I was seriously wishing I had my nice camera at this point. Or at least that I knew about Henrys' giant fingerprint smudge that was on the lens of this little camera!

Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Martin, & Mrs. Martin!

Congratulations, Ross & Lindsay! We are so excited for you two!!

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Anita, the kids, & I took the Eco Taxi to lunch today. Craig met up with us after his group bike ride and drove us home. It was a fun way to get into town!

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Anita came to visit us today! I stayed home with Henry while Craig & the girls picked up Nana from the airport, went to lunch, and then went to the Museum of Fine Arts.

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Craig took the girls to a free performance by the Houston Ballet at the outdoor theater near our house tonight. Both girls loved it. Of course, the one night that Craig is gone there was a lizard in our room! The lizard had moved on by the time Craig got home but I'm sure it is still lurking around in there... I'm not sure how I will sleep tonight!

Posted by Becky at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We took the girls down to the George Observatory for members night. It was super cool and we all definitely want to go again. Before it was dark we got to see the moon and then we listened to a short lecture (Sarah got a bit squirmy) and then it was time to go up and see Saturn and also the moon again. Both were amazing. I was really surprised at how Saturn looked--it was like a glowing white cut-out on a black background. It was totally like one of those glow-in-the dark stickers on the ceiling. Henry stayed home with the babysitter (the telescope viewing didn't start until dusk and we weren't home until 11:30!) and did really well. The girls fell asleep in the car on the way home.

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Craig did the 62-mile Burn Your Buns ride this morning. The kids were super excited to cheer him on at the finish and we got there just in time, too!

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We were hot again this year but didn't have any temporary tattoos to sweat off like last year.

I took the kids to the parade by myself this year since Craig is doing a bike ride called "Burn Your Buns." I drove to the parade instead of walking so that we could hopefully see the parade and then drive over to see Craig finish his ride.

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I bought this light in May and we finally got it up today once we found someone with a ladder high enough!

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We had a great time at the Bolder Boulder this morning. Unfortunately Erin's Craig got sick so he couldn't run it with us but Erin's mom took his bib and ran it. And the best part was that Erin's dad drove us to the start so we didn't have to worry about parking! I saw Ross & Lindsay before the start and then Cathy and Kendra after. Pretty impressive that I saw all three people I knew were doing it plus one more I didn't considering how many people were there! My time was 2 seconds slower than my last 10K (in April) and I think training in the heat of Texas helped equalize the altitude disadvantage I had in Boulder.

Then Erin & I got to hang out more before my late flight home. I think I actually relaxed this weekend! I am ready for our hot house and the last couple of days of school for the girls and for summer break to start!

Posted by Becky at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Erin R., Courtney, & I went to meet Erin F. & Dave's brand new baby girl, Maia, today! Maia is the first brand new baby I've held since Henry was born and I wondered if I'd want another one. It was so much fun to hold a tiny little baby but I don't need another of my own, thank you very much! (Craig is relieved, I am sure, although it wasn't really up for discussion!) I did get to take some portraits of Maia and it got me thinking about getting back to photography. I think that will still have to wait until Henry is in school though as there is no way I could add that to the schedule now.

Posted by Becky at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I can't really enjoy the cool Colorado air knowing how hot the family is in Texas! Really, it's a good thing that it was Craig left behind and not me: he was able to install two window A/C units (one in Henry's room and the other in the master bedroom where Craig and the girls are sleeping) so they are all comfortable (so he assures me).

I did get to enjoy a night out with Erin R & Courtney tonight and I get to see Erin F and meet her sweet little baby girl tomorrow! Okay, so I'm starting to enjoy myself (but I still can't complain that I'm "too cold" even though I am!).

Posted by Becky at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our air conditioning has been on the fritz all month. Now it is totally out and the air conditioning company can't get it repaired until after the long weekend. Clementine has a funky eye. Henry started panting again yesterday so is using the nebulizer again. Sarah has cream that needs to be applied to her skin each night. What a bunch of rotten stuff to have happen on the weekend I am going to Colorado on my own! (My first trip alone since Anna was 13 months!) I feel incredibly guilty leaving my children in the hot house all weekend although I know Craig will be able to handle it all; I wish that everything was running a little better so I could enjoy my time off more!

Posted by Becky at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Henry made this nice stack while I got the salad ready.

We had our first CSA pickup tonight! Our pickup location is at the church right down the street from us which is super convenient. I don't think there's any way we're going to get through all of this on our own though. We will have many, many salads this week!

Posted by Becky at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do you like Craig's "cake"? (His request. I was willing to bake him one!)

Sarah got a little crazy with the ballet stamps today.

Posted by Becky at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sarah & I really wanted this bike when we saw it today. I just need one more seat in the back. And I wonder if I could drive it myself with all three kids? It would be a good workout!

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The girls thought snacking while watching TV was the best idea ever although I don't think they truly enjoyed the football game. Henry made his first Lego train engine during the game. I was surprised when I looked down and saw what he built!

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Anna had a "snow day" today at school due to freezing rain so we were lucky on that timing! Craig went to work for a bit so he missed out on baking cookies and the tea party but he did a great job serving up the baked Alaska we had for dessert tonight!

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Anna & Sarah wanted to do "the exact same thing we did last year!" for our New Year's party. So we had a dress-up hors d'ouevres party again. This year was more fun though because Henry got to more actively participate in the fun. The kids loved their champagne glasses, the balloons, and the confetti. They weren't happy when we started vacuuming up the confetti but then we had fun making "balloon confetti." I love these kids!

Posted by Becky at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I don't know how Sarah fell asleep last night because she was so super duper excited about Santa coming in the night! Sarah is the early-bird in our family but Anna was the first up. Their alarm clocks glow green when it's "OK" to get up in the morning. Sarah's glows at 6:20 and Anna's glows at 6:40 (Sarah would be up much earlier many days without that 6:20 time so it's a compromise time. Anna's is at 6:40 because that's what time she needs to be up when she takes the bus to school although she'd sleep until 7:30-8 if she was allowed.) Back to the story! Anna woke up first and saw that Sarah's alarm wasn't green yet so she waited in Sarah's room with her. It's not clear where she waited if it was in bed with Sarah or on the floor with the animal bag. At 6:20 they both came downstairs to get us (even though we told them they could get their stockings and anything Santa might have left on the hearth without us). They were excited about their Santa gifts although I know there was some disappointment on Anna's part that she didn't get a star that walks or real magic. (They got chocolates, stationery stuff, and a walking dinosaur for Sarah and a purple unicorn for Anna; Henry got chocolates, a few car books, and a wooden car; Craig & I got chocolates.) Henry woke up relatively early for him since the girls were probably a bit noisy! He got his stocking, we had breakfast, and then the gift un-wrapping began. Henry was, of course, surprised by the whole situation and loved it all.

