December 24th aka "Christmas Day"

These first few pictures were actually taken on Christmas Eve...after Santa came :)

My sweet angels waiting patiently to come out!

All of us 'kids' waiting...

First glance at the haul they made!

Checking out what Santa left...the boys were VERY good this year ;)

Christmas morning with Mike via Skype - it was so special! :)

Kev & Teresa have a moment amidst the carnage...

Nerf Man!

Super cute with his wacky hairstyle and new jammies from Santa...

After we finished opening gifts and having a wonderful breakfast made by Kevin, we went for a bike ride/walk...it was gorgeous outside that day!

It was so nice out that we even got to enjoy the trampoline out back for awhile!

Off to Grandma June's for Christmas Eve dinner...and plenty of DS time!

And lots of wrestling!

Um, wow.

The sweet boys waited patiently for their gifts from Grandma June...

COOL, Andrew! :)

Matthew LOVES his little vet playhouse...

The boys headed off with their daddy shortly after opening gifts at Grandma's...it was such a wonderful, special holiday with my little angels. :)

Christmas Eve (December 23rd)

Since the boys visit their father for the 2nd half of winter break, we bump Christmas up a bit early so that we can get a full celebration in!

Christmas Eve (which is actually a day early for our gang) - Kevin and Teresa worked SO hard in the kitchen to get an amazing spread prepared for the family. I was so grateful, as I was still working my way through the doom and gloom of having to say goodbye to my sweetheart just days before. Mel helped out, too - with some...umm....festive deviled eggs. ;) Thanks, guys!!!


Auntie Brit, Margaret, her son PJ, his girlfriend and Jon and Lindsey joined the rest of the Wiley Winter Gang for an the evening. After dinner, we hung out in the living room and played with Trixie...


Wrestled Uncle K & Auntie Chaweesa...

And opened ONE gift each (a tradition from my childhood - one gift on Christmas eve!)

Andrew got a TON of DS games from Mike...it's a card that you can load up with 20 or so games. He was in heaven!

Matthew got cozy in Auntie's robe (yes, it's child sized!)

Goofy kid!

Doing a strip tease for us...ha ha!

Before bed, we left special cookies out for Santa (that the boys had decorated earlier) and some carrots for the reindeer...and don't tell the boys, but I'm pretty sure that Santa's naughty, black, hairy elf (aka Trixie) helped herself when we turned our back...

Took a few minutes for some special Christmas Eve photos...

Mommy's angels :P

All of us!

Matthew and Auntie having a moment...

Ha! My special kid :) He's so funny!

Such a great shot of the 3 of them :)

A wonderful, magical evening...can't wait to do it again next year!

China!

I have to start this post by saying I had the most amazing time in China. It was the most fascinating 12 days of my life. New experiences every day...sometimes every minute! Mike was a fabulous tour guide...really impressed me with his Chinese speaking. He was able to show me parts of everyday life in China as well as several of the famous tourist spots in and around Beijing.

The flight TO China was wonderful. I had a great seat, the view was amazing, good movies to watch on the plane and the second leg of my flight (11 hours) actually went by much faster than I'd expected!



When I got to Beijing, it was surreal. I had quite a bit of customs and whatnot to get through at the airport, but knowing that Mike was on the other end, waiting for me, kept me going strong! When I saw him at the airport, and was back in his arms again....ahhhh....awesome, awesome moment :) We headed to his apartment to drop stuff off, then he took me out for dinner...rice and chicken curry. Not bad at all, but I wasn't hungry - I just wanted to sleep! I finally did get to sleep...only to wake up bright eyed and bushy-tailed at 3 am! Beijing is 16 hours ahead of us, so the jet lag is rather pronounced. I stayed in bed...and managed to doze back off for a few hours.

The next morning was Mike's 30th birrthday! I was so happy to be able to be with him on his special day. :) We left early to catch a cab and go to his school/work. I absolutely loved watching him teach...he really is a wonderful teacher.

We had a little party for the kids on the first day I was visiting - I brought Nerds candy in to share with them (they LOVED it!) and Mike had bought some other treats for them, too.

In between periods, Mr. T grades papers at his desk...

I took a moment to record the difference in the Deit Pepsi - not only does it look different, but it honestly tastes much different, too...I'm not even convinced that there wasn't sugar in it!

Mike with his spelling bee winners...

Some more pictures of him teaching...

And playing during break...

