God Bless America

Kyler graduated from Kindergarten in a nice little ceremony in his classroom, and got to bring home a lot of his classwork that his teacher put together in a nice bundle.  More pictures to come of that.

It's nice to be home!  We've been here in Gig Harbor, WA for a week now.  I haven't needed any naps today, so maybe I'm getting over the jet lag.  The kids have been great with the move and the time difference and everything.  Kara, a friend who moved here recently from Korea, met us at the airport and hauled me and the kids to her place in Lacy, WA while Dean, Bro and Patti, and Josh (Dean's business partner) ran around getting our van which was waiting for us, and loading up the luggage - 24 checked items, and a number of carry ons.  We maxed out on that, trying to bring as many necessities as we could such as towels, sheets, a few kitchen things, etc.We are most grateful for Bro and Patti coming all the way from Portland to help us out, then treating us to dinner. 

Our luggage train at the Seoul airport.

We were fortunately able to get into a rental house that same evening.  It has been pretty empty with no furnishings, and we felt awfully pathetic with our air mattress that would deflate by the middle of the night.  I finally bought a tall one at TARGET - woohoo for shopping besides the PX!  But we had to borrow a pump (air compressor, actually) from a neighbor to blow it up.

Cambria did great on the flight - with ears full of fluid.  Tristan was a handful, but luckily for me Dean took charge of him.

The neighborhood is great so far, in a culdesac with plenty of friends for the kids to play with.  Kyler has been in hog heaven playing with them much of the day.  The back yard is most welcome, and has blackberry vines (a thorny weed here, but they're blooming and will bear fruit later in the summer), lots of grass (that we'll have to mow), and plenty of trees.  I've planted some herbs in a window planter, and some good sized tomato and pepper plants.  I may try some cucumbers and squash from seed.  Hunter was anxious to start composting again, so we've been doing that.

Where's Kyler?  Look closely.  Now we needn't worry about the hand-wringing tattlers in Hannam Village who can't stand the thought of a boy climbing anything.

I happened upon a Goodwill that was having half off all the toys.  Cambria loves walking with this.

We went to the library last night and got Hunter set up with books to read.  I've been shopping a lot, trying to stock the pantry and get rugs and things.  I took the kids yard sale-ing on Saturday.  It rained much of the morning, but that didn't stop the buyers or the sellers, including us.  It is sticker shock to not shop at the commissary for groceries, except for some things like milk and eggs, which are half as much stateside here. We are still eligible until Aug 5, as Dean's terminal leave runs out then.  We have gone to the base, but it is kinda far from here.  The pint of coconut oil I've been buying at the commissary for $6 is $11-15 at Albertsons and such places, and the Jimmy Dean sausage I buy for $2.49 is $6 at Albertsons.  Yeesh!  I didn't buy those at Albertsons, just things that are on sale.  I can't bring myself to pay over a dollar a pound for plain rice there, nor three dollars a pound for dry beans, so I'm having trouble thinking of things to cook while I am still learning my way around here to go to other stores.  I bought a new GPS today, so that should help.  There are tall trees everywhere, so it's hard to make out directions and find my way around.  The weather is cool - enough so that I have been turning the heat on in the morning, and am cold at night - finally had to swipe one of the kids' blankets (they didn't need it).   

The boys have played "pine cone war" and "big stick" so far in the back yard.  Knowing that they wouldn't listen to me about the likely issues with those games, I let experience teach them that it's not much fun to get nailed in the face with pine cones, nor to be whacked with a big stick.

And, here's the house.  We don't care for the steep incline of the driveway, or having to climb stairs to get inside, nor to get to the garage from inside, but otherwise it is a good fit for now until we can build or buy.  The schools are supposed to be excellent right here; their elementary school is in the same block as the clinic - which is where I've been doing our laundry (after hours) since our facilities are still in storage in North Carolina (you can always count on anything to do with the government taking a ridiculous amount of time). There is a church building a mile from us, but we are in the boundaries for one more like 15 miles away.  Church was nice on Sunday; Tristan had no problem going to the nursery.  One family is just three houses down from us.

Organize the Chaos

I'm like a headless chicken, running about in a frenzy accomplishing nothing.  So a little update is warranted, even though there are novels worth to blog about.