Posted by Becky at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A house draped in lights near us.

Our house.

The girls are constantly asking if we can make our house more like the "awesome" house down the road from us. It is fun to drive around looking at the lights with the kids as it is something we missed out on the last couple of years.

Posted by Becky at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I hired a babysitter (one of the girls favorites!) for the afternoon so she could play with the girls while Henry napped and Craig & I went on long bike ride. We biked to lunch, stopped at the bike shop to get me a new helmet (my old one was made in September 1994 and my new one was made in October 2010!), and then took a longer ride home. It is much easier to bike without a trailer and two kids behind me.

Posted by Becky at 8:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sarah was in heaven when her macaroni & cheese came in a dinosaur bowl today at the bagel shop. Craig & Anna biked but Sarah, Henry, & I drove. Sarah didn't want to ride in the trailer and I didn't want to listen to complaining for 40 minutes so she won that round!

Posted by Becky at 8:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sarah & I made caramel corn on Friday and yesterday I made whoopie pies. They are both amazing! I had the cookies out today for Anna's playdate.

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His trunk is loaded up with acorns.

Ready to go in and help me make dinner.

For the longest time the girls have been going on "acorn hunts" at the bus stop. This morning and this afternoon Henry joined in! He walked around and gathered acorns and brought them to me just like Anna & Sarah do. We had a ton of fun playing in the yard this afternoon again. We are loving this fall weather!

Posted by Becky at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sarah was proud of the headband she made in school and wanted to make sure I got a picture from behind.

We are enjoying the cooler weather (finally) in the afternoons. I hope this lasts a while.

Posted by Becky at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Craig and I got to go see Greg perform with The 5 Browns tonight and the show was amazing to say the least. We will definitely go see them again when they come back!

Posted by Becky at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anna ended up getting sick just after the kids got their skunk costumes on and Henry really didn't like my witch costume. Craig stayed home with Anna & Henry and I took Sarah around for her first American trick-or-treating experience. I had to really coax her into going to each house. We went to maybe 10 houses and she still got a ton of candy. I think she was a little creeped out by being out in the "dark" and was feeling bad that Anna wasn't with us (they give each other confidence). Hopefully next year all three kids will make it out!

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Henry loves the pumpkins!

Henry's pumpkin. Carved by me; template chosen by Sarah.

Anna's pumpkin already has a bit of mold growing in it.

Posted by Becky at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

They were super excited!

Anna's. Carved by Craig with her instructions.

Craig tried to be thrifty and not buy Henry's pumpkin at the patch (that one with the awesome handle!). I ended up paying 50 cents more at the grocery store for his tonight and it wasn't as nice as the one Henry had picked earlier. I'll post a picture of that one after I carve it tomorrow. Anyway, the girls could not wait to carve their pumpkins this afternoon. I hope they make it through the week!

Posted by Becky at 9:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lunch. Henry was just as interested in the fuel truck as the airplanes. The girls were all about the planes.

The kids had a ton of fun at the airport this afternoon. It was just down the street from the pumpkin patch so we thought we try out the restaurant there (the sign says it is "worth landing for"). The food was fine but the airplanes were better! All of the kids definitely want to go back again.

Posted by Becky at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love this one. And Anna has super skinny legs!

The kids had a blast at the pumpkin patch this morning. Thank goodness we went right when they opened because we were all getting much too warm by the time we left! It is still getting into the 90s which is very unfortunate.

Posted by Becky at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Craig played softball for charity today with his work. Sarah, Henry, & I went down for the first game (the only one Craig's team won). When the kids & I got home I decided to bike them over to the bagel shop for lunch which went well except that some of the trails around here aren't marked well so I had to consult a really old map that I had in my bike bag several times. Henry was tired (he fell asleep in the trailer on the way there but sleep didn't come as easily for him in the way home) so he cried which caused Sarah to join in the fun. You can imagine me riding my bike through the trees with two crying kids in the back. It was somewhat comical and I did ride faster because of it! I took Craig's GPS watch so I know I went 14.4km round trip.

Posted by Becky at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've had this skunk living under our porch for the past few weeks. He's really not bothering us and although I could smell him (faintly) the first week or so, I don't any more. I have often though he left us but here he was tonight. I tried putting mothballs by his entry-point but that didn't get him to leave. Next I'll try used cat litter. However, I wonder if he's helping me out in the yard by eating some undesired bugs? (Skunks are omnivores.) I'll keep trying to gently nudge him away but tonight Sarah decided she wants to be a skunk for Halloween. Anna says she wants to be a princess "because a unicorn would be too hard to make." (I told her that I'd figure it out if she wants to be a unicorn but apparently she just doesn't believe it could be done.)

Posted by Becky at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We got together tonight with the founding members of our old supper club. It was fun! When we started the club Nicole & Colby just had one child and no one else had any. Tonight there were seven.

Posted by Becky at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My little sweethearts walking toward Oktoberfest.

Another one.

Last year while we were in Korea, one of my friends on Facebook (in the US) was trying to decide what to do that weekend. Her choices were Oktoberfest, some other festival, or stay home and do nothing. I was so frustrated when she chose to stay home and do nothing!! I was so jealous of the choices she had! So, there was no question that we were going to Oktoberfest this year. Even it if it was super hot and humid. The kids were sweaty and had red cheeks before we even got through the gate! It was fun though (although the girls freaked out when they had to walk through a ton of mud) and we will go again next year, too.

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We drove down to Galveston and as soon as the girls & I set foot in the water it started raining. It was rainy and windy for about an hour but we sat it out in the car (we occasionally ran out to splash around in the big waves when the rain died down a bit). Once the sun came out the kids had a blast so we are glad we stuck it out!

Posted by Becky at 8:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The air conditioning guys came around 10:30 this morning (thank goodness, Henry and I were getting sweaty waiting for them!). The house is cooling down slowly but surely.

Posted by Becky at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We gave up pretty fast this morning and we booked a hotel with early check in this morning. After Henry's morning nap (didn't go well, he was too hot) we packed up, took a little drive until it was time for lunch, and then went to the hotel after lunch. Craig took the girls swimming while Henry took a good nap at the hotel. Is it wrong to now complain that the air in the hotel is too cold?

