Back in USA

We arrived home on August 25th after nearly 24 hours of traveling. We almost missed our plane in Dallas/Ft. Worth too. It was 4:30pm and we were standing in customs while the plane was beginning to board passengers. I wrangled an airport employee and his cart to help me get through customs and recheck our baggage. As I ran to the ticket counter, the airport employee looked up my gate and checked my bags for me. He yelled across the airport and told me "C28" as we ran for the esclator upstairs. I had to carry Mikey and run thru the airport with the girls running behind me. By the time we got to the plane it was 4:58pm and the flight was scheduled to leave at 5pm. The airport employee at the gate radioed the people at the plane that she was letting us come to the plane. I got there just in time to see the man outside the plane knocking on the pilot's window and yelling at him to open the door and let the missing passengers on. I apologized as we sat down since the flight crew had to start the safety demonstration all over again! Our flight was delayed by 4 minutes and our family in OKC saw the delay. They all knew it was us that caused the delay. I called my husband while running to the plane and told him we might not catch it. So, they knew we managed to get there just in time.

The time change has been harder on me than the kids. Even after half a pot of coffee, I'm dead on my feet. I didn't drive until Saturday evening since I knew I wouldn't be able to see straight. I'm worn out all day long and so very sore! I hurt all over my body- shin splints, backache, muscle cramps all over and even the muscles under my arms hurt.

The kids get tired in the afternoons and get cranky. We have had lots of crying and whining! BUT they have to go to bed at a decent hour if they plan on getting to school on time starting Monday. We visited the school on Friday to pick up paperwork and talk to the cafeteria ladies. I got the menu for August and September to see if I need to buy any gluten free groceries for Lillian. Monday will be very busy for us.

I will post the last of the pictures soon. The last few days in Korea were very busy. I had so much packing to do, English camp at the school, lots of baking to do and friends to see one last time. We enjoyed living in Incheon and miss everyone very much. So, to all our new friends we say "thank you." We hope to see you again.

Baseball Scrimmage

The guys in red shirts are team Full Swing. We came to the field bright and early saturday morning to watch them play.

Full Swing

Here's the team on the day of the scrimmage. The lady on the back row is the manager. Muriel is hiding like usual because she is being shy again. Mikey is wearing someone's hat and being goofy. Lillian is looking at Mikey being goofy. So much for getting my children to look at the camera.

Mikey borrows a bike

Before the scrimmage, Eddie helped Mikey ride this bike. It belongs to one of the guys on the team. Mikey also got to sit on a motorcycle.

Muriel plays ball

Muriel and her attempt to throw the ball up in the air and catch it.

Lillian's new shirt

The lady at the second hand store gave this to Lillian because she liked it so much. Plus, Lillian got a hair cut (a cute one too). The sunlight made the shirt shimmer and Lillian loved it!

Splashy the Whale

Terry and Jessica gave Lillian the game, Splashy the Whale. This game requires you to "fish" the items out of the whale's mouth. IF you touch the tongue, it spits water on you. IF you take too long, it spits water on you. AND as you can see in the picture, Splashy the Whale is spitting water all over Lillian! Mikey made Eddie hold him because he was scared of the whale and didn't want to get wet. Ha! Ha!

Lillian's Birthday Party

Lillian almost blew out all of her candles with one big breath. She got the last 2 with the next blow. Then it was time to EAT the cake, the brownies and pumpkin bread. It was all so good.

Party BINGO

Bingo is such a fun game! The kids love it and it's easy to do. We played several games at the party and handed out goodie bags to the winners.

That is a lot of kids

There were 25 kids and 4 adults at Lillian's birthday party and end of summer camp party. Look how they are seated- boys at one end and girls at the other. AND no, we didn't tell them to sit like this.

Tae Kwan Doe Gift

On the last day, the TKD Master gave each child a gift. It's a prism with their picture on it and a special message for attending TKD during the summer. The lady in the picture is the Master's wife and the man standing on the mat is the instructor.

