Consulate Appointment

 Consulate General of the Unites States at Guangzhou

With the heavy downpour the previous evening, the weather today was bright, sunny and mild with low humidity - close to the perfect day.  If we didn't have the consulate appointment, this would be a great day for the Safari Park.

The appointment at the American Consulate was scheduled for 8:30am so we had to leave the hotel at 7:45am.  When we arrived at the consulate, I was amazed by the number of people standing in line.  I was concerned that we'd have to wait, but the people waiting were mostly Chinese citizens applying for a US visa.  We were able to go into the American citizen line and quickly get to where were needed to be.  The security protocols don't allow cell phones or bags in the building, so we left everything but our paperwork at the security checkpoint.  Our guide Kelly was also not permitted to go with us, but since this was the American consulate, we felt more at home with English being the predominant language.

European colonial building style on Shamian Island

The highlight of the visit, especially for the ladies, was the bathroom.  It was a nice quality American style bathroom with an American toilet.  It was clean and smelled nice.  I think everyone gave it a try.

Our family and the McCarthy family both had 8:30 AM appointments, but were the last two families to arrive out of ten so we had a longer wait than most.  There is a short interview and the officer asked Luke a few basic questions about his status - Did he want to be adopted by us?  Was he in contact with his birth paretns?  We were asked if we had any concerns after the medical appointment and a few other questions and then the interview was over and we were told Luke's Visa should be ready tomorrow.

Along the Pearl River on Shamian

Interesting;y, Luke already had a Visa from the US for his travel last summer.  However, that Visa is not the IH3 visa necessary for adoption.  The IH3 visa grants US citizenship to the holder upon entry to the US.  We learned about a family of US citizens living in China that is adopting a child from China.  To complete the adoption and acquire citizenship, they need to travel to the US even though they reside in China.  And then they will need to stay in the US for a few months to complete other paperwork like social security, passport, etc.

Kelly told us that she was taking another family to Shamian Island and that we could ride along if we wanted.  So after we got back to the hotel, we made a quick stop in our room and then got back on the bus for Shamian Island.  This time, we hoped to see more than the restrooms and Lucy's.

We started out by going to a couple of souvenir shops.  At times, it seems like most of our trip is spent in stores.  After we finished up at the stores, we started hearing the rumblings of hunger in our group.  We were walking toward Lucy's at the time and that's what most people seemed to want.  So we found ourselves again at Lucy's.  And again, the service was not particularly fast.  What we found odd is that food is not all brought out at once like most restaurants.  A couple of items would show up, then a few more, then the rest with no real explanation.

By the time we finished up at Lucy' the clock was ticking on our time left on Shamian.  We were by the riverfront, so we walked into the park along the river.  It was such a gorgeous day for a walk.

A nice day for a walk on Shamian Island

Luke's big wish for the day was a water gun.  He'd been asking since the day before and I told him it was possible we could get a water gun.  Once we returned to the hotel, I took Cami and Luke to the Trust-mart to shop for some water guns.  We found some fun options and then headed back.  Dana offered to take the kids to the pool while I worked on some blog posts and other planning items and I was glad to have a reason to not go to the pool since it wasn't really a day to go in the pool.

Luke reunites with his friend Jacob

Today was also an exciting day for the Franke family - they were going to be reunited with Jacob.  When look and Jacob saw each other, they seemed to pick up where they left off last summer.  We think it will be good for the boys to have each other close enough to visit.

At some point, either the Franke kids or our kids, or a combination of both, thought it would be fun to hit the pool again.  Since the water guns weren't coming home with us, the kids might as well enjoy the time in the water even if they have blue lips when they come out.

Our time in China is quickly coming to an end.  We're still on for the Safari Park tomorrow and then we'll pack and leave on Wedesday morning for the train to Hong Kong.

Table for a Party of 26

Chen Clan Academy

One of the interesting things about adopting in China is that adoptions need to be finalized in the Guangdong province, which means a trip to the provincial capital of Guangzhou for all families adopting.  Since Luke lived in Guangdong province, we didn't have to travel once we got to Guangzhou.  Because of this requirement, you often run into families that are adopting and the Garden Hotel seems to be a common place for families to stay as it is a top quality international hotel centrally located for many of the appointments required.

