Here is another picture from the acrobatic show. As you can see, they are balancing plates on long sticks as they walk and expand the space between the performers. They performed several stunts similar to this never once dropping a plate or missing a beat!!

Well, in a few short hours we will meet Max for the first time!! We are very excited and anxious. The other family that is adopting with us arrived this evening. Only two families (that's including us!) adopting on this journey.

I will post tomorrow if I'm able so you can all see Max!!!! I will try to post a video at some point in the near future!

Goodnight and we miss you and love you all very much, especially Sonja!!!!!!

Later that evening, we went to see the acrobats. They are amazing and pictures do not do them justice.

Dan on top of the lookout tower of the Great Wall.

Mary took us to a Cloisionne (sp?) factory where they make all of the cloisionne by hand.

The gateway to the Ming tombs

It's a long way down if you fall!

On April 14th, we visited the Great wall. This picture above is of the other, not as popular side.

Tiananmen Square

Behind us is the mote(sp?) for the Forbidden City.

For those of you not failiar with the "squatty potty" here ya go! It's kind of like a urinal built into the floor.

Here you can see one of the two larger crickets the family keeps as pet and they occasionally join them in cricket fights, which is popular in some areas of China. You can also see the "winter homes" of the crickets. They are the brown wooden items, one has 7 holes in it, the other has coiled copper wire inside the opening.

One of the family's pet cricket resting in his home.

The vases on top of the cabinet was the lady of the houses dowery.

L to R- Lady of the house, myself, Dan and our local hutong guide Jane. The man of the house was preparing dinner in the kitchen.

Pictured above is the family that we visited Hutong.It is four buildings in a square shape with a courtyard in the middle. This particular family was considered wealthy as their hutong has an indoor bathroom complete with shower.

Here we are with our pedicab driver. He was not a very big man but he was strong. He could maneuver the cab into the narrowest areas at a pretty good clip, never touching a thing.

We will post later on today. Hope you are enjoying our journey! Much love Dan and Tina!!!

Men paving the courtyard using hand trowels.

This little girl was very sweet but quite shy but that didn't stop her from going over to Danny and sitting on his lap.

This little man I was told loved me and wanted very much to go home with me. When we tried to leave, he wouldn't go back into the classroom and was teary eyed as we left. I wish so badly we could have taken him home. He was so sweet and handsome.

We also visited a kindergarten class. The children were very happy to see us and all were very loving and happy.

Extreme close -up of Danny in the pedicab

Well, we are a little late updating the blog as we have been very busy. We are doing very well and hope you all are doing well also.

Our guide Mary has been very helpful to us and has given us a wonderful experience thus far. Mary happens to be Franks ( our facilitator during our adoption journey for Sonja) sister in law. Yesterday (for us), we visited the "Forbidden City". It's amazing to see their ancient history so well preserved and Mary also is very knowlegdeable about all of the history of China and Beijing.

We also were given the privlege of visiting a local family in the Hutong district, a district that was built in the Ming dynasty. We were welcomed with Jasmine tea, sunflower seeds and nuts. The family has lived in that house since the Ming dynasty.

The photo above is one of our pedicab driver during our Hutong district tour. You may be able to see some of the "homes" and the narrowness of the streets.

Mary said tomorrow she is taking us to the Hutong district, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, to visit with a local family and try different teas at a tea shop. Sounds like a pretty full day.

We hope everyone is well and we love and miss you!!!

The Marble boat

Say "CHEESE"

Giant Lions that Protect the compound

The gate you enter going into "The Summer Place"