It's almost here.....

Hard to believe 6 years... I just can't get over it..  And seeing all the memories come up over the last few days has been amazing as well.  I was thinking for the longest time that today was the 19th and thought how cool it was that we were all off work/school for such a big day.  but then I realized the 19th was on Tuesday.   Nian has speech and the dentist tomorrow. Happy Gotcha day lol.  and he has requested Burger King for dinner. ugh.. but it's his day so that's ok too. 

I finished decorating for Chinese New Year yesterday and really like the full panel in the hall. Wish I had put it up back when I first got it a few years ago. Changed a few things around over the weekend but I like the finished design.  We also sent for a walk/bike ride yesterday.  Sidewalks were mostly clear so it wasn't too bad for the boys.

I actually started on my closet today while working on the 333 project.  I came to the realization that maybe this "project' isn't right for me.  I figured I'll start small on this one, so I have 30 clothing items in my closest. 😏  I mean really the items I would pick for this time of year would be totally different from the other seasons.  But maybe that changes, I should probably read more about this project.  I'm excited to see if I'll head to the basement for any of the items I have "put away" for the next 3 months. We'll see how it goes, baby steps right!  so the pic below is our closet.  My new selection of cloths start at the blue sweater hanging up, it originally started where the yellow hanger is.  😵

and now on to the memories.......

We were up bright and early this am.  Luggage out by 6am and meeting George at the lobby at 630 ish.  I think most of us were dragging this am and down at breakfast for a quick bit to eat before having to leave. George actually came to get us so I'm not really sure what time we left the hotel.

We got to the airport and nervously waited to see if/who would have luggage that weighed more that what was allowed. Us and 2 others did so they had to hurry over to a special counter where you paid the fine.  THEN they could come back and  get our boarding passes. Flights in China only allow you 44lbs, in the US it's 50lbs.

We all said Goodbye to George, boarded our flight and headed to Zhengzhou. The flight was pretty short and the airline was awesome.  Large spacious seats, aisles and headroom. The food was really good too.

Welcome to China Southern.

The large roll had some sort of meat paste in it,
 not sure how it tasted since I didn't eat any of it!

 We made it to Zhengzhou, got our luggage and quickly found out guides Yisha and Vivian.  We also met the last couple in our group of 8 families/couples. Yisha went over our itinerary for the week and especially what we would be doing today once we got checked into the hotel. There was a lot of construction at the airport so it took a little longer to get out and to our hotel. On the ride there we got our beloved red lanyards with our CCAI info on them, and the most up to date information on our kids. Once we were all checked in we headed to our rooms to relax a bit before meeting for lunch.  We were greeted by a nice letter, a record able monkey, fresh fruit, a 77 degree room (which drove Joe's allergies crazy), and an awesome site to see - a grib! Nian would never use it but it made a good non screened window blocker, and catch all. And of course the bathroom had a window in it!

The seeds from the Dragon fruit would be around for days!

First thing I saw when we walked in the room!!!

We met the group downstairs to head to the hotel next door for lunch. Everyone raves about the noodles but I wasn't too impressed with them.  side note- as I was looking over our papers to update this post I noticed that my note prior to travel was about "made to order" noddle's.   Wish I had remembered that before going as I'm sure I would have liked them much better!  After lunch 1 of us had to meet in the lobby to head to the bank to exchange money.  Since it would be a much larger amount the exchange they all went to the bank.  I elected Joe to go for us and he was gone a few hours.  I think maybe I'll go next time around just to experience it. Joe said it was a slow process since they had to split the group and only 2 people could officially be listed as getting the money.  Then they had to write down the serial numbers of our money and theirs before the transaction was complete, along with getting copies of everyone's passports.

Later we headed down to Walmart to get some items for our little ones. We had our most up to date list of what foods/formula Nian was use to, what types of food he ate, and what size he was. It was a trip in itself to say the least.  I think we were there a good 2 hours or so.  We found Nian a cute little potty that I really wanted to bring home with us, the puffs that all the kids like, his formula, some fruit, more coffee cuz ya know I need my daily coffee fix. The coffee was actually really good for instant.  We also got some pop, which does have a different taste to it, and some snickers.  We also got Nian a nice Mickey Mouse bowl to use when we eat.

Walk to the left of the darker brick, and scooters to the right.

Intersection crossing.

The carts were cool they moved in all directions.

Escalator was magnetic

Walmart was a little hike from our hotel but not too bad.  CCAI now uses a hotel that is much closer to the store, AND the Starbucks which is awesome.  Further from the park but they have a great bus system there so I'm sure we'll try that next time.

The area around Walmart had lots of shops and stalls. It seemed to be the place to hang out at night as it was really busy.  The lights everywhere were pretty neat.  Bright and all over the place.