Thursday, August 24, 2006

After sleeping in (oooh!) and a delicious breakfast (ahhhh!) Gramma volunteered to watch the kids while Jason and I did a little shopping. It was nice to spend some time together and buy some great souvenirs.

I know that I mentioned that Hunan province is known for its very spicy food, but the Chinese people also refer to Hunan babies as “spicey girls.” So for the past 2 days, whenever we are asked where our daughter is from and we tell them Hunan, the people all respond with a smirk on their face saying, “ahhh, spicy girl!” Now, up until today I wouldn’t have described Ellen as spicy, but today some of the spice came out! She is feeling a little better, but did not want anyone but Mommy holding her today (not even Daddy). If anyone tried to hold her she would arch her back as hard as she could and squirm and scream until they let go! OK, maybe she’s got more than a little spice in her, but we love her just the way she is!

This afternoon the men and women split up with our guides. Jason and the boys were taken to toy stores and found some really fun things. Connor bought some PS2 games and Spencer got a pair of light-up wheels for his shoes. Gramma, Tara, Ellen and I were taken to the pearl market. This was a very fun experience. There were thousands of beautiful pearls and we could pay with our Visa-even better! After I bought a few things, they gave Ellen a tiny little pearl bracelet-it is so cute! Tara and her friend, Quinn, picked up many miscellaneous pearls and beads from the floor of the store. When they gave them to the saleswoman, she said they could just keep them-they were in heaven!

This evening we took a boat ride along the Pearl River. It was a beautiful night and really fun for the kids. We ate dinner on the boat and just soaked up the scenery along the way. So many buildings were lit up-it was a sight to see! The kids said this was definitely one of their favorite experiences on our trip!

Tomorrow we head to the Embassy and 2 of the families in our group will be leaving after that. I can’t believe our trip is coming to an end. We have made some good friends during this experience and we will miss them!