We had our Consulate Appointment this morning! Greyson and Kristyn are citizens when they
set foot on US soil, but until that point they are still citizens of
China. Since they travel on a Chinese
passport, they need a US visa. So, we
ate breakfast, piled in a van with three other returning families and made our
way to the medical clinic. We got out,
received our kiddos’ medical reports and added them to the paperwork we had
prepared for today. Our guide walked us
to the Consulate and showed us the way in.
Then, we were on our own. We all
needed US passports to get inside, except for the newest two, so no
guides. It was a lot of waiting and two
visits to the windows to turn in our paperwork and get fingerprinted. We aren’t allowed to take cameras, so you
will have to take our word for it.
After walking back to the medical clinic, we boarded the van
and rode back home. A quick change out
of our “dressy” Consulate clothes and visit to the bathroom and we were back in
the lobby. Our guide took us to a
restaurant for a traditional Cantonese meal.
There was a HUGE table with a lazy-susan and food that kept coming and
coming! IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! Mark and Brayden didn’t eat much, if
anything. Jayson had some noodles, pork,
rice, and bread. The rest of us ate
TONS!! Meilynn and Kaitlyn even braved
SQUID!! :( Not me, thank you very much!
Back to the hotel for another quick bathroom stop, then we
headed to the zoo. We started this zoo
visit with a 20 minute ride on a tram all around the zoo. It was AWESOME! Then, we spent 1.5 hours walking to see the
animals we wanted to visit. The pandas
were inside and hard to see, but it was still neat. The lions gave us quite a show when they
spent about 2 minutes roaring back and forth to each other! It was hot, but so worth it. It started to POUR as soon as we left the
zoo.
Now, if the rain would just let up so that we could get
dinner! Brayden accompanied me, possibly for the last time, on a quick run over to McDonald's for 40 nuggets, cheeseburger, spicy chicken sandwich, and 8 fries! :)
Tomorrow is packing day and then we leave the next morning
(your Wednesday night)!!
Yah!! Almost on your way home! So how did you manage to trap Greyson in the stroller for the day?! I bet he will keep you busy for awhile until he gets settled in, and Krystin looks like she has been with you guys forever :-) Are you ready for your version of Eight is Enough?? (Of course, it is never enough, is it April? wink wink ;-) ) Prayers for a safe and uneventful trip home.
ReplyDeleteWe are so close!! Greyson actually LOVES the stroller! He's such a little guy and his mobility makes him a little slower than everyone else, so this speeds us up. Kristyn actually gets a little grumpy, as she would like to be in the stroller also. However, her older brother is quite a bit smaller and fits. :) Thank you for the prayers for our trip home. We are ready... but... there are so many cuties on those agency lists... ;) I think I just need to get home and squeeze my Littles!! :)
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