getting closer...

We got our itinerary today for our in-country travel. We will have two days in Beijing. We will pick Jia Lu up on the afternoon of the 12th. We are staying in pretty modern Western hotels. That should be good for comfort and convenience, since this is not really an adventure travel vacation. Two of the hotels have golf ranges inside the hotel, one has a bowling alley. It looks like if we are up to it we should have a few days in each city for sightseeing. I hope we get a chance to do some of that.

We got our tickets

I purchased our airline tickets today. We went to a very wonderful travel agency here in Lynnwood, recommended by the agency. I think they recommendthem to everyone, we are just lucky they are in our backyard. Yen is very delightful to work with (and the agency is called Delightful Travel). She knew all the ins and outs of traveling to China. She made sure we had four seats together coming home (instead of two and two) because she said we are a new family and we should all sit together. She even told me how to pronounce Jia Lu's name (and we have been pronouncing it right).

Here We Come!

We got our final notice and travel approval today, just three weeks after our letter of confirmation, and 3 weeks earlier than expected! Yikes! We are on the way. We are probably going to leave November 8, spend a couple of days in Beijing acclimating (a little) and Kyle and Paul can see The Wall and a couple of other biggies. Then, we will get her on November 12, and be home November 21. We are just waiting a day or two to get a confirmation of our US consulate appointment, which will hopefully be November 19.

Thank you Gamma and Pappy

The room is complete. It was a family effort. Gamma made the shades and quilt for the bed and Pappy made a nice shelf to go on the dresser. Paul, Kyle and I hang out in there sometimes. I don't know if it isi because we are excited or because it is the cleanest room in the house (for now).

Happy Birthday

Happy 2nd birthday to Linnea Jia Lu! We are thinking about you.