China Trip Highlights

The Bund in Shanghai.

At the Yu Garden, Shanghai.

Tiananmen square, Beijing.

The greatest Great Wall of China, Beijing.

Analia next to a Buddha just her size.

"Ni Hao People!" became one of Analia's favorite phrases this trip.  We stayed for two weeks in China and had a blast!  The girls did wonderfully and only had a few minor breakdowns.  We loved seeing all around Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing, and everything in between.  We stayed with and then traveled around with my teammates and great friends from the University of Utah, Jen and Taylor.  They we're awesome hosts and fun to share our experiences with.  Thanks so much you guys.  We had a ball.  

 It was amazing to actually be standing on the Great Wall, or at the Forbidden city, knowing that these places were built thousands of years ago...we saw some artifacts that actually dated back to 2500 b.c.  Wow.  They we're spectacularly crafted and beautiful.  Why I think they should be primitive, I don't really know, but they weren't.  I know it may sound weird to say, but seeing those things kinda stirred my stomach and sent chills down my back.  The human race strives to create beauty wherever and whenever they exist.  It's pretty cool.

My favorites:  The Great Wall.  Biking around Beijing, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and exploring the Hutongs (neighborhoods).  The Bird's Nest--another spiritual moment for me.  The enormous Forbidden City.  Walking the Bund with the stinky tofu!  So so stinky.  Eating yummy food.  Talking and reminiscing with Jen about the running years.  The Water Village--seeing that their way of life hasn't changed in hundreds of years...still living in the same teeny concrete houses...washing in the water at the doorstep of their homes.  The boat rides.  Hiking up the 300 steps to Sun Yet San's Mausoleum.  The crappy Tandem Bikes in the beautiful mountainside park.   Watching our girls travel so well and adjust to new surroundings easily.

The Chinese people are a happy people.  They are always willing to help and usually want to take a million pictures with your blond haired children!  :)  By the end Analia kept saying, No more pictures please!!  We explored the Temple of Heaven park in Beijing and they had several drum circles with women dancing with their fans, people roller skating, flying kites, playing games.  It was refreshing to see.  Happy people.  Just enjoying life.  

We loved seeing China and being with our friends!  Thanks guys!  

Maya wants to tell you something...

An pretty perfect weekend

Us at Montgomery Zoo

Analia watching the monkeys swing.
At the Georgia Aquarium.
At our friend's pool party
This weekend was so awesome! First off, Mike was TDY in Montgomery, AL all week so on Friday we decided to go up and meet him. We spent the day at the Montgomery Zoo, which is totally fun and nice and perfect for big and little kids. Then on Saturday morning, we drove up to Birmingham AL to go to the temple together...which we haven't done since we've been married! We've gone, but we always just had to swap, so one of us could watch Analia, but our friends went with us and so we swapped with them. It was so so nice to be in the temple together. Ahhh.
Afterwards, we spontaneously decided to go up to Atlanta with our friends. Since we were only an hour and a half away, we might as well do it. So we drove the distance and spent the afternoon at the Ikea and then the Olympic Park. It was just so fun to be spontaneous and do things that we normally don't do. Then on Sunday we went to the Georgia Aquarium and packed in there with all the other thousands of people to see the amazing fish and sharks and whales and penguins. Analia had a freakin' blast. She loved seeing the animals. But by the time we were at the last exhibit, we were ready to get out and away from people! We started our drive home and stopped in Auburn AL, just to see the campus and eat dinner. What a beautiful campus and gigantic stadium! We got home late Sunday night, and after a 6 hour drive, we were exhausted. Our girls did so great though! Maya slept and played and hardly cried! This was a breakthrough trip for us--we proved to ourselves that we can do things, like trips and spontaneous overnighters, with our kids. We just have to keep our patience in check and remember to be flexible.

And to top off a great road trip, we had Monday off work for Memorial Day. Our friends had a BBQ and a pool party that we played at for 5+ hours.  It was so much fun and Analia loved jumping in the pool.  Maya stayed and played in the shade and watched us swim.  All in all, we got to see some new things and learn a lot about ourselves, and then we got to play in the sun for a few hours.  It was awesome. I couldn't ask for a better weekend.