Trip to Beijing: Great Wall Shootout

Over Thanksgiving weekend Isaac’s varsity basketball team took part in the Great Wall Shootout tournament in Beijing, and Isla and I got to tag along. We were so excited to take Isla on her first flight! Like our first trip to Beijing last fall, we were incredibly lucky with the weather. It was very cold, but sunny with bright blue skies and low pollution levels.

Our flight left early Thursday morning. Isla could not have been a better little traveler, and we couldn’t be more thrilled!

Making her first in-flight poopy! Haha!

BIG yawn!

After arriving in Beijing we stopped by the International School of Beijing, where the tournament was being held, and then checked into our hotel across the street. The boys played two games that day. They lost the first by 1 and the second by 6. Despite the unfortunate outcomes, the games were so much fun to watch and the guys played wonderfully! That evening we shared a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner with the Tebo’s.

On Friday we joined Isaac’s team on a trip to the Great Wall. The tournament includes cultural trips and activities for the teams, as both an opportunity to see parts of China and to encourage team bonding. While the players chose to ride toboggans down the Wall, we thought high speed sledding might be a bit much for our 6 week old, so we just bought round trip gondola passes. It turned out that this was a separate gondola, which dropped us at a different section of the Wall.

As soon as we reached the top, Isla decided she was hungry, so I found a bench to feed her. Yes, there I was BREAST FEEDING ON THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA! Cross that off of my list of things I never thought I’d do- ha!

Once her belly was full, Isla was a happy girl, and we were ready to explore the Wall… or so we thought. As soon as I pulled her out from under the nursing cover, Chinese tourists swarmed around her, gushing over her in broken English and snapping photos of her. It was a riot! There we stood on one of the great wonders of the world and they were more interested in photographing Isla! Well, I guess I can’t say that I blame them…

We eventually moved along the Wall, in search of a spot to snap a family photo for our Christmas card. We enjoyed the breathtaking views, and Isla made plenty of more friends along the way. As we walked back down the vendor-lined path to the our bus, we picked up a few of these cute dolls for Isla- her very first souvenirs!

That afternoon the boys played two more games. Their first was a pretty rough loss, but they came back to win the second game- very exciting! The teams were so well-matched that at this point in the tournament, our dragons were in a three-way tie for fourth place. That evening we joined all of the coaches for dinner at a Sichuan restaurant.

On Saturday morning the games started early, and our team had great success. They won both of their games and took home the third place title and trophy! This was a huge accomplishment, given the schools they were up against. Go, Green Dragons!!!

Watching the games.

Helping Daddy coach.

Goooooo dragons!!!

Flashing their 3-Goggles! Celebrating after their 3rd place finish.

Making friends with the players.

After a long day of basketball and award ceremonies we headed back to our hotel and crashed. I was not feeling well, and by morning I knew I was fighting a flu bug. It was an unfortunate end to our trip, but luckily it only stuck around for 24 hours, and I didn’t pass it on to Isaac or Isla. Other than that, I’d say our trip to Beijing- Isla’s first trip- was a great success!