tumblingcows

September happenings

2010-09-12T22:59:00.001+09:00

Update from Tucson: We have a menagerie living under our roof. Our grapevine has been host to a plethora of caterpillars, and our recent arrival- a praying mantis! Shown here eating one of the caterpillars. We are also playing host to 7 swallowtail chrysalis and a handful of sphinx moths that may not emerge until next spring.

Matt ran a 10K, on a whim, last weekend. He survived the AZ heat and completed 20th in his age bracket. The kids and I are in awe that he can just trot out the door, run 8 miles, and be back for breakfast.

We have a new visitor on our front porch; Mr. Tarantula. Very cool. He doesn't move very fast, so the kids were willing to sit and watch him for awhile.

Lu is as busy keeping all of us in line. She was taken with the fact that her "baby" looks like her, so she demanded I take a picture to document this revelation.

October happenings....

2009-10-28T14:45:00.000+09:00

One last Peanut Buster Parfait before heading back to Korea... mmmmm....Granddad's 90th birthday- Cheryl fashioned a "cake" out of cookies and a candle, as we were en route to the airport. Evan is asking if he can help Granddad blow out the candle. Granddad must have been a little taken aback by the request, given his expression...
Lu swinging at Dad's house.
Enjoying tasty Jonagold apples- fresh picked from the farm= delicious!!!

Walking beauty

2009-09-13T20:45:00.000+09:00

Mango Chicken Curry

2009-09-09T13:25:00.003+09:00

Adapted from a Reader's Digest recipe...
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes

You Will Need
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 chopped carrots
1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
2 tsp. canola oil
1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 tbs. curry powder
2 tsp. minced fresh gingerroot
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. califlower florets
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup chopped peeled mango- add more to taste
1 can reduced-fat coconut milk
2 tbs. tomato paste
Hot cooked rice, optional

What to Do
1. In large skillet, sauté onion, carrots and red pepper in oil 2 to 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add chicken, curry, ginger, garlic, salt, califlower and cayenne. Cook and stir 5 minutes.

2. Stir in mango, coconut milk, and tomato paste; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Serve with rice.

Yield: 4 big servings

Roasting chestnuts

2009-09-09T12:08:00.002+09:00

The other day we spotted our friendly Korean neighbors using brooms to beat down a tree. Curious behavior that certainly got E's attention!!! Upon closer inspection, we discovered they were knocking these spiny balls out of the branches and scooping them into a pile in the alley. They covered the pile with branches, leaves and sticks from the underbrush, then lit a small fire and the pile smoked for a couple hours.
Hmmmm....

E thought we should try that for ourselves... so, being a good sport, I strapped Lu on my back and we hiked off into the woods behind our apartment- armed with a broom and a paper bag for collecting our loot.

First lesson- don't wear flip-flops when walking in the forest.
Second lesson- those spiny balls are SO SHARP that neither E or I could pick them up to put them in the bag, but instead devised a game of swatting them with the broom while one of us held the bag open.
Third lesson- mosquitos find young flesh especially tasty at dusk
Fourth lesson- if it looks like a maggot, moves like a maggot.... it's probably a maggot.
Fifth lesson- "I don't want to climb the tree." is not a good enough reason to pass up on all the chestnuts in the upper branches.

So... we bring home our nuts, sort them and rinse them off. Then to find a recipe....

Preheat your oven to 425 F (210 C). Take your chestnuts and make a cut across the round side of each to keep them from exploding, and arrange them either on a rack or on a cookie sheet. Roast them until the skins have pulled back from the cuts and the nutmeats have softened (exactly how long will depend upon the chestnuts, but at least 15-20 minutes. Remove the nuts from the oven, make a mound of them in an old towel, wrap them up, squeeze them hard -- they should crackle -- and let them sit for a few minutes.

I'll let you know how they turn out... it's a lot of work for a cookie sheet full of chestnuts!

Know what you are eating...?

2009-07-28T09:00:00.001+09:00

"Omnivore's Dilemma" Author Michael Pollan's New Advice on Buying Food: "Don't Buy Any Food You've Ever Seen Advertised"

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Hawaii Standard Time... in Korea.

2009-07-15T17:47:00.005+09:00

We got back from Hawaii a week ago... so why are the children still waking up at 4:45am? I don't know. But it's ruining my early workout schedule. I'm up early... but so are they!!

It's now 5:48pm, and their both passed out- They both skipped their afternoon nap to go to the pool on base. E. is on the couch with McQueen clutched in his paws and Lulu, is in the crib, with a pacifier in each hand. So, yes, it's nice to cook dinner with some peace and quiet, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they will be up past their 8:30pm bedtime....

A few of the highlights of our Hawaii trip-

Seeing Anna and John in Honolulu while we enjoyed the Hale Koa in Waikiki.
E. and Matt got to ride on a submarine.
Dinosaur exhibit at the Honolulu Community College
Visiting (well, crashing the quiet vacation of) Dad and Kissy.
Picking up new fabric at the Kapaia Stitchery- inspiration for a bed-sized quilt and patterns for stylized Japanese stitching.
E. learned how to swim!! still has floaties on, but he can paddle around by himself!!
Tasty dinner at the Hanapepe Cafe- third time's a charm.
Lovely sunsets from the south shore of Kauai.
Seeing sea turtles in the surf at Tunnels Beach.
Relaxing by the pool with the sweet scent of plumeria on the breeze... ahhh.
Going for a run in the mornings- listening to the birds and the waves.

Enjoy the new slideshow of pictures in the upper right corner of the blog- you can click on a pic to enlarge.

Cookies...

2009-07-14T09:37:00.004+09:00

Andes Peppermint Chip Oatmeal Cookies... the best EVER!

I finally found this recipe- it makes the most delicious holiday cookies I've ever had. This is the generic recipe-

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups Andes Mint Baking chips

(I substitute applesauce for 1/2 the butter, and use just 2/3 c. brown sugar. I also like to use 1 1/2 c. flour and 1 1/2 c. oats with sprinkle of allspice.)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy (about 3 minutes).
Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
On low speed, add baking soda and salt, and then flour. Mix completely.
Stir in oats and Andes baking chips.
Measure out 2 tablespoons for large or 1 tablespoons for small cookies. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet two inches apart. Press lightly.
Sprinkle some of the remaining chips (from the 10 oz. bag) on top of each cookie.
Bake for 20 minutes for large cookies or 12-15 minutes for small. Do not overbake.

Happy Birthday, Lulu

2009-06-25T11:09:00.000+09:00

Well, the little munchkin is the big ONE. She's got 20 lbs, two little teeth, some big smiles and chubby thighs to show for it. We celebrated the big day a home with close friends (and neighbors) Megan, Brian, Anna and John. Lulu opened up her beautiful presents with glee... new blocks and a truck from Grandma and Clayton, new clothes and blocks from Nana Cheryl and Papa Chuck, new clothes and a swimsuit from Aunt Ching Yi, and a Lulu puzzle from Pops and Kissy.

We all enjoyed the party- I made some nice summer salads and Matt picked up a dolphin ice cream cake from BR.

