Another Korean Adventure (and very long post)

The weather report for Saturday was calling for rain all day long. Remembering the rain from last Saturday, we decided to believe them. So we started trying to figure out what Korea had to offer a family of six on a rainy day, who don't have a car. We found something called COEX Mall. It boasted being the largest under ground shopping mall in Asia, with a 16 screen megaplex and an aquarium. It said it was a great entertainment option for kids. Plus, it gave subway directions as to how to get there. Oh yeah, and it mentioned an enormous food court with plenty of international options (Newtons, we're happy to report we found Sbarro at COEX ). So we decided we'd give it a try.

It's in Seoul. So rather than taking the subway and transferring twice and possibly being on the trains for 1.5 hours, Darin found an express bus that would take us straight to Seoul's Express Bus Terminal. We hopped in a cab on the base, we said we needed to go to the bus terminal in Songtan. At the bus terminal we were obviously tourists, so about five nice Koreans started giving us instructions and asked us what we were trying to do. They pointed us to the right bus. It did as it promised and got us to Seoul in under an hour, but not to the station we had anticipated. We gave up trying to connect to the subway to COEX, and just jumped in another cab and told him where we were trying to go.

Here the kids are at the first Kodak picture spot that the Korean Tourist board suggested we stand at. I guess that's what COEX looks like outside and above ground. Why is everything we do so much more complicated than even we imagine? And believe me, we never think things are going to be easy. The crowds and the noise alone were enough to make me go crazy. Seoul is a city of I think 11 million. I think half of them were at COEX today.

Check out the boy's club in 7-11 eating their Ramen noodles for lunch. It's just funny how even the places that are supposedly American, are rarely familiar to us.

I had to snap a shot of the Sanrio shop for Rachel and Christine. The moment I saw this store I was transported to Glendale Galleria back in 1992 with my little sisters going crazy to buy all those little pens and dolls and stickers, backpacks and whatever else they dreamed of, back in 1992. I took Jane and Ruby in to see it's effect on my girls. Mostly they just wanted the umbrellas. We're in a major umbrella phase right now. We can't seem to get over them.

After wandering through the crowds for a while we decided our trip needed more focus. We settled on the Aquarium. It was the most random Aquarium I've ever seen. But the kids were totally impressed, and there were even hands on exhibits.

I maybe should have waited a day before recapping this trip. As I write this, all I seem to remember about today is being so totally hot. I'm telling you America knows how to air condition. I didn't even realize this was something unique to our country, but I'm being more and more convinced of it with each new place I go. The next time you find yourself at a mall, a hotel, a restaurant, on a bus, or in any public place this summer, as you take a refreshingly cool breath in, would you please whisper a silent "God bless America" as you blow it out?

This picture was my attempt to convey the crowds. Oh yeah, and to try to give a tiny glimpse of why we stand out so clearly anywhere we go!

After we mercifully made it all the long way through the aquarium, we decided we needed to escape Asia's largest under ground shopping mall. Darin wisely had brought his guide book with us, and could lead us to the Bongeunsa Temple. (One of the cab drivers today after being as amazed as the other 72 cab drivers who have been amazed when our family of six has jumped in the cab, turned to Darin and said, "FOUR?". Darin, said, "Yeah, I have 4 kids". In reply, he said, "You the CHEIF!" And laughed mightily at his English joke. I laughed with him too!)

Henry and George standing in front of "Kabootah" or "Boodu", George went through about six or seven different names before he could remember poor Buddha's proper name.

As we approached this temple we did pause and try to convey to the kids that this was a place of reverence. We told them as we walked through the grounds we needed to show the same kind of respect as if we were walking through one of our own church buildings. The surroundings were breath-taking. The peace and quiet were tangible after the masses of humanity from the mall. There were pavilions scattered throughout full of people quietly praying. Our favorite part were the little prayer lanterns that lined the entrance as well as a few of the pathways.


