Trip to Safari Park

Today we went to Safari Park.  We went with our travel group and had a blast.  We enjoyed looking at all the animals.  Elias enjoyed looking and playing with the girls.  We walked around for four hours.  It was nice to get out and do something fun.
Even the ride there was fun as you can see.

There were many animals there that are not in all the American zoos.  We took a train ride and got to see many cool animals.  After that we walked around and got to get pretty close to some other animals.

 

Tomorrow looks to be a light day.  We go back to the medical clinic for a quick visit to check the kids's TB tests.  Afterwards, Steve and the boys will be going to an electronics store (full of CDs and DVDs and BluRays, oh my!!!) and Angela will be heading to some area shops to look for souvenirs and such.

NOTE:  Snickers bars taste better for us here.  They have been satisfying treats after long days.

Finally in Guangzhou....

We flew into Guangzhou late two nights ago.  We met many other family's during our travel.  It was nice to finally see people like us whose first language is English.  We had a great time talking with other families in the airport while we waited for our plane.  The plane ride was short and sweet.  Aside from Elias getting tired of plane rides, the kids did great with the flight.  We met even more families during baggage claim.  It is nice when you can finally put a face to a blog.
We got to our hotel around 10pm.  They gave us two room with a connecting door.  Two rooms with no room.  Basically you could walk around the beds.  With 3 kids this was not going to work.  We asked if we upgrade.  After our medical appointment we were able to check out some rooms and get a medium price suite.  It is nice to have room for the kids to play.
The medical appointment was not fun.  The kids did great considering the crowded rooms and the prodding.  We are so proud of them.  Jade did not like the doctors in her personal space, but who does.

Tonight we ate at a great Thai restaurant where the food was amazing.  It was so good we forgot to take pictures of the food.  We met up with other Heartsent families there and had fun eating and sharing food.  Afterwards one of the families came to our room and the kids got to play while Steve and I got to have a wonderful talk with their mother.  It was a rowdy but a good time.

Today we went to a Safari park.   More details on that soon.

Rainy Days in Nanning

Today and yesterday have been rainy and a little cold.  We have this little hallway/ porch that the kids can run in but they needed something bigger and more fun.

 Yesterday we were planning on going to a fish park.  When we looked outside it was rainy and cold so we  ended up at a mall with a really nice children's play area.  The kids had a blast and Steve and I had a workout.  We also were able to celebrate Elias's birthday.

After we got done playing we walked around the mall for a little bit.  We found a movie theater.  We did not watch a movie but we did look at the posters. There were two American movies there. 

Our guide David then took us to a Cantonese restaurant.  The food was amazing!! And that is pretty good coming from me. I am not very adventurous when it comes to food. 

The kids were so tired after.  

Now we are packing up and getting ready to leave Nanning.  It's been fun and exciting, but it is time to go to Guangzhou.  We are now over 2 weeks into our adventure with less than 1 week left!

Lazy Day in Nanning

With nothing to do, we relaxed most of the day in the hotel room.  Just spending family time together was time well spent.  However, we still found plenty of things to keep ourselves busy.  Mei Mei Jade borrowed Abram's ear muffs while he and Elias played with guns.  Our minds went straight to Star Wars references, but I don't want anyone saying how Abram looks a little short for a stormtrooper!

 Yesterday, our coordinator made the mistake of showing Steve where the DVD and music shop was.  It's a 10 minute walk down some side streets.  

Feeling adventurous this morning, Steve went for a walk hoping not to get lost or hit by a car.  Both seemed real possibilities with the traffic and the layout of the streets here.  Fortunately he made it back safely to share some pictures and stories.  On the way back, he stopped at an American western themed restaurant to pick up lunch for the family.  While it was fun, crossing the street here can be treacherous.  

 
 What on earth could be worth this kind of hassle?  Miyazaki.

The rest of the day was filled with calm walks in the hotel, coloring, and Chinese cartoon watching.

 ...and some silliness.

 Tomorrow we are looking forward to a morning at the park to run around.