Kiddos at play

2009-06-20T11:02:00.000+09:00

New visors for the kiddos to block out the relentless Korean sunshine... and so they can fit in with all the other Koreans who wear visors. E's says "Friend Ship" and Lulu's says "SweetHeart". awwwhhhh.

Doing a little light reading... and helping me "organize" the bookshelf. What were all those silly books doing on the shelves?? It's much easier to find things when they are

spread out all over the floor!!

Plastic tunnel from Oriental Trading Company- fun, fun, fun!

Little Bean playing at the new play area in Pyeongtaek. She isn't walking yet, but getting quite brave about climbing up on things. I was suprised that she was able to navigate all the plastic balls on the floor.

Letting go...

2009-06-10T09:55:00.003+09:00

Just Let Go

Link above is to a nice article in Yoga Journal about letting go.
The steps of detachment:
1: Acknowledgement
2: Self-Inquiry
3: Processing
4: Creative Action
5: Freedom

Detachment is one of the hardest lessons in life, I feel. Perhaps for me, the harder thing to learn is letting yourself become completely absorbed in something- to trust, to have faith, to love. My tendency is to keep my distance, so that part of me is always detached, from everything. But, the tree that stands alone in the field is more easily uprooted in the windstorm. The trees in the forest have each other for support.

From the article: " I have a huge amount of respect for the Zen warrior approach to the inner life, the one in which you heroically renounce your weaknesses and tough out the hard stuff, perhaps using your sense of humor to give you the power to move forward." I identify with this, but it also leaves me drifting over the tops of my emotions and never getting down the weeds to think about how I really FEEL about things. My DH can attest to this!

So, PCS season is here and we bid a "till we meet again" to the friends that we've made, and begin to feel that emptiness in our hearts. Not so many familiar faces around base. Fewer kids at the playgroups. Nobody left to invite to Lulu's birthday party :(

I was just commenting to a friend the other day- "I'm so busy dwelling on everyone that's leaving that I don't have any energy left to welcome the new folks to town."

I guess I'm still acknowledging all the detachment that's taking place. I'll keep you posted on how the "self-inquiry" step is going-

Out and around Osan

2009-06-02T12:45:00.003+09:00

The boys riding bikes- the community garden is just behind them. We are nursing along some tomatoes, radishes, potatoes, onions, parsley, mint, peas, peppers, lettuce and a smattering of random flowers. CE doesn't have the water spigot hooked up yet, so we are hand-carrying water to the garden every couple days.

Pics of the family a one of the many fini-flights this past month- Lulu actually LIKES wearing the earmuffs- she's probably realized that having your cheeks squooshed is better than being deafened by a gaggle of F-16s.

Ms. Lu and I exploring the Dragon's Jewel temple with Anna and Jane. LOVELY PEONIES. Ah... reminds me of my wedding boquet... 5 years ago. Amazing how the time has flown; 5 zipcodes and 2 children later... here we are!

My new workout regime consists of carrying Lulu everywhere. So we've done the flight line twice w/ her in the backpack. 6 miles with 25 lbs on my back is certainly a good workout!! This picture is from an afternoon where we explored the trails around Osan. Matt was able to join us and we hiked up to a little temple and gazebo about Pyeongtaek. Nice cool day and a sweet baby cooing in my ear all the way up the hill. What could be better?

Lost in Translation....

2009-05-21T09:23:00.001+09:00

Sign seen at Seoul Grand Park:


	You may suck your baby here.

Last trip to Everland

2009-05-12T12:41:00.000+09:00

Our last trip to Everland, as our membership expires May 11, 2009. We shared the day with Anna and John, our dear neighbors.

E. was quite in awe of the spraying game... this photo was taken before E. realized that he could steer the stream of water. He was delighted to spray anything within 180 degrees- who cares about getting a ball up a track!?!

Ah, yes, the motorized carpet camels. great fun.

And we even found a new ride in a corner of the park we hadn't been to before- E. rode it three times in a row. Up in the trees "just like Daddy's plane."

Gramma and Clayton come to visit!

2009-04-21T22:51:00.000+09:00

Gramma and Clayton do a great job of feeding Miss Lulu all sorts of tasty treats... raisin bread, bananas and oatmeal, strawberries, avocado, pears and crackers. yum yum.

We journeyed two hours south of Osan to Jeonju- which is a BIG city. I'm hoping we can get back there to explore more of the sights- there is a large university, a Folk Museum and a paper-making museum. We did get up to a temple on the outskirts of town- Songgongwa-sa. This is a picture of us ladies in front of the temple. They had everything decorated for Buddha's birthday- May 5th- and the trees were just starting to fill with blossoms. Lovely!

Gramma and Clayton at the street market with Lulu. Notice the tree in full bloom behind them- it is a beautiful time of year to be in Korea.

Playing hide and seek with snookums. She continues to be a VERY happy and joyful young lady. We are so delighted to have her in our family.

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-13T10:34:00.000+09:00

This year we attended the Easter Egg Hunt that was held at Osan Air Base. The yard in front of Turumi Lodge was filled with eggs for kids of all ages. Ev and Lulu were happy to see lots of eggs and balloons decorating the area.
And...they're off!!! All the kids dashed off to pick up as many eggs as they could fit in their baskets. Then the eggs are traded in for an age-appropriate treat bag... which was filled with many tasty things :) Ev was delighted.
Lulu trying her hand at egg collecting...
Easter dress for Miss Lu.

Change of scenery

2009-02-09T08:30:00.001+09:00

"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 :)

The Merica

2009-02-09T07:43:00.002+09:00

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."

Christmas trees!

2008-12-04T22:21:00.001+09:00

A REAL Christmas tree!!! Our first, since we've been married. I find it slightly hilarious that we traveled all the way to Korea and ended up with a tree from Oregon... go figure.

Evan hung up the ornaments... on one branch. Which was touching the ground by the time he was finished.

I had the opportunity to help decorate a tree sponsored by the Osan Breastfeeding Support Group. It graced the entryway of the Officers Club for the month of December. Other groups like the 303rd Intel Squadron, and Vet Clinic decorated trees as well. Our tree was adorned with flesh-toned orbs, breastpads cut into snowflakes, necklaces, and a lovely star topper made from Medela bottles. We won third prize for our decorations!! yeah!

I made the kiddos their stockings this year- Evan's was made from solar system fabric (thanks, Nana Cheryl!), and Linny's was made from a dark blue flannel. We were blessed with many packages and presents from our friends and family. Evan posed for a quick picture Christmas morning, then tore into his stocking. I think he would have been happy with just the treats and books in his stocking- he opened those and seemed content. The thought of opening all the presents under the tree had been such a temptation for so long that he couldn't believe he was FINALLY going to get to open them!

