the first M8 afternoon...

After the activity of piling in and out of the van six times yesterday morning (orphanage, photo shop, civil affairs, finding spot and then lunch), we arrived back at our hotel.  And while a change of pace was welcomed, we realized we had a stretch of about four hours with no translator available.  

So we did what all sane folks do...smile and hope for the best.  We colored.  We did sticker books. We snacked on apples and bagels.  And when the littlest one began to look restless, we broke out the Amazon music playlists and introduced him to the Trolls soundtrack.  Because who doesn't have "that sunshine in my pocket?"  Ian and I can also proudly say that at one point we heard "Don't stop Believin'" being played as well.  Kudos to our older set for giving him the good stuff early!

this smile is going to be hard to say no to...

 And some Chinese cartoons may have been thrown in as well.  Anyone else find humor in the fact that the only kid who can follow the dialog was engrossed in music?

At 4:15 we met Candie in the lobby to go to a Kung Fu show.  This provided us with the opportunity to check one more form of public transportation in China off our list...we rode the city bus.  Nicholas was enthralled with looking out the windows on this ride.  And it is possible that I was enthralled with his willingness to sit snugly on my lap.

Four stops down the line and a quick walk on the sidewalk brought us to the appropriately named Red Theatre for The Legend of Kung Fu show.

The lions just before the show started caused quite the commotion.

While the production wasn't quite what I was expecting it to be, it was obvious that these monks are in amazing condition and their training is intense.

By the time the show was over and we got back to the hotel, it was nearly 7pm and we hadn't yet had dinner.  As we stood in the hotel lobby trying to figure out our best option, the littlest one *may* have started a meltdown that while actually somewhat minor felt rather epic.  He is as tiny as we had expected...but dang is he strong when he's fighting you...  Eventually it was decided that instead of creating a late night for ourselves (and becoming quite the spectacle outside the hotel) that Ian and his dad would walk to the Subway nearby and bring back sandwiches.  At that point I *may* have made a dash for the elevator to get my "ever attracting gaggle of children" out of the spotlight and into our rooms.

Of course I did that so quickly that I failed to consider the fact that Ian was carrying our room key in his pocket.  Thankfully Mama had hers so we all chilled in her room while we waited for our dinner.
The bookworm found a corner to read...

...a version of American Ninja Warrior that looked like they were in Legoland entertained the rest...

...and I stretched out to chat with my Mama about the events of the day.

When dinner arrived we learned that Nicholas isn't crazy about bread, but he likes salami, ham and pepperoni as well as cucumbers.  Or if he doesn't like those things, he is willing to eat them in exchange for chips.

We decided that there had been enough excitement for the day and chose to forgo showers in exchange for a decent bedtime.  Daniel was so enthralled with his little brother that he chose to sleep on his roll-a-way bed with him to keep him from being scared.

This kid.  He snuggled his "Flash, Flash 100 yard dash" sloth lovey his Aunt Rachel sent for Christmas, got the rabbit blankie lovey under his other arm, and asked me to spread the blanket that had gone over in his care package over him.  And then he closed his eyes and fell asleep.  Just like that.  No tears, no obvious signs of fear, only sweet gentle breathing.  I laid in my bed as long as I could keep my eyes open in wonder of it all.