During our stay at the Garden, we were in the apartment wing of the hotel and on the 13th floor.  We've already mentioned the McCarthy family with their four kids and our family with five kids.  And late last week, the Blechacz family joined us with their family of six kids and today our friends from the Milwaukee area, the Franke family, will be joining us with their three kids before they add Jacob.  Dana has been communicating with many of these families through Facebook groups so it's like a reunion with someone you've never met.  But tonight our plan is to eat dinner together after the Frankes arrive.  But after we did a head count, we realized that there are 26 of us.  We haven't found any restaurants that can seat 26 - a lot can barely seat 26 total people!  Having this many kids has also been interesting for the staff at the hotel.  One of the desk attendants on the 13th floor said she's never seen so many large families here all at once.  Having so many kids around has created a little extra stress for them.  We've gone through so much water that they've starting delivering cases of water to our room!  We've also had to repeatedly remind our kids that while it seems that only other families live on our floor, there are other guests who might want some quiet time.  Overall, the staff at the Garden has been very friendly, very accommodating and hopefully we leave a generally positive impression with them as well.

In the last post, I mentioned that we weren't sure what we were doing on Sunday.  Ultimately, we decided to go to Chen Clam Academy

Artist carving Luke's name into a stamp

An artist personalizing his artwork

and then go to Shamian Island, a sandbank island with European colonial roots. Our time at the Chen Clan Academy, a building built by the Chen family for ancestor worship and academic training.  It is a fine example of Chinese architecture and interesting to look at so I'm glad that we went.  Like any good historical site, it had souvenir shops.  Luke and Ian both got a hand carved Chinese stamp with their names and there was an artist on site who had painted pictures that he was personalizing with the buyer's name in Chinese.

Map of Shamian Island

Originally, we were going to have our guide drop us off at Shamian Island and then we would take the subway back.  But it turns out that we could catch a ride back on the bus if we wanted to be picked up in an hour.  We figured that might be easier so we headed to Shamian.  Shortly after arriving, we had an urgent bathroom need and spent 15 minutes trying to find and get to a bathroom.  We found one near Lucy's, a popular diner not far from the water.  Since it was lunch time and our crew was in that tired/hungry phase, we thought we could sit down for a quick lunch.  We thought we had plenty of time, but the service is not speedy at Lucy's so we ended up having to put our food in a to go box and dash back to the bus.  So we didn't really see much of Shamian Island.  We have some time in the afternoon on Monday so we may make a return trip.

That afernoon, we made another trip to the pool.  The kids were excited to see the Frankes but they weren't due in until 4:30 so I told the kids we could grab some ice cream and hopefully by the time we would get back they'd be in their room.  As we were walking across the lobby, we ran into them and ended up taking their kids, Madison, Logan and Sammie along with us to get ice cream while Ross and Jenn got a head start on unpacking.

The rain that we had been expecting since Saturday finally came about the time we planned to go get dinner.  Instead of getting a table for 26, we decided to get food and just eat it in Ross and Jenn's room since they got a 3 bedroom apartment.  All of us 2 bedroom apartment families were a bit jealous, but after realizing that we could have gotten two hotel rooms instead of an apartment, the jealousy faded.  The rain was coming down in buckets so our feet got wet with all the flowing water on our way to get McDonalds and Pelicana chicken.  It was fun to have our large group together for dinner.

Tomorrow we have our consulate appointment and the Frankes will get Jacob.  We're excited to complete the last step in our paperwork process and for Jacob and Luke to reunite.

Yuexiu Park

 Marthaler and McCarthy families at Yuexiu Park

One of the things we wanted to do in Guangzhou was visit the Safari Park.  Our new friends the McCarthy's had visited on Friday and had a great time.  At the pool, we ran into another family that visited and they loved it too, but advised not to go the day before you leave.  We had considered going today, but the weather was looking questionable today and tomorrow with a good chance of rain.  Plus, we figured the park would be busier on a weekend and the entrance fee was slightly higher.  So looking at our schedule and looking at the weather, we determined Tuesday, the day before we would head to Hong Kong would probably be the opportune day.

But for today, we weren't totally sure what we should do.  We had a couple of ideas, with one being Yeuxiu Park, the largest urban park in Guangzhou at over 200 acres.  It has history, green space, and amusement - something for everyone.  It turns out the McCarthy's also wanted to go since their oldest son Robert is an avid birder.  He is excited to identify birds of southern China and a large park would provide some good opportunities.

