Coming Home

Finally we were heading home! Again we met downstairs at 8:00am. Our trip to the airport was pretty short since the traffic on a Sunday morning isn't so bad. We got checked in, played a little and watched some more Olympics on the TV's around the gate. Our flight to Seoul was only 1.5 hours, so this went really quick. We had 3 hours in Seoul. Good thing too. We had to change terminals, get our boarding passes at a transfer desk and give Kinley plenty of time to play in the little playroom. The cutest thing was the "kid-size" potty, urinal and sink in the bathroom. If I was super-rich I would definitely get one of these for my house (if I lived in one now).

Our flight to Atlanta was great! We each had our own TV with on-demand movies, TV shows and games. Kinley stayed awake to watch a little of Kung Fu Panda and eat a little chicken, then she slept for about 8 hours. Once she fell asleep we put her on the ground under our feet and she was all cuddly warm.

Once in Atlanta we said bye to Christy and went to our gate. Unfortunately our flight was delayed because of the weather in Atlanta, but there was an NFL preseason game on. This made my day! We got some good American food, watched football and Kinley danced around - not much could be better.

So, after 28 hours of traveling, we made it back to our apartment. Sure does feel great to be in our own beds and our own place. We had a great time (minus the meet) and can't wait for the next adventure!

Day 5 - August 23

This morning we loaded up for a trip to the Beijing Zoo. If you've known me for a while, you know how much I like pandas. This was one of the most exciting things for me to see.

Here Kinley is in front of the glass where the baby pandas were. After the earthquake in China, 6 babies got sent to Beijing while their home gets rebuilt.

This panda was curled up by the door outside, and while we were watching her, she woke up and started walking toward us. She ended up finding some bamboo and sitting down for a snack.

The funny thing about this giraffe is that the people are in the cage, not the giraffe! There was a little hedge with a cattle guard thing around it, but no fence. The people had to pay a little to get some leafy food for the giraffe and go in the cage to feed it.

Kinley picked out a panda of her own and go to push him around. She has been calling him Kung Fu Panda.

A few of our group got to take a picture with a monkey sitting on thier laps. He was pretty cute with a little shirt and diaper. The rest of the zoo wasn't that great. The zoo itself was nice. Lots of trees and even a pond with fish and swans, but so many of the animals were in tiny little cages, especially the big cats. Their little area was the worst. It smelled awful and it was like they were in cells - very small, bars, no toys, and only cement floor and walls. The lucky animals that got to be outside had it much better. For me, and most of us, the pandas were the highlight!

Next we went to a Chinese restraunt for lunch. Again Dino ordered us some great food and then we were off to the market to see what kind of deals we could make. This market was indoor. It was full of cheap knock-offs, but it was fun. Christy and I both got coach purses for about $16! Everyone found something to buy, and most of us didn't pay more than $30 for anything. It was really pretty fun bargaining and walking away from the sellers.

Kinley passed out after I was done shopping so we went down the street to KFC for a drink and some chicken nuggets, for later. We got back to the hotel and had a little over an hour to get ready for the evening.

First, we went to a Peking Duck Dinner. This was pretty good. We had some other dishes first, and then a chef came out and carved the meat right off the duck. A lady came to each of our tables to show us how to properly eat and then we dug in. Its a lot like mu-shu pork/chicken with little wrappers and a few veggies.

This is the lady showing the other table how to make the duck wrap.

Kinely ate her chicken and then found this little spot to rest.

Next, we went to the Beijing Opera. This is not the opera you might be thinking of. It had singing, dancing, martial arts, and tumbling. When we first got to the hotel where it was, you could walk by the actors putting on their own make-up. Pretty cool! We were seated front and center at two tables. A man came to pour hot water into our tea cups. He was awesome!

The first performance was about a king and his wife. The king's troops were getting beat up and they needed to move, but he was worried about his wife. So, long story short, she killed herself so he wouldn't worry about her. The second one was more entertaining. It was about a nymph marrying a scholar. The gods didn't approve, so there was a loooooong battle. This battle had lots of tumbling and cool martial arts, but it was about 15 minutes too long. Anyway, the scholar came back with an enchanted pearl to save the nymph from the battle.

Here is a picture from the second one. The guys on the far left and right were clairvoiant and clairaudiant and the gold guy was the head god. Everyone in this picture faught against the nymph, sometimes 5 at a time.

After the opera, we went back to the hotel to drop our stuff off and go to Club Bud. We had and in, so everyone except me, Christy, Kinley and Tom and Nick went to have some fun. We had a great time but were definately ready to go home!

