So good to be home!

What a relief it was to get home after three weeks of traveling! It was quite a trip but I really was anxious to be home and see Zach and Olivia. It was a sweet reunion. We have been home over a week now and this is the first day I've actually checked my e-mail. My focus has been on family and home. We've been to the doctor twice, once for Eliza's checkup and two days later when Kirk had the flu (he had to miss two more days of school,yikes!). Otherwise, things are pretty much back to normal. Eliza is doing fantastic! She acted like she already knew Zach and Olivia. I guess sending the little photo album was a good idea after all. It didn't take long for our children to fall in love with her. Just like we read in the first information we had on Eliza: "You can't help but love her." We weren't sure if she would sleep in a toddler bed, but she's done just fine. At first, she would stay in bed and cry for someone to come get her. Now, she usually follows Olivia out of the bedroom in the morning with a smile on her face. She loves our food, especially fruit and bread and especially anything Mike cooks. Really, she hasn't found much she hasn't liked so far! We are teaching her to say "please" rather than yelling for more of what she wants. One thing she doesn't like is plain milk. I finally gave up and started putting a little chocolate syrup in so she would drink it (this was after days of juice and water and lots of wasted cups of milk-warm, cold or powdered, she hated it). Oh well, at least she'll have the calcium she needs!
The kids love to make Eliza laugh, especially Olivia. What a great big sister she has become! Zach and Kirk are so good to her and are always saying how much they love her and how cute she is. She calls Mike, "Baba" and is always so excited to see him. Although she has some strong-willed toddler moments, I think she is adjusting very well. Hopefully, all will go well when we visit the Children's Hospital on Friday. Her health and abilities are right on for her age, except for speech but that is already improving. We would like to keep it that way.
Thanks to all our friends and family who have been there with us on this journey. I have a feeling this is just the beginning! I will try to post some pictures soon.

The Apallo Bruger Party

The Apollo Burger party , funny name huh. Well when they got back the next day we went to Apollo Burger I got a Jr. burger (dad calls it a baby burger) so did Kirk and Olivia, mom got a hamburger with some goo and gunk (so did dad but he put more gunk and goo) and Eliza got a Jr. burger (Kirk was going to eat one half the big half but he got full). She did NOT like it at all !!! but nothing a good (or should I say bad?) tantrum we were the center of attention for a little while. But then came, ba ba ba ba the FRENCH FRY yuck whats all that red stuff look to mommy, but daddy takes the yellow thing in the red and eats it, I want some. "Ahh" .YUM MORE. I want to dip it. Yay. the end

Home at last

Our flights were great from China to Japan and we were 60 minutes early coming in. Then we flew from Tokyo to Minneapolis. This flight was 30 minutes ahead of schedule. However we had to sit at the gate for awhile because there were two sick people on the flight. The only flight that mattered was the one to Salt Lake. Obviously that was the one that was delayed by over an hour. In all the way through all the cities the people were nice. Except in Salt Lake. When I was trying to get our bags I had the misfortune of having all of our bags being among the first 15 or so to come out from four flights. There was a throng of people waiting and I had to push my way through them to get our bags out. One oaf was on his cell phone and complained loudly how I should say excuse me. Since I had said that and it was pretty obvious that I had three large bags I was pulling through, I thought he was a real jerk. Oh well, it's nice to be home.

BTW, they really do get on the intercom and ask if there are doctors on board. One lady was coughing up blood. The other guy was pooping bloody stools. They were both just a few rows from us. Oh, hurray! They had to bring paramedics on board and Customs to get them off the plane before everyone else. Then people within one row of them had to fill out extra paperwork. We were beyond that, at least.


Security is interesting between the countries. We went through the Chinese security then the airline checked our bags one more time before getting on the plane. Then in Japan we had to go through security again and the airline security again before boarding. In the US, we got off the plane and went to the Immigration line for Homeland Security. As I was getting into line an officious lady asked me, "Sir, are you an immigrant?" Of course I replied that I wasn't, but before I could continue she told me that I was in the wrong line! I then finished my statement that my new daughter was an immigrant and she stalked off. Actually, the rest of the process was very nice and the people were efficient and pleasant. We had to have our bags go through the normal screening again and move our bags across the aisle to the airlines again in case we were selected for inspection. We weren't so it was fast. I think they looked at the four of us and figured we didn't have any contraband or extra stuff.