This one cracks me up - teaching the kids gang signs - ha ha!


I was up front answering questions from the kids when someone spilled their Nerds on the floor...it was pandemonium...little scavengers! Too funny!

Back to work before the sugar high sets in...

The kids stop to do 'eye exercises' a few times per day...they work so hard and for so long every day...


After work, we headed to a great palce called The Toast Box for super yummy buttered chocolate and jam toast and Malaysian coffee - which is great coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk...mmmm....we actually went back for some of the same before the end of my stay.


Not Happy Holidays, or Merry Christmas...but HIGH Christmas...and judging by the looks of this sign, yes...it was...

Sweet little birds, hanging out in the freezing cold, tied to their perches...someone's pets, I suppose...

2+1=51...only in China...

One of my favorite things in China...the red lanterns...especially beautiful at night...

My favorite meal - Dai food (is that right, Mike?) - sweet pineapple rice, potato balls in a super spicy and especially tasty dipping sauce and sweet and sour chicken (not shown)...yum!

The parking lot just outside Mike's apartment...

Another one of my favorite meals while in China...French Toast at "The Bridge"...the hairy syrup added some Chinese flair :)

My favorite fruit EVER - tiny, sweet tangerines - the best I've EVER had!

While out walking, we passed a wedding reception beginning...the groom carried his bride out of the car while guests shot confetti cannons - it was so neat to see! They also do huge processions in all black vehicles...we saw a couple of them...red bows tied to the side mirrors...

We visited the Panjiayuan market on a freezing cold day - stopped inside a 'western' cafe (there were no Chinese patrons - all tourists, and tourist prices, too!) for a pretty mocha...

The view of Wudaokou from the subway station...

Even the vending machines fascinated me! So much to look at and learn from when visiting a foreign country...oh, and vending machines (and restaurants) tend to serve warm soda...blech! I suppose it doesn't make sense to them to drink cold drinks on freezing cold days...

Some fancy security guards at Tiananmen Square...

Standing in Tiananmen Square, across from the Forbidden City...

We picked a beautiful day to visit the Forbidden City...

I was really intrigued by all of the security guards...at this particular statue, there was one guard at every side, inside a plexiglass enclosure (you can see it better if you click the picture to enlarge)...

Just outside the entrance to the Forbidden City...so majestic!

My adorable tour guide, checking his map :)

This place was huge - massive - the buildings, stattues, and overall layout...it's all just really big...

This place is thousands of years old...some has been restored, some hastn'...

Restored bricks...

Original?

Gorgeous detailing...

One of the many, many courtyards...all contain at least one of those huge palaces and several smaller buildings...you just keep walking through courtyard after courtyard...

Walking out of one courtyard, into the next...with a view of the White Pogoda (or Dogoba, as the signs said) in the background...

A really beautiful (and large!) carving - (picture will enlarge if you can't read it)

Inside a palace museum...a chariot...

These were maternity clothes...

Incredible embroidery...

More intricate carvings...on just a random wall within a courtyard...

Mike's a giant in China!

I love this picture, but I'm not sure why...

There's a beautiful garden area in the back of the Forbidden City (I'm sure it's even more beautiful when in bloom!)

Just outside of the City walls...hiding behind my sweetie because the sun was so bright!

The walls around the city are enormous...

We walked a little way down to Beihai Park...it was so gorgeous! So is he, huh? Even looking 7 months pregnant - ha! :)

Pertaining to the pond behind the rock...

More of my favorite red lanterns!

A little taste of home - Starbucks in Beihai! (Home prices, too - yikes!)

Had to try the elusive fruit on a stick that they sell ALL over the place! We found out later that these small red fruits are called Haw fruit - they taste somewhat strawberry like. My favorite part was the crunchy, carmelized sugar that the fruit was dipped in :)

What you're about to see was a definite highlight of my trip - the polar swimmers!

You could hear the ice breaking as he swam through the frozen lake!

Not one, but two crazies in the frozen lake...enlarge this picture if you can't see the ice - it's incredible...

I was expecting them to get out and warm up immediately - but nope. No towels or warm clothes - they just hung out soaking wet and likely freezing! All this from a country that doesn't serve cold drinks in the winter?!?

Ah - the infamous squatter toilet - they intimidated me at first, but became friends out of neccesity...I kind of miss them, in fact! Simplicity...

McDonald's! (Again, different...like what is that on the right? Mike says it's a chicken sandwich with the skin on...hmmm...)

