CHINA!

Tom & I had the wonderful opportunity to go to China to visit Tom's sister, Julia, and her family! It was AWESOME! Here we are with Julia, her husband Robert and kids Alisha and Paul in front of their house in Beijing!

Yummy, yummy authentic Chinese food! Here we are at a Famous Peking Duck restaurant! Yes, we ate the duck and it was very good! We did pass, however, on the duck brains that they offered. This was Robert's favorite place! I can't remember the name of it but Tom & I loved the food too!
Restaurant Julia! :) Aka Mr. Ma their once/week cook!

The markets are CRAZY! But everything is very cheap! As you can see, Tom and Julia buying 100's of ties...for real! And below I am buying bags at maybe $4 where in the US they are $85! The jewelry markets are just as nuts! But they can make anything for you! All in all the shopping was fun! Tom & I learned how to say, "Don't want!" in Chinese pretty quickly as the sales people are VERY agressive! One little gal was pulling hard on Tom's arm to get him to buy a North Face jacket. She didn't get the point that he wouldn't wear it in Las Vegas! It was funny! Julia lives next to a village that we walked through. Outdoor markets with raw meat, fruits & veggies, bicycles for transportation, a slight scent of urine, and women washing their hair in buckets of water were common sights here. But Tom & I both agree that the people are happy and content! We decided to be/act less spoiled...hopefully our kids too!

At the "Temple of Heaven," I thought this Chinese girl was so cute so I asked to take a picture with her. Her mom was delighted, the little girl...not so much.
Tom with lots of soldiers...he's by far the most handsome!
In front of a Buddist temple.

Here we are at the "Forbidden City." This place is ENORMOUS! If you haven't noticed already, I am 6 1/2 months pregnant. My purse is meant to hide it slightly but it accentuates my roundness...oh well. I'm so blessed to be having such a great pregnancy that I can go to the other side of the world and only experience TIREDNESS complications!

Near Tiananmen Square where the picture of Mao still hangs. We just drove around the Square and didn't take the time to see Mao's body as there was a line a mile long! What a rotten guy for the people to still be worshipping!

The GREAT WALL of China! This was definitely one of my favorite places to visit! It was AMAZING!

Check it out...this thing winds all around the hills! I mean, I knew it was big but to actually see it and walk on it...too cool!

So my sister-in-law gets out her cell phone and we call my parents in Utah. When they answer I exclaim, "Guess where I am right now? THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!" Nice reception, eh?! Who's her provider?
Some warriors with very bad teeth that Tom couldn't help looking at everywhere we went!

So the part of the Great Wall that we saw had an Alpine Slide on it. Too funny! Tom rode it down and said at every turn there was a Chinese guy yelling at him to slow down...or maybe they were telling him to go faster...or maybe they were commenting on his shoes. :)

Tom and I took one day to fly to the old capital of China, Xian. Here is where the Terracotta Warriors were discovered. They are these lifesize clay soldiers built by some emperor to protect his tomb...around 3000 were found. A farmer was digging a well and happened upon one of the statues. Now the government makes the farmer sit in the gift shop signing autographs. Sure enough, when we went in the gift shop, there he was. But according to our guide it is much better pay than a farmer makes.

This was a fun Rickshaw ride! We sit and the guy pulls us with his bike!

Tom swimming in front of the Water Cube! Nice form, eh?!

At the Bird's Nest from the 2008 Olympics. It now is only for the tourists who have to buy a ticket to go look inside. No events have been held there since the Olympics. Sad.

This trip was FANTASTIC! Thanks to the Lewis family for their hospitality and to Grammy & Poppa Yerg for taking good care of my little ones while we were gone!