We got home a little after 9 and unloaded all the stuff we had. Eliza was pretty outgoing after a few minutes with everyone. She was very interested in, and scared of, our cats. She would pat them if we were with her. She was very sad when grandma left. She wanted to go with "Nana". We'd shown her pictures we had of many people and I guess she remembered that grandma. She slept with Olivia in her new room and is still asleep now. It was an exhausting day for all of us. I went to have a bath and then wanted to watch TV for a few minutes. Stephenie said that the TV was off and the remote in my hand when she came to bed. I was very tired.

Oh, this morning I listened to our voicemail messages. It appears that we were supposed to have some kind of pre-trip interview with the social worker. CHI and he called to set it up. The problem was that they called after we left. CHI, at least, should have known when we were leaving. I left a message with the social worker that he could call us now that we were back. I haven't heard from him yet.

Goodbye China

I am getting ready to shutdown my computer because the bellboys are supposed to be here any minute. We have finished packing and we're just waiting for them. We'll leave the hotel in under 30 minutes to come home. It's been a great experience but we're ready to get on the airplane and fly for 18 hours and being in airports for another 6 or 7 hours. See everyone soon.

Last hours

It is about 6 pm here and we have finished using up the last of our Chinese money. It must be time to come home. We have to finish packing tonight. Our wakeup call is for 4:30 am and the bellboys will come for our bags at 5. We will leave the hotel at 5:30 for the airport and our flight leaves at 8:30 for Tokyo. I'm excited to come home, but I think the flight is going to be very long. Everyone but me is going to the Cow and Bridge for dinner tonight. I'm not sure my stomach is quite up to that yet, so I'm going to stay in the room and watch TV and eat a bagel. Maybe I'll get some ice cream also.

This is probably the last post until we get home. As soon as we get settled in a bit I think we'll need to have a coming out party for Eliza. Kirk and I think that we will need to have an Apollo Burger when we get home and Steph is salivating over going to Mi Ranchito again. We have plans to eat at Chili's in Minneapolis with another family that is flying with us. They are from Pleasant Grove and we knew them from before we left. We met up with them here in Guangzhou so it's been a lot of fun. We also have met another family from Washington state and two families from Philidelphia area. Everyone but me is eating out tonight; I like to fly on a fairly empty stomach and not feeling well seals the deal for me.

Since I'm rambling here, it must be time to be done. See everyone in Utah real soon.

Forever or is it a second all in two days...

Forever or is it a second the title tells all , in one view 2 day ONLY TWO DAYS the other 2 days 24 + 24 hours = 48 hours that's a bazawezigillonvongupre minuets and querpllintorhipnofgerfnightall seconds aah I've gone mad (or is it all this math ?). Well I'm mad and that means, good bye

Montezuma and the U.S. Government

Well, Eliza is now our daughter. We went to the consulate today and swore that the Chinese writing was correct as far as we knew and so that is now done. Tomorrow we get her visa so she can travel to the U.S. When we get into Minneapolis, we go to the immigrants line for her. She is a citizen after we go through the port of entry there. We get a packet that the officer in Minneapolis will open and we can't open it under penalty of them being very irritated with us. We were supposed to do the ceremony tomorrow, but they changed it at the last minute. We will go to a Buddhist temple tomorrow and everyone gets their baby blessed by the monks there. Afterword we go to the toy market. It is supposed to be very interesting with a lot of toys from all over and very cheap. We'll see.

We took Eliza to the nurses station to get some medicine for her cough and earache. They mixed things up right for her and we put four things together and give it to her 3 times a day. She should do good with these.

I've been in the room all day today. See title for details. The food on our cruise on the Pearl River hit four of us a bit hard. Me in our group and one person each in two other families. Stephenie isn't feeling perfect, but she has nothing to really complain about (other than me). We hope to get everything done and packed tomorrow night and we'll be leaving on Thursday morning (Wednesday evening back in Utah). We will be home Thursday night. Our flight comes into Salt Lake City at just after 7, so we hope to be home by 9.

