Wednesday, July 29, 2009

We Love the Zoo...

We never turn down a chance to go to a zoo!

This time, we headed out to the Scovill Zoo in Decatur, IL. I think it's crazy, but I'd never been there before! It isn't very big, but it was perfect for an after lunch adventure. We had lunch at Culver's first...then, on to the zoo!

Bekah didn't used to like ice cream...
They even had a carousel
And a WOLF! :)
Cute little Beks waiting to see the train (and of course trying to scale the railing!)

Rainbow Snow Cone
Another swing
Abby in this big ol' thing! It reminds me of that chair Lily Tomlin used to sit in & do that funny skit...not sure why, but it does!
Can I get an EWWWWWWW? Thankfully, my mom was in the next stall. Beks is going to do this someday & I will be mortified. Mark. My. Word. Mortified.
Abby styling her new Ariel sunglasses (thanks Auntie Beth & the girlies!)
Bloggy love,

Arranged Marriage...

Look, it's Abby's future husband!

This is Ben, and he will ask for her hand. It has been decided for her. And for him. Both mothers give it the thumbs up...both fathers think the mothers are crazy. This is nothing new. At least if our children married each other, we wouldn't have to worry about any in-law issues. We're already familiar with our form of crazy!

HA. I can't wait until she is old enough to be annoyed by this...look at her face. Maybe she already is?

For hours they played with this playmobil grocery store...it was great! See, it's meant to be!

Bloggy love,

Monday, July 27, 2009

Giveaway Goodness @ Fabulous K's...

There is a cute little button over on the left...go check out all the goodness & wonderfulness. :)

Bloggy love,

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Let's Go to the Playground...

Let me preface this post by saying I don't dislike living in Korea...
I just miss some things that we left behind in the good old USA!

#1 on the list of things we miss most: family & friends.

Pretty close to the top of my most missed list is having a yard (okay, and having a house!). So, that made it so special to be at my uncle and aunt's house and getting to do this EVERY morning. Abby was obsessed with being outside. It was great. Well, besides having jet lag & not being a morning person in general, it was great to drink my coffee outside every morning, while watching the girls play & play.

The PLAYGROUND :)
J & Beks...swinging. Do you see a theme?



Beks was tearing up the steak, baked potato & corn. Yum. Do you like her special booster seat? I remember we used to use catalogs...JCPenney's worked nicely! :)
This is why we came...time with the GGs. This was a special little moment--very sweet.
Our tradition...Build-a-Bear! Oh yes, you can never have too many stuffed animals to shove in your suitcase or carry around the airport. Why can't we mail them?
Well, how would they breathe?? :)
We had an absolutely grand time in GE. :) It was perfect. Aunt Beth saved my sanity and I really don't know what I would've done without her help. She is a baby person. My girls love her. And they LOVE Mich & J too...oh, and UJ. When Beks hugged him goodbye, she grabbed on with her little hands & didn't want to let go. I hope it wasn't too painful for them, but they should know, it meant the world. Having a mommy who is sleep deprived and 2 kids with jet lag would frighten most people. Not Auntie Beth. She took Beks one night & I was so exhausted I passed out asleep. I woke up & jumped out of bed to go check on them. I peeked around the door of their room & Beks, Auntie Beth & UJ were all asleep on the bed. :) Crazy. It was the longest she slept (up to that point!). What a gift that was.

Bloggy love,

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Back in the USA...4th of July!

I love the 4th of July...

We sure wanted to be with Daddy, but it just made sense to go ahead and get started on our jet lag recovery program. We just had to wait for Auntie Beth & J to get home! :) Boy, we didn't know how important that step of the process would be!

So, we landed in Chicago on July 3rd and proceeded to stay up as late as we could that night. The girls both woke up at 1am...we had a snack, watched some TV with Pawpaw, and headed back to bed about 3am. Woohoo.

We jumped out of bed energized and feeling great...hahaha. Well, we got up and put our cheery red, white & blue clothes! That's what counts, right?

