Allens Overseas: The Blog

Oliver's First Solid Food

2010-11-09T22:23:00.002+09:00

At a few weeks shy of six months, I finally caved and started Oliver on solid foods. I like to wait until I feel like my babies are ready for and interested in food. I'm in no rush, in so many ways it's honestly easier to just breastfeed and not worry about food. Anyway the last few weeks Oliver's interest in food has really peaked. He reaches for food now, tries to grab food in our hands, and has a mean lunge if he sees a fork. Taking his obvious interest into account, we broke out the rice cereal and gave him his first taste of solid food (if you don't count the sacrament bread someone tried feeding him a few weeks ago).

As always it was a mixed reaction to the rather foreign experience, though by the end I think he was enjoying himself. Madeline was my little helper, naturally, which consisted largely of freaking out every time he had any food on his face and running for a towel to clean him with. I guess it's time to break out the vita-mix and starting making some baby food!

Feeling like such a big boy sitting up.

Giving it a try.

Cutest post-eating messy face ever. Seriously I cannot get enough of this little guy.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T15:02:00.000+09:00

The older two girls decided back in August that they wanted to do a Wizard of Oz theme for Halloween this year. Emily kicked it off with dreams of being Dorothy, and Hannah immediately jumped on Glinda. We easily convinced Maddie to be the Cowardly Lion, she's even been working on her ferocious roar for a good month now. Finally a baby Tin Man was created and the look was complete. Add in a witch and scarecrow of last minute minimalistic proportions and it was a full blown family affair.

My mom actually sewed Emily's costume and the tiny hat for the baby. The other two kids were courtesy of Old Navy and Etsy. I love internet shopping.

We went up to Daegu to go trick-or-treating on base on Saturday. I find the base to be the perfect size for kids our kids ages. We managed to hit up almost all of the base housing in just about an hour. The older two were seasoned pros, Maddie started off a little nervous, but quickly caught onto the fun of trick or treating, though she was always willing to sit out any house she deemed "so scary." It was fun to watch the kids tear around with their friends, what a fun holiday!

The four kiddos: Cowardly Lion, Dorothy holding Tin Man, and Glinda.

Headed off to the school Halloween parties awaiting. Maddie had to get dressed up, too, just not to miss out on the action.

Dorothy, complete with her Toto.

Glinda the Good Witch striking a post.

Cowardly Lion roaring.

Waiting for the bus.

Littlest Tin Man.

After trick or treating on Camp Walker in Daegu, Korea.

The whole family.

Tyler couldn't resist. . . . he had to steal our friends son's Mario hat and take it for a spin.

First Week Home

2010-06-05T13:22:00.001+09:00

Our first week home with our sweet little buddy was honestly a blur, propelled entirely by survival instincts. Instead of the nice few weeks of paternity leave Tyler has taken with the birth of the girls, he returned to work Monday. . . a mere three days after Oliver's arrival.

Monday kicked off a week straight of almost 12 hours day for Tyler, as the G-20 Finance Ministers Meeting commenced in Busan. We probably could not have picked a worse week to welcome a new baby into the world, but we made the best of it! Tyler worked non-stop, and I muddled through in total sleep deprived stupor.

The G-20 meetings brought finance ministers from across the globe to a hotel a few blocks from our apartment. Security was tight, and Tyler spent the week shuttling back and forth between the airport and the hotel. He was in charge of getting people in and out of the country with as few hiccups as possible. By Saturday night, everyone had finally departed, and we all sighed a huge sigh of relief!

Despite all the craziness, it's been a fairly smooth transition to a family of six. Oliver is a sweet little guy who loves his cuddles, and loves to eat (really what more could you ask for?!). The girls all adore him and want to hold him every chance they get. Madeline is especially enamored with her new role as big sister, and loves to "holdja the baby."

It's been a whirlwind, but we are so thankfully Oliver is where with us!

First Day Home

Little Monkey

Madeline doing a "holdja the baby."

I love how huge Maddie's hands look. . . such a contrast!

Huge outpouring of congratulations from the community. Our little "White Tiger" was welcomed with style!

Sleeping on his own. . . only lasted a minute before he wanted to be held again.

Six days old.

Sharing some love.

Proud big sister!

Pensive look. . . . so serious!

More sleeping.

So far he's an Allen through and through. He looks a ton like Emily as a baby, and the resemblance to Tyler is undeniable!

Oliver Pax Allen

2010-05-27T23:15:00.004+09:00

Oliver Pax Allen

May 27, 2010

5:38 PM

Busan, Korea

6 lbs. 15 oz.

20 inches

Thursday I went in for my normal weekly check-up. Tyler was even with me, as we wanted to talk to the doctor about possibly inducing me by early next week if the baby hadn't come. Tyler was going into what was seriously the most busy week ever. The G-2o finance meetings were being held in Busan, which made for the most inconvenient time ever to have a baby. If I've learned nothing in this career, though, it's flexibility.

So Tyler went with me to my appointment right after we got the girls on the bus. I was looking forward to a relaxing day at home with Maddie. I had two blankets I wanted to finish sewing and was really looking forward to a long nap. . . possibly an episode or two of Alias (current obsession). I guess the fact that I did have plans was the first sign the baby would be coming!

We had chosen the Jeil Ladies Hospital in Busan to deliver the baby. It's a newer, really small hospital that only does OB/GYN stuff. Several friends had had babies there, and the most impressive part to us was the flexibility they seemed to show foreigners. It's kind of intimidating having a baby in a foreign culture. I have utmost faith in the Korean medical system, but honestly was pretty nervous about the cultural differences surrounding the baby's birth. It honestly turned out to be the best birthing experience of the four for me.

At the appointment he checked and found I was already 4 cm dilated. It was a total repeat of Maddie's birth. They wanted to admit me then, but I insisted on going home and getting some stuff taken care of first. We ran home, packed bags, and dropped Maddie off with friends. Back at the hospital I was admitted and left to rest for a few hours. Finally around 4, they broke my water and it went pretty quickly from there.

After a few crummy epidural experiences I was really worried, but opted to have one anyway. I was nervous enough about everything else, I didn't want to be stressing over the pain. The epidural went seamlessly, and proved to be fantastic. . . it was a light one so I was still able to move and feel things, just not nearly as intensely. With the epidural in place and my water broken, I was pushing within an hour and at 5:38 little Oliver Pax entered the world.

All in all it was a fantastic birth experience. The doctor was extremely kind, and listened well to what we really wanted. There were cultural differences of course, but the hospital worked really hard to work with us. They allowed me to keep the delivery room a comfortable temperature (Korean women like it 80+ degrees), allowed me to keep the baby in my room instead of the nursery, and allowed us to discharge as early as we wanted. I would not hesitate to have another baby in Korea, it was a fantastic experience.

After we were moved to the recovery room, Tyler went and picked up the girls to come meet their new brother. They were thrilled and loved holding him. Poor Maddie sobbed when she had to leave. The good news was by the next morning we were discharged and home by lunch. Coming home is always the best feeling.

We love this new little guy so much, and are so glad he came to join our family. We look forward to watching him integrate this way into our lives, and already cannot imagine what it was like before!

The girls meeting Oliver.

Maddie loves him.

Tyler and his brood.

Famous Korean-burrito swaddle wrap. It's amazing these babies wake up at all, they are so bundled up!

Getting ready to go home.

Oliver is, by far, our fairest baby.

So excited to be taking this little guy home.

Lotus Lantern Festival at Beomosa

2010-05-20T23:07:00.002+09:00

As the baby's due date inches closer and closer, I had a short list of things I really wanted to accomplish. Near the top of my wish list was to be able to visit a temple to mark Buddha's birthday. Thankfully the little guy cooperated and we were able to take the girls to enjoy the gorgeous paper lanterns that cover the temples.

Each year during the Lotus Lantern Festival the temples in Korea are strung top to bottom with paper lanterns. People come to the temple and purchase a lantern, writing a prayer on the paper tied to the lantern. Each year we have been here for the festival we have made it a point to visit a different temple to appreciate the lanterns. While in Seoul we visited two temples and a gorgeous lantern parade. Last year we visited our favorite seaside temple in Busan, so this year we headed out to a different temple in Busan we had not yet visited, Beomosa.

I love the way the lanterns drape over the temple, creating a soft canopy of lights. The girls always enjoy these trips. Hannah has been asking all month when it would be Buddha's birthday. I'm just thankfully I was able to enjoy this last event I really wanted to take in. Now as far as I am concerned this little guy can appear anytime!

Beach Season Begins!

2010-05-15T22:55:00.001+09:00

The weather patterns this year were pretty interesting. Fall arrived late. Winter lasted forever. Spring was slow to arrive and felt like it lasted for about two weeks. By mid-May the weather was finally warm enough to usher in beach season (at least for the kids). The water still seems cold for the adults, but it didn't deter the kids from taking the plunge!

Koreans are really funny about beach season. There is a day that officially (and arbitrarily) marks the start of beach season. The inner tube rentals come out, the umbrellas pop up up and down the beach, the food stalls open their doors, and the beaches are crowded. And I mean body-to-body crowded. Just before we arrived in Busan Haeundae Beach actually set the Guinness World Record for the most beach umbrellas in one place. Then at another randomly chosen date beach season ends (mid-August). Now the part of this that is odd, and that during beach season the beaches are packed. But on either side the beaches are blissfully empty. The day before beach season begins the beach will be virtually empty, but the day it begins everyone shows up in mass. I think it factors into the pack mentality that exists here.

Not loving the crowds, and the attention our very white children attract we tend to hit the beach hard early and late in the season and lay low and avoid it during peak season. It makes for some nice empty beaches for us to enjoy! So for the next month (or until the baby arrives) we will likely park it at the beach for the weekend!

No qualms about water temperature.

Maddie wasn't so sure what to think. . .

Emily and McKenna

Mermaid Emily

Silly Hannah

Notice Maddie's carefully placed feet. She didn't love touching the sand.

McKenna the car. She has traditionally not loved touching the sand, but took a brave step and let Tyler bury her, too!

Hannah and Macyn, two crazy little girls.

Olympic Park

2010-05-01T22:35:00.004+09:00

After what felt like an extremely long winter, we finally had a day that felt like spring has really arrived. We loaded up the girls, their bikes, and a picnic and went to meet friends at the Olympic Park for a fun afternoon. The girls rode bikes, played baseball, and ran around. In general being outside is harder to accomplish when you live on the 21st floor, but gorgeous outdoor spaces like this really make for enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.

BFS Suyeong Art Show

2010-04-30T19:26:00.002+09:00

Emily has had the opportunity this year to be involved in an after-school art club. The club is actually run by Hannah's Pre-K teacher, Ms. Newton, who is fantastically artistic and talented. It has been neat to watch Emily experiment with a variety of mediums, and really make some creative pieces that reflect her and her interests.

As one of their final projects the seven students were asked to create a piece for an art exhibit entitled, "Our School, Our Art." The intention of the show was to create a piece that reflected their experience as international students in Korea, showcasing their individuality. The pieces were on display at the Suyeong Station Art Mediate Space, a neat government funded cultural space in the Suyeong subway station.

The pieces were all different and unique and really painted a vivid picture of the children's experiences as international students. We loved the creativity that was displayed, and the unique opportunity that it afforded these young artists.

The show will run through mid-May, but we joined staff, students, and parents at the opening of the art show for a party.

The girls love riding the subway.

CJ's sculpture of the world. He tagged countries students and staff were from and united them with a string at the Busan Foreign School.

Emily and her work of art.

"A Classroom of Eyes," representing Emily's distinctive characteristic in a classroom of children.

Self portraits. Ms. Newton traced an image of each student, and they then chose colors and painted their images.

Emily and Hidaya.

Emily's self portrait.

Emily and Ms. Newton

Camp Hialeah

2010-04-24T23:42:00.004+09:00

At 10:00 AM, we joined approximately 300 Korean citizens to do something they had not been able to do in over 100 years, walk across the land that has been known at Camp Hialeah. With little fanfare, Busan city officials quietly unlocked the large front gate to what was once a bustling US Army Base. Long gone were the armored hummers and tanks, replaced with walking paths winding through what felt like a military ghost town.

Camp Hialeah had been under US control since the Korean war, closing only recently in 2006. Like most bases on Korea it more or less resembled a small self-sufficient town. There was the commissary (grocery store), Post Exchange (small Target equivalent), the gas station, the post theater, the school, the chapels, and small neighborhoods of quaint 1950's era homes.

Before it was home to so many military families, it gained notoriety under Japanese occupation as horse racing grounds. It went on to serve as the headquarters for the Imperial Army, before coming under US/UN command during the Korean War.

As part of a land hand over, turing US military facilities back over to the Korean government, Camp Hialeah was closed in August 2006. For the next three years it would sit in limbo, slowly deteriorating as the US Army and the Korean central government engaged in a series of negotiations about the return of the land. When we first arrived in Korea, working with the military and the Busan city officials was a major hot issue for Tyler at work. After many environmental studies, and clean-up efforts, the land was formally returned to the Republic of Korea, and then immediately to Busan City on January 27, 2010.

From the end of January, until now, Busan city has kept the land tightly secured, making renovations in preparations to share the militaristic feel of the land with the citizens of Busan. The goal is to give the citizens the chance to view the land as it was under US command. The park will remain open in this fashion through the end of September, after which it will again be closed as it is completely renovated and turned into a massive park in the middle of Busan.

Though the renovations were relatively minor, they went far in providing a park like atmosphere to the formerly bustling base. Removing all vehicular traffic leaves visitors free to wander and explore the base, taking pictures as they go. Select structures were even cleaned up, and opened to the public, allowing a rare, true inside peek at life on the military base. Visitors are free to stroll through residences, the school, chapel, officers quarters, and base command buildings.

For most visitors it marked the first time setting foot on the land, and represented for many their first glimpse of American life. Following our fellow adventurers through building it was fascinating to watch them open cupboards and drawers, explore closets, and marvel at the shape of the bathrooms. For us, something so familiar and so American feeling, was so fascinating to Koreans experiencing the differences.

At the end of the exhibit the base theater had been converted into a historical display featuring old photographs of the camp, as well as plans for the future park that will reside there.

It was a strange experience for me. Having lived in base housing in Seoul, it felt a bit surreal and ghost-town like to wander what I could imagine were once busy streets. I could still picture kids on bikes, and see the footprints of what were once playgrounds. Even the old clothes lines served as a reminder of the daily living that happened on that base. Many a child grew up living there, and I found myself wondering how different our life in Busan would have been when the base was still operating. I could picture myself shopping at the commissary, cooking in my American kitchen, and walking my girls to school. At the same time, looking at the dilapidated buildings gave me a sense of hope and pride for Busan, knowing that this space would be turned into something that so many would be able to enjoy and appreciate.

