Another One "Bites" the Dust

Grace has lost her 3rd tooth!

 

Problem is that neither of the first two have come in yet... If you look closely, you will see the start of one of her permanent teeth coming in (bottom right), but it's not ready for biting yet.  She was having a hard time biting into things with just 2 teeth gone, so it's gonna be interesting - she told me the other day that I needed to make her soft tacos for a while, since she couldn't bite into the crunchy ones.  It's a good thing she's aquired an addiction to Subway's broccoli cheese soup!

The Book Worm

Grace has finished her first chapter book!

 

Reading about a chapter a day, it took her about a week to finish it.  There were days that she would even ask to read more - must've been a good book!  She has moved onto the next book in the set she received for graduation.  There are 5 books in the set, so she should be able to get through them before school starts again the end of August.  She is also reading multiple other books, including books her brother asks her to read to him.  I loved it the other day when they were both just hanging out in the living room and Tristan picked up one of his books and said, "Gracie, will you read this to me?"  They both hopped up on the couch and she read him the book.  Love that!!

Saber Wars

As you saw in the birthday blog, Tristan received a light saber.  Well, today we bought a carpet for our living room.  Cream colored shag - with two kids... I can't decide if we're brave or dumb.

 

Well, as we were unrolling the rug we discovered a large cardboard tube in the middle of it.  Boy did that spark a bunch of imagination!  First we had saber wars.

 

David found the tube to be handy for taking out two kids at one time.

Then the kids took the tube and were rolling a yoyo and tennis balls through it.   I tried to get pictures, but they quit before I grabbed my camera.  I have since tripped over this darned tube a hundred times so it is in our entryway, out of my way, until David gives the final okay to trash it...

Happy Birthday Little Man!

This handsome thing turned four years old today!

It's hard for me to imagine that he would have ever turned out to be such a sweet and loving boy.  When he was born, he came out screaming and the only time he remotely stopped was when he was eating.  He didn't like anyone other than his mommy and always wanted to be held, which made for some rather difficult times. 

Now it's a totally different story... He is the best snuggler God ever created, he loves and tries to please everyone (even his sister - most of the time).  He is most definitely all boy and loves to destroy things, which is something I am learning to deal with.  David says if the worst he does is break a few toys and disassemble  some things then we've got it made.  After all, David admits to shooting out every window on the farm when he was little!

The birthday boy with his gifts

Oooohhhh - a light saber!

Mater!

This kid is loving Toy Story stuff

A Stealth Bomber, or as David is teaching him an F117

This little boy will be well versed in the technical names of all things military.  It wouldn't surprise me if David started bringing home images for Tristan to begin identifying.

Building his bomber

Grandma sent Tristan several different Toy Story characters which wer a big hit!

Tristan's requested dinner of hot dogs, beans, and french fries

We had to buy a cake since I don't have any of my cake decorating things with me yet (after seeing the price of store bought cakes I will continue making my kids cakes!).

After paying too much for this cake, which was really cute, it didn't make it out of the store without getting smashed and jolted over to one side.  The (grumble, grumble) bagger, in his stupidity ultimate wisdom, placed a bag full of groceries on top of the cake!  Oh boy was I ticked!! My daughter, being the kindhearted soul that she is, says, "Mommy, I saw what happed, he put a bag on top of the cake.  It was an accident - you shouldn't be angry with him."  She can be so sweet - but really, he was a bagger, don't you think he should know better??  Okay, sorry about my rant!  Tristan still loved the cake and it did taste good.

Someone had to clean off the bottom of the car...

Despite the cake mishap (which he didn't care a lick about), we had a great day!

Happy Birthday baby boy!  We love you!

Swimming Lessons

Tristan had his very first swimming lesson today.  Though he tends to swim well when he has a mask and snorkel on, when he has to lift his head to breathe he tends to sink...  add to that he's pretty fearless - he jumps off the diving board wether someone is prepared to catch him or not, and says that he's ready to jump off the high dive - we decided that it would be wise to educate him a little bit.  So, I signed him up for swimming lessons and as it turns out, there were so few preschoolers signed up that he's actually getting private lessons. 

 

Doing some bobs and blowing bubbles

 

The rocket ship

 

Working with the kickboard

 

His very first solo back float!

He was so proud.  We've been working with him on it when we go to the pool, but as soon as you move your hand away from his back he sits up and therefore, sinks.

Grace also had swimming lessons today.  She has progressed so much already this summer - she is now willing to swim without a life jacket on in water that she is not able to touch in!  A week or so ago she decided that she was going to swim by herself across the width of the pool (probably about 25 yards).  I went along side her and just helped her when she needed a brief rest, and she did it... 3 times!  So, the swimming lessons for her are basically working on her strokes, breathing, and endurance.  It somehow worked out with Grace for her to be able to have one on one with an instructor too.  There was a mix up with the times on the first day, so we attended an afternoon session so she didn't miss a day, and there was only one other girl there (rather than 5 or 6 in the class she was supposed to be in), so I asked if I couldn't keep her in the afternoon class, and they agreed!  Yay!