Posted by Becky at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our air conditioning went out this afternoon. Craig wants to tough it out at home but I wanted to go to a hotel! The house isn't too hot now but probably because we had one half-day of air conditioning to cool it down. We put a fan in Henry's room and Anna is sleeping on the couch in the game room under a fan. We have to go through a certain company with our home warranty and they are not open on the weekend. I hope they can come early on Monday! At 8 PM the temperature was 89 and the heat index was 97.

Posted by Becky at 9:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Craig & I got in this morning around 6 AM and when we got back to the house Corrine, Scott, Owen, & Raisa had to head right out the door to make it back home! We are sad that we weren't able to spend more time with them but happy that they got to know our kids a bit better and vice versa. Thank you all so very much for coming down!!

Posted by Becky at 9:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The bear is for Craig's dad. Neil (my uncle, not the bear) was our driver from the hotel to the wedding and back. Thanks, Neil!

Posted by Becky at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many months ago (February?) Corrine offered to come down to Texas to take care of the kids so Craig & I could go to my cousin's wedding in California. That seems like so long ago and suddenly the day is here. The whole family decided to come spend time with the kids which was a great idea although now Corrine & Scott will get a feel for what it's like to have five kids 8 and under! (yikes!)

I threw them into the job right away. Sarah had a last-minute visit to the doctor scheduled for late this afternoon so I left Henry & Anna with Corrine & family and gave her instructions on how to start dinner! I had been talking to the girls about this weekend and told them that they need to "help" Corrine & Scott with Henry because they (Anna & Sarah) know what he needs, what he can and cannot do, etc. I think it really helped to take the focus off of them and the fact that Craig and I won't be here. I hope so anyway! Both girls say they are scared but Anna decided on her own to stay with Henry this afternoon to "see what it is going to be like this weekend when mommy & daddy aren't here."

Posted by Becky at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today did not go as planned... The girls had been sick over the weekend and I was a little sick yesterday. Today Anna was throwing up so of course I didn't send the girls to their music camp but I also had to go out and get the paint for the painters. The paint store was having a bit of trouble with their computer and so had a hard time matching our paint for the kitchen. Poor little Anna just wanted to lay down and was stuck waiting it out for a long time at the paint store. Finally the paint store guys said they'd deliver the paint to me when it was ready.

I ended up calling Craig home early from work because I was also not feeling well and needed to get some things at the store for Anna but couldn't drag her out again. I don't know if the painters realized we were sick or just thought we were the laziest family ever since we spent most of the day hanging out in my room! (Henry had to nap in Craig's closet due to some noise in his & Sarah's bathroom.)

I think Sarah was secretly happy that she didn't have to go back to music camp.

Posted by Becky at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I gave up and got frustrated with the process of the walls. It started to feel hopeless with Anna's bathroom and thinking about texturing so we called a couple of places and we're waiting for the estimates to come in. I feel both a sense of relief and failure. Mostly relief, I think.

Posted by Becky at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

All of the paper in the kitchen is off of the walls! We are still debating on texturing or not. For now the next step will be to repair some damage on the drywall.

Posted by Becky at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Craig has to do the up-high work.

I bought a steamer to get the wallpaper down off of the walls and it is wonderful! Anna's bathroom is still much more difficult to get through three layers but I am making good progress there, too. Yay! Our kitchen does feel like a disaster zone though so hopefully that will motivate us to get this project done and move on with our lives.

Posted by Becky at 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sarah is always coming up with "crazy" outfits. The crazier the better. She had a purse and wand before I took the picture but ditched them when I got the camera out.

Posted by Becky at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We left the house just after 7 to go blueberry picking and it was a really smart decision. The weather was actually cool and not humid so we had a pleasant experience! Rachel helped me with Henry (my carrier was not in my car for some reason?) and he had fun eating halves of blueberries along the way.

Posted by Becky at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rachel, Mat, Jake, & Sam arrived this afternoon! We are excited to all go to Galveston tomorrow and camp at the beach and then spend the week hanging out with them here.

Posted by Becky at 11:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been trying to remove more wallpaper in Anna's bathroom while my mom is here to hang out with the kids but it is a very unsatisfying process (it is three layers thick and I can't get very much off at one time and it only comes off one layer at a time). There was a bit of kitchen wallpaper just begging to be taken off so I did it. One thing led to another and soon my mom & I were obsessively taking wallpaper off the kitchen walls! It is coming off so much easier than the bathroom but there are spots that are taking some drywall with it... anyway, it is refreshing to my eyes to see some of those flowers going away!

Posted by Becky at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sarah was happy that Papa was able to be at her birthday "party" today so I didn't push her to invite any of the kids she has met since we arrived in Texas. We had brownies and ice cream and she kept "forgetting" to make a wish when she blew out the candle so she had to re-do it two more times (both times we had to sing the Happy Birthday song again). I am planning to take the kids to the zoo on her actual birthday later this week.

Posted by Becky at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I didn't take a single picture of the house or the party today! We invited our old friends and our new neighbors over to our house today for a house-warming party. It was great to see everyone but we didn't get to talk to everyone enough, either. Henry was great in that he went to anyone who was willing to hang out with him (Lyn and Kate, mostly) so I actually got to chat with a few people and he actually got to crawl around. The girls had fun even though it was totally crazy here. I think they were mostly excited about the food but they had fun meeting all of our friends and seeing some of the people we used to see in Okpo, too.

After the party Craig & I tried out a new babysittter who happens to live down the street from us. Anna really liked her and even talked to her right away which was really surprising to witness. We took it easy on the sitter for her first time and had Henry & Sarah in bed already.

Posted by Becky at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We had our first Tea on Tuesday in our new house today. The girls were excited to sit at the dining room table and use my grandma's china (I think it's better to use it or it doesn't mean a whole lot, does it?).

Posted by Becky at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We bought some bird seed to put in the feeder that was already in our yard and the girls decided to sit down and wait for the birds to come by. I told them it might be a day or two before we see any but they were determined to wait it out!

Posted by Becky at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

These little berries/flowers (?) are growing in the "grass" of our backyard. I don't know what it is but they are cute.

We're still getting our house set up but we had to color Easter eggs so we made a quick run to the store for eggs and vinegar (I already had the dye and amazingly knew right where it was in this mess!).

Posted by Becky at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This squirrel was watching me wash my dishes this morning.

The current state of our family room.

Posted by Becky at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our sea shipment from Korea was delivered today. This delivery was much more comforting for the girls since this is the stuff they have been living with. Tonight when I put Sarah to bed she said, "My room is like the Berenstain Bears tree house!" I think because there are so many trees outside her room and she is on the second floor (so up high like the bear family).

