Every morning and night we have been able to video chat with the boys back home. It has been such a blessing to be able to keep in contact with them like this and helps ease this momma's heart from missing them so much. It's also been fun to keep in touch with Stephen and Rachel and Lois and Calvin who are keeping the boys while we are gone. Stephen and Rachel moved in our house the first week, with their two own boys, and took over...and what a blessing that has been! Honestly, I think the boys are doing better without us :) Apparently they were able to take away an unnamed 4-year old's passie at bedtime without any crying or problems. I'm not sure if I believe them....will have to wait until I get home to see if that craziness is true. AND that same 4-year old has slept through the night every night for a week! They have had so many field trips, so many play dates, so many new and exciting things that there's even a chance they might be disappointed when we come home!! :) This weekend, Grandma Lois and Grandpa Calvin came down from Illinois to take over the second week, which was perfect timing. There's nothing like a grandma's hug. Now that we have had Gracie a while, William is ready for us to come home and is having a hard time with why we can't just do all paperwork in one day and get on home. Not much longer now! Another awesome thing God has done....I can say without a doubt that I have had ZERO worry about being away or about the boys since we have been gone. I know they are in the best hands and are being loved on just like they were their own children. Starting today, video chat is going to be a bit tougher though because William is back in school after spring break. So at night we have to make sure we catch him by 7:30 am his time before he heads to school. Both boys have had fun seeing Gracie and us on the phone and Jonathan gives the phone a hug every time we call to video chat.
Well just like yesterday, today is an optional tour day….with no adoption meetings or appointments. Holt arranged a tour of the Chimelong Safari Park for any families who were interested. We decided since Gracie was feeling pretty good that we would take advantage of this opportunity and see what we could see. Lions, tigers, and bears…oh my! And we were not disappointed! First off, our guide, Raymond, was hilarious. He was very organized and quite a jolly guy….he is just so happy to be alive. We all loaded onto our bus and took an hour ride to the park.
Well just like yesterday, today is an optional tour day….with no adoption meetings or appointments. Holt arranged a tour of the Chimelong Safari Park for any families who were interested. We decided since Gracie was feeling pretty good that we would take advantage of this opportunity and see what we could see. Lions, tigers, and bears…oh my! And we were not disappointed! First off, our guide, Raymond, was hilarious. He was very organized and quite a jolly guy….he is just so happy to be alive. We all loaded onto our bus and took an hour ride to the park.
The Chimelong Safari Park is the largest animal park in all of China…and I wish I had known that before we left because we didn’t bring the stroller…but that was probably the only thing we didn’t bring! The Packsomuchasaurus was quickly spotted once we arrived at the park with his offspring.
We were prepared to say the least. (I was later reminded that it was my “great” idea to bring the big blue bag because I thought I would be able to blog on our laptop on the long ride to and from the park - my mind was obviously clouded with the smog) I must say this Packsomuchasaurus has been on the ball with taking care of everything! Since I can't do much with Gracie attached and having to lie down when she sleeps, he has had our stuff packed, unpacked, put away, cleaned up...you name it he has taken care of it and I am so thankful. He even made sure my chapstick was packed every day. :) I wore Gracie the entire day and we walked countless miles. Not that it really would have mattered if we had brought the stroller because she screams at the sight of it.
Once we got our instructions from Raymond and he got his red flag out we were ready…first stop was the Safari on Wheels. See....doesn't he look jolly??
When I think of a safari, I think of jeeps…but not here. Our drive through experience was done on a train. The train trams took us around the savannah, plains, lakes and all the different habitats where the animals roam around freely. Some of the animals got amazingly close!
Emma had a lot of fun taking pictures and I became even more thankful she is a Wild Kratts fan! We had a safari guide on the train but they were speaking Chinese of course, so thankfully Emma could tell us what some of these exotic animals were and many facts about them. We had no idea what these guys were until Emma exclaimed, "Oh Ring Tailed Lemurs!! I love those!" She told us how when they walk around they put their tails up high as a way to keep the group together so no lemur gets lost.