First and foremost, the deal is sealed and done!  Dean and his business partner are the harried new owners of Purdy Veterinary Hospital.  We are still here in limbo for ten more days in the beautiful Republic of Korea, while the partner is manning the clinic on his own and consulting for hours a day with Dean via phone and internet.  Once we get there, Dean will take over for a while so that the partner can attend his brother's wedding and then get himself moved up there from New Mexico.  We will (hopefully) take a road trip through California and on to New Mexico, visit the family there, and then Dean will head right back to work, while I hope to stay a bit longer with the kiddos visiting with the grandparents and cousins.

This is still surreal to me.  I pushed Dean to join the army four years ago because he's always wanted to serve our great country, the army would pay off his student loans and would MOVE us, since we hadn't managed to settle down ourselves.  It has worked out beautifully.  They will be moving us to our last area.  I believe it is meant to be, and all roads have led to this.  Indeed we are blessed, in so many ways.

 In other news, this little angel keeps us on our toes!  She has scaled the stairs to the top more than once, though fortunately not every day.  She makes her rounds daily, trying to eat out of the trash can, pulling all the shoes off the shelf, finding all the batteries Tristan flings around, sucking on computer cords and camera cards (rendering them useless), etc.  I can hardly believe that I was due to have her one year ago.  She held on a few more days, though.  Such a delight, she is.  I love having a baby around. 

 Monday morning Kyler began to feel crummy.  His neck was painful in the evening, and with some other symptoms Dean feared he may have had meningitis and rushed him to the ER.  Fortunately it wasn't that, but Dr. Mom (yours truly) figured out the next day that it must be hand, foot and mouth disease, as Cambria began to have it as well.  Their symptoms were different, but both were confirmed non-invasively at the hospital.  Kyler stayed home the rest of the week, even though he felt fine by Wednesday.

In other Kyler news - I think the pictures may be lost (that camera card sucking is no good), but Kyler tested for his Dragon Belt (black belt) at the Kukkiwon International Taekwondo Headquarters here in Seoul.  He passed, and is certified.  It was quite a production.

Trist-man has been spared the hand foot and mouth thus far, and resists bedtime and naps as much as possible, but sometimes they get the better of him.  He was in this position for a good hour before relocating to the bottom stair - and yes that is a potty seat. 

  I procrastinate everything, including things I enjoy, such as sewing.  I've been slowly learning about quilting, and took part in helping to make a quilt of valor.  These are my first real quilt blocks, and my sole contribution to the quilt of valor.  I learned a tip that could save me much frustration in the future: you know how when starting to stitch with a machine, and the thread and fabric get pulled down into the feed dogs and you have to take it all apart and use the seam ripper, and then get so frustrated and lose interest in sewing... well, the tip is to hold on to the thread from the bobbin and the spool of thread.  Hold it from behind as you start to stitch, and that wretched scenario won't happen.  It worked almost every time as I made these six blocks.  There may yet be hope for me.

Stay tuned for much more

Don't Eat the Turtles

 Ugh - I'm so behind!  I am finally getting with the program and am trying to organize the pictures on the computer.  That could take years, it would seem, with interruptions every couple of minutes from the demanding ones.  This is our harvest from last year :)  We are growing peas now, and hoping to eat them before the big move.

 We went to an airshow at K-16 last fall.  Cambria seems so little here.  She is such a hungry girl these days!  We are astonished at how much people food she will pack away, in addition to nursing, and supplemental bottles when I'm weary of nursing.

 During the festivities at the air show, Hunter basically stood in front of the broadcaster/judge making himself known.  Everyone had raffle tickets.  The dude kept calling numbers that no one claimed, and Hunter was so enthusiastic that he finally asked Hunter what number he had, and repeated that back, so Hunter won a 50,000 won gift card (about $45) to a Nike store in Itaewon.  I took him there later and he got a backpack, to replace the one stolen/lost at school.  Hunter's charms worked!

 A phenomenon here in Korea is how effeminate the men can be, at least by straight American standards.  This guy is carrying a purse.  It is likely his own.  They also wear capri style pants in the summer, glasses with no lenses (for fashion), very styled hair, lots of pastels and sparkles (neck ties especially), etc.  Kyler tried to wear some pants to school the other day that are a couple of years to small, hence they came up about mid calf on him.  He tried to justify it by all the Korean men, and American women who wear cropped pants (such as myself).  Uh, no.  He had to change his pants.

