Last Day in China

We wanted to keep our last day in China pretty simple.  We had breakfast with our friend, Evie, which may have involved several rounds of Ring Around the Rosie in the middle of the dining area.  We also spent time packing and repacking.  Lixia was quite the helper with putting items in the suitcases.  

To help pass the time until our flight late in the day, we walked down the street to an Aeon department store.  On the third level, there was a playplace.  Lixia spent several hours there playing.  She was a little skittish around some things as I am certain this was a new experience for her.  The ball pit seemed to be a favorite once she got the hang of it.  Once we returned to the hotel, we went to the hotel playground one last time.

Around 4:30 pm, Kelly (our guide) delivered the final paperwork to our hotel.  This was the special sealed packet that had to remain sealed until we delivered it to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Dallas.  Around 7:00 pm, we departed the hotel and headed to the Guangzhou airport to begin our trek home.   Lixia had been bouncing around all day telling everyone she was going on an airplane home.  Her excitement was so heart-warming.  We arrived at the airport and had to say our goodbyes to our guide, Kelly.  I teared up a bit when saying goodbye and before we knew it, Lixia was crying too.  We're not sure if she was crying because I was, or if she was scared, or who knows.  Unfortunately, we learned that our long flight from Hong Kong to Dallas had been delayed 6 hours and our connections had to be re-booked; thus, the cancellation of the welcome home party.  This was a super quick flight from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.  Lixia did great and even fell asleep for a while.   Once we arrived in Hong Kong, we took a taxi to our hotel.  Lixia had no motionsickness while we were in China, but she did on this drive.

Breakfast with Evie

Loving on Evie

Enjoying the ballpit

Our wonderful guide, Kelly

Airport selfie

Cancellation

The airport welcome home party is cancelled due to unexpected travel delays.

US Adoption Finalization

Today we had our U.S. Consulate appointment to finalize Lixia's adoption.  We were there with many other families who have become friends.  Unfortunately, our bag and phones had to stay at the security checkpoint so we were not able to take any photos inside.  All of our paperwork is finally finished and we will receive her VISA tomorrow.  As soon as she lands on U.S. soil, she will be a U.S. citizen.  

Afterwards, our guide, Kelly, took us and another family to Yuntai Garden.  The park was really beautiful and full of bright, vibrant colors.  This was our first day here that it has not rained which was nice but it was extremely hot and humid.  After a short stroll around the park, we were ready to be done with sightseeing.  We decided to spend some time in the pool.  Lixia likes to "swim," put her head under water, and today Chris taught her how to blow bubbles.

We headed to dinner with our favorite hotel buddies, Evie and Mathis.  We went to an Italian buffet and Lixia ate really well (3 plates full).  The kids had fun playing together and I'm sure are going to miss each other when it is time to part ways.  Speaking of which, we begin our trek home tomorrow.  It has been an enjoyable trip and great bonding time, but we are beyond ready to be home.  Lixia wants to ride the airplane home everyday although she is not too eager to see Bessie, our dog.

We are so appreciative of all of the thoughts, prayers, and supportive comments during this journey to bring Lixia home as our child.  For anyone interested, you are invited to join us at University of Illinois Willard Airport in Champaign on Wednesday, September 14th at 8:30 PM to welcome her home for good.  She will be so excited to see everyone.

Ready for our Consulate Appointment

The only picture we took there

After making it official

Yuntai Garden

Posing with one of the statues

Beautiful

Posing for a picture

Swimming

Blowing bubbles

Dinner with friends

Fun times

Last dinner together

Free Day Plus Sightseeing

Today was another free day for us.  After breakfast, Chris and I got foot and shoulder/back massages.  They applied much pressure but we felt very relaxed afterwards.  Lixia pretended to help and she was very patient.  We grabbed lunch at OGGI which is a pizza place.  It was a nice change and even Lixia seemed to enjoy it.  We did some boutique shopping near our hotel.  Lixia had fun trying on different dresses and twirling around.  We were trying to kill some time because it was raining again.  We were getting close to time on when we were supposed to be meeting our guide for sightseeing and it was not letting up at all.  So we had to run several blocks in the pouring down rain back to our hotel.  There were several inches of water in the road because the rain was coming down so quickly.  By the time we made it back, we were all drenched!

Our guide, Kelly, took us and another family to the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall which is a family temple and not religious at all.  It was one of the few activities we could do because it was partially inside to protect us from the rain.  We toured the temple and viewed the intricate displays of wood carvings, porcelain painting, ivory carving and more.  There were also several souvenir shops.  After we were finished, we visited OneLink Plaza which is a multi-level wholesale toy market.  It is a misnomer because they actually have many items in addition to toys (household, gifts, etc.).  There were literally thousands of vendors.  We wondered around and did some more souvenir shopping.  It was great to be inside and out of the rain.

We stopped at the Guangzhou Friendship Store and ate dinner at a place called the Banana Leaf.  They serve Thai food and Lixia was thrilled to be eating noodles.  This girl requests to eat noodles all day long and generally eats 3-4 servings per sitting.

Looking at the front of the temple

Very detailed and bright, vibrant colors

This girl loves to ride in the stroller

This is one of two statues; the female one looking very playful

Very large wooden door symbolizing protection

Ornate wooden screen

Inside the temple

Inside the temple

Porcelain display

Porcelain display

Ivory  display (Ivory cannot be removed from the country without government approval)

Ivory display

Statues

Calligraphy for Lixia

He wrote her name with the Chinese characters and signed it

The Toy Market

A small glimpse into two vendor booths

Very chaotic

Turns out this girl loved the moon cake; she and mama devoured a whole one by ourselves

Free Day

We had another low key day today.  We visited an H&M store right by our hotel and Lixia enjoyed trying things on and having a fashion show.  We also walked to Martyr's Park which is several blocks from our hotel.  Our hope was that Lixia could play on the children's playground.  It rained on and off but we still enjoyed our afternoon out and about.  The park was beautiful and the pictures do not really do it justice.  The park included monuments, temples, tombs, pavilions, and a cemetery.  There was live music playing in several areas, but the children's playground was lacking so Lixia just rode around in the stroller.

Tonight we went on a river cruise with two other adoptive families from our hotel and met several others there.  The cruise consisted of riding on a boat for one hour and twenty minutes up and down the Pearl River.  It included a dinner buffet.  The guide told us to eat as soon as we could and not to wait.  There was no organization or line formation; people would just go to the dish they wanted and often would remove the serving tongs to take to their next dish of choice.  It was crazy.  The food was okay but not anything special.  The kids all seemed to love it.  Leave it to my child to select chicken feet and proceed to eat them.  It was disgusting!  Our table was on the second level and after dinner, we were able to visit the open third deck to take photographs of the City at night.  There was also an entertainer which made the children balloon animals and juggled.  Many of the kids got to be part of the show.  Lixia really seemed to enjoy the evening with friends.

The lines to purchase moon cakes for the Mid Autumn Festival are getting out of hand and zig zag all over the hotel lobby.  We are having difficulties getting to the elevators to reach our room.

Posing for a picture

Trying on a dress that twirls when she spins

Having fun with the worker in the gift shop.

Martyr's Park

Martyr's Park

Martyr's Park

Martyr's Park

Martyr's Park

Martyr's Park

Martyr's Park

Martyr's Park

Ice cream cone at McDonalds

Our boat for the Pearl River Cruise

Family picture

CHICKEN FEET?!

Canton Tower

Cityscape

Canton Tower

Just horsing around