keeping in touch

This summer Marc and Emmalyn had so much fun getting to know and play with their cousins more.  They look at their pictures frequently - and some times we even get to chat on Skype!  It is definitely not the same as being in person, but we SO appreciate the effort that our family and friends put in to keep in touch with our family as we are far away!

Sunday Morning Photoshoot

Off to Church!

A Day out with Dad

For the past few weekends, Jarrod has taken the kids out on some sort of outing - to a museum, park, or playground - usually both Saturday and Sunday for a couple of hours so that I am able to rest (or unpack, do laundry, clean the kitchen, etc).

These are much needed breaks for me after long weekdays with these active kids - and when they come home there is mutual excitement to be reunited. :)  Today they headed out the Seoul Forrest to play on the playground, eat lunch of samgak kimbap or "triangle rice" and a special treat, and then play in the fountain.  

I am sad not go to on these weekend adventures, but am so glad that the kids get to enjoy doing fun things and get such special time with there wonderful daddy!

Baby #3!

Baby #3 at our 28 week ultrasound (on August 5th)... we are excited to meet this little one!

the dentist

Yesterday was Marc's second visit to the dentist (in his life, and this week).  We went on Tuesday with one of Marc's best friends - and Marc got to watch his friend get a cleaning done.  Since it was Marc's first experience with the dentist, they just examined his teeth and sprayed some water and had the suction in his mouth.  That was enough for the first visit.  On Friday Marc, Emmalyn and I went back for his first cleaning. 

 Marc got to watch a movie in the waiting room and was pleasantly surprised to find it playing in the examination room, as well!  On Tuesday it was Toy Story 3, and yesterday it was Alvin and the Chipmunks 2. When the movie came on, Marc said, "Hey! I saw this one at Aaron's house!" 

Emmalyn waited patiently. As patiently as a 1.5 year old can wait. The dentist gave her a tangerine to keep her busy and seated.  Thank-you.

 All done! And, HOORAY!, Still smiling! This whole dentist thing isn't so bad! :)

After Marc hopped down from the chair, Emmalyn quickly jumped from her seat and tried to climb into the dentist's exam seat. She was nice to "check out" Emmalyn's teeth just enough to satisfy any of her younger sibling "I can't be left behind" angst.

Unfortunately this won't be our last dentist visit this year - but we are glad that it was a positive experience!

New places to discover!

Every year, when we come back to Korea, it seems like we find out about some new places to take our kids.  Since returning to Seoul at the beginning of the month, we have been pleasantly surprised to find and enjoy the new Seoul Children's Museum and an outdoor pool at the Hangang River Park.

Yesterday, Marc, Emmalyn and I went to an outdoor pool just across the bridge from where we live with a couple of friends and their kids.  It was great!  The pools are only open from the end of June until the end of August... so we were glad we could find this little treasure before it closed for the summer!

It is an adventure living in such a big city with lots to offer -- so glad we get to explore and discover it together!

Hawaii Vacation 2013

I have been waiting to do a post about our Hawaii trip this summer before I start back with life in Korea.. but was overwhelmed by the amount of pictures I have - and realized that if I wanted to really be thorough about it - I would probably need to write 10 posts.  So - here is the abbreviated version.

Hawaii was definitely a highlight of the summer.. of the year.. of our marriage.. really, of my life. ;)   Ok, there are some things I can think of that were better... like getting married, having babies, graduating high school.. and college... and grad school.., but THIS was probably the best vacation I have been on. Ever.

Why?  Because I can't think of any thing about it that was bad or went wrong... it was relaxing, refreshing, great family memories, and full of new experiences, learning about our nation's history, and sunshine.  This kind of vacation doesn't come around very often (our wallets couldn't handle it!) but we were so glad to be able to celebrate our 5 years of marriage/30th Birthdays/3rd baby "babymoon" in Oahu.

So the details: 

We arrived on Oahu early in the morning on June 8 and left late in the evening on June 18th.  Our rental condo at Beach Villas at Ko Olina was fantastic and let us check in as soon as we arrived (instead of the normal 4 o'clock) which was really nice since we were traveling with jet-lagged kids, and they let us check out late (instead of the normal 10am) so that we just went straight to the airport in the evening and Emmalyn could have one last afternoon nap there.  We highly recommend our condo for families with young kids!

 (click pictures to enlarge!)

 We spent a lot of time - at least some part of every day- at the (semi-salt water) pools and at the beach lagoons just outside our resort gates.

 One day we took a tour around the island, hitting up Turtle Bay at the North Shore, and back down the   Eastern "rainy" coast.  We are glad to have seen that side of the island, but were thankful for our relentless sunny days on the Western side of Oahu.

After our tour of the island, we headed to the airport to pick up Jarrod's parents to enjoy the rest our Hawaiian vacation.

We went to the Dole Plantation, Pearl Harbor, and Waikiki:

We were able to visit with some of our friends, Nick and Naomi, from our small group in Korea that moved to Oahu.  Nick works as a helicopter mechanic and test pilot, so one day we went up to Wheeler  Army Airbase to get a tour of the Blackhawks that he works on.  It was great to see them both at the base and at our resort!

We celebrated Jarrod's actual 30th birthday (and my 30th to come..) with a gift from Jarrod's parents: a Luau at Paradise Cove.

Jarrod's parents went the night before us so that they could babysit for us. We were thankful!

Our beach villa was next to the Disney Resort, so - of course - we headed over there to check it out and meet some of Marc's favorite characters. :)

 Did I already say that we went swimming?
A lot?

 And snorkling??  Jarrod got us all to go out with him!.. He even took Marc in a floaty with his goggles so that he could look down into the water. :)

 And then.. just like that.. it was time to leave. 

So long, sweet Hawaii...

...until next time???    ;)