 More matching his and her underwear.

 A typical Korean barbecue type meal, also known as a beef and leaf (or pork and leaf) because you wrap the meat you cook (or sometimes that the server cooks on the burner) in a variety of lettuce or leaves, with various sauces and garlic and onions that you can grill.  There are generally side dishes (kimchi, etc.) that come with the meals.  It is fairly labor intensive, at least when you're trying to feed several hungry children who don't do any of the work (wouldn't want them near the fire anyway).  And it's not terribly filling.  No wonder most Koreans are so skinny!

Dean took the boys to a subway station that was having a display of many animals, bugs, reptiles, big snakes, etc.  They thought it was great.  There were many dead animals amongst the living, likely from over handling by children and such.  This sort of thing definitely wouldn't pass muster in the U.S.  Have I mentioned how excited we are to get back to the U.S.?

Picture a Family

 Hunter has been hounding me for a new blog post.  I have too much to do to spare the time to blog, but alas, now it's 10pm on Saturday, and since Criselda (our weekly angel) was here today, the house is in order and I might as well!

We had family pictures taken while the cherry blossoms were in bloom in April.  They were beautiful, of course.

Some pictures were silly.

Some were super cute!
And I managed to go another year without buying "school pictures".  I refuse.  I love these ever so much more! 

When we met the photographer at the Korean National Museum, she said "You've done this before!" - since we weren't all matchy matchy.  She said it makes for better pictures. 

Daddy-O left the next day on a free space available military flight to the U.S. to visit the clinic in Washington State that he and his partner-to-be are buying.  I am thrilled to witness him go through all this process and I finally feel like we are becoming grown ups.  Weird, huh?  With our gray hairs and crows feet. 

The prospect of settling down for real is enough to make me salivate.  We will be moving next month for the sixth time since he finished school 8 years ago.  I had hoped that it would only be once.

 But, we look back and see the Lord's hand in each of the moves, and how they have been purposeful and have prepared us for what is next.  The timing of Dean deciding to leave the military, Josh coming back into the picture and wanting to be in business together, the two of them exhausting literally every other possibility for starting or buying a suitable practice in a place we would actually like to live, then this particular practice coming up for sale when it did, are far too much to be coincidence.  Indeed, we are blessed. 

The children have been resilient with all these moves.  I've come to realize that Hunter is an introvert.  He likes to play with other kids and be around other people, but he doesn't need that, and is just as content to enjoy a good book.  He told us the other day about a new series he has discovered at the library.  He has been reading one a day.  He's usually the last kid to get on the bus after school, as he's got to stop by the library.   He likes to have multiple books going at once in case he finishes over the weekend and can't replenish right away.

Kyler, on the other hand, thrives on social interaction and knows everyone here in our village, and everyone knows him.  We have to admonish him to come inside and eat breakfast in the morning before school, or he would spend all that time greeting everyone outside our balcony doors as they get on the buses.

Tristan no longer has the cold weather to deter him from trotting outside, so we have to be vigilant with the chain on the door.  This morning in the six o'clock hour we heard (from upstairs and down the hall) the front door open and close.  I always lock the chain at night, and it is high above what he could reach, so maybe Hunter had gone out to get the newspaper and left it unchained?  He likes to read the comics.  Anyway, Dean grabbed a robe and ran down to find Tristan out on the sidewalk.  That's my boy!  I had to pull him out from behind a truck at the commissary the other day as it started to back right into him.  He is obstinate and wouldn't come along with me, as usual.  He is our love bug, and great for laughs.  

Cambria went through a second round of antibiotics to kill a nasty double ear infection (first augmentin, then cefdinir).  She was weighed during each of the appointments, and I was not surprised to learn that she had gained a whole pound in two weeks.  She has been eating as much people food as she can get her hands on, in addition to nursing.  She has 16 teeth, at ten months, and weighs over 20 pounds.  She can take bites out of pears and apples, chew meat, and so on.

Give it to me, Baby!

