These four boys and a girl will forever be grateful for the truly amazing experience we had on our adventures in China and Malaysia. The best part by far was the time we spent with Uncle Stew and Auntie Kim. They were incredibly gracious and generous hosts, and sharing these wonderful experiences with them was the greatest gift of all. Another highlight was getting to know Kim’s family. They are such lovely, warm and kind-hearted people. We will look forward to spending more time with them in the future. We hope to be able to host them in the U.S. sometime!

Stay tuned for more adventures. We must admit that discussion had already begun about where we would travel to next before we had even landed back home:).

JUNE 20, 2012
DAY FIFTEEN

We board our plane for our return trip to Shanghai, flight number 6 for us. The kids have become remarkably patient and adept travelers.

We have lots of good food and great fun back at Stewart and Kim’s place, and we do a whole lot of careful packing before we take our final flight home to Chicago.

We enjoy a casual meal and some ice cream to follow at a yummy noodle place called Canoodling.

June 19, 2012
DAY FOURTEEN

Before we head back to Kuala Lumpur, Yvonne feeds us the most delicious meal she so lovingly prepared for us. It’s similar to moo shu, but everything is so incredibly fresh and flavorful. We stuff ourselves, enjoying the meal and our last moments with our family there.

We say our goodbyes for now, and load up for the two hour ride back to KL.

We enjoy a delicious meal in an open air restaurant in Malacca called Aunty Fatso’s.

Our wonderful hosts in Melaka, William and Yvonne, have ordered amazing food and wine for us to enjoy, including huge crab claws and sweet-as-candy dragon fruit and watermelon.

As I mentioned, truly one of the most special parts of this trip has been the opportunity to get to know Kim’s family. Until my trip to Malaysia, I had never met her sweet mother, and although she does not speak any English, we connected in the most meaningful way. We both understand how much we love Stewart and Kim and therefore we are connected.

One more stop before we call it a night…foot massages for all! We settle into our leather recliners and watch European Cup soccer while we have our feet massaged. Life is good.