We have been very fortunate and blessed to have a wonder-filled 2008, complete with the birth of our own little angel. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T21:36:00.000+09:00

Evan was delighted to lick a beater after I made whipping cream for the pecan pies. That's my boy!
This is a picture of Thanksgiving, round two. We had a squadron Thanksgiving on Thursday and this Saturday we celebrated with close friends we've met here at Osan. We borrowed a community room and Anna, Laura and I put together another Thanksgiving feast. Everyone at until they were sated to repletion, and the lieutenants took home the leftovers. We are very blessed to have a healthy family, a roof over our heads, and such good friends near by.

late November

2008-11-26T21:24:00.000+09:00

Evan brought home a beautiful "tree" that he made at school. The students went for a walk around the school and church and picked up leaves to make their trees. The floppy or fragile leaves were laminated by the teacher, then mounted on stiff straws. Evan enjoyed taking the leaves out of the trunk and putting them back in again. Once the leaves started crumbling all over the kitchen, we bid the tree a fond adieu.
Going for a walk during the middle of November- all the Ginko trees were a gorgeous yellow. The wind was just starting to pick up and the leaves were blown all over the fields near our house. Very pretty.
So, the girl likes to suck on her two middle fingers- rock star style. These are the preferred fingers for keeping her busy, soothing or just having something to do.... and, then, after awhile I don't hear any more noises from the blanket- and, presto, she's asleep.

Yeah!

2008-11-24T14:22:00.000+09:00

Yipee for the Green Bay Packers!

Yeah for Obama- quite the thing to see the President-elect on Korean TV.

And Evan loves finger painting... but washes his hands frequently to "keep them clean while I'm painting."
My two lovies playing in the morning sunshine- Linny is kicking like crazy but isn't quite coordinated enough to crawl yet, but she's very good at holding her head up and grabbing for tasty things.

fun with the kiddos

2008-11-10T18:30:00.001+09:00

Lulu on the bed- sporting her squirrel outfit. Maybe someday she'll be an AGD legacy...
And Evan, being cuddly with sister-bear- the mosquitos had quite a feast on her while she was sleeping.

Cozy in her blankets and sucking her fingers... sweet girl. And my two munchkins after a bath- squeaky clean!

Strength and Grace

2008-11-10T15:52:00.000+09:00

For something to challenge your body and mind:

Yoga Journal - Yoga Home Practice - Strength and Grace

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Political leanings...

2008-11-04T21:13:00.001+09:00

I've added a new sidebar- it shows where corporations spend their political donations. I've downloaded it from goodguide.com. The donations start on the left (completely donating to the Democrats) and using the slide bar on the right, you can scroll down to see companies that donate to both parties, and eventually parties that donate completely to the GOP.

A walk in the neighborhood

2008-11-03T10:50:00.002+09:00

Yes, when I'm doing a little planting, and the sun is beating down on my neck, I think "Gee, I could use some shade..." Fear not, the resourceful Korean farmer has a solution! Lash an umbrella to your shovel! Perfect! Portable garden shade! Why didn't I think of that...

The munchkins in the stroller- Evan's bringing his necklace with us while we go on our walk. Linnea just sits back there and looks around while she chews on her hands and occasionally coos. As you can tell from the picture, it's been just wonderful weather here- this was taken the weekend before Halloween and the temp was in the mid 70s during the day. Loverly.

Beautiful persimmons growing on a tree in a courtyard. Just at the base of our hill. Does anyone know of any persimmon recipes? What do you do with them, besides just eating them?

"Construction" in Korea. Rip it down, make a huge mess, and figure out what to do with it after the fact... This is right at the corner of a secondary intersection between our house and the shopping strip. Amazing to see a house just ripped apart. Evan was quite impressed and a little scared of the pile of rubble.

My little Halloween critters

2008-10-31T22:19:00.001+09:00

Yes, after much discussion, Evan was a lime-colored butterfly for Halloween. Not a Monarch, not blue, not pink... lime green. So, naturally, Linnea was a little caterpillar... We celebrated Halloween by trick-or-treating the apartments in the on-base housing high-rise. 10 floors of candy. Wow. We made it through 3 of them- Evan wanted to eat each morsel before moving on to the next doorway... we finally convinced him it was OK to save the candy in a bag so we could move a little quicker to the next candy cornucopia. He nibbled on some Chocolate Skittles (which were gross, in my opinion), a Babe Ruth and some psychedelic green and blue Twizzlers. We finished the night by chasing buddy Colin ALL over the place- have to burn off the candy somehow!
Colin's grandparents were visiting from Wisconsin and they offered to put the boys to bed so the parents could go out and have a little fun of our own- which we did! Linnea conked out by 8:30 and we headed out to meet up with the squadron pub crawl. After a few shots of glow-in-the-dark Soju, a couple Vodka tonics, a good game of darts with Laura and visiting six bars, we called it a night. It was fun to be "young" and out on the town again- I think it's been over 18 months since the last time Matt and I had a wild and crazy late night. I'm determined it won't be another 18 months until our next pub crawl... I hear there are some good Hashing clubs in Tucson...
Happy Halloween.

Linny says "wow"

2008-10-29T16:13:00.003+09:00

Evan is discussing the new batteries in the mobile- Linnea is her usually chatty self:

Good kids

2008-10-24T10:21:00.003+09:00

Evan's nighttime ritual is finally something I look forward to, instead of the 3 hour battle it used to be. He finished dinner, we play soccer, take a bath with Lulu ("Sometimes sister need to take a little dip to get fresh, Mom. I think that stinky little gr-irl needs to take a bath with me"), brush teeth, watch our favorite 15-25 minutes of Cars, then hit the hay. Matt or I sing him a couple songs from an old hymnal we have (I can't wait for the Christmas songs!), then he dozes off while he watches his nightlight/projector on the wall. However... one night I found him, reading his book on constellations by the light of his night light- about 10 minutes later he was asleep, so I snapped a picture. Sweet boy.

We went to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers- a Christian-sponsored group that promotes active parenting) and while I was participating in the "Mommy discussion", Evan was in playgroup and getting his face painted- with balloons and King- the blue racecar from Cars, for those of you who don't have a male toddler who's addicted to the movie. Evan is happily eating grits and sporting his facepaint.

Linnea is growing SO fast- She had her 4 month appointment last week. She's just at 14 lbs and 23". Tall for her age, but right at the 50th percentile for weight. She's not setting any records, like her brother was at this age. It's actually nice to have a baby that can wear 0-3 month clothes for longer than 5 weeks... In comparison, Evan was about 13lbs at TWO months old. As you can see, she's her happy, smily self. I love seeing her wake up in the morning- First she squawks for a bit, then rubs her eyes and tries on all her myriad of faces... finally realizes that there's a familiar face above her and she breaks into a huge grin and gurgling. She is a delight.

Evan is happy to hold Linnea and talk to her- he likes to rock in this little chair with her. I think she was, um, passing a little gas while I was taking the picture and Evan thought that was pretty darn funny.

Halloween fun at Everland

2008-10-01T11:47:00.004+09:00

We ventured out to Everland yesterday- enjoying a lull in the crowds on a mild Tuesday afternoon. I was amazed to see so many school groups at the front gates. All the little kiddos were maybe 5-7 years old, in matching Burberry plaid outfits (of course!), being led by a single teacher. The kids were very good about staying in line and following their teacher. I can't imagine that anyone would even think of taking 20 American preschoolers to Disneyland for the day!

