We made it to Guangzhou!!! (6 pictures below)

Sorry that I dropped the ball a little - we have been busy!! Monday morning was a free day. Michael and I slept in, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then strolled around the hotel to take pictures of the neighborhood. We are still not sure why our agency picked this hotel. It is nice and all and has a great breakfast buffet, but the neighborhood stinks!! I mean, there is absolutely nothing within walking distance for us to do. Very annoying. We are all a little frustrated with this choice of hotel. Anyway, we ate lunch with Maria, Patty and Brayden at our favorite restaurant around the corner. It is great food, but I was kind of glad that it was our last meal there - it's getting a little old. Michael took a great nap and then we went to the Summer Palace. This was one of my favorite spots! It was absolutely beautiful!! It was super hot, but at least there was a nice breeze coming off of the lake. We are so glad that we made it to this spot - it was great. While we were there, I gave Michael his first ice cream bar - see if you can tell from the picture if he liked it!! I was scolded by a couple of older Chinese women - they kept telling me that his face was dirty. Well, duh! Can't you see he is eating ice cream while it is 90+ degrees!! They wanted me to clean him up, well I just kept walking. What is the point of cleaning him after every bite, he is only going to get dirty again!? Don't worry, I cleaned him up after he finished!!

Oh, this is sad. When we got back to the bus to go back to our hotel, Michael told me (in his own way) that he had to go potty. I tried to tell him just to go in his pull-ups, but I guess he didn't understand me. He did okay for a while, and then he got really vocal about his need to go. I asked our guide to tell him that it was okay to go in his diaper, but my guide ignored me. Nice. So, a little while later he started crying and was REALLY upset. Our guide finally tried to tell him to go, but that didn't work. Our bus driver pulled over, I took the little guy in a grassy knoll and stripped his pants and pull ups off (we already tried to have him pee outside without taking the clothes off, and well, that didn't work). So I have a half naked kid in the middle of Beijing during rush hour - screaming...and not peeing. He refused to go. Well, I thought that maybe he had peed in his pull up - it seemed a little wet. So, I tried to put his clothes back on, but he just screamed louder. What now? Pick up half naked crying boy and put him on the bus!! Luckily he didn't pee on me!! I got him dressed and he was fine...for about 10 minutes. Then he said he had to go potty!!! UGH!!! Luckily we were close to the hotel. As soon as we got there, I ran into the lobby and to the public restrooms - he smiled when he saw the ladies room sign. He was very relieved to to be able to finally relieve himself!! What a nightmare!! I felt so sorry for him, but on a positive note - he does have great bladder control!!

After Michael was better, we walked to Pizza Hut - the first time I had pizza since I came to Beijing. Jessica (one of the 7 year-olds) picked a curry chicken pizza. Curry is not my favorite, but I was willing to try anything - and it tasted great!! Michael enjoyed a slice of veggie pizza - at least he will fit in with our family!!

So Tuesday morning was also free - our last day in Beijing!! Unfortunately, Michael didn't sleep in....he woke up at 6. And that was after a night of at least 2 nightmares or terrors - I don't know which. So needless to say I was tired. We ate and then worked on packing. It was nice getting rid of gifts so that cut down on the weight of each suitcase...I have LOTS of room to go shopping in Guangzou!! We finished up just as Meg arrived and the 3 of us went out to lunch at a french bistro...it was yummy!! We got back to the hotel and checked out. I said a tearful goodbye to Meg, and got on the bus for one last time. It was hard to say goodbye, Meg is just so awesome!! I am so grateful that she was there - I would not have been able to do as well as I did without her. She was a Godsend!!

We arrive at the south Beijing terminal. It is it's own separate airport, and let's just say, we were SCARED!!! It is this tiny hole in the wall building with planes sitting in a weed-infested lot. It was even smaller than the Rochester MN airport!! We really were nervous!! Our guide checked us in and we went through security (after thanking our guide, Michael - he really was great). So, then we were the only Americans in the airport and all of the messages were in Chinese. I was so glad to be here with a group - we had visions of missing our flight! It was an experience!! So we finally board the plane and then we sit - for an hour!!! UGH!! There are messages (in Chinese), so none of us could understand anything!! Well, we did okay, but my son HATED his seat belt. It wasn't even on tight!! It just stressed him out to no end!! He cried!!! I finally got him distracted and he forgot about it for a while, but whenever he remembered that it was on, he had a fit!! Not looking forward to 14 hours of this!!! Oh! And wait until he has to sit in his car seat!! NICE!! Other than 3 or 4 fits of rage over his seat belt, he did great. He even fell asleep - about 30 minutes out of Guangzhou! I thought for sure that he would have fallen asleep sooner since he didn't get a nap - which made him even crankier!! Well, we landed in Guangzhou and found our guide, Helen. She is very sweet and good with the kids. We got checked into the White Swan Hotel and I feel like I am almost home!! We stayed on Shamian Island when we were here with Danielle so this is familiar territory! I am so glad to be here!! On Wed morning, Helen took us to the Chen Clan something...can't remember it's name. It was pretty neat - but it is SUPER humid here - UGH!! I really feel like I am melting!! We did a little shopping, but I am waiting to hook up with Ann to get some better deals (you are welcome, Honey). We even ate lunch at McDonald's - first time on this trip. I am not a huge McDonald's fan, but it never tasted so good!!! We are back in our room and Michael is sleeping peacefully. I am waiting for Helen to come and work on my paperwork for our consulate appointment in the morning. If all goes well with that, I can come home!!! Please pray that there are no hiccups tomorrow morning - I want to come home!!