China Trip, Day 1 & 2

CHINA
October 2011

When we found out we were pregnant last year we decided it was time to hurry and go to China (before we had a baby).  Two of our neighbors (the awesome Bartons & Davids) took our kids and off we went.  We had NO idea this would be a TRIP OF A LIFETIME!!!  We still talk about it and cannot believe how AWESOME it was!

Side note:  The spacing is ALL MESSED UP in these next 3 posts and I cannot seem to fix it.  Sorry!

Tokyo Airport

While waiting in the Tokyo airport we found some pictures of Jayden in a pamphlet in one of the stores.  How funny is that?!  We were so excited! 

This is from his Fuji Film job he did 2 years ago.

Beijing

Our Beijing tour guide.

Our Beijing driver.

Great Wall of China

We rode in the same cable car as Bill Clinton did in 1998...aren't we lucky :)

I still can't believe we walked on the Great Wall of China.  It felt like we were dreaming!

 

Ming Tombs

Ming Tombs was not our favorite place we visited...oh well.

Kung Fu Show

You are going to laugh, but I BAWLED in this show.  It's a story about a young mother who cannot take care of her son so she gives him to the Munks for them to raise.  He was old enough to NOT want to leave his mom and they both had a hard time with the separation.  I couldn't stop crying.  I must admit it's because I've threatened Jayden once or twice that I would give him away (in a joking way of course...kind of)...well, after this trip I came home and held Jayden so tight and told him I would NEVER EVER give him away.  I'm glad I went to this show...korny, I know!

Using my broken Chinese to ask the soldiers if we could get a picture with them.  We were denied!

Denied again, but still determined to get my picture :)

Forbidden City

Summer Palace

Our boat ride.

The Summer Palace.

The marble boat.

China Trip, Day 3 & 4

Xian

Our driver and tour guide (can't remember their names).

Climbing the wall that surrounds Xian City.  We climbed many stairs on this trip!

On top of Xian City wall.

Street vendors.

I love how they get out and do their morning exercises in the park.

Our tour guide was really nice.

Some old Chinese homes.

Should we be scared that our hotel room had gas masks in the closet?

Terracotta Warriors

This is the brother to the guy that found the warriors.  He was working in the field with his brother when they found them.

This skinny guy with the long arms was my favorite.

These were some they were trying to restore.

Street shopping...I'm so glad we didn't have our kids with us.  It was crazy walking through it all with just the 2 of us.

We had a great time in Xian!

China Trip, Day 5 & 6

GUILIN

Tour Guide: Lancy

Driver: Mr. Lu

Reed Flute Cave

A limestone cave with lots of stalactites and stalagmites lit up in many colors.

Elephant Trunk Hill

This is called Elephant Trunk hill because they think it looks like an elephant with its trunk extending into the river (Lijiang River).

We paid a little old lady to let Shane take a picture with her birds :)

Half way up the hill.

Aren't those limestone mountains AMAZING!?! They were everywhere!

Acrobatic Show

This little girl could practically fold her body in half.

For about $10 each Shane and I enjoyed an HOUR long foot, leg, and shoulder massage. It was AWESOME!

Guilin Park Hotel

Guilin loves to light up their city at night. This was the hotel we stayed in.

Here's a view from our hotel room.

Li River Cruise Tour

We took a 4 hour cruise down the Li River. Can you believe those mountains are REAL?!

These guys would paddle right up to our boats, hook on, and try to sell us food & crafts.

This cruise was ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!!! It almost felt like a dream.

Our tour guide.

This scene of mountains is on their $20 bill.  We ended up buying a big scroll with this scene on it.  I'm so excited to hang it when we get to Colorado.

I am SOOOOOOOOO glad we added Guilin to our trip. It was AMAZING!

Traffic in China is NUTS! I give them props for having painted lines and street lights, but other than that...it is crazy! In order to cross a big road (usually no lights) you have to inch your way out until you win. Shane and I would close our eyes every time we had to go through an intersection or round about. Luckily, we had drivers the whole time that knew how to deal with the craziness.

Night Market

A bag of "live" frogs or turtles anyone???

They just hang their meet up until someone buys it. These were at least cooked...most are raw.

We saw a ton of these cars with motors on the front. They were hilarious.

Every time we drove through a toll booth I felt like we were going to Disneyland with all the ribbons and flags.

The Kids

OHHH...it was SO FUN returning home to the kids. It's amazing how much more you miss them when you are not with them all the time.

We gave Tia an Empress Crown & Owl purse. She was so excited she had to "pose" with them!

Our kids LOVE to do projects so we bought them both these Terracotta Warriors that they had to chisel out of sand. They had so much fun.

These ended up being our Christmas tree ornaments for 2011.

We can't say THANKS enough to those that made this trip possible (the Bartons & the Davids for watching our kids, my parents, ZAMA ITT). You guys are amazing! This was seriously the BEST trip we've ever been on!!!