A Child's Insight

Two nights ago S was talking to her daddy.
S said, "Heavenly Father made it snow today!"
Daddy said, "Who told you that?"
S said smugly, "No one. I figured it out myself!"

It's Great to be 8

Little Miss S turned 8 yesterday. She is so excited to be baptized. We are waiting until Grandma Margie and Grandpa Greg come to visit for Christmas. We told her that if she learned to ride her bike without training wheels, then she would get a new bike for her birthday. It took her about 10 minutes. Learning to start by herself and turn without stopping took another 2 days, but she got it. So, we had to break down and buy her a bike. She also got a new helmet to go with it (thanks to Grandma Connie). She also got 2 dollars (in her words). She did get 2 bills, but it was a total of $25. She thought that was great. I don't think she has ever had that much money at a single time.

Happy Halloween

My kids love Haloween. For the first time since S has been able to decide what she wants to be, she decided Not to be a princess. She decided to be a farmer. Why? You ask. Well, we finally received all our household goods, and she discovered some boots in with her shoes. She also has pink overalls. She put two and two together and came up with a farmer. A6 didn't really have much of a choice. There wasn't any good costumes at the PX. Someone offered a princess costume that their daughter didn't want. Luckily enough, she agreed. Although, she did ask if she could be a cat (she wore that costume out before Halloween last year). Matthew wanted to be what everyone else was going to be - a Farmer, an Dalmation, a Vampire, Scream. Whenever he heard a new one, I had to tell him he was going to be Harry Potter. He didn't like that very much. Oh well, at least we got a picture of him in his costume. Well, here's to next year!

Chuseok Anybody?

Chuseok is the Korean Thanksgiving. Pretty much everything closes down for 3 days. It is common to see the children wearing Hanboks (Traditional Dress).

The Korean people visit their families for 3 days. This usually involves visiting their ancestral sites and give their respect for their dead. The 2nd day of Chuseok coinsides with the harvest moon. This is a day of much celebration and much eating. Since everyone is traveling, the roads and interstates are even worse than normal. Chuseok is comparable to Dia De Los Muertos for Latin countries. I could smell (I mean, tell) that it was coming. Since you don't want to have to cook and prepare meals during Chuseok, it is all prepared the week before. I know some of you have had Kimche before so you know what I'm talking about. Those of you who haven't had it, you're lucky! Kinche is fermented vegetables. Most often you will see cabbage, but I have also seen cucumbers, radishes, and onions. I'm sure there are even more than that.

Fun In the Sun?

Have you ever had something planned, and then when you wake up, it's pouring? That happens a lot here. But the lucky thing is, is that the Korean people DO NOT like the rain. What's a little water, when you have a park and zoo all to yourself?

Nobody likes to sit inside on a holiday. So, we broke out the umbrellas and braved the rain. It really wasn't too bad. By the time we got to the park, it was just drizzling. And when it started raining, it only lasted for a few minutes until it was a drizzle again.

The last time we went to the park, we noticed a stream that kids were playing in, so we told the kids to put on their swimsuits and we would let them play in the stream even though it was raining. When we got to the stream, there was no water flowing. Apparently, they only turn it on at certain times. The kids had fun, so I guess that's what really counts.

Moving Day is Approaching

Moving day is in sight! Tuesday! I can hardly believe it. It has been so long since we saw it that I can hardly remember what it looks like. I do have pictures, but they are not of the exact apartment we are getting into. By the time we move in, we will have been in the hotel for 10 weeks. This is not something I recommend to anyone - especially if you want to become closer as a family. Being stuck in 2 rooms, and not being able to cook your own food can be really aggravating! I'm VERY excited to get out of here! The only bummer is that none of our stuff is here to put in our apartment. We have to use loaner furniture, which I have heard are as hard as rocks. AND it could take a couple more months for all of our stuff to get here - it was supposed to be here by the end of September!

The apartment building is called City Park. We will be on the 28th floor. It has a pretty good view of the Han River which runs right through Korea.

1st Day of School

S and a6 started school today. I could tell they were excited, but a little nervous. Yesterday a6 told me her stomach was hurting. I thought, "Oh, no! Here it comes again!" Last year she developed ulcers from getting nervous and upset about going to school. This year I came prepared. We have a prescription medication that I can give her so it won't get out of control. Anyway, we started her on it and this morning her stomach wasn't hurting as much. Thank goodness. S is in 2nd grade and this is her 4th school. a6 is in 1st grade and this is her 3rd school. They were able to meet lots of kids this summer, so I don't think this transition will be as hard as the others. I walked the girls to school this morning and was able to take them right to their classrooms. a6 looked a little worried, but there were no tears. S took it like a pro and was all smiles. Hurray!

One Last Hurrah

On Thursday I went with a friend down to Humphreys AFB which is in Peyongtek. They have a waterpark there that only costs $6 a family. It was great - very kid friendly, which is good because Ammon wasn't there. Even though it is only about 40 miles away, it took almost 2 hours to get there. There are a lot of cars on the roads here. All 6 of the kids in the van were very ready to get out and play.

