We arrived in Beijing!

[Note: Chris and Tiffany are not able to make posts at this time inside China. Anna Mei's Uncle Greg is serving as guest blogger and making the posts.]

And what a trip it has been so far!  We woke early in Thursday morning at home, did our final preparations, said goodbye to the dogs, and we were off to the airport in a car by 8 AM.  A minor hiccup 5 minutes from home when our driver bumped the car in front of us while coming to a stop in New Hope!  It could only be blamed on the enormous amount of weight our family combined with our luggage created!  No damage, and no delay.  The kids got a start on their homework right away in the car on the way to the airport, and have already begun writing in those journals! Newark airport was quiet, and the plane got off on time.  Thank god for individual video players on every seat back, as the entire 14 hour flight experience was completely entertaining for everyone in the family.  A networked poker game between all the boys on the video monitor was a highlight.  Only Wil slept a bit, and Chris and I got a few cat naps, which the boys would live to regret later!

We met our guide, Mrs. Li, as well as the two other families traveling with us in the airport, and boarded a bus for the Beijing hotel.  This is when the fatigue began to really set in.  It was 4 PM on Friday, China time, and no hope of sleep was in sight as Mrs. Li discussed getting rooms, exchanging money, and going out for a Peking Duck dinner.  With a minor room mix-up (they wanted to give us our "adjoining" two rooms on separate floors) we had it straight and headed up.  Our hotel is filled this weekend with Chinese dignitaries from around the country, so all rooms are full, and there is tight airline style security at all entrances!  Well, within the first 5 minutes of being in the room, Wil managed to get himself locked in the bathroom.  He could not turn the lock back to get out.  So, now the crazy American family has to have a guy at the front desk come up to rescue our son from the bathroom.  Those of you who know Wil, know he handled it just fine.  No tears, and he found humor in the situation right away.  Sooner than mommy did, I'm afraid. 

The day was not over yet! Time to go to dinner!  We walked Wang Fu Jing street to "the" place to have Peking Duck.  We are told every president and traveling dignitary goes to this place.  The duck itself was outstanding, and we enjoyed getting to know Mrs. Li and the other families.  Unfortunately, Alex fell asleep at the table, Wil dropped his glass of watermelon juice and it smashed on the floor, and Christopher nearly threw up at taking one bite (I think it was the exhaustion), and then fell asleep with his head on the table.

But the day was still not over!  Upon getting back to the room, we were ready to crash, but the kids had their second wind!  I thought I'd lose it!  OK, I did.  Twenty five hours into the day, we finally fell asleep. 

…writing this at 6 AM…we've been up since 4 AM.  Wil has been up since 2 AM China time, and we found him around 4 AM sitting in his bathroom surrounded by his math homework pages and a set of crayons.  Too cute.  But we all feel rested and excited about the adventure ahead!  Today: the Great Wall of China, and the Summer Palace!