The Karate Kid

Muriel has been practicing! She is getting pretty good at Tae Kwan Doe but she likes to pretend she's the karate kid.

The Park

Lillian has a hard time with this sidewalk. Mostly because it's all uphill. At the top is all the excerise equipment. So, you have a choice at this park: either trek uphill or take the steep stairs to the top...which would you choose?

The sunflower

Muriel found this sunflower and was so excited because it is almost as tall as she is. The kids decided to have their picture taken with it. After they took their picture, we went to the excerise park to work off some excess energy.

If you're not good...

Mikey is telling us all about what happens to bad little kids in Korea. He looks serious while perched in the window seal of the classroom.

Team huddle

Lillian and Mikey got to be in the baseball team's huddle. They have so much fun with the baseball team.

Lillian at the beach

Lillian's feet are buried in the sand. I don't know which she loved more-getting dirty or swimming. Either way, Lillian wishes she could go to the beach all the time.

Ship out to sea

While playing at the beach, we could see ships or maybe they were just fishing boats. There were even guys fishing off the rocks near the swimming area. The only thing that happened while at the beach was a crab swimming in the water crawled up my side and I had to dig it out of my arm pit!!!!!

Muriel coming ashore

Muriel went for a swim and came back carrying sand with her. After swimming for a bit, she would dig holes in the sand, built pools and make castles. She even sat in a small hole and we covered her up. I made her a mermaid tail and gave her a shell bikini top.

Beach

The beach wasn't so crowded at first but more and more people came until there was a "sea of people in the sea."

Mikey on the beach

Mikey hated the cold ocean water at first but after awhile he loved it. Here you can see him heading for the water...again!

Crystal

Mikey said he wanted to take pictures with my camera so I let him. He took one of me and I think he did well for a four year old. I am sitting under some bushes at a baseball scrimmage. I forgot my parasol and this was the only shade I could find that was cool.

Mexican Chicken

There is absolutely NOTHING mexican about this establishment. Just fried chicken and more fried chicken. There is a corn salad (corn and mayo) if you want it with your FRIED chicken.

How to move in one day

No service elevator required to move in Korea! Just hire some guys with this truck and lift. The company has people come pack up your stuff, haul it then one guy puts all your stuff on the lift and sends it up...even to the top floor. The rest of the crew is inside the apartment putting away EVERYTHING for you. Literally, you move into your new place in one day! BUT there is a cost for this service- about $1000. And sometimes things fall off the lift...hence the big orange warning cones.

Meat Case in Market

You can see the metal pans have cow intestines and stomach but the liver is on top of the pans. The cow's tail is sticking up in the air and leaning against the glass case. The bones, the feet and the cow's head is at the end. All sorts of cuts of meat are in the case.

Cow parts

Next to the cow's head is it's "parts." Mikey saw the head then gasped when he saw the feet. Then comes the leg bones and on down were the other parts- including stomach, intestines, liver and misc parts I didn't stay to identify.

Cow head anyone???

Some lady just had to touch the cow head to see if it was real. The only hair on it was in its ears. The eyeballs are still intact. I didn't check for the tongue though. The kids found this amazing. The entire cow was there too.

Snails

Pictured is a big storage tub of snails and they are escaping! The snails were every where. I especially like the one piggy backing but it hard to tell. It's the 3rd one back on the right side. Only count the ones on the top of the tub NOT the sides.

Turtle for soup?

Americans usually buy a turtle for a pet but here- it's sold as an edible product. I imagine most of these turtles end up in soup or perhaps used for some traditional medicine. The kids sure thought it was cool to see turtles on the street.

Pumpkins

I found pumpkins while shopping. Each pumpkin was 15,000 won but I found them in the GS Market for under 10,000 won so I decided to not buy one of these. I think I'll make pumpkin pies but I'll have to find several people who want one!

