When we got to the airport and boarded on the plane, we were told our flight had been postphoned due to weather in Xi'an. Yuck! The only good thing about this was that we were able to get off of the plane and we were at a gate right by the kids section so Elyse could play and watch tv until our flight took off.
A few hours later we were off and on to our next adventure. We were met at the airport by a car from our hotel (Shangri la Xi'an Golden Flower.) The staff at this hotel was wonderful! They knew our flight was delayed and so they were there right when we walked out of the airport and they took us straight to the hotel where we were met by a woman who greeted us by name and ushered us to our room. She said they would take care of our bags and she would check us in in our room. AND they found out it was my birthday and sent up a cake and called me to wish me a happy birthday.
(this is a picture from their website)
When we got to our room, I was surprised to to see this massive hotel room. I had signed up for the Deluxe, but I thought it met a few extra feet, not a living area, dining area and a kitchen! It was wonderful! This meant Elyse could sleep in the living room and not have to be in the same room as the us and Anastasia. 
Elyse found this place to hangout for awhile (she still wasn't feeling very good).
We stayed in the hotel for that first day and then went out to the Terra Cotta Soldiers the next day. Our guide met us at the hotel and began to tell us the history behind the soldiers as we drove. Can you believe 3 farmers found this:
Pretty darn amazing and they were built for one man so when he died, he could have a huge army in the after life. The soldiers were about 6 feet tall and each one was unique.
Although Elyse still wasn't feeling well, she seemed to really enjoy looking at the soldiers and learning about them. We talked about how they were all in pieces and had to be put back together likes puzzles. She noticed that they were wearing shirts and that some didn't have heads. She also learned about how people tried to destroy them by setting them on fire. Just a few days ago she was sining a song about them.
This is the only soldier who was intact when the army was discovered.
Amazingly he still had some paint on him.
In the next picture you will see Elyse and our guide Michael. He is showing Elyse pictures of his daughter on his phone. Throughout our tour Michael shooed away all people wanting to take pictures and hold our girls. He said it was a good day to be a guide because he was able to talk to and hold our girls when everyone else wanted to :)
The hill in the back of this next picture is the Emperor's tomb. It has not been opened for a couple of reasons. The first one being that the Chinese don't want to disturb the dead and the second is that his tomb is believed to be booby trapped. Michael said that people think that the Emperor's coffin is floating in a moat of mercury within the tomb. No one really knows for sure.
After seeing the tomb, we went to our car and discovered it wouldn't start. A whole bunch of guys were staring under the hood for awhile. At one point they were pouring water on the battery. Toby got out and said all we needed was to be jumped. They searched for jumper cables and came up with... something that looked a bit sketchy, but it did the job and we were on our way back to the hotel.
The day was amazing, but to a preschooler, it had been a long day. When we got back to the hotel Elyse was still not feeling well and decided to hang out in her stroller and there she feel asleep until dinner time.
This was our last day in China. We had a great time, but I was ready to go back home. I am so thankful we were able to explore another country in this part of the world. This will be a trip I will never forget. Perhaps our girls can go on a "Sister Trip" when they are older to relive this experience.
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