Ben buying subway tokens

Since we hadn't yet ridden the Guangzhou Metro subway and the McCarthy's had, we welcomed the opportunity to learn from someone else.  It turns out the Guangzhou Metro is easy to use, inexpensive, efficient and seems to be quite new and in good repair.  Yeuxiu Park was a quick three stops (with one transfer) away from the hotel.

The park entrance is a few hundred meters from the subway exit and you are immediately greeted by a lake surrounded by greenery.  We tried to find an English map, but it seems that no paper maps, English or Chinese, were available for the taking.  So we snapped a picture of the park map on the sign and started walking.  The park is built on some hills and depending on the path you take, there are a lot of steps.  We hiked up several sets of stairs and then down again, eventually coming out by an amusement park and a man made lake where you could rent an electric or paddle boat.  Most of our kids wanted to ride on a boat and Robert wanted to keep going in search of the next bird so we split up.  I took Alex, Ian, Cami and Luke on a boat while Dana and Ben stayed behind.  Everyone wanted to drive the boat, so I ended up setting a timer so everyone would have equal turns.  I'm not sure I'm ready to teach anyone to drive yet.  This was a slow moving boat and trying to keep everyone on course was exhausting!

A rock in the bamboo forest

After we disembarked, we decided to get the kids something to eat.  Despite our large, expansive breakfast, our kids always seem to get hungry before we do.  And I feel bad for Luke because a consistent schedule is good for kids of any age and we have not been consistent at all when we  eat meals other than breakfast, and even that varied depending on our appointments for the day.  Of course, the kids had noodles and we followed that up with ice cream treats.  About that time, the McCarthy's came back to the area so we walked with them through the bamboo forest.

Our crew seemed to be dragging and the sky was starting to look like it might rain eventually so we started to head back while the McCarthy's were planning to go to the Marriott for lunch.  Before leaving, we looked at the map and realized we had only touched a small portion of the park.  The park contains another small amusement park, and ancient tower, a museum, a stadium and more.  We had maybe explored 1/10 of the park.  A return trip might be in order.

One of the highlights of the park for me was some of the sings that had English translations that maybe weren't exactly what the person had in mind.  My favorite one was a sign that said, "Excellent Toilet".  I've snapped pictures of a few more for your viewing pleasure.

I think the Wicked Witch translated this one

Good advice.  More good advice - use spellcheck!

The toilet wasn't bad by Chinese standards, but the excellent toilets are in America.

After returning to the hotel, I took the kids swimming which seems to be a daily routine now.  The weather was warm and it still hadn't rained.  We're still not sure what we're doing tomorrow.  Our schedule has the Chen Clam Academy but may do something different as we haven't heard rave reviews about this historical/cultural stop.  Tonight, the Franke family is arriving in Hong Kong and we're looking forward to meeting up with them tomorrow.  Their soon to be son Jacob, and our son Luke became friends on their trip to America last summer and I've told Luke that he'll be seeing Jacob on Monday.  He seems to be looking forward to that although I'm never 100% sure because of the language differences.  Generally, I think we can communicate basic information fairly well, but in other areas, it's like having a baby -- you're left to guess if you've communicated correctly and been understood correctly.

Pearls and Toys

Dana at the pearl store with guide Kelly

With most of the adoption related visits behind us, today we decided to head over to the pearl market.  Our guide Kelly had offered to take us there to help us find the best places and negotiate better prices.  The ride was about 20 minutes from the hotel, but with being driven around the city, I have no real idea where we were.  Normally, I like to better understand the layout of a city by studying maps and getting around the city myself.  But I’ve noticed that since Google Maps has become so prevelant, I don’t get to know cities as well.   And our internet in China is entirely reliant on WiFi through a VPN, so that hasn’t been the easiest experience.  Even in our hotel, the service seems spotty.  I think some of it has to do with the VPN service that we use to allow connections through the Great Firewall to sites like Facebook and Google, but sometimes I can’t get service because there is a sign in page that is in Chinese. 

But back to the pearls.  Dana and Cami had a good time at this store, finding some great prices on pearls.  We picked up gifts for several people.  Alex just wanted to look at the pretty stones at all the vendors and desperately wanted to buy something.  Eventually, he did get to pick out a shiny stone.

The boys weren't as excited about pearl shopping

After the pearl market, we headed back to the International Market, known to our kids as the “toy market” because of the knock off Lego store and other toy stores available there.  Kelly mentioned that she normally picks up some Legos for her son as a gift when she takes families to this store because it’s not close to her home and the prices are significantly better than department stores.

