The CUTEST thing I think I've ever seen

Here's Mikey doing the punches and standing in the stance like he should. I think he looks so cute doing this! He's so tiny and is the youngest one there. It's amazing how the Master has taught Mikey everything. The Master and his wife adore Mikey. I'm sure "somebody" will end up pregnant soon! You can see it in their faces- they WANT a a little boy of their own. They have 2 daughters, the youngest is Muriel's age.

Lillian doing donuts

Lillian says this is how she does donuts but it's really a figure eight. She had lots of fun driving all over the place.

A familar tree

Here's a tree my husband and his family should recognize. This one was up in the mountains by the side of the road where cars could pull over.

Two Refridges

The one of the left is the regular fridge. The small one on the right is a special fridge and Koreans think their lives are not complete without one. You can put all sorts of stuff in it like fruits, fermented vegetables and anything else you find a good deal on in the market.

The typical table

Don't be looking for chairs when you go out to eat especially on a mountain. Here's where we sat and ate duck with all the side dishes.

Tables in the trees

Can you see the person in the red shirt? We were sitting at the tables to the left of him. Nothing fancy at this duck restaurant just good food.

The Duck Restaurant

You can see part of the restaurant in the picture. You go past the buildings and climb up the side of the mountain and sit at one of the many tables amongst the trees. The white vehicle belongs to Terry's sister. She has only had it a couple of days.

Road in the Mountains

Here's the road we take to go up and down the mountain to the duck restaurant. This road is very narrow, has tight turns, and curves all over the place. AND if someone is coming you have to either back up or get to the side of the road. There's barely room for one car let alone two.

Rice Field

Here's a rice field up in the mountains. You can see them all over the place. And you know it's rice by looking for the flooded cropland.

Mikey can KICK

Mikey CAN kick really well. He gets lots of practice too.

Hopping stance in Tae Kwan Doe

Muriel does well in class. She is so shy though. It's like she doesn't want to be there BUT once home wants to show us what she has learned to do (then shows off how well she can do it). She can do this.

Now, watch Lillian. That right leg of hers is short which results in her inching her way forward while jumping. She cannot stay in one place. The guy helping her is always getting her to back on her spot. She really enjoys it and tries so hard to get it right.

Muriel Riding bike in Daejon

Here's Muriel riding the bike. She is a bit shy but enjoys herself. I told her to make kissy face at daddy. She did but it was short.

Tae Kwan Doe Extra help

You can see Lillian has a little extra help during class....and then there's Mikey cutting thru! He gets more one on one instruction since he is so small.

Mikey's warm up

Mikey really hates stretching so afterwards the Tae Kwan Doe Master (the guy who owns the school) holds Mikey and "makes" him happy. After a few minutes, Mikey will start punching and kicking like he should.

Woo Hoo!

Look at the wind in Lillian's hair! There was a good breeze coming before the rain storm and Lillian loved riding into the wind.

What do we do to bad kids in Korea?

That's right kids! TWO fingers up the nose!

Hand dryer with heat lamp

If you see a red light while drying your hands in public bathrooms, it is a heat lamp. IF you see a blue light, it is a sanitizer. Some of the hand dryers blow so fast that the water is splatting every where.

Daejon Saturday and Sunday

We went to Daejon this weekend where Terry's family is. It's a 3 hour drive in a small car and 2 dogs. Sammy is jerk at any time so you know we had an interesting trip. Sammy bit Mikey twice in one day and today he even bit me. Of course, I got bit trying to keep Sammy from eating his own puke in the floor board of the car. That dog as never gotten car sick until TODAY. Guess you could say I started it. I threw up friday night from a horrible migraine. Saturday morning, Lillian threw up since she wouldn't eat enough friday night OR it could have been the chicken and rice "soup" Terry's mom LEFT out all night that we didn't know about. Lillian was too excited and wanted to play friday night and just wouldn't listen to us that she had to eat. So, we know she didn't feel well from the meds BUT the chicken and rice didn't help matters. THEN Jessica threw up after breakfast-she ate the "soup" too. Don't know what was up with us but we're the only ones that got sick. AND to top it all off....saturday night Terry's family (more like his mom) said if we were hungry there was chicken in the kitchen we could heat up. I thought okay. While in the kitchen I saw this huge pot on the counter and looked in it. There was the chicken that was left over from the NIGHT BEFORE from DINNER! THAT was the chicken we could eat! Plus, the rice cooked in the chicken juice was STILL sitting on the stove! I told Jessica DON"T eat it and don't let the kids eat it! I even told the kids to only eat fresh fruit or cereal with milk for breakfast the next morning! I explained why and I thought Muriel was going to puke from just hearing the chicken had been sitting out all night and all day! Jessica said she thinks Terry's mom is losing her mind...really losing it. She is doing weird stuff.

