Vitamin D!!!

Yes, today we saw the sun for the first time in over a week. Hooray! It wasn't Colorado sun, but hey, we're ready to take anything after this long rainy stretch.

We had planned on going to the aquarium this morning, but decided to take advantage of the sun and so went to a large park. In addition to walking paths around a beautiful lake, Bird World was located here. Admission was 5 yuan (~ 80 cents) for each kid, free for parents. Pay another 5 yuan for different kinds of bird food (seeds, fish, and a small dish of salad). Then walk into an aviary and feed the birds. Okay, the bird seed makes sense. And the fish were for the ducks and these quick-moving little white birds. The salad? Oh, that's for the free ranging emu who will come up and eat the salad out of your hand, of course.

After Bird World, we walked quite a ways around the park. Medora gave Lian a crash course in climbing on rocks. Lian isn't as steady as Medora, but she wants to follow exactly the same route as jie jie (big sister). Part of the walk was to check out if the kid-oriented amusement park was open at this time of the year. It was deserted and the rides weren't running. Thank goodness for our guide Min, as she talked to the employees and discovered they were happy to start any ride we wanted. The favorite was a small train, and they gave the girls balls to throw at targets as it went around in an oval pattern. Since we were the only customers, they gave the girls an extra long ride and several buckets of balls to keep chucking. They had a BLAST! My personal favorite was the double-decker merry go round (we rode on the top deck, of course).

Tomorrow, we'll play it by ear again. If the weather is nice, we'll probably do a repeat of the park, as the girls had such a great time - not just the rides, but running and climbing on rocks too. If the weather is rainy, we'll head for the aquarium.