This week was the Chinese National Holiday. Mike, and all the kids had it off from work and school. We had such a lovely time. Our driver had the first 3 1/2 days off, so we hung out at home. We went on bike rides (which was fun because we live away from town and there are lots and lots of cool places to ride). We had people over from church, and just played and relaxed. By Wednesday, we were ready to get out! We went to ZiJin Shan (Purple Mountain) and saw the observatory. We rode ski-lifts down the mountain. It was a cloudy day, so it looked really misty. The only bad part was that Eli lost his shoe on the lift. So, after we went to a store and got some more shoes (I took Eli in with me, and the old man kept trying to give him pink Sunday shoes... I had forgotten the word for boy, but the fact that nobody minds their own business came in handy, and a lady told the old man we needed boy shoes), we went to the Presidential Palace. It was built thousands of years ago and used off and on as the capitol of China clear through the 1930's when it was the Presidential Palace. It was beautiful, full of interesting buildings and gardens. On Thursday, we took off to SuZhou and ZhouZhuang over-night. It was an amazing trip. But I'm going to split up the entry so that I can show more pics. Everywhere we went we were the center of attention. People stop and stare, and many people take photos of us. Some ask. Luckily we don't think about it all of the time, but at any given moment, if we look around...In our car, or the store, or walking down the street, or at tourist attractions...Every eye is on us. We are such a shock for the Chinese people on so many levels. First, there are not many white people. Second, we are very tall. Most of all, we have five kids. People are boggled by this. Whenever they ask if I am the mother of all five, they give me the thumbs-up sign:-)