The girls are having a blast in our yard and I have gotten quite a bit of unpacking and organizing done while they play outside. I still have a long way to go though!

Posted by Becky at 8:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Family room with kitchen to the left, master bedroom to the right, front door behind me.

Anna's closet and bathroom.

I wanted to get some pictures of the house before our stuff comes in because I just don't know how long it's going to take to get our stuff organized and looking OK for pictures! Today was a long day. Craig couldn't take the day off of work so I was on my own (he was able to come for a bit and bring us some lunch, thank goodness!). The girls played outside a lot and although Henry took two naps he was definitely difficult to corral most of the time. We received the things from storage today and tomorrow we'll get our sea shipment. There were several things that I didn't even remember having and it was really hard to figure out where a lot of it should go in this new space. We are planning to go through our things and get rid of the things we didn't miss/didn't know we had/don't like any more and hope to not accumulate so much stuff again!

Posted by Becky at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We closed on our house this morning! The kids were great during the closing (the girls were engrossed in coloring and Henry had enough new stuff to explore that he didn't even get fussy although it was his nap-time.). I took the kids over to the house to spend a little time there before we move in tomorrow. Before we went, Sarah said she wanted to stay in our temporary housing and not move into the new house. After we spent some time there, however, she is definitely ready to move in in the morning!

Posted by Becky at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was so excited when we found out we were going to be back in Texas in time for the Houston Rodeo but it was hard to actually find the time to go once we got here! We made it on the last day (and a very cold day!) and we had a good time. The girls got to pet some different animals in the petting zoo (we were surprised they had some deer and I took Henry out of the zoo when the deer started trying to eat the Baby Hawk straps. (I didn't want it to start nibbling his toes by mistake!) Then the girls got to ride ponies and watch chicks hatch out of eggs. Henry did enjoy people-watching but got totally wiped out by the time we found some lunch and fell asleep for a bit in the Baby Hawk. He woke up when we got settled at the pig races (!) and shortly after that we made our way back home.

Posted by Becky at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Front of the house.

The girls had a blast with the tetherball.

The sellers accepted our offer today and we both have a much better feeling about this house. We'll get an inspection set up for next week. The house was built in 1978 and was a custom home. It is a little bigger than we wanted and there are a lot of cosmetic updates we want to make (these were our big hesitations on it previously). It is in a wonderful location and it is on a small, quiet street. I'll post pictures of the inside after it is officially ours.

Posted by Becky at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The townhouse we're staying in has convinced us to buy a house near-ish to here. We have inspections on a house this week but I'm starting to get cold feet about it. I'm not sure if it's just because it's a big decision or what but I keep thinking about one other house (but would I keep thinking about house #1 if we were getting inspections on house #2?). We'll see what the inspections say and go from there, I guess. In the mean time we are thoroughly enjoying being so close to everything right now (within walking distance to all sorts of great stuff!).

Posted by Becky at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And for Craig's 33rd birthday, Sarah & I spent the afternoon and $150 at Toyota buying a second key and a key fob for my car.

Posted by Becky at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three years away makes America seem almost as foreign as Korea once seemed!

Things we'll miss about Korea:
-Craig coming home for lunch every day
-the small-town/small-island feel
-the expat community
-the friends we've made
-heated floors
-I'll actually miss the driving: I like that I can park wherever I want or make a right-hand turn from the left-hand lane if I really need to and no one is going to get upset (no road-rage here). I don't think I ever did anything crazy while we were there but it was freeing to know that I could.
-speed cameras, I like those better than getting pulled over for speeding. Just send me my ticket in the mail, please.
-screen golf
-the "lock-n-lock" aisle at Home Plus (I should have stocked up on the wide variety of food storage containers when I was there, what Target has does not compare!)
-fast internet
-first-come, first-served health care (and it was cheap!)

Things we won't miss:
-people touching our children (although this has gotten better since the whole H1N1 thing)
-loud music in the stores
-mixing my own prescription drugs

Things we're excited about in America:
-being literate again!
-being in our own space (eventually, we have to find the right house first, of course!)

Things we're not excited about:
-rampant commercialism
-the thin plastic bags at the stores and that the cashiers pack one or two items per bag. I plan to keep using my re-usable bags but while I'm out of my routine right now I already have a massive collection of this obnoxious bags!
-loud music playing out of peoples cars (never once heard someone else's car stereo in Korea)

Things that are just weird:
-drive-through everything
-cable news everywhere you go
-I don't have to remember to get a coin for the shopping cart (I wonder how long it will be before I stop reaching into my pocket for a coin when I walk to the carts?)

It's almost embarrassing to take the girls out right now because to anyone who overhears them in the store, they must think that I've locked my kids in a closet for the past five years! They are so excited by all of the little things at the store (the race-car shopping carts, random products & produce, etc.).

Posted by Becky at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The kids always loved going to Pizzeria Il Toro and the pizza was really good. The man went to Italy to learn to make wood-fired pizza so it was more in the style that we are used to than Korean-style. I would call to order ahead when we dined-in and they always remembered the kids quirky preferences and had things set up "just so" when we got there. (Anna preferred one style chair over another one time so they always switched it for her, they always had pink straws and orange juice for them as well.) You just don't get that kind of customer service in America. We will visit one more time to bring them a copy of the photo!

We visited on the last day we were in Korea to get take-out and drop off the picture. I think they were about to cry they were so sad to see the kids go!

Posted by Becky at 9:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

2009 Highlights:

• Henry's arrival on July 24!
  
• Brian & Anita visiting in March.
  
• Trips to Colorado (March), Busan (July), and Seoul (August)
  
• Having my mom here in July & August and Anita here in August & September
  
• Watching Sarah be a loving BIG sister
  
• Anna's love for Henry and her nurturing instinct
  
• Anna & Sarah becoming closer and having more fun together
  
• Witnessing Henry's milestones

What We're Looking Forward to in 2010:

• Watching Henry's personality come through more and witnessing more milestones
  
• Watching Anna & Sarah grow and learn
  
• Finding out where we're moving to and when (and then getting there and settling in)
  
• Planning a vacation after we know where and when we're moving (and then taking the vacation)!

Posted by Becky at 12:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We all made felt crowns with sequins for decoration.

We needed an excuse to get dressed up so we had a formal hors d'oeuvres party with the kids tonight. The kids liked most of the menu and we all had fun. I think we'll do the same next year and make it a tradition as long as they're into it. Now that there are five of us it really felt like we were having a party! The crackers I bought from Crate & Barrel were lame and didn't come with crowns which is why we had to make our own this year.

Posted by Becky at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Solving some dinosaur puzzles.