Now, Daejon is farther from the sea so there's less wind AND cool air flow. Still horrible humidty- we will never escape humidity here. There's also no air conditioning like we are used to in America. There's these aircon units that stand in the corner of the room which look like the return unit of your central air unit. They blow nice cold air BUT everyone has to sleep in the living room to enjoy it. If you open all the doors and place the fans just right, you can get the aircon air to circulate throughout the house. It doesn't keep the house real cool but you aren't miserable either. Thankfully, it wasn't hot enough to use the aircon while we were visiting. We opened the windows and turned on the fan and were comfortable.

The kids had a blast. They know Bum Joon, Terry's nephew. He has visited us twice in America. The girls played with Bum Joon and his cousin, U Ne. Mikey had fun with Gu Hwan (U Ne's brother) who is about a year younger. Bum Joon's mom said she would take the kids with her to the store they own. The girls hopped right on that! They came back with toys and candy AND ice cream bars. Bum Joon's mom even took Lillian and Muriel to the park with the other kids. Of course, there was a fountain at the park and guess who got in it? You guessed it MY KIDS! Now, this wouldn't have been a big deal to us BUT Bum Joon's mom just got a new car the night before. It looks like a Scion Cube. She actually went and bought the girls NEW clothes because they were soaked. Muriel picked out an outfit that was half off which made the outfit under 20,000 won. Lillian took one look at the pink outfit Bum Joon's mom pick out and told her NO! So, she looked for blue since she remembered Lillian likes blue. Well, the shirt doesn't match the shorts but at least both are blue and not PINK.

We met the kids and Bum Joon's mom on top of this mountain at a restraunt that serves duck and only duck. The man who owns the place started out with a small house and has built on several times. He even built a new restraunt further down the mountain. The strange thing is that the road leads to his place and dead ends. There is barely room to park let alone turn around. It's so crowded, there's two men to direct traffic and tell you where to park. Then you have to find some where to sit down. The inside tables are HOT and often filled so UP the moutain you go! There's tables every where covered by this netting material to keep the sun off of you plus coverage from birds, twigs falling etc. Not useful while it is raining or snowing though. Have to admit that the duck was GOOD. The side dishes were fresh and the garlic tossed on the grill with the duck was really good too. Muriel didn't even talk! She stuffed her face and didn't stop until she was full. Lillian even gobbled up so much that Terry's mom and sister were surprised all that food went into such skinny little girl. Mikey picked at the meat. He was a bit picky and didn't like the food cooking so close to him. It was hot enough without the fire in the middle of the table. People around us even said my kids' legs were going to break because they were so skinny while we were at this place. Terry just told them they were small children. Well, I would have told them I don't feed my kids loads of junk food or fast foods so they aren't fat like yours are!

After stuffing ourselves silly on duck, we headed back down the mountain. We made sure the girls buckled their seat belts. Apparently, Koreans don't think it is worth buckling their kids in the car. Parents actually complain that it takes too long to buckle a baby let alone small children. The death rate is incredible here for small children due to blunt force trauma in crashes.

