And Then There Were Three!: The time is slow….

…. when you are most prepared for it to pass. The last couple of days are the worst as there is literally nothing to do and lots of time to do it!

For everyones knowledge, we did not mean for the post for Wednesday to make it to you so late, but our ability to connect to the blog was compromised for some reason for the past 24 hours, but we just connected again and hope that it will suffice until we make it to the plane on early Saturday morning! So try and put the following post into context as it happened about 12 hours ago. Sorry!

Thank goodness for the breakfast here on our floor. There is no way we could get three kids up and downstairs for the large buffet in the main dining room. I am sure that the Kennedy family will have to undergo some schedule changes at home due to the increased headcount, but we expected that and will work on that as soon as we get back on familiar ground!

Once again at 9:30 we met Leigh downstairs in the lobby to go back to the Guangdong Travelers Clinic to have Declan’s TB test reviewed. The highlight of this trip was trying to beat the large travel group that was gathering in the lobby to the clinic so we could get through first! Hey, when you are bored you will look for excitement in any form that you can! Well, with the help of our driver we succeeded in negotiating traffic and scoring the first spot in line to have the test site read!

After the clinic we headed to the jewelry wholesale district to procure a piece of jade for Declan. As we have been to this site the past two visits we knew exactly the shops we needed to visit, With the jade pendent purchased, we walked around a few of the floors where Savannah and I made a purchase or two for ourselves. We also made sure to hit the candy store we found last visit to stock up on snacks for the room and flights home. Needless to say, we over did it and there will be snacks for all for quite a while!

After shopping we got back to the hotel for lunch, but decided against putting the kids down for a nap. Last night the kids had a hard time going to sleep which we attributed to the late nap so we chose to keep them up and burning them out. After some playtime in the room we headed back to the playground where we met a nice couple from Colorado Springs who had just adopted a daughter. They were a pleasure to talk with and their older daughter was fast friends with Savannah. After the hotel playground we once again dined in the lounge on the executive floor. We noticed at dinner there was a gentleman watching us with the kids, and when we readied for our dinner departure, he stopped us with the most interesting story! His name was Declan Reilly from Dublin, Ireland! He was so intrigued to hear his name being called at our table each time we called to our son and wanted to know how we came about choosing the name! We told him of my family heritage and the choice of Declan for its significance in Irish lore and he was quick to follow up with Declan being one of the first Irish Saints. We had a great conversation concerning politics, worldviews and travel. I think Ann Marie and I could have sat and talked with Declan all night, but the other Declan as well as Savannah and Aiden had other ideas as they were on their last wisps of energy. With dinner complete and baths finished, the kids settled down to a episode of Thomas the Tank Engine and were soon all well on their way to dreamland.

With the kids in bed, Ann Marie are settling in early. We have an early morning appointment at the US Consulate in the morning and need to be in the lobby at 7:45. Looks like an early morning for all of us here…..which will lead to an early nap tomorrow!

With that we will sign off with how interesting it was to watch the election unfold while in China! Although our candidate for President did not win, the process for electing our leaders brings to light how important your vote really is! Hopefully the divisions that our electoral process brings to bear will heal quickly and we can all work together to repair the issues that are eroding the fabric of nation. I do not have an answer for how we do this, and I do not think either of the candidates or their respective parties do either, but I hope that together we can find the right path.

So till next time….

Michael (2 days, 21 hours, 7 minutes and 30 seconds till we leave….but who is counting), Ann Marie (Election results reaction - !@%$#%@), Savannah (Did I spend all my money yet?), Aiden (How much does one piece of candy cost?), and Declan (Hello is my first clear word in English) Kennedy