I am so glad we had the unique chance to watch this huge base be turned over to the Korean citizens again, and so appreciative of the historic chance we had to wander the base, exploring it for the first time (at least for me, Tyler had been several times) with the Korean's who will now be able to fully enjoy it.

At the entrance, checking out a map (entirely in Korean) of the base layout, and the walking trails.

Emily in front of one of the homes.

Some really pretty trees.

Heading in to explore the house.

Old clothes lines and chimneys. A reminder of what life was once like.

Curious photographer.

Picking dandelions.

A really old, rusted out shed.

Historic roof of the old officers club. The red and white is the rising sun of the Japanese empire, painted by the Japanese when used as a horse racing grounds, and later as a headquarters for their Imperial Army. When the US took command, the 8th Army seal (with the red stars) was placed in the center of the sun). A true tribute to the occupation and use of this historic ground.

Juxtaposition of the old vs. the new.

Former helipad.

Korean ladies picking dandelions and other "weeds." They use them particularly in teas. . . the base was filled with ladies pillaging what we would long consider weeds.

Former bus stop, now being used to advertise the new opening of the park.

Seal on the floor of the school gymnasium.

Hannah striking a pose in an old classroom.

At the end of the trail, chalk had been set out for children to do sidewalk drawings. Drawings and written messages filled the street, proclaiming excitement over Camp Hialeah's return.

Our little graffiti artists at work.

Maddie's contribution.

Notice the Korean writing surrounding Emily, all well wishes and greetings.

Signs advertising the opening of the Camp Hialeah exhibit.

Old base theater, now home to the exhibit chronicling the history of Camp Hialeah.

Spring at Haedongyongunsa

2010-04-10T22:50:00.002+09:00

Some of our good friends from church, the Lamberts, came down to visit us in Busan for a few days. Saturday morning we took them over to one of our favorite Busan sites, Haedonguongunsa, a gorgeous seaside Buddhist temple. This temple is gorgeous regardless of the season, but spring seemed to make it particularly beautiful draped in blossoms.

One of my favorite statues at the entrance to the temple.

Going down to the temple. You probably climb down a few hundred stairs to reach the actual temple.

I love this Buddha, he looks so happy.

Love, love, love the traditional colors of the Buddhist temples here.

Lamberts and Allens (minus the moms)

My sweet Madeline.

Lamberts. . . plus of few of mine

Rare shot sans kids (except the one I'm growing).

Tyler and Hannah.

Cute little monk statue someone had adorned with a flower.

Cherry Blossoms

2010-04-09T10:48:00.002+09:00

One of my favorite things about Korea is the variety the seasons bring. Though it seemed to take it's time arriving this year, spring is here in full bloom. I absolutely love spring here. Korea is covered with beautiful blooming pastel tinted flowers.

The first experience I had with cherry blossoms was when we lived in DC just after we were married. We braved the crowds and ventured down to the tidal basin to enjoy the cherry blossoms that line from the Jefferson Monument to the FDR Monument. They were beautiful, forming soft pastel canopies, raining down small blossoms. I was absolutely in awe of the blossoms.

When we arrived in Seoul for the first time, it was just starting to be cherry blossom season. Unlike DC, though, the blossoms are native, and everywhere. The blossoms are not just on one street, or in one park, they are everywhere. They are on street corners, in parks, alongside train tracks, in yards, literally everywhere. The extraordinary part of the Korean cherry blossoms is just how ordinary they are.

The block where we live in Busan is amazing at this time of year. The blossoms fill the sidewalks, snowing down on you with each light breeze. The hillsides take on a pink tint, and the flowers are everywhere. I absolutely love this season in Korea!

Blossom lined street.

The entire hill is pink with blossoms.

My little Maddie.

BFS Science Fair

2010-04-05T19:24:00.003+09:00

Everyone at Emily's school had the chance to participate in the school science fair. It was perfectly tiered according to the kids ages and abilities, from reports on animals in the lower grades all the way to rather sophisticated science experiments on the junior and high school level.

Emily's first grade class each had to prepare a report on an animal of their choosing. Emily chose the chameleon. Her teacher helped them all do research on the internet, printing off packets of information for each child. Emily took the information and filled out a series of worksheets, complete with her own drawings, about her animal. She then had to create a way to present her animal in it's habitat. She, and most of her class, chose to create a diorama.

Emily is pretty creative, and it was fun to watch her think through her diorama, figuring out what she wanted to present, and how she wanted to arrange it. She required some help with cutting paper, and with the hot glue gun. Tyler assisted her a bit with the finishing touches of her chameleon figures, but honestly this was a creation entirely of her own. We were really proud of the effort she put into it. . . and as a result she is quite the expert on chameleons!

The day of the science fair the students walked around learning about everyone else's projects, and the parents were invited to come and see what the kids had created. It was fun to see the variety of projects these kids created!

Emily and her best friend Esther.

Emily's chameleon diorama.

Easter Festivities

2010-04-04T22:33:00.001+09:00

Easter fell on Sunday this year, which from a religious standpoint is a neat occurrence. Sundays for us are a little crazy. Between Tyler's meetings before and after church and the long drive we rarely do much on Sunday other than church. Given our Sunday routine, we decided to focus Sunday on the religious aspect of Easter, and celebrate the more kid-friendly version of Easter on Saturday.

We started off with an Easter egg hunt at the house. The Easter bunny left each of the girls a small basket of goodies. . . . and hid the confetti eggs around the house. I'm too environmentally conscious to want to do the confetti eggs outside- the dye, the small bits of paper, it just seems too messy for the earth. So we do them inside, and then take advantage of our build in vacuum!

Maddie checking out the goods.

Confetti egg action.

Some serious bed head.

After the small indoor egg hunt we packed up a picnic and joined our friends the Cruzs and the Jollys at Ulsan Grand Park for a picnic and egg hunt. The park is fantastic- bike trails, playgrounds, a small zoo, a butterfly house, a pool, etc. We really have only scratched the surface in our exploration, but the kids love it. We had filled probably 200 plastic eggs and took them out to hide for the kids. After a great potluck picnic the eggs were hidden and the kids let loose to find them.

Hannah and Macyn.

The line-up. Minus Madeline and Maddox.

Emily was an egg pro.

At one point I looked around and panicked that I could not see Hannah. . . then we found her off on her own raking in the eggs. Smart girl- head for the uninhabited corner of the hunt!

Even Maddie had an impressive haul.

My 3 beautiful girls.

Sugar craziness.

We spent Easter Sunday attending our church meetings, and then having dinner with our good friends from church. It was a really nice, mellow day.

Easter girls.

A family shot.

Easter Preparations

2010-04-02T22:12:00.002+09:00

Being hugely pregnant didn't help with the Easter preparations this year. All my energy seemed to be shot, and before I knew it, Easter was just around the corner, the eggs were sitting un-dyed and the girls were chomping at the bit to start celebrating.

Tyler was finally able to break away a bit early for us to do the traditional Easter preparations: dying eggs, making confetti eggs, and decorating sugar cookies. Usually I try to space out the activities to maximize the entertainment value. Not this year- it turned into an all out blitz of fun. In the end the girls loved it, and that is all that mattered!

The first year Maddie really understood and got into dying the eggs.

Hannah must of have worked for a good 20 minutes on this one egg.

Decorating sugar cookies.

Maddie loved this part of the evening.

Too much sugar. . . .

Final products. . . minus a few "tests."

Eggs ready to be stuffed with confetti.

Busan Foreign School Speech Contest

2010-03-31T17:01:00.002+09:00

Several weeks ago, Emily brought home a flyer about a speech contest being held for elementary students at her school. I gave it the cursory glance and tossed it into the recycling bin. Korean parents tend to push their students far harder than we would as Americans, and when it comes to things like the speech contest, I just don't love having another thing that the kids are expected to do. This was optional and I most certainly was not going to write a speech for her.

The next day Emily came home with a yellow sheet of paper with a small speech written on it, and announced she wanted to enter the speech contest. I immediately fished the flyer out from the recycling, and registered her. I was impressed with her initiative, her willingness to try something new, and the sincere speech she had written all of her own accord.

The topic of the speech contest was "Charity." BFS really does a spectacular job of fostering charity in their mostly affluent student population. There seems to constantly be a penny drive for Habitat for Humanity, a clothes drive for typhoon victims in the Philippines, or a toy drive for a local orphanage going on. There is always some way that even the smallest students are being encouraged to think outside of themselves, and I love it. I love how much it has stuck with my girls, too. They really have big hearts, and watching them learn about how fortunate they are, and how they can help others has been heartwarming.

Emily's speech went through several self-imposed revisions, and Tyler sat down with her and helped her type up her final version that she read on the day of the contest.

Tyler and I both went to listen to her speech, and could not have been prouder of our sweet little first grader. She stood up bravely (though visibly nervous) and read her speech all on her own. She was quite proud of herself for this accomplishment!

Reading her speech.

Group shot of participants.

And finally the speech (written entirely by Emily):

CHARITY: By Emily Allen
Hi, my name is Emily. I am from BFS. To me, charity means helping and giving. Some families have no things. Every year, my school gives money and goes on a trip to build homes. My school also donates toys. I went to the orphanage and gave the toys to the children. It made me feel really happy. I like my school because they care about poor people. I love my school because all classes can donate things. For example, last year my school gave clothes to the Philippines because there was a big flood. Charity is a nice thing so I hope everyone shows charity. Bye! I hope you liked my speech.

Jeju-do: The Finale

2010-03-27T22:27:00.001+09:00

Our last day in Jeju brought the most glorious weather of the entire trip. The temperature was a bit warmer, the sun was out, and it was amazingly clear. We headed out to the East side of the island to the Seongsan Sunrise Peak. It looked like a decent hike for our family. . . not too long.

The hike ended up taking about two hours, up the side of the peak. At the top, is a huge bowl-like crater formed thousands of years ago when Jeju was still an active volcano. Though the hike pushed us, everyone enjoyed the hike, and the view from the top was out of this world. We were really proud of the girls stamina in climbing the hundreds of steps we climbed to reach the top. I was equally impressed with stamina at seven months pregnant. . . I spent half of the trip carrying Maddie, too!

At the base of the peak.

View from the top.

Hannah

Maddie posing for some other tourists.

Cute little girl.

The Bowl.

More Hannah.

Emily, who got a nasty splinter that almost ruined the hike. . . almost.

View looking over where we hiked up.

My girls.

View of other side of the peak.

Break on the way down.

View of peak from the bottom.

View from a bit off.

Gorgeous blooming canola flowers. Sometimes they are referred to in English as "Rape Flowers" here. . . not the best name in my mind!

After a great hike we headed back to the airport, stopping along the way for a bit of souvenir shopping, including oranges and chocolate. We ended up having such a fantastic trip, we are so glad we finally took the time to visit Jeju!

Happy campers on the shuttle back to our car in Busan.

Jeju-do: Part II

2010-03-25T16:42:00.003+09:00

Our trip kind of fell into three parts from my perspective, the first full day we spent running all over the place, mid-week when Tyler worked and the girls and I found ways to amuse ourselves, and our last day that we all spent together exploring.

The middle of the week brought a good deal of rain and foul weather, which caused us to seek out indoor activities to fill our days. We did the mandatory swim in the hotel pool. The kids stayed for two and half hours and would have done more, but Maddie was desperately in need of a nap. The hotel also had a fantastic kids world with a huge indoor playground, tons of books, and areas to play. We hit that almost every day before dinner, it was fantastic (and free!). The resort proved well worth the stay!

One day with the rain pouring down we explored the infamous Jeju Teddy Bear museum. Really only infamous in Korea, but in Korea it is considered one of the "must do" items while in Jeju. I was a bit underwhelmed to be honest, but the girls thoroughly enjoyed it. The entire museum is made up of two floors of bears in famous historical moments, movie scenes, etc.

Snow White

Elvis Bear

Terra Cotta Warriors of Xian

Girls Imitating The Thinker

Korean Wedding Bears

Biggest stuffed bear I have ever seen!

When we finally had some nice weather, we headed out to check out the Cheonjeyeon Waterfall. According to the legend it is where seven nymphs descended from heaven to bathe. Every year there is a huge festival centering around these nymphs with lots of dancing and performing. It ended up being more a hike than I anticipated, but the girls were real troopers and climbed up and down the hundreds of steep stairs with minimal whining. They were at one point mobbed by a group of high school girls who could not stop touching them and taking pictures of them. Emily and Hannah handled it so well. . . Maddie wanted nothing to do with it at all!

The girls

One of the two waterfalls.

Beautiful view from this super tall suspension bridge. . . it actually freaked me out it was so high. We snapped a quick picture and I scurried the kids back to land!

The Seven Nymph Statues (and yes, it was sooooo windy that day! Emily couldn't even keep her eyes open here).

After the waterfall we set out for another "must see" museum, The Chocolate Museum. You will note not a single picture of the chocolate museum is included. That's because it stank! It was this tiny little hole in the wall building in the middle of nowhere. There were a few basic displays about how chocolate is made. Then, of course, we wandered into the Christmas room. It was an entire room just filled with Christmas knick-knacks. From there we passed through the collection room. Another room filled on all four sides with glass display cases displaying various collections. It was like a retirement home on crack. There were the salt shakers, the ceramic cats, the Happy Meal toys, the shot glasses, the bells, you name it. The funniest part was all the Koreans in the room taking close up pictures of the displays! Such a bust. . . . an entire chocolate museum and not a candy to be found. The girls were so disappointed we had to stop at a convenience store for chocolate!

I made the command decision at this point, that if Koreans said it was a "must see" we would promptly skip it. All the outdoor stuff was awesome, and indoor museums and touristy stuff, not so much!

Jeju is famous for two food items: Jeju oranges (hallabong) and the chocolate (hence why we thought the museum would be good!). The oranges were seriously the most amazing oranges I have ever eaten. I think it is quite possible I ate my weight in oranges. We would just pull over every time we were out and grab a bag of oranges from small roadside stands. They were so sweet. . . seriously unreal! So somehow Emily became fixated on the idea of picking an orange. We finally asked at one of the stands and they told Tyler the oranges on the trees were not for eating (too sour), but more for cooking with. Apparently the season for growing the sweet ones had passed. But they graciously allowed Emily and Hannah to pick one anyway! The girls carted these oranges around with us everywhere the rest of the week like little prizes.

After some orange picking we decided to see if we could beat the sunset and catch one more waterfall before it became dark. On our way to the waterfall we happened across this small island connected to the mainland by a gorgeous bridge. We hopped out, crossed the bridge and enjoyed exploring the little island until it was too dark to keep going. It turned out to be beautiful!

Fun pedestrian bridge.

Emily chilling on the rocks we climbed all over.

Beautiful backdrop.