Will Work for Donuts

. . . will poop for chocolate.  Tristan is virtually 100% for peeping in the potty and not having "accidents" in bed.  But for some reason he chooses to do the dirty deed in his pants occasionally.  We've been offering chocolate chips for choosing to do it in the potty, and that helps.  On a different note, he loves to go modeling, because that means he will get donuts.  He will devour three or four per session.  I let him, as that is the only time he gets donuts, and it is his incentive for "working".  The kids, mostly Tristan, have earned half the cost of a mission at this point.

Dean finally said the other day that at this point, there isn't anything in particular holding us back from buying the practice outside Seattle and moving there, and he even feels peaceful, if somewhat apprehensive, about it.  I am still cautiously optimistic.  It is a dreamy place to live for us - with warm but not hot summers, cool but not excessively cold winters, a smaller town (several thousand) near a big happening city, water everywhere, little to no humidity and only half the rain of Astoria, OR.  70 inches was a bit much in Oregon's rain forest, but half that would be great!  My dream is to build a house, using Ubuildit.  I spend way too much time looking at house plans online.  I'm attracted to the ones with real laundry rooms (big enough to double as a sewing room), walk in pantries, adequate closets, bedrooms bigger than a closet, jack and jill bathrooms - all on the main floor (especially the master bedroom), apparently a tall order as such is hard to find.  We would love to have enough land to have a cow - or maybe goats again, and all the fruit and nut trees we could handle, not to mention chickens and a garden, and room for the kids to roam and forage.  All I've ever wanted since Dean finished vet school was to settle down somewhere and raise a family.  We are looking at our sixth move since he finished school.  But if he is buying this practice - it will be the last for a loooooong time, if you don't count moving into a rental or whatever until we can build or buy (at least that would be the same area).  

Now that it is April, Kyler is eligible to go to the park again and has been spending hours there.  He happily goes to bed when he plays there, as he is worn out!   Early in March he was calling other kids names and picked a fight with a 12 year old kid from church.  So he lost his park privileges for the duration of March.  I think he is minding his Ps and Qs now.

Today was busy, with a district primary activity for the kids at the chapel on the temple grounds, as well as our district temple day.  Notice the Korean shingles on the back side of the temple.  Kyler attended his friend Cade's birthday party - while the rest of us went out for some Korean food.  I got my dolsot bibimbap fix, which I've been craving.

 The school had a fourth grade sock hop which Hunter attended recently.  He got an award for being such a wild dancer.  That's him in the green shirt.

 Dean and I had a lovely date recently - dinner and a show.  It was at the Korea House, having a dinner that would have been served to the royal court, which consisted of tiny tastes of many different foods.  They were all good.

 Then we went to the show.  It was every bit as beautiful as ballet or any other music or dance form.

 They were all highly skilled and practiced.

 We loved every minute of it.

 I was stunned to be pulled up on stage to have a brief lesson with these beautiful ladies.

 I'm the out-of-place one above on the right; the lady in the green top was also selected.

 We bowed (Dean took over the camera while I was up there)

 and I got this fan that I'm holding for doing it.  I love dates!

 I sort of hosted a little Easter activity for the ladies/kiddos from church, or the pre-school aged ones at least.  Sadly, Tristan came down with pinkeye the day before, so I got a neighbor/friend to open up her home to it that morning (whew - what a lifesaver!), but brought Tristan out to hunt for eggs at least; he has the green bucket in the center.

On Friday I was burning a scented candle to mask the smell of a ceiling repair, and happened to look over at Tristan just as he was holding this car over the flame.  It caught fire.  Not much later Hunter (9) came along and lit a napkin up.  Hello!?  What are you thinking, Boy?!  Then Kyler decided to take a turn and got a tissue from a box nearby and wafted it over the flame, also lighting it.  He freaked out and let the burning tissue fall to the floor.  I told him to stomp it.  He's really good at stomping from all that bug stomping as a toddler.  It singed the rug and left a black mark.  I swear these boys will be the death of us.  Tristan some time ago nuked a motorized car in the microwave.  The car was never the same after that, but the microwave was unhurt.  It's never dull around here!  

Happy Easter!

Toothless in Seoul

After several weeks thinking that there was no possible way he could ever put his shoes on the shelf in the entry way, Hunter finally made up his mind to do it for the required 30 consecutive days, and now is delighted to finally have the glasses he needs! He knows that he'll be buying the next pair, so here's hoping he takes this new-found responsibility seriously.

