Dinner with friends!

Sunday was another great day in Korea for our family. We started off with a fun trip to the playground before church. After church we stopped by the commissary for a few necessities before heading home for lunch and a little downtime before heading over to our Korean friends’ home for dinner. I made some brownies to take with us and they were a big hit! I think from now on we will be bringing brownies when invited over for dinner. The dinner was mouth-watering! We had bulgogi with many different types of lettuce and spicy red pepper paste. We also had cucumber kimchi made fresh by Moonja’s mother out of her garden that was scrumptious. Cucumber kimchi is our favorite! Moonja also made another wonderful Korean style salad that was delicious. We also had the most amazing grapes for dessert – they were the largest, juiciest grapes we had ever seen, some almost the size of small plums! I had to take a couple pictures of them before we ate them since they were so lovely, and they were delectable too! We also ate brownies and ice cream. The kids had a blast playing and for Joseph and I it was a wonderful evening of fellowship with our friends. We already started making plans for our next adventures together. Can’t wait!

Icheon Ceramics Village

This past Saturday we had the first adventure of our second trip to South Korea. We ended up going to the Icheon Ceramics Village. It was a dangerous choice with a two year old but we decided to risk it anyway. I’m so glad we did. The drive over was relaxing since I was not driving and Joseph was excited about getting out for a drive. We did get a late start so by the time we got there it was time to find a place for lunch. The first place we stopped at had only pictures of seafood, but seafood in Korea is often “interesting” and we were not up for that much adventure. So, we moved on to the next restaurant down the road. The place we found was marvelous but I have no idea what the name of the place was or the name of what we ate, but it was good anyway! And the boys had a ball watching the cook do his work out the window by our table. After lunch it was time to go to the Icheon Ceramics Village. We saw many gorgeous pieces of pottery. It was just a wonderful experience. We picked up two celadon vases with a lovely inlay pattern that included delicate white cranes. There were many very expensive pieces of pottery by famous Korean potters that were extremely enjoyable to get the chance to look at. Mark did not get to go into some of the pricier stores – we just did not want to take the chance! Joseph and Mark spent most of the time running around outside far away from breakable items and watching a construction site near by. Thank you Sweetheart! There were many kimchi pots (utilitarian pots used for pickling vegetables) to be found in many stores. These pots take on an attractiveness of their own when all lined up on display. Kimchi is a staple of the Korean diet. I can’t wait to go back and see all the stores we ran out of time to see! Once we got back to base it was time for the BBQ & Blues event outside the O’Club. The BBQ was very yummy. We all enjoyed it. Andrew and a ball at the bouncy castle and Mark loved playing the Korean style drum and dancing (bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce…) to the Blues! It was also fun to meet up with friends and get caught up. It is good to be in Korea!

back in Korea

Well, we made it safe and sound back to Korea for our second visit. The trip over went as efficiently as it could. Both boys did get some sleep on the second flight of our trip from Seattle to Seoul. I, however, was up for 37 hours straight—yuck! Andrew seems to be over the worst of the jetlag. He has already been to Everland (a very large amusement park) with our Korean friends. He had a ball. We plan to go again maybe next month as a family. Mark and I were just not up to it after only being here less than two days. Andrew starts soccer practice today and will have soccer games on Saturday mornings. He is also going to do AWANA which meets on Wednesdays. We are all feeling very blessed and happy to be back together as a family. It was hard to be apart for the summer. Yesterday was a very big and important day for our family—Joseph pinned on Lieutenant Colonel. We are all so thrilled for him and this next stage of his Air Force career. His boss Col. Harris pinned on one side and Andrew helped me pin on the other side. Mark, thankfully, fell asleep during Col. Harris’ speech (no offence Col. Harris!) and our friend Owen held Mark for us while his wife Lynniece took pictures. On the exercise front, I have been missing doing yoga on the Wii Fit in the afternoons. So, the boys and I have been doing some yoga moves for Dad (and making Dad laugh!). We have also been enjoying catching up with all our friends here in Korea. It is good to be back! We are planning another adventure for this coming Saturday so we will keep you posted.

Mom and her boys

Andrew and Mom

Mark and Mommy

Getting ready for Korea!

We are now busy getting ready to leave for Korea on our second visit to be with Joseph! Andrew got home this past weekend and it is wonderful to have him home! I love hearing his voice, watching him play, and hearing all his stories. It is also wonderful to see his face, give him a hug, and tuck him in bed at night. I can’t wait until our whole family is back together in a few days! Andrew has been busy growing over the summer and so we went shopping for new fall clothing plus all the “stuff” for soccer. Mark has more clothes than he can wear with all his hand-me-downs from his brother and two cousins! On the trip down to pick up Andrew we met up with our dear friend Kim and her daughter for lunch at Panera Bread. It was a wonderful visit and great lunch. We also visited with our close friends the Holdings! Andrew had a ball playing in the mud with Bree and Blair. Back in Warsaw, we’ve been enjoying Wii Fit in the afternoons while Mark takes his nap. See you soon Joseph!