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After a great day in Hong Kong we had to say good bye to Asia and started our 30 hour travel journey.  We flew Delta (actually pretty nice) to Detroit.  My mom went back to Tampa from there and we continued our 6 hour layover.  After Mom got on her plane I started crying and couldn't stop!  Was it because I was sad our trip was over, happy to be going home, relieved that we finally had Mimi and the trip had gone so well, sad to leave a daily breakfast buffet and maid service?  Probably all of the above.

Babette met us at the airport with all the essentials plus cake pops!

 We came home to a nice, clean house and managed to trash it within about 10 minutes.  Luckily Mimi is on it!




We were all pretty jet-lagged this week but we made it to school every day with only one tardy.  The worst one was my mom though.  The second night she woke up at 4 AM and wondered why it was so light out then went back to bed.  My brother and sister-in-law came to her house at 7:30 and mom finally woke up and wondered why they were there so early.  They informed her that it was actually PM, not AM and that she had slept all day!

Mimi is doing GREAT and has discovered soccer, new friends, and even a Montessori school. She was terrified of the cats at first but now says proudly that she's only scared of one of them.  We have a lot of conversations about where the cats are at any given minute. 

Rosie's Orphanage, 3/28

 Our guide arranged for a van to take us (Mom, Dad, and girls) to Yangchun today.  Ms. Yu, the orphanage director, met us and showed us all of Rosie's paperwork, then we looked at the photo album of Rosie that we had brought.

We met the Rosie's favorite nanny.  She's the one who was holding Rosie when she was brought to us almost 7 years ago.

 Mrs. Yu (to my right) took us out to a fancy lunch along with two other orphanage directors (Yangchuners, if you know who they are please tell me!)

 This is where Rosie was found when she was a baby.  We only cried a little....

 A truckload of pigs passed us on the way home.  Rosie wasn't sure whether they were going to the zoo or the circus....

Meanwhile, Grandma and the boys went sightseeing with the other two families and saw a temple and some fancy Chinese art.

When we got back to the hotel we found presents that James had bought for us with his own money!  He made these origami boxes for each present.  Then he admitted that he didn't want to come back to America because he's having too much fun!

Consulate Appointment, 3/27

Today was our consulate appointment, the date that the whole adoption trip was planned around.  We had to take a group oath saying that all the documents were filled out correctly, then we handed in some paperwork and that was it.  Mommy had cooties today and both girls were competing for Daddy's affection.  Rosie started crying and couldn't stop.  Mimi saw Rosie crying and thought she should be too.  We got back to the hotel with two wailing little girls.  After a long nap...

 We went to a beautiful park by our hotel where we saw some nice hedge plantings and some outstanding paving!  :-)

 We love China!

Shamian Island, 3/26

 Our guide gave us an hour on Shamian Island to go shopping before lunch at Lucy's.  James saved up his money and got a fancy new robe.

 Weirdest experience ever:  Mom and I walked into this little shop and the guy behind the tea table looked at me and said, "Are you from Denver?  I think I know you."  He then described his friends Natalie and Don from Denver (Aurora) and guess what?  Their daughter is in Rosie's class!  He must have seen a picture of me on Natalie's facebook or something.  He had a big photo album of families and was able to name most of them and tell me where they were from.  What an amazing memory!

 When it was time to go back to the hotel we couldn't get a cab so we ended up on the back of this little motorcycle.  We couldn't stop laughing!  We made it back in one piece despite some close calls with busses, running a red light, and going the wrong way down a one-way four-lane highway! 

Bedtime calls for lots of hugs with Xiao Ge.  They love each other so much!

Zoo, 3/25

 Went to the zoo in Guangzhou today and saw a panda!

 The kids are getting along GREAT!  Hope it lasts after we get home!

 This is a picture of our "shy" Mimi who jumped right up on stage with the belly dancer at our Middle Eastern dinner!

Who wants a snack?  I'm taking orders!

Medical tests, 3/24

 The only official thing we had to do today was get medical tests for Mimi.  The clinic was really crowded with Chinese people and their Chinese kids on one side, and foreigners and their Chinese kids on the other side.

There are two big parks by our hotel.  We walked around one of them in the evening and had a great time.  It was a beautiful setting with a lot going on.  People were singing, ballroom dancing, playing ping pong, looking at the bonsai exhibit, and lots of other things.  There was even a little carnival there.  Some of us rented a boat and motored around the lake.  We had a great dinner with the other family we're staying with then came back to the room to wrestle the kids into bed.

To Guangzhou 3/23

Mimi had a lot of "firsts" today:  Eating at McDonalds (thumbs up), riding on a moving walkway (thumbs up), riding on a plane (thumbs up),

and getting to drag her own suitcase (thumbs WAY up...she would not let it go!)

 Bedtime is a little chaotic these days.  There's usually more wrestling and tickling going on than reading and singing.

If you have any extra change please remember to give it to the difficult....