Day 4 - August 22

Bright and early we were off for an other packed day. Only this time, Tom got to join us. We had to make a detour on our way out of town for Tom to schedule his MRI, but then it was off on the adventure. First stop was a jade factory. I never realized the work that goes into making something out of jade or the importance of it to the Chinese.

Kinley rubbing the happy Buddah belly.








Next - the Great Wall! This was amazing! We went to a different part than I had been to before. Dino, our guide, said this part was less crowded but hillier. We all made it a few steps, but only 4 made it to the tippy-top.

Group picture at the start of the climb. The tower in the middle is as far as Kinley, Christy and I made it, I think.



Kinley on the way down. She was dying to take off running. Notice the sweat spot on her tummy. She rode on my shoulders and that was where my head heated up her belly.




Here we are somewhere on our journey. We aren't at our highest part yet, but definately farther from the bottom than the top.



We stopped by the Friendship market on the way home for lunch and some shopping in a Cloisonne factory store.

This is Kinley's first attempt using chop sticks. She did really well for a first-timer.






Finally we made it home at 4:00pm. Talk about a full day! Again a group went to the track to watch men's pole vault final and the first rounds of the 4x400m relay - hopefully more successful than the relays last night. Kinley, Tom and I are tuckered out - all for different reasons. Tom's is pretty obvious, I carted Kinley up and down the wall, and Kinley I think is tired from all the photo shoots - its rough being adorable.

Day 3 - August 21, 2008

The day started off in a torrential downpour. We were lucky enough to have a great tour guide who found us some handy rain ponchos. After long walks, a short subway ride and trekking through inches of water, we finally made it to the Bird's Nest and got to see the torch.

Kinley thinks she is such a big girl on the subway.



Here is the bird's nest as we first saw it. Remember its only 9:00am and its raining cats and dogs.



Tom running the 100m. Little bit wet in this one.




We just made it inside for the first heat of the 100m. I think Tom was in the second or third heat. He got out great and about 75m into the race it looked like he shut it down. After a few seconds, the jumbo-tron showed Tom running slo-mo from the front, and it became apparent after some careful lip reading that something was wrong. I immediately got hold of Coach Rovelto and we went to see what was going on. To make a long story short, Tom ended up withdrawing from the competiton after his first long jump. He has an MRI on Saturday to see if he has indeed torn his plantar fascia (same thing, different foot as Athens).

We all left the stadium together and headed back to our hotel. Being the people that we are, we had to make an important stop on the way home - McDonald's. So the interesting thing here was you could get fries or a cup of corn, no diet drinks, no barbeque sauce, and my hamburger had cucumbers instead of pickles and some kind of spicy mayo-type dressing on it. Granted, I didn't exactly know what I was ordering, but still a bit of a surprise.

We all rested up for a while at the hotel and some of our group decided to go back to the track to watch the men's 400m final. They said Tony Blair was sitting behind them - wow! After a little journey to the Olympic Village, we turned in for the night with pretty heavy hearts.

Day 2 - August 20

Just a few quick notes and pictures. We went to the Temple of Heaven, a pearl factory, lunch, the Summer Palace, and then a silk factory.

This is at the Temple of Heaven





Here is the group in front of the main building at the Temple of Heaven


This is our table at lunch. Kinley is getting bertter at her cheesy-cheese grin for pictures.


This is at the gate when we were leaving the Summer Palace


Here is the lady showing us how soft the silk is after its dried and stretched before it gets made into a quilt.




Sorry this is so brief, but it gets crazy here with the time change and so much fun packed into such a short period of time.
Tomorrow is the big day - please, pray for Tom and all of us watching on the edge of our seats!

August 19 - Afternoon

After everyone but Kinley was rested, we got a private tour bus to the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square. We started at the back of the Forbidden City. There was a nice little garden area that had huge porous rocks. These were very important for a reason I can't remember. We saw where concubines and empresses stayed, where the Emperor dressed and slept and met with the officials. It really is a huge area. I can see why its considered a city.

This is the back gate of the Forbidden City.






Along most of the larger pathways there were "tiles" lining the each side. Each of these was made from hundreds of other little rocks. It was amazing to see so much work done for a single pathway.


Here are some of those rocks.


This is the group in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. See all the little guys of the corners of the building. This one has the most because its the most important building in the City.


Really there isn't much in Tiananmen Square. Because its Olympic time, there were some neat sculptures made of flowers. Kinley and I found this one in the middle of a big open area. I took this one of her, and then she took one of me - you can only see my foot through her fingers.

Both the Forbidden city and Tiananmen Square were so interesting. So many things relate to the perceived power by an Emperor or Chairman. I'm really glad to be living where I do, but the history of China fascinates me because of how long they have been ruling.

