From Ann House to Our Anniversary!

Wow!  Has it been a week already?  Well, it seems it has and I have plenty to share with you.  Dave has once again been extremely busy this week and we have not had much opportunity to spend time with him, but the kids and I managed to have a little fun while we waited for him to come home.  Most of the time, these two monkeys were just goofin around!

One evening, the kids and I decided to walk down to New City to have some dinner.  New City is part of Dongducheon.  It is just the newest part of the city and that's why they call it New City......go figure!  Anyhoo, once we got down there, I decided that we needed to eat somewhere new and ended up eating at a place called the Ann House.  It is actually a coffee/dessert shop.  Each table has its own set of doors so everyone has privacy while they dine.  As with most restaurants in Korea, the table has a door bell of sorts for you to ring for your waiter.  When he came, he would even knock on the door before opening it.  For the first few minutes of our meal, soft music was playing in the background and then all of a sudden, the place was filled with TECHNO music.  Somehow it just didn't fit the ambiance of the place.  However, the strangest thing that I have to share would be the food I ordered.  All I can say is check out the picture of my plate!

the entrance.... I don't have a good pic of it, but they even

had Christmas decorations up!

each table had its own saying

high backed floral couches 

Mitchell said he was "NEVER going to this GIRLY place again"

our front door .... ☺

not a bad pic of me, but including it for the cupcake wallpaper

how they served Mitchell's Coke

I think it could have been bigger!

in most places we have eaten, they only provide utensils for your dish

my food did not require a knife, so I didn't get one

a garnish of corn, cabbage, pickled radish, tator tots, a cherry tomato, and

YES!  BANANAS 

view from the our front door ☺

I can see how Mitchell was so overwhelmed!

I looked over and Mitchell was drinking his water like this 

one benefit to the couch.....a resting place when you are done

I told you they were goofin around!

I also managed to take a few ODD Korea pics this week.

Anyone want a Porket Sand Peanut for snack?

it's actually a pocket sandwich

look what I found at DAISO

 there are literally NO seat belt laws in this country

this kid was riding down the road like that!

Does this sound yummy to you?

On Sunday, the 19th, Dave and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary.  Although Dave was working, it was wonderful to finally SEE him on our anniversary.  And guess what made this one of the BEST ones so far.....the KIDS!  Originally Dave and I had planned to catch a quick lunch together, but those plans went to the wayside when Mitchell and Darci decided to cook lunch for us.  I have say I was quite worried when Darci comes running into my room wearing her pink chef's hat and asked me what kind of oil they needed for eggs.  And then when I went to help, Mitchell had already cracked 12+ eggs complete with shells!  So for lunch we had toast and eggs.  Darci also had a few surprises up her sleeve. ☺

the sign on our front door

LUNCH

we got our own crowns with staffs

She and Mitchell kept blowing these.

beautiful wrapping job

ooooooo YUMMY

Darci bought us bracelets

dessert was candy served on a cookie tray with a LOVE sign

the kids call this candy Pixie Dust....it tastes horrible to me

but the thought was nice

they even made confetti and streamers

AND last, but certainly not least, Darci decided that Dave and I needed dance instruction.  I do not have video of her personal lessons for me, which included a cartwheel, but I do have a little from our lunch time session. She is one UNIQUE character.  I have to say I haven't laughed that hard or that much in quite a long time. I hope you get a kick out of it too.

listen closely.... you might be surprised what you hear

although I look like a raccoon, the laugh was good for my soul!

So there you have it. Week 24 was a BLAST!  I am so grateful to be part of this family.  I love my husband and children with everything I have.  I appreciate you taking time to read about our week.  I hope you have a great one too!  Until next week, annyeonghi geyseyo.

Scouts, Street Dancing, and Skateboards

 안녕하새요 Everyone!

This week I decided to add some Hangul letters to my blog.  Hangul is the official language of South Korea and the above letters mean hello.  It is pronounced Annyeonghaseyo.  So hello, everyone.  I am glad you are back.  We have had a good week.  Dave has been super busy at work, so the kids and I were on our own.  We spent a lot of time at home because it has been so humid outside.  I don't know what happened to the rainy season because all we have seen is hot, humid, sunny weather.  I definitely miss central air conditioning!

