Back from China

Well, after 4 long weeks away from my kids, I'm finally back from Shanghai. This was the longest trip I've ever taken out there, but this time Jennifer and mom joined me for a week, so that was awesome. I think 4 weeks is too long to be away from the kids though, and away from things I'm accustomed to (like being able to use tap water to brush my teeth). The Chinese people are extremely warm and friendly for he most part, as you can see from the above picture. I love the look on Jennifer's face here. It definitely caught us off-guard how much each and every one of them wanted to take their pictures with us. Probably took us at least 10 minutes of picture taking before we could leave to see the great wall.

Mom was a blast. She had come out to be a travel companion for Jennifer, since I had to work during the week. It was an absolute ball having both of them as travel partners to Beijing. Mom is hysterical in "her own way." She doesn't speak Chinese, but that didn't stop her from answering, "Si, Senor" to the people selling stuff... I should also point out that she doesn't speak Spanish either.

We all flew up to Beijing on Thursday when they were there (I took a day of of work...shhh). In one day we saw the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. First thing I want to do when I get a chance is put "The Last Emporer" in my Netflix queue. The Forbidden City was just amazing, and it's impossible to give any kind of description of how huge the place is.

I felt bad for these military guys at the Forbidden City. It was pretty hot that day, and they had to stand there in the heat.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't mess with them and sneak up and have Jennifer take a picture of me.

Anyway, after a long trip, I'm so incredibly glad to be home. I missed my kids terribly, and eating out every meal for a month gets really old (and made my clothes feel smaller too...must have been the laundry). Either way, I hope I can go for a few months without leaving.

I really am going to try to keep this blog updated more.

Curt