Randomness

Birthday Cake I made for my neighbor, Lisa.

You'd think this was Owen's birthday... Not so much. This was our neighbor, Lisa's celebration. Ethan is quite fond of her. It's very difficult living in an apartment building where we have to walk by their door to get home.

Since I made Lisa this birthday cake, she asked if I'd make her husband's cake for his promotion ceremony. I told her I'd think about it. I decided to try a half sheet cake. Never good to do this at 8pm. It was a mess. I ran out of frosting, TWICE. Not sure how that happened. She is now ordering her cake from the base bakery. But in my defense, it was VERY tasty.

A big chunk of cake came off. I dubbed this the mouse house.

Anna Grace opted to eat Cheerios with a fork on this particular morning.

Shoe Swap

While it appears she is asleep, she actually was in motion...we didn't capture the moment. She was laying on the floor staring at this picture of Sturbridge Village with her little feet kicking in the air!

Our sick princess. She's all better. It only lasted a day.

One Night in Seoul

What do you get when you add one doctor's appointment in Seoul on Friday with a swim meet in Seoul on Saturday? An overnight visit to Seoul and a night at the Dragon Hill Lodge!

Owen had a ENT appointment on Friday morning, so we all headed up to Seoul in the morning. After the appointment, we ate lunch at The Navy Club. After that, we checked into the DHL and then headed to the Korean War Memorial Museum to see some of the exhibits.

After that we headed back to the DHL, just beating the opening of the heavens. It rained and rained and rained. We watched it from the safety of our room, then headed downstairs to get some pizza for dinner.

The next morning Jacob and I headed off to breakfast and then to the Yongsan Army Garrison pool for his first ever swim meet. He did well, competing in the freestyle, breast stroke and back stroke races. Fortunately there was a Burger King with an indoor play place across the street, because I don't think we could have handled all the little ones at the pool.

Seoul and the Seoul Tower from across the Han River

The War Memorial outdoor display and the Seoul Tower.

Ethan in his element.

Jacob protects us from aerial invaders.

Anna Grace was very concerned about the display's "owie." She stared at it for a long time.

Jacob ready for his first race.

Jacob dives in for his first race.

Jacob racing.

Jacob finishes the back stroke.

4th of July Camping Trip

Our Beautiful View from the tent

All 4 kids in the river

Jacob Buried

Anna Grace copying Jacob

Owen Splashing

Anna Grace relaxes

4th of July sparklers by the river

River Rats!

The river they rafted down

3rd of July Part 2

Anna Grace contributes to the clean up

ROK Crowns Field

Some things supersede crowns

Crowns uniform :)

A Sweet Ending!! Decorations by Owen, Ethan & Anna Grace

The 3rd of July, Part 1

Happy birthday to me!

Woke up to a few Happy Birthday wishes from the kiddos and Lorri, then sat down to my breakfast of choice--Sugar Smacks! Delicious. Ran a few errands around the base with my lovely daughter Anna Grace, then came back home to pack everyone up for a trip to the park to play some crowns.

This is where I miss having a backyard. We got to the park and set up the crowns, then pitched and swung for about half an hour before it was just too hot and we were too hungry. So we packed up and headed home for lunch (rib eyes and baked potatoes).

A home run swing!

Jacob using the Force. Past the chain link fence was a triple, over the concertina wire was a home run.

Jacob gets a few hacks at the crown.

Ethan swings for the fences.

Anna Grace is more interested in pitching. Or, like, something, you know?

"The Babe."

Mt Sorak--for real

Day Two

Woke up to a beautiful blue sky. Mt Sorak was huge and right outside the window. We woke up and ate breakfast, then we all piled onto the bus for the short drive up to the park again to catch the cable car up the mountain. Now, don't go thinking San Francisco style cable car. Think Swiss Alps gondola. We rode it up the mountain, then hit the trail again for the short walk toward the summit. We got a little nervous with the little ones being there--it was shear cliffs in all directions--so our guide said he would watch Jacob (sidenote--turns out our guide also works as a translator at our church).

So Lorri and I headed back down the hill to the gondola and had ice cream with the little ones while Jacob made it all the way to the top of Mt Sorak. He got a medal for climbing it and everything!

Once we finished climbing mountains we headed back to the bus. Unfortunately, the battery on the camera died, so we have no pictures of the beautiful Buddhist temple we visited after lunch. After the temple it was into the bus for the 4 hour drive back to Osan and some much deserved rest!

The view out our hotel window in the morning.

Tilt your head a little to the left--there's Ethan (orange shirt) and our guide, Mr Stone, with the summit of Mt Sorak in the background.

Family picture time. The two Korean ladies wanted their picture taken with the crazy Americans.

Jacob snapped this shot on his assent to the summit.

Jacob and Mr. Stone, the guide, at the summit.