It's been fun here, but I think we are all ready to come home and get back to our schedules. At least, we're ready to come home and see our house and family. I'm not sure about work and school.

Another day in paradise...

As Kirk said, this is quite a different place than we've seen before here in China. We've had a full but fun day today. It has been especially fun because of the other families who are here with us. After being in Xi'an with hardly anyone who speaks English, we are really enjoying being with Americans. Our Beijing friends, the Hartwells, are here today and we had a great time seeing them again. We met the other families and headed out this morning on a large bus to a local shopping mall. Kirk was not excited to have shopping as the destination but he was a good sport and helped push Eliza in the stroller. One of the other families is from Utah, two are from Pennsylvania and the Hartwells are from Washington state. There is even one 13 year old in the group, unfortunately for Kirk, it's a girl. But she's very friendly and nice as most everyone we meet here has been. We still can't get over the palm trees, flowers and warm weather. We all survived the shopping and went to a dumpling restaurant afterwards. Several of us moms went to the shops here on the island while the little ones napped in the afternoon. We found a few fun things for gifts mostly. Melissa, from Utah, has been here for a while and knows all of the shopkeepers names and helped us get some great bargains. Of course, I was very happy to have a few hours of shopping on my own. In the evening, we went with the Hartwells to the popular local cafe, Lucy's. It is a nice place to go to when you want a break from the usual Chinese dishes. Although, after last night's meal with the other Utah family, I may need to have some spicy Thai food tomorrow! I have a feeling I could talk several others into going there again, Kirk especially. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the park next to the Peal River. They have a sound system set up with music and a light show on the hotels and waterfront. It was quite a fun way to end the day.

Eliza likes it here, especially with places to walk or use the stroller so close by. She also has fun at the hotel's play room. Since the White Swan caters to adoptive families, they have a huge play room with many nice toys and plenty of room for busy little ones. Tomorrow we have her medical exam and some paperwork in the morning.

We are almost done and can't wait to get home!

Zachary Paradise (Guangzhou)

Guangzhou has everything that Zachary could want. There are many reasons why. One is the warm climate that we've enjoyed. Palm trees are all over. The coolest it has been in Guangzhou for a long time is 45 degrees. It will get up to 75 tomorrow. Another thing is the amazing Gymnastics Park which my mom, Eliza, and I visited. It is built for bigger children and adults, but we enjoyed it. There are tons of exercising devices that are good for exercising including a back massager. Zachary would also like the amazing hotel we are in. The lobby is massive with a giant 3 story waterfall, and two swimming pools. A zoo is on the other side of the river, since we are on Shamian Island, an island in the Pearl River of the coast of downtown Guangzhou. We haven't visited it, but it is supposed to be better than the Beijing one. Some things that Zachary wouldn't beg for that are probably interesting to other people is that Guangzhou looks a lot like Brazil. There are palm trees, colonial architecture, and it's warm. If it weren't for Chinese writing, flags, and people, it would be hard to tell that this is in China. This place also has stuff my cousins would like: an amazing Thai restaurant. It has all of our favourite curries, and the people there speak English. The menu is in English too. Guangzhou is the best!!!

P.S. The pictures will show you what I mean when I say that this isn't Chinese looking

Last stop

Quick post to say we made it to Guangzhou. We got Eliza in Xi'an on Sunday and then had the Chinese paperwork to do in her province. We got her passport and documents on Friday before we left for Guangzhou to do the US paperwork. We need to have a medical exam for her and then get a visa to allow her into the US. Our consulate appointment is on Tuesday. She flies to the US with her Chinese passport and a US visa. She becomes a citizen when we touch down in the US.

We got into Guangzhou about 10:30 and we were mostly settled into our hotel room at midnight (Saturday morning). That is about 9 am Friday for those of you in Utah. We are really tired and so we will put in more later. It is a beautiful city from what we have seen and it is about 70 degrees during the day and it is very green.

One week and we're home!

Eliza with her royal hand holders!

Not that anyone's keeping track...OK, I am anyway. It is hard to be away from Zach and Olivia for so long. Now that we have Eliza, I feel ready to get back home. She is a delight and has warmed up to us fairly quickly. When we get home if she isn't having too hard of a time, I hope we can have family and then friends come and meet her. Kirk says we should have a party-with food of course!

