09 February 2009

Change of scenery

"Uh, Mom? It's snowing.... "

Yes, 8 inches of snow welcomed us on the morning we were set to depart for Hawaii. Finally, winter had arrived! But what timing! Ah!

Matt braved the icy weather to wipe the car clean and take a quick jaunt on the cross-country skis. E-man threw a few snowballs and we took Lulu out to taste some freshly fallen snow. Yummy!
We quickly packed up everything and got to the bus terminal four hours before our scheduled departure- which was a good thing because the buses were running at least 45min behind due to the snow.
We all napped on the ride up to Incheon, checked in and explored the Seoul airport for a few hours.

As a note to any families traveling through Seoul: there is a nice little playground on the upstairs level, by the sky lounges, after you go through security.

7 hours and 25 minutes later- which both children taking long naps, we were in Hawaii!! Talk about a NICE change of scenery! We met up with Matt's parents at the Lihue airport, did a quick shopping trip at Safeway and hit the beach. I didn't fully appreciate how much I miss American grocery stores- things like teeting biscuits, organic vegetables, quinoa, chipotle peppers, and high quality deli meat are just not found in Korea. Yes, I am a consumer that likes choices. I admit it.

We played in the surf, made sand castles with E, and just really enjoyed the sunshine. Matt and I were able to spend a few evenings shopping and having dinner without the munchkins in tow. Everything is so quiet and still without them around- amazing! BTW the best place to eat on Kauai is Casa de Amici in Poipu.

It was a WONDERFUL and relaxing vacation. I'm very blessed to have two children that are good travelers, a healthy family and in-laws who like to vacation in Hawaii :)



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The Merica

The commemorative issue of Newsweek arrived the other day. I was reading it on the couch when Evan asked what I was looking at. So, I showed him the pictures of the inauguration and pointed to President Obama and explained "This is President Obama. He's in charge of America. He's in charge of the roads, the schools and the food. He's a very important guy."
To which Evan replied, "Why is he in charge of The Merica?"

"Uh... not "The Merica", it's America."

"Yeah. A Merica."

"Right."