So it was worth it in the end. At 7pm all six of us walked back through our front door, like a miracle gifted to us from Buddah himself. I wouldn't have traded a thing about our day. Like the little old ladies at the front entrance to the temple who stood for about five minutes trying to get Jane to bow. And then the international joy we shared with them when finally she bowed! I guess I wouldn't trade touring the Aquarium with the 100 summer camp kids who kept trying to say English words to us as they walked by. Or all the cab drivers who marveled at us as we entered and exited their cars. But maybe, I could have done without the humidity who's role I cannot yet wax poetic about. But in the end George summed it up for me when walking through Bongeunsa Temple realizing what a sacred place it was for many, many Koreans, and said, "Mom, we just have to tell all our friends in Colorado about this place. We HAVE to. We have no choice. Don't you think, mom?" Indeed, I agree.
Another weekend Korean adventure success.

Blue skies.

Today blue skies poked through. And can I just say that it's a good thing, because even in Korea, life can get just a bit routine, a bit normal, even if I dare confess, a touch boring. So the blue skies were much needed this morning as I heard all of the kids awake at 6:15am, and knew already it was going to be a long day.

I made them all wait until 9am to go to the pool. The pool is that roundish building right across the parking lot from our house. We've also made good use of the astroturf field to the right of the pool. That is where Henry and George get banished to when we cannot not take one minute longer of Wii playing, or Webkinz World.

Since Darin is still waiting for his top secret clearance to be active again, he lingers a bit longer in the mornings. Which is great, because it give him and Henry more time to knock off some of their level "hard" songs on guitar hero. I think there is something about wearing combat gear which gives you a slight edge when playing with a plastic guitar. I'm not sure, but it's a theory I'm working on...(notice our lovely temporary furniture the Air Force is loaning to us. And imagine how sorry I was to meet a lady at the pool today who has been here for six weeks and still doesn't have her furniture yet!)

We managed to have fun at the pool until 11am. But then everyone said they were hungry and needed lunch. So we headed home. I told everyone while they showered I would get lunch ready. Mid lunch prep, I hear the boys squealing about something their sisters were doing.

Then I walk down the hall and spot bubbling foot steps. I did not recall allowing anyone to have a bubble bath.


The girls took matters into their own hands. They dumped the entire bottle of shampoo into the water. As if two hours of water fun at the pool hadn't been enough for them.

Like I said, even in Korea, life can become routine again. Throw in a trip to the library, a hair cut for Henry, an afternoon snack at Krispy Kreme (okay, so I'm not totally complaining about living in a walking village where they are trying to make me feel happy.), an hour or so of play ground play time for George and the sisters (something about having to ride the elevator to get to our "back yard" makes it infinitely more appealing for George), plus walking to the commissary for Popsicle after dinner, made me feel like I was running a regular summer day camp. And it's still only June! School doesn't start for another two months!

Like I said, thank goodness for the blue skies today. I needed them. I'm going to bed now.

It's not really your home until...

You bake your first batch of cookies. Don't you think? Which Jane and I did on Friday when Darin got to come home from work early since he's not totally up and running yet there. With Darin home I was able to walk over to the commissary to buy chocolate chips.

As many of you are aware, my heart mostly belongs to Colorado. But on occasion here on the blog, I will try to highlight reasons why Korea deserves some love too.

Here is reason number one why Korea isn't all bad. Baking at nearly sea level produces the most fluffy cookies I've baked in nearly 15 years. And all without any special effort or recipe alterations. So for that, one point is awarded to Korea.


A picture of Soraksan Tower (we live on the third floor) while we were sitting on a bench at the commissary waiting for a taxi. Which brings me to another point of comparison where Colorado it appears will always win...the lack of blue skies. Perhaps my brother Steve (who's heart belongs in large part to Korea) will have something to say in Korea's defense on this point? We've been here lots of days now, and I'm not sure that I've seen the color blue in the sky yet.

