Sunday, Sunday

Today was relaxing. We woke around 6:15am and Kassie snuggled with Bill for 45 minutes. I hopped into the shower around 7am and we left the room dressed for the day around 8:20am. We met MeMa and PaPa in the breakfast buffet dining room. The buffet for breakfast is amazing and there is something for everyone. You can eat American, Chinese or European depending on what type of fare you feel like having that day. Kassie ate some fruit and her milk and then had chicken nuggets. Bill had Kassie try something new today at breakfast to see if it was a “yes”…chocolate cake. It was a definitive “NO”!!! For those of you that remember the scene in Big with Tom Hanks, if she could have wiped her tongue like he did after the caviar, she would have. The gagging and crying jag that ensued was definitely not worthy of eating chocolate. The new addition to Kassie’s diet is croissant. She reached for Bill’s, practically out of his mouth, and proceeded to munch it down. (She does not like butter, we made the mistake of giving her a bite of one of our rolls the other day with butter on it, tongue wiping again.) PaPa says I need to now learn how to make croissants, Kristin proceeded to say…can you say “BJ’s”??? She is Kristin’s daughter, biological or not, she has a flair for the drama….that is a fact!

David picked the two families up at 9:30am and we went to the oldest Buddist temple in Guangzhou. None of us can remember the name. It was very moving. There is a room/prayer hall called “Small Temple, Big Buddha”. Women of the town come to ask for good fortune. Davis told us that women come to pray for a good man and when they do find one, they come to say thanks. Then they come and pray for children and come to say thanks when they have them. There was an American family adopting a 10 year-old boy and they were kneeling at the Buddha while the monk was saying prayers, banging a bell, and wishing them good luck in their journey. It was very emotional for us all. We did have an interesting exchange with a local, Chris was reprimanded by an older woman for carrying Kassie and told to let her walk. No words were exchanged but the message was very clear. Kassie walked until we hit the bus.

Then we hopped back into the bus and drove to the pearl market. Here is something many of you will not believe….Chris and Kristin were overwhelmed and almost not going to buy something. It was jewelry overload!!! The BAGS and BAGS and BAGS of pearls, and jade, and turquoise, and agate, and more was mind-boggling. We did each buy a set of pearls….they are beautiful! We are both thrilled! (We have tried to buy a souvenir specific or a specialty from each of the cities we have visited.) Oh, Kassie got new shoes. She will be a “Carcich” girl yet. They are spangled and shiny and she likes to look at them. They are pretty, like her.

Then David took us to an amazing lunch in a restaurant he likes. He ordered some of his favorites. The shrimp in tealeaves were delicious. Italo ate the heads on the shrimp, Bill, Kristin and Chris opted to pull them off before we ate them. He ordered some broccoli, which were very plain but yummy. Some steamed egg is a favorite of children so we ordered a large plate of it. Some delicious wheat noodles in broth with bock choy and pork and then some fried rice. Kassie ate so much wheat noodles and rice – she should explode. She loves her water too….thank goodness. All of this food, we were all stuffed and we paid the bill...$100RMB (about $14) per family. Can't beat that with a stick!

Home for a nap….hahaha…..she stood in her crib, not crying and definitely not napping. We played this game for over an hour. Then we tried to get her to lay down which started a crying jag. Okay, no nap. Want to go for a walk???? A little pinching, on with shoes and out we go. Bill, Kristin and Kassie made a loop around the island. Kassie was her queen-like self in the stroller….”HI”, “la-la-la songs”, “bump bump” and “meow” for all. When it started to drizzle we came back to see MeMa and PaPa. She is napping now….a few hours late but she is napping. (By the way….a lot of what was in her paperwork….so NOT true…)

MeMa and PaPa enjoyed a quiet cappuccino while we were gone in the restaurant downstairs and watched the tugboats go by in the canal next to the hotel. It is one of the most beautiful hotels any of us have stayed in. Everything is marble and granite. The lobby’s waterfall with coy pond is stunning. (Bill says they are more than 10 lb coy – HUGE!!) Kassie likes to stand by the edge of the water and yell “Hi” to the coy. She likes the fish but I think she likes the echo of her voice in the huge lobby more.

Bill is watching some TV, Italo is catching up on his sports and I am writing. Kristin is still the “meanie” but we are working on it. Thank goodness she LOVES her MeMa and PaPa and Daddy.

All four of us LOVE to read your posts....thanks for all the comments and positive vibes. They will keep us going through the next few days.....love you all!!!