Its hard to believe that it has been a week since we left for Puerto Penasco, Mexico! All of our nervousness about trekking with our family across the border was unfounded. Of course, we couldn't have asked for a better set-up. We followed in a caravan of 9? cars, most of them containing families who had made this exact trip before so we were able to cheeze off of their experience. They had already found the places to stop to pee, buy Mexican insurance, pick up the condo keys, the place to stay, the places to eat without picking up giardia, etc... Most of these families will do this again next year. We will have to keep our calendar open next fall for Operation China Baby but hope to catch up with the group the following year. Thanks to Keira and Ed for letting us tag along.
The four day trip had much to offer. The kids enjoyed the sand and shells and brought enough home to open a shop. In places, you could pick up the shells by the fistfull. It was great to see such a variety. The kids even found conch shells (Noah called them "hear the ocean shells.") Corkscrews and clams the size of the kids' heads could also be found. The tide came in and out twice each day. When it receded, there were large areas of shallow water (tidepools?) that were perfect for the little ones to play in. One day, all but Xander took a ride on a "banana boat." It is basically two huge banana-shaped inflatable tubes tied together. You hop on, strattle a "banana," and hold on for dear life as you are dragged behind a power boat. Matt and Audrey actually fell off once. It was a scary mom-moment to look over and see my 7-year-old daughter floating out in the middle of the Sea of Cortez but knowing that the life-vests did in fact do their job made the rest of the ride a little more enjoyable.
On the second night we showered and got ready to go into town for dinner. Here's where we (I) planned to have the ideal family portrait taken on the beach at sunset. That was until Xander fell off the swings the day before the trip and took a roadrash to the face. I didn't even pack the coordinating outfits I was so disappointed. Of course, it all cleared up the day we got home...
Mexican food in Mexico-Ahhhh! Besides the fact that we couldn't have ice in our drinks, it was heavenly. Great salsa and a Mariachi band (Tamarindo!) Audrey mentioned the next day at breakfast that we should have singers at every meal! I guess this will be the food paragraph-The final night we enjoyed a potluck dinner. I tried the shrimp-great flavor but couldn't get past the texture. It just seems like meat should flake, not squeak! We had steak and enjoyed all kinds of culinary bliss! We were able to pick up homemade tortillas as we headed back across the border. I guess they made us crave beans because we stopped at Taco Bell just before reaching home which is just wrong on so many levels.
The kids made some new friends and enjoyed getting reacquainted with cousins Emilie and Rebecca and Uncle James and Aunt Faith. James provided the entertainment-singing G-I-A-R-D-I-A to the old tune of "Gloria" and on Saturday night when heavy winds that reminded us of Hurricane Katrina footage rolled in, he joked, "Everybody wipe and flush, it's all going to come back up anyway!!!" -I guess you had to be there. Because of the septic system in the condo, we couldn't flush any t.p. Joking about our impending doom, all he could think about I guess was the temptation to flush it just one last time.....anyway.....
Well, that's all that I can think to rehash after a week has gone by. Time to get back to reality.
Adoption Update: Our social worker called a few days ago and said that she sent a final draft of the homestudy to our agency who have since e-mailed it off to their office in China for review. I just recieved e-mail confirmation today that our I-600a application arrived YESTERDAY! I sent that sucker out on the 7th. I don't see why it should take 12 days for a piece of mail to get from Tucson, Arizona to TUCSON, ARIZONA!!! Oh well, it's there and can't really be processed until the home study arrives there also and it still has to be approved in China and then get sent through the courts here so I guess it doesn't really matter in the long run. Matt has to redo his employment letter because I forgot to add his position to the draft that we sent to his boss. Tuesday, I meet a notary at our doctor's offices (by far the most frustrating piece of the dossier puzzle thusfar) so that hoop will have been jumped through. That leaves waiting for the passports to arrive in the mail and then we can send it all to Great Wall for the Certification and Authentication process. A December DTC date would be great but will all depend on how fast these government agencies do their part. It will be so nice when it is all out of our hands and all we have to do is wait (and shop!) Even better yet will be when we have little Xiao Fu in our arms and can tell her that she isn't an orphan any more!
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