We moved to Seoul in the end of July

!!!!!

I don't plan on keeping up this blog anymore

but we're logging a few of our experiences in Korea at:

thelandofthemorningcalm.wordpress.com 

Aquabats

Between papers, presentations, finals, family visiting, graduation, moving-out of our apartment, preparing to leave for Korea, and an awesome family reunion in Hawaii, the picture-a-day project has fallen by the wayside.  

Anyway, here are some pictures from tonight of our cute water babies:

 SUCCESS!

Less Successful Attempts:

D: (muffled, possibly struggling for air) What are you doing?
B: I'm trying to water ski!

안녕히계세요

Week 22

Day 148: May 27th

Day 149: May 28th

Day 150: May 29th

Aunt Lindy: this is how long her hair is  

Day 151: May 30th

The kids watched the movie  Up.  At one point, L got up on her knees with tears rolling down her face and sobbed  "he  lost his  haaaaaa" Me: "He lost house?  That is so sad." L: "No he lost his HAT!" and returns to sobbing.
L has a lot of emotion these days.

Day 152: May 31st

B will happily spend an afternoon this way

Day 153: June 1st

the kids are laughing as Shawsu's (in orange) dad falls into the dunk tank
this was at a school BBQ.  It was so fun! (bounce house, balloon artist, etc.)

Day 154: June 2nd

naptime
Our B-Boy is pretty sick.  Yesterday (when this picture was taken) as well as today he  can't keep 2  swallows of liquid down and has a raging fever (but again he vomits any medicine we've given him.)  He only wakes up for 10-15 minutes at a time then says, "um, I'm a little bit tired, I think I'll take a rest." 

Week 21

Day 141: May 20th

The kids slept in this for over a week until we needed the space back.
They we'll be ready for us camping across the US while we head to family/summer destinations

Day 142: May 21st

I took a picture of how L dressed herself.
But it's not blog appropriate.

Day 143: May 22nd

Day 144: May 23rd

Day 145: May 24th

Day 146: May 25th D's family arrived!

this is D's little brother aka Uncle Kevan
L is giving him a massage

Day 147: May 26th

At the zoo, holding hands with Aunt Cami

Week 20

Day 134: May 13

a very happy way to wake-up

Day 135: May 14

B always has a million questions...right before bed :)

Day 136: May 15

sunset at Lighthouse Beach

Day 137: May 16

"I drewed a 'pider!"

Day 138: May 17

The kids and I were out running errands all day and came home to several of our favorite things!
(What's in the bag? Bennison's makes really yummy roast beef pretzel bread sandwiches.)

Day 139: May 18 (photo by Mike)

Tyson, Sam, Mike, Adam, D, Tyler
On Friday we took a road trip with a bunch of friends to Nauvoo (5 hours south of Chicago.)
Nauvoo has a re-created pioneer village where you can participate in making bread, soap, ropes, bricks , horseshoes, wagons, etc.  

 Day 140: May 19 (photo by Mike)

After we put the kids to bed, we stayed up all night playing games.  We are really going to miss our friends!  Only 3 weeks until we say goodbye to graduate school and all that entails.

What is she saying?

Can anyone tell?

Week 19

Day 127

I told B we must cut his hair.
(The tendrils were curling under his jawline.)
"But Mom it's stylish."
When that didn't sway me, he said,
"You Delilah! I will lose my strength!"

Day 128

Day 129 (taken by my friend Gina)

Day 130

B's 1st time "Balling."
Whenever he discovers something new, he assumes it is new to the entire world:
"I can't wait til Daddy hears about this!"

various responses to "show me big smiles."

L expressed disappointment in us that we finished the stir-fry while she was napping.
"Dat is not nice."

Day 131

a couple of friends (Kellie & Ashley) recommended the show Downton Abbey.
it has become our late-night guilty pleasure

Day 132 cell phone picture!

movie night at the Hemas!
Nothing's better than cuddling kiddos during a movie.

Day 133

It was Saturday night and D wouldn't be home until after midnight.
I thought of Marjorie Hinckley: her husband often traveled and rather than complaining about his absence, she said, "oh, good, your father is gone. Let's order pizza" (Pizza was an extra special treat.)

The take-away, for me, is although I miss D when he is gone, I can best support him by taking any pressure off him of worrying about us, or feeling guilty about being away (ie freeing him to focus on important tasks at hand.)  I'm bad at this...but I'm trying to be better.  On Saturday, we had a dinner picnic and game night.

I also have my mom as an example.  She's like the Mary Poppins of moms.  My dad traveled a lot when we were little, but my mom was calm, collected, loving, and present, despite many demands on her. 

my favorite place

There is a nearby park that we absolutely love.  We enjoy it so much, that when my sister was visiting in winter, we took her there, despite that it was freezing cold:

 (taken by my sister Katy, November 2011)

The park is 60-acres big and includes beach, forest, fields and flower gardens so B's favorite thing to do is "explore."   B and L wander and climb trees and examine plants and D & I follow behind, holding hands and talking.  

(April 2012)

Week 18

Day 120: April 29

twinners at church (Hailey & L)

Day 121: April 30

Reveling in our bounty after coming home from the grocery store.
Cilantro and tomatillos make me soooo happy.

Day 122: May 1

Day 123: May 2

In the middle of the day we started hearing jack hammers and chain saws outside.
They were leveling all the trees and bushes in our front courtyard (it was this beautiful green space, our own little garden of Eden, with baby bunnies and birds even a red fox and the kids secret garden of ferns and vines.)  We were all so devastated and distraught.  At the end of the day, everything was gone but the dirt and some trash left by the destruction team.  :(

Day 124: May 3

dinner with friends with our dear friends (L calls them the "HaHa" family)
Later that evening, I took the kids to an ice-skating performance called "Pastiche."
The kids loved it!  Sadly, L, who hasn't really had any breathing problems in months, ended up having an asthma attack during the performance.  We're grateful for inhalers.

Day 125: May 4

Every Friday, D's school has a big party for students & their families.  The theme this week was Korea.
Delicious savory pancakes, sushi--yum!  There was a Tae Kwon Do performance arranged like a video game (where you can switch out players, pause, gain extra lives) and it was extremely entertaining.  B loved watching them break boards with their bare hands.

Day 126: May 5

Our friends are from Singapore and they have a tradition that when a new baby is born, the mom and infant don't leave the house for a month.  This friend, Maohua, recently had a little boy and on his full-month birthday they had a big party. It was so fun.