And We're Off!

The time for us to join David in Korea finally arrived, and we left Tucson International early Friday morning. I am so thankful to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law for flying down last Wednesday to see us off and to take the pickup and some miscellaneous things back to Nebraska with them! It was a lot easier on the nerves not having to get to the airport and unload all of our bags by myself.

As you can see, Grace wasn't the least bit excited to be on our way.

They toted their own carry on luggage, and thought they were super cool doing it.

When we found our gate we saw that there was a 2 hour delay.

In this instance I was relieved - we had not had breakfast, and if our flight would have been on time we wouldn't have had lunch either. It turns out that we got 2 meals and a snack on the flight to Incheon, but I did not know that at the time (but that's okay because the first meal didn't look or smell very appetizing).

Looking down at our gate.

They really don't look all that happy to be going to see their daddy, do they?

The flight from San Francisco to Incheon was really uneventful - praise God!! I had packed a ton of DVDs, crafts, coloring books, books and games to keep us busy. Each of them did a little bit of a craft, and they watched a movie, but other than that they either sat quietly or slept. I was very proud of both of them. It wasn't until about an hour before we were scheduled to land that Tristan asked why it was taking such a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long time. And for a 12 1/2 hour flight that's not bad!

Grace doing her needlepoint

Now there's a couple of kids who were happy to finally see their daddy!

We're here

Just a quick post to let everyone know that we made it to Korea and are all doing well. The kids did a fabulous job on the long journey and were ecstatic to see their daddy.

I will post more when we get our internet hooked up in our apartment, but wanted to get the word out that we got here safe and sound.

Going Out With a Bang!

What an incredible last few days of school!!

Tristan had a couple of water days -

Waiting to go out

Tristan and Adam splashin' around

Their teacher said that the majority of the girls all said they were cold as soon as they touched the water. Tristan, on the other hand, will stay in water until his lips are blue and then argue that he's not cold!

Tristan made an airplane one morning - go figure.

The last day of school the preschoolers got to jump around in a bouncy house that looked like a carousel.

Tristan and Adam

The kids were egging their teacher on...

Tristan initially didn't want to give anyone a hug when he left, but it ended up being a great big group hug, and then they all fell down!

With his best friend and his number one girlfriend, Grace

Grace's last day of school began with a math test. Yes, she had to take a test on the last day of school - why not prepare her for high school? The kids really didn't think Mrs. Gord would make them do any work on the last day of school, so she had to prove to them that they had to finish all their work, even if it was the last day of school and they had already graduated!

Grace taking her math final

The fun began at the park with a picnic lunch...

...followed by a few spins on the merry-go-round...

...and finally, a few hours in the pool.

I even ventured in for a while.

This little boy had a blast - he felt like a big kid since there wasn't but about 2 other preschoolers there (all thanks to older siblings).

Every time we have gone to this pool the kids have asked for a picture with this sculpture. So, I finally had a camera and was able to oblige them.

What a wonderful last week in Arizona. Something that's gonna be difficult to top!

The Graduate

Today our baby girl graduated from Kindergarten. It was quite the celebration - we had a graduation celebration in the chapel and then had some delicious sandwiches, mac and cheese, and cake afterwards.

Mrs. Ellis'/Mrs. Gord's class

Our princess making her way to the center isle after her name was called

After they all were called to the front, they sang several songs for us. Grace admitted later that she was nervous looking at all those unfamiliar faces in the audience. Guess it's a bit different than dancing for hundreds of people in a dark audience...

The kids did great and really knew their stuff

Grace being presented with her Kindergarten diploma (unfortunately my camera decided not to cooperate when it was actually handed to her and she shook the principal's hand)

Our graduate

The feast at our luncheon.

Best Friends

Maya, Zoe, and Grace

Grace received a new game for her DS and a DVD copy of Anastasia

The girls giving Mrs. Gord her gift

All the parents chipped in and we were able to give her a gift card to Hastings so she can dig into a bunch of new books during her "re-retirement". (If I remember correctly this will be her 4th attempt to retire)

I can't believe that Grace has graduated.

She did such a fabulous job this year and has amazed both her father and I. She loves learning, and did well in all of her studies this year. She has an insatiable love for reading, and reads some pretty impressive books (of course, I'm not at all biased), and the words she is able to sound out... wow! We are moving on to Junie B. Jones books - more words, less pictures, so we'll see how she transitions to those. All I can say is:

Grace, we are so proud of you!!

Goodbyes

The time has come for us to begin our goodbyes to different people in Arizona. We have already said goodbye to one of our church families who left for Colorado 2 weeks ago, and today the kids had to say goodbye to their gymnastics and ballet teachers.

Tristan with Miss Darlene

This lady is just wonderful - she spoils her kids rotten (thus the Elmo hat and cupcakes), and loves each of them, and is genuinely excited when each of them learns or masters a new skill in her class.

Time for stickers!
These are the only 3 that showed up to class today so they all just had a fun day with Miss Darlene.

In addition to saying goodbye to Miss Cassie, her ballet teacher, Grace said goodbye to another tooth...

I was just getting used to the first one being gone when the other one made it quite apparent that it needed to be removed too. She could pretty well lay it flat in her mouth... When she said that she could feel the bottom of it with her tongue, I said it was time for it to come out. She resisted, saying she wanted it to come out on it's own, but I persisted and managed to get it out. I promised it would only hurt for a second, then I got my finger on the bottom of it and just as she started to protest and scream it came out. She started saying, "AAAAHHH...oh". One of these days she's gonna believe something that I tell her...

Party and a Show

What an incredibly busy but fun filled day we had today! It started at Build-a-Bear in Tucson with a birthday party for my friend's daughter.

Making and cleaning their bears

The party goers - Kynzie (with the ball) was the birthday girl

Brownie and Rose

The party was really neat - the kids each got to choose a bear and an outfit to dress it in. Then, being the guilt ridden mother I am (for being so intolerably impatient lately), I allowed them to go back for accessories... that turned out to be a bit ridiculous! Each bear got a pair of shoes (Brownie's are black high-top sneakers, similar to Chuck Taylors), a skateboard (I know - I've never seen a bear skateboard either, but how many bears have you seen that have clothes and shoes?), and a "Pawsport" because after all, they have to be able to get into a foreign country too (okay - the last one was all my doing, but it was too cute to pass up)!

The birthday girl
Couldn't resist this picture!


Then there's my princess who tries to act like she's never made that much of a mess in her life! HA! At least she's showing some restraint in public these days.

Kynzie getting lost in a package...too cute!

The kids crashed on the way home from the party (I'll spare you the picture, though it will make for good blackmail someday) - thank goodness because as soon as we got back to Sierra Vista we had a show to go to. Tristan's gymnastics class had a performance this afternoon. A cute show with a bit of a tribute to Michael Jackson.

Tristan performing to "Man in the Mirror"

These aren't the best shots because I didn't have my flash on, but I was thrilled to see that he had learned how to do a cartwheel! Not the prettiest yet, but a huge improvement from the show at Christmas...

Showing off his medal for winning the donkey kick handstand contest.

I think he surprised himself when he kicked up into a real handstand, and his teacher just about came unglued! Unfortunately she was standing right in front of me when he did it so I wasn't able to get a picture, but I'm proud none the less!

The beginning of the Thriller act

The little kids got to come in and hide and came crawling out of their hiding spots when the music started.

Zombies

I think my little zombie had a great time!

After the show we went out for ice cream - healthy dinner choice I know, but without a kitchen, I don't have much of a choice! Especially when I have 2 gift cards burning a hole in my pocket... they have to be used before Friday or they will be of no value to me!