Wrapping up our time in China!

Thursday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOUG) was a busy but fun day! At breakfast I ran into another mom from Louisa who is adopting her second daughter! I recognized her first daughter from school... she goes to the same school as my boys do. How funny it is to think we met in a hotel restaurant across the world when we live a mile away from each other.

We met our guide Joe at 8am and headed to the Great Wall. He tried to take us by the jade market first but since we are not big shoppers and had been there last trip, we declined. I think that through him for a loop since it takes up time and I am fairly certain the guides get some type of bonus for sales when they take you to these places because they all seem to want to take you there.

Nyah, Caleb and I climbed the Great Wall and even though I ran 10 miles the Sunday before I left for China, my calves are aching from our climb!! The stairs are very steep and uneven, with some more like a step and a half and with others curved from wear and tear. We went higher than I did last visit (we climbed to the building on the top left of the pictures) and had a few laughs along the way thanks to a couple of ladies from Australia and Scotland who were quite comical. Caleb was again a minor celebrity and was asked to pose for a picture with a young Asian man.

We then headed to the Summer Palace and it was beautiful. There was a large man-made lake and beautiful walkways. We took a short boat ride across the lake. This picture makes me laugh because here we are surrounded by all this history and right there is the hugest tv I have ever seen... no doubt put there to showcase the Olympic events. Caleb had his hair rubbed twice and on a few occasions, when our guide was not around, we were surrounded by Asian tourist groups inquiring about Nyah. They rubbed her face and I heard some ooh's and aah's and saw lots of smiles. Most families tour Beijing before the adoption and we were the only caucasian family with an Asian baby that I noticed in our journey today so that might explain a lot of the attention. Well that and the fact that Nyah is just adorable!

So we had time after that so we let Joe take us to the Silk Factory which involved a short lesson on how silk is made and a LONG sales pitch. We didn't buy anything but it was beautiful. I may have been tempted at the start of the trip but at this point, I am too exhausted to shop or to pack anything else!

After the quick trip to McDonald's for Caleb's dinner and a pass by the Bird's Nest (the Paralympics are taking place so you cannot get close; this picture is from the van window and while you can't see it here, Caleb thought it was neat that we could see the torch flame above the stadium) we headed to the Acrobatic Show. It was again amazing and Caleb seemed to really enjoy it. I enjoyed it too since Nyah slept the entire time. Then it was very early to bed... around 8:30 but it was very much needed!

After a great night of sleep, on Friday we began our journey home with our 3:45 flight from Beijing to Newark. Nyah was GREAT on the plane... the quietest of the five children her age that I saw board. Other children crying doesn't bother me at all ever and this plane ride, I found it a relief as well to know that if she started up, she would be one of many and that I wasn't the only parent struggling to hush a child. She played with whatever leftover eating and drinking items were around... a spoon, a cup, etc., listened to the music, and even walked the aisles looking a bit tipsy doing so but having fun even though it seemed to annoy one of the flight attendants (and it wasn't meal/drink time either!). She only fussed when she needed a diaper change or wasn't able to switch sleeping positions easily. We bought her a seat even though she qualified as a "lap baby"and it was so worth it to have the space for her and I to stretch out and store toys. I didn't sleep for fear she would fall but I did get to watch 3 movies!!

When we landed in Newark she became a US citizen and she is now a Jersey girl like her mom! We arrived 30 minutes early which eased my mind a little having only two hours originally to get though immigration and customs and to switch terminals. We arrived in plenty of time only to have our plane to Richmond delayed by 2 hours. At that point we were cranky and Nyah had added another tooth to her tooth count but we arrived safely, got to the house around 12:30am, and headed to bed!