Way Behind on Posting

Sorry for everyone who is coming to the blog for new content but our days have been so full and I just now have adjusted to China time so I haven't been able to keep up. A lot has happened so I will just give you the highlights and a few pics and then come back and edit this entry later today. It is 5:45am on Sunday and we are heading to the airport shortly to catch our flight to Guiyang, Guizhou. We were supposed to meet Aubree for the first time at 4pm today but we have been told it may not be until Monday morning at 9am. Either way we are within 24 hours of laying eyes on her for the first time. This past Friday we went to the Great Wall and toured the Hutongs. Yesterday, we had orientation and received updated photos of Aubree and lots of information, then we left for an all day excursion of the Forbidden City (very cool) and T square and then went to a silk factory. Ended the day with one of the other couples going to the Hard Rock for some good old American food. I will post more very soon. (Sorry I am out of time so pics to come later)

Our First Full Day

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

(Our tour guide Emily and Me)

Standing on the Heaven Stone

on the Circular Mound Altar

Hmmm....Duck Soup!

Hostess From Our Lunch

Giant Panda at Beijing Zoo

Entrance to the Summer Palace

Longevity Rock

Emperor's White Marble Boat

It is now 6am Friday morning and I figured I better update the blog as we will soon be leaving for the day on more excursions. Yesterday started off on a good note as we were able to successfully use Skype to talk to Lexi and the boys. The audio and the visual worked very well and it makes us feel like being gone from them so long will not be quite as painful. We connected with our next guide Emily, who met us in the lobby of the hotel and had a driver waiting to take us to our first tour of the day. The first stop was the Temple of Heaven. It is a large park like area (675 acres) built in 1420 by one of the emperors. It mostly consists of trees and gardens with significant architectural structures in the middle. It was originally built exclusively for the emperors and their families to enjoy as no one else was allowed on the grounds except during special ceremonies. Today the park as many locals and tourists with the locals mostly made up of retired individuals because many of them live in this part of the city. As we walked in there were large groups of people enjoying different activities. Some were dancing ballroom style, others were doing some type of group exercises and many were sitting along a long corridor playing cards and other types of games. There were several street performers that were mostly signing and they had quite the fan base. Are first stop was at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and this was pretty amazing. Here the emperor would come to thank heaven and various gods for good harvests. We then made our way to the Imperial Vault of Heaven where the various tablets for the ceremonies were stored and then finally ended up at the most sacred place in the temple complex, the Circular Mound Altar. This three-tiered marble terrace represents Man, Earth and Heaven. Here the emperor prayed and offered sacrifice before consulting Heaven on how best to conduct affairs of state. He stood on the stone at the center of the uppermost tier and prayed to Heaven. This was a popular picture spot so I have included a picture of Lila and I standing on the very stone.

We then were taken to a local restaurant for lunch, we were led to the basement of the building, almost a cellar type atmosphere. Our meal was prearranged and it consisted of stir-fried vegetables, duck soup, a chicken dish resembling sweet & sour chicken, a beef dish and rice. We also received some hot Jasmin tea as well as a soft drink (no ice in the soft drinks...no one in China puts ice in their beverages). We ate some of the meal but frankly it just wasn't very appealing. We had the waiter take our picture and we also snapped a photo with one of the hostesses who was all decked out in traditional garb. Don't ask me the name of the place but I did take a picture of the sign out front so my Chinese friend Jack Wang can translate when we get home.

Next stop was the Beijing zoo to see the Giant Pandas. You don't get to see this many Pandas in one place very often so we enjoyed visiting the zoo. They still had extra Pandas on exhibit as they were added back during the Olympics. We had a short stay at the zoo and only paid to see the Pandas. The Henry Doorley Zoo is much nicer but I did not mention that to our gracious tour guide.

Last stop was the Summer Palace, which would have been much more enjoyable if we were not tired and cold. We were thinking to ourselves, I bet this is a nice place to visit in the uhmm...summer. This is a very famous place in China as the emperor and his family would spend a lot of time here. The grounds were enormous and this was built into the side of the hills and had a huge man made lake. I am not doing this place justice in my description but I am out of time and need to get this posted. We left the palace and returned to the hotel. Lila found a salon next to the hotel that did pedicures and I went in search of a Starbucks...we both were happy! We finished the night with a good dinner at a French restaurant next to the hotel...I believe it was called Le Cabaret.

