The Gang is All Here and A Star is Born

Good News, Goods News...everyone is here and safe!
Just a quick note to let everyone know that Bekah, Rachel (Bekah's Sister), Kate and AJ all arrived in Shanghai last night safe and sound. From what I am being told, Kate and AJ did great on the plane except the fact that they only slept the last 2 hours of the trip. As you can guess, that means mom and aunt Rachel only slept about 20 minutes. They may have set a new record for the longest flight without at least getting a prolonged nap. If you need to know, apparently the Seoul international airport has 3 amazing kid play rooms that Kate and AJ tested ALL NIGHT LONG!!! Even after not sleeping much on the trip over, Kate and AJ's internal clocks were still set on Dallas time, thus resulting in the early morning wake up (5 AM) so Bekah and Rachel started out their first day in Shanghai on about 5 hours sleep in 3 days.
We were able to get some house keeping duties out of the way this morning by going for an early breakfast and stopping by the local grocery store for some essential food items. Apparently the Spicy Doritos, Low Fat Pop-Tarts, Coke Light, Peanut Butter, Captain Crunch and Cheese weren't good enough for Bekah. Don't ask me what amazing recipe I was going to prepare with those 6 items, but good news...the Capt'n still represents even in China!!!
After the shopping extravaganza, I decided to take the crew for a local lunch and to get a sampling of the world renowned "sticky buns of Shanghai". I was also thinking about dubbing myself "sticky buns" because of my amazing D in basketball and my big bum, but I will cover more of that in later blogs. Just a tease though...we are all used to teammates slapping us on the butt after a good play, but what happens if the hand rests, cups and slides just a little too long? "Sticky Buns"???
For the last three weeks, I have grown somewhat accustomed to the prolonged stares as I walk by, but nothing prepared me for the utter freakshow that Kate and AJ represent here in China. While partaking of our sticky buns, I noticed a table of Chinese folk taking pictures of Kate and AJ from across the restaurant. We also have several people stop buy and introduce themselves to Kate and AJ. AJ was pretty reserved, but Kate took the opportunity to steal the show. I don't know where she got her love of the spotlight. After lunch we walked around a local outdoor shopping area. During our walk, a young local girl stopped to have her picture taken with Kate. She pretty much took Kate right out of my arms and held her so that the picture wouldn't be ruined by including me in it. The local girl then noticed AJ and put two and two together to discover that they were twins. The full scale photo shoot was on. At one point she even got AJ to kiss her on the cheek for a photo op. AJ has been here 1 day and he's getting action. By the end of the 5 months, he may want to stay! In all, I think about 5 groups took pictures of Kate and AJ and countless others gave high fives or knuckles (which I started with Kate and AJ long before Jeremy started it with Brynna, so give me all the credit). Another side note, this may be racial, but I don't think that Chinese people give good high fives. Watching AJ and the locals was like watching my dad and his golfing buddies give high fives - a complete disaster - out of sync, hands wide open and flat also promoted by a loud announcement of "high five" and then the slight hold and release. Brutal to watch.
The lack of sleep finally caught up with everyone, so we returned "home" to unpack and put the kids and Bekah down for a nap. I am glad they are all here!