Palace Pictures

These are sleeping Quarters for the Royal Family.

This is a long shot view of the side of the palace

These teenagers wanted Ammon to take a picture with them. He was hamming it up!

Every 2 hours there was a changing of the guard.

It was really, really HOT outside!

To Be A Princess

We visited the Geyongbukgong Palace on Saturday. It is pretty impressive to see how Emperors and their courts lived. Seoul was destroyed 60 years ago by North Korea, so these buildings are only replicas, but they are still impressive. We had a lot of fun. We even went with a family from our ward that is also new to the area. It has taken us a month to be able to go to this palace because it has rained every weekend. When we first decided to go to the palace, S asked to wear a6's red dress. She thought we were going to meet a princess there. She was disappointed when we told her there weren't any princesses there anymore. Being inside the grounds, it almost felt like you were transported out of a reality into a fairy land.

Dr. Fish

As you all may know, my feet are very, very ticklish. I have done something that you may not think me capable of. I have put my feet in a tank of fish and let them nibble on my feet. I am still shuddering! There is a little cafe just outside of Hannam that does pedicures - and the fish are the ones giving the pedicure. How? You may ask. Well... these particular fish eat the dead skin off your feet. I screamed when they started nibbling - at least I wasn't the only one. There was a whole group of silly Americans who went and we all made a lot of noise. The entire cafe turned around and laughed at us. I think it was one of the LONGEST 15 minutes of my life. I have to say my feet were soft after they were done. The only way I will do it again is if one of you come and visit me! So save up it costs 2,000 won to get it done (That, by the way, is less than $2 for any of you gringos who aren't hip to currency rates).

Memories are Wonderful

I have seen this posted on two different blogs. I responded to theirs. I am putting it on mine, so they can respond. It will be lots of fun to remember!

The Memory Game

Here's what you do:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Kiddos

Here are some pictures. We haven't been able to go sightseeing very much because of the rain, but we did go to an aquarium. The kids had a blast!

Squatters

What the? These things aren't just for the men.

I have no idea how the women here use these. There are about 6 of these to2 "European" (regualar) toilets in any given bathroom off the base. It's crazy. You see business women with really nice clothes on go in one and then come out looking just as good as when they went in. The public bathrooms are dirty, too. And the toilet paper. You have to remember to get some off the wall by the sinks before you go in or you're out of luck.

Let's just say that things are VERY different here!

And no M isn't going, he's trying to figure out where to stand.

Korea and Misadventures

I've finally managed, with some help (thanks April), to sign in and post new blogs.

If you don't know what true boredom is, try living in a hotel for 5 weeks with 3 small kids and only a few stuffed animals. The kids start turning on themselves!

It rains almost every other day here, and when it isn't raining, the humidity is about a 1000%. Burger King has an indoor playground, so I have been there almost every day. I can't even force myself to eat their food anymore!

We have only had 2 crisis since we have been here. One we had to go to the ER. The other forced the tooth fairy to exchange dollars to won (the Korean dollar).

M (aka Stinker Boy) loves the pool. There is an outdoor pool at the high school, which is right across the street. They have a pool slide that has seen many many years. He thinks it is great fun to go down the slide and have daddy catch him. His foot slipped on one of the stairs and his chin had the misfortune to land on one. He cried all the way back down the stairs and to the edge of the pool where Ammon was waiting. Once Ammon got out of the pool, he stopped crying. Ammon took him to the first aid station and they suggested taking him to the ER. I got the joyous job of taking him there. The docs said the derma bond wouldn't hold the skin together like stitches would, so M got 3 stitches. I think he was showing off because he didn't shed 1 tear the whole time they were stitching him up - not even when they put the shots in to numb it. Of course none of this stopped him from jumping right back in the pool once we got back to pick up Ammon and the girls. He also thought it was a lot of fun to tell people who were looking at the big bandage on his chin (mommy was being a little over protective), "I got stitches, dude!"

I think every mother would panic if they were to see their child with blood running out of their mouth. a6 did that to me. Her 2 bottom front teeth were loose and the new ones were already coming in. Ammon was flipping the kids over his back in the pool (yes, the same one M had his accident in). Ammon flipped a6, then he flipped M after she started swimming to the side. She came up out of the water screaming and holding her mouth. When I got to her and took her hand out of the way, blood was running down her chin. It took 2 minutes (about a lifetime) for her to calm down enough to tell me what happened. Her teeth had caught on the pocket of Ammon's swimsuit, and when she flipped the rest of the way over, it pulled them out. So again I had to make a trip to the first aid station. This time with people stopping me every five feet to ask if the was ok. Luckily we didn't have to go to the ER this time, but we still had to fork out some money!

I'm sure we will have more mishaps, but we should have a lot of fun times, too!

Next time, we'll talk about squatters, and no I don't mean people who live on your land!

Day One

At the Lydick's. Leaving for home tomorrow. In a month South Korea here I come.