Hello from Beijing

We made it and we are absolutely exhausted. The 14 hour flight from Chicago to Beijing was pretty taxing as it was difficult to get comfortable. I actually slept less than Lila and she only got a couple hours of sleep. I usually don't have a problem with sleeping just about anywhere but not on this flight. When we first boarded the flight the first class passengers went left toward the front of the plane and we went to the right. We were pretty excited to see how awesome the seating was in the first cabin until we learned that was business class (not us), we were fortunate to land in economy plus seating which is one step up from economy seating as that was what we had purchased. On the way home I am concerned we won't be as fortunate and we will have little Aubree on our laps as well...needless to say it will be a true test of parenting endurance. The movie selection was pretty poor and I actually ended up watching "When Harry Met Sally" and "Toy Story"... doesn't United Airlines realize it is now 2010!!! I started out being fascinated by the automated map that showed where our plane was on its flight path as well as elapsed time and time remaining. At first it was fascinating to see we were flying straight north out of Chicago and didn't start to veer left until we were over the Hudson Bay. Eventually I found the map to be less fascinating and more of a torture device as it constantly reminded you how far we still had to go. Clearing customs in China was a breeze and not all that intimidating as we had heard from others. They did make you go through an infrared scanner that checked to see if you were running a temperature but otherwise it wasn't all that thorough. We met up with our guide Laura who is an extremely nice local young lady. She basically whisked away to a driver that was waiting and took us to the hotel. She assisted with check in and followed us to our room to make sure it was okay for us. I have attached a picture of me with Laura that we took in the lobby. The room is pretty nice but it has some unique twists. First a sign says don't drink the water as it is not suitable to drink, and the thermometer is only in Celsius so you have to convert to Fahrenheit. There is a slot inside the door where you have to place your room card key in order for the power to work in your room. There are many different power outlets but none like the good old USA, thankfully my adapter fit one of them. Tomorrow we tour the Summer Palace and plan to see the Pandas at the zoo. I just looked out the window and I can't believe it but it is snowing....Ughhh will winter never end. I will have plenty of pictures and stories to tell regarding our tours tomorrow. We are just a few days from getting Aubree!!!

The Journey Begins

Well we are off to the airport. My next post will be from Beijing. We are so excited!!!!

So far so good...we made it to Chicago and we will be departing for Beijing around noon. Lila and I are both very tired...it was a short night. I tried to sleep on the flight but we had the very last row seats on the little puddle jumper and our seats didn't recline. Surely there aren't any seats on the 14 hour flight to Beijing that don't recline. :)

Celebrating Our Caden

Our little man is very special to us and he is growing up so fast. He has taken a strong interest in school and really shows a passionate desire to learn. He has become very social and may be setting a record for birthday party invites. He has developed into quite the little athlete and is excelling in baseball and basketball. Next up will be flag football this fall. He loves to collect all kinds of sports cards and as of late he has become a huge fan of professional wrestling. He is definitely all boy but we love his sensitive side too. He is so excited to be a big brother to little Aubree (see picture above). He has been struggling a little with the fact mom and dad are going to be gone for so long when we travel to get Aubree as he doesn't understand why it should take so long. To put him at ease I told him we will use Skype to call home so he can see us and we can see him on the computer. He only had one thing to say to that idea..."Great dad I won't have to wait until you get home to see Aubree." Caden we love you so much and will be home soon.

Celebrating Our Lexi

Lexi, Lexi, Lexi....where do I begin as she is truly one of a kind. I don't know if you could refer to Lexi as a trend setter but you definitely would not call her a conformist. What you could say with absolute certainty is Lexi is Lexi, which is a wonderful combination of natural beauty, kindheartedness, compassion, fun loving and free spirited, independent confidence all wrapped up in her own unique style. Lexi has always wanted to grow up fast, when she was 9 she was anticipating 13 and when she was 13 she wanted to be 16 and ever since reaching driving age she has been ready to be on her own. She will be graduating from Millard West in May and we could not be more proud of her academic accomplishments which also seemed to come naturally because we don't remember an overall love for school or a whole lot of studying either, but we are not complaining. Like most young people she has big plans for her life but the plan seems to be in a constant stage of change. It would appear that she is going to pursue her dream of becoming a hair stylist professional by attending one of the many Paul Mitchell schools around the country. She hopes this will be the launching pad for a career in the fashion industry where she one day will style the hair of runway models. She has done her research and there is lots of competition for these careers but she is confident she has what it takes. Lexi is very excited to be finally reaching the age of 18 and with her birthday falling on the day we arrive back from China she is thrilled to be gaining the gift of a little sister. We love you Lexi!!!!

Celebrating Our Cole

We could not be more proud of our young man. Cole is now 8 years old and wrapping up second grade. He is everything a mother and father could want in a son. His mother would tell you that he has a big heart and a sweetness that can be hard to find in young boys sometimes. He excels in school and has many friends. He is very mature for his age a trait most parents can really appreciate. For a dad who loves sports I was blessed with a son who would rather watch Sports Center than Spongebob. He loves to play basketball, baseball and football. The picture above was taken in the past few days as his basketball team won the tournament championship. He has already been practicing with his baseball team for a month (indoors of course) this is a select team that will play over 40 games this season. He stepped up to tackle football this past fall and enjoys the game but still is a little unsure if he likes that much contact. He loves his little brother and his big sisters. We know Cole will be the type of big brother to Aubree that any little girl would cherish. We love you Cole!!!