We are still waiting on our documents to be ready so we had another day without any official activities. This afternoon while Dan and Katie stayed at the hotel, the rest of us went to a porcelain store. It was only after we were on the bus that they informed us that the store did not have any air conditioning. Apparently to get the best prices, you have to be willing to sweat. Afterward we made another stop by the Super Wal-Mart with the group since we had already used the numerous bottles of water we purchased over the last couple of days.

Katie has continued to express a strong preference for Dan which has made it a bit difficult on all of us. Dan would like to share some of the carrying, feeding, etc., responsibilities, and I would like to help more than I can. Prior to the trip, we had been told that it is very common for babies from an orphanage to bond to only one person in the beginning so we are trying to give her some more time to adjust with the hope that I will soon be able to be more help.

Alex is enjoying using the hotel pool (which is indoors) at least once a day. You may recall that this was on his "top four things to do in China" list. He is also getting great enjoyment out of trying to keep Katie entertained and really likes it when she smiles at him.

He did ask me this evening about how many days we had left before we leave for Guangzhou and then how many days after that before we go home so I think he will be glad when the trip is over. The trip has been great for him, though, and he now rattles off the names of Chinese cities, foods and some basic words without thinking twice about it. I think the memories of the trip will stay with him, and I hope serve as a basis for him to want to continue to learn more about other places and cultures as he gets older.

Tomorrow there is a group sightseeing trip planned in the afternoon to the Tengwang Pavilion. The current structure is relatively new, but some variation of the temple has stood on the same site for 1,300 years. Apparently this visit will include lots of stairs and no air conditioning so we are debating whether or not we will participate.

Thanks to those of you who have sent e-mails. I wanted to let you know that we are reading them but have not had much time to respond. Hope to catch up with you all soon!