Yesterday was non-stop! We left at 8:00 a.m. for Tianmen Square and a Hutong Tour. Tianmen was majestic as always. An added bonus was that the American flag was flying along side the Chinese flag on the avenue in front of the Forbidden City. How cool is that!!!! The day was absolutely gorgeous; blue sky, light breeze and moderate temperatures.

The rickshaw tour was breathtaking in lots of different ways. First, it's humbling to see how so many Beijing residents live. A family of four living in the space of a good sized living room is unimaginable to us. On the tour, we visited the Hutong home of Mr. Cricket. He was a lively older gentleman that told us all about the intricacies of cricket fighting. Cricket fighting! Who knew??? He also is the owner of two of the largest grasshoppers that I've ever seen. He keeps these beasts in a gourd house and coaxes them out by gently turning the gourd. Both crickets were probably five inches long! I've got pictures but I just don't think they do justice to the mutants.

After leaving Mr. Cricket's house we ventured to a different section of the Hutong in our rickshaw. This involved crossing several lanes of city traffic. YIKES! At one point, Larry and I were sure that our driver was playing chicken with a city bus. We made it through relatively unscathed. I've got some great video of the entire incident, but please pardon the profanity!!! By the way, I think our driver had a little "thing" for me. After each stop, he insisted on tucking the lap blanket under my butt and legs, always patting my leg before he got back on the bike. At first, I didn't think much about it, but I asked some of the other ladies if their driver tucked the blanket under their butts and they just laughed. I think I feel dirty!

We came back to the hotel after the Hutong Tour for a two hour break before the acrobatic show. We ate lunch, took a tiny nap and then headed out again. The show was amazing. The young performers demonstrated unimaginable feats of strength and flexibility. After the show we came back to the hotel and headed out for my favorite Peking Duck restaurant. With the duck finished, we came back to the hotel packed our suitcases and headed to the spa for a massage. Hey Mom, I spent my birthday money at the spa! You told me to buy something for something for myself that I normally wouldn't buy. An 85 minute massage turned me into a limp noodle. At midnight, Larry and I somehow managed to find our way back to the room and then hit the sack.

Joy, our guide, arranged for the bell boys to pick up our luggage this morning at 6:30 a.m. so that we don't have to check it at the airport. That's pretty cool! All we need to do now is shower, eat breakfast and prepare our carry on's for our 8:50 hotel departure.

Did I mention that today is GOTCHA day???? YES! All of the months of waiting have come down to this day. "This time next year" has become this afternoon!!!!!!

We'll try to write later once we have Kaitlyn depending on how cooperative she is. Please pray that she makes this transition well.