E'Ling Park

Today has been a relaxing day....we started off with our favorite meal of the day and decided to eat on the terrace....it was very nice. Colin and I have really taken a liking to the hot tea. Then Ryan took the children to the playroom in the hotel and I began packing for our next leg of the trip....then we took a daring trip on our own, no guide, to the local "Trust Mart"....basically Wal Mart....the walk was nice. Then we went to E'Ling Park. E'Ling Park is located on the tallest mountain in Chongqing....it has beautiful views of the city (when there is no fog, smog) and of the famous Yantzge River....it is also home to the Three Gorges Museum. The museum was especially interesting to us as it shows you just how many people will be affected by the completion of the dam.....I believe our guide said it would affect up to 1 1/2 million people....the govt. has offered them money to move to higher ground.....entire cities will be flooded. Dianjiang, where MK is from, will for the most part not be affected....however, there are some parts of the city that will be gone forever. This will all take place next year sometime. The Three Gorges Museum is also the home of a local artist who paints with his mouth. He was handicapped at the age of 4, both arms/hands were severed due to an electrical accident of some sort. Anyway, we purchased a painting for MK that he painted....he then added her Chinese name and characters as we watched....it was very impressive to see his work. Then we went to a Chinese tea house to participate in a traditional tea ceremony.....I will tell you that Pryce enjoyed his wafers that were given to him while MK had a bottle and the rest of us learned how to drink tea.....it was nice to sample the different teas. Probably the funniest part of the day was watching the boys "bu yao" the street vendors who wanted us to purchase their goods...."bu yao" means "I do not want it" in Chinese....the Chinese vendors found it cute apparently that the boys said this and they would repeat it back to them and laugh....the boys also enjoyed being the center of attention in the park....the locals were out playing badmitton, singing, playing some sort of dominoe like game and dancing....the locals grabbed the boys and danced with them....very cute and the boys loved it. As for Mason-Kate....she continues to adjust to us and ease into her comfort zone....we taught her to clap and say "yeah" last night....she thinks that is funny....she loves to throw herself back and laugh....we like that she isn't walking yet....it gives us an opportunity to hold her more....she continues to love Ryan over all of us but no longer cries when I hold her....she, for the most part, is proving to be quite a happy little girl. One problem though....Mrs Drafts, we need you once again to do the bathing....you seemed to have a special touch with the boys when they were infants and I think MK may need a little of that touch too....she HATES her bath....she screams and it is quite pitiful to listen to. To everyone, as much as you all love waking up to read our blog, we too love waking up to read your comments.....we appreciate your thoughtfulness and support during this time in our lives....keep them coming!

Here's the little Princess getting ready for another exciting day!

Pryce dancing it up with the locals; Colin Drafts, Superstar! (What a smile!)

Local handicapped artist paints pictures and MK's Chinese name with his mouth. Amazing!

The group learns all about hot tea (delicious!); Three beautiful smiles

Local retirees playing games; Kids (all 5) at E'Ling Park