Now that the countdown is on, there are a few souvenirs I would like to take with us.  We are over our total weight allowance, however (storage + what we brought).  We actually brought less than was allowed here, but as always have accumulated more stuff, especially with having a baby girl.  Not sure what to do.  This coat tree is actually from Indonesia, and I strongly suggested it as an anniversary gift from Dean :)  Yep, we celebrated 12 years this month, and we're only getting better!  We went on a date and had a Dr. Fish treatment, where these toothy fish eat the dead skin off your feet.  It was delightful!

Our Lady Cambria is one hungry girl.  At her 9 month appointment last week she was down to the ~60th percentile for weight, from the ~90th at 6 months.  It's okay, but maybe she's not getting enough to eat - Dean thinks that may be why she seems more desperate and fussy lately.  Of course she is more active with all the crawling...  I've fed her more real food than any of the others at this age (tried to stick with just nursing as much as possible through 12 months to help avoid food allergies...), but she's always been big and hungry!  So more real food it is.  I actually gave her what Tristan didn't finish of his peanut butter sandwich yesterday (I know, cringe), and she ate it up.  She chews at the front of her mouth with all those teeth.  Kyler is still her biggest fan of the boys, and loves to ride around on Tristan's trike here in the apartment - they all do, even Hunter.  They also go 'round and 'round on the scooter.  We'll be happy when the weather is warmer and we have OUR OWN YARD again!  She does not like strangers, even kids.  She is a noisy handful now at church as well.

  The pinewood derby was on Saturday.  Getting Hunter to work on his car, or rather find all the parts to it that got thrown around, was like pulling teeth.  So I told Dean (and Kyler) to go ahead and go on the bass fishing tour they were interested in, where it was rainy and cold and no one got a single fish, sadly.  Hunter's car did as well as the effort he put into it, but he was delighted to get an award for the Best Stock Car.

 Tristan's stubbed toenail from months back is still discolored.

 Tristan has been waking in the night a lot lately, often hollering, or wandering into the boys' room (so they've been locking their door).  Somehow it usually doesn't wake Cambria.  But it can make for a tired and grouchy boy in the day.  He was fast asleep here, and I woke the drowsy Dean as well - oops!  I wonder if he is having night terrors?

 We had Bunny Beatrice for about six months, and have been concerned about what to do with her when we leave.  Saturday, a couple with no children inquired about her, and we made the match.  She'll get lots of holding, and no chasing.  Kyler is the saddest to see her go. 

 There was finally an opening for Hunter in Taekwondo.  The people who run the children's extra curricular activities are trying to make it as difficult as possible for us since he has mild hemophilia.  They harassed Dean into a meeting with about 8 ignorant bureaucrats.  As his parents who know all about his condition and have been dealing with it for all nine of his years, we made the judgment that at this level he will be fine until we leave.  He spends the day sparring with his brothers at home, after all, so this wouldn't be any worse.  We are sure looking forward to not having Uncle Sam breathing down our necks when we are done with the army, though Dean will still have four years in the "Individual Ready Reserves" after he gets out, which means that they could call him up at any time and deploy him, but otherwise he will be done.  The chances are slim that that will happen at this point, but still looming since anything can happen at any time, and there is always unrest overseas.  Hopefully Hunter will be able to stay in TKD, as we have to get a doctor to sign a letter saying it is okay.  The doctors at the army hospital won't, since they don't know anything about it and refuse to learn.

In class the other day Master Kim tested the kids and had them spar, all in preparation for advancing.  Kyler will be testing for black belt in May.  Kyler, currently a red belt, sparred with another red belt, and then moved up to the next opponent, yet another red belt.

 There were no other white belts for Hunter to spar with, so Master Kim paired him with Kyler.  Since Kyler is a red belt, he respected the rules and did not kick Hunter at all, only defended himself.  Hunter took advantage of that and was on the offensive the whole time, basically chasing Kyler around the room.