Kicking on the wall

 

Working on the backstroke

 

Freestyle

Who knows - I might have a couple of swimmers on my hands by the end of the summer.

Father's Day

Today we ventured out to

We took the bus to AK Plaza (a gigantic department store with multiple other stores and restaurants) so David could show me the ropes a bit.

 

The kids were pretty excited about riding a bus - no car seats, no seatbelts, and on the way home they had to stand up while the bus was moving!

 

At the top of AK Plaza they have a "Sky Garden" with some seating areas and a large area for the kids to let loose.

The kids really enjoyed climing on these ducks.

 

Looking out over Pyeongtaek

 

Monkeyin' around

 

This man saw the kids as he and his girlfriend were coming into the Sky Garden and was just captivated by Tristan.  He took his picture a couple of times, and when he sat on the duck to have his picture taken, Tristan was walking by and he patted the back of the duck to have Tristan sit with him.  Tristan, uncharacteristically obliged.  The kids have done great with all the attention they have been getting when we're out and about.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Korean customs, fair haired, fair skinned children are supposed to bring luck, and Koreans love to touch children.  My parents said that when I was a child people would cross the street to touch my hair. The first day we were here a woman came up to Grace and just ran her hands down Grace's hair and cupped her face and told her how beautiful she was.  Although it hasn't happened as frequently as we thought it might (they do get a lot of second looks though), it does happen on occassion, and the kids are handling it very well.  David and I have explained to them why they do it, and have just told them to be polite, and that's just what they do.

 

Having some fun in the fountains.

After the kids ran around a bit, we went out for supper.  David chose a "beef and leaf" restaurant.  We didn't quite know what to expect, but the staff was more than willing to help us out. 

 

Everything was cooked in a broth.  We had beef, several different kinds of leafy vegetables and several varieties of mushrooms.  Once we polished that off, the noodles were cooked, and then a rice dish at the very end.

I told David today that I was so glad that he was their father because I would have chosen the burger joint because that would have been a safe choice.  But, thankfully our kids take after him and they are willing to try anything (and I've become a lot more adventurous too, but it still makes me nervous to try foreign dishes when I'm not totally sure what I'm getting).  We all loved our food, and the kids kept asking for more - I think they would've finished off another plate if we'd have ordered one!  But, it was time to head home and surprise David with the dessert we made for him on Friday...

All the Comforts of Home

I don't remember much of my time here in Korea when I was a child, but I do remember my parents telling me that there were no fast food restaurants.  In fact, the story goes that the first place we ate when we got back to the States was McDonalds.  Well, these are some of the sights we see today:

 

Not that I eat it, but it cracks me up the things that are packaged around the world.  In addition to SPAM, I've seen Frosted Flakes, Doritos, Nestle Quick, Oreos, and countless others.

 

The bus stop to get home was right in front of this establishment...

My children will never have to be deprived (darn - I was hoping to stay away from these places for as long as possible!).

In addition to the above pictures, we have seen Papa Johns, Burger King, KFC, and Starbucks.  We have yet to eat at any of these places when we're out and about, but it is a far sight different that 30+ years ago!  Which is kind of a good thing since I have been craving American food lately... But I'm also loving the kimchi...

Mini-Golf

The kids and I had some time to kill today while we waited for David to get off of work so we headed over to the mini golf course on post.

They enjoyed it for the first 9 holes or so, but were afraid to hit their balls near any hole that had water.  By the end of the course they decided that we didn't need to go play golf for a while...

It's Officially Official

As if one Kindergarten graduation wasn't enough... Grace got to do it a second time at her new school!  So, if there was any doubt about promoting her to first grade, two Kindergarten graduations should ensure that she is ready! 

 

The kids marching in to "Pomp and Circumstance"

 

Grace was a bit bewildered this time since she didn't know most of the kids and parents.

 

Being presented with her certificate

 

It doesn't matter how many times you graduate, it's still pretty exciting!

After David was done with his hour of work (he was supposed to have the whole day off, but it seems he doesn't ever have a complete day off), we stopped at the Korean street market that they have every five days and picked up some street vendor food (Grace loves fried squid! :P), got me some socks, and picked up this beautiful bedspread for Grace's room.  It was only 10,000 won - which equates to about $8.50! 

 

So, when we got home, we borrowed a drill from our upstairs neighbor to hang up her "princess curtain" and put her castle on her wall.  She thinks she has the coolest room ever, even though these are the only things in it - at least for the next month or so...