Ben and Luke enjoying noodles

The kids had fun shopping and ended up with more Legos, This time, we were able to explore more levels of the store and discover that there was more than just toys.  We bought some souvenirs for ourselves and as gifts for friends.  .

After we finished up at the market, we went over to the noodle and fried rice stand that we visited during our last visit and enjoyed a nice lunch.  

After lunch, Kelly took us to a department store to find some clothing for Luke.  We especially wanted to get him some longer pants, or trousers as he is accustomed to saying.  Even though it is warm, he seems to prefer wearing trousers most of the time and that seems to be fairly common when you look at the average man on the street in Guangzhou.  On the other hand, I don't think I've worn trousers once while in China!  When we arrived at the store, Ian had fallen asleep so I sat with him on my shoulder while Dana and Kelly took Luke shopping.  Ben and Cami quickly lost interest and joined me on the bench.  Dana found Luke a pair of trousers and a shirt, but he wouldn't let her buy him more than one pair of trousers.

Alex loves noodles and snacks!

By the time we finished up, everyone was ready to get back to the hotel.  Once we got back, I took the kids down to swim.  When we returned, we were not sure what to do for dinner so we decided to just get some noodles, local snacks and drinks and just eat in the room.  I walked over to the Trust-mart and bought various noodles, bags of snacks we normally don't see at home like Chicken Cheetos, lime flavored Lay's, and tomato flavored snack straws.  For drinks, I got grapefruit Sunkist, a green tea drink, a honey pommelo drink, something peach flavored and a watermelon flavored drink.  It was fun to try some different flavors in snack foods and drinks.  Not the healthiest dinner, but fun and easier than trying to get everyone out to a restaurant when everyone is tired.  Being away from home this long is tiring and Luke is ready to get to America.  We still have a consulate appointment before we can travel back.  Originally, that was set for Tuesday, but we were able to get it moved to Monday.  That means we could theoretically be ready to travel by Wednesday.  Unfortunately, our flights are on Saturday, May 21, not Wednesday, May 18th.  We consulted with our travel agent on changing flights and international change fees are expensive and with the difference in fare, we found it would be less expensive if we bought new one way tickets.  But ultimately it is less expensive to travel to Hong Kong and stay in the hotel than it is to buy one way tickets.  So we're going to stay the course and experience Hong Kong before coming home.  

Look at all those Legos (Lele brand)

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Orphanage Visit

With one of the directors of the Foshan City SWI

In some cases, families can request an orphanage visit to see where their child was living before joining their family.  Our request for a visit was approved.  Originally, our itinerary had this visit set for a Friday, but our guide Kelly had arranged to visit on Thursday.  Luke's orphanage, Foshan City Social Welfare Institute (SWI) is located in Foshan, which I jokingly call a small suburb of Guangzhou with a population of over 7 million.  Guangzhou is reported to have a population of 13 million but Kelly made it sound like it was more likely closer to 16 million.  Let's just put it this way - a lot of people live here!  

As it turns out, the McCarthy's son Matthew was also from Foshan City SWI so we would be going on the visit with them.  Kelly had let the boys know about the visit and asked them if it was something they wanted to do.  Both said they wanted to go back for a visit, but Matthew was having a hard time with it the night before so we weren't sure if they'd be joining us.  We had talked to Luke about it a bit as well and he wanted us to bring "a big cake" to share with his friends.  I tried to explain that I wasn't sure how we would acquire and transport a big cake, plus we weren't sure if we'd get to see his school and how much access we'd have to his classroom if we did see his school and classmates.  

After we finished breakfast and went to meet our guide, we were pleased to see the McCarthy family there as well and Matthew seemed to be in good spirits.  The ride to Foshan was about an hour and the only clue that we had moved from Guangzhou to Foshan was a sign welcoming us to Foshan as we crossed the river; otherwise it never felt like we had left the city.  

Upon arriving at the orphanage, we were greeted by the caretaker who had brought Luke to the Civil Affairs office on Monday and the two directors of the orphanage.  Luke exchanged a lot of hugs and  you could see that they were happy for Luke.  We learned that this particular institute houses young and old.  So, in addition to orphans Luke's age and younger, senior citizens live there as well, likely similar to a US nursing home.

