T-minus 24 hours and counting…

Well, it’s the last push to get everything ready for Tian. Maids came yesterday. House got a good deep cleaning (not that it needed it). Luis will have the garage completed before we get back. We finished up most of the packing with, as planned, room to spare. The to-do list is getting shorter! Kerry was up REALLY late last night. At 11pm, she had “crazy” in her eyes!  I have to think it was after 2am when she came to bed. Heck, it could have been 4am because she barely moved this morning. But I do know this… Whatever she needed to do, she got done.

We arrive on Thursday. I saw Beijing’s forecast this morning for Thursday – Sunday. Highs in the 50’s, lows in the mid 30’s. Brrrr. Not exactly the weather I wanted while touring Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, but definitely better than 90’s. We travel again on the 4^th. The weather then warms and it should be beautiful in Zhengzhou and Guangzhou.

 

We got a group email last week with all the families replying with introductions, which was quite nice. I’m really looking forward to meeting the others in Beijing. Our new best friends will be the Goodman, Katris, Mayhorn, Vigil, Williamson, Griffiths, Lofton, Raymond and Smith Families. The Smith’s are bringing their 11 year old daughter, Hanna. Very cool that Hunter will have someone else there his own age. According to the travel packet, it appears we will be the first family to arrive.

And the hotels look to be fantastic. In Beijing, we will be staying at http://www.qianmenhotel.com/en/index.html , In Zhengzhou, we will be staying at http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/zhengzhou/cgoch/hoteldetail/photos-tours and in Guangzhou, we will be staying at http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/canmc-china-hotel-a-marriott-hotel-guangzhou/ .

Today my thoughts are with my family and friends (really everyone) in the Northeast today. Hurricane Sandy put a beat down on NJ and NY. I hope everyone is safe, warm and dry. Also, I hope the storm did not affect anyone in our travel group. Our flights are the last thing any of us need to be worrying about.

And finally, We went to dinner with my Mom and Dad last night. Ole’ BillyBob saw Tia’s room for the first time. Wow.  He was completely overwhelmed. It was obvious that it finally became real to him. No longer just 6 years of talk.

Next time you hear from me, it will be from China. Google is unavailable there, so my beautiful sister-in-law, MaryAnn, is going to post for me. Thanks again for letting me share! And thank you so much in advance to MaryAnn, Marilyn and Jeff, Luis and Angie, Felix and Yvette, Kim and Williston for helping out while we are gone.
~DP