To help you better understand the month of December, I am listing a short time line to give you an idea of when these events took place. It is probably more for me than anything...that way I don't get lost. Also, please note that I will not be listing the country or city we visited. If you leave comments please don't list it either. So, without further adieu please join me and the hubby on our trip to Asia!
December 4- drove to Atlanta and left out little fur ball Lincoln with mom and dad
December 5 - Boarded plane to Detroit, then 2nd plane to Asia
December 6 - Boarded 3rd plane to my sister's city - beyond exhausted at this point!
December 6-14 - Hanging with my sister's family
December 14&15 - Boarded 4 planes with an overnight layover in Boston to finally reach Atlanta
December 16-17 - Christmas in Atlanta and then journey back to Wake Forest
**Please note that there are no pictures of me and Michael during the 26 hours of travel. We didn't want to scare anyone with crazy hair and bloodshot eyes :-)
This precious cutie was waiting for us at the airport with a sign when we arrived. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the whole family! It was rather late at night so I think he was a little dazed and confused :-)
This is one of my favorite pics my sister took. This was the first time I met Grady in person and I was a very happy Aunt T that he snuggled right up to me. Of course holding his blanket and dog might have had something to do with it.
Isn't he just the cutest?! Like any other one year old, the kid loves a good box to play in. Grady reminds me so much of Tara at this age. I just love the face he is making!
We got to have Christmas with the family and had mom and dad there via Skye. Here is the cute red footie pajama family.
Caden loved his new Big Buzz from GaGa & CoCo (my mom and dad) and Grady was happy to play with boxes and wrapping paper and waddle around :-)
Tara and I got to have some fun sister time while we were there. There was one day where we left the boys with their daddy and Uncle Mike and off we went to explore the city with Tara playing tour guide. We rode the bus and a taxi. My blond hair got me stared at and talked about in the local language quite a bit :-) Here are two pics of us that were taken outside of 2 different malls. We also got to have coffee at a local shop and Tara even ran me across a busy intersection...diagonally. Apparently that is ok where they live.
I think one of my favorite memories was when Tara spotted the "Opening Soon: Burger King" sign. The girl seriously had an out of body experience. It was great fun to witness her excitement. When you only have Pizza Hut and KFC to choose from I can't blame her for being excited!
We have always had a tradition of watching White Christmas together and we were so excited to watch it together this year after a 2 year hiatus. We had to watch it on the laptop but the sisters did what they had to! We may or may not have sung all the songs :-)
We really enjoyed our cultural experiences in the city. We had some yummy local cuisine. I think our favorite were the dumplings. The next two pictures are at 2 restaurants we went to. The pork was yummy! Mike and I even got pretty good with using chopsticks.
Tara and Britton and the boys took us to several beautiful parks in the city. This first one was very large and had a tunnel you had to walk through to get to the other side of the park. On our walk over we went by several groups that dance on the plaza. I loved watching these ladies use their fans as they danced.
On the other side of the tunnel we came to another plaza where there were people flying a remote control plane of sorts. Britton went over to talk to the local people to find out where the device came from. If you look closely at the picture on the right side you will see the airplane. I was quite happy with my picture taking luck :-)
We also decided to get a group shot at this pretty spot in the park. When we asked some locals to take our photo I got a small glimpse into what celebrities feel like with paparazzi. You can't see it, but there were about 20 people standing behind the person taking our picture and they were all taking our picture with their phones and even shooting videos. At least we got a good group shot out of it!
Me and Mike had to get one too!
There was also a ride in this park called the toboggan. Caden was happy because he got a chance to ride with both Aunt T and Uncle Mike.
I love this picture! I just think it so epitomizes the culture. This was the structure at the top of the park we visited. We rode a gondola up to the top of the mountain and then stood at the top of this building for an incredible view of the city.
Here is a shot of me and Mike at the top
On another day we went to a park that is in the heart of the city. It was so cool to see the old unique buildings right in the heart of the city with all the high rise buildings. You will be able to see the contrast in the next 3 pictures. I totally stole the first one from my sister's blog :-)
Another thing I loved about this park were the artists. They would work right inside one of the little plaza's making banners and fans. We wanted to buy one but they are quite pricey, even in US dollars!
And of course we had to have the always important group shot. We did it for mom :-)
Only a few pics to go! On the day that Tara and I went out for our girls day, we eventually went home and picked up all the boys so we could go out for dinner. Unfortunately the restaurant we went to was closed. So, what does any good American do, they go to the KFC...ha! We visited a newly renovated KFC and got to have the Asian experience. I personally think it was better than here :-) I was glad we went so I could see Grady try his first corn on the cob. I think he was a fan.
We decided to walk home since it was a pretty nice evening. Despite being tired from the day, I was really glad we did because we got to see this beautiful bridge. I love visiting other places just to see unique things like this.
Last 3 I promise :-) First is me and Caden at a playhouse in the mall. A padded playhouse is exactly what that crazy nephew of mine needs to get all his energy out. Second is a pic of Grady in his UGA pajamas me and Mike gave him. I think he is the cutest little Bulldog there is. And last is a group shot in front of Tara and Britton's Christmas tree.
We had a wonderful trip to visit them and can't wait for them to come home for a visit in September. So thankful to have such a wonderful family who is willing to serve!
Stay tuned for more blog posts. I promise I will get back on a better schedule. Might even have another one this week. Have a blessed week friends! Love from the Forest!
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