We Are Here!!

We are in Beijing! We had an awesome trip- we could not have hoped for the girls to be any better and its been a long however many hours. For those of you who scrapbook, you know how you take pictures imagining the page in your head? Well, the whole time I have been thinking oh what a journal enry this is going to be!! Many of you requested details and as you share this journey with us get ready for one more ride because this is truly the typical Jamieson Journey. We did arrive with plane tickets waiting for us and got to LA with no problems. We had a 10 hour layover there so we had decided to rent a car and go to a little beach community for a while. This is where the fun begins. We went to claim our baggage and the stroller was not where they said, so 45 minutes later we located the stroller. They were only holding our car for a few minutes more so we rushed to the rental place. We get our car, load our 4 huge suitcases, double stroller and carryons and decide that we will go ahead and check in Air China now so we don't have to worry about luggage. So, we drove back to the airport and unloaded everything. Between parking our car and actually getting to the doors Air China had disappeared. ha! We found it only to discover that Air China check in is actually Air France by day and Air China by night. So, back to the car we went with all 9000 pieces of luggage (okay, by that time it felt like that many.) We get back in the car and we are laughing so hard.... Long story short, we ended up in the cutest most quaint little beach town and had a picnic on the beach and walked down a long pier. We watched dolphins, surfers and even got to pet starfish. As we got our feet in the water, we looked back at our picnic spot and a seagull had decided to feast on our pizza scraps. He was a hoot! We also enjoyed Starbucks and watched the sunset over the ocean. We went back to the airport and then embarked on our 14 hour flight to China. On the way, the girls did great- they slept, had a couple of pillow flights and played. Drew and Kalie are those kind of people on airplanes that I have always rolled my eyes at- they sit in one position turn their head and they are gone! So, they were on the outside seats while Karlee and I took the two middle seats usually with her on my chest or us cuddling. It worked well. We landed in Beijing and go through the airport with Karlee singing at the top of her lungs Jesus Loves Me this I know and Old McDonald. Kalie is keeping a journal which will be such a treasure.
So, we are at our hotel, we have had showers and are going to find something to eat. Its cool here but nice. The room is great. I knew this trip would be emotional for so many reasons but it has hit me even harder than I expected. So much of Beijing reminds me of Taiwan. As you drive along, you just want to take in every piece of the city so you have something to share with your daughters (and to keep your mind off the driving conditions-ha!)
We are so thankful to be here. We are thankful for safety and thank you for all your comments. We won't get to respond to them all but we are getting them and so grateful for them. 3 more days and we will have Kate.
My camera battery is out so I am charging it and will post a few pictures of the trip in a little while- but I wanted to go ahead and let you know we are here.
Love to you all