Day 1 Beijing

(Post written Friday night, Beijing time.)

We are here.

After that statement, everything else just seems extraneous, but for those of you who are wondering, in the last 48 hours I have had about 5 hours of sleep. The flights were fine, although the flight to Beijing was delayed by about two hours because of mechanical issues, and the landing was so rough that half of us felt sick (thankfully none of us actually needed the handy bag in the seat pocket, though). On the plus side, we ended up on a plane with individual tv screens. Unlimited movies and tv access make my children very happy. Kate was concerned she had gone over her daily screen time, but I assured her those rules don't apply on airplanes.

Also happily, we found a Jamba Juice at the airport in Chicago. Yay, Razmatazz!

The kids have done wonderfully (if you don't count one or two minor temper flares because of pure exhaustion, which I don't – those are completely justified). They even got compliments from strangers on the airplane. Will and Kate slept a few hours, but Ben slept maybe an hour and a half. He is bunking with Jacob tonight, and I hope he is already asleep.

We are checked in at the hotel. (As I write, there is no internet connection, but I have high hopes that when I can put together a coherent thought I can figure out the problem. If you are reading this, either Tim or I was successful!)

Tomorrow is a full day of touring in Beijing, so I must get some rest in order to be functional.

Miss you all already. Much love.

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PPS - Remember, please don't use our last name in the comments. Thanks!