The Zoo and Ethan's Visa

The waiters and waitresses finally know Ethan Walsh.

He arrives and they all say good morning with a big smile. They show us to our table and bring him the high chair he requests. And then they (not us) start clearing everything in his reach...AWAY!

It is too funny!

This morning we went to the Guangzhou Zoo. It wasn't crowded at all and it was a cool breezy morning...perfect for walking around outside! We saw tigers, bears, giraffes, hippos, monkeys...you name it, we saw it. Ethan loved everything and of course, asked tons of questions. Like when he saw 3 fake bears (and I'm talking obviously fake)...he asked "What are they doing out of their cage and can they move?" When he saw men working down below on an outdoor tiger moat, he asked "How did they get down there? Did someone throw them down?" And when he saw a man walking out of a no admittance area, he asked "Why did he get to go in there?" Such a curious mind! There was a kids play area with rides that he wanted to go in, but we told him it was closed. A few minutes later he had an actual meltdown. Well, it wasn't because of the rides...it was because Baba ran over his feet (that were completely hanging off the stroller). Baba said sorry. Ethan got a lollipop.

All is well in the world. Ethan's taking his nap and I'm cracking up at "The Guide for Fire Evacuation in Hotels" booklet in our room. When we were packing for our trip, Mike walked in with a flashlight and said "I'm bringing this to China." Not top priority on my packing list, but ok...I'll bite..."Why?" "In case of a fire", he said, "So we can find our way out." It cracked me up because the last thing I think of when traveling is a fire in the hotel. I'm usually praying there's a good mall close by. Well it seems as if the Chinese are quite concerned with fire in the hotels too. There's a cartoon with "Water Dragon Bangbang" (the character - a drago that resembles a frog - used for fire safety publicity and education). It has 4 captions...1. Catches Fire. 2. Wu Wa? (Frog running) 3. How to do?! How to do?! I must jump. and 4. When the fire occurs, stay calm, learn self-help means of escape, can not choose imprudently to jump down. We're on the 15th floor with a flashlight (that has dead batteries)...

we are so screwed if there's a fire!

Our last time eating fried rice for I think...EVER! We just keep saying "One more day...one more day!" We got Ethan's visa this afternoon so we are free to leave the country...Praise God!
Ethan enjoys his approximately 2 hour bath nightly...the real world will set in Saturday night when we explain to him that now WE have to pay for the water! Oh well...let him live it up while he can!

We pray for so many of our friends right now...The Robinson family who lost their mom and their dad this week, The Meister family who's daughter Reagan is at New Day undergoing heart surgery today, the family we met from Idaho who are struggling with an older child who didn't want to leave her foster family, my sister & her family who are leaving for Colorado tomorrow morning, as always, the safety of our children...those are just a few of the prayers we have right now. We also pray for all of your intentions.
We love you!

Mike, Tonya & Ethan

To see a video of our time at the Zoo, click here