And I have to mention the Korean fashion- "What shall I wear for a day walking through an

Amusement Park? hmmm... Something practical, comfortable and cute? No, I think I'll go with the striped shirt, ruched overall capris (with one strap casually tossed aside), my bunny ears, and my favorite 4" vinyl yellow heels with the peep toe. Perfect."
You can't make this stuff up.

We met up with the McEwen's (Colin is Evan's chase partner) and did a few rides, then watched the Halloween parade... wow.

There are no words to express what we saw. The "bat fairy" did his little dance in front of the kids- not sure if they were impressed, or scared out of their minds.

Enjoy the video, which is a clip of the culmination of the parade... a crazy elaborate show with bears dressed like pumpkins chasing each other on Segways. Wild.

Evan thought the music was a bit loud... but enjoyed the show anyway.

We also went to the flower garden- Evan leaned over the edge of the fountain, which was turned off and just smooth water, and no sooner had he stood up these huge jets of water turned on. He was a little startled- but quite happy with himself and his new superpower abilities to turn on fountains.

As the evening drew on, the pumpkin sculptures and big torches in the garden lit up. It was really cool. A cute picture of us, minus Evan, who was too busy chasing Colin to be bothered with our nonsense. So it goes.

Happy Halloween.

Korean/American Friendship Weekend

2008-09-27T11:51:00.000+09:00

The main shopping area in town was decked out to celebrate the annual Korean/American Friendship weekend. We visited some of the shops and ate lunch downtown. Evan was quite delighted to find this plane in front of the baby clothes store- and luckily I had 500W to turn it on... what fun!

Getting ready for lunch... one stall had a pig on a spit, if that doesn't ruin your appetite, maybe the next picture will...

Ladies cleaning purple cabbage, lettuce, green onions... and in the red basin with the hose leading to it- she is rinsing squid and hacking out their eyes with a knife. You don't see that everyday!

We went to Thailand Restaurant for lunch. Evan's satay arrived with bear-shaped rice. He declared "After Hwa-jangseel (Korean word for restroom... yes, we're potty training him in Korean so he can communicate at school... but that's another story) I'm going to eat it's nose" So he went to the bathroom- came back and ate its nose. Then proceeded to declare that he was going to eat its leg- so he did.

POW Remembrance Day

2008-09-20T14:45:00.003+09:00

A-10s lined up for take-off, getting ready for the fly-by. They fly a fourship formation with one ship missing- in remembrance of the men and women that are missing or lost their lives as a POW/MIA.

A group of people congregated at the chapel for the short service in honor of American POWs. The service started with a prayer, a gun salute, then the A-10s flew overhead.

A description of one of the most poignant things that I've seen during our years in the military:

Missing Man Table & Honors Ceremony

In remembrance of those still missing and those who suffered capture, a small table is set in remembrance of POW/MIA at all formal military dining events.

This table set for one is small... It symbolizes the frailty of one prisoner against his oppressors.

The tablecloth is white... It symbolizes the purity of their intentions responding to their country's call to arms.

The single rose displayed in a vase... It reminds us of the families and loved ones of our comrades in arms who keep faith awaiting their return.

The red ribbon... Tied on the vase, is reminiscent of the red ribbon worn by thousands who bear witness to their determination to demand proper accounting for our missing.

A slice of lemon... Is on the bread plate to remind us of their bitter fate.

There is salt... Upon the bread plate symbolic of family tears as they wait.

The glass is inverted... They cannot toast us today.

The chair is empty... They are not here.

Do not forsake them.

Pray for them and remember.

Bowling!

2008-09-05T20:30:00.002+09:00

Evan is very demurely standing on the carpet while Matt bowls- so as not to get "bumped by the ball".

He is informing me that "this is Satur-en" on the carpet square. Of course.... "and Neptune is blue. It is very cold. Merc-ry is very hot and has deserts, we will have to wear shoes."

check out Evan's bowling skills! He's almost as good as the guy in the lane next to us!

Little Linnea

2008-08-27T10:55:00.003+09:00

Basking in the afternoon sunshine at Gramma's house:Modeling the lovely new sweater that Aunt Ching Yi gave her... is that a smirk I see?

Sleeping on the deck with Papa Chuck:

Chilling in the early morning with Mom and Evan:
Enjoying the sites on our day trip to Seoul:

Everland w/ C&C

2008-08-18T10:27:00.000+09:00

We visited Everland, again, with Chuck and Cheryl, on Monday, August 18th. Cheryl carried Linnea around in the Baby Bjorn- and made friends with the various Korean characters. It was a rainy and blustery day- which was great for keeping the crowds away! Chuck and Evan went on "Flash Pang Pang":We had our run of the place and Evan went on his first amusement park rides. Which included three trips around the racetrack as the "Seahorse Driver." Apparently, there is a charge for this ride, but we played stupid Americans and showed the operator our cute blonde-haired little boy... and then she wouldn't let him OFF the ride. What a charmer!

Raspberry picking

2008-08-03T14:51:00.003+09:00

Picking raspberries at Boxx Berry Farm with Pops and Kissy- the berries were HUGE and delicious! Evan managed to eat the raspberry on his pinky before I could snap a picture

Farm fresh strawberries

2008-07-07T12:58:00.001+09:00

It was a cloudy and stormy day... thunder and lightening intermittently through the afternoon. And we went strawberry picking! Yeah! The two munchkins took a nap in the backseat of the car while Matt and I picked strawberries in the rain.

Total time: 45 minutes. Total poundage: 69 (pilsung) pounds. Total cost: a few soaked rainjackets and muddy sneakers.

We came home to put the berries in the freezer- all of them had to be destemmed, rinsed and individually frozen on cookie sheets before being placed in 5 gallon tubs in the deep freeze. This should provide us with plenty of strawberries to make strawberry-rhubarb jam next week, and strawberry-raspberry jam in about 3 weeks.

Our little girl!

2008-06-24T19:00:00.001+09:00

We welcomed Miss Linnea Hanson into our family on June 24th at 12:10pm. She was 7 lb, 10 oz and 19.5 inches when she arrived. Her proud brother, Evan, was very eager to meet her. She is a happy and healthy little girl. Everyone is home, doing well, and enjoying the mild summer weather in the Pacific Northwest.

Harmonica Man

2008-05-14T15:10:00.002+09:00

A dear friend, and talented musician, Busya, gave Evan a harmonica for his 2nd birthday. Needless to say, this was a gift we've hidden until we were settled in a place where Evan could play the harmonica in his own room. Or, better yet, outside.
He's actually become quite good at it and can play individual notes- not at will, but it does happen frequently.

Evan's great-uncle Bruce is a VERY talented harmonica player... maybe this current passion will turn into a inherited life-long skill- who knows? So, to share his "talent" we've posted a video below. In the beginning he is "reading" the numbers on the top edge of the harmonica... 11, 12, 13 are his favorites.

Rail Fence Quilt

2008-05-14T15:01:00.002+09:00

Proud mama, Anna-Jane, holding the quilt made for Jane Elizabeth Edgar. Born April 17, 2008 at a very healthy 8lbs, 10oz. Wow!