The boys have been losing teeth like crazy lately.  The tooth fairy in these parts apparently has Alzheimer's and can't remember to come around.  Hunter reminds us repeatedly, sometimes to no avail.  Poor Kyler had the misfortune of three coming out at school, so his teacher took them, saying he would give them back in a little box, but instead lost them all (all on separate occasions).  Kyler thinks his teacher must take the teeth home for himself to collect from the tooth fairy.

I should really get to work!  My agenda for the day, besides the usual, is to try to finish the Hunger Games, for book club tonight.  Since I only started late yesterday, it's not likely, but I'll at least not be completely in the dark.  Have a lovely week!

There and Back Again

Always such relief when Dean comes home.  He was quite due for some continuing education, and he even took a course (that he had to pay extra for) on acupuncture.  He's not sure that he will ever use it, however. 

The little ones were happy for Daddy's return.  The camera is apparently Tristan's cue to insert finger.

He visited his brother in Portland, OR, lovingly known as "Bro" or "Uncle Bro" around here, as well as Bro's lovely bride, "Aunty Patty".  Years ago I overheard Hunter and his cousin Isaac having a discussion about whether  he was "Uncle Bro" or "Uncle Dro".  Good stuff.  The "Bros" went to the traveling Body exhibit there, which Dean took the older boys to see here in Seoul as well.  He also checked out the Seattle area...  then went on to New Mexico.  Pancho, his beloved Blue and Gold Macaw, pulled his usual trick of turning violently on Dean's mother as soon as Dean walked in the door, just as Pancho did when Dean returned from his mission.  Shame on Pancho.

Hunter attended a boy/girl evening birthday party, with alleged dancing, though he said there was no dancing, but the party was "a blast!"

This party girl makes her way around more all the time, and pulls herself up to stand.  She now sleeps in Tristan's room, and it is working great, so long as they go down at different times.  Naps are more complicated, but otherwise we're thrilled to have our nights and sleep back! 

She has 10 teeth now, at 8 months.  All the kids have gotten their teeth rapidly.

We have artists among us.  They believe that the world is their canvas.

Windows are much easier to clean than walls.

Sometimes they sign their work.

  It is remarkable, compared to the older boys at least, how well Tristan speaks.  He started off calling both Hunter and Kyler "Dada".  That has evolved to "Lala", "Laler", and finally yesterday for the first time "Kyler".  He still calls Hunter "Hot-dar".  Today he actually called the baby "Cam-ia" for the first time.  She has been "Baby".  He often speaks in sentences, and is easily a year ahead of both older boys at this age.  Having olders who speaks surely helps with that.  Tristan has been a little jealous of Cambria lately, I think because she gets up and around and gets into things, such as his toys, my lap, etc, and seems less like a baby and more like competition.

I really wish that the Tristman could tell us what these are.  They multiply like crazy here.

Hunter did a self portrait in 3-D at school.  The nose is a few inches long.  The resemblance is uncanny.

I measured the boys on a wall hanging we've been using for a few years.  Tristan is 2 1/2, so if we double his current height, the thinking is that that will be his adult height.  He is right at three feet, so potentially he could be six feet.  I didn't know to do it with the other boys.  Kyler is currently taller than Hunter was two years ago; they are exactly three years apart.  Poor Hunter has always been on the smaller side, starting at four and a half pounds.  He asked what he could do to grow taller faster (he really doesn't think much of the idea that Kyler *will* outgrow him, and Tristan - maybe even Cambria?)  I said all he can do is hold his head high and shoulders back - no slouching. 

This little Asian-style dress is for a two-year old, but hardly covers an infant.  She probably won't wear it again, sadly.

Our exciting news that may or may not be is that Dean and a partner, a veterinarian that he once worked with and gets along wonderfully with, have been looking for months for a practice to buy together.  This is huge for us!  Emotions have been up and down here for months as they have pursued multiple clinics, and even began working on the possibility of starting one.  It is a sellers' market right now, so they are hard to come by, or at least bigger ones that would support two owners.  A fabulous one came up for sale recently in the Seattle area, but far out enough that it is a smallish community.  This would be dreamy for us in every way.  The only drawback is that it is so far from family, except for Bro, who would still be a few hours drive.  Out of four offers put in for it, "we" were selected, but still have a number of wrinkles to iron out, some of which could be deal breakers.  I, at least, am on pins and needles (and knees) hoping that it goes in our favor.