June 24, 2009

We made plans to meet up again with our friends Xiaomei, Mark and their daughter Miriam.   Xiaomei twisted her ankle so she couldn’t join us since we planned a lot of walking at the Beijing Amusement park.  It is their older amusement park and although not a themed, fancy one, actually much better for smaller children since almost every ride they can go on.  All 3 girls really enjoyed themselves despite the >90 degree heat.  They LOVED the water ride that soaked us all.  Yihui’s favorite ride is the carousal.  They all took turns picking one out to do.  We managed to stay until 3 and by the time we left, they were dragging (so were we).  Today Yihui was smiling a lot and she allowed us to take her picture more often.  It helps so much that Mark speaks Chinese and can explain things when needed. 

 We came back to our hotel and all took a quick shower.  Mark had picked out a restaurant, Pure Lotus Vegetarian that serves inventive dishes in a temple like atmosphere.  The food was terrific but the children were not so thrilled with it.  It was in Chaoyang district which is my favorite area of Beijing.  By the time we got home it was 10pm and both girls fell asleep quickly.