Hi everyone,

It's Barbie again. We hope that you all are doing well.

Today was another good day. We spent the entire day on a boat trip on the Red River. There were 3 "ports" - 2 temples and a market. The temples were interesting and the market great. It was a world famous ceramics market and a bargain hunters delight. We purchased 2 tea sets for the girls, a fisherman figurine for Thomas, 2 Christmas ornaments, a vase and some wind chimes (all of these were beautifully painted ceramics) for $9.50. That's my kind of place. There was just one near miss with another boat, complete with a few "pleasantries" exchanged between our captain and the other vessel. It was an enjoyable trip and good to get out of a busy city for awhile.

Julia continues to do well. Today was the first day that she didn't cry for the nannies. This evening she was walking around and playing and interested in everything she could reach - we have some serious babyproofing to do when we get home! Early indications show us that she has the potential to be headstrong and very busy! (Here is where I hear all the men saying "Typical woman!") We had our first opportunity to show her a book today and she was very intrigued by it and how the scenes changed when you turned a page. It appeared like she has not had many, if any, opportunities to see books in the past. The people that we run into during the day seemed very intrigued with our family and the mix of our children. And even though it is in the upper 70s, I have been scolded by a woman for not dressing Julia warmly enough (everyone here is wearing jackets, sweaters, pants, hats, etc because it is winter.) Oops!

There's just a snapshot of our day. Thanks for checking in.

Barbie