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.

From VBS to Doritos

Hi, everyone!  I have a quick blogpost for you guys this week.  We just completed our 21st week in Korea .  The majority of the week was spent taking the kids to vacation bible school on Camp Casey.  Mitchell and Darci had such a wonderful time and have already talked about next summer. The VBS volunteers did such a wonderful job and took lots of great pictures so I have included those for you to see.

Our weekend was spent relaxing at home and enjoying family time.  On Friday night, we went to see a movie at the pool.  On Saturday morning, we all got up at 5am to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, which was quite strange trying to watch it on Korean TV.  We then spent the rest of the day playing games including a new made-up game that I am going to call "giggle factory".  I know I have said this before but I HAVE to say it again.  Dave is one of the BEST dads EVER because he really takes time to entertain the children.  They are so lucky!.

the "Giggle Factory"

an added plus...they buff the floor while they play

We did try one thing Korean this week....... Doritos!  I was a little skeptical after the whole Cheeto debacle, but I knew that I had to try them.  I took pics of the bags for you guys because it is just funny to me to see things we are used to, BUT are just NOT what we are used to.  All I can say about them is.......I will be buying my Doritos at the commissary from now on! 

they do have a cheesy taste BUT NOT what you would think

these are supposed to be "RIB" flavored!

 So, there you have it.  I know its a short one, but it was fun.  Hope to see you all again next week.  Anyeonghi Geyseyo.

A Convoy, A Cow, and Some Cameras!

Welcome back, everyone.  Our family has just completed our 20th week living in South Korea.  We have had many adventures and I know that we have many more things to experience and are trying to take things slow for now.  This week was spent at home in Dongducheon, once again.  Dave has been extremely busy at work.  The kids and I even paid him a visit one evening when he was working late. We also spent some time completing homeschool activities and spending time with new and old friends, as well.  Korea has been a blessing in that.  Being stationed here, we have gotten to know many more people than at Fort Hood because it is such a small community.  I never leave the house without running in to someone I know.  I really like that part of living here. 

impersonating Daddy at work

yet another impersonator

he looks like he is getting much more accomplished

and they thought he just doodled all day...LOL

the kids got to see the army in action

Both of the kiddos started piano again this week, with our neighbor Choi.  I am so grateful to her because she has really reignited an interest in the piano for both of them.  Not to mention, that Darci loves her and is always asking to go to Mrs. Choi's.  The kids also spent time CREATING this week.  As usual, Mitchell was constantly working on his next LEGO creation and Darci discovered that the hot glue gun can melt crayons! (Thank you, PINTEREST.....even my children are a little addicted to it)

piano lesson time

a Lego clubhouse

YES, it is very messy!

The sun finally came out on Saturday (after missing for almost 2 weeks).  The rainy season has begun and we don't see it very often.  It has also been more humid here than anything I have experienced in my entire life, including Texas and South Georgia!  The other day the kids and I came home from the PX to find that the elevator was not working, so we had to climb the stairs to our 12th floor apartment.  Not that this would have normally been a problem, EXCEPT for the humidity.  I felt like I was going to suffocate because the air was so thick.  Then we got all the way up to our apartment to find that the elevator had begun working again... GO FIGURE! 

Anyhoo.... back to Saturday.  A friend of mine and I decided to start walking together and we got up early on Saturday morning and headed out.  I took my camera because I just had to show you guys a few things that we see all the time. 

this is the trash area at our complex

Koreans recycle EVERYTHING....even food

a lot of restaurants have cartoon characters on their signs

at least I can tell what they serve ☺

 

I wonder what kind of spice

who wants to eat some cow after seeing this frisky fellow?

not sure if he is selling food or not

wonder what this restaurant is serving???  children??

oh!  a real cow!

paranoid, are we?

can you say CREEPY!

I think they may be for sale....

these are always sitting on the sidewalk

watchdogs guarding the sinks!

We also spent some much needed time at the pool on Saturday and Darci got to have her first sleepover here in Korea, complete with movies and karaoke.

note the bears and dolls watching, as well

reminds me of sleepovers when I was a kid



Ok, that's about it for this week.  I hope it all makes sense.  I usually have Dave proofread the blog, but he is not here this evening and I want to get it published tonight.  Hopefully, you enjoy it.  See you next week......Annyeonghi Geyseyo!