Always & Forever: Eighth Day in Guangzhou - Chen Clan Academy and Pearl Market

Breakfast :)

View of the pond, gardens, and waterfall


Greyson's favorite place on an elevator.

Today, we did some familiar sights and a little shopping (okay, mostly April did the shopping)! We started with the Chen Clan Academy (Guangzhou Folk Art Museum). Mark and I were a little less than thrilled to see this AGAIN, for the 4th time. However, it was neat for our kiddos to experience it. There are some pretty neat artists and artwork on display. We love watching the gentleman that uses only his hand, fingers, and fingernails to make the most amazing paintings! This is also the place we buy chops (stamps with the kiddos American and Chinese names on them) carved out of stone. They will arrive at our hotel tomorrow. All of our kiddos, including Jayson and Brayden, have them now.

No brush used, only hand and fingernails

We then headed to the Pearl Market. I needed to get Kristyn wedding pearls, so that all of the girls would have something from China for that special day. We took awhile finding the perfect strand that wouldn't break the bank (not even close, I'm not paying a fortune when I don't really know what I am doing). Then, it was time for fun shopping... Cheap jewelry!! I love to find $2-$3 bracelets!!

Floors and more floors... ALL jewelry!! :)

Stringing Kristyn's wedding pearls

Kristyn's pearls and some cheap jewelry for mama!!

Yesterday was boxing, today the lobby was set up for the "Adventures on the Silk Road Ball"! It was really cool. We took a few pictures early on. When we set out for dinner tonight, the guests were arriving. Talk about feeling under-dressed!! They had beautiful gowns. We decided to sneak out the entrance and walk the long way around to get to our destination.

Couldn't quite capture the beauty in the lobby!

Some of the staging earlier in the day

I tried to get an idea of the ball gowns. They were spectacular!

When we returned, we decided to try an evening swim. We were the only family at the pool for the longest time. Then, one other family joined us. Their newest addition is from Kristyn's orphanage, so they were enjoying seeing each other again. We decided they were comparing how crazy their new families were! :) It was beautiful swimming! It is an outdoor pool. The pool lights were on, the buildings around were all lit up and planes kept flying way overhead. Absolutely awesome!