Quilt is backed in yellow swirl print flannel. "Rail Fence" pattern in four colors: light blue "blessings" print, yellow "blessings" print, orange daisies/bugs, and green tessalations.

I'm taking a break on quilts while I'm in Washington for the summer... but will be back at it in August! Everyone keeps getting pregnant!

Everland, a.k.a. Korea Disneyland

2008-05-11T21:15:00.003+09:00

Upon recommendation from other families, we decided to venture to Everland this weekend. The equivalent of Disneyland, created by Samsung. It's located about 25 miles from our apartment- equating to a 1.5 hour drive with minimal traffic. The layout of the park has a "zoo" with a Safari tour, AmericaLand with roller coasters, European Adventure with roller coasters, and a large central area with a season-appropriate theme. This being spring, the parade theme and decor was heavily floral... oh, my was it floral. We arrived around 10am, found a parking lot, took a bus to the main entrance and, after much pantomiming, figured out how to buy an annual pass- breaking even after only 4 regular-price visits... and children under 3 are free. Did I mention that Evan's not having another birthday until 2010? :)
We started our trip in the zoo quadrant of the park. Evan enjoyed the marmosets, gorillas, white tiger, and the swimming polar bears. They also had many vendors selling trinkets- Evan was particularly drawn to the bubble launcher. He ran back and forth through the cloud of bubbles a dozen times!

Matt and I posing with the posies :)

Lovely 70 degree day. Many shops lined the main entrance, filled with as many Anime and cutsie knickknacks as your heart could desire. We both commented on how they haven't quite capitalized on the character aspect of Disneyland. We only saw one costumed adult posing for pictures with kids. Even the trinkets were very generic, and not over commercialized... they have not learned to paste Mickey Mouse on EVERYTHING.

After touring the Animal Kingdom with 10,000 of our Korean friends... we found a somewhat American eatery (our other choices involved variations on rice, fish and kimchi). Evan is savoring his corn dog- made with a brown rice wrapper instead of corn. I ordered the teriyaki chicken which was served as 4 chicken wings, a pile of rice, a pork filled egg thing and... yes, pickled cucumbers, peppers and radishes. Matt tried the "Bulgogi baked spaghetti" which was spaghetti noodles in a tomato sauce with pieces of beef ribs on top. The whole meal only cost 16,000 Won. A deal by Disneyland standards.

Spinnning whirl-a-gig flowers behind us. Evan was pooped out by 1pm. Good enough for us... let's call it a day! We can always come back again... and again, and again.

Everland (2)

2008-05-11T21:10:00.007+09:00

The overhead chairlift brought people from the entrance to Everland (the top of the HILL), to the valley where many of the amusement rides and theme park areas were located. The grade on the pedestrian hills in Everland... wow, I'm guessing a 15% grade. It was STEEP. Definitely not designed for overweight and lazy Americans!

I feel that something was lost in this translation:

The main street was bedecked with flower garlands and sashes. Very festive.

Oh, and did I mention that the employees wore outfits too... our favorites were the sanitation crew, dressed all in white (apparently trash does not convey dirt), with butterfly wings and antennae.

I could fill an album with the number of couples we saw wearing matching outfits. Red and blue rugby shirts, Peanuts characters, yellow hoodies... etc. The pink shirts with strawberry patterned robots were the BEST... but I didn't have my camera out to share that with you. So, you'll have to enjoy the stylish pink polos with dark denim. Do they call each other in the morning to make sure they are wearing matching shirts?? I think that when a girlfriend presents her boyfriend with a matching pink polo, he should take a minute to evaluate their relationship and make sure he's in for the long haul.

Evan playing with "Butman"

2008-05-06T17:42:00.004+09:00

We went to dinner with our friends, the Prines, at our favorite local restaurant last weekend. It was the "4500"... home of the boiling egg soup! While we were there, we had an experience we couldn't resist photographing!!

Boys at dinner- we ate, seated, at low grill tables near the front windows.
Picture below is of Evan and "Butman" playing near the windows. And why do we call him "Butman", you ask... Check this out:

Some things just don't quite translate... bAtman vs. bUtman... a subtle, but important, difference.

Pyeongtaek Spring Festival

2008-05-03T10:00:00.000+09:00

We visited the Pyeongtaek Spring Flower Festival on Friday, May 2. The festival was a demonstration of foods grown in or near Pyeongtaek- rice, strawberries, tomatoes, bonsai, orchids, roses, peppers, Asian pear, etc. The festival was on the grounds surrounding an Agricultural Museum, of sorts... with permanent greenhouses, landscaped grounds, and a lovely tropical arboretum.

Walkway to the rice paddies- they were planting rice from a 18" square brick of rice plants, fed through a rotating wheel that then plugged each plant into the shallow water. Much quicker than doing it all by hand!

Exotic topiary, surrounding by flowers and green plastic sheeting... the field in the distance is filled with multi-colored windmills.

Evan was tired from a full day at school- he conked out on the way to Pyeongtaek. And, toured all of the exhibits in a reclined position. The flowers at the base of the fountain are an odd mixture of nasturtiums, foxglove, gerber daisies, and pansies....and the fountain was adorned with fake red roses.

Pyeongtaek Flower Festival (2)

2008-05-03T09:55:00.000+09:00

The Pyeongtaek "motto" is "Super O'ning"... not sure what that means, but it's on all their city signs and here, is spelled out in cactus.

The family! Evan asleep, #2 making his/her presence known and the two proud parents. Banana trees with monkeys made out of sawdust shavings behind us..

Yes, Virginia, there is a $335, 000 bonsai. And here it is.

Manicured gardens in a green house- small peppers (they call peppers "paprikas") in the foreground.

Getting ready for school- May

2008-05-02T10:15:00.003+09:00

A little self-portrait with the camera... showing off his new haircut. Amazing how a lollipop can make a child hold still for just about anything!

Putting on shoes BY HIMSELF. Only a fool would come between Evan and his shoes. It may be a process, but he does put them on by himself. Notice the red and green socks- that's how we tell our left and right feet from each other!

The man sporting his Green Bay overalls, and new red Crocs- yeah for Endless.com and free shipping! Hopefully the Crocs will work for his new shoes when the ladybug boots eventually get too small... that will be a dark day.

Ohio Star quilt

2008-04-28T17:58:00.001+09:00

In my free time I've been making quilts for all the gals that have been having babies. It's a good outlet for the detail-oriented engineer in me :) I decided to try a new "Ohio Star" design for this quilt. The nursery had a transportation theme, and maroon and blue accent. The fabrics are a speckled red, silver stars on a blue field, tan neutral and an antique aircraft print. Backing is blue flannel- finished size 48"x 48". This quilt was lovingly made for Isaac Ray Teague, born Feb 20, 2008.

New web album

2008-04-23T13:53:00.001+09:00

April web album

click on above link to see new pictures and comments from the last 2 weekends...

New tent!

2008-04-23T13:32:00.000+09:00

Evan has a new tent/bed that we found at the New Core Mall for $9... what a deal! Evan is quite delighted to press his face into the mesh sides and top, making him look like a molten wax figure. Ernie, Bert, Neptune and a soccer ball keep him company in the tent. We've tried having him sleep in it the last few nights, but he prefers to read and play in the tent and sleep on the stack of futami mats in his room.

