4th day in Beijing: Forbidden City

Since it was hard to get to the Square via the taxi, we decided to try the subway! It went great and dropped us off right in front of the square and in front of the Forbidden City. For those who don't know about the City. It forms the heart of Beijing. I am not sure when they started building it, but it was completed in 1420 and it served huge palace for emperor. 24 emperors ruled over it for 500 years. It was magnificent to say the least. It was so vibrant with colors. We were only able to get through one-third of it because it was so big and the kids were tired, but we did enjoy it. After that we got the subway to the silk market to eat and do some last minute shopping and then off to the airport. All trip was great and I think Grand B enjoyed her time there. You can look at our photo gallery to see more pictures. Enjoy!!

Our 3rd day in Beijing: Dirt Market and Tiananmen Square

For our third day in Beijing we went to this place called the Dirt Market and it was so FUN! It had all kinds of things that were Chinese and lots of jewelry. We had a good time bargaining. The kids were troopers. We had lunch and then we were off to see Tiananmen Square and hopefully the Forbidden City. However, we took a taxi to the Square and when our taxi driver dropped us, he dropped us off past the square and it took us forever to try and get there. Then there were these underground tunnels that took you to the other side, but we kept going the wrong way. It was quite confusing and we were really tired!! When we finally got there, we took a break and took pictures. We decided to call it a day and try Forbidden City tomorrow. The Forbidden City is right behind the square. Here our some pictures of us at the square.

The second day in Beijing!

The second day we decided to go to the Great Wall. We took a van about 1.5 hours away and headed to the Great Wall. When we arrived, they had little shops all along the way to the entrance. It was quited overwhelming to be bombarded by everyone, but it was a neat experience. We just told them we were going to the wall. When we got to the entrance, we all realized this might be hard to do with children. There were many steps to the top. However, at the entrance was a women selling tickets to go up to the Wall, but taking a ski lift and then coming down it on a toboggan. We were sure what that would look like, but we knew we needed to do it to get to the top or we would never make it to the top. We were so glad to do it because it was so much FUN!! The pictures do not do it justice. The Wall was amazing! Here are some pictures as well as Rylan singing "The Great Wall of China"

The first day in Beijing

The first was mostly spent flying to Beijing and connecting up with GranB. After we left the airport, we headed to our hotel. When we booked our hotel, I was a little worried because it was a Chinese hotel and it cost less than $100 a night, but once we got there, I was impressed. It was a really nice hotel with Western standards and nice beds. It was also centrally located so everything was close by. After we checked in, we decided to venture out and try the Silk Market out. The silk market was incredible. It was 6 stories high with every floor dedicated to something. We went straight to the 4th floor where they had endless amount of beads for sale. GranB likes to make necklaces so we wanted to make sure she got some. WOW!! Can I just say I have never seen so many necklaces and beads. They had every type you could think of. It was overwhelming, but fun. After you selected them, then you had to bargain a price. Here is a picture of GranB and Avery in front of the beads and Cohen tired from the day. We ended our day eating at a western place called Sarpinos pizza place. For those of you in Humble, this was the same pizza company they have there! I never ate it in Humble, but now I can say I have eaten it before!!

Our Trip to Beijing!!

Gran B came to visit us and to help me with the kids when we fly back to the states. Since she was coming, we decided to make a family trip to Beijing to meet her. China had a 4 day weekend at the end of May and it was perfect timing for us. We packed our bags and went to meet her at the airport. We had such a blast. The weather was perfect and we saw blue sky!! We stayed at a fairly nice hotel and took almost all modes transportation..taxi, van, plane, and subway. We stayed in Beijing for 4 days and saw the Great Wall, Tiannamen Square, the Forbidden City, and we went shopping. The shopping was AWESOME!! They had two areas, one called Silk Market and it had all type of clothes, and any type of beads/pearls, as well as silk. It was amazing, but it was also overwhelming. You could spend a week there. We also went to this place called Dirt Market. It made Canton look small. My friend says it was the worlds best flea market and I think she was correct. It was great!! Beijing was surprisely clean and not very crowded. It felt very western. Avery even said she liked because she saw people that looked like her. There were alot of foreigners and alot of chinese people who spoke English or enough to get you around. We were wondering if it had changed alot since the Olympics and after talking to people it sounds like it has. I think I will post what we did each day so you can enjoy the experience. Here is one picture of GranB the first day at out hotel that we stayed in. The girls were so excited to see her!!

We had a barbeque!

One of Avery's classmates is leaving for good to go back to Finland. His name is Petrous and they live in our apartment compound. To see them off, we had a party in our complex. They brought this Barbeque guy who brings all the veggies and you just bring the meat and he looks for everyone. It only costs about $15 US dollars and it is so good. We had grilled lotus root, potatoes, lettuce, onion, eggplant, sausage, mushrooms, and chicken. It was tasty!! Here is a picture!

Rylan becomes a runner!!

After Cohen had hurt himself, we decided to stay at home and monitor him instead of going to church. While we we tending to Cohen, Rylan had found daddy's IPod and LSU visor and wanted to go running. So Chris took the kids out to play and Rylan ran while Avery followed in her scooter. Rylan almost 8 or 9 laps around the walk area. She was so cute and she was sweating!! Chris had to stop her so she could have some water. Here is a picture!

Cohen fractures his collar bone!!

Our life here is sometimes crazy and can be frightening at times. On this past Sunday, May 18, Cohen fell resulting in a fractured clavicle. I had a feeling something was wrong since his was crying for a longer time and then had troubles crawling. He was still able to move his arm in full range of motion, but just cried when he started to put weight on his arm. Monday, we took him to the American doctor here and Chengdu and out suspensions were correct. The break looked pretty bad, but the doctor said you treat the patient not the x-ray. Cohen was already doing so much better and the doctor was amazed how much he could move his arm and grab for things. I think he must have a high pain tolerance. The doctor said there was nothing we could do and that it would heal itself. We got a second opinion with our doctor in US and she said the same thing. The doctor also said that he would be able to play sports and should be fine. It has been 2 weeks since then and Cohen has been amazing and seems to have recovered. We just pray everything has healed properly. We will find out June 8. Thanks for your prayers

Aubrey turns 33!!

Aubrey's birthday was on May 12 which happens to be the anniversary of the earthquake here in Chengdu. Both ayi's were off and our driver asked to take a day of rest. So I just sat at home and talked to people from home. It was very enjoyable just to hang at the house, but it also made me miss home so much more. This week has been hard because of my birthday and making the 6 month mark and really missing home. When Chris got home, he took me to dinner with the kids and even surprised me with dessert and a happy birthday song! He also got me a new camera which I am so excited about!! I just have to learn to use it!! All and all I had a good day, but looking forward to home. Here is a picture of us and a video of the girls/dad singing!!

We go to Ping Le Village for May day!

May 1 was a holiday here in China. I think it is like there national day. Anyway, we decided to stay close to home so we went to another old chinese village where we drank tea, ate lunch, did some shopping, and the girls rode inside a tube on the water. It is pretty popular. We could choose from walking inside a ball or in a cylinder. We opted for the clyinder because the girls could get air (the other one was all closed in. All and all we had a fun day. Here are some pictures and you can look on our web gallery as well! Cohen was the star attraction again along with the girls. Right now, he seems to enjoy the attention.