Terracotta Warriors

So I know it has been awhile since I have updated this blog. These next couple of posts are still from when my parents came over Christmas. We were able to go to Xian and see the Terracotta Warriors. We had a great time seeing this exhibit, but all agreed that Xian is kind of a dirty place where I think every cab driver tried to rip us off. This was our last stop of our excursions so that night we ordered room service and all crashed. It was so much fun.
I made everyone pose as one of the warriors...Jake's pose.

Dad's pose

Mom's pose

My pose...mine didn't turn out that good, oh well.

One of the rooms that they found full of warriors.

Cool looking vase that I made them stand next to.

This picture shows how big of a place this one. They have 3 buildings full of these warriors.

Jake and I with all of the warriors

Mom and Dad

It was seriously crazy how many of these there are and they are still excavating them.

Some of the warriors with their heads still intact.

Great Wall

On Christmas Day, we took a flight up to Beijing and did as many sites as we could. One day we woke up early and hired a driver to take us up to Simatai. This part of the Great Wall is what you see photographed in National Geographic and doesn't get as many sightseers because it is farther away and a lot more intense hike. We didn't really realize how intense it was going to be until we got there. First we walked down

At the bottom of the mountain, getting ready to go over to the cable cars.

Get ready Great Wall...here we come!

My lovely parents on a once in a life time experience.
We took the cable cars...well they were more like a partially enclosed ski lift about half way up the mountain. The train that then took you about another fourth of the way was NOT up and running so we had to hike that and then a bunch of stair to get to the top. My poor dad had hurt his knee before coming to China so my mom and I helped him that first part but then he hurt his knee even more so he ended up having to stay back. I of course felt horrible that I hadn't researched this as well as I should have. Because there are other parts of the wall to see that aren't as strenuous.



I love this picture of my parents, especially since my dad is not big on heights.
Along the Wall
Hiking up to the wall...man there were a lot of steps!
Resting with my dad
My dad's resting spot, with his "resting" stick...that's not really what we called it, but I'll just say we found that stick by the bathrooms...
On top of the world...ok the great wall, you say potato I say potatoeSome of the places were incredibly steep
This villager followed us around and decided that my needed help down the steps.
The picture doesn't do it justice for how steep this part was, if you know me you know that I love to be adventurous and of course I was at the edge looking strait down and on these steps I was pretty much jogging down them and the lady kept telling me in Chinese to "slow down" because it was dangerous
Inside one of the towers looking out...great picture Jake!
My mom and I absolutely loved it up there. This has been my favorite scenery place ever. I loved every moment of it and can't wait to go back, and this time I am going to zip-line down from the wall.
These next pictures are the way down. There were some even stairs that followed the train track down, so we decided that would be the best for my dad. The Chinese people said we couldn't use them because it was closed but we snuck through the gate and did it anyway...what were they going to do throw us in a Chinese prison...well maybe but we were willing to take the risk:)
My mom and I helping my dad, Jake was our life insurance incase anything happened he had to be able to translate, so it was left up to the Woodward Women to get the job done.
This picture is for my sister because her response was "Wasn't it handicap accessible". Well this is as accessible as it got. We had quite the chuckle when she said that because nothing in China is really wheelchair accessible.
This is to show how steep it was even though their was a railing, I kept waiting for my dad to slip and fall the whole way down, especially since parts of the railing were not sturdy at all.

We put Jake in front so that if my dad slipped and fell, Jake could stop his fall. I'm just so grateful that we got down safely and that his knee felt better a few days later.

Parents Trip- Around Nanjing

Well I know it has been FOREVER since I blogged. My parents came over Christmas and we had such a great time. They ended up getting moved to first class because the flight was overbooked, and have now decided that that is the way to fly...as long as the airline puts you there and you don't have to pay.

I was able to take them around to the different sites in Nanjing while Jake had class. I had them ride the bus, walk, and take taxis all through Nanjing.Coming down from the top of the city wallAt the Nanjing City Wall

On a rock scuptlureThe folklore museum

Mom and me walking down the street

The Massacre Museum

There were a few times in the Taxi that I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack because of the driving but he did great. My mom always sat behind the driver, so she couldn't really see what was going on, which was probably a good thing.

Jake and I also took them to a place call Purple Mountain, that has Sun Yat Sen's tomb and a lot of cool statues.

Jake and mom by the lion

At the top of a lot of steps...Chinese people love stairs

Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum
These next couple of pictures I made us each stand by one of the soldier guys and imitate them.
Jake
Mom
Dad
Britney

I think this is their dragon face...my dad was getting a little tired of all my crazy poses I was making them do.
Smile!
On the train to the Ming Ling Tombs...which were actually closed.
Jake and me doing a "chinese" pose. Chinese people love to do glamor shot poses...so he are our poses.
Work it mom!
Awww, how cute.