They are in Guangzhou!

I just heard from Ashton and they are safely in Guangzhou!! She said that Andrew did great on the flight and they were so glad because their guide (Elvin) was able to have a complete conversation with Andrew! He sounds like a stinker, as she said that he is all smiles, all the time... except for when he doesn't get what he wants! Enjoy the pictures, and here's the blog post she sent for me to post:

Wow today was hectic. It was great but hectic. We left our hotel at 8:00 am and got to the airport and checked in at about 10:00 am we had an hour before take-off so we took the little ones to the playground in the airport to play!! Great Idea from our group! It got all-or most of their energy out!! woo hoo!
We got on the plane at 11:00 and Andrew and Anna Grace fell asleep. As did I. It was a great plane ride and I was able to finish some math! woo hoo.
We got to Guangzhou and met our guide Elvin. (yay!) We went to a great dinner and then crashed in the hotel. Here are the pictures.
Today is a park and shopping!!
-Ashton

Best parts about Beijing

Some of my favorite and most memorable things about Beijing:

• The people. So sweet
• GOTCHA DAY :: Sweet Andrew Hudson (:
• The fact that my sweet little brother lived here.
• Anna Grace's sweet and willing heart. She has accepted him. Even though this little boy rocked this Chicks boat...hard.
• Hearing Christian music in McDonalds. It is China and McDonalds. Pretty Awesome.
• Shopping. So much fun!!
• Bartering!! Has to be #1 on my favorite things to do! (:
• Kathleen bringing me Hay-gen Dazs (Häagen-Dazs) I know how to say it but I like it the other way better ;)
• NO SCHOOL....Already dreading coming back to that. and that make-up work.
• The music. All of the music you hear around here is so beautiful.
• The Safety. I could safely walk around Wangfujing street alone and not feel threatened. Can't say the same at home.
• Perfect Picture places. This isn't big for some but for me...Oh I love it!
• The view. It is so pretty-better yet GORGEOUS here!!
• The sights to see. Great Wall, Summer Palace, Forbidden City, and Olympic Village were all amazing!!!
• Pandas. I think they are so cool and would love to go like hug one even though it would probably kill me.
• Rice. It is my best friend. I would have starved without it.
• Cold drinks. Without Ice anything with some form of coldness is wonderful.
• Sunsets. No words to describe.
• The Support we have from our group. Our travel group is the best!!

This time in Beijing has been truly amazing and I am really going to miss it. I am excited for home and for Guangzhou. But I hate to leave here. I do not want to let this trip end. It has been great so far....

Signing off for the last time from Beijing. ): ): (tears)

Wangfujing Hotel - Beijing, China - January 29, 2010 - 10:31 PM
Ashton

Last Day in Beijing... the silk market!!!

some of the pictures are from yesterday, some from today!

Wow. I cannot believe we have been in China for 10 days, much less in Beijing. It has been amazing and I am not looking forward to being closer to home but I can't wait to be in Guangzhou. In truth we have met the goal we came here for, to get Andrew, but I still love this place.

Today was hectic, but good. We went to get Andrew's passport (sweetest picture ever) and the Silkmarket and to McDonalds later. It was an overall good day. Silkmarket was great but if I have to choose between it and the Pearlmarket I would choose the Pearlmarket but I still enjoyed the Silkmarket. We didn't take many pictures today because we were shopping but the ones we did take I attached. It is still crazy beautiful here and really not that cold. It's nice. We went to McDonalds and it looks NOTHING like our McDonalds here. You walked in to a door and went down 30,000 steps before you finally reached the over-crowded underground area. It has some humor to it though. 500 Chinese people and about 30 Americans. Not hard to find each other. Chinese people are so sweet. This one lady saw me sitting with someone else and run over to give something to Andrew and she gave me a toy for him! I thought it was just too sweet!!! (: I can't believe we leave Beijing tomorrow!! Wow! Time has flown!!!!I attached today and yesterdays pictures (: Ashton

