We had a great day at the Safari today. It was about a 40 minute drive from the hotel and it was well worth it. We took an hour-long tram ride through the park where some wild animals walked right up to us (like at Lazy 5 Ranch in North Carolina) and other, more dangerous animals were kept behind guarding. After the ride we walked through the area that is more like a traditional zoo - but a really good one. During the walk, Lee and Katie were able to feed a baby white tiger, and Francie and I sat with a monkey. Of course, the real treat was to see the pandas. I think we saw nine that were very close and a ton of fun to watch.
It was a long morning, so we took an easy afternoon. Francie and Lee got afternoon baths and snuggled together to watch TV. We went to dinner and on the way met a family who was adopting their fifth this week. They joined us for dinner and it was nice to get to know them.
Here are a couple of other pictures taken during the day. From the e-mails that we get it sounds like family and friends are more anxious to see the pictures than read about the things that I babble about.
We are off to the botanical gardens tomorrow and then the people in town start to change again. Dan and Frances return from Xian on Monday night and my mom and Greg will go to Hong Kong for two days starting Tuesday morning. Also Tuesday morning Dan and I plan to take a quick day trip to the orphanage in Shantou to see where Francie has been living. It is great to have our family here with us and have enough support for people to take advantage of an opportunity to be in Asia and explore.
I look forward to hearing about your trip to Shantou. We did not have an opportunity to go when we were there in July.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, you have a beautiful daughter!
Gary and Dawn
Wooster, Ohio
Congratulations! She is so beautiful and looks so happy to be with you. You are a beautiful family of 4! What a fun time this must have been at the zoo! Can't wait to see you all when you get back.
ReplyDeleteMystina
DH Ken
DS Micah
DD Olivia ~ Fujian, China
We really enjoy your posts and check in every day. The pictures are great and so is the babble. I love hearing about how Lee and Francie are interacting.
ReplyDeleteHi!! I am just curious since our daughter will be about the same age as Francie when we get her. Is she a 2T, or way smaller. She looks tiny but I can't tell. What about shoes? And are you doing pull-ups.
ReplyDeleteI look at her and Lee and I can't help but think that's going to be us before we know it and somehow it doesn't seem real.
Congratulations, she is just precious. Those dimples!! And you know there are some pictures where I think her and Lee have very similar little delicate features. Have you noticed that?
Jennifer
I love logging on to see all the new pics and read about your adventures. I am jealous of the safari! Julie
ReplyDeleteI love to read all about how things are going. I'm so glad that you are able to get out of the hotel and see parts of Asia. The zoo looks fantastic! The pictures are wonderful too...Francie is beautiful and looks so happy to be a part of your family. We can't wait to meet her.
ReplyDeleteYou're not babbling, Randy. It's great to be able to hear what's going on .. mostly so well ... as well as seeing the pictures
ReplyDeleteI call and read these notes to Mom too
Keeping enjoying it all
Dad
Hi guys - It is so fun to see Francie (she is truly adorable & what a great smile!) and to see how quickly she is getting comfortable with her dad, her mom, and her brother. Wow, you guys are blessed with such beautiful kids. Lee's big brother pride and excitement is outstanding. Hang in there with the additional week in China; you'll soon be home and settling in as a family of FOUR!!
ReplyDelete