We had a great Christmas morning. The kids were so excited that it was finally time to open their presents but they were also disappointed that Zamp (the elf that had watched them all month) had gone back to the North Pole with Santa in the night. We made Corrine's sticky buns for breakfast and spent a relaxing day checking out the new stuff.

Posted by Becky at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Button tree from my mom.

Posted by Becky at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The girls & I made gingerbread cookies today for part of our Christmas cookie gift-giving. We used the cutters from my grandma. We also made Opa's vanilla pretzels this year so it is nice to have something from each of them on our cookie plate!

Posted by Becky at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I ordered these stockings from an Etsy store. I need to get one more stocking hanger but Craig & I will have to share this year.

Posted by Becky at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This morning I took Henry for his 4 Month doctor's appointment. Here are his stats:

Height: 70.2 cm (27.6 inches ) - above 95th percentile
Weight: 8.04 kg (17.7 pounds) - 75-90th percentile
Head Circumference: 17 inches - 50-75th percentile *this I have to measure myself since they don't do it here; I hope to at least be consistent with how I'm measuring it*

This afternoon the girls helped me bake a chocolate cake for my birthday: delicious!

Posted by Becky at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The girls are reading their dinosaur book to Henry while they wait for Thanksgiving dinner to be served.

Craig made the best EVER pumpkin pie for our early Thanksgiving today. He also made the stuffing and turkey (they were both also really good). It's too bad he worked so hard today though because now he claims he'll never cook again. I think he should cook every meal if it's all going to taste that good!

We had our Thanksgiving today because last year we decided to have it on the Saturday after but we ended up being sick (and I ended up being pregnant!) and we never did it. We actually ate the turkey I bought last year for our meal this year. It was great (it was a 50,000 KW imported turkey!). For all anyone knows all frozen turkeys are frozen for as long as ours was.

Posted by Becky at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anna helped Craig make a pat-in-the-pan crust from Joy of Cooking for our pumpkin pie tomorrow.

Posted by Becky at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Henry is wearing a 6-9 month outfit in this picture!

This is Sarah's "family" that she has to load in the (play) car or the shopping cart and take to the store (Costco or the Apple Guy, usually). Daddy the bunny, Mommy is Hello, Kitty, Anna & Sarah are the Minnie Mouses, and the owl is Henry.

Today was the last day of the Chuseok break (Craig & the girls had Friday, Monday, and Tuesday off).

Posted by Becky at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Craig bought a season pass to NFL.com so everyone got on their Broncos shirts for the game this morning. Enthusiasm died pretty quickly but I'm sure as the kids get older they'll get more interested (hopefully anyway, for Craig's sake!).

Posted by Becky at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

All Photos today by Craig.

Anna on the left, Sarah on the right.

Craig took the girls to watch the sunset on Gajo Island tonight and then we did sparklers when they got home.

Posted by Becky at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I still have a little work to do on Sarah's costume but she was really happy with it (and so was I). Anna's & Henry's are store-bought, obviously!

Posted by Becky at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Lookin' good on the griddle!

I can't imagine why we never made English muffins before. We have missed them for so long and they are so easy to make! I imagine we'll have them at least once per week now.

Craig & Anna went to Anna's back-to-school night. I think she was super excited to show Craig around her classroom and for him to meet her teacher.

Posted by Becky at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anna is waving to me & Sarah as she leaves on the bus from our apartment to school. I think I was more nervous than she was!

He is getting too long for some of his swaddling blankets (notice his toes poking out).

It is really strange to not have Anna at home for lunch; I think it will take a while to get used to our new routines this fall.

Posted by Becky at 8:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I couldn't resist taking this lady's picture as she walked past Prince Coffee, sorry, Lady.

Today was Anna's and Sarah's first day of school. We started out by taking Anna to the Wombats classroom. This year I won't take her up each morning, instead she will line up with her teacher outside and walk up with her class when the bell rings. We found her cubby and made a name tag and then the kids sat on the mat and waved goodbye to their parents. I could see that Anna was nervous but she was brave and reports back that she had a good day. She is going five days a week from 8:30-2:45 (until 2:30 on Fridays). Tomorrow will be another big deal since she is going to take the bus to and from school (!!).

After we said goodbye to Anna, Sarah and I walked over to Playschool. When we got to school, we put her outside shoes in her cubby and put on her fancy new sparkly indoor shoes. Sarah went straight to a rocking horse and started to play. One of her teachers came to play with her and I said goodbye. Sarah looked up and waved goodbye and that was that. When I picked her up from school, Sarah saw me with Henry and got a super big smile and said, "that's my new baby!" I could tell she had been crying and her teachers said they took her for a walk outside until she told them she was thirsty. But she had settled down and was fine when I came to get her. It was so strange to walk into the Playschool and see Sarah sitting in the same chairs Anna used to when I went to pick her up (and with Henry in the sling just like Sarah used to be). Sarah will go to school Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:45-12.

As for Henry, Anita, & I, we went to the silk store with Karen & Alfred and then to Prince Coffee before we had to pick up Sarah. Today was kind of crazy with running back to school all day and I don't think I could have done it without Anita here! Hopefully we'll figure out our routine before she leaves.

Posted by Becky at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Henry's first family hike.

I don't know what Anna's goal was here, but she was happy with the result.

Posted by Becky at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Grandma has been taking such good care of the girls (and me!). She has even been brave enough to drive in Korea (once to the hospital and then again today to Home Plus to get some groceries). I am still pretty worn out just from being around the house so I really appreciate having my mom here to help keep things running smoothly. Thank you, mom!!

Posted by Becky at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We checked out Shinsegae this morning. We told the girls we were going to go check out the new mall and then asked if they knew what a "mall" was and they said, "no." Half-way through though, Anna was proclaiming that she wanted to live at the mall.

After lunch, Craig and the girls ran around the "Sky Park" on the 9th floor of the building.

We had an American day to celebrate the holiday weekend. We ate McDonald's breakfast, went to a mall, and then went to the beach. Today Sarah did take a nap which threw off our beach/dinner schedule a bit so we ended up eating corn dogs from a vendor and then buying some chicken from the chicken-lady as she passed by. One could also order delivery from one of the many nearby fast-food places but we weren't sure how you would tell the delivery person which umbrella you were under and we weren't willing to ask our neighbors to order for us! It was a pretty nice set-up though. We rented an umbrella for 5,000 Won both days at the beach, too.

Posted by Becky at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dr. Sarah loves to give you a shot and a band-aid.

Doing one last big sparkler together.