The kids headed for the park on Sunday that rents bikes and battery operated cars for kids. We headed for the pharmacy. Jessica and I had horrible headaches. We needed pain killers. Lucky for us, E-Mart was open! Once we had the medicine, off to the park we went. Lillian rented a four wheeler that runs on batteries. She had a blast on it. Lillian ran it until it stopped so we had to find out how to reset it. AND it had to be reset 3 times! Muriel tried a 2 wheel bike but fell over so she had to get one with training wheels. She has gotten to where she can go really fast and has the scrapes to prove it. Mikey wanted a police 4 wheeler with sirens! I didn't know how well he would do but figured now was as good as any to find out. Surprisely, he controlled it without any problems. He only had one accident where he rammed a kid on another 4 wheeler. It was a hit and run as my son crashed into this kid and took off! Mikey could ride for only 30 minutes which turned out just right. By the time we returned the 4 wheeler, it was starting to rain and he had 2 minutes left. He rode the 4 wheeler up and stopped just before crashing into a line of "motor bikes" for kids. The kids are begging to do that again!

By the time we got back to Bum Joon's house, it was time to put children in the bath. The kids ran off to the jaquizzi tub! Of course the new water guns Lillian managed to get while at the family's store had to go to the tub too. Even Mikey got in and had fun. With the weather the way it is, we had to get showers morning and night. By the time we wake up, we are covered in sweat and can smell ourselves. Then by the end of the day, you can't stand smelling yourself another minute and HAVE to shower.

Anyways, we made out of there like bandits! I got a fur coat granted it's green rabbit fur. A purple coat, a tan light weight knee length jacket, a hanbok (traditional korean dress) plus I can pick thru Bum Joon's clothes and see what will fit our kids. Lillian really liked some of his shirts. They are happy and very spoiled here! Terry's mom even gave me money to buy the kids some clothes. Apparently, she feels bad for giving us second hand stuff. It's considered bad luck to wear used clothing. Jessica asked Terry if he told his mom we buy second hand and are happy about it. Jessica and I got a good chuckle out of Terry's mom giving me money. I told him I would make sure to buy them something. Like I told Muriel, it has to last forever so make sure to buy something that will last a long time and won't break easily.

Brief update

Mikey has been going with his little girl friend to the park while I help at the school. He has warmed up to the mom and let his true colors show. He was NAUGHTY! Mikey ran off and wouldn't listen while at the park. The mom was a bit upset he wouldn't come when told. BUT she bought him ice cream and cookies. Reward bad behavior and you'll get more of it!

The girls are doing well in phonics class. They had their first spelling test Monday. Lillian got a 65 and Muriel an 80. Their teacher counts the word wrong if a letter is written backwards. So, they didn't really "miss" all the words but wrote the letters wrong. Each girl had to write the missed words several times as homework.

Today, they have another spelling test. So, they took a practice test this morning. I think they will do better this time. Although, Koreans do not pronounce the word during the test. The teacher holds up a picture and the students write the word. The test is completely silent. The teacher doesn't use the word in a sentence either. This is very difficult for Lillian. She likes to hear the word so she can figure out the spelling. And she has to write each word instead of typing, using magnetic letters or verbally spelling the words. And for Muriel, this is all new to her. She has never had a spelling test so I think she is doing very well.

Tae Kwan Doe is going well. The class has new students since the "little white" kids started. I think there's close to 20 students now when there were only 8 or 9 before the kids joined the class. Mikey is a bit of a challenge. He runs around a lot. Guess the TKD staff puts up with him since they are making a bundle off the kids. At least Mikey knows part of the chant and can kick and punch now. He's always shouting the part of the chant he knows every time he sees someone in their uniform or when people say hi to him on the street.

The Sammy stretch

Mikey demonstrates how Sammy stretches. He shows us what Sammy does and Sammy does a lot!

What does Sammy do?

Just ask Mikey and he'll show you what Sammy does! Sammy itches all the time and chews on himself like an ear of corn. Mikey will pretend to bite his fingers and arms like he's eating corn on the cob.

Boom, Boom, Fire Power

Here's Mikey and his boom, boom, fire power routine. He is so funny with this one. Drives us nuts while going down the road repeating it over and over.

Muriel's NEW Outfit

Muriel just LOVES anything leopard print! She found this shirt and I told her it was the wrong season for it and to not get it. Well, the lady gave it to her because Muriel started to cry over it. I got her the skirt because she can wear it with a lot of stuff.

