Day out.

Nothing too big has happened the past couple of days. Just waiting around for a call from the US Embassy still. We went down to the french/old quarter again today. I bought a "ty ba". It's a kind of Vietnamese Lute. Looks like the picture below.



Here's a pic of St. Josephs Cathedral in the french quarter.


And then what post wouldn't be complete without another pic of Jaidyn.

Halong Bay

This morning we got our passport and an updated medical report for Jaidyn today. No problems there. Now we just are still waiting on a call from the US Embassy for another visa interview.

Yesterday we took a day trip out to Halong Bay. It was a 3 hour van ride out to the bay, we spent a few hours on a boat and hiked up lots of steps up to a cave. Then rode back.

Here's a few pics.


Halong Bay consist of a ton of mountain and rock formations that go for many miles all through the ocean. Hundreds of "Junk Boats" take people through the bay on day trips or overnight. We just did a day trip.



A stop at the beach for 30 minutes to give Jaidyn yet another first, wading in sand and ocean.




So after the boat tour we were waiting for our bus to come pick us up. There was a restaurant that we stopped and sat at for a few minutes. This was a part of their liquor selection. Apparently the real men drink their liquor with fermenting snakes siting in them for months.

Vietnamese Water puppet show

Tonight we went to a Vietnamese Water puppet show (was only 2.50 a person for the good seats). It was really interesting. Apparently it's an art form that was started by farmers over 1000 years ago and still remains uniquely Vietnamese. Basically behind this stage these puppeteers are waist deep in the water have the puppets on rods with intricate pulleys and levers to make them move. It's more interesting than it sounds. Also had to throw in another pic of Jaidyn just for fun.

Interview and Back by popular demand

So we had our interview today and it went ok but not great. She asked us a bunch of questions and the parts we thought could possibly be a problem didn't appear to be a big deal at all. However there was some other things that they wanted to look into further to make sure it was legit. We think they will investigate it and it will be fine, however, it doesn't guarantee a speedy turn-around time. We'll see. We've appreciated all your prayers, comments, and emails as we've continued through the red-tape nightmare. It has been very encouraging to us. We're addicted to your comments as much as your addicted to our blog ;)

Also, everyone kept saying in various ways that the last video wasn't cheesy and they wanted to see more. So we now give you more. Once again I'm going to put the disclaimer that this is grandma geared. When we first got her she wasn't really able to sit by herself or scoot, so she's showing off her new abilities aquired in just a few days.

Hoan Kiem Lake

We went to Hoan Kiem lake and the old Quarter yesterday with another family. Was definitely fun, and you get alot of practice at saying no thank you in vietnamese (khong, Cam On).

We have our I-600 interview today and apparently our case isn't quite as cut and dry as it could be. Without getting into a lot of complicated details, since our case took so long, it was caught in the middle of some law changes and the province not being fully aware and up-to-date on those law changes. It SHOULD be fine, but there's a little room for problems. We'll see. If today goes well, the rest should be home free apparently.

Yesterday's pics.

Just spent some more time playing. Lots of playing, lots of bottles, lots of vomit. Welcome to parenthood. Eating was going much better until we discovered she appears to have a latex allergy as she was developing an awful rash around her mouth. Luckily we brought silicone nipples too which she absolutely hates!!! The good news is the rash is getting better. The bad news is we are starting all over with coaxing her to eat. We were going to go the the old quarter today and go shopping but Jaidyn had a very rough night so we are going to save that for tomorrow. We will work on paperwork this afternoon and then it will be submitted to the embassy tomorrow. We are supposed to have our interview on Tues at 1:30 so please be praying it goes smoothly and is processed quickly.

More cute pics.


A first music lesson.



Playing with toys.



Just a good pic of a photogenic baby.

The ticklemonster

Ok, so here's a cheesy video of Heather tickling Jaidyn and Jaidyn and I looking at ourselves in the camera. Kind of something that only grandparents might get into, so watch at your own discretion.