We made cupcakes to celebrate Anna's last day of school, Aunt Rachel's birthday, and the Fourth of July! The girls were excited about all of the preparations but were disappointed when they realized that there are no presents to open at a Fourth of July Party (unless you're Rachel, I suppose!). I think the sparklers made up for the lack of presents though.

Posted by Becky at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Becky at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Craig took the girls to Prince Coffee for a shake this morning.

A duet with Alfred. Sarah was singing "Charlie Parker played be-bop."

Craig had the day off for Children's Day today so we decided to celebrate Sarah's birthday today with him. I asked her who she wanted at her party and she only wanted Alfred & Karen. So, that's who she got! The girls were excited to decorate the cupcakes, eat the cupcakes and open the presents (Anna was also thrilled to help wrap all of the presents).

Posted by Becky at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The girls had fun collecting seashells on the beach.

Anna's class has been studying traffic signs and she particularly likes the "no parking" sign so she was super excited to see this giant "no smoking" sign at Haeundae Beach.

Posted by Becky at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Having a quick snack in the hotel.

Anita, Brian, Anna, Sarah, & I went to Busan today to be with Craig who came on Sunday for a meeting through Wednesday. The girls were great on the ferry (and luckily the water was calm!) and they were really excited about staying at the Westin Chosun right on the beach!

Posted by Becky at 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Craig and Anna made cookies this weekend and we basically hung around the house. My back felt better on Saturday morning when I woke up and felt even better today. My nausea, however is back. The nausea is better than back pain but I was hoping that was over by now!

Posted by Becky at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anna & Sarah are having a blast with the new terrace. They love driving their cars out there (although I'm afraid to ask our downstairs neighbor how that sounds in her family room; I'm sure the excitement will die down shortly).

Posted by Becky at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Craig got a shot of the movers plus some CS Total people packing up our kitchen downstairs.

We moved up to the top terrace today! We hired movers because we do have a lot of "stuff" (although I am working on this as energy allows) and quite a few pieces of furniture that I would not have been able to help out with. We will now have only 21 stairs instead of 74 and Sarah will be able to walk up and down to our apartment and the parking lot and I won't have to carry her! We also have a big terrace that I already love much more than the little yard we had downstairs.

The apartment is identical except for little things like a step down into the bathroom here where there wasn't downstairs, the shower is 1/2 a tile narrower upstairs, the handles on the (brand new) kitchen cupboards are horizontal instead of vertical, etc. We also decided to take this opportunity to move the girls into the same room. Anna wanted to be in Elizabeth's old room so the girls are sharing what used to be our office, Anna's old room is now the playroom/office, and Sarah's old room will be used as the guest-room until Baby3 starts occupying it sometime in September.

Posted by Becky at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

2008 Highlights:

• Sarah walking, running, climbing, talking, singing, dancing, hugging, kissing, giggling
  
• Anna coming out of her shell, being a caring big sister, making friends at school, learning to write her name
  
• Trips to Seoul, Busan, and Colorado

What We're Looking Forward to in 2009:

• Brian & Anita coming in March
  
• Going to Colorado for four weeks in March/April.
  
• Using the pool every day this summer.
  
• August 5, 2009... we are expecting baby #3

Posted by Becky at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Anna & I made Corrine's peanut butter cups for our dessert tonight. Nothing too fancy but the girls liked getting the Christmas crackers again and had fun trying to get those noise makers to work.

Posted by Becky at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The girls loved their Christmas stockings this morning. After breakfast we put the Christmas decorations away and this afternoon we went to a party at Craig's co-worker's apartment. They are American so I figured they'd have some decent food that the kids would eat. Sarah ate most of a plate of summer sausage and we all loved the Triscuits and Wheat Thins and other fantastic American things they had for consumption (they had just been to Guam and stocked up pretty well!). The girls had fun at the party and they are ready for our big trip to Seoul in the morning!

Oh, and the pictures I ordered to include in my Christmas cards arrived last night. That means I will send out cards sometime next week (hopefully!).

Posted by Becky at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We decided to open Christmas presents this afternoon after Sarah's nap since we leave on Friday morning for Seoul and we wanted to get the tree down before we go so that the cats don't destroy it completely. It felt wrong to take the tree down on the same day we open presents! Santa will still come tonight though.

The biggest hits were the Tinkerbell toy from Jake & Sam to Anna and the Max doll (of Max & Ruby) from Nana & Papa. Sarah was instantly in love with him. Both girls had a blast playing with Sarah's new dollhouse and all of the new Polly Pockets and accessories that went along with that.

The first several presents Sarah opened, she exclaimed, "cute!" The girls were not slow this year. They barely checked things out before moving onto the next gift. This was fine because last year it just drug on too long.

Posted by Becky at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Helping make the dough in the stand mixer.

The girls "helped" me bake some cookies today. I chose sugar cookies that we could roll in colored sugar because I figured both girls could handle their duties. They also helped me count, measure, and pour. But once Sarah realized she could stick her finger out and get some batter she was no longer a helper. She did not do a good job rolling the dough in sugar (she proceeded to eat the dough-ball in one bite!). So she had to sit and watch. The dough was a little sticky so Anna didn't like rolling it either because her fingers got messy. Let's see if I have them "help" me with the rest or if I just do it myself!

Posted by Becky at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Craig and I went to Prince Coffee to start off our date night last night and Cindy wrote a nice note in my "mint hot choco." Then we went to play screen golf at the old D-Max Mart (lame grocery store but good for a quick trip b/c parking was better than Suhyup). This was a pretty fancy place! There is a screen golf driving range right off the lobby but if you play a round you have a private room. We played as well at screen golf as we would have in real life (we both SUCK!). But we had a lot of fun and will probably do it again next date night (Craig wants to go again tonight.)

Posted by Becky at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I went to get Sarah this morning and stepped in a giant puddle outside her door. When I went in to turn on her lamp, I found another, larger puddle. One of the pipes in the floor had busted (we have really nice heated floors here!). Now all of the stuff from her closet (our main storage area and it is a lot of stuff!) is in the office and she will sleep in Anna's room until her room is fixed.

Posted by Becky at 8:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This looks like an ordinary kitchen cupboard.

Sarah enthralled with the Christmas tree.

I wish I had taken a picture of the tree as we were decorating because Anna did the classic "put as many ornaments as possible on a single branch" style decorating. Too bad between Sarah and the cats the ornaments moved to the top half of the tree by the end of the day!

