Rausch Family Circus

Beijing, China

In March, the kids went on spring break. It was the perfect time to travel, and it coincided with one of Aaron's business trips in Taiwan. It's always good and bad when we can join him on a business trip. Good because we save on a hotel room; bad because I am alone in a foreign country with four kids all day and often into the evening.

The first part of our trip we were together. Thank goodness! Traveling in China is tricky. Unless you stay for less than 72 hours, you are required to purchase a visa. Visas for six folks are pricey. We decided to make it a whirlwind trip, visiting Beijing and the Great Wall in 72 hours. Not as easy as it sounds.

We flew into Beijing, and settled into our hotel room.

This is how we roll.

It was great...only it didn't have any cartoon channels or pool. Yikes! So, we wrestled, built forts, played, and read. It was actually great!

We decided to take a stroll. We were constantly surround by groups of people. They simply stopped and stared. Then they counted and recounted the kids. Shaking their heads they shouted, "Suh!" At least that's what it sounded like to me. Apparently that means four. Four kids?! In a country where folks are restricted to birthing one child, four made us an official circus. Lots of pictures. People posing by the kids, forming peace signs with their hands. Maddie striking poses. Good times.

Caleb slept; Jack hid.

We visited the hutongs (narrow streets or alleyways formed by lines of traditional courtyard residences). We shopped in a small art gallery for wall hangings. Thankfully, there was a street magician outside amusing the kids while Aaron and I took turns looking inside the shop.

We walked on and entered the Forbidden City, the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. Layer upon layer of walls with massive doors enclosed throne rooms and grand halls. Every ceiling was intricately decorated and bursting with vibrant color. The buildings had the massive curved roofs I had always associated with ancient China. It felt like stepping back in time.

The next day we woke and boarded a van to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall.

Any description I attempt to write will surely be inadequate. My mind could barely comprehend the height and length and breadth of the wall. It stretched on and on, weaving back and forth across the ridges of the mountains like a great stone snake. I could only imagine the amount of planning and manpower and organization it took to complete such a wonder. We rode a gondola to the top of a peak…

walked along the Wall…

then hiked down, down, down. By the time we reached the bottom we were carrying the little ones and all of our legs were wobbly.

The next day we explored more of Beijing, hiking around the grounds of the beautiful Summer Palace (which is actually a group of lakes, gardens, and palaces). Cherry tree were in full bloom, their delicate pink blossoms swaying in the breeze. The sun shone off the lake as boats carved in the shape of dragons carried passengers from the shore to an enormous palace.

We left the grounds and headed toward Tiananmen Square. I had really hoped to enter the Square, but with the clock ticking on our 72-hour visas, we snapped some photos and headed back toward the hotel and then on to the airport. We sure know how to pack it in! Next stop: Taipei!

Penang, Malaysia

In December 2014, Aaron's office had an off-site family gathering. When I heard it described that way, I assumed we'd be going to a restaurant or something together. Nope. They really meant off-site. As in off the island of Singapore. We flew to the island of Penang (another Malaysian island). The first night we were there, we had a fantastic Chinese dinner over the water. Tons of kids hanging over the bridge that connected the restaurant to land, watching eels slide through the water. It was fun, but I think we surprised everyone with how early we left and headed for the hotel. (Early night vs. full on melt-downs from tired kids? We opted for the boring couple that leaves early and saves their sanity.)

The next day was full of fun! We had a scavenger hunt around Fort Cornwallis, visited an interactive art museum where you literally stepped into the artwork to became part of the pieces, and took a rickshaw ride around town. That night there was a costume dinner with activities and crafts for the kids. Santa even came for a visit and passed out candy to the kids. There was a huge balloon release, and though it didn't feel like Christmas, it certainly was festive as we watched the balloons float up through massive palm trees and over the water.

Our scavenger hunt team

Rickshaw selfies!

Rickshaw views

The real entertainment of the evening was the lip-sync-off (inspired by Jimmy Fallon) performed by Aaron (in drag, no less) and all of the other new employees. It was hilarious. As I looked around the room at the the dropped jaws, I couldn't help but think Asia isn't ready for the Rausch's!

Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia

Our next trip occurred a bit later in November. Aaron had a business trip on the Malaysian island of Borneo in the city of Kota Kinabalu, He went first, then Grammy and I packed up the kids and followed. We stayed in a beautiful hotel with lots of different pools with waterfalls. On the weekend, we drove (thank you, dear Lord, for Google Maps) to the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park where we saw tons of exotic animals.

The view from the room.

My favorite people.

The kids love the pool!

Maddie was an excellent tour guide.

Caleb was really excited about the animals.

We also took a boat to a small, uninhabited island about 1/2 mile offshore. It was awesome! Parker, Maddie, and Jack snorkeled for the first time. Caleb and I parasailed together. (I didn't feel like the most responsible mom as my feet left the deck and I looked above me to the cables held together by duct tape.) Parker hiked a steep trail and bravely ziplined with his daddy over the open water. Everyone had a ball!

Legoland - Johor, Malaysia

In early November 2014, we ventured out of Singapore and took our first family trip to another Asian country. We packed our passports and piled in our minivan (actually it's just a station wagon, but for some reason, it's called a minivan here). Heading north, we crossed the bridge from Singapore to Malaysia and had a fun-filled day with Grammy in Legoland Maylasia.