I think I'll stop here

Into the great wide open.

On the road again...to the park

I know! She's gorgeous!! Any modesty I might project is entirely fake.

We're all doing well. We've been home more than a year now and we're doing great. Brennan's just an amazing person and it's her bravery and sense of adventure that got us all through this experience. What a ride!

Summer 2008

Well, it's been quite a Summer. Below are some pictures of the girls at various hot spots ending with the first day of school.

Update

Just an update for the folks who occasionally stop by. We've been home for almost 5 months now. I really wish I could call myself 5 months ago and show her these pictures. I might have chilled out a little. Anywho, we're all doing great. Surgery is over and done with and everything is looking great.

Brennan and I had a talk last night about why she didn't have any baby pictures, and why she wasn't with us when she was a baby. She's really mad we didn't get her sooner. For only speaking english for 5 months and only being 5 years old, she is really very emotionally intelligent and expressive. So I tried to tell and draw her story for her. When we got to the part where her birth mother took her to the orphanage her shoulders dropped and she said, "Well that's not cool." I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Resilient, brave and well spoken...all at age 5.

Sunday

Today we visited Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. It was a beautiful sunny day. Above are pictures of Chairman Mao's mausoleum, me inside the Forbidden City, the Emperor's throne, and Guan Yin from the Summer Palace that was built by the Empress Cixi, who took a job at the Forbidden City as a maid and walked out the Empress of China. Chinese people don't like her very much but it's hard not to admire her, and her Summer home. The first car ever imported into China is still there.

Saturday

Here I am at the Ming Tombs. I am touching the nose of one of the sons of the Dragon. He never became a "real" dragon like his dad, but he is very strong and good at lifting heavy things. Touching his nose brings prosperity to your offspring, so this is for Aslen and Nan. The writing above is in Manchurian and Mandarin, even though the Ming Dynasty was the last Han-lead empire.

After this we visited a Cloisonne factory and then the Great Wall. My camera died so I'm going to post some pictures from other people later. The climb up the Great Wall was breath-taking in every way.

Friday at Ericsson and Microsoft

I had a very busy day today. I learned all about how Ericsson has positioned themselves in the Chinese market and about what Microsoft has to do to employ the worlds best R&D talent. In between I had lunch at a very old home from a noble Chinese family and drove past the "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium. Then I had another 10 course dinner at a restaurant that featured traditional Chinese musicians. It was a fun and busy day...tomorrow I scale the Great Wall!!

Game On in Beijing

Well, I'm happy to be back in China. I got some sleep on the plane and I'm ready to explore. I'm staying at the Regent and the room couldn't be better. I have a lovely view of the Lamborghini dealership. The traffic isn't nearly as bad as it was in Nanjing (maybe I'm in a good area) but somehow there is the same level of honking. I will try to take some pictures and write more later.