Day 10 - July 23

Today was another laid back day. It was nice! The boys did not wake up until 8 am. Then we got ready and went to breakfast. We met a really nice couple at breakfast that are from Australia but working in Beijing for three years and down here for a weeks vacation. They have twin daughters 5 days younger than our Kaitlyn. We had a nice visit and the boys were quite well behaved. I think they were too busy eating to do anything else. After breakfast we went back to the room and talked to Dave and the girls, then I did our laundry. You can see pictures at the bottom of this post. The laundry at this hotel is quite expensive so I have been washing it out and hanging it up to dry. Makes me really appreciate my washer and dryer at home. The boys played together pretty well while I was doing the laundry. Only one mishap, Marc accidentally dumped a whole bottle of water on my bed. At least it was just water.

After I got the laundry done we went out this afternoon and walked around. These are a couple of street vendors. The one above is selling Mango's off the back of his bike and the lady below is selling corn on the cob which seems to be very popular here.

We walked around in the underground market for a while and I got the boys ice cream cones, Max had mango and Marc had strawberry, they were both very good, (they let Mama have tastes). I usually get something special everyday and the three of us share it. We are working on the concept of sharing which they are doing much better with. The first few times I did this they would have a fit and want the whole thing to themselves. Max was the worst about it but now he is the best about sharing.

We also found a large market that is kind of like a super market with a little bit of Wal-Mart thrown in. It is the best market I have found in China as far as the food goes. They had all kinds of things and a very nice, large bakery that smelled wonderful. I bought the boys a small bag of something from the bakery. It was kind of like a cross between a small soft roll and raisin bread. They really like them.

After we walked around for a while longer we came out at the Pizza Hut! I have gotten pretty good about finding my way around the underground shopping area. I decided we would eat at Pizza Hut, they are one of the few places that has a really nice bathroom with soap and water to wash your hands.

Both the boys were clowning around and were very cute! When the pizza came and was dished up Max got upset about something and refused to eat so Marc and I ate and then we packed it up and brought it back to our room for lunch tomorrow. After we got back to the room Max wanted to eat so I told him no, we had already had supper at Pizza Hut. He has done this several times where he gets upset when we are eating and refuses to eat then later wants to eat, I have always just fed him whenever he wanted to eat but decided he needs to learn that is not how it is going to be. Both boys can be very stubborn!!! They fit in nicely with the rest of the family!!! Anyway Max seemed to understand and did not ask again. I felt bad but he is getting in the habit of getting mad and eating whenever he want to. Better to end it now, he is a very smart little boy and I am sure it will not take him long to figure out it is best to eat when everyone else is eating.

After we got back to the room the boys played for a little bit then got their baths and got ready for bed. I wanted to take pictures in their new pj's, so they started clowning around. I would take a picture and they would immediately run over to the camera to see what it looked like. I finally got several in a row without them running to see the picture.

SLEEP AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (And it is only 7:30)

I found these Ritz crackers at the market today! They are just like our Ritz crackers only they have chocolate sandwiched in between two crackers. They are really good!!! I wish they had them at home but it is probably really good that they don't!!!

Below are the pictures of my "Chinese Laundry"!