passport photos, pool, and phamily phun

What can I say, I like alliteration…

We didn’t do a whole lot today, but we’re all feeling wiped out.  I’m going to have to go back to my notes from our last trip to China to see if we napped every day.

Team Sublett started the day with a hearty breakfast, including a serving of the Chopped Sheep Entrails Soup.  Josie had no idea what she was eating, but she knew that she didn’t like it!  Levi tried it, but the rest of us opted for more familiar dishes.  He must be getting braver.  Our local guide met us after breakfast, and took Kim, Isaac, and me to a beautiful and huge police office.  We weren’t in trouble; that’s where you have to go to get passport photos made.  On the way there we got a history lesson about Inner Mongolia.  Did you know that Genghis Khan and Attilla the Hun were both from Inner Mongolia?  I didn’t.  We’re going to do some sightseeing over the next couple of days.  There’s a museum of Mongolian History that should be fascinating.

We’re also going to have the opportunity to buy some local souvenirs, so if anyone wants a Genghis Khan hat, or an Attilla is my Homey t-shirt, let me know.

We stayed pretty close to the hotel today.  It’s not that we weren’t feeling adventurous, just that we were feeling tired.  The kids all swam in the hotel pool.  Sadie and Josie spent a good part of the time trying to teach Isaac how to swim.  He’s getting the hang of it.  It was pretty fun to sit and watch the Chinese men swimming laps try to avoid getting clobbered by the gaggle of kids thrashing about in the shallow end.

We headed back upstairs to get ready for supper, and Isaac fell asleep!  We woke him up and walked over to a pretty nice restaurant.  We tried to get directions from the doorman of the hotel, but Josie was having a little difficulty, so he walked us over!  That’s how close it was to us…oh well.  Levi loved his club sandwich, but about lost it over his fruit cup.  He told Kim that he thought his yogurt tasted funny.  She replied, “that’s not yogurt, it’s mayonaise.”  I thought the fruit was coming back up!  Needless to say, he didn’t finish the fruit cup.

It’s cold here at night, way up north in Inner Mongolia.  It’s near 32 degrees, but they use the Celsius scale.  Either way, it makes for a brisk walk back to the hotel.  We skyped with Charlie (and the fam!) for a bit before shutting things down for the night.  Annabelle was so tired that she bailed on the skypage and opted for an early bedtime.

Here are some pics from the day…