Shanghai China 2008

Not doing much today. Hanging out at my in-laws apartment where we're staying. The kids got up way too early - 5am. I think they are the ones that are most effected by the time difference.

The kids are very happy to see their grandparents again and are very happy to see all the new toys and clothes that their grandparents had for them - this really seemed to ease the transition.

We didn't venture out except to visit the little koi pond in the apartment complex, the kids really enjoyed feeding bread to the fish.

We had a 6am flight out of Philadelphia for Atlanta so we wanted to leave the house by 3am to drive to the airport, find the parking lot and process through ticketing and security.

We let the kids sleep as long as we could, but 3am comes mighty earlier.

The flight to Atlanta was un-eventful and gave the kids a chance to sleep.

We grabbed some breakfast in Atlanta before our flight to Shanghai - luckily the kids ate something. Our fear was that they wouldn't eat any of the airline food.

As we made our way down the ramp to the Boeing 777-200 that would ferry us to Shanghai - the captain was standing at the entrance to the plane and took a liking to Matthew and invited us to come up to the cockpit.

Once there, Matthew wanted no part in sitting in the captain's chair but Lydia was willing and eager. So she climbed in and the captain took her picture and a picture of Matthew and me sitting in a jump seat.

The flight to China was long but the kids were occupied by the in-flight entertainment system. They really liked having their own TV at their seat. Between watching some kid friendly movies and TV show episodes, sleeping and eating - they managed to pass the time quietly. They were a real joy to travel with.