Summer time with the Family

Nothing is like Grandma's love!



Aunt Jody got Jake giggling so cute!

Ying Li is the newest family member and it looks like she is destined for greatness!!!
(sorry, we couldn't help it)



Here are Hannah, Corin,CJ, Joseph and Mei Li-the 2nd level of Thomas Grandchildren; the first level was Chase, Samantha and Sarah, and the third level is Mia, Ying Li and Jake


When My family gets together, all things are possible.
My brother Joe and his wife April came with their 3 kids; Joseph, Mia and new baby Jake to Texas to visit with my parents and the rest of the clan.
My sister Jody and her husband David came with their 2 daughters Corin and Hannah, Chase could not make it this trip.
My sister Sandra brought CJ and Sarah with her as Samantha stayed at home.
Here are some summer photos
Jake looks amazed at Aunt Sandra's boobs!

Reminds me of a Simon & Garfunkle song- "beat your children well....."

Uncle Joe's delts are as big as his head

Happy Father's Day Daddy

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Good bye White Swan Hotel. A few airports later- we were home! We went from Guangzhou to Hong Kong then HK to San Fran then to Austin.
Mei Li was a great traveler. Ying Li was better than we could have imagined. Jann had her in the carrier most of the time so whe'd sleep and keep the business class people happy.
The look on Mei Li's face is after she woke up- 7 hours into the trip with 7 more to go!

Oh, I was so happy to go to HK and relax a bit before going on the long flight. All I wanted was a salad at the Excelsior hotel.
When we got to Hong Kong, Jann met with a guy he does business with.
Imagine what it was like when Jann called to say he had invited us to dinner- CHINESE food!!!!!!!!!!no way!!!!!!!!!!
OK, it happened to be Excellent.

Sisters

I just love these outfits on the girls- they are both size 8...:}

Guangzhou photos

In Guangzhou we were kind of tired of taking photos, but here is a group of people singing together. I heard kids singing so I raised the camera up and took this photo through a window.
Mei Li, Ying Li and me with the sculpture of changing Chinese women.












I have always thought it was not coincidence that this sculpture of the big woman was just outside Lucy's restaurant (for those who do not know, it sells regular "American type food".)

Hot Pot- great for kids

Well, we all went to a restaurant for hot pot- it is a specialty of Chongqing.

Small room, 8 families, 8 kiddos, boiling water, raw meat- hey! what else could you ask for?

It was actually fun.

Since it was Ying Li's 1st birthday, they bought a big cake. It had all the kiddos' names on it because several kiddos had b-days around the same time.

OK, now add fire and smoke to the party.

Chongqing sightseeing

Well, Jann found his TV watching buddy! Mei Li has been so helpful. Here is a photo we saw lots of- Jann holding Ying Li sleeping on the bus.

We went to an Old Town and walked around- this was place where you followed a path with your eyes closed and tried to touch the Dragon's tongue.

I followed the raised path by placing my foot halfway on the edge so I could feel where it turned- we did it perfectly! (my brother Joe would be proud)

You can be glad there is no "smell-o-blog" since there were strange mixtures of scents along the way. (never SAW a horse, but...)

Have to interrupt the Update due to a blow out

As I was trying to upload photos and update the blog, Jann hollered from the living room, "Photo Opportunity!"
He came in holding Ying Li out at arm's length...she had exploded in her diaper and it was all up her back.
It was a mess! She is now bathed, the clothing is soaking in the washer and I have to go get Mei Li from daycare.
:}

"I've got some good news and bad news"..things you do not want to hear at the Consulate in China

Well, I am finally getting to the computer to post some more and to round out the trip home.
Before I do that, I wanted to go back to the day we took the bus to the US Consulate for the Swearing in and the US Visas so we could all go home.
There were about 55 families in the room from several agencies.
When the man came out, he said something like, "I have some good news and some bad news....I'll just have to go ahead and tell you that we have been having problems with the visas. The problem is with the computers in Washington. The paperwork is all done and ready as far as the Consulate in China goes- just they can't print them or something"....Yep! I bet you can imagine the feel of the air sucking out of the room as everyone's thoughts went to- How the heck can we get our tickets changed? How will we stay another night? The hotel was booked...etc.
Ends up they had trouble starting on Monday with processing visas- this time only 8 families got them. They hoped to work at it all evening...They thought they'd have them by the morning- but could not be sure.
On the way back, people scrambled to re-do their travel plans. Some got dropped off at Airline ticket locations to try to do it, others called from their rooms. We were lucky as we planned to go to Hong Kong the next day and spend the night- and we had exchangeable tickets!
Luckily the call came at 11:30pm from our guide who got the visas. Jann went to pick them up in her room and all was well. The families were able to get their flight arrangements changed back so all was well.

Red Couch photos

We got th ephotos but I need someone to email me a better group photo. Ours are only from the side and the kiddos are not looking our way.