Jeju-do Spring Break: Part I

2010-03-22T22:05:00.000+09:00

With spring break looming, and having been sans-vacation off the peninsula for almost a year, we decided it was a good chance to head off on a little spring break vacation. I really wanted to go to Ankara What in Cambodia this year, but flights were terrible (ie redeyes, huge layovers) and it just didn't seem worth it with all the kids in tow.

In the middle of debating what else we could do Tyler sheepishly came home and admitted that he had to go to Jeju for work during a few of spring break. Jeju is a island located about an hours flight south of Busan (150 km). It is a volcanic island with the tallest mountain (Mt. Halla) in all of Korea sitting in the center. Tyler had gone for work before, and when we lived in Seoul we had always wanted to take a family trip. . . but there just never seemed to be enough time. With the kids on break, and Tyler needing to be there anyway we decided to pack up and enjoy our week of vacation in Jeju.

Though Tyler had to work for much of the middle portion of the week, the he had a full day at the beginning and one at the end to enjoy exploring the island. We flew out super early from Busan, got to Jeju after what felt like the shortest flight ever, and picked up a rental car. We started driving across the island towards the hotel and hadn't driven for more than 20 minutes before we came across a dinosaur park. With the girls begging from the back seat to stop, we turned around and enjoyed our first stop. It was a park made with our girls in mind: filled with life sized replicas of dinosaurs.

These kids seriously adore dinosaurs. Top of their list in terms of continuing interest.

Life size(?) apatosaurus. Emily's all time favorite dinosaur. Seriously look at the size of this compared to the small colorful splotches of children at the base. Unreal.

She seriously loves these guys.

Maddie getting in on a little dino loving. She ran around the entire park yelling "rawr!"

Again. . . Emily and a long-neck.

Three pretty girls. I'm still not sure how they are related, they look so different from one another.

After running through the dinosaur park and exploring a very random maze filled with rabbits and chickens in cages (Korea can be so seriously random at times), we finally made it to the hotel and dropped off bags. After grabbing some lunch we headed off for an afternoon adventure. Our first stop was the Dolhareubang Park. The Dolhareubangs are these large fairly primitive statues carved from volcanic rock. They are believed to be the grandfather images and they were set outside villages to guard against evil. They are seriously all over the island, both in ancient and modern forms. It is easily the most recognizable symbol of Jeju.

The park was filled with hundreds of hareubangs in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Traditional dolhareubang.

Emily and a cute little guy.

Just in case people didn't believe I'm pregnant.

Allen girls.

I loved these guys with the flower pots. If I had a big yard, I would so want one of these!

My petite little hareubang.

All you need is love. . .

If completed, this would be the largest hareubang in the world.

After the park we raced off to our final destination of the day, the famed lava tubes. Jeju is a volcanic island, formed millions of years ago by a series of volcanic eruptions. The island is filled with a system of lava tubes, now empty caves where the magma once flowed underground. The system of tubes is extensive, but in a few areas natural erosion has created openings to the caves that you can enter and walk through. Though at first glance just appearing like any cave, upon closer inspection, the entire cave is hardened lava. We could have hiked for kilometers through the lava tubes, but the kids were tired, cold and wet, so after about a half kilometer we turned around and headed back to the hotel for the night.

You can see how huge these tunnels are.

Right up on the wall, you can really see the lava.

How Maddie spent the entire adventure: "plash plash plash" in the puddles. She was seriously soaked by the time we got to the car. She rode home in a diaper and shirt.

March Comes in Like a Lion. . . . .

2010-03-10T16:37:00.000+09:00

The jury is still out on how the month will end, but this is how we woke up this morning:

Snow falling over the ocean. Seriously, it doesn't get much more beautiful than this! So quiet. . . so serene. It was seriously beautiful.

By the morning there was a light accumulation (emphasis on the light here), but for Busan, where it never snows, this was quite impressive.

After living in Barbados my girls have been dreaming of snow days. I do believe a few prayers have even been offered in attempts to elicit a little of the white stuff to play in. Finally prayers were answered, and the snow arrived. School was cancelled. . . and though this seems semi-ridiculous given the lack of snow pack, if you have driven in Korea it makes perfect sense! As soon as the girls rolled out of bed they were dying to go play. So we got dressed and headed for the playground behind our apartment.

Too excited to stand still for pictures.

We made snow angels.

We threw snow balls.

And when our fingers were so frozen (it was seriously in the teens) that Maddie was crying in pain, while exclaiming "Hand cold! Hand owwwww!" we retreated back inside for hot cocoa and a little movie while the snow kept falling. I think it might have been one of the best mornings of my girls life.

Madeline: 2 Years Old

2010-03-07T20:33:00.000+09:00

It is so hard for me to believe my "baby" is two! In all honesty there is not an ounce of baby left in this precocious little girl. And though it's a bit sad to not have the baby anymore, we are loving the big girl she is growing up to be!

Madeline is an absolute sweetheart. She is such a loving, cuddly little girl. And a mama's girl thorough and through, though she has really warmed up to her daddy in recent months. She hates being away from mom, and when tired or sad really only wants mom. And her blanket. Let's not forget her precious "baby" as she calls it. With her thumb in her mouth and her blanket nearby she is happy.

Her nicknames run rampant from the normal Maddie, or Kate to the improvised Maddie-Cakes, Cakey, Cakearoni, etc. This poor little girls endures quite a round of made up names!

Maddie's language has really exploded over the last month or two. She says so many words, and tries to say just about anything we prompt her with. Emily and Hannah she still refers to as "sissies" and herself as "Cakey." While on vacation she announced she had a cat at home named "Cuppy Meow-Meow" (Buttercup). We're amazed by her language, and by her willingness to try and to create her own versions of things she can't quite say yet. My personal recent favorites are her yelling "coming" in the sweetest little voice when I call her name, and her intently looking at me after she says something and saying, "K, Mama? K?" She also likes to look at herself in the mirror after getting dressed and exclaim, "Cute!"

Maddie is quite the little artist. She loves to draw, with swirls being her current favorite. She also loves to draw in books, on her legs, arms, the floor, on dolls, basically on anything that cannot defend itself. She also loves more in depth art or craft projects. She loves creating things, and is getting more and more independent. And she can singlehandedly dismantle our art cupboard in about two seconds flat.

Maddie's real love in life is babies, both real and the play variety. She gravitates towards strollers or babies when we are out and about, and is amazingly gently. At home she often spends the whole day toting around a baby doll. She will take her on stroller rides, give bottles, and dress and redress to her hearts content. She recently named her favorite baby doll Kate. Her other love in life is Dora, which she would watch for hours on end if allowed (which she is not. . . unless the sitatuion is quite dire). She could care less about any Dora toys, but loves to watch the show, naming off all the characters as they come, including "Oh Man!" for Swiper the fox.

Madeline has a great imagination, and loves to play on her own. She loves when her sisters go off to school and she has run of the toys, but she equally looks forward to their return and her plunging herself into any game they are playing. She loves to be one of the big girls, and be included in the creative play that often fills our home. She has even been getting into dress up lately, with a little help from her sisters.

At her two year old check up Maddie weighed in at 28.6 lbs and 35 inches (80th percentile across the board). She's healthy and doing great, and remarkably only needed one shot, which is good because she HATES the doctors office! We have the nicest pediatrician I have ever met and she is terrified of him!

The attention she commands when we are out and about is amazing. People stop dead in their tracks to talk to her, to hand her candy, to touch her cheeks or take pictures with her. She tolerates it amazingly well and often greets everyone with an "Anyang" (hello in Korean) which always elicits huge gasps of delight. She seems to charm just about every Korean in sight! They love and fascination here for Western children never ceases to amaze me. . . . seriously if I had $1 for every cell phone picture taken of this child, her college education would be practically paid for by now!

We're well on our way with potty training, and the big girl bed switch is just around the corner. Looks like we are getting all set to make this big girl and big sister! And what a great big sister she will be!

She is the apple of all of our eye, we all love our sweet Maddie!

It's hard to believe two years ago this bunny was the same size she was!

"I TWO Mama!"

With some of her absolute favorites: her thumb, her blanket and her baby.

"I get you!"

These eyes seriously kill me!

Happy 2nd Birthday Madeline!

2010-03-06T22:12:00.001+09:00

It's difficult for me to even believe that my sweet little Madeline turned two! She has been my baby for what seems like so long, but over the last six months or so she has really blossomed into a beautiful little girl. Sometimes it still catches me off guard and I forgot how truly big she has grown. She's super independent and well on her way to potty training. Though in ways I miss her being a baby, it has been so much fun to watch her grow and develop into a big girl!

We celebrated her birthday on Saturday with three families we quite close with. Since moving here, I have long given up on traditional children's birthday parties. I forgo the large parties with games and friends and chaos and stress. Instead we have small parties at home, with the few families that feel like family to us and the girls. We do a nice dinner, let the kids play, and top off the evening with a cake. It is honestly exactly the kind of low key family celebration that we all enjoy.

Madeline was so fun to watch this year. She is a child born into this family and accustomed to the noise and chaos that come with our family. She is pretty easy going, goes with the flow, and just seems to accept being in the middle of the chaos. Her party was no exception. She was quite low key, loving every moment of being the center of attention, but not demanding any attention. She loved the entire process, the cake, the presents, and seemed to really savor every moment of "her day."

Relaxing to some Dora while waiting for our friends to arrive.

The Dora cake. My third Dora cake for my third second birthday party. My girls have all loved Dora! I rolled around trying marshmallow fondant on this cake. Then pregnancy caught up with me again and I was exhausted. So we went with traditional easy frosting on a rather lopsided cake. Maybe next year we'll try something more ambitious. . . but for this year she loved it and that is all that matters. And it was tasty: triple layer, two chocolate, one vanilla, with chocolate frosting in between.

Emily and her friend Tuscany and their balloon babies. Can you tell one of their mothers is pregnant?!

Excited about her cake!

So seriously when did she turn into such a big girl? There is not an ounce of baby left in this girl. She's adorable.

Blowing out the candles.

The whole gang of kids.

Enjoying her cake.

Really enjoying her cake.

Making a few silly faces while waiting for presents.

So meticulous with her present opening.

A toy cash register from Macyn and McKenna. She loved playing with theirs so much and was so excited to receive her own. She literally kissed the box when she saw what was inside.

Reading her new books from the Cruz family. She loves these duck books, they are adorable!

A little mama. She loves all things babies: strollers, bottles, baby dolls. We got her one gift for her birthday, a new baby crib (and a new dress for her baby doll).

Happy 2nd birthday little Maddie Cakes! We sure love you!!

Daeboreum Festival

2010-02-28T21:37:00.001+09:00

This weekend marked the first full moon of the new lunar year, or Daeboreum. It is significant here in Korea, and much like the first sunrise of a new year, watching the first full moon rise is thought to bring fortune and luck for the coming year. In years past it was a time when fields were burned to kill any bugs and to prepare for a lucky harvest. I'm sure in more rural parts of the country that is still observed, but here in Busan, they choose to mark the Daeboreum with a huge seaweed bonfire on the beach. People come all day, and write wishes for the coming year on small slips of paper that are thrown onto the seaweed piling. As the papers burn, it is thought that the wishes will come true.

We decided to take the whole family and check out the festival this year. The weather was unusually warm, and it fell on a weekend so it seemed perfect. There were conflicting reports about lighting the bonfire at moonrise or at sunset, etc. so we played it safe and headed down to the beach around 5:30. The girls loved being out at the beach. They played in the sand and ran along the water.

Finally around 6 we headed over to the bonfire site and joined the throngs of people out to watch. The sun slowly set and as the moon crested the hill everyone started cheering and clapping. There was a short ceremony of some sort (we were too far back to really see this part) and then the fire was lit. As the (huge) moon rose overhead the fire grew in strength. It was really quite spectacular to watch. We probably watched it burn for 30 minutes before heading back home.

It was a really neat experience, and I know we will be back next year!

From the far side of the beach where we live. You can see the seaweed pile and all the people already out to watch.

Hitching a ride.

Being Goofy.

Tyler and his girls. And one random girl pirate that hopped into the picture. Oh, Emily. . .

Me and my girls.

First peek of the moon.

Gorgeous full moon overhead.

We bought each of the girls a sparkler.

They loved them.

And were sad when they burned out.

Don't worry. . . no babies were harmed in the taking of these photos.

Our parting shot as we started to walk home. The tree on top of the bonfire finally catching.

New Years Eve Sledding

2009-12-31T21:48:00.000+09:00

The one huge disappointment my children have experienced in Korea is the lack of snow. Coming out of Barbados they had images of snowmen, snow angles, and snowball fights swirling around their head. Last year we got one light dusting. This year, nothing. And trust me, it's certainly not due to lack of cold temperatures. We have been sub freezing most of the month of December. We just don't get as much winter time rain/snow here. Seoul has been buried a few good times, but down here we just seem to attract the arctic winds. . . you know the kind that tears right through whatever you are wearing in a milla-second flat.

Knowing of their growing desperation for some snow play, we decided to load them up on New Years Eve and trek out to a ski resort about 40 minutes away. It's all man made snow, of course, but they didn't seem to mind in the least! We went with our friends the Cruz's, and though none of us are skiers, the kids happily spent the (freezing) morning on the sledding hill.

Emily and Hannah loved it. They threw snowballs, made snow angles, even attempted a small snowman out of the very hard packed snow. They trekked up and down the steep hill with their little sled in tow, loving every moment of it. Maddie, not so much. It was cold. It was wet. She got snow in her face. The hill terrified her. So we sat at the bottom. Finally she tolerated a few snow ball tosses, and with that she was ready to go home. So we went back to the car, ate snacks, listened to music and enjoyed the warmth while Tyler and the girls barreled down the hills. I would have enjoyed a little more sledding action, but being pregnant Maddie's reluctance was probably a good thing.

After sledding the two smaller girls instantly fell asleep on the windy road down the mountain. We enjoyed a quiet afternoon, and rounded the day out with our annual New Years Eve game night. We ordered pizza, ate treats, and played board games until everyone was so cranky they had to go to bed. That was at 8:30. Tyler and I barely managed to stay up to catch the fireworks out our window at midnight. Turns out physically tiring days in the snow make it hard to be night owls!

Ready to go!

I'm still not really sure what this was. Right in the locker area they were walking around with this huge snake handing out coupons for something totally not ski related.

The most bundled this child has ever been!

The whole crew of kids.

Emily's very packed snowball.

Enjoying a run.

Best picture ever. I love this girls' eyes. They are seriously unreal pretty. Especially in the right light, they just look like crystals.

More sledding fun.

Snow tolerance.

They found a huge hole and played in it forever. And she ate snow. . . I'm just pretending it was super clean.

Little hot cocoa break. Incidentally, when did my little girl get so mature looking? Yikes!

Snow angel. We used to make sand angels in Barbados, this was a welcomed change!

Some cute snow bunnies.