Mike and Kirk have covered yesterday and today very well, so I'll just add a couple of things. When you are a tourist during the low-season in this area, you are one of a very few. At the little town we went to yesterday to see the Buddhist temple site, we were the only obvious foreigners in the whole place. Eliza fell asleep on the way there, so I was able to sit with her and watch the local people trying to sell incense to the visitors. If you look at the picture on the left, most of the people standing around are the local salespeople. It was rather entertaining to watch the women run after the unsuspecting visitors. These were some determined ladies and they would try any tactic to make a few yuan. Some would even stick the incense in the crook of the persons arm and then try to make them pay for it when they had trouble giving it back! To me it was kind of funny, but then again they are just trying to survive. The town was obviously poor and the temple was the only reason for visitors to come there. I was a little nervous to venture out of the van, but this time I was approached by a lady who was just interested in me having Eliza. Sometimes we get tired of the people selling us things, but most people we meet are extremely nice.

One thing this trip has taught me is how blessed we are in our country! We have so much! Seeing people scraping by to make a living and driving around dusty streets in their ramshackle bikes and even wooden carts has been a real eye-opener to me. Be grateful...

Tomorrow night we will be in Guangzhou! White Swan here we come!

The Big Wild Goose of Xi'an

Today, we went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. There is also a Small Wild Goose Pagoda, but I won't talk about it. The Pagoda was named during the Tang Dynasty of imperial China. During that time, Buddhism was reaching China. A famous monk was very popular. He went on a pilgramige to India, where he saw the Wild Goose Pagoda. It had gotten its name when a monk was very hungry and he prayed for food. At that moment, a herd of geese flew over him with one of them falling dead at his feet. He ate the goose. Also, at that exact spot a pagoda was built named after the goose. When the monk returned to China, he wanted a place to store his books, so the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built. Chinese Buddhists at the time couldn't eat meat. We also went to the Sha'anxi Museum which had many pottery things and a Mayan like utensil (I hope you read this Zachary). It was green, and had Mayan-like dragons on it. It was surprising. I also saw a cup with two mushrooms on the drinking area. Chinese people at the time liked alcohol, but they knew how dangerous alcohol could be if you drank too much. So they say that if your nose touches the mushrooms, you had drunk too much. Then Eliza cried and we went to lunch.

Mounds for the Dead

My dad wrote a lot about today, so I'll not write to much. On the way to the historical site, we saw many mounds. Some of them had what looked liked wheels of flowers. It turned out they were tombs for the dead. The more red there was in the flowers, the longer the person had been dead, until three years, when the flowers were pure red. If the person had lived over 80, the funeral was a joyous celebration, and noone was supposed to cry. It was good that the people were in a better place. Some of these mounds were in the middle of fields. At first, my mom wondered how they plowed around these mounds, but then she remembered that no one has tractors, so it isn't more than a mound. The city that was near the temple, I can't remember its name, reminded my dad of Del Rio or Laredo in Texas. There were many open air markets and it wasn't exactly the richest of places. I felt bad for the people that lived there. The people had corn drying on the roofs on their houses. It was interesting to see these things.

Another day, another great historical site

We went to a Buddhist temple today. It is one of the most important since it's been around for a couple of thousand

years. It has a piece of the finger of Buddha in it and so everyone that is Buddhist will make the trek to it. It's about two hours from Xi'an and so we went out into the country for quite aways. I think it is interesting that we see all these farms and no farm animals. I have seen one goat and Steph has seen one goat. The number of farm dogs could probably be counted on two hands. You just feel like something is wrong, but it takes a while to figure it out.

Eliza was pretty good on this trip. I like that she is able to cry and laugh and feel the whole range of emotions. She likes us quite well now and will pass up everyone that tries to hold her to run to "mama". She will even go to me first (as long as mama is no where to be seen!). We went shopping for a few things this evening and we were the center of attention. Me pushing Eliza around in a stroller in the department store caused a lot of stares and comments. She didn't like to stop, so if I looked at anything it was a "drive-by" look. I bought a couple of things this way. I think I mentioned this before, but when you buy something, you pick it out and the salesperson writes up an order form. You take it to the cashier which will service a big section of the store. You pay there and they will stamp the form to indicate it. You then take the form back to the salesperson to get the merchandise. This is a lot of fun when you cannot stop for too long at a time. It added to the spectacle of the shoppers from America.

