CHINA - Day one

I informed TJ that before I left for Korea, I was visiting the Great Wall of China. Notice I didn't say that WE were visiting the Great Wall. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband and of course I wanted him to go with me, but when it comes to trips, he's...complicated. He's a stay-at-home kind of guy and I usually have to drag him by his teeth to travel with me on day trips. Anyways, China was happening for me, and he was welcome to join if he wanted. Or not. He knows the kind of woman that he married, so when I told him all this, he believed me and gladly joined in the excitement and planning. After all, I did to go Paris and Ireland without him. 

We decided on Thailand last year because we had a fussy infant that needed a relaxing trip, not a crazy busy one. Fast forward to about 5ish months ago. We're nearing the end of our stay in Korea, Lilah's less fussy (not by much) and China still needed to happen. TJ looked at his schedule and I looked at mine, and we both decided on September. We invited our friends Brittany and David to join us, and they gladly hopped on board. Leave was put in as soon as possible and we waited...and waited...and waited...for a month and half before we FINALLY got our leave back with a stamp of approval. This was just a few weeks before the trip was about to happen. We quickly booked everything and off we went. 

I need to brag a bit before I go on. Our travel agent told me that my passport was completely full and I'd had to have pages added in before I left for China because there was no place for anyone to stamp. Yep, I'm awesome! 

Anyway, our first day was eventful in a not so cool way. We were all packed and ready to go, left the house with our bags, walked ourselves down to the bus stop and waited about 20 minutes in the pouring rain for it to come. We were all full of jitters and excitement at this point so the rain didn't bother us too much. We arrived in a nice amount of time. YAY for Korean public transportation. It's so much easier and less stressful. Anywho, we found our gate, and stood in line. After a while of waiting, I asked TJ to get his ID ready for check in. He went to grab it and it wasn't there. Yes, my husband left his ID at home. He needs his military ID to travel out of the country and no other ID would work. We had less than two hours to take off and home was an hour away by bus. He and David hopped a cab and sped home to grab his ID while the girls, Brittany, and I waited anxiously for them to return. In the meantime, we walked to the ticket counter again and asked if there was a later flight we could take. Thankfully there was one a few hours later and it would be free to change our tickets. At this point there was no chance they would make it back in time for the original flight, so we booked it. Whew! It didn't really hinder our trip too much so no harm no foul. TJ felt horrible and I felt horrible because he felt horrible. Luckily everything worked out and we all continued our trip happily. Here are some pictures of our day....

Us minutes before we walked down to the bus stop. 

Uncle David and Aunty Brittany with our little Lilah.

Asian airports are the best. Seriously. They have several kids play areas in every one we've been to. America needs to catch up!

This kid was seriously fascinated with the girls.

Waiting patiently to board.

Me loves these girls!

Finally on the plane and read to go!

Brittany and David bracing themselves for takeoff. Brittany doesn't like to fly so shes my hero because she takes it like a champ and doesn't let it stop her from being a world traveler. 

Hello China!

We have arrived. Lilah was more interested in her shoe than the scenery. 

TJ's excited, can you tell?

Hailey being cute and excited to be in China.

Sleepy baby. For those of you who don't know my child, in order for her to fall asleep she needs a blanket, AKA The Fuzz, brushed across her nose gently, along with fingers in her mouth. 

Lilah learned what a fish was. She was very intrigued.  

"fsh" - Lilah
Joke of the day: what do you call a fish with no eyes?
A: Fsh
It works better out loud. Go ahead, say it. 

Our hotel room. The beds ended up smooshed together for more fun and better sleep.
Side note. Auto correct wanted to change "smooshed" to "bloodshed"... 

Our restaurant. Lilah really wanted nothing to do with this place. She protested the second we put her in the high chair. TJ and I ended up taking turns eating. 

Don't be fooled bu this picture. She really hated this chair. I'm pretty sure she was flirting with David, her second favorite guy in the world. If I remember correctly, she started screaming within seconds after this shot was taken.

My Brittany and David :) 

Chinese beer! It was bland. American beer is much better. Actually German beer is the bestest. 

Prost!

Chinese kidney beans? I'm not sure. Either way, they were good. 

Hailey and Lilah NOT sitting down and enjoying the Chinese food. 

My climber.

Rice was the only thing she ate the entire trip. Same with Lilah. I'm pretty sure if I told her the meat wasn't duck, but in fact chicken, she would have eaten it just fine. 

Duck, on a duck plate. It was serious amounts of yummy!