Georgia on our Minds

This weekend we went to Atlanta to try to finally sort out Caroline's citizenship paperwork and see the Terracotta Warriors exhibit at the High Museum. We also worked in a trip to the zoo (after sitting in traffic for 2 hours!), visiting with family, eating at the Varsity, and shopping until the vehicle was full!

Saturday we ventured down to the zoo and Caroline loved all the "aminals" and the beautiful sunshine. We got to the see the panda exhibit which was not open the last time we were there and it was worth the trip. As a funny side note, when Caroline saw the tigers she said "Look, Mommy, it's Mike the Tiger!" I guess she did learn something watching football all those Saturdays with her daddy. It was so nice outside and we really enjoyed the zoo.

Watching the flamingos intently.

Outside the gorilla feeding.

Outside the panda exhibit.

In the newly opened parakeet house.

At the petting zoo.

But back to the main reason for the trip - since we returned from China in May of 2007, we have been working on Caroline's citizenship. When she landed in America she automatically became a citizen and we should have received a Certificate of Citizenship within 90 days of returning from China. Nearly two years later and we have received nothing (oh, we did receive a notice that they did have a file for her and did we know where the file is?) After exchanging letters, emails, and phone calls for 18 months and getting no response, we decided to schedule an appointment and actually talk to someone face-to-face and see if we could get anywhere with a live person. We didn't get anywhere and we are now moving backwards in the efforts to receive a certificate. They really do not have any paperwork on Caroline and we will have to apply for a green card for her and then apply for citizenship. This doesn't mean she isn't a citizen, but we have not been able to readopt her in the state of Alabama or get her a social security card. Hopefully this will work out quickly and we can move on to something else!

After getting nowhere at immigration, we met our friends at the High Museum to see the Terracotta Warriors. It was really an interesting exhibit, but it was very crowded and Caroline was very grumpy. It was also very cold outside and the wind was blowing so hard I thought it was going to pick Caroline up and take her away! So we showed her a little piece of China and told her a little history and then moved on to lunch at the Varsity. Everyone should see the Terracotta Warriors and everyone should eat a hot dog at the Varsity. A good time with great friends!