I think there are many stories being told tonight.

As to the title of my posting, I mentioned to our guide how interesting it was that all of these great sites are mostly out in the elements. They seem to be deteriorating and not well taken care of. She reminded me that there is three of four thousand years of historical sites and if one or two aren't taken care of, there are thousand more and most haven't even been found. That's one way of looking at it.

I don't even remember what we're doing tomorrow, but we will leave at 9:30. Then on Friday we will go to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda after checking out and our flight leaves for Guangzhou at 7:00. I do need to download the pictures and Kirk or Stephenie will certainly upload some of them soon.

Terracotta Warriors with a Two Year Old

Today we went to visit the Terracotta Warriors. Eliza really likes to be on the move, so she didn't like us stopping long to look at anything. It is an amazing sight though. The emperor wanted to be protected in the after-life so he wanted an army to be there with him. His advisor talked him into making life-like figures rather than being buried with the real warriors so they could stay alive and protect his son. I think his advisor was a smart man!

We get looked at quite a bit around here especially now that we have Eliza. When we went to the restaurant today, a young waitress came over and fed her noodles. The restaurant was pretty empty so most of the help watched as Eliza ate bowl after bowl of noodles.They were either saying how cute she is or amazed at how much she could eat! We are such good entertainment. This is the low season to begin with, so there are hardly any tourists in Xi'an and now that we have Eliza we are an even rarer sight.

Last night was the first time we heard Eliza really cry. She didn't want to go to bed but Mike sang a few songs and she couldn't fight it any longer. (He could do the same thing when Olivia was tired and wouldn't calm down.) Otherwise, she has been adjusting very well. At first, she didn't want to leave her nanny and come to either of us. Now she prefers to stay close to me, but if I'm not going somewhere she will happily go with Mike or Kirk. I think she is used to being around women so that is not surprising. We have also noticed that she is very used to having her own way! At lunch she started playing with a spoon in her glass of water, so of course we took away the spoon. She let us know that was not appreciated! Most of the time she is very happy, sweet and busy. Although she doesn't talk much yet, it is obvious she is quite smart. She catches on to things very quickly. I think she will learn some basic words in no time. Until then, she has her ways of letting us know what she wants.

Hope all is well with everyone. We look forward to bringing Eliza home and being together again as a family!

The Bell and the Drums

This morning was boring. All we did was get paperwork done. But Eliza's starting to like us. She calls me Gur-gur, or older brother. Dad is baba and mom is mama. She also has her own word that can be used all the time, puta. She has been very fun. She likes to walk, but only where she wants to go. Today, we went to the Bell tower and saw the Drum tower. These towers are the symbols of the city. The bell tower's bell was played in the morning which signaled the gatekeeper to open the gates. The drum tower was played at night to signal the gate to close. The bell tower's bell is taller, but narrower, than the famous American Liberty bell. It costed 10 yuan to ring the bell, so I got to ring it. The way to ring it is by pushing a wooden log at the bell, causing it to do a loud sound. I was amazed that I was allowed to ring a famous bell for a whole city to here. I also got an instrument that is played like a flute, but looks more like an egg with holes. I had trouble playing it but mom is good at it. It has pictures of fish on it. We also saw the drum tower, which had rows of drums on it. we got a couple pictures of it, but we really didn't go in it.

Eliza's here!!!

We got a phone call just before five to come down to the lobby. There was our guide, the orphanage director, a CCAA official, the nanny, and ELIZA. What a beautiful daughter we have in our room right now. She is a little withdrawn, but she is having a great time playing with some blocks we bought for her.

We had to sign some papers and get some information from the nanny and director and then the left her with us and the guide. We will finish out the paperwork here tomorrow morning and then just wait for the paperwork to finish up. We will be going here and there with her after that.