I guess it's Monsoon season, so maybe that has something to do with it. On Saturday morning Darin told me that Osan has a biking/running trail that he suggested I go discover. He gave me directions to the air field and told me how to find the path. About 25 minutes into it, the humidity was so oppressive, I wondered if I should just turn around and find a cab back to the house. Unfortunately I kept going. At about 45 minutes into my lap around the air field out of no where they skies opened and the rain poured down so fast that all I could do was laugh. I was completely drenched. It kept raining until finally 1 hour and 20 minutes later I had found my way back home, at which point, it stopped raining.

So a point is awarded to Korea for having a running trail. But Colorado does not have a season called Monsoon. And neither do they have a sign on their running trail that says "Explosives Safety Clear Zone". Which just left me wondering who was safe in the preceding zone, the explosives or me? One point awarded to Colorado and the Santa Fe trail. Again, the competition is going to be stiff!

Here are pictures of our Saturday trip to learn how to ride the subway. The kids standing in front of Songtan station.

Thanks to my brother Steve for giving us very specific instructions, we felt all confident to take the four kids on the subway. We were to take it only two stops, and then get off, and be able to walk at that point to E-Mart (Korea's version of Target).

Here is Ruby staring at the rice fields. For some reason, our kids think they are as awesome as an animal in the zoo. We had to pause and look every time we were walking past rice fields (which meant a lot of pausing and stopping). You can see E-mart in the back ground.


E-Mart is a good resource to know about. Saturday is maybe not the best day to be there. It was overwhelmingly crowded. But we discovered "Eat Smart" in E-Mart. It's like a food court. They had McDonald's. Which is always a good find for the kids. After sitting there long enough I got up enough courage to walk over to the kiosk and order myself and Darin some Korean food. They had the English name underneath the dish I wanted so I tried to say it in English. But it didn't go so well. The woman didn't speak a word of English in return. Instead I started going off of the price. She'd enter something into the computer, then I'd see it wasn't the right price, so I'd say no. Finally something popped up with the right price, and so I said, "Yes, I want that." Luckily whatever I got was delicious. We will order food again at "Eat Smart". Oh the joys of being in a foreign country!

Hope you had a great weekend too.

Images from Korea.

LAX at 11:30pm sitting on the floor because it was so completely crowded. All the kids were beyond tired and to pass the time, they all opened their backpacks and started pulling out all of their toys for the flight!


We found that the girls slept best if they could lay down across two seats. But then that left only one seat left for two people. In this case I convinced Ruby to play on the floor so as not to disrupt Jane who slept the very least on the flight!

Here we are having just arrived in Korea. Henry was smiling because we had found Darin and the burden of the trip was beginning to lift.

Last night we walked off base. The boys kept wondering how they would be able to tell when they were off base. Darin kept telling them the moment they were off base they would know it. At first when we told them we were going off base Henry said, "Outside the gate?! No way, I am not going outside that gate!" We live right by the edge of the base, so we see this very clear line between our side and the out side, and Henry was feeling very protected on our side. But Darin had said dinner would be at McDonald's and that is only off base, so they had to go.

We found an open food market down a dark alley. The smells were unbelievable, but it's these kinds of places that I've wanted the kids to see. So it was all worth it.
Be sure and blow up this picture, we were walking right past whole fish and even octopus just sitting on a table in the alley.

Then finally we got to the clothing district where Jane and Ruby were drawn to the Korean princess store. Believe me, I'm going back here to get them their very own Korean Princess dresses custom made! What a trip.

Mission accomplished! We had dinner at McDonald's and got exposed to "outside the gates". Tomorrow is Saturday and we have big plans to have our first experience on the subway. We will update accordingly. Wish us luck!! Now I'm off to the pool with the kids.

We've moved to Korea.

It's true. It's no longer something I'm anticipating or planning for. It is something I have done. I guess I can't deny it any longer. And all things considered, we're doing pretty well. We have a large enough house, and it's on base. We have already moved in. We don't have our stuff yet, but some of it is arriving tomorrow. We don't have a car yet, but we can walk to every where that we need to in order to lead a normal life here. We managed to sleep through the night last night and stay awake for our second full day. We even managed to take the kids to the indoor swimming pool for an afternoon activity, and then walked to Chili's for dinner (yes, they have Chili's on the base!).