This weekend, we went for a walk around a local park/waterway. There were people having picnics in tents... like, camping tents... apparently this is a way to commune with nature and keep the bugs from invading your kimchi. The tent we got for Evan is actually very well made- complete with a tarp-like bottom to repel moisture from the ground, and nice zippers on the door and window.

Off to school!

2008-04-14T10:15:00.005+09:00

Evan is happy to go to school these days. He's very helpful getting dressed, helps me pack his diapers, snack, water bottle, and lunch tray into his red backpack. The lunch tray is provided by the school and he brings it home every afternoon for me to clean it, before he takes it back the next day. A typical lunch menu is a rice and grain dish, soup or meat dish, vegetable side, and fruit. The soup on Thursday was a seaweed soup with dried fish- he ate it, I guess, but WOW did it stink up his tray!
I'm very glad he's a willing and adventurous eater- spinach, beans, curry, fish, beans... don't seem to phase him at all.
Today was the first day I asked if I could take a picture of him with his backpack on- to show his grandparents. He was happy to pose for the camera before we went downstairs to catch the bus.

Springtime photos

2008-04-13T16:15:00.002+09:00

We had our first rainy day last week- but the flowers are out and blooming, drinking up the rain and intermittent sunshine. Photo on the left is the main street into base. Lots of steep hills around here!

There is a beautiful parkway between our house and the route to the main highway- the forsythia are in full bloom along the road. It reminds me of a bush that grew in our backyard when I was a kid.

This weekend we went for a walk downtown to shop for a lightweight blanket for our bed. The cherry blossoms were blooming along the street, the forsythia hedges were spilling over the fences in the neighborhood. A lovely time of year to be in Korea! And to think it was all brown and dirty just 10 days ago! The boys were nice enough to pose for the camera while we walked downtown- a light breeze was blowing the petals off the buds- Evan was excited to see "snow" again :)

Sunday afternoon we went for a drive to explore the area near Pyongtaek. We didn't make it to the lake, but visited a high-rise mall/grocery store while Evan napped. I took this picture on the way back to Songtan. I think it's an elementary school- all the schools here are very colorful with huge playgrounds and green space around them. The plantings near city buildings are quite spectacular. Evan's school is happily decorated in spring colors with amazing detail and 3D foam irises on the seasonal bulletin boards- I'll try to take a picture in the coming days.

Arboretum

2008-04-07T21:13:00.005+09:00

Follow this link to see the Korean website:
Mulhyanggi Arboretum

We visited the Osan Arboretum this past weekend with another young family. The kids all enjoyed running around and the adults enjoyed letting them run around :) It's a beautiful park just north of Osan- about 15 minutes from our apartment. The grounds feature a manicured labyrinth, tropical greenhouse, "insectarium", picnic areas, paved walking/biking trails, an orchard, and many acres of forest to explore.

Evan ringing the bell at the center of the labyrinth- Yeah! We did it!

My soup is moving...

2008-04-06T07:44:00.002+09:00

Soup from "the 4500": BOILING oxtail broth with whipped eggs and green onions cooking on top. Notice Evan is too busy eating to talk to me...

Dinner at "the 4500"

2008-03-29T20:00:00.001+09:00

Yes... that is what you think it is... your eyes are not fooling you... Matt has donned a mustache for "Mustache March." And now it's been documented for posterity :) It's a pilot thing... no one really understands it. Just wait for "No-hair November" and the return of "Flat-top February"... the squadron is filled with a bunch of look-alike Top Gun extras. Hilarious.
Saturday night we ventured out to a place near our house- fondly called "the 4500" for the W4500 signs in the windows and posted on flags outside. The restaurant is very clean- seating is either at western style tables or traditional Korean tables where you are seated on the floor.

There are 4 categories of things on the menu- besides a picture of of a cow, pig, a grill and a bowl.
The menu is written in Hangul- with the exception of two items: "Ribs of Beef" and "Ribs of Pork". So... we ordered two orders of the beef ribs. The waiter turns on the grill embedded in the center of the table and starts bringing a parade of side dishes.

You can see the beef on the grill- cooked at our table, then cut up with scissors by our waiter. Evan reaching for the chilled, marinated bean sprouts. He just plucks off the yellow seed heads and discards the white roots. Each of us ordered a personal dish of rice (bop). On the right you can just see the edge of the pickled radish dish- pink radishes the size of turnips. Evan ate two of those. Also served as a side dish: pickled jalapenos, iceberg salad with "thousand island" dressing, chili paste, loose lettuce leaves, a chili/zucchini/tofu soup- spicy!, and KIMCHI!

In the foreground of this picture- lower left is a salad of julienned sweet white onion, red leaf lettuce, green onion stems and celery. It is served swimming in a rice vinegar dressing- very tasty. On the lower right is a sesame/fish stick/chili paste side dish... none of us ate that. Box on the left contains large spoons and chopsticks. Small dish was used for slivered raw garlic which we moved over to the grill to roast for a bit to take the edge off before we ate it. The empty black bowl is filled with 1 c. of a BOILING ox tail broth that is then topped with a whipped egg and green onion mixture. The egg mixture is cooked by the boiling broth and after 10 minutes is cooked to a quiche-like consistency. Evan ate the entire bowl... And here's what the second bowl looked like when it arrived: See video below.

The meat is eaten, wrapped in a lettuce leaf with a bit of chili paste, raw garlic, and a pinch of the salad greens and dressing. I add rice too, just to calm down the spices. The Koreans can fit and entire wad in their mouths- Matt and I have to take two bites to fit this pseudo-sushi roll in. It's quite tasty, very healthy, tons of fresh vegetables, and all the side dishes are "free" with the meal. They a constantly refilling everything. All side dishes are shared. Did I mention the entire meal cost $12... yes, $12. For all-you-can eat spicy veggies, salads, egg "quiche", and two strips of beef! Awesome!

Playground!

2008-03-28T15:54:00.000+09:00

Yeah! We found a great playground on base. It is just behind the new housing tower that is opening this week. The steps and ladders are just the right size for Evan, and the slides are "not too scary. Just... maybe... a little bit."

The weather has warmed up into the 50's during the day- still chilly in the mornings! It is nice to have a new, clean playground for him to run around on... now, if only there were some kids who lived in the tower! Hopefully next week we'll be able to meet up with our friends, the Edgars- Charlie is just about 2, and Anna-Jane is due April 17th. We have a lot in common!

Evan's favorite slide is a tube slide with sunroofs cut down the top of it- I tried to take a picture but there was too much glare- So you'll have to enjoy the picture of the "wild little monkey" swinging from the ladder.