Tom met up with us at our hotel and we ventured out in 4 taxis to TGI Friday's for dinner. Kinley barely ate her last bite before she passed out in my lap and was out for the count.

Day 1 - August 19th Morning

The rest of Tom's family made it in this morning. We woke up pretty early and went down for breakfast with everyone. From there we went to a little grocery store to get the necessities - water and diet Coke. I asked the people at the front desk if there was anything around here to do. They sent us about a mile and a half down the road to a park. Let me tell you - what a pleasant surprise!



This was right when we walked into Longtan Park. Its a interesting take on the Olympic rings.





There was a group of 3 pigs we were trying to get in a picture with Kinley. Apparently she's really magnetic over here. Everyone looks at her and gets their kids to wave and even some want a picture with her. She's not so sure about these other kids being around her.


In this lake/pond thing we saw these big bubbles and were talking about how much fun that would be. Nick and Billy decided to entertain us (and many Chinese) while they were trying to stand up and walk around.


This was probably the coolest thing I've seen so far. This cute kid had the logo in his hair cut!


There was lots more. Beautiful buildings, a guy that was writing with water on the sidewalk, colorful dragons, and so many other things I can't even describe. So far its been great. Its really not too polluted. The pictures look hazy we think from the sun. It was pretty clear in person. We're off to a city tour of the Forbidden City!

Almost There

Well, yesterday morning was very early, but worth it. Right now its 6:15 on the evening of the 18th. I think it 4:15 the morning of the 18th CST. Anyway. After a long flight without working movies -agh! - we made it to Seoul. We leave here in a few minutes for Beijing. Here's what it
looks like so far.


Kinley in Kansas City with our plane in the background.



Our plane in Chicago going to Seoul.





Kinley took this with Christy in Chicago





Kinley and Christy looking at the planes in Seoul. Its kinda rainy right now.

Summer Fun

Today we went with a group of people from church to Summer Fun Water Park in Belton. It was a nice little park perfect for smaller/younger children. We had a great time and came home tired. Here are a few pictures of our fun day.

Amanda, Emma and Kinley watching the slides



Me and Kinley after we came down the big water slide



Aunt LoLo and Leah on the water slide
(LoLo and Leah beat Kinley and I in every race today!)


Grami and Ryan playing on the little slides



Kinley knows how to relax and take it all in
(she's not napping, just soakin' up the rays)

Ryan's 4th Birthday

Saturday was my nephew's birthday. He turned the big 0-4! Its still hard for me to believe my little sister has a 4-year-old. Anyway, it was a great day. Besides Ryan's birthday, we were kind of celebrating Shannon and Bryan's engagement (Jan. 3 wedding), and their new new house.

Here is Ryan with his Transformers birthday cake.


Look at all the kids (Libby was entertaining the adults in the living room)! There was always someone to play with no matter what was going on or what part of the house they were in.



Yum! Cake and Birthday Cake ice cream. You can never have enough sugar, right?



Have I mentioned how much Kinley likes sweets lately? Anyone walkes into the room with some kind of dessert and she finds them and asks, "I have some?" Yes, its cute, but she has enough energy without any help. As you can see, the party was a big hit!

Riley County Fair

Before Tom left for Beijing and Kinley and I left for Texas, we went with some friends to the fair. Actually, we went twice. The first night Kinley saw the ponies and wanted to ride. We, of course, said yes. Well, after we got her on the horse, she lost it. We had to take her off and watch the other kids. When they stopped she decided she could ride the littlest pony. When we got her on this time, she was all smiles and even reached up to pet the mane. Wouldn't you know we didn't have our camera with us. When the "carnie" went to unbuckle her, she cried. I had to go get her and she was crying telling me she wasn't done yet! What a difference 2 minutes makes.

Okay, so the second trip all Kinley could talk about was the ponies. We went straight over to them and paid. Here's what the ride looked like...

Not even Daddy could make it better.

So, after that disappointment, we went over to the game area where Tom won a total of 3 goofy hats. That's right, 3. One of Tom's unknown talents is throwing a softball into an old milk jug. He's won two of my nieces stuffed unicorns at Dollywood, these 3 hats, and who knows how much other stuff before I started keeping track.

Kinley did like riding the little octopus.
She's looking at her Daddy here. I wasn't good enough to catch her pageant wave.

I think Tom and Kinley both really liked the huge slide, but not so sure Tom like taking Kinley and the mat up all the stairs.

Kinley and I rode the carousel. She picked out this cat to ride all by herself. Not that she would have it any other way.

As you can tell, Kinley had a great time. We all had a really good time. Obviously, since we went twice. Not that there was a whole lot else going on in Manhattan.