Ahh... Home!

Our last day in Guangzhou was good... We did some shopping in the morning, had lunch, well David and Eva did. I think I managed a couple of bites. I have been eating out at restaurants with her ever since we first got her and still haven't figured out how to do it successfully. We have to feed her first or she raises such a fuss, and then when she's full and I can eat, she then gets bored and demands play, or rather further investigation on her treatise on gravity. There's got to be a way to manage restaurants, I just don't know what it is yet.

After lunch, we went to the U.S. consulate, which took quite a while. We weren't allowed cameras inside the consulate, but took some pictures of the outside. We went through security and our guides took care of the passports and paperwork. After waiting for a while, we all got in a line and went to a window to show a woman our faces which were compared with the passport photos. Then we waited some more, over an hour later we all stood up and repeated the oath of citizenship together for our daughters. We were taken from the consulate to the airport.

It is very slow getting through airport lines in China. It takes a lot of patience. Even though we arrived at the airport 4 hours before our flight left, we got to the gate about 40 minutes before boarding. Fortunately, for this long flight, we were able to get a couple of empty seats between David and I so Eva was able to sleep most of the flight, at least 8 hours of the 13 hour flight. David and I didn't get any sleep, however because we were worried she was going to fall off the seat. After she woke up, she spent the rest of the flight flirting with everyone and playing. Oh, I can't forget eating. I think I'm raising a cleptomaniac though, every time someone walked by our seats with a watch, she did her best to take it off of them.

So, we left China at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday and arrived in L.A. at 7:00 p.m. on the same day. We went through immigration and Eva got a stamp in her passport that officically made her a U.S. citizen, Yea! After customs, we went to the hotel and ordered out for pizza. David's family came to visit us. It took Eva just over an hour to warm up to them, but she really liked it when her grandpa walked her around the room. After they left, she decided it was nap time. David and I informed her that it was night time, but she just looked at us like we were nuts. She slept a good long nap length time, and David and I were thrilled to get about 2 and a half hours of sleep.

On the flight to Minneapolis, Eva spent the first third of the flight flirting with everyone around us on the plane. She particularly enjoyed the grandparents seated behind us. After that she decided it was time to screech a while and mommy had to walk her up and down the aisle. She finally fell asleep, and slept the remainder of the flight. Mommy didn't get anything else done but hold her.

After waking up for the plane transfer at Minneapolis, Eva was in a good mood but that didn't last once we got onto the small plane to come up to Thief River. She had enough! I'm suprised how good she did... she was tired, mad at us because she knew it was bed time (in China) and we were the ones so stupid that we couldn't figure it out, she had a wet diaper and mommy didn't have time to change it, her ears hurt and she had enough of being confined. It's lucky for David and I that flight was a short one.

We had lots of family to greet us at the airport arriving home. Eva got balloons and a welcome sign and lots of love. However, still suffering from jet lag, she wasn't up to visiting. We got home and went to bed, got up late, unpacked and went back to bed. I don't know how long it will take us to get back to Minnesota time, but I at least am feeling much better with some sleep.

Eva has already started warming up to Granny and has been giggling and smiling. She was very afraid of the cats when she first met them, and gave me such a look, like, "What do you think you're doing, exposing me to that thing... don't you know that's an animal!" Right now David and Granny are entertaining the little princess while I'm writing. She's not letting me get away from her very long and she gets very mad when she sees David or I pet one of the cats. She immediately fusses and makes us hold her, dispelling the cat. She is NOT going to share us with anyone. Personally, I don't think she should have to. The cats are going to have to deal with it.

I don't want to forget... Eva did say her first English word on our flight home, other than "ma ma," which doesn't count because it's the same in Chinese. Eva's first English word was "look." She will point at something and say "ook" I suppose we've been doing that to her a lot.

I'll post some pictures later today. For now, so long from home.