Bexco 2010

2009-12-28T22:21:00.000+09:00

With temperatures below frigid and Tyler back at work after what seemed like a long break, I knew I needed to get the kids out of the house for all of our sanity. It's the downside of apartment living, there is nowhere to send them "out" to, no outside spaces to roam, just one small apartment with lots of loud children.

Our adventures took us over to Bexco, which is a huge convention center in Busan. Each year around the holidays with the Korean schools on their long break, they set up at least one activity for children in one of the huge exhibit halls. This year it was a huge room just stuffed full of jump tents, inflatable slides, and such. Pure heaven for the kids.

The older two were instantly enamored. They jumped, they bounced, they slid to their hearts content. Hannah continues to be fearless and would throw herself off of any ledge they allowed her to. Emily, as is the norm, was more caution. And Madeline, as is also the norm, would not leave my leg, where she clung for dear life.

Hannah taking on the bumper boats. Yes, bumper boats inside. Sheer awesome.

Emily getting in on the action.

Hannah really liked the boats!

The next series of pictures illustrates how just brave and fearless my little Hannah is. They had these bungee things set up on trampolines. The kids got all harnessed in and the guys running it started them bouncing, getting them a good 15-20 feet in the air. Emily lasted about one jump and wanted off. Hannah would have spent all day on this if they let her. She laughed and grinned through the entire thing, easily the smallest kid I saw all day on it. This girl loves life!

Loving every moment of it.

Some serious height!

Super excited ready for her second go.

I love the impish grin.

Emily was all over these ball canons.

Proof that we did indeed bring Madeline along. This was the one jump thing she enjoyed, a giant inflatable Twister game. She loved running on it while her sisters bounced around her, naturally resulting in her toppling over in hysterical laughter.

The kids loved it, I loved it. And everyone came home so, so tired. We even stopped for McDonalds on the way home, a true treat for these kids. The three of them sitting lined up on their stools at the little bar in McDonalds was pretty cute!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T20:36:00.000+09:00

After our big dinner on Christmas Eve, we vowed to keep Christmas a more low key affair this year. No huge meals, no invited guests. Just our little family, and a very chilled day. And it was perfect. We also keyed back on gifts this year. . . . Santa brought the girls a shared DS, and I made them super hero capes. Less presents meant less mess, which meant less opening annoying toy packaging, which means less accumulation in our home. Less was definitely more for us this year, and I didn't hear a single complaint!

Christmas morning with us all looking our finest. I love Maddie's face in this one, she was so ready to rip into her present.

Maddie's prized Christmas present. This cute dog sings songs, and can even be programmed to say Madeline's name. She loves her new puppy!

The girls with stuffed animals from their Mama and Papa Bear. They sure know the key to these girls hearts. . . . not only are they pink, they have HUGE blue eyes. Pretty perfect for my blue eyed girls!

The gift they were hoping Santa would bring, but that they were worried they would not get.

Tooth brush from the stocking. Emily pointed out to me that Santa always brings an electronic toothbrush in the stocking (unbeknownst to be . . . guess the big guy made a habit without even realizing it). She told me she thinks it is because Santa doesn't think the ones I buy are good enough. Whew. Good thing Santa is looking out for them!

The carnage at it's height. And the cat sleeping in the entertainment center if you look closely enough. She likes to sleep on the warm cable box. . . the girls have taken to referring to it as her bedroom.

Maddie with her "two babies." Last year Santa brought her a baby doll just like the one in the pink gown (which belongs to Hannah). She adored it, and somehow lost it. This year Santa replaced it with the one with hair. Not a popular choice. Apparently dolls with hair freak her out. Sadly this doll will soon find itself relegated to a give away pile. Looks like we need to work harder to find a more suitable replacement. . . . Hannah's bound to want her baby back any day now.

Matching doll/girl jammies courtesy of Nana and Grandpa.

Emily and Ruthie

Super hero capes. Note the thumb sucking, I know it freaks some people out, but I find it endearing.

Back of super hero capes. Reversible with Batman on one side and Super Man (or woman) on the other. Madeline, as you can see, has yet to master the concept of "show me the back."

She did get the concept of "I'm going to get you!"

Matching dresses from Nana. Good thing this next one is a boy. . . can you imagine four matching girls?! Now that would have been trouble.

A Christmas Eve Surprise. . . . It's A. . . . . .

2009-12-24T23:30:00.001+09:00

My Christmas Eve started with a quick trip to the doctor and a telling ultrasound. . . . but more on that later!

After I got home, we kicked off Christmas Eve morning by finally getting around to making the gingerbread houses I had been promising the kids the entire month. Something about being pregnant and exhausted and the holidays has not been the best mix! It's been so hard to get stuff done, even the stuff I love doing with the kids. Anyway lest we let a yearly tradition slip away, I stayed up late and made the houses so we were ready to decorate in the morning. This year instead of one large house I made three smaller houses so each of the girls could have their own. They loved it, and it was fun to watch them each come up with their own patterns and plans. Maddie's plan involved eating at least equal amounts as she used for decorative purposes. (Ignore the nasty messy kitchen in the background. . . sorry!).

Three very distinct houses.

I spent the rest of the day cooking a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatos and cupcakes to take to our friends house for a Christmas Eve dinner. We had three families, and split the large holiday meal so nobody ended up having to cook too much. . . it worked out so perfectly! Large meals like that should always be shared.

Right before we left for dinner the girls, as tradition dictates, were allowed to open a new pair of pajamas to wear to bed on Christmas Eve. We surprised them, though, by giving them each an additional gift to open that we told them was for the new baby. I had sewn a blanket in both girl and boy colors and had picked up a few small outfits at the PX in both genders. I had decided I was going to tell the kids the gender of the baby by letting them open the presents and figuring out what the items meant.

Getting ready to open. . .

The loot.

The loot up close.

Yup. . . according to this picture it's a BOY!!!

We were honestly floored, both Tyler and I thought for sure it was another girl, we even had a super cute girl name picked out. I still find it hard to believe. . . after Maddie was a boy for 8.5 months before her birth I'm guessing I will always remain a bit skeptical. Anyway all you mothers of sons. . . does this ultrasound clearly depict a boy? Am I just being a cynic if I'm doubting? Leave a comment. . . I'll be curious to hear!

Here's the video of the girls putting together the gender. As you can tell Emily is THRILLED!

After we opened the presents we drove to our friends house for dinner. Emily was so excited to tell Carol. . . who literally screamed when she told her it was a boy. What a fun surprise to share on Christmas Eve! The food was amazing, and the company even better.

Hannah and McKenna

Emily stealing baby Maddox's hat

Sorry it's blurry. . . but man do these two love each other! Hannah has declared she will marry Jakey someday.

Chris reading Twas the Night Before Christmas to the kids. They each had a small present they had to pass when he said the word AND. At the end they kept whatever they had. Maddie played for one round, until she got a small wind up Pororo toy. Then she grabbed the toy and made off for a back room. Smart! Hannah got a pooping reindeer, and seriously thought she was in heaven. She loves that pooping reindeer.

We all exchanged kids names so each of the kids received one present on Christmas Eve. As you can see Sarah had the key to Maddie's heart.

And Hannah loved her Thumbelina. No picture, but Sarah's girls got Emily a pair of warm winter boots. Emily is in love! She was so protective of them she put them back in the bag and carried them around the rest of the night "so nothing would happen to them."

Finally back home. . . house clean. . . . cinnamon rolls for the morning made. . . gifts laid out. . . time for bed. . . . . what a magical day!

Kosin University Christmas Tree Festival

2009-12-18T23:35:00.001+09:00

On this tiny little island, Yongdo, connected to the tip of Busan, is Kosin Univeristy, a small Christian university. Every year they put together a huge Christmas Tree Festival, where lights are strung across the entire campus. The campus is situated on a hill, and the lights stretched across the entire campus, up the sidewalks, on the hills, it was really something. It is easily the largest concentration of lights I have seen in years, and we all loved it. Christmas music was playing, lights were flashing, parking attendants were dressed as Santa.

Despite the sub-zero temperatures and the wind chill, the older girls tore around greeting Santas, sitting on sleds and marveling at the lights. We were also lucky enough to be there on the same night the US Eighth Army Band traveled down from Seoul to perform a Christmas concert. The band was amazing, playing a solid mixture of holiday music, and the concert hall was a welcomed break from the freezing temperatures.

The festival was honestly amazing, and we look forward to visiting again next year. . . though none of us would complain if it were slightly warmer! These pictures do not even do it justice, but it was cold and Maddie was cranky, and there wasn't much time to spend tinkering with camera settings!

Eighth Army Band

This picture doesn't do it justice, this was a huge hillside covered with lights.

Popsicle Family Shot. . . poor Maddie was miserable at this point. . . she wouldn't keep her gloves on and her poor fingers froze. Her problem: it was late, she was tired and she just wanted to suck her thumb!

There was an entire section of gorgeous nativities.

Another illuminated hillside.

This twinkling star filled the entire side of this 5 or 6 story building.

Sung Ae Won Orphanage Christmas Party

2009-12-18T21:13:00.001+09:00

This year we were really trying to instill in the kids the spirit of giving and charity around the holidays. It's so easy to get caught up in the Christmas lists and the presents, and though I'll be honest there was still plenty of that, I really wanted them to appreciate giving and the power of compassion at this time of the year. Not the easiest lesson to teach a six and four year old. . . but were incredibly lucky to have amazing chances this holiday season to give.

The girls' school kicked off the holidays with a toy drive for gently used toys to donate to a local orphanage. The girls can be a little stingy at time with cleaning out toys and getting rid of stuff, but somehow with the thought of sharing with kids who were less fortunate, my girls went to town on their bedroom and toy room. We emerged with a car full of toys they decided they were finished with. We bagged everything up and took it to the school. Hannah continued throughout the next week to find things she wanted to donate and the pile kept growing, she was so determined to give the children a good Christmas.

I felt the real spirit of the season when Hannah emerged from her bedroom one day after school clutching her prized blanket with a serious look on her face. She explained to me that she felt she had a "responsibility" to give her blankie to a baby who didn't have one. Bless her little heart! I reassured her it was ok to keep her special blanket and that I would be able to find another one to send for the babies. I will admit, she looked a little relieved. I was so proud of her for being willing to give the thing she probably loves the most in this world to someone less fortunate. I'll be honest though. . . her blankie is pretty hashed. . . I'm not sure they would even want it!

After school was out, Pier 8, the lone US Military instillation left in Busan, decided to team with the girls school and the Busan International Women's Association to throw a Christmas Party for the orphanage. Food was donated, money was donated, and it was decided to purchase one toy for each child (barbies and dolls for the girls and legos for the boys). We happened to be headed to Daegu to the nearest military base to get immunizations for the girls, so I volunteered to stop in the PX and buy the barbies and legos. As we walked up and down the small toy aisles Hannah again really started to get into the spirit. She was throwing toys right and left into the cart while proclaiming, "the orphans will love this!" We filled the carts with half naked barbies (we gave each of the girls a barbie sized hanbok too to make up for the bikini!) and lego sets, and amazingly I did not hear one request from my kids for a toy (a true Christmas miracle). . . we were so focused on others I'm not even sure they stopped to think about themselves.

I baked tons of cookies and on the day of the party I loaded up the girls and drove to the orphanage to help with the party. I love this orphanage, it is so warm and full of life and spirit. The kids are loved and so like a big family, it's truly a joy to visit there. The kids all came into the main play room with santa hats and holiday vests on, looking so cute. The girls had fun running around and playing, and as usual the orphanage children loved Madeline and wanted to lead her around everywhere.

There was a magician, face painting, pizza and treats galore, and a surprise visit at the end from Santa with a present for the kids. I think everyone involved felt the true meaning of Christmas with this special group of kids. . . I know my kids did, and hopefully the learned something special about the season. . . something that will stick with them.

The girls' principal with one of the cutest girls ever! They are so used to foreigners after all of our visits they show no hesitation wanting to be picked up and loved.

Sarah and baby Maddox were hugely popular, too!

University students doing face painting.

The awesome magician who volunteered his time, the kids LOVED it!

Lunch time! And what a spread, the kids were in heaven. . . pizza. . . . strawberries. . . juice boxes. Yummy!

Big group shot after Santa's visit (minus the babies and toddler)

BFS Christmas Pageant

2009-12-04T21:33:00.001+09:00

It was time again for the Busan Foreign School Christmas Pageant. They did a great job this year consolidating it a bit to reduce it a manageable 1.5 hours (compared to 3-4 last year). Each of the classes (through grade 4) performed a short number with the school orchestra doing songs in between. Don't let the words school orchestra fool you. . . . these kids are unreal talented. They seriously sounded like professionals up there. Their music teacher is an extremely gifted musician, and it shows. It's the best school orchestra I've ever heard!

Getting ready. Would you believe the younger girls dresses are on their third Christmas? And Emily's skirt is on it's second. Probably my all time favorite Christmas outfits.

Blue eyed beauties.

Hannah's class combined with the Nursery class to perform "Welcome Christmas" from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. They ordered these super colorful, huge costumes and the kids looked so cute as little Whos. Hannah was so excited to perform and had been practicing for weeks. She was most excited to stand by her buddy Macyn. Poor Macyn lost her hat just as the song started and never recovered. . . she cried through the entire thing. Sweet Hannah kept trying to help her, but it was a lost cause. They were seriously so cute, though!

Hannah and Macyn

Poor Macyn!

Emily's class teamed up with the second grade to perform the song "The Reindeer Twist," complete with reindeer costumes! They were a ton of fun to watch. The only bummer was the kids were grouped on stage such that we couldn't see Emily from our seats! Tyler kept recording, and mostly got footage of Emily's best friend for her family. Finally I hopped up and ran over to try to get a few pictures.

Reindeer Emily

I realized how tall she is looking at this picture. . . .

Emily and her best friend Tuscany

Madeline really enjoyed the show. . . especially the orchestra. She is a dancer and a lover of music. And she has parents with good taste. . . her favorite song hands down was the Beatle's "Oh Bla Di Oh Bla Da." She was getting her little groove one to the quality music. I personally like the break on the video when she tries to use the stage as a resting spot for her sippy cup. She also squeezes in a round of her new game, "guess where my hand went?" Then she discovers the iPod and goes for a round of Dora. She's pretty busy. . . .

Tutu Cute

2009-12-03T21:11:00.001+09:00

Madeline picked her own outfit this morning. First she wanted the pink tutu. I insisted on pants underneath, after all it is quite cold. Then she insisted on pairing her outfit with a bright yellow monkey shirt. Three monkeys to be exact, which she has to count whenever she wears it. Then she spent the morning toting around a baby doll, her current love in life. When she saw me grab the camera to download some pictures she insisted on a "cheese" and honestly when she's this cute who can say no? This little girl is getting so big, and so independent, and so beautiful. What happened to my baby Maddie?!

