Nanjing trip

We had the opportunity to go to a friend's wedding in Nanjing recently. We took a plane there (about 2 hours) and an express train back (about 7 hours)...always interesting to travel with young kids. The benefit of the plane was that it was only 2 hours, the disadvantage was that Eli had to remain seated with his seat belt on the whole time. Whereas with the train, Eli could run around, but 7 hours is a long time to run around. Thankfully, the other people on the train did not seem at all annoyed by Eli stomping up and down the aisles.

Our hotel (pronounced "ho teh" according to Eli) had only one room so we needed to go to bed with Eli at his bedtime or he wouldn't go to sleep, or stay asleep. I also napped with him in the afternoons. It was just the way it had to go, but I think that the next time we travel, we will splurge on a place with two rooms...

We got to see some pretty scenic spots because we went along for the photo shoot. I enjoyed following the photographer around and taking similar pictures. They even wanted us in one of their wedding photos! This is mostly because of Eli I think.

This is a drum tower that we went to. Scott and Eli sounded the drum which used to be used as a way to warn the city of impending attack, weather warnings and other city-wide communication needs.

Dana, Eli and Scott wrestling on the bed in our hotel. Dana watched but Scott and Eli played pretty hard and belly-laughed a lot. this was our entertainment on our down-times at the "ho teh".

Eli chasing pigeons at another park we went to. He liked running up to them and making them fly as opposed to what the more docile Chinese kids were doing: feeding the pigeons from their hands. I preferred that Eli not touch the birds and was glad that he was content to run after them and scare them.

Great Wall anniversary

We really enjoyed our day trip to the Great Wall. Here are some pictures to let you in on how things went. It was an excellent way to celebrate six years of marriage!

Here's a picture of me squinting in the sun with a goofy-looking bandana on. Well, I didn't bring a hat so the bandana had to work to keep the sun from beating too hard on my head. We kept Dana under a light blanket so she wouldn't fry in the sun either.

We had lunch in this little tower and gave Dana a break from her carrier (as well as gave her lunch). In this picture she's just eaten and feeling pretty good. She slept for most of our time on the Great Wall. After lunch, Scott took his turn to carry Dana, which I was really thankful for.

Here is a view of the Great Wall, we took a lot of pictures so it is hard to choose just one to capture it! We were sure glad to be able to cool off in the towers that we would come to along the way (you can see one in the picture). The wall is about 2000 years old, but where we went was a restored section. It was still quite amazing to see and walk on...our legs were sore for three days afterwards from the many steep stairways! I really don't know which is harder: going up or going down...I think I prefer going up, actually (easier on the knees).