In thinking of something to do/get for my handsome hubby for his 30th birthday I bounced around the idea of date night, surprises, or dinner.... but then I started thinking about places.. going places! One of the top 10 on our bucket list is to climb the Great Wall of China. SO.... mountains, cooler weather, only 2 children who are both capable of walking at this time, and knocking one off the bucket list sounded like the right way to go! I did some research and we thankfully have some gracious friends who gave AWESOME advice & tips about Beijing. They had lived there for 10 years and were SO very knowledgeable about the where to go, perfect schedule, must see's, and even led us to a sweet lady who blessed us more than she will ever know on that trip!
So, I talked JD into it and we planned it in 2 weeks! With both of our schedules those 2 weeks it was amazing we got everything together! It all worked out perfectly! Visas were quick, *expensive*, and easy (thank you to the Sorrell's who gave us all the tidbits of what to bring, order, and when to go), plane tickets checked, hotel in central location checked, and even a driver (thank you to Tanya who set us up with an AWESOME driver) checked!
We hit all the hot spots and the kids DID FABULOUS!! I think they enjoyed it as much as we did! I am so t
Drive to Mutianyu, beautiful willow trees!
As we were driving to Mutianyu side of the Great Wall we passed all kinds of different structures and little villages!
Some people still use mules in China to transport items.
We made it to the Great Wall about 9am and our driver dropped us off in the perfect location where we didn't have to walk so far to get to the cable cars and waited for us there.
As we started the trek up to get our tickets there were TONS of stalls full of people selling souvenirs. Most of them weren't open when we were going up the hill, but were ALL open on the way back down. We went at the perfect time as well, for what we know as crowds it was pretty low key on people!
They boys at the entrance to the Great Wall.
It was the 610th Anniversary of the building of the Great Wall.
The souvenir selling entry way.
Entrance..
Saw a mule along the way.. as well as picked up some cool big leaves.
I just loved the architecture of the street and walls.
J & Daddy.
Handsome guys!
L man!
He was SUCH a trooper and walked the entire way up and down.
Cable car lounge.
Daddy & J on the cable cars
Mommy & L on the way up
We decided to do the cable cars, which was not always in the plans, but was best with the kids and with my pregnancy.
The view down.
First view of the Great Wall.
Breath taking!
TOTALLY worth going!
Our boys LOVE the maps!
Weathers family Great Wall of China picture!
Right before we climbed onto the wall!
Mom & J in the doorway
Christmas card 2013
Our sweet family of 4... for now! :)
This picture shouts, HOW BIG AND HOW WIDE is your love Oh Lord for us!
I love using it as an illustration to show L just how BIG God is... Bigger than the Great Wall of China!
The boys and I went to the library a week before we went to China and they had a preschool book on the Great Wall. L and I got it and read it almost everyday until we went to China. I think it allowed him to see what a fabulous structure the Great Wall is, it's importance to China, of course he LOVED that it had to do with war and fighting, and he loved that he could say he had been to the place that was in that book!
L referred to everything as the "Chinese" Great Wall, or "Chinese" McDonald's, or asking everyone their name in Chinese.
3 Handsome boys!
Sweet brothers!
I love their sweet conversations, also how J has his hands in his pockets!
He has a LOVE for pockets now!
Sweet boys!
Melt my heart!
Of course we were THRILLED when we saw the cannon.
Big boy!
Mountains in the background!
It was a little chilly, but comfortable.
J got tired about half way through and luckily I had brought the Baby Bjorn (yes, he is over the weight limit) just in case. I carried him the rest of the way, but it was a lot easier with the carrier than it would have been without it.
Logan showing us the drain.
We had a picnic in one of the shelters.
I brought a loaf of bread from home, peanut butter, and snacks... best idea ever!
Me & my sleepy boy!
The part of the Great Wall that the boys were SO excited about was the Great Wall Luge.
It did not disappoint. I cannot recommend doing this enough!!
Big boys ready to conquer the luge!
That stick you see in the front of the luge is your accelerator and brake...
We rocked that luge so well Jackson's hat fell over his eyes! He was yelling "SUPER FAST" the whole way down. We LOVED it!!
All the vendors were open after we made it back down.
On the way to the Summer Palace we saw these fruit stands along the way.
Great Wall was an appropriate bucket list item and we had such a wonderful time as a family conquering it! JD and I said that when we are old and retired we would love to come back and do more of the hiking on one of those tour groups with a bunch of retirees... :)
I think JD's birthday, if it couldn't be spent with our family was well spent in Beijing! I hope he felt celebrated on his special day and that he knows how much his we LOVE, adore, admire, and are SO thankful for him!
Much love & Happy Birthday to the best hubby & Daddy!!
No comments:
Post a Comment