THE CHALLENGE BEGINS

Brian and I arrived in Shiyan yesterday evening. It was an uneventful journey home for the most part which is usually a blessing. We flew to Wuhan from Kunming and exited the airplane at exactly midnight, just in time to catch the fireworks welcoming in the new Chinese Year of the Rat. Actually, you can't really miss the fireworks during this time as they go off for days before and after the actual new year. As we were taking off from Kunming, we could see fireworks blanketing the city. I've never seen fireworks from above before.

Now we're home and not really sure what to do with our time. I've been invited to go to Xi'an to spend some time with a sister and her family there, and Brian's been invited to visit Happy Guy and his family (who will not be back until at least after the 13th, news I'm trying to deal with since it means no Happy Guy's for longer than I want to contemplate). Neither of us, though, wants to think about getting out so soon after returning home so I'm not sure if we will take our friends up on their offers. In the meantime, we have to figure out what to do with our time while everyone is still gone vacationing or visiting family. Today is "Laugh and Get Rich" Day so the only plan we have on our agenda is to watch a funny movie and attempt to raise enough money by laughing for Brian to open his coffee shop. Wish us luck!