Mickey In Asia?

We made reservations for a "Character Breakfast". Breakfast was very good and just when we thought they weren't goint to show up... in walked Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto!! Toot's expression was priceless when she saw Goofy (her favorite). Bebo did not care for (or was afraid of) Goofy or Pluto but was super excited about Mickey. It was great fun!

After breakfast we headed on over to Hong Kong Disneyland.

We waited 45 minutes for the first ride... driving cars. We waited 15 minutes for the teacup ride, 20 minutes for the merry-go-round; then Weatherman and Bebo waited an hour for the flying Dumbo ride.

Then we waited for the rain to stop... it didn't!

Can you tell waiting is NOT my favorite thing?! We decided to pass on the Prawn Chips!!!!

We headed back to the hotel and went swimming in the rain (the only logical thing you can do in the rain). Bebo discovered the waterslide and wore himself out. He probably slid 30 times!! My waterbaby.

Room service for dinner again! It is so nice to shove the dirty dishes into the hall.

We are heading to bed early tonight since wehave an 8:00am flight.WE ARE COMING HOME!!!Please keep us in your prayers as the flights including layovers will be about 24 hours long. Please pray for my few remaining brain cells.

We love you all!

The Final Leg

Our last few hours in Guangzhou! We got up early for our last "spinning breakfast". Said some quick goodbyes and got on the bus for the airport. Our group was split up into many different flights over a couple of days. It was sad to say goodbye to the people we had bonded with and shared tears of joy (and even exhaustion) with. Thank goodness for Yahoo! Groups.

Our guide, Maggie, rode with us (4 families) on the bus to the airport. She talked to us about what we meant to her and how much we had taught her. She talked about our children's roots in China and how she hopes we never let them forget.
She talked about what a giving country America is as it is one of the few countries that will allow special needs adoptions. She thanked us from the bottom of her heart and then she sang a song in Chinese to the children. It was a song about no matter where you go you always know where your home is. I cried! She is such a wonderful guide. Did I mention before that she was our guide when we adopted Toot?


Our other guide Fontana met us at the airport. She is such a sweetie pie and I would have loved to put her in my pocket to bring her home! They got us through the check-in and walked us to security where we had to say goodbye. I hate goodbyes. I cried (again)!

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 11:20 but was delayed til about 12:30 so....we waited (we had arrived to the airport at 8:45). Good flight, clean plane, yummy cookies! We landed in Hong Kong at 1:45. The luggage comes except for strollers. So... we wait again. The kids are getting cranky, I'm getting cranky, we're all getting cranky!

Now the 4 families load up in 4 taxis and head to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort!! Only 15 minutes away!!

Half of Hong Kong is checking in at the same time! So...we wait! After checking in we walk around to decide where to eat and finally decided to order room service. We are SO tired of restaurants. Bebo keeps saying "Wo may ashi yo yo!!" which is either "I was to swim" or "I want to go to the pool". Take your pick. We went to the pool and had a nice evening swim. We need to get this kid in swimming lessons.

He LOVES the water!!

Warm baths, jammies on, exhaustion. (Why is waiting so exhuasting?)

Arrival on Friday

For anyone who would like to welcome us home at the airport, we are arriving from Portland, OR around 7:20pm. that means we will be coming down the escalators by Baggage Claim and not the international flight arrival area.

hope to see you there!

Near The Finish Line

Woke up at 5:30 and sat in the bathtub to read til my rear end fell asleep. Then decided to sit in the hall. One of the maids came to ask if I was all right! Hah! Toot woke up around 7:30, so we had another Mom and Daughter breakfast.

The six of us moms decided that we were going to take taxis shopping again on Shamian Island and leave the dads behind with the kids. Brilliant idea!! We had a wonderful, sweaty time. One of the sales girls was very cute and by the time we finished haggling, I think I had her married to one of my sons and she was calling me "mother-in-law". I still think I could have gotten a better deal, though. We saw a great deal on water beetles, but decided to pass.

Back to the hotel for family and group pictures then on the bus again. This time to the U.S. Consulate to do "the swearing" as our guides would say. We are now totally DONE with paperwork! Praise the Lord! We invited our guide, Maggie, to come back to our room to have a little talk with Bebo about what will be happening next. Hong Kongand airplane rides and home and doctor appointments. She also talked to him about a couple of little "behavior items". He listened very intently and then started asking all kinds of questions about all kinds of things. He has the most inquisitive mind! We think he will be a scientist someday!!

Time for packing. Tomorrow we leave Guangzhou!! Almost home... fresh veggies, here I come!

'Night.

Rounding The Bend

Toot and I snuck out for breakfast... just the girls as Bebo and Weatherman were being sleepy-heads! I discovered Miso soup... yum!

After breakfast, we had to stay in our room from 10am til noon in case the consulate had any questions about the visa paperwork. All is well! Weatherman took the kids swimming while I had some quiet time. Isn't he the best?!

Time for more touring. We went as a group to the Chen Family Temple. It is a musium close to our hotel. It was beautiful. The doors leading in were ornately carved and about 12 feet tall. Bebo and Toot enjoyed hanging from the door handles! The kids really didn't enjoy the rest of the museum much. It was so "ding dang" hot that poor Bebo was melting. Kunming, where he is from, is known as The City of Eternal Spring. It rarely get very hot or humid there and Guangzhou is like a steam bath! The bus is air conditioned, though... ahhh! After the museum we had about an hour and a half to spend shopping on Shamian Island. Hardly enough time to do any good haggling!!! I managed, though.

Our guides arranged a group dinner for us at a restaurant called "The Banana Leaf". The food was excellent! And the entertainment was hilarious!! The staff stands in the middle of the restaurant and dances then ask people to get up to dance with them. One member ofour group got totally into it. He was really "gettin' down" (mom - don't ever say that, please ;) - love, Magie). Bebo and Toot also got up to dance. Too cute!!

When we got back to the hotel, one of Weatherman's favorite things happened...we had a thunderstorm!! I don't think I've ever experienced a thunderstorm on the 32nd floor before. Then jammies and bed.

Sleep tight!

Day 7 with Bebo

Today was a kind of relaxing day... finally! After breakfast we went shopping on Shamian Island from 9:00 til 12:30. Weatherman is an excellent bargainer! It is fun to watch him in action. The kids did great although they let us know it was NOT their favorite thing to do! It was hot and steamy and they were tired pretty quickly. We got them an ice cream treat and that helped a lot. We think it was Bebo's first ice cream. He loved it (chocolate, of course)!

When it was time to go, we walked through the White Swan Hotel (air-conditioning...ahhhh!). It was the first modern hotel on the island and many adopting families stay there. We stopped at the waterfall to have a group picture taken and before we knew it Toot and another little girl disappeared!! Panic city! We walked around for about a minute and a half calling their names. Bebo was very worried and he was calling her name, too..."Zhoe! Zhoe!". Of course we found them... the little stinkers! They had found something interesting to look at and wanted a closer look.

Back to the hotel for some instant noodles and a movie (you have to love those instant noodles... yummy and cheap). Some of the kids from across and down the hall came to watch a move with Bebo and Toot. Bebo wasn't so sure about having all the kids in his space, but he did fine. While watching another movie after the kids left, Toot leaned over and gave Bebo a big hug. Bebo hugged her back and said "Wo ai ni, Mei Mei" which means "I love you, little sister". Tears were shed, you know me. After lunch, Weatherman took the kids swimming so I could get some journaling done.

Ahhh... peace and quiet!