Panda Zoo and Pearl Market

Another great day of shopping!!! The pearl market was AWESOME. Panda Zoo was cool too. I loved seeing all of the pandas there. To think these beautiful animals are on the verge of extinction makes me really sad. Of course, Anna Grace L-O-V-E-D going to see the "Baby Pandas" and looking at them. The exhibit was beautiful but nothing like the Panda Zoo in Chongqing that we went to back in 07. It was GORGEOUS but mainly because Chongqing is KNOWN for their Pandas. It was beautiful. Open Exhibits and close ups with the pandas. Anna Grace would have LOVED it. Now as for Andrew well, He loved it all too! The zoo seems to be a fun place for about any kid. He loved to look at the "Shou Shi" (Pandas) as he called them. I enjoyed every minute of it. After the zoo we went to lunch at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants. I am getting tired of Chinese food. lol. It seems all the food here is about the same...In America I don't get tired of the food but I guess that is a double-edged sword saying i'm not exactly Chinese. But still in America there seems to be options. Anyways, after lunch we went to a 3-story high Pearl Market (Is this what you were talking about, Kayla??) It was in a word....A W E S O M E!!! OH my gosh!! There was everything you could imagine!! From Traditional Chinese Items to Uggs and North Faces!!! Amazing stuff!!! Loveddd all of it!!! I am hoping tomorrow at the Silk Market will be just as good if not better !!! (: We got back to the room at about 3 and My Mom, Mema, and I ran back to our little Alley and got a few more things! I am loving that place.... We had dinner at McDonalds and it is ranked as #2 on the Good-List for food here in Beijing!! Yum...I usually don't like McDonalds but after 9 days of Chinese it tasted pretty good.Today was another great day as is every day here. Man, I just love this place. Call me crazy, but I do! It is beautiful and so much fun. I am in love. I could seriously move here. Really. But will contain myself from doing that and just making a few visits (: I am really going to miss it here! I cannot believe we only have 2 more sleeps in Beijing. Sigh. This is the sad part. Oh well, Andrew has a family and will soon be HOME and that is why we came here in the first place!!! Yay! Off to do math....Say a prayer I can finish it...SOON!

Ash

PS: because it is 10pm at night and I need to do some stuff and head to bed I will send pictures in a few hours sorry to keep you all waiting.....

(:

Summer Palace and Olympic Park!!!

Today was another amazing day. I mean it has probably been one of the best so far. So this is going to be long because I want to remember every detail....At 9:00 we got on the bus and headed to the Summer Palace. It was beautiful!!!! Once we got there we walked around, took some pictures, and shopped a little. My favorite part was when we "ice skated" or "ice walked" on the lake. It was soo much fun! I didn't fall which was huge for me! Andrew thought it was the coolest and decided to run away once we let him down. It took a few minutes but we finally caught him (: He laughed and laughed (: After we left the Summer Palace we went to lunch at the Wajing Restaurant. It was a buffet and served some really weird food. Your drink options were Strawberry, Banana, Grapefruit, or Raspberry. I chose to pay 10 Yuan for a coke. Anyways, after we went their we went to the Pearl Market which was a joke as it was government owned and wayyyy out of our price range. Then off to the Olympic Village!!! Talk about amazing...China apparently spent the most money preparing for the olympics and for me to be able to see the Water Cube and Bird's Nest made my week, year, month, and forever (: Once we got back to the room we decided to go to Outback and Shopping with the P family and Y family! We went to the children's store and got Andrew a new pair of shoes. It would melt your heart to see his face when he got them. He LOVES them! He hasn't taken them off. We got Mickey Mouse because that is the only pair in his size. Works for us until we get home. (: We then headed to Outback....It was delicious!! (Or maybe I am just overly hungry haha) Afterwards we went to my heaven, the shopping alley!!! At first sight it is a food market with Starfish, Sea Horses, Scorpions and Lord only knows what else but if you go a little deeper.....It is a full fledge mini Guangzhou. My Mom and I's mouth was probably watering.... It is just so much fun and I remembered why I loved this place so much!!! Oh my gosh....people!! I got a mirror, a scroll painting, a fan, and some wooden China dolls! I am planning on going back tomorrow and the next day!! Eeek. Shopping makes me happy. (haha) I cannot wait for Guangzhou! Panda Zoo and More Shopping tomorrow (:

Oh and a fun fact....We were looking at Andrew's clothes from the orphanage that he came to us in and his pants have a R on it!! (I attached a picture) How cool is that? God just does certain things to just give you a nudge and let you know you are in his will (Or at least that is how I look at it :)

Ashton

He gets cuter and cuter every day...

Today was a do nothing day. All the parents and newly adopted kids ran out to do paperwork while the rest of us stayed at the hotel and did well nothing. Except maybe some makeup work. I have tons to get done. Only math and a little SS though. Which is good I guess. I am ready to have it d-o-n-e. At 1:00 pm the parents and kids returned and we went to grab some lunch. We ate at a restaurant near where they had been doing paperwork but I have no idea what the name is. It was ok though. We are now back in the hotel room and the boys are swimming in the b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l swimming pool at the hotel. I am sitting in the room typing this letter and dying to go shopping!! Tomorrow pictures should be more interesting saying we are going to the Olympic Village and the Summer Palace! I have never seen either one of these so I am really excited!!I can't believe we have already had Andrew for 5 days. Time has flown!! I can't believe how far he has come and the changes he has made...I can't wait to see what this little boys future holds!!

Ashton