Posted by Becky at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Anna helped me make some fairy cupcakes today for my birthday. She was concerned that I wasn't having a party and thought we couldn't have the cupcakes until my friends got here but she was happy to learn that we were really only waiting for Craig to come home. Unfortunately, by the time it was time to eat them tonight after dinner she wasn't feeling well so we didn't do it (although Sarah had fun helping me blow out one of the undecorated cupcakes over and over and over). They were a bit too much work for not much reward as far as I can tell. I didn't take a picture because they're not attractive (not Anna's doing, but my own)! Hopefully we can have them tomorrow.

Posted by Becky at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We took the car ferry to Busan today and went to the aquarium. Both girls had a great time but the best was when Sarah laughed at the otters and penguins.

We got back in the car around 2 PM hoping Sarah would fall asleep (she always takes a nap at 1 PM). We weren't going to make it to the ferry so we decided to drive home instead... Sarah never fell asleep! The girls were good on the drive home but we were all wiped out when we got home (around 5 PM).

Posted by Becky at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sarah & I went to Anna's class today to help out a little with their Halloween party (I think we were actually no help at all because Sarah is such a wiggle-worm!). It was fun to see all of the kids costumes and to see Anna in action at school.

Tonight we met at the school to go trick-or-treating at some foreigners residents near the school. This was arranged by the PTC and very well organized. Unfortuanately by the time we were checking in at the gate, Anna started acting funny. I thought maybe she was scared because it was evening and there were so many people (some in scary costumes). It turns out she was getting sick and we only ended up going to to three houses for candy. It's too bad she couldn't have communicated earlier that she was getting sick or I would have been able to take care of her better. Sarah still had a blast though and I think Anna was glad she got to see everything that I had been building up to her for weeks.

Posted by Becky at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We were in need of some more Halloween decorations so we decided to make ghosts. Anna's is the purple one. Sarah went a little crazy with the eyes (she actually got the first two on in the right zone (the head) but then must have decided the ghost needed an eyeball skirt). Anna thought Sarah's ghost was funny so she piled a ton of eyeball stickers on top of each other. Anna also had to draw a mouth and write "boo!" on hers.

Posted by Becky at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Craig left for Doha this morning (for a week) and I just decided to test the wide-angle lens from his office before the big school photo on Monday. Pretty cool!

Posted by Becky at 8:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We had some neighbors over this afternoon for some of Craig's fresh-roasted coffee and I made an apple crisp with a few of the apples I bought from the "apple guy." The coffee and crisp were delicious and we had a relaxing afternoon (Sarah actually slept all but the first thirty minutes when she was eating her crisp and ice cream).

I had a photo session later in the afternoon so Craig took the girls to VIPS.

Sarah's new spoken word: VIPS

Posted by Becky at 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A little rock climbing for Joel.

That's better. Now we have to wait until tomorrow to taste them.

Posted by Becky at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I took the girls to Tongyeong this morning to cheer on my friend Jaynie in a swim/run race today. Unfortunately I never found the race (especially unfortunate since Jaynie was the fastest woman in the race!). The girls had a good time on our walk across the bridge and we had a snack near the water.

Posted by Becky at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The whole family went to Costco today and while it was exciting for me to get up there (I haven't been there since I was pregnant with Anna) and see what they were selling, it was too stressful with Sarah along. We didn't get started shopping until right about nap-time so she was crabby and tired while were there. So we rushed. There were also some things I would have liked to get the girls for Christmas but couldn't because Anna was right there. I might have to go on my own next time around although the six hour drive really isn't something I'm into doing alone.

Posted by Becky at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And just like that, she's gone! Where did Sarah go?

Ingeborg took Sarah for me this morning so I could go to the foreigner's club to check out the knitting circle. I was sent home with a pair of needles and a ball of yarn to practice on for next week. She said that she & Sarah had a good time together! I took Njaal again this afternoon and he and Anna had a good time again. I can't tell if Anna likes him because he can't understand her when she talks (he doesn't speak much English yet) or if she's just more comfortable around other kids these days.

Craig & I hired a babysitter and went out to Dehli to celebrate our ninth anniversary tonight. I wonder where we'll be celebrating nine years from now?

Posted by Becky at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'd love to post some pictures from yesterday and today at the beach but the (brand new) little camera jumped out of my pocket and sat in the salty water for an undetermined amount of time. We are attempting to dry it out but how much hope can there really be?

The girls had fun at the beach both days and we brought home enough sand to prove it! Today we collected a ton of seashells to bring home and admire as well.

Posted by Becky at 11:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's pretty rare that I get to see Sarah sleeping so I've got to take a picture when I do!

And then put on her whole Hanbok.

Today is the first day of a four-day weekend for us. Tomorrow is Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and Craig & Anna have Monday and Tuesday off to celebrate.

Posted by Becky at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was Anna's first day at OIS as a Ladybird. She did great. There is a dress-up box there with some high-heeled shoes which sealed the deal for her. She was in heaven wearing those shoes and didn't care when Sarah & I left. She was so excited to tell us all about her day when she got home and talked about it the rest of the afternoon.

Sarah & I had a good morning on our own. She is transitioning from two naps to one right now but she woke up early this morning so took an hour nap today. We did sticker art, solved puzzles, sorted shapes, read books, and had a nice quiet time together. I really hope to have her stay home with me this whole school year and send her to Playschool next fall but we'll see how this goes. If we're bored come January I might send her a couple of days a week (she is eligible to go in November).

Posted by Becky at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Checking under a mushroom for a fairy.

We glittered the pinecones from the park for an afternoon craft while Craig spent a few hours (on a Sunday!) at work.

We bought Anna a pair of actual walking shoes yesterday (as opposed to sparkly red shoes) so she was super excited to get out on a hike this morning! Sarah did great in the backpack and it wasn't too humid or sunny out so we all had a nice time.

Posted by Becky at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Watching the food coloring seep into the frosting.

Conversation with Clementine.

Today was a great day. We like to have music on in the late afternoon and dance around, sing, play instruments, etc. Today we somehow got started singing "Ring around the rosie..." and the girls had so much fun doing it over and over and over. Sarah said, "more mama" which was irrisistible! Then she started "falling down" as soon as we started singing (Anna was singing with me today which really made my day) and it was impossible to get through the rhyme (although we kept trying!).

Tonight we made Fairy Cakes to celebrate Craig's first week at Engineering Lead in his office. Again, Anna & Craig loved them and Sarah and I thought they were so-so. (Super easy to make though and we made lemon frosting instead of just vanilla. If we make them again I will put lemon zest in the cakes for some flavor.)

Posted by Becky at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The girls and I have been having a great time at home playing each morning and then going to the pool in the afternoons. We're going to be sad when colder weather comes! I might look into taking Sarah over to the Jangsangpo pool for something to do this fall and winter although getting her to wear a swimming cap might be too much to ask of her...

