Grace in the Nutcracker

Thanksgiving Photos

Home Sweet Home

Dressed for the beach

Annabelle and Mommy

Playing with Lucy and Reagan

Joy

We Made it Home

Lucy and Grace with Annabelle.

Noah joins in the fun.

Happy not to be on a plane!

Big sister Lynsey looks on.

Sholpan likes Mei Mei too!

Last Entry

Annabelle playing with Susan Song's cell phone as Carter and Nate look on. Sorry, Aaron, there are no new iPhones here yet.

Todd King: You are the garbage man. You are the garbage can.

Mei Mei in the Swan Room, playing toys with the boys.

Music is my life!

Feeding carter as he plays with a boat.

Well, folks, that is about it. We are about to go to sleep and we have to leave here at 5am (that's 5pm eastern time on Thursday night) to get to the airport for our flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo. Then we are on to Detroit and then to Richmond. We have really appreciated all your comments and encouragement and we can't wait to get home. We will probably update the blog from the beach if there is internet access.

Lunch and Strolling

It's always funny when multiple things spill at once, domino style

This chocolate milk tastes a lot like Ovaltine. Hey! Where is my secret decoder ring?

Carter King, new son of Todd and Nikki (friends of Mary and Allen Neal) sneaks up on a tourist.

Annabelle playing run around the gate with Carter and dad.

An historic monument, memorializing the time when Confucius and Abraham Lincoln met to have a Coke and discuss government and human nature.

Back Pack, Back Pack

Cool waterfall at the White Swan Hotel.


Mei Mei with panda backpack, chillin' with mom in the hotel.


A store owner gave Annabelle this cross.

All smiles.

Dinner at the Thai place with our group.

Medical Exam

Getting my physical exam


Say Aaaahhhh!


Try out these fancy herbal remedies.

Olympic Garden Afternoon

The children had a great time running through the gardens.

They saw many different beautiful plants and were told many wonderful things about them by our guide, Li.

The proud moms look on as school is in session.

Here they are shown the fish pond which they all enjoyed.

This is Annabelle with Li by the fish pond. The children all had a very good time.

Afterward, we ate dinner at Thai Zheng, the local Thai Diner, and everything was awesome (fresh squeezed apple juice, chicken, beef, pork, vegetables, rice, noodles, banana fritters, etc.). We had a really good day with Annabelle and several other families but we are ready to head home soon.

It's All Done With Mirrors

Check out Annabelle's newest shoe purchase. She loves them.


Having two pair of shoes is truly fantastic.

It is a whole lot of fun to make faces in the mirror!


I enjoy hanging out on the little ledge near the mirror. Look! There are two of me...


We went to a special botanical garden this afternoon. Like so many other parks, it now has a Beijing 2008 Olympics theme. Kindly note the five official mascots (fuwa) on the right. They are Beibei (the fish), Jingjing (the panda), Huanhuan (the flame), Yingying (the Tibetan antelope), and Nini (the swallow). Together, their names spell Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni (Beijing Welcomes You). 

Out for Shopping

This guy tried to give me some lip but I called upon the power of Naruto and we destroyed him.

As a commemorative gift, the hotel provides "Adoption Barbie" dolls to all new mothers. The box sates it is NOT A TOY and is for AGES 14 AND UP. Adoption Barbie comes with a Chinese baby and 5 inch pink heels.

This is downtown Guangzhou in the shopping district, their version of Times Square, and quite bustling at all hours of the day.

We ran into our old friend Jon Kroll in front of a department store, doing the Chicken Dance to attract customers, much to the delight of all, especially the store owner, who is curiously low on squirrel nuts and Stalin cigarettes since Jon's arrival.

The shopping areas are very Chinese, including the ubiquitous KFC, McDonald's, and (not pictured) Pizza Hut.