And this was us playing with the new video camera that was a surprise early birthday present. It's nothing fancy, but we're more picture people than video. It's fun to have something to catch the cute moments live, though! Maddie has a happy dance that we find endearing, and I was trying to capture her doing it!

Trimming the Tree

2009-11-27T20:52:00.001+09:00

In keeping with our family tradition, we took advantage of the girls having the day after Thanksgiving off of school to decorate the tree. I love Christmas, I love Christmas trees, I love having the house decorated and feeling warm, I love holiday baking, I love holiday entertaining. I really just love this time of year. So the earlier the start the better . . . though I do make myself wait until we have properly celebrated Thanksgiving first.

Our tree is nothing spectacular. It's not trendy, or gorgeous, or going to be featured on the cover of Martha Stewart, but to me it is perfect, it is our family, and it represents so much, and so many memories. Our tree is filled with ornaments from my childhood . . . my first Christmas ornament, the start I made from clay in Kindergarten, the ornaments my mom added to my collection each year of my childhood. When we got married my mom boxed up all the ornaments and sent them to us, where they adorned our first tree. And then we started adding to our tree. The star tree topper, the seals in a box that say first Christmas together, the tiny bells we purchased in East Timor, the ornaments marking each of our daughters' first Christmas, the beautiful clay fish ornaments from Barbados. Each year we add to our tree and we enjoy the special memories each ornament represents as we put it on this year. When Emily was two, and going through a Dora phase we chose the Dora ornament for her. When Hannah turned two it was her favorite, and this year it was the object of Maddie's affection. I love the memories that each of these special ornaments holds. So though it might lack in sophistication, each year I treasure the memories that we celebrate when we decorate our tree.

This has to be one of the goofiest family pictures ever. First there is Emily and Tyler, looking identically goofy. . . must be in the genes. Then there is Maddie with her necklace and one shoe, very classy. Then there is me, feeling sick and pregnant. Then there is Hannah who looks a bit like she has to pee. Seriously awesome, each and every one.

Lotte World

2009-11-21T22:37:00.000+09:00

To cap off our trip in Seoul, we decided to take the girls to Lotte World. It's an amusement park, but thankfully (because it was freezing), half of it is indoors, which made it perfect for small kiddos. They were running a promotion and the kids were free anyway, so we enjoyed the indoor part and that was plenty to keep us entertained (and warm). The girls were so excited to go. They loved Disneyland so much when we did it almost two years ago, and this is about as close as you get here in Korea.

When we got there they beelined for the carousel. They love carousels.

This is Maddie's posing version of the peace sign the older two girls do. Both index fingers smashed up against her face and she yells, "cheese!"

Hannah was seriously so excited she could hardly contain herself. She had the hugest grin on her face all day long.

Next we hit the bumper cars. Emily was scared so Tyler had to ride with her. Not Hannah, she plowed on alone and gleefully bumped to her hearts content. This kid likes a thrill.

Without a technicality like Thanksgiving in the way, Korea starts to decorate for Christmas early, way early. The entire park was decked out with trees and decorations. It was a fun way to preview the season.

After riding most of the rides the kids could do, it was time for the Christmas Parade. Parades in Korea are something else. Singing, dancing, costumes out of this world, and ethnically white dancers. There were maybe two Koreans in the entire show, everyone else was white, mostly Eastern European (our informed guess). And it's not just here, it is at all the theme parks, everywhere with a parade like this. It always cracks us up. I'm not sure if they just can't get Koreans to take such jobs, or if they just really want white performers, whatever the case we find it amusing.

Unreal costumes

Sorry for the backside shot. . . . the girls were invited to join the parade for a little dance. They wanted Maddie, too, but she made a face and screamed at them. They wisely took that as a firm no.

Snowflake Ballerinas

Motorized Rudolph. This guy was seriously hilarious. He was so animated and so into his part.

One of the highlights of the day was watching what a dare devil our little Hannah is turning into. She wanted to ride everything, and I do mean everything. I thought it crushed her world when they told her she was too small for the log flume. She was dying to ride with Tyler. Emily meanwhile continues to be timid and wanted nothing to do with most anything above the carousel level. Too bad their heights aren't reversed . . . . Hannah and Tyler would have had a blast! At the end we did come across a tree hopper ride that Hannah must have ridden 15 times. It was one of those rides that takes you up in the air, drops you a little, takes you up again, drops you again, etc. until you reach the bottom. Emily looked like she was going to cry the entire ride. Hannah was laughing hysterically and yelling more. So she rode again, and again, and again. We look forward to watching her grow up and continue to enjoy her need for action.

See the sheer look of joy on her face. . . it was constant the entire time she rode.

Meeting President Obama

2009-11-19T21:58:00.001+09:00

When we heard President Obama was making a stop through Korea on his post-APEC travels we decided to take the kids out of school for a few days and drive up to Seoul to attend the Meet and Greet with the President. We really wanted the chance to hear him speak, and thought it would be such a neat opportunity for the kids to see our President.

As with any Presidential event, even the small Embassy Meet and Greet was quite the logistical and security experience. We drove up the night before, and woke up super early to get all 5 of us ready to be out the door by 7:00 AM. We sat in tons of traffic to get to the hotel, and then stood in a long line to be screened by the secret service. Once we were finally in we all mingled in a large ballroom for about an hour and a half. Thankfully they had thought ahead and had some snacks for the kids and a movie showing. Finally we were ushered into the huge ballroom where the President would speak. The secret service gave a briefing about what you could and could not do (point things, shake hands while holding things, try to embrace the President, etc). I'll tell you, they are some serious guys, though they kept it light and made people laugh I know they were serious about their job. I wouldn't have even dreamed of trying to hug the President after hearing their speech!

Finally the President arrived and addressed us for about 10 minutes, speaking about Korea-US relations, thanking everyone for the work being done, telling the kids that even their work was important. The only disappointment was the section for the kids was at the very back of the room, which made it hard for them to see (hopefully they will do better for the President's next visit!). Emily was excited to see him, Tyler even took her up close at the end to get a better view. Hannah was in her own world and asked (loudly) at one point during his speech when the President was going to get there already. She looked a little sheepish when I pointed out he was there.

After he spoke he shook hands on his way out of the room. We weren't crazy enough to want to push through the crowd to shake hands, and just enjoyed the experience we did have! The whole experience was long, tons of waiting, but so worth it. Just to be in the presence of a President, and especially one I so admire was quite powerful. I told Emily later that I had to wait almost 30 years to meet a President and she only had to wait 6. She looked surprised, and asked if I really had never seen a President before. I said no and she she just shook her head. What a different world my kids are being raised in, with such neat opportunities! Just wait until she realizes just how not normal it is to see the President at age 6. . . . Emily at the ripe age of 6 is already up to one President (of the US) and two Secretary of States, and the President of East Timor. Not too bad for a first grader!

President Obama addressing the group.

Shaking hands.

At the end, the girls waiting to leave. We had to wait until 30 minutes after the President left to leave.

After the chaos died down, a family shot in front of the podium.

And just because we are never this dressed up at the same time, a family shot back at the hotel in Seoul.

Since we were already in Seoul, Tyler took the rest of the week to do some work at the Embassy. The girls and I enjoyed hanging out at the hotel, swimming in the indoor pool, playing at the Dragon Hill playground, playing at the Burger King playground, shopping at the PX and driving through our old neighborhood. We also enjoyed renting movies to watch while Maddie slept. Really it is the little things that made it fun! We also hung out with old friends from out last stay in Seoul and attended church before we piled back into the van for the drive home. It turned out to be a great mini-vacation.

Pictures Of The Girls

2009-11-14T22:58:00.001+09:00

Every year I try to take some nice pictures of the girls to send home to family at the holidays. I think the more kids we have the older they get the harder it becomes! We headed to this apartment complex near ours with this really pretty water walkway with bridges and plants and flowers. We got there only to find areas roped off, flowers dead, and nasty water in a few parts. It took some finagling to get shots without the yellow warning tape in the background. . . . but all in all I am pretty happy with the shots I got.

Notice the reflection in the background of the construction going on across the street. Oh well, Emily looks nice.

I love her grin in this one. She's such a ham.

Love the hysterical laughter I caught on her face!

This little one was so, so had to photograph. She did not want to pose. Or sit still. Or stay in one place. Or let her sisters touch her. That we got any was quite a miracle!

The hardest picture of all. . . . Maddie didn't want anyone touching her. Hannah kept giving me the goofiest faces.

They are far from professional shots, but I am fairly happy with the shots I got of the girls. It's amazing to look at the pictures I took last year and see how much these three have grown in just a years' time. Just think next year I will have four to try to round up for shots. . . . yikes!!

Big News

2009-11-09T19:45:00.004+09:00

Guess What?

The new little one at 11 weeks.

Yes, baby #4 will be (soon enough) joining our family! I am 11 weeks along, and due the end of May 2010. Never a dull moment around these parts! We finally broke the news to the kids tonight. I'm one of those rather old fashioned types that really likes to wait until the first trimester is over (or nearly over in this case). Being that my girls are bigger and in school, I knew telling them would equate into telling everyone, so we held off. It was hard to keep the secret from them for this long! Emily is ecstatic. Hannah is about as excited about it as she gets about these things. Maddie, of course, is pretty clueless she is about to be dethroned as my baby. Emily wants a boy, Hannah a girl, and as cliche as it is, I will take whatever we are given! We celebrated by adding to our paper gratitude chain, and having carmel apples.

I've already seen the doctor a handful of times here and had just as many ultrasounds. Medical care here is super technologically advanced- no measuring tapes to check the baby's size here, they do ultrasounds at every appointment! I must say, it spoils you! I love looking forward to seeing the baby at every appointment. They found the heartbeat 4 weeks ago, and today I watched the tiny baby moving around, waving it's arms, moving it's legs. All at 4 cm in length. Pretty awesome! No matter what number pregnancy it is, this part doesn't get old.

To answer the normal array of questions, yes I will have the baby here. The medical care is really top notch, which is not to say identical to the US. Of course there are cultural differences, but at the end of the day I trust the doctors and medicine here completely. I was pretty sick the first trimester, about the same as always for me. I even lost weight! No real food cravings or aversions (except aversions to food period). No clue, no inkling, no sense if it is a boy or girl. I've slipped and said she a number of times, but given our history, no big shock!

So that's our big news. It's going to be a crazy summer, but then again it seems that every summer is!

Yongdusan Park

2009-11-06T22:19:00.000+09:00

The girls had the day off of school for a Professional Development Day, so Tyler took the day off and we spent the morning exploring one of the corners of Busan we had yet to spend much time in. Yongdusan Park is in the center of what used to be central Busan. Back in the day it was really the heart of the city- near the piers, the train station, all the important stuff. Busan has spread considerably over the years, and though this part of town is still bustling, it's not quite the center as it once was.

At the very top of Yongdusan Park is the Busan Tower, which offers 360 degree views of the city. It's really a beautiful view, especially on a clear day.

Busan Tower

Typical City View

Old Busan Port

More Port

The Asian looking building in the center is the Commodore Hotel, once THE place to stay in Busan. Now most of the THE places to stay are right on the beach (thank you land reclamation!).

Cool dragon statue.

The character "Yong" means dragon. When we lived in Seoul we lived in Yongsan, or Dragon Mountain.

Madeline enjoying the age old tradition of pigeon chasing.

Obviously way too domesticated. They were eating right out of the girls hands. If you are not a bird person, just go ahead and stop right here before we totally horrify you with what we let our kids do. . . .

Landing right on her.

This one surprised her a bit.

A double landing! A third landed, too. Then they all fell off.

Another view of the tower.

Most of the family.

Long Day

2009-11-02T22:01:00.000+09:00

This was taken at 4:00 PM. Apparently it had been a long, long day! It's pretty hard work to be a pre-Kindergartner. She had been watching Dora and I noticed it had grown eerily quiet. I went to investigate and found this. Incidentally, upon taking this picture I realized just *how ugly* my couches are!

Halloween Fun

2009-10-31T22:12:00.001+09:00

Well I'm still horribly behind on all my blogging, but in lieu of stressing so much over catching up before posting new stuff, I decided to keep backdating old posts, but still update with current ones. I'm sure the old ones are old news, but it's my best form of record keeping at present!

We had a lot of fun this Halloween season. The two oldest girls are really old enough to be excited about the holiday, to plan their costumes, and anticipate trick or treating. Sticking with age old traditions, we kicked off the season by carving our pumpkin. Emily carefully planned the face, and then insisted we put a bow on the stem. Yes, it is a household of girls around here!

Trying her hand at scooping the goop.

Hannah supervising.

The girls and their "Gracie-o-Lantern"

Hannah decided about halfway through the summer that she wanted to be a bumble bee for Halloween. If you know Hannah, you know she is not wishy washy and luke warm about stuff. When she decides on something, she commits 100%. So we picked up a bumble bee costume back in August, and it's been the talk ever since! She was so excited to finally put it on.

Emily wanted to be a black cat. A ballerina black cat to be specific. And specific she was! The cat ears had to have pink in them. The skirt had to be a tutu. She had to have a tail attached, with a bow on the end. She was super cute.

And sweet little Madeline was a ladybug for trick of treating. In a super warm fleece get up. But she fell in love with dressing up in Hannah's old butterfly costume (from last year mind you. This girl is big!). So for the warm weather at the school carnival, Maddie was a butterfly. She loved every minute of it! Incidentally, I would never have even bought the ladybug had I any idea she would fit in the butterfly. . . . . but I somehow didn't anticipate the 3T costume fitting my little one so well!

Friday the girls had a school Halloween party. The elementary teachers all worked together to plan half a dozen stations the kids rotated through, and they loved it!

The girls at school.

Emily Ballerina Cat

Cutest little bumblebee ever!

Sweet little butterfly. . . too distracted to pose.

Hannah and her two American classmates, Madison and Jake (and Madeline).

Hannah's teacher Ms. Newton did some amazing face painting. She's an artist, and it showed!

Emily and her best friend Tuscany. Both cats, by coincidence.

Hannah playing the find the bones on the playground game.

Trick or treating at the snack shack. These high school girls tried to scare Hannah by showing her a very realistic stuffed mouse. Didn't scare her a bit, she wanted to pet it. Yup, that's my Hannah!

Some monster dance moves.

Pinata action. Note Emily's cute tail

Relay races.

Awesome bee face paint.

Busan Foreign School Pre-Kindergarten Class

Busan Foreign School First Grade

On Halloween we loaded up the girls and took our friends the Jollys up to Daegu to go trick or treating on base. Trick or treating on base is a real treat. . . it's just like being back in the US. Kids are running everywhere, lights are on, candy is flying. It was a lot of fun. The older two charged ahead immediately, knowing exactly what to do. I think it took Madeline all of one house before she was pushing ahead with the rest in search of more candy.

