Friday, July 9th- Great Wall

Everyone woke up happy and well-rested this morning.  There were no more tears from Jia.  We went down to breakfast and once again she ate everything we gave her.  The only thing she has tried that she didn't like was Sprite.  She only drinks water, which is easy enough. After breakfast we met our guide for the 2 hour drive to the Great Wall.  On the way we stopped at a jade factory.  We knew from last time that we wouldn't be buying anything.  The factories they take us to seem to be "required" by the government.  Tons of tourists are there and everything is extremely high.  The girls do not need to be around anything breakable so we tried to stay away from the store. The Great Wall was very crowded and hot.  Kirk and the girls only climbed to the first "tower" because it is very steep and uneven.  The last time we visited I stayed back with Zeke while Kirk and Harrison went up.  Today was my turn to go up and it was tough!  I definitely need to get back to the gym when I get home!  I was quite motivated to keep going by the women at least twice my age who were climbing it.  Afterwards, we went to the Cloisonne Factory where we had lunch and shopped.  Again, everything was overpriced but I did buy the girls each a bracelet which they love.  When we arrived back at the hotel Kirk put the girls down for a nap.  Jia didn't cry and fell asleep pretty quickly.  Lillie Mei fought it for a while but is now asleep.  Later we head to dinner and then to Wal-Mart to buy a few things.  I am finally caught up on the blog :) and will try to post one more time before I go to bed. Thank you all for sharing in our blessing!