When we were alone with her, the guide had Kirk go back to our room and Stephenie and I went to get pictures taken of the three of us, together and separate. I don't think we went very far, but I think I've mentioned the traffic in Xi'an before. It is not for the timid. I want to get our camera and take a video from the front seat sometime. After we got the pictures, the guide and I went to a grocery store to buy some things for her. Diapers and formula and orange juice. The nanny had started to give her formula again because she wanted her to get healthy; so we'll continue that. We also got some medicine and books and instructions. I have a lot to read tonight. Here are a few of the first pictures for you to ooh and aww over.

Yesterday, the Great Wall...Tomorrow, Eliza!

Mike, Steph, Kirk, Kathy
Joann, Layla and Craig

Kirk...waaaaay up there!

Stephenie...as high as she wants to go!!

Mike and Steph...taking a break

Kirk on The Great Wall...the first steps

Yesterday was quite an amazing day. On the way to the Wall, we stopped at the jade factory and picked up a few items. When we reached the Great Wall parking area, our guide said she would wait for us there. We soon found out why she didn't want to join us! What a difficult climb it is. The steps are very uneven, some are high and you have to take a big step and some are quite low. It was also extremely steep most of the way. I am afraid of heights, so I was a little worried but with the steps being so difficult and a rail to cling to, I did just fine. The view was wonderful, especially looking across the valley to another large section of the wall. We could also see the teirs of the surrounding slopes so vegetation would grow easier. It was very hard to climb for long and we had to stop and catch our breath quite often. So did everyone else, so I didn't feel like I was doing too badly. People of all ages were there, including some young stylish women with heels. I was happy to be wearing my tennis shoes!

The Cloisonne' Workshop stop was after the Great Wall. The process looked tedious and the workers were in an unheated room. It was freezing in there and they had to wear coats and work with little pieces of copper. The designs were intricate and the colors were so bright. Beautiful works of art.

Later, back in Beijing, I had a real treat in store. The family we were traveling with asked Rose to take us for foot massages. It turned out to be 1 1/2 hours of foot, leg, back, arms, neck and head massage. I really enjoyed it except when it was painful. Especially the hammers they used at the end...ouch! I guess the idea is to wake up those nerves, well it certainly did the job. Mike and Kirk decided to hang out at the hotel. They missed out on the fun that time!

Xi'an City Wall

We are excited for tomorrow and can't wait to see Eliza!

Xi'an

I never thought I would say this, but I miss the orderly, calm, and sane driving that Beijing offered. I know that Boston drivers would wet themselves if they ever had to drive in Beijing and Beijing drivers would wet themselves if they had to drive here in Xi'an! I cannot understand how come there aren't more accidents than I've seen so far (only 1).

We found out that they will be bringing Eliza to us tomorrow (Sunday) at about 5 p.m. our time. That would be Saturday at 2 a.m. (mst). She will stay with us overnight and then on Monday we all go to do paperwork in the afternoon. That is when we pay everyone and their dog and finish up the rest of the paperwork. Ok, not all the paperwork. There is still two days of it in Guangzhou also. But at that point we will have our daughter and it won't seem so abstract a concept. We are very excited. We bought some toys in Beijing and we are going to go shopping across the street (if we can make it alive across the street) for a stroller and some other items. On Monday we will go again to make sure we have enough clothes for her in Xi'an. While they get her passport and other documents prepared we will be taking her with us to the sites here. We will buy more things in Guangzhou since it is a more tropical area and has more shops and whatnot.

From this point on, the real reason we are in China becomes clear.

We are in a very nice hotel here. Our room is much bigger and nicer than the last one. We have an extra bed for Kirk and a crib set up for Eliza besides twin beds for Stephenie and me.
Xi'an is similar in weather to St. George. It is greener than our area, but it is still winter. They have palms like St. George does and it is just over freezing here now. It was about a two hour flight from Beijing and the turbulance was pretty jarring at first. The in-flight meals in China are interesting also. Ask us about them sometime.

Our last day in Beijing had us go to the Great Wall. We also went to a Jade factory and a Cloissone' workshop. It is amazing some of the things they do. A lot of handwork and beautiful things. A bracelet of the "finest" jade would cost about $1200-2000. Needless to say, we didn't buy the finest jade items. We did find some things to bring back and spent way too much. The cloissone' was fun also. It takes them a long time to do all the handwork to produce the items. I think we drove the other family that was with us nuts since we took our time to get some things that people had asked for. Since we wanted some items, it wasn't too much more to get these extras. I will try to download the pictures when I get a chance and maybe Stephenie or Kirk will upload some with their post.