Maddie's first trick or treat.

My cute ladybug!

Hannah and her buddy Macyn.

Lots of girls! McKenna, Macyn, Hannah, Emily, and Madeline

As you can see, we had a great Halloween. I think holidays get better the older our kids get. It's really fun to share some of our favorite childhood memories and traditions with them!

Texas Pool Fun

2009-08-06T21:55:00.001+09:00

If you added up all the time we spent on various activities in Texas, and put it into a pie chart, the largest slice, by far, would be time spent in the pool. The kids wake up asking to swim, and usually have to be lured out of the pool by a popsicle for bed. It becomes as natural to ask for a swim as it does to ask for a drink. We are so glad Tyler's parents opted for a house with a pool in the back yard. Thank you Mama Bear and Papa Bear!

Linus and Pippi

Hannah- stylin' as ever

Our little fish

Learning the ring dive game

Emily, Tyler, Ryan, and Izzie

This little cutie started out luke warm about the pool. By the end of the trip she was literally throwing herself off the pool deck into the water. It looks like the fish in her was awakened!

Simon

Some serious goggle action

Emily and Izzie

On To Texas!

2009-08-02T21:45:00.000+09:00

After a week and a half in California, it was time to move the fun deep into the heart of Texas. Texas is somewhere we have to come to love, and somewhere we love to visit. It's great to feel like you have so many homes!

We ate killer BBQ (salmon, steak, hamburgers), swam in the pool, visited the zoo and the children's museum, shopped, ate our weight in berries and fruit, enjoyed some good ol' Blue Bell ice cream, loved playing with our cousins, swam in the pool, and swam in the pool! We loved spending time with Tyler's parents, his brother Kit and his family, and his sister Ryan and her family. There is nothing better than spending time with family.

Texas will be a few posts, but this is just a post with a few of my favorite random pictures from Texas.

My sweet little girl got some serious little curls in all the humidity.

Hannah and Izzie. They were best little buds when we lived together in Barbados. It was nice to see even after a year apart, they are still best little buddies.

Jasper. I just love this kid.

Madeline enjoying a Sunday afternoon walk.

Sly Park Lake Camping Trip

2009-07-30T21:10:00.000+09:00

By far, the highlight of our time in California was our family camping trip. For our first camping trip (with kids in tow), we opted for an old childhood standby of mine, Sly Park Lake. This beautiful lake is only 15 minutes from my parents house, which made it perfect for a first campout. If nothing else, we knew we could load up at midnight and drive home if it was a fiasco! But it wasn't.

Sly Park Lake holds so many memories for me a child. For years I attended Girl Scout Day camps there. As a family we would picnic, swim, and canoe on the lake. As a college student home on summer break, I would meet friends for a swim across the (narrow part) of the lake. I was excited to take my girls there and start forming their memories of this beautiful lake.

We loaded up, set up camp, swam, canoed, kayaked, played in the woods, chased ducks, ate camping food, make smores, sat around a campfire, slept in a tent, woke up way too early with the sun, and just had a fantastic time spending time with our family. Our girls are already asking for the next trip.

Our littlest camper.

Our nature girl.

All the dirt on these kids was already coating them at about an hour into the trip. That's quality camping!

First campfire smore. Sure we had done BBQ smores, but really they are not even in the same class.

Alden approves, too.

Ruthie and Hannah, the self-proclaimed "3 Year Old Blondie Girls." Funniest line from these two was in the truck driving to the lake. Hannah said, "Roofie what are you doing?" Ruth responded with, "Just picking my nose." Hannah said, "Wow. I like to do that too!! It must be because we are both 3 year old blondie girls." Yup, that's my girl!

Grandpa teaching Hannah the art of whittling.

Mad LOVED this boat floatie thing.

Lake fun.

I love this picture of my dad.

A little kayak action.

The 5 kiddos in front of my parents VW westie. This westie takes them on camping adventures all over the place!

The 3 year olds practicing driving the westie.

Sweet Mad at the end of the trip.

So tired. . . . about a minute after I took this she had a massive blow out. In her last diaper. We wrapped her in a towel and headed home. What a messy way to end a quality campout!

California in a Nutshell

2009-07-26T16:56:00.001+09:00

We started our whirlwind US summer vacation tour in California, where we spent the first few days kicking the jet lag. We've got it down to a pretty good system by now. Don't get me wrong, it's far from perfect. It's three kids and sheer, complete exhaustion, but we've got a pretty good system down and the girls recovered remarkably well! We were so tired after the long, long flight we could have fallen asleep given a second of downtime.

Hannah fell in love with her blondie cousins. She often feels quite alone over here with her golden hair. She loved having little cohorts to be blonde with. We hadn't even left the airport in San Francisco before she loudly pointed out a family to me, saying "It's a blondie Mama, and blondie kids!! And they are speaking English!" I think she enjoyed a little time back being in the good old USA, and fitting right in again. I guess we should take a Scandinavian tour next.

We spent about a week and a half in California, and as always it passed way, way too quickly. I'll do a whirlwind recap here. Mostly the week was spent hanging out with my parents, my two sisters, my brother-in-law, and my sweet niece and nephew.

We had sleepovers with cousins in the new bunkbeds at Nana and Grandpa's house. The bunk room was quite popular with all the cousins.

We went to the city pool and splashed like mad.

We snuggled our Nana.

We went to McDonalds. And played in the play place. And collected beanie baby stuffed animals from happy meals. And we wore happy meal boxes on our head. Well, at least Hannah did.

We spent some quality time with our cute little cousins.

We attempted family pictures, and were foiled by the lighting.

Not pictured: we ran through the sprinklers naked (the 5 and under crowd that is), we played outside (for hours on end), we ate killer bbq, we reads tons of books, we played at our aunt's house, we camped (which is going to be it's own post), and overall just had a fantastic, relaxing vacation. Till next year California!

Namhae

2009-07-07T22:10:00.001+09:00

After surviving the stress and bustle of the 4th of July party, we took a belated anniversary trip to Namhae, a beautiful island about 3 hours from Busan. It's quite rural and woodsy, and though there are some nice resorts, we opted to stay in a small cabin tucked away in the woods. The girls loved it, it was camping light. We slept on the floor, cooked camping food, hiked, and played in the water. We had such a fantastic time, we are all looking forward to our next opportunity to sneak away for the weekend!

Summer in Korea is gorgeous. It is rainy season, but we managed to luck out and have beautiful, beautiful weather. All the rain, though, means that Korea is green, lush, and full of flowers.

We had been told the campground had a pool; but it turned out we were there about six days prior to the official pool season starting. So we found a small stream and the girls had a blast splashing around. It reminded me a lot of my childhood playing in the stream near my house.

Next, we went to a really neat butterfly pavilion. There were tons of butterflies, and they would freely land on our clothes, and even on the girls fingers. They loved it; Emily constantly said it was just like being Fancy Nancy.

On our way back to the campground we passed this small traditional Korean house. I fell in love with it. It was in the middle of fields of rice, flowers, and had huge arbors where they were growing pumpkins.

We ate dinner camping style. Mac and cheese and watermelon. Shirtless for Maddie. Camping in style!

After dinner we went for a hike. It turned into about a kilometer straight up hill. The girls were real troopers and the view from the top was unreal. We set out no intending to hike- just a short walk, but we were all glad we pushed to the top. We fought darkness the whole way down and thankfully made it out of the thick woods just as it really got dark.

While we waited for Madeline to fall asleep the girls (and Tyler) had some fun with glow sticks. Tyler wants to point out that he did not have me rotate any pictures- he did write his words the correct way!

After a so-so night sleep we loaded up to explore the island.

We happened across this place on our way to the beach. So, so random. It looks like an old German hostel or something. Just as random as the architecture were the statues that covered the grounds, from the trojan horse to owls to pigs, it had a little of everything. So much so that it left us all scratching our heads and wondering what we had stumbled upon.

Finally we ended up at the beach. Being that it was not yet officially beach season (despite scorching weather), it was empty and we had the entire place to ourselves. Madeline has officially decided she is a beach girl and had so much fun playing.

While we were at the beach a group of older women arrived to bath in the water. They were hilarious. They all sat in the shallow water, singing songs, splashing each other, holding hands and dancing. It was quite a scene to see. This video barely does it justice. . . . Just after the camera stopped rolling one of the old ladies removed her entire top to wash it. Yup, awesome naked old lady at the beach action!

Finally, on our way off the island we stopped to show the girls some ancient dinosaur footprints that have been fossilized. Turns out the two youngest were sleeping, so Tyler and Emily made the short walk to examine the prints. Emily, our future paleontologist, loved it.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T22:01:00.001+09:00

We spent our real 4th of July doing very un-4th of July activities. Like cleaning the house. And sorting clothes. And playing with our Canadian friends. I guess after the big party the night before we felt partied out! And being so far from the Embassy or base, meant there were no community 4th of July activities going on. But we made the most of it and enjoyed our day, as un-traditional as it might have been!

While helping me clean out her closet, Madeline found this tutu. She insisted on putting it on and would not even dream of removing it.

This picture is so sweet to me. She is still a thumb sucker, and she still loves her precious blanket.

See saw action.

Macyn and McKenna

Peek-a-boo!

She's seriously so cute.

So is she!

I loved this picture. Then Tyler told me she looked a Kewpie doll, or Japanese animation.

I dare him to find something in this one that is not just 100% genuine cuteness.

APP Busan Fourth of July Party

2009-07-03T23:20:00.000+09:00

Living overseas and working at the Embassy has given the Fourth of July an entirely different spin. Usually this means a huge, very official, formal work party. It is the one time of the year that the Embassy goes all out -- tons of food, entertainment, a huge party to celebrate our country. Lots of mingling, networking, and working.

This year being so far from the Embassy, this monumental party planning task fell into Tyler and his local staff's laps. They literally spent months coordinating this huge party. Fundraising (no tax payer money is used; money is solicited from the American Business community), finding a location, catering, entertainment, decorating. It was a huge, time occupying, massive task. And they did a fantastic job. . . . it was a huge success. Over 200 people attended, and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Ice Sculpture.

The spread.

The drinks.

The flower arrangements were unreal.

The cake. They added an "s" to Year before the party began.

The bomb sniffing dogs making a pass through just before the start.

Guest of honor, and picture spot.

The US Navy Commander, Chris Cruz and his staff Ms. Chang and Ms. Kang.

May the eating begin!

Presentation of the colors.

US and Korean National Anthems were sung.

Toasting.

Tyler and some of his VIPS.

The cake cutting.

Tyler, Chris, and Jungwhan (one of Tyler's local staff).

Posing with the color guard enlisted from the Jinhae US Naval Base.

Awesome jazz band.

Busan Foreign School Group

Tyler and his staff, from left: Ms. Choi, Sohee, Tyler, Mr. Byun

So happy it's over!!

Cupcake Fun

2009-06-29T21:44:00.000+09:00

With rainy season in full force, we were so excited to receive a package from my mom filled with all sorts of cupcake baking necessities, including some super fun aprons for everyone. There was also a fun cookbook with some really creative cupcake ideas. The girls spent an entire afternoon plotting which cupcakes they would make, and surprisingly settled on some pretty basic creations. Pastel frosting with some leftover Easter decor on top. Simple, but they loved them.

Hannah modeling her new apron.

May the baking begin!

Official quality control officer.

Yes, we eat raw batter around here. Raw eggs and all. Sorry if that offends, just pretend she's not really licking it. . . .

The new aprons x 4.

Eating the fruits of their labor.

She just liked spooning the frosting off the top and eating it. Smart.

Sharing a drink Korean style. Restaurants will bring out drinks here with multiple straws in them for sharing. I'm all about the family style eating here, but sharing a drink goes a bit too far for me. . . . the girls love it, though!

My Monkeys

2009-06-27T21:37:00.002+09:00

Yup, they are all a bit nuts, but they are all delightfully mine, and I love them. I particularly love Maddie trying to figure out what everyone is doing. Don't worry, soon enough she will able to join in the action.

I also love the shirts they are wearing. It's all Tyler's brother Kit's artwork. We love his artwork. He has published several books and is working on paintings now. Anyway a totally shameless plug, but he's worth it. Feel free to check his stuff out at Kit's Kids, it's pretty awesome stuff, and lots of fun merchandise (like shirts my family is all boasting).

Summer = Play

2009-06-25T22:55:00.000+09:00

I love the summer. I love having the girls home every day. I love not having to get up early and rush through the morning routine. I love eating when we are hungry, lounging around, doing crafts. And we all love spending time at the playground, when the weather permits. Today dawned bright and sunny, and the playground seemed to beckon us all for the morning. The girls played, they ran, they swung, and they invented games. It doesn't get much better than a sunny summer morning at the playground.

Hannah loves this dress. It has a "blondie mermaid" on it, with pigtails nonetheless. There is a decided lack of blondes in Korea (obviously) and I think Hannah often feels quite alone in lightness. She loves anything that is a "blondie" like herself.

My little blondie (who seems to be getting darker).

Emily, Susie, Hannah

Look who's old enough to really play now!

I love, love, love her eyes. And her tiny little freckles.

What would you do on a rainy, rainy Monday?

2009-06-22T12:58:00.000+09:00

Host a doll/teddy bear tea party while still in jammies.

Play ballerinas and bunnies.

Work on your mad music skills.

It appears rainy season arrived with a vengeance. It also, thankfully, appears that my children are quite creative and are enjoy the break from school to invent games and play. Sometimes a rainy day is just what is needed.

Happy Father's Day/Anniversry

2009-06-20T23:28:00.000+09:00

Holidays that fall on Sunday really hard for us. Church literally ends up occupying the entire day for us with the long drive. It's hard to do family dinners, hard to celebrate anything, because when we get home it's usually late the kids are tired (that is if they haven't already fallen asleep for the night in the car). So we decided to celebrate Father's Day and our 7th wedding anniversary (which just happened to fall on the same day this year) a day early. We kept it pretty low key, and are planning a family trip out of town to really celebrate our anniversary after Tyler's looming 4th of July party is over. More on that later!

So we decided to do something in the afternoon for Father's Day, and then leave the girls with a sitter to see a movie in the evening for our anniversary. Tyler decided he really wanted to go on another hike. The day was a bit gloomy, with spatters of rain so opted for a shorter hike, somewhere we had never been before. We drove across the huge bridge by our house and out onto this little islet, Igidae. The entire islet is a huge park, tons of hiking trails, etc.

We parked near the top, watching the dark clouds the entire way. It turned out to be about a kilometer each way, which was perfect. The big girls hiked it all by themselves and Maddie was quite content on my back in the ergo. The view from the top was beautiful! We could see across the water to Haeundae, where our apartment is. At the top, there is a huge flat area with a small running trail, and a big exercise area. We stopped and played for a bit before heading back down into the woods. And we beat the rain! It didn't start raining until the last car seat clip was fastened, talk about great timing!