McDonald's delivers via bike!

That night, we attended a Christmas tree lighting/party at the Hilton in Beijing - walking into that hotel was like entering another world - too fancy and uptight, but it was beautiful!

Here's the massive yule log they baked for the event (Mike made me laugh as he kept referring to this as a Lincoln Log)

We watched the tree lighting from a balcony - they dumped fake snow (styrofoam) - it was EVERYWHERE!

The tree was gorgeous!

Huge chunks of yule log were slapped onto plates...it was fun...and tasty!

The kids loved the 'snow'. Look at this little angel :)

Walking home that night, we saw the night street market. They sell everything from hats and gloves, candy and puppies...

This is the view of the schoolyard from Mike's balcony...I loved hearing the kids sing in the mornings :) Oh - and chances are, that's only a small fraction of the kids out there - the building is blocking the rest.

It is not uncommon for men to carry a purse in China...for their girlfriend, I mean :) The two in the black were together - red riding hood jumped in the middle just as I took the picture...

Hot pot! Kind of like fondue, but more of a soup/broth that's heated to boiling and you cook your food in it. We had lotus root, lamb, bok choy, tofu skin, tripe and some other stuff. I ate very littie, but enjoyed the experience anyhow :) I'm just not an incredibly adventurous eater - I wish I was!

My last day watching Mr. T teach..

Again, playing with his kids at breaktime...

If you're naughty in Mr. T's class, he'll put you in a headlock!

I like this picture because it shows Mike discplining the infamous Erik...who really seemed like a very good kid when I was there...Mr. T just doesn't tolerate much messing around :)

So Mike commented on how his shoes are literally falling apart - I noticed it, too - while he does do an awful lot of walking these days, I can't help but wonder if some of it is due to his 'teaching stance' :)

I took this picture because of the pigeon cages attached to some apartments...

Fog? Nope. Smog. That's the sun, by the way.

This was probably otherwise a blue-sky, sunny day...

We also visited the Summer Palace - beautiful!

It was here that someone asked to take a picture with us - just because we're foreigners! I felt like a celebrity :)

I really loved these birds - had never seen one like it! Mike laughed at me and told me they were essentially crows.

Could this be any more beautiful?

Mike found his kindred statue...

That cart, being pulled by two men and pushed by one man is full of bricks - manpower!

This guy is totally lovable! Just look at him :)

There were several "Do not walk on the ice" signs around the lake. Well, these two couldn't read Chinese any better than I can, apparently...

I was attempting to capture the bicycle lifestyle with this picture - people carried their wares, children, pet and anything else they could haul on their bikes...

Beautiful Wudaokou at dusk...

This is where Mike got his Chinese 'hamburgers' (God knows what kind of meat they used - this was just doors down from the dog restaurant!) - I took the picture mostly to document the doorways - all of them had either these plastic drapes or a huge fabric curtain just inside the doors - usually glass doors - which meant if you weren't careful (me), you'd walk into the glass door after going through the drapes...oops...I guess I'd learn if I was there longer...kind of like how you learn real fast to carry toilet paper in your pockets if you're going to need it!

Candied strawberries! This time we got them to go, so they wrapped them in rice paper, which stuck like crazy and tasted kinda slimey! I suggest you eat them just after you buy them instead of attempting to transport them...

The day before I left, we visited the Great Wall. It was spectacular...breathtaking...an experience I'll never forget. I felt so lucky to be there - and with the love of my life, nonetheless!

Here we are riding up to the wall on the Gondola...

This is probably my favorite picture of us on this trip...I can't believe we were actually there!

Mike posed to show the boys where the archers would defend the wall from...

I'm also a giant in China!

Parts of the wall that we walked on were incredibly steep...this picture attempts to display this, but is barely succeeding. You literally could not walk up without holding onto a railing! I saw a couple of grown men fall flat on their rear-ends as they descended!

Yeah...it was a bit touristy here in Badaling...next time we visit the wall, we'll visit a more rustic spot...Oh, and you can kind of tell from this picture the lack of uniformity in the steps. Some were very short steps, others were huge - almost knee high at times!

Wow! It just goes on forever!

I called Andrew and Matthew from the wall, and took their favorite lovies along for a visit, too! This is Zillow and KangaRoo :)

A mangy, but super cute wild kitty - eating garbage...

Whew! I'll post some videos when I get them up, too :)