Walked, and walked, and walked...

Yesterday, we walked to the LANdesk office in Oriental Plaza here in Beijing. It was only a couple of blocks from the Beijing International Hotel (where we are staying). It took about 15 minutes. It was a vacation day in Beijing, so noone was there. Afterward, we visited the Malls at Oriental Plaza. We found a bakery that served good food, so we got a couple pastries. After that, we went to lunch at a crowded restaurant. It was pretty good. We then walked to Tiannemen Square 4 blocks down or so. While we were passing, some young people passed us and started talking to us. They guided us to an art shop and were very nice and offered us tea. We said no, of course. Then they asked if we would like to buy their art (that is why they were being so kind). We said we'd have to think about it. Then, we visited the museum of history. It had pottery from more than 2000 years ago. There was another part that had more modern art, but it was still pretty neat. Then we walked, and walked, and walked back to our hotel. Then we realized we needed to get our laundry, so before we could get to our hotel, we walked to the laundromat. Then, we finally got to our hotel, where we got to rest, until dinner came where we ate at a good dumpling place. That's all I remember.

Downtown Zoo

Today was our guides day off, so we went to the Beijing Zoo. It is a pretty good zoo. It was sort of like the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. The big cats were in small enclosures, but they usually live in the outdoors. The animal most people love here is the Giant Panda. There is also a panda that I thought was a red panda but the zoo calls a lesser panda. There was also a massive pond that had many, many birds. There were cranes, ducks, geese, swans, and pelicans. Zachary, my little brother, will be happy to read that there was a whole area of the zoo for gibbons. One gibbon had a baby holding onto her as she swung through the enclosure. There was also a cat exhibit and a dog exhibit. When I say cats, I mean house cats. And domesticated dogs. But since those animals aren't common around here, they are probably interesting to see. I think the people around here have a problem with reading the words DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS. I saw a lot of people who seemed to think that the animals were hungry. At the bear exhibit there was a sign that said in big letters, Chinese and English, GIVING BEARS FOOD CAUSES STOMACH PROBLEMS, but people were throwing food in. It was dissapointing. There was an aquarium, but it costed to much to get in.

Happy New Year!

Yesterday, New Years for us, we visited the Temple of Heaven. It was built after the Forbidden City and was similar in design. It was really cold, but many local people were out, walking, playing instruments, playing games, etc. We bought a game I think Zach will like. It has two racquets and you toss a ball back and forth and catch them gently in the soft material of the racquet. Older ladies were demonstrating, and selling them, of course. We are now very careful with people who seem to be friendly but are really out to make some money. Like the old man who gestured to Kirk to let his little bird sit on his hand. We are learning though! (Although, I wanted the racquets because I liked the game, I ignore people trying to sell things and just shake my head "no". Some can be very persistent though, and will walk right by your side for quite some time trying to make a sell.)

We found a very good restaurant right down the street where we ate dinner. We call it the "Mickey Mouse Restaurant". For some reason, they have Mickey right above the door by the name on the outside. We liked it because the waiter spoke English and the menu also had translations. Our waiter guessed we were from Australia first and then we told him where we are from in the US. He was interested in Kirk, asking how old he was, etc. and called him "Very cool!" When we said no to the beer, he asked if we drink at all and we said "no alcohol". Next he said, "You don't smoke either? That is very good." He seemed to be impressed. I was wising more people had the same ideas as us though because we had smokers surrounding our table and it was very strong. Yuck. That is one of the downsides of eating at restaurants here, there are many smokers and you just can't get away from the smell. Also, menus are not for the faint at heart, I try to avoid some sections completely. Mike however, enjoys regaling me with all there is to offer and I sometimes loose my appetite before we order!

It still is very cold here but at least it's not snowy and grey like our first few days were. We actually have some sunshine today! I've missed that.

I will let Kirk fill you all in on todays venture to the zoo.
Stephenie