But I am still not prepared to talk about the 12 hour plane ride, the 5 accompanying hours spent in airports, the nearly 3 hours of ground transportation, the 3 adults and 3 cars that were required to get me, 4 kids, 9 suit cases, 6 carry-on bags and two car seats to the airport. Or how I had to say good-bye to my parents at the end of the security line and take the next steps all alone. No, I'm not fully recovered from sitting in detention for nearly thirty minutes in the Korean immigration office because one of the passports fell out of my stack on the plane, and I didn't realize it until I was standing at the front of line at immigration. Or during my thirty minutes in detention with four exhausted kids, not being able to have a complete conversation with anyone around me because they couldn't speak English, so then I started to cry. But in my defense, that was the first time I cried during any of the before mentioned moments. So I think it was okay.

Anyway, I have a few pictures to post of us en route. But in the mean time, I wanted to respond to my friend Kim's post about what's out your front door and back door. Here was the entry that I wanted to post last week. I hope she'll accept my post about it now, even though it's not still what's out my front door or back door. Although that picture would probably be interesting too, but not quite as beautiful. So let's go with last weeks doors...

Front door:

Back door:

P.S. a few other great ideas that happened at beach week:

It occurred to my mom that we might all want a pedicure. But what an inconvenience to have to go to the nail salon, you know, we were pretty busy laying around. So she went to the nail salon, and brought the pedicurist to us! Now that was a great beach week idea. Thanks mom!!



This next idea wasn't maybe great in the moment, but in retrospect it is a classic story that makes my family unique. There are some train tracks that were close by to the beach house, so all the little kids saw the train pass by a few times a day. My parents decided it would be fun to take the little kids on the train and drive by the beach house and point to it on our way past. And to make it even better, they thought they could take the kids and give the parents the morning off. It was only as they were loading into the car that they realized that they might need one other adult to make the field trip successful. I (having the most kids on the field trip) volunteered to come along. The Amtrak automatic kiosk was unwilling to sell my dad eight children tickets with only 3 adults. That kiosk thought that was an unwise grouping. I think in this case, the kiosk did know something that we didn't! Anyway, it was unique and crazy, and reminiscent of my own childhood. But it is how my parents are, and I salute their crazy ideas and ever youthful approach to life and learning, which undoubtedly taught me how to do something like move to Korea with four kids...

I will take some pictures of us in Korea tomorrow. Just as a preview, Jane holds her nose any time we take a step out our front door. I don't totally agree with her. It's not terribly odorous, but I think it's more the figurative symbol that makes me laugh every time we march across our new village. Change is hard and with every new walk we embark upon we tell Jane, "Just unplug your nose for 30 seconds and you'll see, it's not that bad." Trustingly, she does unplug her nose a little longer each time. And so it is for each of us in our own different way. We are all resistant to change, but with each day we get more and more acclimated.

Good night.

A tribute to the beach.

First of all, we're still here! We have now been at the beach for a week, and we still have about three days to go. I love the beach, and here are a few reasons why:

It's beautiful and serene. The sounds, the smell, the feel, the sun. It's all beautiful and fills me up.

Next, I love the beach because we are here with our family. It's so great to have the late night with the adults.

The sunny afternoon with our cousins!

Getting to spend most of the day outside.

Making memories with dad.

Playing in our swimming suits and with water all day.

And of course, the sand. Getting buried in it. Walking in it, playing in it, bringing it in with us, sleeping with pieces of it, washing our clothes in a bit of it. You know, sand.

Anyway, we're doing great! I've almost forgot that on Sunday I'm flying with four kids to Korea. The great news is that Darin's first day in Korea, he found us a place to live, he moves in tomorrow!! It actually has four bedrooms, is two-years old, is right next door to an indoor swimming compound, and within walking distance to the elementary school. The bad news hasn't changed, I have to fly solo to Korea. It will be fine. We are taking the red-eye! But these days at the beach will be a treasured memory to take along with us.

We've come a long way.

