06.21.02

Aric and Ashlyn leaving Pudong International Airport in Shanghai-China

me and Ashlyn

Ashlyn with a family friend at Narita Airport in Tokyo-Japan

Home Sweet Home! It's officially the first day of summer and we're finally back from the Motherland! *YAY!* The flight home was pretty exhausting. Ashlyn refused to sleep on the plane, and when she finally did...it was only for a couple of hours. Poor baby was really tired, sick, and out-of-it...she fussed, coughed, and cried incessantly. =( Dina had emailed me before my trip suggesting that I give Ashlyn a quarter tablet of Benadryl to help her sleep on the plane should she become fussy, but I didn't think I needed one. Halfway through this flight, I was praying for one! Aric and I took turns holding her and walking her up and down the aisles. *ugh*
I wasn't feeling too great either. My cold left me really congested and achy. My nose was either running or plugged, my eyes were dry, I had a rumbling cough, and the altitude caused a lot of pressure to build up in my ears. It was hurting like mad! Dude...after a while, I was hoping that someone would just shoot me and put me out of my misery.

After 14 hours on the plane with a two hour layover in Japan, we finally landed in LAX at noon. Getting our luggage and getting through customs was a breeze...not that I had any doubts...but Aric was stressed out about getting stopped, sweated, or fined with all the knockoff goods we were carrying. hehehe After getting on a shuttle bus to where we had parked our car, Ashlyn finally fell asleep. She slept during our drive home, and continued to nap a little bit longer once we were home. Aric and I unpacked and settled in. Getting hardly any sleep myself, I would have loved to lie down to rest my tired eyes, but my first priority was to throw all of the clothes we took to China into the laundry. Yes, it's not easy being as obsessive and neurotic as I am. =/
I did send laundry out a few times during my trip, but our clothes came back a bit stiff and not as clean as I'm used to. As for the smell, it lacked that fresh clean scent. =P
Traveling really makes me appreciate all the comforts and convenieces of home.

I noticed a trail of ants on the kitchen tile...going no where in particular, and a bunch of strays on the kitchen counter. That sparked an urge to clean and vacuum. Once that was all done, Aric and I hung out on the couch, watched TV, and relaxed. We waited for Wil and Tony to come. I was looking forward to seeing Wil. She had planned this visit a month ago and then debated whether or not to reschedule in fear that I might be too jet-lagged. But I insisted she come anyway...not only is it nice to be back, but would be an added bonus to see a familiar face. =D

Wil and Tony came in around 8:30pm, and we went out to dinner in Garden Grove with Wey, Ed, and Sue. It was great to see everyone and catch up on the last couple of weeks. Aric and I shared our China stories and handed out souvenirs from our trip.

After dinner, we stopped off at The Block to walk around and went to Krispy Kreme to pick up donuts for Ed and Sue's FIFA World Cup party. A bunch of friends went over to Ed and Sue's to watch Korea and Spain battle it out. I've never seen so many people wear red in one room. I was feeling a little left out. hehehehe

Pictures from tonight:

Sue, Ashlyn, and Ed in red

Wey, Aric, and Tony

Wey, Tony, and Wil watching donuts come off the conveyor at Krispy Kreme

Aric with his sleepy tyke

Ashlyn started getting real fussy at Ed's. I can't blame her. She only got a total of 5 hours of sleep in the last 30 hours, plus her cough gets so bad sometimes that it forces her food to come back up. =( Luckily we're home and her infant-Robitussin is helping.

Wil, Tony, Aric and I hung out a bit and previewed my "On The Line" DVD I got in China. Lance Bass...WOO-HOO! *tee-hee* I'm pooped! *YAWN* What a LONG ass day! It's good to be back though. =D