Day 3: City park and Museum

 

Last night was another good night of sleep for us all. Awake at 5:30 but snuggle time till 6!  All in all, Baby Girl is doing really well with all the transitions.  Her mornings are playful, day time is spent in happily in the Moby Wrap (thanks, Sarah Richmond - life saver here!!), and afternoons are still fussy.  When she woke up, we thought her cold was gone, but slowly started to hear it come back as we went through our day.  Prayers still needed for her get well.  All of the guides/ English speaking locals comment that she has a cold and needs to get well. 

 

All of our adoption appointments are finished as of yesterday (Monday), and the rest of the week is spent sight-seeing.  (Seems like an {almost} complete waste of time and money when we have boys to get home to, but we are thankful  for the opportunity to see a little of her Province!)  Our first stop this morning was the Lanzhou Park on the Yellow River.  Most fascinating here were these sheep skin rafts that used to be used to float down the river.  The locals would kill and skin the sheep, dry the skin, then blow air into the skins to create pontoons.  You can still take a float down the river on these and I fully intend to before we leave!  Today, Baby Girl was asleep on me in the Wrap, so I would have had to wake her up to have some fun.  Her happy sleeps are far more important right now!

 

 

 (Lanzhou Park on the Yellow River)

 

Sheep skin rafts 

 

 Family at Park 

 

  travel group at park

 

Next stop was the Gansu Provincial Museum.  This museum has artifacts that date back 8,000 years and were found along the Silk Road running this area! All were found in this province and some were found when the Chinese had to dig down under the ground to make safe havens from the Russians nuclear bomb tests.  Robbie has enjoyed asking prodding questions about what was before the 8,000 years (it was 5,000 year old history in Beijing). All 4 guides have said that the monkeys were before that time.  It is safe to say that he has left more for them to think about!

 

 Flying horse (national symbol of Chinese tourism - artifact found in Gansu Province)

 

ancient silk

 

After the museum, our guide took us to an authentic Chinese restaurant that serves beef noodle soup.  The beef noodles are "stretched noodles" and are said to have originated from this area.  The girls were turning their noses up when we walked in but actually thought they were okay to eat!  Not great, but not bad either! They were served with chopsticks, which we tried using, but quickly asked for a fork so that we wouldn't be there all day!

 

 

Mamas and Babies

 

 Girls eating Beef Noodle Soup

 

 Girls in the city

 

Our driver, dropped our 2 families and our guide off at a local supermarket to finally shop for some baby supplies.  We were able to find Extra Virgin Olive Oil and garlic to make BG some garlic oil drops.  We had to make a makeshift double broiler, to make it work, but thankful that we have a boiling pot in the room for these needs!

 

Supermarket

 

Making garlic oil in the bathroom

 

 

We were also told that we should have all laundry completed in province where it cheaper than Guangzhou.  Well, the couple we are traveling with had their laundry serviced here at the hotel and received a bill for $200!!  Oh my word!  So thankful that we brought laundry detergent to wash our clothes in the sink!  As soon as we heard their price, we started washing immediately and have been washing ever since!

 

 

Our afternoon was spent in the room (washing more clothes!) and consoling BG. We went to our new friends from Washington state's room for a change of scenery and BG finally played on the floor for a good while!  She also ate some of their boiled egg from breakfast, which she loved and never would have gotten from me!  Glad to know what she likes so we can give her some at breakfast! And now, the girls stayed in our friends' room to watch Lion King with their little girls while BG came back to our room where she is still playing happily!!!  Halleluiah! 

 

These are long days and each night I can't wait to hit the pillow!  We are tired and dreading flying Friday, especially with a sick girl, but know that each day gets us closer to home!  Thanks so much for lifting us up in prayer!