His favorite characters to assume are:

Gonzo- identified by running around and hitting things with wrapping paper tubes. "Gonzo's just hitting the O"... ah, maybe he's seen a few too many episodes of the Muppets! For those of us that are old enough, we all remember the part in the intro where Gonzo always screws up hitting the gong-like letter "O" of the "Muppet Show"

Miss Moppet- a kitten character from a Beatrix Potter story. Acts slightly mischievous, likes to hide behind the couch, and "wear a dress"... which is when "Miss Moppet" runs around naked and adorns himself with my 6' cloth measuring tape

Pororo- Evan runs around with arms outspread declaring "Pororo is an airplane." It stems from a penguin character on Korean cartoon. Check out this link to get an idea of what TV is like in Korea:

http://www.pororo.net/en/

2008-03-27T07:30:00.001+09:00

We've decided to put Evan in an all-Korean preschool- for his social development and language immersion and it grants me time to study everyday. The school is affiliated with a Presbyterian church about 1 mile from our house. There are kiddos from 2 to 6 in a preschool setting, and a kindergarten (they start public school at age eight) in the main church. "Age" is an interesting concept here... everyone has a birthday (Dec 9, 2005 for Evan), but age is measured by how many lunar new years you have experienced. So, Evan actually turned "one" in February, 2006... "two" in 2007, and now he's considered "three".

Monday was his first day, and was filled with lots of tears and screaming when he had to get on the bus (9:30), but he seemed in good, slightly confused spirits, when he got home (2:30). They pick him up and drop him off at our house in a modified mini-van that has a bunch of seats. Car seats do not exist in Korea... in private cars, the children climb around in the back seat, or a parent holds the infant.

The school provides a backpack for him (once he's not so distressed to see it, I'll take a picture of him with it on), a lunch box and soon, a new uniform for Mondays.

Today was a little better- we waited in the parking lot and there were no tears when he saw the van coming up the hill. He actually separated himself from me and didn't howl at the nice lady who rides with them in the back of the van. The last two days she's had to hold him because he's been too emotional to sit by himself. My conversations with the "van lady" consist of "Un-young-hasay-yo" (Hello) and smiling nervously as I hand her my screaming child. As far as I can tell, her English is as good as my Korean :)

We'll keep trying for the rest of the week- and I'll go in Friday to talk to the teachers to see how he's doing. Hopefully next week will bring less heartache for both of us!

It's hard to tell what actually goes on at school- partly because I'm not sure he understands what's going on (he is the only English speaker), and his emotions are probably exceeding his vocabulary at this point. I think all is well- he talks about blocks, beads and stickers. It seems the lunches are agreeing with him- "turkey" "rice" and "barley soup" for lunch today... not sure what it really was, but that's what he thought he ate!

Easter Egg Hunt #1

2008-03-24T06:00:00.000+09:00

How far do you have to travel for good German food?

2008-03-16T08:00:00.002+09:00

We had the opportunity to go out to lunch with our next door neighbors- Anna and John. We walked down to the main shopping strip and over to a little house- yes, a house- with a sign out front "Memories". It's a cute little wooden house with a porch- amidst alleyways, hotels, parking lots, vendors, high-rise apartments. Memories is run by a German chef and his Korean wife- they had a restaurant in Seoul, but rent became too high so they moved to Songtan. The Korean lady is the only waitress- so if there are too many people in the restaurant, she will just turn you away at the door because she doesn't want to fill any more tables. He hails from Germany an imports sausages, beer and mustard to fill his menu. Even authentic coasters from Munich (see pic)!! I ordered the Bratwurst, sauerkraut, and roasted potatoes- Evan ate an ENTIRE bratwurst and a couple potatoes. The sauerkraut was the best I've ever had- absolutely deee-lish! Or maybe that's just my crazy pregnancy taste buds talking...
Matt ordered a goulash stew- very tender and tasty with lots of paprika. His potatoes came mashed with bacon and butter... yum! If you ever feel like traveling to Korea for great German food, we know the place!

Snow Day!

2008-02-26T03:15:00.000+09:00

A few flurries started falling the evening of February 24th... we awoke the next morning to find a nice blanket of snow outside.

The view out our window, towards Songtan. Nice to see the view blocked by flurries instead of smog! :)

Flower Market

2008-02-19T08:00:00.000+09:00

We traveled about an hour from Songtan, to a flower market near Seoul.
It's easy to find- just off the freeway. There are rows upon rows of greenhouses that are filled with vendors stalls. We walked into the nearest greenhouse and were just amazed at the orchids- everything was in bloom- manicured, arranged, and presented just beautifully. Our treasures for the day were a sculpted azalea, a hanging pothos, an aloe plant for the kitchen, a huge potted Amaryllis cousin, three South American tropical plants (not sure what they are), and a vase of lotus bamboo. All for the low price of about $90 US. Evan had lots of fun seeing everything from the backpack- and really enjoyed all the shopkeepers doting on him and suprising him with a lollipop. Yes, lollipop has certainly risen to the top on his list of vocab... "maybe we'll see a lollipop?" "Do I get a lollipop" "They might have a lollipop" And, my favorite... "Lollipop... OK. OK. OK." As if talking about it and giving yourself permission will conjure a lollipop out of thin air.

10,000 Leagues Under...

2008-02-17T08:00:00.001+09:00

Above, Brynn and Evan posing in front of the entry to the Coex Aquarium- a feature of the Coex Mall. All of which is located underground in a shopping mall in downtown Seoul. The mall featured a labyrinth of parking garages, complete with bowing Korean attendants in fedora hats, which lead to a shoppers mecca. The mall features an eight story tall Hyundai department store which sells Fendi toss pillows, $500 rice cookers, and many other things you didn't know you needed.

Wow. Now those are some crab legs... yum, yum.

Matt and Evan discussing the finer points of the seahorse propulsion system. There were many exhibits- featuring native Korean fish and eels, the Amazon Rainforest, shallow tanks of stingrays and puffer fish, a HUGE shark tank, and a icy Arctic exhibit. And to think it was all part of a mall...

Drinking water?

2008-02-10T06:00:00.000+09:00

Once in the food court we watched the locals procure their beverages. There was no soda fountain, only a case of glasses with a hot and cold water spigot next to it. It appeared that you grabbed a glass out of the ultraviolet lighted case and filled it at the spigot... seemed easy enough! Matt wandered over and filled up two glasses... hmm... this must be too easy... sure enough, he sat down and commented that he had just seen a little boy put his glass back INTO the case. A one-time happening? No. The ladies clearing tables were taking USED glasses off people's trays and putting them back in the case. I think the US Health Department would have had a few complaints...
We decided not to drink our water, and waited for our number to be called. However, the cup-sharing phenomenon was obviously not weird to anyone else in the room, so maybe if we got really thirsty we would give it a try. All of this after our neighbors had warned us that local restaurants tend to reuse drinking straws to cut down on costs... so don't drink out of straws, or cups...

