The 15th was a really long day. We boarded a jet in Guangzhou at 9:00 AM and got off the last plane in Seattle at 5:30 PM that evening: 30 hours later. Our three checked suitcases had gone MIA; last seen at LAX (which remains my least favorite airport on the planet) when we cleared them through customs and put them on "the transfer belt". All three airports we used in China had our bags waiting on the carousel by the time we got there. At SeaTac on the way home we dawdled on the plane and took our time getting to the baggage claim area. When we got there the attendant at the desk said it would be another half hour or so before the bags would appear. So we went to see if we could get something to eat. All the restaurants at SeaTac are behind the security checkpoints. There was a Starbucks and a wine bar that had some upscale snacks. By the time we got a table in the wine bar place we had less than half an hour before our shuttle bus to Marysville left so we bailed and headed back to the baggage claim area. No bags. I double-checked with the attendant again and she told me all the bags were off. So I had them file a claim. They needed a description of the bags, and asked if I could identify an item in each one: Let's see, they're full of clothes and junk from China. I put yellow duck tape on them, but wouldn't you think that big white label they tape to the handle with my name and a barcode number would be enough of an identifying mark? I know this guy behind the counter didn't lose my bags, but 30 hours of air travel and airports makes it very hard for me to be civil with the lost luggage people. I am so glad I don't have his job, as he had a line of people who all looked as happy as me.

So we abandoned the bags and ran to catch the bus, thankfully it was running late or we would have missed it. An hour later we met my mother, sister and nephews in Marysville with our van. We were starving at this point so we went to my mom's to grab a bite before making the last hour drive home. My mom and sister both got a kick out of meeting Shen. He made himself right at home - ate watermelon and played with toys - flashed his naughty grin and charmed them thoroughly. We then loaded the boys up one last time and headed home. Ben and Cam and Brittni all met us at the house. Shen was more than happy to meet his two older brothers, he gave hugs all around and even roughhoused with them a bit. We finally got the little boys in bed around midnight and followed them directly. I cannot tell you how good it felt to be back in our own bed. Really, it was so, so good! I never slept in China the way I have slept the last two nights - it's like the sleep of the dead. And then impossible to get up in the morning.

We did have to get up though as we needed to collect the luggage from the local airport (turns out it wasn't lost, they just couldn't unload the plane in under 2 hours). And we had a doctor's appointment for Kai. He had broken out with a strange rash on his hands and feet. Turns out he picked up "Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease". Considering how he touched pretty much everything in China, we took him to visit two orphanages, let him play in the Swan Room and he's a devout thumb-sucker, we feel lucky he got off so easy. This also explains the fever he had the last couple days in Guangzhou.

The second night home we put the boys down in their room at 8:00 PM. They went to sleep easily, but were up at midnight as if they had had a good nap. We struggled to get them back down, but ended up with them in our bed for a couple hours before we could slip them back into their own beds asleep. They were down again at 8:00 PM tonight and we're hoping we'll get a full night out of them. Shen is a good sleeper so we're confident this is only a temporary setback as we recover from jet-lag.

Shen is settling down a bit as he gets his bearing here at home. His eating has slowed down and he has less out-of-control moments. Transition times are hard on him, but we aren't able to give him fair-warnings in Chinese. As he learns the rhythms and gets better English skills we're sure this area will improve as well. He and Kai get along as well as any pair of 3 and 4 year old kids I've ever met. They require a lot of supervision, but they are really enjoying one another. I think Kai is truly as happy having a little brother as he thought (and we hoped) he would be.

Here are a few last pictures from our trip home...

Kai and Shen killing time in the airport watching The Monkey King on the DVD player. This was one of my best finds in China, Kai loves Monkey King and doesn't mind it's only in Chinese with no subtitles...


Eating noodles at the Hong Kong airport - check out the chopstick action...


Kai before take-off in Guangzhou. I love this photo as we didn't pose it, he asked for the safety guide and started looking through it.


Here's a photo from his first flight with us two years ago...


Shen meeting Cam and Brittni...


Kai and Shen playing in the backyard sandbox...