A view from the top, with Haeundae in the backdrop.

Emily practicing her climbing skills. You can get a sense of the exercise area in the backgrounds- weights, bars, etc.

Emily and random man doing random rotating side stretch thing.

Not to be outdone, Hannah needed a turn, too.

Tyler's attempt at the parallel bars. Much harder than it looks! Of course right after this, this huge buff Korean guy hopped up there like it was nothing. In Tyler's defense the buff guys friend couldn't even get up as far as Tyler.

Running on the trail.

Picture break!

This little one has some speed!

Madeline and me at the end.

We rushed home, hit traffic, and barely had time to feed the kids before the babysitter showed up. Then Tyler and I drove over to the theater, picked up a killer sandwich from Au-Bon Pain in the basement and enjoyed watching "The Brothers Bloom" while eating a sandwich and carmel popcorn. It was a great date night. Tyler loved the movie, I spent most of it confused. At one point I leaned over and asked what was going on. He very seriously leaned over and said, "Well it could be one of three options. . . . ." Seriously? I was having a hard time even coming up with one option! He loves that kind of movie.

Lotte Eco Park

2009-06-18T14:12:00.001+09:00

At the very top of one of the most popular department stores in Busan, lies this quiet oasis. 10 stories above the hustle and bustle of the city, this little known park serves as a peaceful, fun way to spend the morning. Normally trips to the Eco Park follow a plan, a very specific plan. First is the stop in the basement of the neighboring Shinsegae Department Store (which by the way was just classified by Guinness Book of World Records as the worlds largest). Here we meet our friends, and pick up fresh bagels and cream cheese from Au-Bon Pain. Usually the kids are so cute they get a free breadstick or two. Then we take the elevator to the top of the Lotte Department Store. My friend Carol and I sit back and relax and the kids run, and play, and eat, and the spend the morning enjoying the sunshine. Really, it's a pretty perfect way to spend the morning.

The park itself isn't huge. There is a small manmade pond, luscious rainforest looking foliage, and occasionally even a frog or two. There are bridges to run across, a stage to dance on, and huge musical instruments made out of natural elements. The hit of the park, as far as my girls are concerned, is the large oversized playhouse in the middle. It has been the site of many, many a creative game, including American Girls, ballet class, playing house, and even superheroes. There is often a light breeze, making it the perfect site for bubble blowing.

The girls love our trips to the Eco Park, and I love my chance to catch up with a good friend. A perfect way to spend a lazy summer day, at least until monsoon seasons hits us here!

Hannah playing with the giant wind chime.

Emily and the playhouse.

One of the several huge xylophones.

Emily

The newly mobile Madeline. This park is much more fun with her newfound two legged capabilities.

Helpful big sister.

Blowing bubbles with Jake.

Lotte Giants Game

2009-06-13T22:40:00.002+09:00

In a continuation of the summer theme for the weekend, we took the girls to their first Lotte Giants baseball game. The Giants are a local Busan team that we have enjoyed watching while living here. Tyler has met the coach, who is an American, several times and was able to arrange for our group to meet him before the game. We also got to meet one of the American players who came over here to play. In the end the Giants lost, but we loved going to the game, it really felt like summer had arrived!

Our group posing with the Giants coach, Jerry Royster

Sajik Stadium

Enjoying the game

Koreans make their own pom-poms out of old newspapers. The person sitting next to us kindly made one for Emily.

Enjoying a milkshake.

Madeline loves Sarah!

Near the end of the game, they come around and toss rolls of orange bags into the crowd. Everyone takes a bag and passes the roll on. They then take the bags and hats out of them, all variance of hats, bunny ears, flowers, etc. At the end of the game, they take the bags, fill them with their trash and deposit them in piles on the way out of the stadium. Talk about efficiency!

Emily Bunny (the easiest hat to pull off for us amateurs)

Hannah Bunny

Macyn and McKenna Bunnies

First Day of Summer Vacation!

2009-06-13T22:26:00.003+09:00

It seemed somehow oddly fitting to spend the first morning of the girls' summer vacation at the beach! We have become so spoiled living in such proximity to beaches for the last three years. It has made beach attendance a very relaxing casual experience. We load the stroller with a few towels, light snacks and the sand toys. We walk 10 minutes to the beach, spend a few hours, and then when kids are cranky and hungry we head home.

The beach is not yet "open" in Korea, so despite high temperatures, the beach was deserted. The water here is freezing (at least compared to the Caribbean Sea we grew so accustomed to swimming in), but it doesn't deter the girls from some quality splashing. And it appears that after several exposures, Madeline if finally warming up to the entire beach/sand/water experience! I see many, many more morning like this in our future!

The paparazzi.

Hannah's "turtle in her crib" creation.

Sitting in the sand, and smiling!

Hard to tell, but she is a "sand mermaid."

Hannah's Preschool Graduation

2009-06-12T18:17:00.001+09:00

On the last day of school, the Nursery and Pre-K classes held a small graduation for all the students who will be moving on. It was super informal, quite chaotic, and noisy. Pretty much perfect for this age! As each of the students were called up, their teacher Miss LeMaitre gave them each an award. As Hannah was called up she presented her with the "Most Improved Nursery Student" award. That might be an understatement. Considering that she spent many of her early days at school screaming, throwing fits, and enjoying lunch in the principals office (which she considered a treat, and her teacher considered a break). She couldn't make it through the full day, so each day I would dutifully juggle naps to drive to school to retrieve her.

At some point around Christmas it finally clicked. She came out of the terrible twos (which I would like to say is a deceiving title- they were way more than the twos around here!), and decided she liked school. Loved it in fact. She would stay all day, rest quietly at nap time, even get her name on the happy face board! Now don't get me wrong, she's far from perfect and I would still get notes about crying spells, but seriously what a difference! This sweet little girl now throws herself at her teacher with all her might while exclaiming (loudly) "I wuv you Miss LeMaitre!).

Yes, much improved she is.

Getting her diploma.

Lovin' her Miss LeMaitre

Lovin' Erika

Posing with Beefus (I'm still not sure how to spell that). School mascot.

My girls on their last day of school for the year.

Emily's last day of Kindergarten

Every morning she would carefully pick a stuffed animal to take to school. The kids were allowed to bring small toys from home to play with in the morning during free play. It was always a stuffed friend for Emily.

Hannah's last day of Nursery

Madeline showing off her belly. I actually think she was trying to get me to poke her tummy- a favorite game.

What a great year for both my girls! They have grown up so much, learned a ton, and made some awesome friends. I look forward to 1st grade, and Pre-Kindergarten in the fall. And more tummy poking, we've got to keep the little one happy, too.

Happy Un-Birthday, Emily!

2009-06-10T22:27:00.000+09:00

Throughout the year Emily's Kindergarten celebrated birthdays in class with small parties. It was quite refreshing as often birthday parties here are expensive, and over the top, and elaborate, and full. Emily's class (thankfully) opted for a more frugal and intimate tradition. A cake, some treats, a dance party, and a few small presents, all in the class. Emily loved picking gifts for her classmates, and lived on the hope that one day it would be her turn. There were only two summer birthdays in the class, and thankfully (for Emily's sake) her teacher assigned each summer birthday a day the last week of school for the their birthday. Emily was thrilled to finally have a turn, albeit a full two months ahead of the actual event.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Cake

Someone snuck in from Nursery! She said "Little sisters get to come, too." Too cute to argue with. She even wore her "party dress."

Blowing out the candles. Had to be careful here. . . . the kids already know any left is how many yucky boyfriends you get!

Unwrapping presents- pencil boxes, clay, stickers, and socks.

What happens on the playgrounds when the pool is filled for water day the next day. These were some pretty wet Kindergarteners!

So despite it being a bit in the future, happy birthday Emily! We're so glad she got to celebrate with her friends!

Kindergarten Quilt

2009-06-09T22:14:00.000+09:00

Emily's amazing Kindergarten teacher is pregnant with her third baby, her first boy. Those of you who know me know I love babies, and babies entering the world, and how magical and special it is. I love being able to make a simple blanket or quilt that really represents that baby and that family. With my own babies, I love nothing more than a cozy, snuggle blanket to snuggle them into. I have long given up on store bought blankets, and so love the feel of my own flannel, the size of my own quilt.

From the moment Mrs. Jolly told me she was expecting I started plotting the perfect blanket. The more the year went on, I knew I really wanted something that included all the kids in the class, who grew so excited about the new baby. I finally decided to have each child draw a square for the quilt. When I found the Eric Carle Hungry Caterpillar fabric, it all fell into place.

Mrs. Jolly, the quilt, and the BFS 2008-2009 Kindergarten Class

Front of the Quilt. My favorite block is the Lemon Head one. Emily's classmate Alp from Turkey drew it. He makes me laugh reguarly. He drew the large yellow head and then asked me in a puzzled tone "Emily Mommy, what this?" I told him I didn't know- what was it. He laughed and said "I don't know. I not remember." I almost died.

Back of the quilt with the Eric Carle panel. Don't look too carefully. . . . it's far from perfect.

The kids working on their blocks.

I had so much fun making this quilt. . . . almost as much fun as the kids had giving it to Mrs. Jolly and baby Maddox. Emily has had an amazing year, with an amazing teacher. I liked being able to give something to show my appreciation!

Cutest Thing Ever

2009-06-09T22:05:00.000+09:00

I am seriously so in love with this sweet little Madeline and her amazing, piercing blue eyes.

Weekend in Seoul

2009-06-08T21:46:00.000+09:00

Right after Emily's Kindergarten graduation we loaded up the girls and headed up to Seoul for a weekend, for District Temple Day. It also happened to be the District Primary activity which was being held on the temple grounds. It was also a great chance for us to hit many military instillations all in a row. I think by the time all was said and done we had beeped ourselves onto 4 different bases across the peninsula. Good times!

It was quite a drive, but the girls were easily entertained with books-on-tape. They would sit and listen to books all day if we let them. I secretly find myself enjoying Junie B. Jones, Ramona, and American Girls, too. We hit a ton of traffic going into Seoul, reiterating to me once again how content I am living in Busan. I detest Seoul traffic!

The first night we stayed at the Dragon Hill Lodge on the base in Seoul. It was quite reminiscent for me. We drove past our old house, the Burger King where I took Emily for lunch when I was in labor with Hannah, the youth services building where Emily did gymnastics, the pool I walked to daily when I was 8 months pregnant. The Dragon Hill is home to an awesome playground. After Hannah was born I would load the two girls in our double stroller and walk them the half mile or so the playground. We would also see someone we knew and Emily would run and play for hours while Hannah sat on my hip. Hitting the playground felt a bit like coming to me.

Last time she was here she was barely crawling.

I have many a picture of Emily at the same age, doing the same thing.

I'm thinking she's grown since her last visit, too. He used to be way taller.

Saturday morning we loaded up and headed to the temple. I did a session and Tyler stayed behind to watch the baby and help with the Primary activity. They did have a nursery for Maddie if we wanted to leave her. . . . but it was a small room with two adults and an very large number of screaming babies. So Tyler sat this one out! The girls participated in a fantastic activity about families and temples and I had a few hours all to myself to enjoy the temple.

Seoul Temple

Family Shot. We have one of these from just before we left Seoul three years ago. Hannah was younger than Maddie at the time.

After we finished at the temple we headed south to Osan, to the Air Force base. Why Osan? Home to the best PX on the peninsula and also to Chili's. Good Mexican food is few and far between in Asia and I welcome any chance I have to enjoy some Chili's dining. We shopped, ate, and even took the girls to the indoor swimming pool. They were in some serious amounts of heaven.

Peace. . . or Victory depending on which language she is speaking

Hannah's marshmallow suite

Guess who decided she's a water baby? And a fearless one at that.

Some slide action

She so wants to be a big girl

We also managed to find time to squeeze in a visit to my version of heaven. . . the Happy Quilt man. He has a huge warehouse filled with quilting fabrics. Piles upon piles of beautiful cotton fabric. All for about $2.50 per yard. I used to come here with Emily when she was small in the stroller and carefully pick my fabrics. This time I scored some super cute Eric Carle fabric, as well as some killer Olivia the pig stuff. And some other totally cute stuff to make pillows for the sister's kids. It was great to go back!

We spent Saturday in Osan. Off base. The lodge on base was at capacity. Let's just say we will never discuss where we stayed or how not ok it was. Or how yucky the bathroom was. Or how hard the bed was. Or how peely the wallpaper was. Or how the hallway looked straight out of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Tyler did complement me for my restraint. I did not utter a single complaint (though I am sure he knew!).

Sunday we hopped back in the now quite filthy van and drove back home, via Daegu where we attended a baptism. Such a super fun weekend. But busy, and exhausting. No more road trips for a few weeks!

Graduation

2009-06-05T21:31:00.002+09:00

The girls' school held their graduation ceremony on the (baking hot) field this year. Graduation here includes Kindergarten (moving up to elementary school), 4th Grade (moving up to middle school), 8th Grade (moving up to high school) and 12th Grade. Wow! Thankfully all of the classes have less than 20 students so it wasn't as bad as it sounds!

Emily's class had 15 graduates this year. They all wore matching Kindergarten sized caps and gowns and did a remarkable job sitting out in the hot sun for the entire ceremony. I was quite impressed!

Emily was chosen this year to receive the Leadership Award for Kindergarten for her leadership both within the class and within the school. How proud we are of the little leader that Emily has turned into! She is such a great example and friend to everyone.

Not only did Emily graduate, but Tyler was asked to be the keynote speaker. How fun! He did a great job making it short, concise, but very appropriate for the graduates (obviously aiming for high school graduates here!).

Our little graduate

Emily receiving her leadership award from Mr. Bourget, the Vice Principal

Tyler serving in his official capacity. He got to sit under a tent with other VIPs. The baby got so hot she crawled over to join him. Can't say that I blame her- get a load of those pink cheeks!

She's officially a Kindergarten graduate!

Diploma in hand

Emily and Rania

Emily and her teacher, Mrs. Jolly

Family Shot (minus Hannah. She was off behind the school attending the Nursery class water day. She had the cool job).

Emily and her principal, Mr. Jolly

(note the huge floral arrangements in the background- each of seniors was sent one of these monstrosities by their families. Good thing we likely will not be here for high school graduation- one of these would likely bankrupt us!!)

And without further ado, it's on to first grade in the fall! And I for one find it really hard to believe that I have a first grader. Where did that little skinny baby Emily go to anyway?