The JOY of throwing

Mikey has found it amusing to toss laundry, shoes and anything else he gets his hands on. Consequently, Mikey's shorts and Thomas underwear ended up on TOP of the tent that covers my bed. Nice!

Hitch Hiker

The snails are so bad here they even attach themselves to the tires of vehicles. They don't stick on very well though. Once you get going, they flip right off.

Reclaimed Land

You can see the reclaimed land that now has buildings on it. Apparently, the apartments are terribly expensive.

No Idea what this says

I'm pretty sure this has something to do with the reclaimed land. They are filling in areas where the ocean is and making new land to build on.

Construction Workers

Notice the hard hats have extensions? This is to provide shade from the sun. You'll even see some construction workers erect those beach sized umbrellas to give them shade while working. It gives the construction site some color to say the least.

Shopping in the rain

This is the day we bought our traditional Korean dresses. The girls were checking out the next store as I was getting everything packaged and ready to be rang up. They like to look around even though everything was covered in plastic during the rain storm.

Squatter Toilet

Not all buildings in Korea have updated plumbing fixtures! THIS is a squatter toilet. As you can see in the picture, the floor is wet from someone missing the toilet! These used to be standard in houses. Thank the good Lord the newer buildings have regular sit down toilets.

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday June 20th

Went to Seoul to get Lillian's new shoes. They were black mary jane's and custom made. Lillian needs two different sized shoes. So, this shoe factory charged us 50,000 won for her shoes. They fit well and Lillian is happy. She wanted to wear them but it was raining and she would have ruined them. These shoes are not cheap shoes by any means. We got them at a really good price and Lillian's insert was glued into the shoe. Now, she can't loose it!

After we ate lunch at an Italian place, we went walking around. We ended up buying traditional dresses for the girls and I. Got them on clearance too. Now that we have our dresses, we are planning on taking pictures.

The kids were wet from playing in the rain. Their shoes were soaked and their socks were awful. It was time to go to the skin doctor too. They were complaining that they were cold. I brought extra clothes just in case. They had a great time window shopping and running around with umbrellas. Jessica even stopped by this little place that makes traditional "candy" and you get to watch them do it. It's like taffy. They poke a hole in the round "dough" and start pulling. They count how many strands are there with each pull until there's 16,000. We asked if it had wheat, barely or rye and they said no. Well, come to find out there's malt in it which is made from barely. Lillian cried because she couldn't have it. Jessica said she was sorry she didn't know it had malt in it. I told Lillian if she'd like just one little taste even though it would make her tummy upset, she could try it. She did and after we got home, well, she threw up. Jessica reminded her of that taffy like candy and how it has malt in it. Lillian knew why she got sick but it was only one time and she was fine.

A few doors down from the doctor's office is a second hand store. I took Jessica there and we did some shopping. The girls loved this little shop. Muriel found the cutest black skirt, a pink skirt and the lady felt sorry for her and gave her a long sleeved purple leopard shirt. Lillian found a rain coat, swim goggles, one blouse and one tank top. Jessica found a pair of Peter Rabbit suspenders. She made the comment "anyone need suspenders" and I told her YES! I've been searching for some for months. Even my mom and grandma have been looking. Jessica found a pair of Ralf Lauren blue jeans for 10,000 won which is awesome. I found a dress and 2 shirts. Not bad for a second hand store. We plan on looking for more second hand stores! Korean clothes are low quality and everything else is imported (i.e. expensive).

At the doctor's office, several ladies were already there. Three of them got their legs done so they won't have to shave for 5 years. It takes several treatments but you don't have to shave for FIVE years! I went before Jessica. It's hard to turn up the juice on the IPL laser. I have hives and a breakout from the allergy problem. Talk about getting zapped! When the doctor did certain areas of my face, I actually yelled. It's painful! The results are great but it sure does HURT. All the little problem spots got zapped so later that evening I noticed they all "scabbed" over. Jessica only got IPL because her skin is doing very well. Looks good too.

Got home later than usual due to traffic and those ladies getting their legs done. We had beans waiting for us so dinner was a snap. Terry and I whipped up the pot of beans and potato cakes with fresh veges. Surprisingly, the kids gobbled up their dinner and went to bed with out all the fuss. They were really tired from all the traveling and walking.


