We had a great day today (Sunday) site seeing at the Chen Family Academy. It is over 100 years old and is now a folk art museum. It was very crowded, being a weekend. We toured this same site when we were here with Megan so it was a "redo" for us. We did get a chance to order a hand painted scroll for Madelyn that should arrive at the hotel on Tuesday. Megan has one hanging in her room that we bought 4 years ago.
I told Megan about the hand carved bone and she really wanted to see it. The pictures don't do
it justice. The work is so intricate that you can only see some of it by magnifying glass. The workmanship is truly amazing. That was about the extent of our attention span so we spent the rest of the time hanging around our group and the girls played and ran around the small palm trees.
We returned to the hotel
for a diaper change and brief rest before heading out for lunch. We walked to one end of the island where a new Italian restaurant is located. The lunch was excellent and Megan ate an entire plate of spaghetti with meat sauce (I didn't even get a bite...). Madelyn fell asleep for her afternoon nap just as the meals came so that worked out well.
We strolled through the streets after lunch amazed at the number of bridal photo shoots going on. We asked several of the locals who told us that the island is one of the most popular places for wedding photos. There were literally hundreds of brides with photographers all over the place. There was even a movie or commercial being filmed as well. We made it through the maze of
Brides in dresses (and tennis shoes) and grooms in tuxes to the most important stop of the afternoon; Starbucks!
We had our final paper work session late in the afternoon. We got all our US paperwork in order to finalize our consulate visit in a couple of days. It was tedious and got started late due to the group before us being late. It took 2 hours instead of one. Lynne was with the girls by herself the entire time so she was glad to see me! Erin, Bob, Mollianne and Meisey came over
for pizza (that we ordered from the same Italian restaurant from lunch). The girls played games and we really enjoyed our time together. Madelyn crashed early in the evening and we were all entertained by Meisey's antics as she fought to stay awake. Meisey was at Madelyn's first birthday party at the orphanage and the two get along as well as 12 month olds can.
We are excited to have a couple of days with no plans other than a trip to the grocery store tomorrow. Madelyn did great today with the formula mixture and ate and slept well. We are looking forward to another night of sleep :) The closer Friday gets, the more anxious we are to get home. The flight home is a bit daunting knowing that it is a long day and we will have two girls to worry about and limited space on the plane. We also had another realization today that Madelyn has never been in a car seat and
is not real crazy about being belted in so that will be an experience as well.
Thanks again for the emails and comments on the blog. We love hearing from you and can't wait to get home.
Matt
Here we are at Lucy's
Momma Packin'
Megan and Madelyn playing before Breakfast
Megan with her new Calabash flute
We will spend a good part of the day tomorrow getting organized and packing as much as we can before we go to the US Consulate to finalize everything before coming home. It is hard to believe that we leave the day after tomorrow. It is even harder to believe that I will be back in the office in less than a week. We leave the hotel on Friday morning at 5:30 am so it will be a really long day. There is a family from Cumming, GA in our group and we are on the same flight home. It will be nice to have some traveling companions.
Megan and Madelyn both looked gorgeous in their beautiful silk dresses.
We have an early post today. We went to the grocery store this morning and then spent some time at a local park. We have some down time this afternoon, which is much needed. We even stayed in for lunch. Megan didn't want to go out and wanted Peanut butter and jelly for lunch so I ran to the 7-Eleven and bought some fresh bread. We all had PB&J and it never tasted better!
Lynne is going out later for some solo time and I will have both girls. Megan has to do some school work and Madelyn, well... she will either still be napping or will be up for some play time. We are really lucky that she plays well by herself with whatever she can get her hands on. She e
specially likes the empty water bottles and plastic bowls. She grabbed the news paper off the coffee table today, pulled at the business section, looked at the headlines and promptly threw it on the floor and began crinkling it up. I feel the same way when I read the business section ;0)
Our trip to the park was a lot of fun. There were a lot of mosquitoes so I am glad were only there about an hour. They had several carnival rides that we promptly avoided and we headed straight for the play ground. The kids had a great time while the adults swatted bugs.
it justice. The work is so intricate that you can only see some of it by magnifying glass. The workmanship is truly amazing. That was about the extent of our attention span so we spent the rest of the time hanging around our group and the girls played and ran around the small palm trees.
for a diaper change and brief rest before heading out for lunch. We walked to one end of the island where a new Italian restaurant is located. The lunch was excellent and Megan ate an entire plate of spaghetti with meat sauce (I didn't even get a bite...). Madelyn fell asleep for her afternoon nap just as the meals came so that worked out well. 
We strolled through the streets after lunch amazed at the number of bridal photo shoots going on. We asked several of the locals who told us that the island is one of the most popular places for wedding photos. There were literally hundreds of brides with photographers all over the place. There was even a movie or commercial being filmed as well. We made it through the maze of
Brides in dresses (and tennis shoes) and grooms in tuxes to the most important stop of the afternoon; Starbucks!
for pizza (that we ordered from the same Italian restaurant from lunch). The girls played games and we really enjoyed our time together. Madelyn crashed early in the evening and we were all entertained by Meisey's antics as she fought to stay awake. Meisey was at Madelyn's first birthday party at the orphanage and the two get along as well as 12 month olds can.
is not real crazy about being belted in so that will be an experience as well.
eat well. She was awake most of the night, which means so were we. She has quit taking her bottle until she is famished and then eats too fast and gets a belly ache. Lynne didn't want to take her out again today so Megan and I went with the group to the Zoo. We had a great time. Daniel, a 6 year old boy went with us so his parents could stay home with his baby sister as well. He and Megan play well together and he is a good sport being the only boy with 3 other little girls. The zoo was well kept and the animals were a lot of fun. The Elephants put on a little show as did the bears. The kids got to go down into the "Monkey Mountain" area and feed the monkeys. It was a good time for all.
goodness the macintosh connects to the TV so easily we could all watch the movie on the TV - Yes that was jab at the PC :-). We then went to drop some photos off to have some artwork made. We wound up at Lucy's again for a late lunch. Madelyn sat with Megan for a while and Lynne got a great picture. I broke my watch in Hong Kong so I bought a Rolex today on the street for about $15. I hope it lasts me the week until I can get home.
This is something I have been waiting for. When we came for Megan I did not purchase a Jade bracelet. Well, I have a beautiful one on my wrist tonight! It was worth the wait and I wasn't going to regret passing it up again. We actually bought two because Chinese tradition is that the bangle bracelet is passed on to the daughter on her wedding day. What a beautiful thought that I will wear both of the bracelets before giving them to my daughters on the occasion of their marriage. 
It brings tears to my eyes just to look at them. We love the picture of our guide, Kelly, with Megan at the fish pond in the Jade Market. Megan was enthralled with the painter using only his fingers and palms to create beautiful landscapes. She spent much time watching him while Mommy was shopping.
I bought some squeaky shoes at a local store tonight and Madelyn was delighted. She loves the noise they make and just laughs a big belly laugh! They are cute and fun.....can't wait to share them with all of you :o)