Picked up Lyric's Visa, Out With Friends, Last Meal With the Inlaws

Sleepy Tyler

Today was another busy, fun-filled day.  It started out with taking a picture of Tyler - he was half on and half off the blow-up mattress.   We had brought two mattresses with us to China, knowing that we would need the extra beds.  They served us well the entire time, and it was well worth it to haul them around in the suit cases. 

Laurel is pretending to be a knight.

We had planned in advance to meet with the Bates Family for a walk around the town and for lunch so we headed over to their hotel, the White Swan,  after breakfast.  On the way we took pictures of the children with the many statues that are around the island.  In the first one, Laurel is pretending she is a knight.  In the second, she is fighting the pawn.  In the third, Laurel and Lyric are with the rest of the children, following the music player, and in the last one, I think Carissa is showing off how tall she is by leaning on the child's head!  (It's official, Carissa is now taller than I am!)

We really enjoyed walking around town with the Bates family.  I know for sure that Laurel and McKenna liked skipping and hopping along!  We ended up taking the Bates to our favorite restaurant and successfully ordered a bunch of good food.  If I remember correctly, when we were all done, we were stuffed.   On the main floor of the restaurant, Kevin and I ended up buying a bunch of single-yoked moon cakes so we could take them home with us to share with friends and family.

Laurel is fighting the Rook.

Toward the end of our walk-about with the Bates family we stopped at another McDonalds for some coffee and hot chocolate.  We sure did visit McDonalds a lot in China!  I don't think we go there that many times in a year back in the States!

After our walk with the Bates, we parted ways and headed back to our room for a bit.  I remember that Kevin had a bunch of business work he had to get done in the hotel room.  It was hard for him to be away from his business for as long as what he was, but in the end everything worked out great.  We rested a little in the room and then it was time to meet Brad, Jieying, and the Wu's for one last meal together.  The Wu's took us to a restaurant that served hot pot.  This time, we had clams in it.  

For some reason my stomach wasn't feeling well that evening so I decided to pass on the clams and just stuck with a few bites of bread and vegetables.  Each of the children hesitantly tried the clams, and Laurel wanted to take the shells home with her!  It was really nice of the Wu's to take us to dinner there. The kids enjoyed the rest of the meal and the evening with Brad, Jieying and her parents. 

Before we knew it, our meal had come to a close and it was time for us to get the kids back to the hotel room.  If memory serves me correctly, we did a little bit of souvenir shopping on our way back to our hotel.  Even though it was late, there were still some shops open.  The kids bought some gifts for friends, and I bought a few little items for stocking stuffers for Christmas.

All the little children following the violin player.

When we got back to the hotel room, I had a lot of packing to do.  In the morning we were taking the train to Beijing! 

We had a wonderful time in Guangzhou, touring the area, and visiting with Brad's in-laws.  It is an experience we will never forget. 

Enjoy the pictures.

Carissa showing off how tall she is!

McKenna and Laurel - two peas in a pod.

Bikes, like the one on the left, are pretty common.

The entrance to our favorite restaurant in Guangzhou.

Caught on camera - Carissa using her hands and Tyler using his chopstick like a spear!

Side street.

Big Mac, Fila-a-Fish, Quarter-Pounder, French Fries... You deserve a break today at McDonalds...

Two beautiful girls drinking hot cocoa together.

One beautiful girl drinking hot cocoa.

Laurel is sniffing her clams.  She wanted to keep the shells...

Sitting around the table for hot pot.

Laurel, delighted with her new glasses.

First Lyric, then Jieying, then Jieying's mom - all in different stages of taking a bite.  Cute.