Coloring & more coloring...gotta love Color Wonder markers!
Beks & her new best friend, Auntie Beth!
If Beks is upset, take her outside...or better yet, take her outside to SWING!!
Look very closely...Pawpaw fell asleep with Bunny Bunny.
Beks doesn't know quite what to do about the snoring man holding her bunny! :)
Abby's cute self in her 4th of July garb
We had a great day & Abby went to see her first fireworks. Mommy & Beks did not go...crazy! Mommy & Daddy both missed it. Mommy was amazed Abby went by herself--without Mommy. It turns out that it was too loud & she was not a fan! :( After that, we lit some sparklers & headed to bed for another crummy night of sleep!

Bloggy love,

Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Longest 12 Hours of My Life...

Yes, I'm dramatic.
This is, however, a true statement.

The flight back to the states was
the longest 12+ hours of my life.

Here we are on the bus ride to the airport.
Look at us.
Carefree. Happy. Smiling.

Little did we know what was to come...

We get to the check-in counter, and I request one of the bassinet seats.
The gal made a call, and we found out that they were all taken.

Hmmm...this is the point where I had an inkling of how the flight MIGHT go.
We were then asked if we wanted window/middle or middle/aisle.
Well, I tried to not be too sarcastic. I asked if there was a row where we would have an empty seat by us. The Korean Air agent informed me that it was a full flight.
Glorious.
Always wanted to have a lap baby on a 12+ hour FULL flight. Fun times.
I said we would need the aisle please. If you put us in the window seat, whoever the poor person is in the aisle will want to physically harm us.

As we walked away, Daddy said,
"well what about the poor person trapped in the window seat?"
What about them?? Poor sucker person.

We said our goodbye to Daddy, and headed through security (my least favorite part of traveling with children by myself!). They didn't even make me break the stroller down. I heard a chorus of Hallelujah. It was wonderful. It didn't last.

We do the normal get drinks, go potty, and organize carry ons.
We wait until they are boarding passengers and head to the line.
Korean Air is a lovely way to fly. They zoomed us to the front of the line.
Why do they do that? Why?
Let's get the kids on as early as we can. That way, they can go CRAZY before the plane even takes off. But hey, that's just me.

We get there & our travel companion is already seated.
He did a great job of not flinching too much when he saw us!
The American couple in front of us actually looked fearful.
The person right in front of me was an older Korean gentleman.
I thought that was a pretty good situation.

We started off okay. I have to say, Abby did a marvelous job. She got whiny a few times, but overall, she was great. She watched movies, colored, and played.
Bekah was the wild card. I knew this before we even got on the plane.
She's at the age where sitting isn't her favorite thing to do.
She's a mover. And a shaker.

Here's what went wrong:

Abby would not sit in the seat by herself while I went to change Beks or go potty.
Abby did not want to use the bathroom on the plane because it smelled funny.
And the toilet flushed too loudly.
3 in an airplane bathroom=nightmare.
Beks wanted to walk. And walk. Our flight was frighteningly full.
This was quite precarious. When Beks & I walked, Abby walked with us.
The girls did not sleep at all until the last 2 hours of the flight.
Beks slept for about 1 hour 20 minutes. Total.
I tried to watch Confessions of a Shopaholic...why? I will now have to rent it to see the end. Or maybe I'll wait for the return trip with Daddy?
I could not eat. Snack? Yes. Eat a meal, no.
There was no room under the seats in front of us. This meant I had to use overhead storage. I can't stand overhead storage. Hate it. Especially when I have a lap baby. Fun stuff to try and get something out with Beks. The only time I got in it was to get our passports out for the paperwork.
The majority of gifts I wrapped to have Abby open were in the backpack
in overhead storage.
Abby couldn't hear on her headphones.
Beks wouldn't let me wear mine. She also wouldn't wear any herself.
The guy in front of us was irritated by us. He reclined his seat back all the way onto our laps. Beks was then able to touch the TV screen on the back of the seat. And kick the seat. Even when I stood her up, she would smack her head into his seat back. I'm not sure how he thought it would work to recline his seat with a lap baby right behind him. Dirty look count=8. :)
The last 52 minutes of the flight, Beks was inconsolable. Thankfully, Abby was sleeping & I could walk a little with Bekah to keep her from screaming by the same people.
They seated us directly across from the row of bassinet seats. That's just cruel. What was even worse was overhearing the dad closest to me mutter, "will this ever end?" Their baby slept about 75% of the time & there were 2 of them. Don't be such a wimp.
No pictures. Camera was (you guessed it) in the overhead storage!

