30 YEARS OLD!!!

Yes, it's true, Trav hit the big 3-0! His birthday was on Tuesday, but because of the English Teaching Summer Camps he picked up, he was gone from 7 am to 9:30 pm. So, needless to say, he didn't get much of a birthday that day. But, don't worry, the party planning crew (that would be me) came through on Friday. I surprised him with a full two hours of pampering at a local massage place...one hour of full body massage and one hour of foot massage. No snickering to any fellas who may be reading this...deep down you know you would love the pamperage. After that, we came home to a big SURPRISE from our friends and family (Greg and Amber). We had Chinese food for dinner and a delicious array of cakes and such. I was pleased to find out that Trav didn't have a clue about the surprise party (which is the first time ever he didn't find out about one of my surprises beforehand).

1. Trav and me at the Massage Parlor
2. Trav re-doing his "surprised face" since we didn't catch it the first time
3. I had to take a picture of our desserts, because they are such a rare treat here...we had chocolate cake, Chinese cake, no bake cheesecake, and peach cobbler. Thanks to Emily who made the cake and cobbler in her toaster oven. So Yummy!

Our guests...Amber, Greg (my bro), Brittany, Savannah, and Dan Jagoda, Smith's, Emily, Joab, Asa, and Joab Meyer

Ok, so, obviously you saw the birthday picture with my brother Greg, and his girlfriend, Amber in it. They are here in Beijing on vacation for ten days...we are SO excited they are here! They came from Japan where they spent 10 days. We have been doing some sight seeing and shopping.


At Summer Palace
Ok, I'm sorry, but I just couldn't resist this photo opportunity! We fit the part of Chinese royalty perfectly...

I took a few more pictures of Kaleb and Barrett's five minutes of fame in China. I still crack up about the fascination people have with foreign kids. However, I think poor Kaleb and Barrett have had about enough of the attention. Kaleb tolerates it, but Barrett looks them in the eye and tells them, "I am NOT saying Ni Hao to you," or "I don't want to talk to Chinese people right now." Of course, the people just giggle because they have no idea what he is saying. In this picture of Barrett, I was standing down below and a big crowd of people gathered to oogle and watch Barrett. I think that in this situation, it is much more fun to be the parent than the child...

If you look closely, you will see a little Kaleb in the middle of a sea of Chinese people and cameras.

We also went to Yonghegong Temple with Greg and Amber. It was the first Buddhist temple we have been to and was very cool to see. In this temple in the picture, there was a giant golden Buddha...we came up to his ankles...

I added this picture because it was such a funny situation. While we were at Yonghegong Temple, we were caught in a huge downpour for about 45 minutes. When it finally cleared up, there was a small river from the temple to the entrance with no other way around it. It was funny to see everyone getting in their bare feet or sloshing through with bags on their feet to get to the other side. You could just see the disgust on the Chinese people faces that they had to do this. But, on the other hand, these people know what's in this water...


Well, that wraps up our fun for this week! I keep telling myself that one of these days, I will write a blog that someone could read through in 30 seconds...