorrow is our train to Hong Kong and then we head home on Friday! I can't wait to be home again. I miss my family, my dogs, my bed and my American food.

Asian Games

Yesterday was a warmer day outside and much more tolerable. Our guide took us to the area that was built or put together specifically in 2010 for the Asian Games. It was a neat place to visit. There was some type of ceremony going on that we came across so we took some pictures of the different dancers. The architecture is beautiful. We did spend the afternoon back on the Shamian Island for some shopping. We have picked up a couple of little things for Yiqun, but also some pearls and a tea set for her wedding...many years from now of course. We stumbled upon a wedding photo shoot on the island yesterday and Yiqun told our guide Kelly that she wanted to marry Longji one day. He said, "no way, that's disgusting." It was funny. They have some sweet moments and then they are enemies within minutes.
 
 

Chen Family Temple and Six Banyun Tree Temple

These are pictures from two tours we took this week. It was cold and wet both days. We actually visited both temples when we were here with Longji two years ago. We did wrap up the evening one night with a Papa Johns pizza and the kids had noodles and steamed buns.

Medical Exam

This morning was our first breakfast buffet experience at the Marriot China Hotel. Much better than the hotel in Nanning. There are tons of families here adopting so the buffet this morning was very interesting. We ate a good breakfast and then headed out with our group to the medical clinic where Yiqun got her exam. It was a little different than Longji's exam was two years ago. They did not do an eye exam so we are not sure how well she can see. The doctor wanted to keep her medical records so he can look over them and then we will return on Monday to have the TB test read. We did have a chance to eat on the island and walk around a little. We ate at Lucy's which is where we had our first meal with Longji. The White Swan Hotel is where we stayed two years ago and we were able to visit the hotel on the first floor. It brought back a lot of good memories. It was raining today so we were in and out of the stores trying to stay dry. We left the island at around 2:30 and headed back to the hotel. The kids are getting along really well today and we are seeing a lot more smiling from Yiqun. She is also showing more emotion overall. She got upset today with John and I when we were trying to pick out some pants for her to wear tomorrow. We are just now doing laundry and it won't be ready until tomorrow afternoon so the kids needed something to wear for tomorrow. She had a little mini temper tantrum so we just let it go and she is wearing the same pants two days in a row. We were good on the other items, just needed a pair of pants. We are going to the Chen Family Temple in the morning and then to the Pearl Market. I am going to pick up some pearls for Yiqun. The pictures here are from the island this morning. You can see Yiqun is smiling a lot more and yes, that is an ice cream in her hand. She sure does take a while to eat her ice cream.

Nanning market

Last night we attempted dinner in two different hotel restaurants, but they were both closed. We ran into another family who is working with a different agency and they invited us with two other families to eat in one of the market areas. They speak fluent Chinese so we felt comfortable with the adventure. There were some interesting things on the street, but overall an exciting and tasteful experience. These are some pictures from last night. The food was really good and we are glad we were able to experience the true cuisine here in Nanning.

Qing Xiu Mountain Tour

Okay, I think I am officially caught up with the blogging. It is 1:45pm right now in China. The kids are building legos, coloring and watching television. We were up very early this morning. John and I can't seem to get on a regular schedule. Last night Longji slept in the bed with Brielle. I woke up at 3:00am and she was on the floor. Longji was laying across the bed sideways. Not sure if he kicked her off or not. I had to wake John up to help move her. She was dead weight. Later on we both heard her fall off again. She didn't even wake up which is hard to believe because she hit the floor hard. We all went to breakfast and then headed out on our first tour to the Qing Xiu Mountain. I think this is one of my favorite tours in China. First, we started out with the "golden fish" which we know as koi. We bought food for the kids to feed the fish. There were tons of fish and it was fun to watch them feed. We then headed up the mountain to a restored pagoda. It was a beautiful walk. Toward the top we stopped to buy a decoration for Brielle and Jordyn's room. I wanted to make sure I had something from Nanning for her. We treated the kids to ice cream and rested a while before heading back. One thing is for sure, Brielle loves to eat. She doesn't stop. In a majority of the pictures with the statues she has her ice cream in her hands. We weren't about to take it away. After returning from our climb, we headed to a part of the resort where there are tons of statues. We walked around and took lots of pictures. Again, you can see an ice cream in most of them. We did get a cute smile out of her in one of the photos. She and Longji are getting along really well and they enjoyed taking pictures together. Their Chinese zodiac is the monkey so we got a picture with the monkeys and John and I are both horses so we took pictures with the horse statue. The resort was beautiful. We had a lot of stares, but everyone is very friendly. John and I decided to have a little fun with Longji in one of the pictures...see if you can figure this one out. He had no clue what we were setting him up for. Brielle is slowly coming out of her shell. She is not very affectionate, maybe a little with Longji, but very distant from John and I. We know it will come in time, but it is hard to see her pictures and she looks so unhappy in some of them. Overall, it was a great morning and we are enjoying some down time here at the hotel. We are meeting another family for dinner this evening and then tomorrow is a day for shopping. We have been able to skype pretty much everyone daily which has been nice. I can't see the blog so I hope everything looks good and is making it through. The weather here has been pretty good. There really is no hope in fixing hair and wearing makeup. I can't remember if I have mentioned it before, but Brielle's hair is almost unmanageable. It is all over the place and very thin. She likes it up with bows and cute pony tail holders. We just did her nails again earlier. She peeled the last coat of paint off last night in the tub. If even a little bit comes off she doesn't like the way it looks so she peels the rest of it off. I am about to work with Longji on school work so for now I am caught up on all of our events. Will post more later.