Posted by Becky at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've been playing a lot of dress-up lately.

We're having fun getting back into our routines now that we're over jet lag and settled back into our apartment. The girls seem to be playing together better (read: Sarah is learning how to play and not only create a path of destruction everywhere she goes).

Posted by Becky at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This was supposed to be a video but I messed up the transfer from my new camera and didn't check it before I deleted the files off of the camera... will do better next time!

I've been unpacking, sorting, and throwing out stuff today. Lucky for us, today was a holiday so we had Craig at home with us. We went to Home Plus for a few groceries (I noticed a lot of the foreigner-items (like Goldfish crackers, imported beef, French bread, etc.) were either not in stock or not there any more. I really hope it's a good stockist who knows the foreigners leave for the summer and not that they're never getting this stuff in again! We went to the pool this afternoon to get some sunlight and activity in. It's so nice that Anna isn't afraid of the water and is having fun jumping in, etc. I am just too short to do much with Sarah though which is too bad. We'll see if the three of us girls venture out on our own there next week or not.

Posted by Becky at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[will post pictures here]
I made some little flag-fans (Marthastewart.com) for the girls today but that was about all we did to celebrate the Fourth of July this year.

Craig and I went to the driving range for our date-night tonight. We were lucky to have his friend (who is an instructor) there to give us some pointers. I hadn't touched my clubs since 2003 so I was slightly rusty as one might imagine. I really can't figure out why we didn't go to the driving range when we were here last time but this place is new and really nice—it even had an automatic loading tee.

Posted by Becky at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We started off our day with Slipper-Mania. Sarah loved walking around in these pig slippers. In fact, she walked backward and sideways (as well as forward) in them.

Bed-time at last.

Everyone was super excited for Craig to come home today. It didn't even matter that it was raining cats & dogs outside. We were happy to stay inside and play all together again.

Posted by Becky at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I often find the Home Plus jingle is stuck in my head and I walk around "singing" it (I only know the words "Home Plus" because the rest is in Korean). We only hear this when we're at Home Plus (and in their parking garage) but Anna & Sarah, of course, hear me singing it all of the time, too. Anna is now walking around singing it as well. I should really find out what the words are so we don't sound like complete idiots when we're signing this while we're out and about.

Posted by Becky at 6:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The mold is back on Anna's ceiling so I've moved her bed back into the office again. I hope this time they actually fix it and that they get it done faster than last time.

Posted by Becky at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Windy! First three photos by Craig

One of the pieces of art Anna liked before I saw the "no pictures" sign. There were some good pieces here but we definitely didn't see the whole place because Anna was getting a bit tired from all the walking we did to get there.

Today was super windy and the ferries were not running back to Geoje. The hotel is awesome but it doesn't really have a concierge so the lady at the front desk wasn't very helpful. She told us there was a bus to Gohyeon at 6:30 PM but she couldn't get a hold of anyone to find out if we needed a reservation. We wanted to leave our suitcase at the hotel desk because we didn't want to lug it around town all day. So, Craig & Sarah took the subway to the bus station (45 minutes away!) to buy tickets and Anna & I had the more relaxing day of Starbucks, quick subway trip, and a visit to the Busan Museum of Modern Art. We all met up again and hurried back to the bus station to catch the 4:30 bus (it turns out buses to Geoje run all day long so we could have just all gone together the first time and saved Sarah & Craig a lot of grief).

The bus trip wouldn't have been too bad if we hadn't bought four tickets and only gotten two seats. We had the girls on our laps and not much room for anything. Then Sarah had a dirty diaper after Anna had fallen asleep but Sarah wouldn't fall asleep with a dirty diaper on so we had to rustle around and wake Anna so I could change Sarah on the seat. Sarah fell asleep less than five minutes before we got to Gohyeon...

Anyway we had a really good trip and it was nice to get away before Craig's business trip this month and our big trip to the US this summer.

Posted by Becky at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our awesome room. The stairs up to our loft were pretty scary but we were able to easily block Sarah from them with the ottomans. The kids room was on the right and they did a good job sharing the room.

The girls getting ready to check out the pool at the hotel.

We had a good day today despite the weather being cooler than hoped (and a little windy). We went to the aquarium and to some Western restaurants. I went to a book store and to Casa Mia (it was like being in Crate & Barrel... what a luxury!). We also tried to swim in the pool but the water was just too cold to enjoy it.

Posted by Becky at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anna was super excited about the giant pictures of desserts on the wall at the patisserie.

View of the sunset from our hotel. Photo by Craig

The girls & I caught the 3 PM ferry to Busan today and hung around the hotel, beach, and restaurants waiting for Craig (who caught the 5:30 ferry). Luckily the girls were pretty easy to entertain even as the clock rolled well past their bedtimes.

Our hotel, the Seacloud is pretty awesome. It's a great location and we have two bedrooms, and we got a fantastic rate through the apartment managers here.

Posted by Becky at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We met up with Constance & Tobias today at Okpo Great Victory Memorial Park (where I typically do my portrait sessions). The girls had fun exploring and Sarah took an awesome nap in the afternoon!

After Sarah's nap we went over to the Home Plus building (have you caught on that there really aren't many places to go on Geoje yet?) to ride the carousel. Anna has finally stopped being too scared to ride the horses and unicorns (a year after the too-fast-carousel at Colorado Mills) but Sarah & I still have to ride in the sleigh because I'm not allowed to stand next to the horse/unicorn and Sarah can't be trusted yet to stay on one!

Posted by Becky at 8:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Dr. Lee is on the left and Suhyup is on the right

It looks like we're going to try to keep these two cats. The vet thinks they are about six weeks old. For now they live in a little fence with a carrier, litter box, bed, and food & water dishes but eventually they can have the run of the house. Suhyup purred when I washed him/her on Tuesday night and Dr. Lee purrs as well but not as quickly or as strong. Craig named Dr. Lee (Lee is one of the most common surnames in Korea and "Dr." makes it unisex since we haven't figured out what they are yet!). Anna named Suhyup after she was given a list of choices. Suhyup (pronounced SOO-YUP) is the name of the grocery store here. Anna had been leaning toward "Orange" all day but the other choices were Kimchi, Kimbap, Pajeon (Korean pacake), Ooyoo (milk), or Dalki (strawberry).

Posted by Becky at 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Sarah created her first piece of art today and she got to color for about five minutes before she couldn't stop putting the crayons in her mouth—I'd say this is great progress!<\small>