There is not much to share from the beginning of the week, but on Thursday I remembered to snap one picture from Darci's Girl Scout party at Lolli Polli's.  It is an indoor trampoline place here in Dongducheon.  I have posted pics of it before, but it was a while ago.  They have party rooms complete with karaoke.  The rooms are SUPER TINY!  I am literally standing in the doorway to this room.  We could not have fit anyone else inside.  The troop provided a pizza lunch for girls so they had Korean pizza complete with corn!  And while we were there, some teenage Korean girls must have had a quick break from school because they went into the next room and sang Karaoke for about 30min and left.

On Friday, I gave the kids some Won and let them go to the corner store to get a snack.  They were so sweet, they brought me back an ice cream bar.  Darci decided to try something different......gum in a tube!  It comes out like toothpaste and as you chew it becomes gum......GROSSEST gum I have ever tried!

I was confused too, Darci

Saturday was so much fun!  The kids and I went back to Lolli Polli with our friends, The Pessas.  While the kids bounced, Dawn and I got to hang out and chat.  We also went to dinner at Han's Deli.... and no, they do not have sandwiches!  Afterwards, we walked around New City and did a little shopping at the Daiso store.

monkey see

monkey do!

monkey see

monkey do!

ice doughnuts?????

what makes them ice.....they literally were put in the refrigerator!

a Korean serving of soda

that's just a shot for us Americans

chicken terriyaki according to the menu

those are pickled radishes not pineapple

sorry about the half eaten food, but I had to show you Mitchell's

pizza pork cutlet with cheese and gravy

restaurants always have TINY water cups

I have yet to find a restaurant with a napkins bigger than this

and most of the time, there are none at your table!

Here are a couple of the odd sites we encountered on our outing.

this man is caulking a sign on the third floor

he is not strapped to that little seat!

I can't figure out if the store was actually paying him to do that

or if he just loves to perform!

let's go to Daiso.... they have parking INSIDE!

the name of a restaurant we passed

I WANT YOU......Christian Deer Hunting Americans,

have some liquor!

And finally, on Sunday, Darci rode her new skateboard for the first time.  Dave was even able to take a few minutes to teach her a few things.  It was definitely a learning experience!

ok now, pay attention!

this is how you brake

I knew that was coming!

almost ...

now, she's got it!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed week 23 in Korea.  I know we did!  So until next time....

안녕히 계세요

Annyeonghi Geyseyo

Breakfast, Bacon? and Some TINY Eggs

The short streak continues.....Another week at home in Korea.  I remembered to snap a few pics for you guys this week.  My favorite is the first one because the kiddos made me breakfast in bed and cleaned the kitchen before I woke up.  WONDERFUL!



may not be much, but one of the BEST breakfasts

The next pics were taken at a friends house.  On Saturday, I got to spend some time with some amazing ladies and get a makeover too!  It was so much fun.  Here are the before and afters.



before

after

There were a couple of "KOREA" things this week.  I snapped the following photo in an elevator at one of the apartment complexes.  I have to say that these are some of the strangest vacation tips I have ever seen.



The kids and I braved a couple of more bags of snack chips.  The one thing I don't understand .....why do all of the snack chips have a sweet after taste.

slightly taco flavored according to Mitchell

I'd like to ask....what's with the shrimp?

probably the farthest thing from bacon I could imagine





And finally, my most recent find at the local market......  Quail Eggs.  I know that people eat quail eggs in the states, but I have never noticed them in any grocery store that I have shopped in.  Anyway, I figured that this would be something the kids might be willing to try.  I will let you know how that turns out.

maybe these will make the breakfast in bed tray next time

As always, thank you for checking in with us.  I really appreciate it.  Knowing that you guys are reading makes being all the way over here a little less hard.  Until next week.......Annyeonghi Geyseyo.