Sunday June 21st

We went to the swimming pool! The kids had a lot of fun swimming. Everyone is required to wear a swim cap and no one can wear eyeglasses. Goggles are okay but no toys unless it's a swimming board. Mikey finally let loose of me and played in the "kiddie pool" which is less than 3 feet deep. He would tell me to hold onto his swim shorts and help him swim around. Other parents saw me and started doing the same to their kids. Of course, their kids screamed the whole time since their faces were too close to the water! Lillian and Muriel went to the swimming lanes and had so much fun swimming from one end to the other. They swam next to the wall so if they needed to stop they could. Even Jessica and Terry came. They helped the kids swim too. Terry had to take Mikey to the mens locker room while us girls went to the ladies locker room. The locker rooms have the heated pools and a cold pool along with a sauna and showers galore. Same ordeal though. We were the only white people there so we got stared at the entire time in the locker room.

Terry went and got the ice chest out of the car so we could have lunch in the park. Afterward, Lillian decided to go to the fountain. I guess she fell in because her shoes and socks were drowned. We let the kids play and run around a bit then headed home. Jessica and Terry had errands to run while I had the girls finish up their phonics workbook pages. Then we had quiet time...not like they napped or anything. I needed to lie down due to a sinus headache. I told the kids to sit on their bed mat quietly. They could lie down or play but they HAD to be quiet. I felt better later on. Jessica and Terry came home with a few things so I let the kids out of the room. I rested a bit longer then I got up to tidy the bedroom. I stuffed things in suitcases that could be put away. I didn't even get to the girls' suitcase where they keep their clothes. It's a disaster! At least everything is still folded! Mikey has all his clothes in a box and mine are in one of those baskets like the blue ones at Wal-Mart. The room looks better and I'm sure the cleaning lady will appreciate it too.

All in a day's "work"

Notice the "black" eye? Well that's only part of Mikey's accomplishment for the day!

The day started out fine as usual. Breakfast, lunch, off to Tae Kwan Doe, and back for snack time. During break, Mikey had to go to the bathroom. He was over at the sink ready to wash his hands when I had to deal with the girls. Next thing I hear is Terry saying to Mikey "Are you crazy?" I knew he had done something really bad. I came back to find Terry scolding Mikey. Terry said a student came running to him and said Mikey had climbed the wall to the one foot square window and was hanging his head out of it! Terrified, Terry went running into the bathroom to find Mikey with his rear end stuck up in the air! Mikey had nearly half his body hanging out the window! The school is also on the second floor. We are now getting the child safety device installed on the window!

THEN while at the park, Mikey decided to climb up on top of a six foot wall with all the older kids. I told him to stand still until I got to him. He said he wanted to jump! I told him I would catch him. That wasn't good enough so I said I'd hold his hand while he jumped. AND he DID!!!! Mikey landed on his feet then plopped down on his rear end. He said it hurt a little bit but he was okay.

So, as if this wasn't enough of a scare... During the next break, Mikey was asked to SIT on the bench while I got our stuff ready to leave. Did he sit, NO. Why would he sit when all the kids were in the library chatting away. Mikey decided to JUMP on the couch and landed on the heater! This is where the black eye happened. The kids were frightened and told Mikey to find his mother. They led him down the hall to me and pushed him into the room. ALL the kids stood at the door to see what was going to happen. I took him to Terry and Jessica to find out what happened. We asked Mikey to show us where he got hurt. Then we all "agreed" he needed to make the other side match. We asked Mikey if he would do it again. He just sat there with his head in his hands saying "No" and nearly cried. I took him home and would check on him in the rear view mirror. His eye started swelling and I honestly thought it was going to close.

I suppose this is all in a day's work for a kid!

Workin' the Ladies

Mikey has found himself a friend! This is the first one he's been able to hold hands with and play with. We went to the park with this little girl, her brother and their mother. The kids played very well together despite the language barrier.