Our family with the two orphanage directors

Our kids immediately bolted over to the play area and we recognized this area from some of the pictures we had received of Luke.  However, from the sounds of it, the kids more often than not would play inside.  We soon were able to see that room, which was dark and not very inviting or playful for children.  Off of that play area, we were led to Luke's room - a long, narrow room with six beds and bars on the window and the door.  Three beds on the bottom and three on the bottom.  Luke's bed was mostly empty, but Matthew's had been overtaken as a storage location.  Interestingly, the room had a TV, an Xbox and some computer equipment.  The boys in the room had decorated it with various posters and items.  A large flag of England hung near the desk.  

Luke's room at orphanage.

After we left his room, we made the walk to his school.  His school is a neighborhood school and most of the kids are not in the orphanage.  It took about 10 minutes to walk there and when we arrived, it was recess or PE time for the younger children who were happily running laps around the basketball court all dressed alike in their white school uniforms with red and blue trim.  After a few minutes, we were able to go up to Luke's classroom and go into his class.  The whole class was excited, partly to see Luke and also to have the novelty of seeing an American family.  A lot of the kids came up and introduced themselves, practicing their English.  Luke had brought along a gift bag and put some of the toys we had gotten him in the bag and gave it to a friend.  We were also able to get a class picture.  We caused quite a disruption and we are thankful to Luke's teacher for allowing us to have that experience and allowing Luke to say goodbye.  

Luke's class

During the visit, we learned from his teacher that Luke is a good helper to the teacher and a good learner, but he is struggling because he is not receiving any help with schoolwork at the orphanage.  He is currently in a 5th grade classroom, which would put him a bit behind by US standards. So we're hopeful that with some individualized attention, he will blossom as a student.

Luke with his teacher

By the time we got back, it was well past a noon lunch.  Kelly took us to a nearby restaurant with a cafeteria style dining feeling.  You get a scoop of rice and then add some sides as you move your tray down the row.  It was an inexpensive and tasty lunch with local foods.  We  have learned that having a drink at mealtime is not the norm for Chinese dining, and if there is a drink such as water, it is normally served hot or warm.  Since soup is common, the broth is often the drink.  So before we went to this place, we stopped at the convenience store to buy some drinks.  

After we got back to the hotel, we spent some time at the pool again.  That evening, we invited the McCarthy's to join us for a traditional Korean meal.  Unfortunately, we found that the restaurant that we wanted to visit had closed, so we went to an Italian restaurant instead and enjoyed pizza and pasta.  It was an emotional day with a lot of excitement and that evening Luke was feeling a little sad although I wasn't able to fully determine what was causing his sadness, we guessed that various emotions from the day's experience and the upcoming changes to his life were all starting to sink in.  Changing your daily structure and routine and integrating into a new culture with a new language and leaving behind friends is tough regardless of all the positives that might lie ahead.  Please keep Luke in your prayers as he makes this transition and works through the grieving process.

A few more pictures from our day are shown below:

A view of the playground from Luke's room

Luke's bunk on lower right

Luke giving a gift to a friend

Luke's school.  His classroom is on the top floor

Medical Exams

The adoption process through China seems to be more appointment heavy than anything we experienced when adopting in Korea.  It's our fourth day here, and we're on our third half day of appointments.  This time, it's medical exams.

A breakfast date

For breakfast this morning, we decided to try the 30th floor restaurant.  This breakfast is included with the room rate as well and it's very similar to the main floor breakfast but it has a spectacular view of the city and tends to be a little quieter - at least until our family shows up :)

Then we met our guide Kelly and traveled to the Guangdong International Travel Healthcare Center for various medical procedures including a tuberculosis test (blood draw), basic eye exam, and then vaccination shots.  Because Luke is over eleven, he is required to be caught up on vaccines, whereas kids under that age can get a waiver for travel if the parents promise to do the immunizations in the US.  Unfortunately, from what we've heard from our doctor, immunizations in China are not all that reliable and most doctors like to re-immunize.  Luke did well through the medical exams, but definitely did not like the vaccinations.  I believe he needed three and he audibly responded to the needle pricks.  And he may need to do it all over again in the US, but at least we'll haev control over the timing.

A view of the city from the 30th floor restaurant.

The medical exams were finished up around lunch time.  We had heard there was a nearby Korean restaurant so we were going to try that, but before we made it there, we saw Pelicana, a Korean style friend chicken restaurant.  So we stopped there and tried the original and ginger chicken while Ben got a few of the spicy chili pieces.  A good choice overall.