This park has more than 100 white tigers, which is the largest collection in the world. We were able to watch the safari workers feed the tigers raw meat. There are six tiger species here including South China tiger, golden tiger, silver tiger, white tiger, Bengal tiger and Northeast tiger living in this park.
AFter the 30-minute safari ride, we hopped off for a restroom break. Thankfully the park had “both” options….squatty potty or western toilet. So far, we have been able to escape using the squatty potties here in China!
Next we took off on foot to see the rest of the safari park. One of the neatest sections was the Snake Trail, believe it or not. I’m not a fan of snakes at all but the way they were displayed was pretty cool. There was an area where the snake’s habitat was under the glass floor and you could walk on top of them.
In the next area the snake’s habitat was in the ceiling where you could see them slither overhead.
The safari park also had a dinosaur section. No live dinos but there were many electronic models hidden throughout our walk through the jungle. Emma loved this part but she also kept saying, “This is no Creation Museum, that’s for sure!” Then she proceeded to tell anyone who would listen about the Creation Museum and what she’s learned about dinosaurs from the Bible and that the idea of dinosaurs being here “millions of years ago” just isn’t true. She told them about her friend who works at the museum and that she can’t wait to go back.
The main attraction of Chimelong Safari Park is the set of panda triplets born in the park in mid-2014. These are the only live panda triplets in existence in the world today, a very particular and rare event since chances of survival of panda triplets is only 1%. They were adorable to watch as they ate on their bamboo. They also had the triplet’s “playroom” on display where apparently they spent a lot of time when they were younger. We made our way to this section at the end of the day when we were all pretty exhausted. The adult pandas leisurely sat around eating their bamboo while people watching.
She was the cutest panda we saw :)
One of our favorite things at the park was watching Emma and Denny feed the elephants. They purchased food and leaned across the fence and the elephants grabbed the apple right out of their hands. Emma couldn’t reach as far but I think Denny had a fun time doing this too! And look how close they are! I'm sure this wouldn't pass Disney standards.
Another favorite thing for me about this day was that Emma found a friend her age! Zoe traveled with her mom and dad to adopt their 4 year old little boy. Zoe was adopted from China 5 years ago and her and Emma became fast friends. I am so glad she found a friend her age…someone else to talk with. She was pretty homesick and this could not have come at a better time! At the end of our safari day, we had to take a silly picture with Kung Fu Panda back at the entrance. Gracie wasn't amused by that.
Emma and Gracie fell asleep on the ride “home” while Denny and I listened to Raymond's cultural stories and city facts.
Emma and Zoe had planned to meet at the pool so once we got back Denny said he would take her swimming and off we went. At the last hotel it was required to wear swim caps so we had found some at a local store. Of course, Denny decided to sport his cap just for the fun of it at this pool.
Emma and Zoe had planned to meet at the pool so once we got back Denny said he would take her swimming and off we went. At the last hotel it was required to wear swim caps so we had found some at a local store. Of course, Denny decided to sport his cap just for the fun of it at this pool.
Emma and Zoe had fun playing in the pool and I enjoyed getting to know her parents better. We had seen them throughout the week and I thought the little boy they adopted was actually a son they had brought from home like they did with Zoe! He was that well adjusted! They said Zoe was a lot like Gracie when they adopted her…very scared and clingy and would only go to the mom. This little boy seemed to have the most fun-loving and laid back personality as he was all smiles. The parents are an older couple from Colorado and she’s an occupational therapist and we got to talk some about sensory processing which was nice because she understands the reality of those issues and behaviors. She also helps a lot of adoptive families with attachment therapy.
Our time in China is winding down and I am having mixed feelings about that. Of course I miss my family and friends but I am loving China and the people we have met here. And of course, the delicious food. Good night Guangzhou and I hope the wild animals and the Packsomuchasaurus recover well.
Our time in China is winding down and I am having mixed feelings about that. Of course I miss my family and friends but I am loving China and the people we have met here. And of course, the delicious food. Good night Guangzhou and I hope the wild animals and the Packsomuchasaurus recover well.