Packing

Today started very early.  We had to be in the lobby by 7:45 a.m. to go to the U.S. consulate.  We took an oath on Katie's behalf stating that all of the documents submitted were true to our knowledge.  We will be able to get her visa and passport back tomorrow.  We were done by 9 a.m. and able to get a little breakfast from the buffet before we met the rest of our group and headed to the zoo.  

It was extremely hot and Katie had not gotten enough sleep last night, so she was a little grumpy.  She did love seeing the animals though.  Our guide, Lily, was impressed with how many of the animals she could name, all in Chinese, of course.  Lily would translate for us.  Katie talks a lot and will sometimes say several sentences in Chinese, and I feel bad that I don't understand what she is trying to tell me.  Her English is coming along really well though and she repeats everything we say.  I do have to share that we saw a liger at the zoo.  I've heard from a very reliable source that they are bred for their skills in magic.  LOL.  They are actually a very beautiful animal.

We said goodbye to the Maddox's today.  We may see them in Hong Kong, although we won't be there for very long.  I shed a few tears after they left.  It has been so nice to have friends on this journey with us, and has helped us not feel so homesick.  The McClure's will leave sometime tomorrow, but the remaining families' schedules are all different, so we said goodbye to them today as well, just in case things are hectic and we don't get the chance to see them again.    We will tour tomorrow with the Olivet family before we leave for the train station.  Our whole travel group has been wonderful.

Katie is bonding better everyday.  She still only wants Travis to hold her when we are out, but she wants me to put her down for her naps and to bed.  She also sat with me at dinner and we shared an ice cream cone after that.  We found out today that she loves Legos.  Trevor has hundreds of them and brought a few with him.  She doesn't ever try to put them in her mouth, but she dumps them out of the container and puts them back in.  We're going to have to work on eating better foods when we get home.  Katie has quite a sweet tooth and doesn't eat any meat at all.  She will eat noodles and rice, as well as yogurt.  We're going to add in some veggies and try cut the meat into tiny pieces for her.

This may be our last update before we get home.  We will take the train to Hong Kong tomorrow and spend the night.  We're almost done packing, and Travis is amazed that I've gotten it all back in the suitcase.  I'm not sure if we will have a chance to send an update before we fly out on Friday.  Everyone is welcome to meet us at the airport, but I just want to warn you that we aren't letting other people hold Katie just yet.  She is still adjusting and we don't want to confuse her by passing her around to other people.  Our plane is scheduled to land a few minutes after 10 p.m. Friday night.

We want to thank everyone for all of your prayers and for following us on this incredible journey.  So many of you have done so much to help us, and we are so appreciative.  

Ryan and Spencer, we can't wait to see you!  We love you and miss you!