This is a Korean menu

2008-02-10T05:50:00.000+09:00

We ventured out to Osan, a city just 10 minutes south of our apartment. Matt has adjusted well to driving in Korea- I think it will be a few more days before I try it! We went to E-mart, which is the Korean equivalent of a grocery store, clothing store and household goods in one building. It was near lunch time when we arrived, so we decided to eat at the food court. Luckily, or unluckily, for us the menu was entirely in Korean an depicted by plastic representations in display cases near the cashier. We eliminated any options with black sauce and green chunks... also brown slurry over rice... and any heaping piles of kimchee. Which left us with two choices: #45, and #46. Rice with breaded chicken? or pork? , cabbage salad and a side of clear brothed soup.
We paid at the cashier- exchange rate is about 970 Won to $1. Then wandered into the cafeteria area where they have three separate counters with cooks behind them. It became apparent that our receipt number would pop up on the LED screen at whichever counter was preparing our food. Ah, but something to drink... hmmm....

Snow Day!

2008-01-31T04:13:00.000+09:00

It snowed a fluffy 4" in Ferndale, WA yesterday and we certainly enjoyed it! Evan was happy to see snow plows in the morning and snowflakes falling from the sky. We bundled up and headed outside to enjoy the winter wonderland. My Dad found a little snowboard, which worked nicely as a sled for Evan. Sophie was content to gallop around in the snow, chasing snowballs and the flying snow. Kelli was home from her recent trip to Tanzania and juggled the snow with Evan- quite an adjustment from the African savanna! It continues to be a little chilly in Washington, but it's all in good preparation for Korean winters. We are picking up our A-3 visas tomorrow in Seattle- one step closer to Korea!

The Void that is UPS

2007-12-27T06:57:00.000+09:00

The most un-funny thing that happened this Christmas:

We order TWO digital photo frames for Chuck and Cheryl, and they SHOULD have arrived on December 24th. Well, the 24th passes, and we decided to check on the package status on the 26th. Lo and behold, this package has been "delayed due to a train derailment" and is eventually squashed in a wreck on the 24th somewhere outside of Oak Creek, WI.
And the second package, according to the UPS customer service agent, was "lost somewhere between New Jersey and Chicago."... ah, yes, yet another reason to use Fed Ex, and to finish Christmas shopping in September.
So, in resolution, NewEgg, the seller, is sending us two new frames, VIA FED EX, which should be here by Friday. We'll keep you posted.

Tracking number 1Z039AF20308568496

Tracking number	1Z039AF20308568496
Ship date	12/19/2007
Estimated delivery

Destination	LA CROSSE, WI, US
Service type	GROUND
Weight	5.00 LBS

Status

In Transit

Date/Time	Activity	Location	Details
12/24/2007	DAMAGE REPORTED / DAMAGE CLAIM UNDER INVESTIGATION[X]	LA CROSSE, WI, US
12/24/2007	UPS INTERNAL ACTIVITY CODE / ALL MERCHANDISE DISCARDED. UPS WILL NOTIFY THE SENDER WITH DETAILS OF THE DAMAGE[X]	LA CROSSE, WI, US
12/23/2007	UNLOAD SCAN[I]	OAK CREEK, WI, US
12/23/2007	ARRIVAL SCAN[I]	OAK CREEK, WI, US
12/21/2007	THE PACKAGE IS DELAYED DUE TO A TRAIN DERAILMENT[X]	HODGKINS, IL, US
12/20/2007	DEPARTURE SCAN[I]	EDISON, NJ, US
12/19/2007	LOCATION SCAN[I]	EDISON, NJ, US
12/19/2007	ORIGIN SCAN[I]	EDISON, NJ, US
12/19/2007	BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED[M]

Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T06:30:00.000+09:00

Merry Christmas to all. We are spending Christmas and New Years in La Crosse, Wisconsin this year. Matt's parents have their big tree up and decorated to the nines with colored lights and ornaments. Evan enjoys putting the tree "to sleep" by turning the lights off at night, and "waking it up" first thing in the morning.
Once Evan caught on to the present idea, we opened stockings... Evan LOVES candy canes, to the point of manic obsession. Which has resulted in anything peppermint to be hidden from his sight... and heaven help you if he smells peppermint on your breath, because he won't be satisfied until you produce the precious item that you've been eating. The neatest thing in the stocking, according to Evan, was a couple of plastic frogs. And the best gift was a front-end loader which could be filled with wrappings and bows from other presents.... everything else, for the birds. Oh, and Matt learned not to put the driver into the front-end loader... it can only be driven by a small plastic deer, of course!
We have been blessed with a warm home and a large family to celebrate our holidays with- our thoughts are with other members of our family that are far away, and those who are lonely this season.

2007-10-21T06:14:00.000+09:00

We enjoyed our week of vacation, during October, in La Crosse. The fall colors were just starting to explode on the leaves. A couple afternoons warmed up and we wentfor a hike with Chuck and Cheryl. We traipsed through the fields on top of the bluffs, just behind Matt's childhood home. Evan certainly enjoyed all the fall colors, crunchy leaves, and brisk fall air.

Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise... Sh*t Freeze?

2007-09-20T05:01:00.000+09:00

My mother-in-law, Cheryl, sent me an email about this breed of dog that has "hair" instead of "fur." And it does not shed!! bonus!! In my long search for a puppy that we can all agree upon, maybe we've stumbled upon something that will work! Matt with be happy with a non-allergenic pet, it's small enough that Evan won't be intimidated by it... now I just have to wrap my mind around having a "my dog's so cute that I put bows in her hair and carry it in a matching purse" dog.

From the website: "The Shih Tzu crossed with a Bichon Frise. This cross brings out the nose for a better breathing passage and gives the eyes tear ducts. It also livens up their personality making them better with those big families. For those with more serious allergies - they have a better chance at getting along with them."

Urban Stoneware Hippo planter

2007-08-27T05:02:00.000+09:00

Urban Stoneware Hippo planter

how ridiculous is it that I am looking for a hippo planter online, in order to get a replacement cost for a planter that was broken in our last move... ah, military life!

Korea on my mind...

2007-07-30T23:18:00.000+09:00

10 days ago we found out DH would be going to Korea for the next 12 months. A inevitable assignment while stationed in the USAF. We are delighted that he will be out of reach of the deployments and further delaying his trip to "the sandbox", but it gives our family a couple big choices to make. I have found that there are three opportunities for me to become employed with my original employer- all amounting to a six-figure salary in the first year. However, to stay at home I become the sole parent to our little boy and I will have a 60-80 hr work week... a big transition from a 0 hour work week. ha!
I think the hardest part of the decision is to make peace with whatever I decide. I can go to Korea and be far away from family and friends, but be near the ones I love. Or, I can stay in Tucson and get back on the corporate wagon, but be FAR away from DH. Really the idea of choosing to keep the little one and I away from DH is the biggest reason NOT to choose to stay in Tucson.

getting started

2006-06-23T04:13:00.000+09:00

So, it's probably time to jump into the world of blogging... I've got a few interesting things to say, and hopefully someone will find my rambling of interest. The bambino is taking a nap this afternoon, after a long morning of teething, so I have a few quiet moments to get this up and started. I think that there must be other young women out there who are trying to balance a professional career while traveling the world with a military spouse, and starting a family at the same time. It's not that there are not enough hours in the day, it's that each direction you are pulled in requires so much of a mental and emotional commitment that there's just not enough of me to split between a busy career, being a mother and supporting a husband who's a military pilot. More to come, on my thoughts on the decisions I've made and choices that lay ahead.