It’s the final countdown! (*insert music as appropriate*).

Wow, our departure is getting close–we’ll be on a very long flight two weeks from today. Our flights and hotels are booked, we’re installing car seats, and we’re waiting for our passports to be returned to us with China visas. Late last week, we also received our itinerary for our trip. Just in case you’re interested, here’s where we’ll be, and when:

• June 19: Wheels up! We fly nonstop to Beijing (about 13 hours of flight time)
• June 20: We arrive in Beijing and meet our first guide. We’ll hopefully start to get ourselves on China time (one time zone for the whole country!!!)
• June 21 & 22: Tons of touring, including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and lots and lots of other places. Families have told us we’ll be exhausted by the end of Beijing, but sounds fantastic!
• June 23: We fly from Beijing to Taiyuan, Shanxi Province and meet our in-country agency rep for the remainder of our trip. We’ll want to rest up for our big day.
• June 24: Placement Day! We will get custody of Alexander at the Civil Affairs office in the afternoon
• June 25: We will return to Civil Affairs with Alexander early in the morning to register his adoption.
• June 26: We’ll take our first family outing to Pingyao, an amazing UNESCO world heritage site.
• June 27: We pick up Alexander’s passport, notary papers, and take a tour of Taiyuan.
• June 28: We fly from Taiyuan to Guangzhou in the late afternoon.
• June 29: Alexander’s medical exam
• June 30: A day touring Guangzho, the Chen Family Academy, and Yuntai gardens
• July 1: More city touring, and visa/medical exam report paperwork pickup
• July 2: Our Consulate appointment. Alexander is approved to immigrate to the US.
• July 3: Our guide picks up Alexander’s new US passport/visa. More local touring.
• July 4: We depart Guangzhou via van for Hong Kong. We fly back to Chicago. With the time zone change and flight times, it looks as though we’ll arrive home in early afternoon and in plenty of time for Independence Day fireworks! We’ll clear US Customs, hand over all of the immigration paperwork we’ve been gathering, and Alexander becomes an American!

Aside from big things (like flights and formal appointments), our schedule is fairly flexible. We can’t wait to explore these cities with our new son!