If I seem negative, I don't mean to.
I am happy we came back. We're having a great time!
I feel blessed to have the resources needed to come back and see our family.
Everyone has enjoyed seeing the girls...the great grandmas have been taking full advantage of the visit. We had an unbelievably fun time in Chicago. That's what it's all about.
I'm just guessing it's a lot like childbirth. I won't remember how bad it was in a few months.
I just want to remember. I want to be able to remember the fun little stories to tell the girls when they are complaining about something their kids are doing someday. The memories.

The trip here was not pleasant. It had its pleasant moments and kind people, but I don't look forward to traveling with a child Bek's age by myself again for that long. Guess what? Next year, she'll be older and I'm hopeful it will make a difference.

When we arrived in Chicago, things went pretty smoothly.
The little beagle dog sniffing for illegal plants/food pulled his officer over to our bag.
I'm a dog person, but COME ON. It was one of my reusable shopping bags.
The gal asked me if I was carrying any fruit or other contraband. Hmmm...is that banana loaded? Nope. She asked if I had ever had fruit or veggies in that bag. Yes--it's a grocery bag, but I said that we had lots of food in the bag, but not the illegal kind. That got us sent through the special line.

After customs, we headed out to the sunshine & the good old USA!

Here's my shirt after the adventure.
Beks & I looked like we had been wearing the same clothes for days!

One last thing...step away from the baggage carousel.

I wish 20/20 or Dateline would do a show on people by these things.
How does it make sense for everyone to line up as close as they can to the carousel?
Why doesn't everyone stand back and when you see your bag, walk up to get it?
We could all see then. We wouldn't have to whack someone (accidentally!) with a bag.
I literally had to push my way up to the front and almost missed my bag...of course the woman I smacked in the shin probably wished I would have missed it.

Am I the only one who is annoyed by this??

I am now done with my Public Service Announcement.

Bloggy love from the states!

Friday, July 17, 2009

New Poll

Hello blog peeps...

I am thinking about putting together a website (with the help of my new Mac!). We can't decide on a domain name, so help us out! The poll is over there on the right...

Oh, if you have any different ideas, feel free to share. Comments? Anyone?

Bloggy love,

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Water Park Girlies...

I'm still catching up on pictures from Korea!
Maybe I'll get caught up before I get back...HA.

We finally made it over to the water park at Camp Humphreys.

LOVED IT!

The girls did really well...Abby even went crazy in the kiddie portion.
I am just happy she was willing to go down the slide by herself.

Baby steps!

They were so very cute & had lots of fun!
We'll definitely be spending time there when we get back.
After all, Daddy still needs to go!





Bloggy love,

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Abby's Little Glory

Bekah decided to get Abby a fish for her birthday!

Mommy & Daddy didn't actually purchase the fish...
there was a note.
With a picture of a fish.

So, we finally got around to taking Abby to choose her fish.
We went right past the piranhas.
Abby ran right up to the beta fish.

The pink one with red rocks.

Did you guess? HA.



She is named Glory.
Because she is red. Do you get it?

Daddy is in charge of the fish right now.
Abby sent him a note to remind him to feed the fish. And Indy.

Here is what it said:

Dear Daddy,
I love you and miss you.
Please remember to feed Glory.
Please take Indy on long walks and feed him lots.
If you don't, he'll die.
Love, Abby
Bloggy love,