photos that would not load on the last post....

This is Joan and Jolee with us at the airport. David took the picture.
Next is Jasmine at LAX... having a snack just minutes after officially becoming a US Citizen. Congratulations!

We're back.....

We had a rough trip back, but we made it. We both have very bad colds and can hardly breathe. This post is short because it's 3AM, but here are some photos.
Jasmine in front of a altar at the hotel.
She was infatuated with a shower cap all morning and wore it until we left:)

We were lucky and grateful to have Joan, Jolee and David meet us at the airport. Joan made a welcome home sign with some balloons... and Jolee gave Jasmine a teddy bear...:)

busy, busy day....

We started out early this morning and passed the physical exam with flying colors, after waiting hours for our 9:20 AM appointment. I was surprised at how complete the exam was. I was expecting just a quick check over, but it was an in depth check up. We then ran over to the US Embassy and dropped off our completed documents, had lunch, bought a new suitcase for all of our stuff, went back to the Embassy for our 2PM interview, then had to run over to Eva Airlines in person because for some reason, no one was able to change our flight date over the phone..... so backwards, completely inefficient, and frustrating here. We then went back to the Embassy by 4 PM to pick up the Immigrant Visa and a stack of immigration forms in a sealed envelope which we are not allowed to open. At about 4:30, when we were almost back to the hotel, we noticed that our documents were not ours, but were someone elses! Because of the very heavy congested traffic, we got back to the Embassy at 3 minutes til 5 PM, after calling them and telling them we had someone else's records. They called the people who had ours, and it was 6 PM by the time we met them to exchange the documents. We got back to our hotel at 7 PM, exhausted, and had banannas for dinner because we had to pack all of our stuff to be ready to leave tomorrow morning.

So.... we are leaving tomorrow morning, earlier than planned and will be back Wednesday night late. We are going to be stuck in LAX for 5 hours because the next flight to Phoenix had only one seat left. Since Jasmine turned two just three months ago, she is 3 months past the age limit where she is allowed to sit on my lap... even though she is the size of a one year old. So, we have to wait around LAX for hours for the next flight to have a seat for her. Just love the airlines.
So, it was a very rushed and extremely stressful day, but we will start our 24 hour journey home tomorrow morning and be back before Thanksgiving day:)

Here is Jasmine after getting her physical while she is waiting for me to pay. The lady next to her is our "in country associate" while we are in Hanoi. She is the one who translated for us and guided us around for the past 2 days.

The other photo is of her waiting for the cab outside our hotel this morning when we were getting ready to leave.

I also tried to take a photo of the emblem on the front of the US Embassy and a very nasty woman yelled at me, so just because she was so rude, I took a photo of the side of the building:) It wouldn't allow me to upload this photo... so, I'll try later.



My next post probably will not be for a couple of days.

Sleeping Beauty....

This morning we are getting ready to get a required physical exam for Jasmine's immigrant visa. Here she is getting her beauty sleep so she will look and feel her best:)

made it to Hanoi....

This morning, we got up at 5Am, had a quick breakfast in the room, and got on the plane to Hanoi. It is much cooler here, around 80 degrees, and of course still raining for the most part. We did quite a bit of shopping for "souveniers", and will have to buy another cheapo suitcase tomorrow just to get it all home. I wanted to give Jasmine a little gift every year for her "adoption day"... November 18th, until she is 18 years old, plus we got some really nice hand embroidered tablecloths, Vietnamese coffee and tea, lacquered photo albums and so many other things. The Vietnamese are known for their lacquer paintings and other items. Then we were directed to a Western Vietnamese restaurant... which was, well, rather upscale. I was worried about the nice wine glasses, etc, but we did really well. The photo is of Jasmine outside of the restaurant. I tried to take a photo of her next to an altar in the hotel, but she was too afraid of it.

If anyone is waiting for an email from me, I cannot get the emails in the outbox to go out:(

Tomorrow we get her physical exam and submit all paperwork for the Visa, and hopefully we will have the Visa by Wednesday... then we can leave on Thursday, which means that we will probably get home on Thanksgiving day. Oh goody, airport on Thanksgiving Day.... I am so looking forward to that:)

we had a beautiful day today.

Today we went to China Beach at the Sandy Beach Resort and pretended we were guests there:). First we went to the ocean, where Jasmine was terrified. She screamed, not happily, when the water came up around her feet. We then went to the swimming pool by the ocean where we got the same reaction, but after a few minutes we played on the steps of the pool with no problem. Maybe we'll start swimming lessons in a few months when we get home:)

I actually had a real salad and vegetables today. I spent more money on food today ($25.00) than I have spent all week, but it was well worth it. Normally, I have been spending $3.00-$5.00 per day for three meals a day, but it seems that no matter what I order off the menu, it ends up being "pho", which is the traditional Vietnamese food consisting of rice or noodles, vegetables, "meat"... which I definitely do not eat... especially since many times it looks like tracheas and who knows what.

So we walked around all day, and went into a little play room that they had at the resort. I hope the photos will upload, otherwise we will have to do it tomorrow when we get to Hanoi. We fly early in the morning and get to Hanoi after a 1.5 hour flight.

we've moved on ......

Now we are in Danang for just a day and a half.... and it is still raining. We should be getting Jasmine's passport later this afternoon.
Plus.... we've had a huge transformation from a shy little girl to non stop talking and mischief. The photo tells it all. She laughs, then right when I go to take the picture, she sticks her tongue out. And now there is a smashed cookie al over the hotel room floor. She still is withdrawn around strangers. She will stop eating if the waitress walks up to the table or someone says something to us.

Today, our big trip was to the grocery store again, but it was much more pleasant this time. We could actually get down the aisles. I think that today was her first taste of ice cream ever.

We're going to the beach tomorrow no matter what, then off to Hanoi on Sunday morning.

Here's a photo of what I am talking about... plus the lovely view from our hotel.

The site will not let me upload photos today. Probably a weak connection. I'll try later.