Bensons Visit

Oh my good ness. So much happening so fast now. I’ll be catching up on posts slowly all week.

First, the Benson/Whitmire family is here. They are our first friends to visit with kids. They arrived Saturday afternoon. Jacob and I picked them up and he was so happy and excited he almost burst out of his skin. He saw them coming and ran past the security guard. Laura saw him coming and tried to give him a hug but he pushed her away and sprinted into Gabie’s arms.

Gabe Benson has been Jacob’s best friend since they were six months old and he is so very, very happy to have him here. It’s really sweet. Gabie’s little brother Nathaniel is also making Eli and Anna very happy. So we’re happy bunch now, heading into the final week of school.

Just about four hours after arriving, they gamely made it over to he Orchard for the first half hour or so of a Woodie Alan gig. They’ve been ok with jetlag.

Tomorrow morning, Benson family will go on to Sichuan for 4-5 days and we are meeting up with them in Xi’an on Saturday –where we will also be joined by Becky’s sister Sara and her boyfriend Jon. So busy but good times here.

Gabie got into the swing of things in Ritan
Park. This exercise equipment has been one
of my kids’ favorite spots since we arrived in
Beijing.


Another longtime favorite.. this liquid art thing
is huge here for kids. I don’t know why it’s never
made it to America. I fear toxicity.

Inside the Panjiyuan “Dirt” Market. A very cool,
really wild place.

Just another bag of Panjiyuan Buddha heads.