We drove away from Colorado Springs on June 1st. We slept in Cedar City the first night. Followed up by a night in Las Vegas. On to Anaheim where we pulled off two fun filled days at Disneyland. Arrived at the beach house with just enough energy to unload the car and fall asleep. Shipped our van off to Korea the next day. And then finally today, we're trying to relax. We are missing our grandma and grandpa. You can see pictures and read about our first two days at my sister's blog here.

More updates to follow.

It's moving day.

I guess this day was inevitable. But boy is it annoying! Too many nights with not enough sleep. A household of goods being divided between moving to Korea, or moving to storage. It's enough to make a lady crazy. I was going to post the chocolate cake recipe over the weekend. But instead, this weekend we pretended we weren't going to move. We spent Saturday at the park with the kids. Then downtown Colorado Springs for Territory Days (definitely put that on the list of events NOT to attend in Col. Sprgs.). Then Darin and I went out on a date on Saturday night. We spent Monday running around, doing errands, at the mall, and at a BBQ. And then finally at 8pm last night we couldn't deny the facts any longer and we had to work into the wee hours of the morning. Whatever. It will all be over soon! More updates to follow...

Little girls need good-bye parties too! And the move hits us hard each in our own way.

Even Jane and Ruby have been lucky enough to have two of the sweetest friends any little girl could have. To help them all remember each other we took the girls to "Build a Bear" and had them all kiss each others bear hearts before sewing them in. I hope these girls will be able to resume where they leave off in two short years!

Hard to believe Jane and Ruby picked princess outfits for their bears, don't you think?! I'm kidding. Ruby's been telling me for WEEKS that her bear would be dresses up as Tinker Bell. I can't say that I mind really. Thanks Rachel and Avery for being our best little friends!

In other news...on Wednesday morning, Darin posted an add on Craig's list that he had a Camry for sale. About five hours later, his Camry was being driven away by it's new owner (an Iraqi war refugee, as an interesting side-story). At the end of the night, as we sat with only one car in the driveway I think we were both feeling a little shocked that it went so quickly. Darin spent the evening remembering all the amazing places that car had driven us. RIP maroon camry CE. We wish you much happiness in your new life with Jabal. It took Darin a day or two to move through the grieving process, but I think we have him convinced that something better will come along someday. (He told me he always thought Henry would learn to drive in that car. Some dreams die hard.)

Earnest Family Toyota Camry CE

May 1999-May 2008

Thanks for the many years of dedicated service.

Some days make you count your blessings.

Some days are just good days. One good thing about moving, is Darin is home a lot. He took care of the girls this morning so that I could go solo on George's field trip. That's the first time I was able to work that deal out all school year long. And it was cute how happy George was that I was there with him.

The field trip was to the Air Force academy to get a tour of the "Wings of Blue" program. It was very exciting to get to see so many cadets jumping out of airplanes. And while I was not tempted in the least bit to perform such a stunt, I was sure that George would be. So wasn't I surprised to hear that George was not actually enticed by the cadets falling out of the sky. It sort of seemed like his kind of activity. But walking into the air plane was fun for him.

Next part of counting my blessings had to do with how many important things we got checked off of Darin's list today. There are lots of important things that we should be doing everyday. It's hard to keep on top of it all. So it's wonderful to have a productive day.

But the biggest blessing I was reminded of today was the gift of friends. My girl friends here are life savers and have filled my life with laughter and love. I am so blessed. They kept George and the girls for me this afternoon so that Darin and I could go out together and run a bunch of errands. Then later on in the evening, all the dads stepped in to let all the moms have a night out on the town.

It is a blessing to have people with whom you can laugh so hard at the end of the day. Or cry really hard in the middle of the day. Or to just pass driving around in the mini van throughout the week. It's just a blessing. And I am so grateful. These ladies have made my three years here ones that will NEVER be forgotten.

And best of all, these ladies gave me an excuse to pull out my favorite ice cream cake recipe, and in the midst of an across the planet move, pause for a night, to just eat cake!

What a lot of blessing for just one day.