This is it!

Yesterday was our last full day here in China. it's a bittersweet feeling, 3 of us are keen to get home, but the smallest of our family of 4 will be leaving the only home she has ever known permanently.

We are seeing so many changes in Zoe over the last two weeks, it's hard to believe. She pretty much sneezes on command, she's starting to learn some baby sign language, and she loves her big sister a lot, looking for Amelia anytime she disappears from sight.

Zoe is starting to like her time in the pool, pretty much a prerequisite to being Amelia's sister, and really seems to be adjusting well to being a part of our family. She has a VERY strong will, not afraid to let us know when she's not happy and, if possible, she might be even spicier than her big sister.

We check out at 2pm today and head to the airport for our 6:45 flight. We grabbed a few last minute souvenirs yesterday and today, now we just need to get packed up and ready to go. This will be my last update until we get home. Thank you all for following our trip and thanks for all the nice messages.

A special big thanks to Kayla for helping me with the blog, she's been amazing as always, we can't wait for you to meet Zoe at Christmas!

Forbidden City Pics

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Forbidden City/Tienanmen Square

Today was forbidden City and Tienanmen Square. Security to get into Tienanmen Square was crazy as the 'Peoples Congress' is under way or soon will be. This is the once every 10 years meeting where a new leader is chosen for China, and it is done in one of the buildings here. We had to have our bags x-rayed and be patted down and checked with a metal detector.

It was a lot of walking again today and we are still sore from the Great Wall yesterday so it was a bit of a challenge, but we made it through. Last time we toured the Forbidden City there was a lot of renovations underway, so this time it was nice to see it completed. It really is fantastic.

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More Pics

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Pics #4

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Pics #3

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The Great Wall

We've had a very big day today so I will be brief in my descriptions of it. We left the hotel around 9:30 this morning and did not return until 8pm, so It was a very big day for the little one's.

First was the Great Wall, the same spot that we visited last time, but the view was much different this time of year, especially with the recent snowfall still on the ground. Of the group of us, only myself and Amelia went all the way up to the first Guard Tower. Janey and Zoe went up about 1/2 way with us before she turned back. Carrying the extra weight up that trek is near impossible.

We were very proud of Amelia for making it all the way up there, and I took plenty of pictures to prove it. The steps were still a bit icy, but she was very brave and did it! The one picture I will post, you can see behind her the row of buses parked, to get an idea of how high she went.

After that we went to the Jade Factory, where we had a very nice Chinese meal and of course, some shopping!

Next stop was the Silk Factory for . . . . . more shopping!

Then we had our Peking Duck dinner, and after that stopped by the Olympic Village for some fantastic night photos.

We were all very tired by the time we got back to the hotel, but of course, Amelia had been promised a swim so off her and I went for our daily Polar Dip. (The pool is frigid in this hotel!)

I'll post the pictures in groups of two as the free wifi is pretty slow and the tablet has a tough time handling more than that. Tomorrow is the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

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