The Wadley Family in China: Great Visit From Mom and Dad Russon

Wow, it's been so long since I have written. I have wanted to write for such a long time,but the government has put a block on blogs. I had to wait until I could get a connection through Mike's line. This is the first time they have put a block on writing on blogs. Usually they just block being able to read them.

So many things have been happening in our lives. We are now on our way back home. We actually leave this Thursday. I can't believe that our four years is coming to an end. What a truly fantastic four years it has been for us. It is hard to leave China. We have learned so many things, and shared so many wonderful experiences. What a huge blessing for us. Well, I will go back and report some things that have been going on this last month and a 1/2.

Mom and Dad came on May 4th. We were all so excited! We all had such a great time together. The children didn't have a school break, so they had to just see Grandma and Grandpa when they got home from school. But on Friday, I let them out of school so that we could have fun together. We went to Qixia mountain, to the monastery. It was really beautiful. We of course took them to Zen, our favorite Chinese restaurant here in town. It's Cantonese food, a chain from Hong Kong, and it has the best dim sum in the world. We once asked our friend from Hong Kong where we could find the best dim sum while we were there, and she said, "Zen". Well, I guess we are lucky to have a chain here in Nanjing. YUMMY! I think Mom and Dad enjoyed it, too.

For Mother's Day, Mom and I went to a spa and had a facial. It was SO nice. And fun, too. The big event for the weekend, was when the girls, and Mom and I went to the hot springs resort. The girls had been planning this surprise for Mom. What she didn't know was that in amongst the hot springs, there was a special pool...the exfoliation pool. This pool was full of hundreds of little fish that eat dead skin. A great way to get smooth feet... Grandma didn't love that and gave the awaited for face-scrunch and little screams. Nicole and Caitlin weren't keen on going in either. But Rachel and I had a nice time and had very soft feet when we got out :-)

Mom and Dad and Mike and I went on a Yangtze River Cruise. We had a great time!!! On Tuesday Chong Qing where we went to the Anna Victoria Cruise Ship. I hate to say it, but I think Mom and Dad were a little nervous as we balanced along the pontoon plank way to the ship that was at least two football fields away. They are used to the fancy cruise entrances. Well, they were very good sports! Luckily, the boat itself was very nice, and our rooms were nice, as well. We had a fabulous time!!! We relaxed, and were able to see some really amazing scenery. The first day we went to see a special Ghost Town... There is a temple there, where the god of the underground lives. He's the one who judges you after you die, to decide if you go to heaven, or if you spend the rest of your days being tortured. And believe me,some of those tortures aren't very nice!

On the second day, we went up a small tributary river in a smaller boat. We then got in an even smaller boat. The dam is huge, and luckily, we could see it quite well because the clouds cleared up for us.

We had a really great time with Mom and Dad. The trip was wonderful, but it was especially nice having one on one time with the two of them and Michael. The children were very happy to have their grandparents back, and we all treasured the last couple of days with Mom and Dad before they had to go home. It means so much to us that they were able to come and see the places we love right before we are leaving. We celebrated Dad's birthday the night before they left.

Here we are at the Monastery on Qixia mountain. Unfortunately Mike had to work...

Julie went for a walk with us one day. We went to a very strange little museum that told us more about the dimensions of the buildings than what they were for. But, it was interesting... Here is a strange sign we found in the stairwell.

They wouldn't let us take our camera in to the hot springs to get a photo of the dead skin-eating fish, but we did get this lovely photo in our matching "lounge outfits" afterward.

Mike and I in the main lobby of our river-cruise.

Mom and Dad going up the chairlift to the temple.

The temple in the Ghost-town was different than I've ever seen before. The colors were blue and white. Here is a dragon guarding the entrance to the god of the underworld.