Summer's Last Hurrah

Labor Day we headed over to Splish 'n Splash before they closed for the year.  We have so enjoyed going there this summer, we were all really sad to see it close - especially since it has still been nice enough weather to be swimming. The kids have made huge strides in their swimming abilities this summer and I hope to keep them in the pool some over the winter so they don't loose their confidence.

Grace with one of her friends, Asianna

David tormenting the boy a little.

This is Grace telling her daddy to move out of the way because she can go off the diving board by herself now.

CANNONBALL!!!

And no kidding, she can swim to the wall all by herself.

This by a kid who started the summer not wanting to even attempt to swim if she couldn't touch the bottom of the pool.

Tristan's turn!

And whether we like it or not, he can swim by himself too.

The problem with that is that he's not afraid of anything, and he'd easily get out of reach of a wall and not be able to get back.

Love this one.

I think she was pretty proud of that dive!

Snorkeling with Daddy

And we couldn't finish off Summer without having ice cream for supper!

Mmmmm a hot fudge brownie sundae!

And a banana split.

Here are some pictures of the damage we received after the typhoon hit.  The eye hit north of us in Seoul, but we got a lot of wind.  There were trees lying every direction.

David had to go into work the morning that the typhoon hit, and just after he walked in the building, someone came in after him and said that a tree had fallen on his car.  This is where he had parked when the tree fell.  There was another car parked next to ours that was totally blocked by the tree, but thankfully it didn't cause any damage.  David got out his leatherman and cut a few branches to be able to get the car out. Thank God that He spared us from any damage!

Sheriff Woody

Thanks Aunt Joanie (and Uncle Dana and kids too)!

Tristan loves, loves, loves his new jammies!

As you can see - he's big on accesorizing.

And he loves the Legos too - he kissed the box when he opened them!

Dongdaemun

After dropping Grace off for her first day of school, David and Tristan took me to meet some of my girlfriends for a fun day at Dongdaemun Shopping District in Seoul.  We all met at the bus stop just off post, and then took the train to Seoul.

Our train is highlighted in red.

 

Kim and Melinda with their tickets.

We were all so excited to go exploring without kids!

 

Puting won on our T money cards for the subway.

Waiting for our train

 

After arriving in Seoul, we were privledged to be able to visit this prized establishment.

 

Planning out our shopping at the fabric market.

 

Miles upon miles of ribbon

Tons of crafty stuff

 

More material that even the greatest seamstress knows what to do with!

 

Beads, beads,

 

and more beads!

 

Tons of fun stuff to make...

 

...and the thread!

 

An ice cream break at the end of the day.

We had a fabulous time.  Seven women getting to hang out, shopping, and getting to know each other better, and because all of our husbands were off that day, we were able to do it without kids!  I have grown to love these ladies in the last several months, and since most of us got here right around the same time, I look forward to getting to spend the next two to three years in their wonderful company.

Benetton Photo Shoot - Part 3

Here's the last installment.

They got tons of junk food!

They had more chips and sweets that day than they have in 3 months.

Grace is snackin' on some delicious kimbap.

 

Runnin' around just bein' kids.

 

As I said - Tristan had a great time.

Gettin' ready for a little tug o' war.

This little boy didn't want to loose to a couple of girls!

It was fun to watch - he was taking it totally seriously instead of just leaning into it to snap a few pics.

 

They ended up putting an adult at the opposite end but the two older kids were still serious about winning this match.

 

Grace was just having a grand ol' time.

 

The girls just collapsed after the shoot.

 

This is another of my favorites.

She just looks so happy and like she's just had a great time.

 

Alas, they weren't quite done...

 

They each got to keep their ponchos.

Would've accepted a few other pieces of clothing (minus the purple boots), but they weren't offered...

Grace loves the poncho, and has worn it a couple of times, despite the fact that it has been really hot!

But the poncho came in really handy when it started doing this while we were waiting for our driver:

The wipers were going at a fast pace, but this is what they were up against...

 

The reason this picture is blurry, is because of the torrential downpour that started just as everyone was loading everything up.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the kids under the blanket as it started to rain, but it was coming down so hard I didn't want to risk getting my camera soaked...

After we went to the PX and bought the kids some dry clothes, we headed over to the Dragon Hill Lodge to have some supper before we headed home.  As we were walking up to the entrance, Grace saw these dragons and said, "Mommy, take my picture!" 

Geez kid, haven't you had your picture taken enough today??

 

This pagoda was situated atop a hill that had a beautiful waterfall running over it.

 

As we were leaving I had to snap a picture of my handsome prince with the dragon as well.

Even though it was hot and miserable, we all had a good day.  Grace said that she had fun and would like to do it again, but she'd have to think about it if she had to do winter clothes in the summer again...  Ms. Sue did say that she thought that she'd like to have Grace and Tristan modeling together next time.  We'll see if we receive any further calls.