Field Day/Spring Show

2009-06-03T20:00:00.002+09:00

What a busy day for the Kindergarten, Pre-Kindergarten and Nursery classes! The kids spent the morning participating in field day. The field day was organized and put on by the middle and high school kids and teachers. It turned out to be a super fun morning filled with games, races, and running. There was even going to be a water balloon fight, but it was quite chilly so that idea was quickly queued. The teams were all mixed, composed of kids from each of the three classes. These grades are some of the best- the kids spent the entire morning rooting one another on, regardless of what team they were on and could honestly not have cared less who won in the end.

Hannah and Charlene: Nursery Buddies

Emily and Rania: Kindergarten Buddies

The whole crew

Hannah doing the water race. Run down, fill cup with water, run back. Hannah hates being wet. I was nervous. She rocked it.

Emily doing the cookie race. Like the egg in a spoon race, only easier. She's only 5.

The ball between the legs race. New to me, but quite funny.

More ball between legs racing.

Nursery Class. The only guy in the picture is a totally famous Korean soccer player. Hannah's teacher really wanted a photo with him so I arranged a group picture. She was thrilled- he was in it, and she wasn't embarrassed. Lots of swooning was going on.

Kindergarten Class

After field day the kids in a hyped up, sugar induced stupor were led into the cafeteria for lunch. The parents were dismissed for a long lunch break (what no interest in cafeteria food?!) After our sandwich break we all returned for the afternoon spring show. Each of the three classes had been working so hard getting ready for this. Emily's class did both a musical number and a rather long (10 minute-ish) play including all the nursery rhymes that had been learning over the year. Hannah's class sang the Barney song and then did a little spring poem and another song. All three classes were seriously too cute to watch.

Emily's class rockin the violin and cello.

Hannah and Jake. Not sure what was going on here, just them being goofy as per the norm.

Cheesy smile

And finally some video footage. Probably only interesting to family, or those of you who are looking for a way to kill part of your day.

Emily's Class playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. These kids are pretty dang good! First they pluck the song without the bows, then they play it again with the bow in hand.

Hannah's class singing Barney's I Love You song. It's really, really cute.

Haeundae Sand Festival

2009-05-30T23:53:00.001+09:00

We decided to check out the sand festival that happens on the beach right by our house. It is a yearly event that includes both professional sand sculptures and also has tons of activities for kids. They could dig in the sand for coins, make crafts, even rent a pile of sand to build your own sculpture on (or you can be cheap like us and just walk down to the part of the beach not in the festival and build your castle there).

The first day of the festival was actually Friday and I decided after my jog to continue down the boardwalk with the baby to enjoy the finishing touches being put on the festival. It was neat to watch them still sculpting many of the sculptures. There were also tons of field trips and I enjoyed watching all the little kids digging and posing for pictures.

An effigy of President Roh Moo-hyun who committed suicide this week. He was actually laid to rest today. It was such a tragedy for this country. He always had the biggest smile on his face. He was president when we lived here in Seoul a few years ago.

A work in progress. I can't remember where this guy was from- India maybe? Nepal? Can't recall. Anyway neat sculpture. The hand extended out to a sign that said "Stop Wars."

Saturday we took the kids down to the beach to play and enjoy the sculptures. It ended up being really chilly and a little rainy, but the kids didn't seem to mind a bit. They all stripped down to their suits and loved playing in the sand.

Macyn and McKenna

She likes the sand much more when she doesn't have to sit in it. Walking will be good for this little one!

Our usual paparazzi. Macyn wasn't too keen on posing with this woman.

Hannah preferred to say upwind from said paparazzi.

Totoro

Emily doing the posing thing. This was her favorite one.

Close up of cool castle. I actually watched them build this on on Friday. They had a backhoe and everything.

Have we mentioned lately how much we love Busan? This beach is five minutes from our apartment. We love getting to enjoy all of this!

Kindergarten Class Pictures

2009-05-26T23:11:00.001+09:00

For an end-of-the-school-year present for both girls' classes I wanted to take some good pictures of each of the kids and put together a photo book for the teachers, including group shots, candids I had taken throughout the year (field trips, plays, etc), and individual shots of the kids. I was able to sneak the kids away during recess and take some really fun individual shots. For the most part I was super pleased with how they turned out, and even the ones I was slightly disappointed in, the teachers told me they loved that they captured the kids personalities. And really, isn't that what a good pictures is really about anyway?

Emily's class this year has been fantastic. Her teacher is an awesome Canadian with two of her own girls, and a boy on the way. She's taking next year off for maternity leave and we are crossing our fingers she goes back to teach the following year so Hannah can have her for Kindergarten! Her husband is the school principal. Emily class this year is 15 students from five different countries: US, Korea, Russia, Indonesia, and Turkey. Emily has loved all the new friends she has made this year.

Busan Foreign School Kindergarten 2008-2009

Stacey

Aderes

Ena

Ayden

Alp

Amy J.

In-Ah

Emily

Rania

Diana

Amy P.

Kyle

John

Lucy

Samuel

So all in all I am quite pleased with how these turned out. Such cute kids, it was pretty hard to go wrong!

Nursery Class Pictures

2009-05-26T22:31:00.000+09:00

Hannah's Nursery class was the youngest group in the school, and started the school year off with only five students! How they have grown (both in stature and class size). By the end of the year they were up to 12 students, even after having lost one little boy to a move to Canada. Just like Emily's class, I wanted to get some individual shots to make into a photo book for Hannah's teacher. The kids were super cute and loved posing!

Hannah's teacher is a young, energetic, American who loves doing yoga with the kids. I think the year was a huge learning experience (her first teaching at this level), but she really did a fantastic job with the kids. Hannah's class spans four countries (USA, Canada, Russia and Sweden), and has the highest concentration of US Government kids (3 of the 12). Three of the kids live in our building, and one of the girls is the daughter of a famous Korean soccer player. It is a loud, energetic group, but is filled with some of the sweetest kids. We're just glad Hannah's no longer known as the class screamer! That, thankfully, was a phase. . . . and like all phases it gradually passed. Though not fast enough for any of us! It's been a great year for Hannah, much thanks to her terrific teacher and great group of classmates!

Busan Foreign School Nursery 2008-2009

Gahyun

Hannah

Jake

Dylan

Andrew

Jean

Madison

Chloe

Sixten

Alex

Charlene

Erika

Life

2009-05-24T19:26:00.004+09:00

Life for us has been punishingly busy lately. Between my involvement with the PTA at the girls school, a women's charity group here, church, and life managing three kiddos it has been crazy. With beutiful weather it has been hard to want to spend much time indoors at the computer.

We have spent the last month baking, crafting, beaching, park-going, ocean splashing, and everything in between. I have baked until I no longer can stand the smell of cookies (for the school teacher appreciate lunch, a baby shower, and a huge cultural fair). I have spent time at the kids school taking pictures, volunteering, and watching a sport field trip. Tyler and I have attended a Spring Charity Ball, the BYU Wind Symphony, a Cinco de Mayo party, and I'm sure a few other things in between. The girls have had ballet, play dates, field trips, homework and life. Emily has lost a tooth and learned to read. Hannah is student of the month. And Madeline has taken her first steps. All of this has been well documented in photograph (trust me, I live for this stuff!). Now it just needs to make it's way up here. . . because really this blog is mostly for me and my girls. It is how I record our lives, what we are doing, and what we love. So for the next while I am trying to back date posts to get caught up. My goal is one entry a day until I am caught up on all the good stuff. And given the last month of activity it could take awhile. . . . . bear with me!

The next month for us promises to be just as, if not more, busy. We have end of the year parties, Emily's graduation from Kindergarten, Tyler giving the keynote address at the school graduation ceremony, an elementary field day, a picnic field trip, Hannah's nursery graduation and end of the year party. I'm sure somewhere in here Emily will loose another tooth, Madeline will finally master walking and Hannah will crack us up with one of her funny commentaries. Somewhere in all of this I need to finish projects for the girls' teachers, bake cupcakes for Emily's class to celebrate her summer birthday, catch up on blogging, work on photo processing, and spend as much time with my kiddos enjoying life. And then summer starts, and with it comes the 4th of July party Tyler is killing himself planning and a much anticipated trip to the US that MUST include (by decree of two very excited children) camping and copious amounts of swimming and ice cream.

Life is busy, but we love it. Elder Wirthlin, in a General Conference, said "Come what may, and love it." It's been my motto in life lately, and I dare say it's a keeper. We are going with the breakneck speed of life and loving every minute of it. So forgive my absence, look forward to back posting (or ignore if your not family and really don't care all that much), and look forward to much more adventure to come. Happy spring everyone!

I'll leave you with a recent picture of my three little monkeys. . . . the primary reason life is so, so busy, but so, so wonderful.

Global Gathering

2009-05-23T22:36:00.001+09:00

Every year the city of Busan sponsors a large fair celebrating and showcasing different countries. It is a really neat representation of the international nature of the city and all the cultures and traditions that are present. Many different countries have individual booths showcasing their country through pictures, displays, food, costume, etc. Ethnic food is sold, there are performances, games, and booths for kids.

Tyler's office along with the local US Navy operation, set up a USA booth. With none of us ever attending before it was quite a feat trying to set up a booth with little to go by! It honestly, turned out fantastic and we all spent the day handing out cookies, playing USA trivia games and enjoying the other foods and cultures represented. I baked for almost two days straight for the booth- brownies, cookies, muffins! The end result was fantastic and plans are already swirling for a bigger and better USA booth next year. Look for children's activities, more American food, and more participation from other Americans here in Busan.

Tyler at the opening ceremony doing his official thing. Note the white gloves and the "button to nowhere." It's the new ribbon cutting.

Confetti set off by pushing said buttons to nowhere.

Go USA! Some random American kids we picked up to work the booth. Not really, those would be the lovely Allen girls and handsome Cruz boys. What a group!

Emily's art teacher was doing face painting for the schools booth.

The BFS mascot. His name is Beefus (not really sure how to spell that).

Life for our kids. In the middle of that throng of admirers is Madeline.

Hannah wearing a traditional headdress. Not sure from where, but I'm sure it's traditional.

Dress up booth. Very, very popular with the girls.

Tyler and Hannah and Busan Mayor Hur Nam Sik

Emily enjoying a bit of Mongolia.

Traditional Korean games.

Team USA basketball.

We survived! And will do it all again next year!

Maple Gym Field Trip

2009-05-20T22:01:00.000+09:00

For the last field trip of the year, the school arranged for a local gym, Maple Gym, to come and teach a class to the kids. This gym is awesome. The classes are all taught in English, and the owner is incredibly nice and accommodating. When we first got here Emily took ballet here, and after this field trip I need to find a class for Hannah; she loved it!

They brought their whole crew of teachers and taught a class that included tumbling, running, parachutes, taekwondo, etc. All of the kids loved it. It was a particularly hot day, and they needed a water break by the end. But the pink, sweaty, smiling faces told it all!

Emily's class was first. My pictures of her class aren't quite as good. . . . I was a bit worried about getting in the way. By Hannah's class I wasn't so worried anymore! Maddie loved being a spectator. She so badly wants to be able to keep up with her older sisters. Give her a few months and she will be!

Emily and her friend Rania, from Indonesia.

Sweet Mad taking it all in.

Warm Up

Such personality!

I think Jake was having fun. . .

Go Hannah, go!

Jean

Dylan. I incidentally think this little boy is adorable.

Hannah and Madison. Not sure who they are posing for!

Cool down and a bow to express their appreciation.

Maple Gym and BFS Nursery!

Nursery Student of the Month!

2009-05-18T21:21:00.003+09:00

Congratulations Hannah!!

We are so proud of Hannah, who was chosen as the student of the month for her Nursery class for the month of May! Hannah has come a long, long way since the beginning of the school year, both at home and in the classroom. Her rocky start to school included some killer temper tantrums that threatened to derail her school career at an early age. She is a stubborn, stubborn girl and would just dig her feet in about anything. We worked with her at home, and her amazing teacher Ms. LeMaitre (who incidentally might have earned a spot in Heaven just for her work with Hannah) worked tirelessly with her at school. And you know what? All that hard effort paid off.

By about Christmas break things started to click, Hannah really started to mature, and her interest in school peaked. She now goes to school full day, three days a week and loves it. She is a great friend, super helpful, and a great learner. She participates in class, helps her teacher, plays with her friends, and seems to love every minute of it (even nap time when she has to be quiet). I have noticed so, so much growth in Hannah over the last year, and obviously so has her teacher. Gone is that fussy little girl from the beginning of the school year, and here to stay is a smiley, loving, energetic fire ball. Congratulations Hannah, we knew you could do it. . . and are so glad you did!!

Hannah really likes this picture for a number of reasons: 1. She is standing with her good friend Susie from the Pre-Kindergarten class. She loves Susie. 2. It is on the playground. Enough said. 3. Pandy is in the picture with her. 4. She is wearing a hood (?)

To celebrate, and really praise her, we took the girls out to dinner at Outback, a real treat for them. Hannah kept shouting out "We are celebrating ME!" It was pretty cute. She loved the positive attention.

Emily is looking quite big in this picture to me.

She even got to order desert of her choosing. She really wanted this one for the "Nilla" ice cream. We all dug in and helped her with the chocolate bits.

And look who is really starting to get the hang of this walking thing!

We used the video function on the camera for some entertainment while we waited for our dinner. Hannah performed her rendition of the ABCs.

Emily performed Ba Ba Black Sheep, with a twist of her own at the end.

Someone's taking a few steps. . . .

2009-05-17T19:50:00.003+09:00

A bit later than her older sisters. . . . but look who is finally starting to get the hang of this whole walking thing! She's not quite there yet. . . but she's so close. I imagine within the next few weeks she will be taking off. And she's proud. So, so proud.

What to do on a rainy Saturday?

2009-05-09T23:16:00.000+09:00

You head to one of the fantastic, abundant, colorful, indoor playgrounds! One of my favorite things about being back in Korea is how much there is to do with kiddos in this country. Even in bad weather! Within 1o minutes of our apartment there are three of these fantastic indoor children's dreamworlds. They all have ball pits, slides, trampolines. Some have libraries, some dress up nooks, some playhouses, riding toys, and baby toys. Two of the three even have indoor trains/ cars on tracks for the kids to ride. They are fantastic, you pay for two hour blocks (less than $5) and the number of attendants who play and watch the children is amazing. The kids love it, and so do I.

So on this rainy Saturday we met up with our friends, and headed over to Ponggi- Ponggi Land. And much fun was had by all.

I'm not really sure when this little one stopped looking like a baby. But more often than not my pictures of her lately are all little girl!

Coolest climbing wall ever.

Hannah's got a thing for trying to climb palm trees. Must be the time we spent in the Caribbean.

Aforementioned indoor car/track the kids get to ride on. And random Christmas decorations in the middle of the track. Emily found that particularly humorous.

Macyn and McKenna.

Madeline waving to the girls. She's so ready to be a big girl and do all things pertaining to being a big girl.