Mikey did encounter some teenagers in the supermarket with Jessica. The girls all huddled around him saying how cute he was until he poked two of his fingers UP one of the girl's nose! Then they all took a step back as he kept trying to do it again.

Climbing Roses

Climbing roses are every where. Take these for example. They don't have any where to go but up and over the wall. I think it's pretty how they are cascading over the wall.

Side Street near School

This is the side street we take to the crazy ladies produce stand and past them is the man on the corner that sells produce as well. It's very crowded. We have to stand between the cars when someone is coming.

Grapevines

I've only found one house nearby with grapevines so I took a picture. The grapes are still really small and green. This is on the way to the crazy ladies produce stand.

The Soda Pop Man

Here's flats of Coco-Cola, Fanta Orange and Fanta Pineapple. There were even flats of empty glass bottles.

G-Mart

Check out the G-Mart! Not a lot of options here. Not real fancy either. It's a little store that we can pick up drinks or our gluten free cookie sandwiches that are like Twinkies. The kids really like these cookies.

First Graders

Here are the 2 first graders in my phonics class. They can be ornery!

The stairs that go down way down

This is the stairs we take from the street down to the walk way to Jessica's house. You can see the cut out on each step. Not like the stairs are easy to begin with! Especially difficult when trying to carry groceries to the house.

I'm not going to eat that!

Jessica asked Muriel if she would like to try something new at dinner tonight. Muriel asked "what are they?" Jessica replied, "they're fish eggs." Muriel looked at it and says "I'm NOT going to eat dog wiener!"

The Bath House

We decided to go to the bath house around 10 a.m. today. It has common areas and segregated areas. First we checked in at the front desk, got our wrist bands with keys on then grabbed 2 hand towels and headed down stairs on the women's side. The first room is where we put our shoes in small lockers. Then around the corner was a lady at a counter handing out what looked like pajamas. Pink ones for the women and creamy white sets for the men. Mikey got pink ones since he was on the women's side. I guess he didn't mind since everyone else was in pink too.

Once we had our pj's, we found our lockers. All of us changed clothes and headed up stairs to the common areas. The men and women share the common areas. We laid down in the heated igloo which felt oh so nice. It really looks like an igloo with heated floors and very warm inside. You can stretch out and get all comfy. If you would like, there's even blankets that you can rent. Jessica and I let the kids play in the play area while we hopped into a massage chair and got a massage for 1,000 won. It was nice, really nice. Although, the massage was painful because I'm still sore from falling in the kitchen. The massage helped even though it hurt. You know how it is, you feel better afterward.

After the kids were done playing, we went back down stairs to the womens area. It's a bit awkward at first because everyone is naked. My kids put their towels around them and walked to the bathing area. They quickly tossed their towels and jumped into the pools. Mikey saw more naked women today than he will ever see in his life! He kept looking around like "why is everyone naked" but quickly got past the nudity and started having fun. It's a bit strange being the minority especially since the young women try so hard to keep their skin as fair as possible. They try to keep their skin "white" and end up with a serious vitamin D deficiency due to the lack of sunshine.

There was a really cold pool that was big enough to swim in. Muriel had a lot of fun there and kept going back there to swim. Lillian only made it down to the second step. It was just so cold! Mikey screamed when put in and scrambled to get out. I never bothered to get in. I finally got my muscles to loose up and didn't want them all tight from the cold water. We all enjoyed the heated spa with the "fountain" in the middle. The sauna was nice too. Jessica, Lillian and I rubbed salt all over ourselves and scrubbed our skin really well. Then showered off and slapped on mud masks. Even Jessica was covered in the mud. I got Mikey covered in mud too.

We finally showered and washed our hair really well. I ended up with shampoo in my eye! It still stings and it's been several hours since it happened. We had to hurry and check out because the kids needed lunch and the Tae Kwan Doe bus would be coming to get them soon.

The kids want to go back there again. I'm surprised they liked it so well.

Something Interesting

I was introduced to the following website and thought others would find it interesting as well. Go to: http://www.to-mr-cheng.com/ and see what Mr. Cheng has sent to himself.