Once we got back to the hotel, we took a nap and then we headed down to the pool - our first opportunity to give it a try.  The kids enjoyed playing in the water although I thought the water temperature was a bit too cool for me.  But kids will shiver in the pool and tell you with a straight face, "It's fine, you should come in."

The amount of people at the healthcare center was staggering.  

That night, Luke and I headed out to find some new clothes.  When he arrived, he had two pair of pants, a couple of shirts, some socks and underwear and some clothes to sleep in.  We also found the shoes he was wearing were at least a half size too small.  So we headed to Trust-mart to see what we could find.  Sadly, he's stuck in size between a child and a young adult so we couldn't find any pants, or trousers and Luke likes to call them, at Trust-mart.  We did find a pair of sandals and some socks.  Then we went to a shop near our hotel that sells shoes.  The previous day, Ben had found a pair of shoes there that he really liked so we figured we'd take a peak and we and found a pair of shoes that he liked and a size that fit him well.  By the time we got back to the room, we were ready to call it a day.

A liquor machine in the lobby of the hospital - in case you need help getting through your medical exam.  The machine says Mini, however, they were full size bottles.

Delicious Korean style fried chicken

A view of the pool from our floor.

Making it Official

Officially a family of seven

Yesterday, when we got Luke, we essentially signed a 24 hour guardianship agreement.  The adoption was not yet finalized.  So today, we would be heading back to the Civil Affairs office to finalize the adoption.


 We started the day with the wonderful breakfast in the hotel.  I walked Luke through all the options and I think he was a bit overwhelmed with all the choices.  His one request was "hot milk" which the wait staff happily assisted with.

Luke signing paperwork 

We met our guide Kelly, along with the McCarthy and Raczkowski families for the trip back to Civil Affairs.  It was a rainy morning and we grabbed umbrellas to keep dry.  At the Civil Affairs office, we had to finalize the adoption and then meet with the notary official to sign more documents.  Because Luke is thirteen years old, he had to answer some questions and sign his name to the papers as well.  It took almost two hours to get everything signed and ready to go for all three families - or maybe it only felt like two hours with all the kids.  There were 11 kids between the three families.

Lele Star Wart collection.  It's not a knockoff - really!

After we finished up, our guide Kelly took us to an international market that has a lot of toys as well as many other items.  It's like a mall with stores essentially like stalls that run one into the next.  Or you could compare it to an indoor street vendor market.  It's tight and packed full of goods.  We spent a bunch of time at the knock off Lego store where they sell Lele brand bricks with popular items like Star Wart (yes, I did spell that correctly) spaceships and droids.

International market with lots of toys. Seven stories tall.

Picking out drinks at the convenience store.

At one point, Alex ran off in search of Baymax without either of us.  Thankfully, it was only a brief moment of panic before he was found.  The boys also enjoyed the drone store.  Our guide helped negotiate a deal on a larger purchase and later that day we had UFOs all over the hotel!

By the time we finished up at the toy store, everyone was pretty hungry as we had stretched beyond normal lunch time.  Kelly took us to a nearby noodle shop where we ordered up some noodles and fried rice.  The adjacent convenience store got quite a bit of business as we ordered familiar and not-so-familiar drinks.

Ian waiting for his noodles.

Once we returned to the hotel, the kids wanted to go out and see the waterfall behind the hotel.  They were convinced you could climb to the top.  So I went with the kids and Bobby McCarthy and his kids to check it out.  By now, it had stopped raining, but everything was still damp.  We did find a set of stairs for the waterfall, but there was a no entry sign and we ultimately decided it was not a good idea to take the troops on this hike so we explored the ponds and an area in the back of the hotel which is quite scenic and peaceful.  Well, maybe if it's just a couple of adults.

Luke looking at the pond behind the hotel

Pizza at OGGI's with the McCarthy's

For dinner that evening, our family went with the McCarthy's to OGGI's pizza to celebrate.  Their son Matthew and Luke both enjoy pizza so it was a good choice.  With our group of 13 we basically filled up their restaurant.  We've noticed that restaurants in this area aren't well suited for large groups.  Another thing we've noticed is that they appear to be heavily staffed.  During our time at OGGI's, there were at least a half dozen wait staff just waiting to serve customers and there couldn't have been more than 10, maybe 15 tables in the whole place.  The pizza and time with new friends was a nice way to celebrate the finalization of our adoptions.