Drumming Through the Day

After the Great Wall of China,  we headed toward the Bell and Drum Tower.  Historically, they were used to tell time as the morning bell and the dusk drum.

Bell Tower

Drum Tower

We got to the drum tower just in time to hear the dusk drum.  We had to make the very steep climb up the stairs to get to the drums.  I can say we definitely got our exercise in with all the stairs that we climbed that day.

After the drumming we were met by our rickshaws.  The kids were most looking forward to touring the Hutong in rickshaws.  A hutong is a traditional neighborhood with very narrow lanes and courtyards. 

The girls knocking on the door of the courtyard.

After the Hutong, we headed for a Kung Fu Show.  It was amazing.  We were unable to take pictures in the theater but the athleticism of the performers was mind blowing.  Some of the performers seemed to be as young as Graham and doing things I had no idea a boy could do.

The day was jam packed with activities but overall a very cultural and fun day!

Next up:  the Forbidden City.

It Really is GREAT.

 Great Wall of China

Reids and Doffings

The highlight of our trip to Beijing was visiting a part of the Great Wall of China.  It was about a 2 hour drive from our hotel.  Our Guide, Chen, was for informative and gave us lots of historical information about the wall.  It was quite a site when it first came into view.  Chen told us we were extremely lucky as we had perfect weather.  Apparently, blue skies are not the norm in Beijing.  The weather was cool, so that was a welcome change!

We took a short cable car ride up the mountain to the Great Wall.  Then it was up to us to determine how much walking we wanted to do.  I would guess we were on the wall for a couple of hours.  The kids were able to explore and learn a few historical facts.  I think they even had a good time doing it!

This was the steepest part of the wall.  Brian took Bryce and Graham up.  Layne did not want to attempt it.  I heard it was quite a workout.

There is Graham(yellow shirt) about to make his way up.

view from the top

Bryce and Brian made it! Graham was up and down the fastest.  So fast no pictures of him.  :)

Deep conversation about the making of the Wall...or are they discussing MineCraft?

Layne and I

Brian and Bryce

Kid Crew!

...to be continued...

15 minutes of Fame in Beijing

Fall Break 2012 Beijing, China
Wangfujing Street

This year for Fall Break we ventured to Beijing, China for more of a educational holiday and some cooler weather.  Of course, we rarely holiday without, the Reids, so our family of five turned into a family of 9.  Our flight was just over 6 hours and the kids thought that was short.   I guess when you are used to sitting on an airplane for 24 hours to Texas, 6 hours to Beijing is a walk in the park.

By the time we got to our hotel, night had fallen so we headed out to Wangfujing Street to get a taste of Beiijing. 

We soon discovered that Bryce, Layne and Katie caught everyone's attention.  We quickly learned not to stay stationary for too long as the "papparazzi" would line up to be photographed with the girls.

This is the first request of a photograph.

It quickly turned into this....

So, Brian and Zach lead the way with Graham and Austin to get away from the growing crowd.

We enjoyed strolling through the local market and showing the kids the different cultures that exist outside of Singapore.  They were amazed by the crowds and the local foods.

This was the most interesting food choice....live scorpions and starfish on skewers.  You can see them squirming around on the sticks.  Once you pick one then they grill it and you eat it!  We opted against this delicacy.

Katie, Layne, Bryce, Graham and Austin

To entertain themselves the girls started practicing cheers.

Then the cameras started flashing and the girls cheered more.

and it turned into this!  30 plus people taking pictures or videoing the girls do cheers.

At the end of the night all the girls kept talking about whether or not they would be famous.  Being in Beijing was their 15 minutes of fame.

to be continued...up next the Great Wall of China!

Football Frenzy

The girls are winding down their cheer leading adventure.  The girls normally cheer for the 5th/6th grade football teams but this past weekend they were asked to cheer along with the older girls for the high school team as well.  An American team from Japan traveled to Singapore for a football game so SAS wanted to show as much school spirit as possible.  So the all the girls received new uniforms and cheered on the Falcons!  

The entire weekend was football football and more football!  It felt very much like we were back in Texas with all the activities.  Friday was the 5th/6th grade playoff game and Saturday night was the high school game versus Japan.

Graham and his buddies hanging out on the football field.

This one is my favorite of the girls! 

There are 2 games left of the season an then we will call this cheerleading season over!  The girls absolutely loved it and I have to admit I did to!