June 16th

We decided to take the kids to Home Plus+ after work yesterday. We HAD to get more ketchup! You know we can't live without it...especially Mikey. I never thought we were going to get thru that store. First of all, it's a good 5 stories high. You park and then take the esclator down to where to want to go. Muriel ended up with a really cute pink dress with a lace overlay and pink satin bow in the front at the waist. It was 15,000 won and that was half price. Lillian tried on pants but she couldn't fit any. Mikey was just being ornery. The ladies said he was cute and I told them he was a very bad boy! He kept opening the dressing room curtain and exposing Lillian. He thought it was hysterical to hear her scream. Jessica finally gave him a swat on the booty and I drug him off for time out. Then he opted for running down the isle of the store! Oh, and there was the water fountain too. He just HAD to get a drink or two or three or four...ending with another swat to STOP playing in the water! THEN he found THOMAS. The scramble began and he searched EVERY item of Thomas to see if it was HIS SIZE! I thought I'd never get him out of there! We have avoided the Thomas areas for this reason. This time I didn't see it until he was screaming "THOMAS!"

We finally got out of there and went home with the few items we needed. I whipped up cheese sandwiches and some soup (beef boulion, carrots, rice, cherry tomatoes). The kids gobbled it up and Mikey was so full he laid down on the floor and went to sleep.

Jessica and I made corn tortillas. We will be cooking them for dinner today. I made salsa but I have to put more tomatoes in it. So, I will be heading for the market today to buy them. Cherry tomatoes have a really sweet flavor and taste wonderful in salsa. We had Terry make beans in the rice cooker. It's a pressure cooker and it takes about less than 2 hours to make beans. We'll make refried beans tonight for tacos tonight. Lillian says it's fiesta night!

AND the cleaning lady came yesterday. She did a really good job scrubbing the bathrooms and she went over the house better as well. She doesn't come to the school anymore. Wonder if she got the hint???

Strawberry Sea Sponges

Does NO ring a bell? You got to be kidding, people eat these things? They don't even look edible!

Sting Rays

Well, for those of you who like sting ray- here it is. Fresh from the sea and belly side up so you can get a good look at it.

Dinner's ready

Here's how we know the clams are ready. The one the left is a scallop.

Marina

The marina looked so sad with all the boats sitting on the mud. Amazing how the boats don't just fall over.

Snail on Grill

When the snail bubbles it's ready to eat. The clams open and look "done" when cooked and the shrimp turn bright pink.

The shells licked clean

The kids honestly licked the shells clean! We had them toss the shells in the strainer after nibbling each one clean. After dinner, Terry and I picked over the shells and kept the nice ones. Jessica started washing them so maybe we'll have them stink free soon.

The only left overs

Here's the only leftovers that we had from dinner. I guess Terry will have enough for lunch monday.

Snapper, what snapper?

Here's what was left of the snapper. Muriel even picked thru it to make sure all the little bits were eaten. She wasn't going to let a single morsel go to waste.

Kids eating dinner

As you can see, the kids were polishing off their dinner without any complaints. Mikey of course, just HAD to put on his Thomas shoes. His feet were cold!

WHAT'S for dinner?

Oh, this was so good! Fresh red snapper, squid, shrimp, snails and clams on the grill.

Yogurt Drink for Kids

Muriel liked it but Mikey and Lillian didn't. It's basically yogurt and lots of sugar.

The shells we bought for dinner

We got the small snails and lots of clams. All sorts of clams and pretty ones too. They taste really good.

Shells and more shells

Look with your eyes ONLY! There were so many clams to choose from. So, many choices.

Waiting patiently

While waiting for the red snapper to be whacked on the head and cleaned, I took this picture. The kids had plenty to look at while waiting.

Sea Cucumbers

I don't find these appealing, do you? Can't even imagine them looking tasty!

The cleaning of the Red Snapper

This is the red snapper we are for dinner being cleaned.

Here's our dinner

Yummy shrimps! Lillian picked them out since she likes them the best.

Follow the leader

Not sure if this is a bored look or grossed out look. The girls didn't get too close to anything "dead" because it might "get" them.

Table full of stuff

Can't even tell ya all that's on this table. Just that some of it really smells bad or is ugly or both!