We have just spent 3 enjoyable days in Meila's town.  We have seen parks, the new zoo, new shopping malls, old shopping districts and, most importantly, returned to Mei's finding spot and orphanage.

The city has changed a ton since our time here in Jan 2004.  Our guide said that there were less than 2 million people here in 2004 and now there are over 5 million.  There is construction everywhere and even the orphanage is currently building a new facility which will move all the children out an...
Continue reading ...

Thursday, August 4th, and we are on the move again.  Up early for a 1.5 hour  bus ride back to Guilin airport and flight to Guangzhou.

We are staying at the White Swan hotel as we did for 3 of 4 adoption trips.  We are told we will be the last group here to see it as it has always been for adoptive families. Within the month they start a year long renovation program and so it will be different if we every return.

The hotel is still beautiful with all it's charm...the waterfall and fish pond to ...
Continue reading ...

We were out of touch for a few days but will try to catch you up a little. We have been SO busy and seen So much in the last 3-4 days.

Our time in Xi'an was wonderful and our trip to Anya's orphanage couldn't have gone any better.  I did add a few pictures into the post that Mark did for me about our time there.  We headed straight to the airport after our time at Anya's orphanage and made it to Guilin around 10pm.  That put us at the hotel around 11 and ready for sleep, especially because we ...
Continue reading ...

Thank you Skype for allowing us to connect at all! Kelly was not able to get a good enough internet connection to post photos and stories of their trip to Anya's orphanage- so here's an update from what I could hear...

The trip to the orphanage was different than last time. Previously it had been beyond the city border and across corn fields and rural China- but now is connected by the cities expansion. Kelly said that it seemed they arrived much faster, and didn't cross any fields- although ...
Continue reading ...

The girls at Chinese classes


Anya and Meila learning a new paddle ball game at the Temple of Heaven Park.




Temple of Heaven


Hand stretched noodles..yummy!


Anya getting her book signed by the farmer who found the terracotta warriors.


Pretty girls!

Continue reading ...

We have had a wonderful day here in Anya's hometown!  It is nice to slow down for a day, sleep in and be away from the big group tour. (Our group has been great, with lots of nice families..it is just a different pace when you are going everywhere with so many other people)

We met our guide, Micheal, at 10 and were able to go see Anya's finding spot.  First, he took us to the local police branch office where Anya finding papers said she was taken to. We talked to some officers, including one w...
Continue reading ...

We have been so busy we seem to be a few days behind on our pictures and updates.  The computer here is very slow so not sure what we will be able to get uploaded tonight.

This picture is just for Ethan.

We did make it to Xi'an yesterday after a 3 hour delay due to rain in Beijing.  We went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda yesterday afternoon and then the Tong Dynasty Show with dumpling banquet in the evening.  These were the same places that we visited when we adopted Anya so it brought back lots...
Continue reading ...

Another full day!  We saw The Great Wall (at the same place we took Simon and Henry and Ethan three years ago) We took the steeper, less traveled side of the wall and it was beautiful with hardly another person on it. Amazing, because the opposite saw was swarming with people.  The camel was still there from the last visit and Meila and Anya each took a turn on it followed by Popsicles ..brought back a lot of memories of our trip to China to bring Henry home. 





Before and after the Great Wall...
Continue reading ...

Our Day in Pictures:


Corn on the cob, on a stick, for breakfast=fun.




Ricksaw ride through the Hutong area of Beijing.


Lunch at local Hutong family's home.


Our host for lunch.


Could we find a "calender shot" somewhere is China?


Tian'an Men Square celebrating 80 years of communism.


All the children in our "ping-pong" group.


The Forbidden City..it is so hard to capture the immensity of it all, layer after layer.


The emperor's garden.


The acrobatic Show was pretty amazing.  The boys would have really love...
Continue reading ...

We have made it to Beijing!  Wonderful flights, arrived in a full hour early, which had us checked in to our hotel and eating from the yummy breakfast buffet before 7am.





Our first day was a free day..left to explore and try to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime hour.  We filled it with shopping. (How can you not love grocery shopping in China...every part of a pig you could want...snout, ears, feet, tail..yummy.)


(Smoked & Spiced Duck Tongues-So why does that duck look so happy?)

Next, we HAD...
Continue reading ...

We are on our way to China today!
Continue reading ...