Great White Sharks found in Incheon

I was surprised to hear that 2 great white sharks were found this weekend here in Incheon. The following article is in English if you would like to read it. The people who found the sharks received the proceeds after the sharks were auctioned. Someone has fresh shark and I'm betting they will be making shark fin soup!

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/08/117_49882.html

A Great Day to Visit Wolmi-do

I took this picture while down by the sea at Wolmi-do. The kids loved the ferry and begged to go on it. Are you kidding? I'm not paying for the kids to ride the ferry! A boat is a boat. Ride a cheap one. We ushered them down the wharf and let them play in the fountain and climb the rocks.

Muriel at Wolmi-do

While peeking between the rocks, Muriel found 10 won. She was so excited!

Lillian at Wolmi-do

Lillian did just fine while climbing up and down the rocks. She loves looking between the rocks and watching the people around her.

Mikey and Terry

Mikey was just too short to step down the rocks safely so Terry picked him up and took him down to the water. He loved being so close to the water and getting to see the huge jellyfish swimming by. Plus, there were people catching crabs with squid on a stick.

Trapped Jellyfish

Muriel discovered a trapped jellyfish between the rocks at the seaside. She climbed all over the rocks and had a great time.

Peace!

The kids here all flash the peace sign every time you try to take their picture. So, it is not a surprise that Muriel started doing it too. She sure is cute though.

Great time for a lollipop

Since the kids were at the Wolmi-do fountain, I decided lollipops were the perfect treat. They could get all sticky THEN rinse off in the fountain. I enjoyed parking my rear end on a block of stone and enjoyed the shade of my umbrella. I had another IPL laser treatment saturday so my face hurts and burns. I didn't want a sunburn so I slapped on the 100 uva/uvb sunscreen and used the umbrella.

Fountain at Wolmi-do

Even the adults joined the kids in the fountain at Wolmi-do today. It got up to 37 degrees C today. Even though we were by the sea, it was still hot.

Kid in Wolmi-do fountain

I think this boy misunderstood his mom when she said "rinse your hair."

Mikey in Kiddie Fountain

Wolmi-do has a big fountain in the middle with two smaller fountains on the ends. Mikey ran from the big one to the smaller one. I think he had more fun running than anything.

Lillian at Wolmi-do

There is a really fun fountain at Wolmi-do. The kids loved it as you can see by the look on Lillian's face.

Real Fur Boas

Lillian had to stop and feel the furs on the street as we passed by. She really liked the black one.

Where's Muriel?

It's like playing Where's Waldo but instead it's one of my kids. In this picture, I asked the kids "where's Muriel" and they replied "Can't you see her? She's the only white kid in the picture!"

Apples

Catus apples are around but you don't see them very often. I see more catus plants for sell than I do the apples. These make some really good jelly.

KIA Dealership

When you want a KIA, you go to the dealership and order it. No one drives off the lot with a new car here- well, every once in awhile there's an exception. Some people return the car for what ever reason then you can snag it cheap.

Fresh Soap

Ever wondered what people do with all that left over grease? Well, here's the answer. They make soap with it!

Very Pregnant Cat

Oh, this cat was so irritated! She was trying to scratch and bite the man holding her and he just chuckled at her. He held her up so I could get a picture of her pregnant belly. She is going to pop any day!

Spiky Wood

This wood reminds me of a rose bush. There's spikes all over it. Don't have a clue what it's for but my guess is traditional medicine.

Parking for Women

This was an opportunity I couldn't resist taking advantage of. The pink parking space symbol is pink to designate it for WOMEN only. Sometimes the spaces are a little bigger since women don't have the best driving skills here.

Moroccan Restaurant

While in Seoul, we visited the little girl that Muriel befriended at the Incheon Festival. Her family has a Moroccan restaurant in Itaewon. Good food and the kids had blast.

Dog on his box

Usually people get on a "soap box" to speak their minds, but this little dog sat on a peach box. Never barked or ran off- just sat there by his owner the whole time we were there.