Korean Treasures

We picked up a few treasures during our stay.  We probably could have gotten a bunch more but I had to restrain from purchasing every knick-knack I saw.  Here are a few of our good ones!

Sorry, I cannot get this picture to turn the correct way (blogger keeps turning it).  This is an old mask of a man and a woman.  I just love these!

These little guys are the grandfather's of Jeju Island.  If you rub their heads they are supposed to give you some sort of luck...I'll let you imagine what kind.

 Korean Hanbok - this one is E's.  Girls ware them on their 1st birthday, special holidays and when they get married.  Boys also have some sort of get-up as well but I had no reason to buy a boy's hanbok.

These are window screens from a Buddhist temple.  They smelt wonderfully of incense.  They were a set of 4 panels so we split them with my parents.  The detail is quite amazing!

This is one of my favorite items!  This chest is beautiful (and now works perfectly as an entry table in our home in Wyoming).

These are some of the ceramic items we picked up along the way.  The one on the left was one E and I made at a folk village.  The large one in the center is famous Korean celadon pottery.

Of course these made the list!  We cashed in all the Korean change we saved up over the years and gave it to E to spend at the market in Seoul.  This flashy pair of shoes caught her eye and was the winner.  So Korean!

Leaving Korea

I'm only about 5 months behind but I am finally attempting to catch up on our happenings (and they have been many).

Late February we found out we would be moving back to the USA.  Ben's part of the work in Korea was coming to and end and we were ready for a change.  After several discussions with his supervisor we found out we would be moving to Wyoming for Ben to work at an existing gas plant there.  Here are a few pictures (from across the bay) of the facility Ben was working on.  It was truly amazing what we witnessed each day!

In March, after getting everything arranged, we packed up, said our goodbyes and were off on yet another adventure.  Our 2 years in Korea was quite amazing.  We met many wonderful people and had some amazing experiences.  It will always hold a special place in each of our hearts.  (You never know if/when we could be back!)

Trying to pack for several weeks/months until our shipment arrived from Korea was tough!

E had a hard time leaving her preschool!  She had wonderful friends and teachers.  We still talk about Rainbow School quite often!

One of E's best buddies!

Our tiny Korean branch was wonderful to us and would be missed as well.

Our building - meeting house on the 3rd floor.

Our last after church meal with our branch president's daughter (the other American family).

And the hardest people to leave...my parents.  It was crazy how we both ended up in Korea and hard to leave them behind.  They came down one last time right before we left.  Hopefully they will be close behind us in returning!

Month 3

Where does the time go?  Someone told me you are about 4 times busier with 1 additional kid.  The math doesn't add up but it sure is true.  My days seems to fly by and at the end I find myself asking what I have done.  Then I realize I've been loving my girls and that is what is important.

I can't say enough about how wonderful baby P is.  We really have been blessed with such an easy baby.  She has been sleeping through the night since about 6 weeks old.  She now sleep 10-12 hours at night and usually takes 3-4 naps during the day.  She is round and chunky and oh, so squishy (almost 14 lbs already)!  I can't get enough of her cheeks and thighs!

She is pretty content.  She likes to be laid down and is starting to play with toys hanging over her.  She LOVES to have someone come talk to her and is very proud of hearing herself talk back.  She started blowing bubbles and giggling.  Of course I rarely get a picture of her smiling but she is usually happy and that smiles is infectious.  She gets fussy when she is hungry or tired but otherwise is pretty satisfied.

She also found her thumb at about 2 months.  She doesn't need much soothing, only for a minute while trying to sleep.  She wasn't ever keen on the pacifier and we understand why now.  The way she covers her face while she sucks her thumb is adorable!

We just lover her and glad she's part of our family!

Las Vegas

We had the opportunity to make a last minute trip to Las Vegas for my grandpa's funeral.  He had a relatively short battle with Leukemia and passed  less than a month after my grandma.  Quite a 'romantic' ending.  We are grateful for the benefits the company provides us to be able to make it back.  It was nice to be with family and to be able to spend some time in the U.S.A.  The funeral was nice...my grandparents will be missed.

With all the family in and out of my grandparent's house we stayed at a suite near the strip.  It was great to spend time together as a family.  We also took advantage of some of the (clean) fun down there.

Gaga giving mom a break after the 19 hours of travel!

Celebrating Bobby's 30th birthday.

Enjoying the hot tub (because to pool was not enjoyable, brrr).

Grandpa and his buddy.

Cousin time.

Pile on grandma!

I told E about Circus Circus and, of course, she was all about going to play the games.  I too had good memories of playing games there as a kid.  She got spoiled with several new friends.

We also visited M&M World to watch the 3D show and get our chocolate fix.

We couldn't leave Las Vegas without going to go to the Bellagio for an evening fountain show.  E was quite amazed!

We tried to enjoy the outdoors a little.  We visited Red Rock in Las Vegas but it happened to be raining so we walked around the visitor's center then drove around the park.  The next day we drove up to Pine Valley and stopped in St. George to play on the rocks.

When in Pine Valley we enjoyed some time playing in the snow.  We also spent a lot of time cleaning out my grandparents house there.  We are lucky to have a fun place to escape to.

We had quite a trip.  It seems like we're still getting over the jet lag a week later!  And as grandpa always say, "Be of good cheer!"

Cebu, Philippines Vacation

My Christmas present this year was a trip to the Philippines.  We decided we'd go ahead with the trip when we found out we wouldn't be moving home before Christmas.  This was our last-trip-in-Asia trip.  It was perfect for our situation...a true vacation!

We left the night of Christmas and had a quick 4-hour direct flight to Cebu.  Our resort was only about 10 minutes from the airport.  We stayed at the Machtan Shangri-La.  It was wonderful for families.  They had a private beach (with snorkeling, kayaks, paddle boats, beach toys, etc.), several pools (one with a kid water slide play structure), indoor play areas, several restaurants and lots of activities.  It was so nice to be at an all inclusive place where we didn't need to leave.  Ben did get a taxi into town to grab a couple things but he was the only one to leave.

View from our room.

The hotel in the evening.

Decorated for Christmas.

Around the facility.

E says her favorite part of the vacation was swimming at the pool.  You can probably see why!

We all enjoyed the beach!  The snorkeling was great.  It was Ben's first time and he was pretty hooked!  Ben and E also took a paddle boat out for a ride and E loved using the boogie board as 'sea horse'.  The water was very blue and clear and the sand was white.

Checking out the beach the night we arrived.

Scuba Ben and his fishies.

Paddle boat and boogie board.

Beach babes.

I love this...trying to use the timer on our camera.

Don't worry, baby P was there too.  She spent most of her vacation time truly relaxing.  Occasionally big sister E would join in as well.

One night we attended a cultural show and buffet.  It was entertaining and E was sure exciting about seeing a show.  We were seated right up front and E got some time on the stage to show off her dance moves!

It truly was a great vacation.  The weather was perfect, the facility was wonderful and the company was the best!