Gyeongju Trip

Hey Everyone! Here's a quick post from mine and Kami's trip this past week to Gyeongju. It's a beautiful town in Southern Korea, near the coast. We went with a bunch of people from our church (13 kids, 5 teenagers, 7 adults) and had a wonderful time at some Buddist Temples, the Beach, riding bikes through the town (which I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do when you're pregnant....but....it was too much fun to pass up!) and enjoying the cherry blossoms which are now in full bloom! I'm so excited for spring in Korea! This is when things start to get totally beautiful with the trees getting some green on them and the farmers planting barley and rice. I am so ready for the yucky brown-ness to go away! :^)

Hair, Cravings, Koreans and more!

Okay, so I've been officially "gotten" after by a fellow blog stalker/friend of mine, that I must have absolutely nothing to blog about. And to be totally honest, I didn't and really still don't. So, I've decided to blog about the randomness that is my mind (you asked for it, Ruth!).

So, today I woke up and decided to actually do something with Kami's hair! She's got a lot of it and has had for quite some time, so I thought today is the day I play with my daughters hair! This is what I came up with:

Not too bad for my first try, right? Up until 2:00 PM today when I dropped Kami off at "school" (aka, CDC or Day Care) she hadn't taken them out. We'll see how it looks when I pick her up in a couple of hours.

And here's a random picture of Kami doing a dance. We have a little kitchen set for her in her playroom here and it spontaneously started playing music! So, Kami jumped up and started doing a little jig! I thought it was pretty cute. She dances like her mom. Awe!

On a totally separate note, I just drove home from the base and....I've said it before and I'll say it again. When it comes to driving, Koreans are stupid, stupid, stupid. I don't even know how to explain what I saw today. Let's just say there could have been a MAJOR accident (times 10) right in front of my eyes (not involving me, but I'd be a very close eye witness). Why? Because people here put themselves in very stupid positions when it comes to driving and safety. I was cringing every time someone would come up behind this stupid guy waiting for him to be hit full on speed. Crazy. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I wish all of you back home could see and understand what I'm talking about. I seriously want to bring my camcorder along and just have it running one day while we're driving. Oh! Maybe I'll do that! We're driving up to Seoul on Saturday to go to the temple and that would be all too perfect to show you the craziness it is to drive here! Stay tuned!

So, speaking of stupid, what is up with totally losing all brain power when you're pregnant??? I cannot tell you how many times I've dropped stuff for no reason at all, continuously run into walls while walking, and totally say random things that don't even make sense. Like, for example, I was talking with a friend of mine who teaches French & Spanish at the high school here and I was asking her how her summer was and if she was liking the break from school. Yeah. You heard me right. Summer. It's not even spring break for these guys!!!! Sheesh. Oh my goodness. I wish I could tell you more things that I've said and done, but, well, that would require me actually remembering these things!

Let's see. What else random? Oh yes. Cravings. My big craving for this pregnancy has been fruit. Isn't that cool? I just can't get enough fresh fruit. So, I was talking about cravings the other day with my friend, Clarissa and she mentioned that with one of her kiddos, she craved tacos. Then I remembered that with Kami I craved chips and salsa (Chevy's chips and salsa to be specific). So, I got to thinking about that and now I'm starting to really want fresh salsa (thanks alot, Claris!). So....I'm headed to the commissary now to get all of the ingredients for Ben Lomeli's Family recipe for fresh salsa! Does fresh salsa sound good to you? Here's the recipe:

• 5 tomatoes, minced
• 1 onion, minced
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped (no stems)
• 2 cans (8-oz) tomato sauce
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 jalapenos (keep the seeds in, you chickens!!!)
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

Mix first three ingredients in large bowl. Blend remaining ingredients in blender or food processor; then mix together with tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Store in refrigerator. Yummy!

Okay! I'm off! Enjoy your day!

Ooops! I've been tagged!

I just noticed my friend Karen tagged me for a "Friday Fill In". Here's my answers in bold:

1. Some relationships are meant to last forever.

2. Shania Twain (I think...it's been a while!) is the last concert I saw; it was super entertaining.

3. Spring should be showing up soon.

4. Oh no! I forgot to do and say so many things!

5. I've recently started feeling the baby move around!

6. My family never fails to make me smile.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going out to eat and just chillin' out at home, tomorrow my plans include going up to Seoul to go to the temple and Sunday, I want actually get Kami down for a nap before 1:00 PM church starts...hey, I can wish, can't I?

Okay, so I wasn't going to tag anybody specifically, but I changed my mind. I tag: Jenna (because I would love to see her answers), Rachel (because she hasn't posted anything in a while!) and Ruth (because I think she secretly stocks my blog more often than she admits!) ;^)

Diaper Mishap

So, yesterday being Easter for us over here in Korea (Happy Easter to everyone else, by the way!), Kami got to wear her cute new Easter dress to church! Unfortunately not long after we arrived at church I realized I had forgotten to put Kami's little bloomers on. Oh well. Not the first time I've forgotten those. Just before the sacrament, however, Kami started to get a little crazy, so Drew went to pick her up and put her on his lap. As he picked her up, Kami said her new favorite phrase, "Uh oh!" And at the same time Drew and I looked down and there was Kami's diaper in front of us on the floor! It had totally fallen off her little bottom! Drew quickly gathered up the diaper (which was clean, thank goodness!) and Kami and rushed out of the chapel to fix the mishap. Me, however, left alone got over the initial shock and realized just how funny the whole situation was - especially after I had the thought, "Man, I knew I should have put that bloomer on today!" So, there I was, a huge smile developing on my face, my face feeling suddenly hot and bright red, and then came the convulsions of me seriously trying to hold back a huge laugh out loud, roll on the floor laugh! I'm actually surprised nobody else in the congregation noticed (we were sitting in the back row), besides Mary, the 5 year old sitting in front of us who was looking back as she usually does trying to get Kami's attention and I'm pretty sure President Knudsen, sitting on the stand (he's a counselor in our District Presidency, but our branch is his home branch - his wife is the one who taught us Korean cooking last week). So, finally, before I got the attention of the whole congregation and before the sacrament was to be blessed, I quickly dashed out of the chapel and into the hall (meeting Drew and Kami on my way), rushed into an open classroom and let the laughter come!

Ah! Just thought I'd share the experience. We missed the sacrament that day, by the way. Easter of all days! Awe well. I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father understands; in fact, maybe He was laughing, too! ;^)

Hey!

Hasn't anybody noticed the new little ticker I put at the bottom of my blog yet??

Korean Cooking Class

So, today some of the ladies in our branch got together at the Relief Society counselor's house for a Korean cooking lesson. Jihyun was a fantastic (and very patient) teacher. She is such a talented and incredibly sweet person. She is so awesome, I just love being around her!

Today's lesson was on how to make Kip Bop (Korean Sushi) and Korean Vegetable Pancake. She first took us to a little market by her house to buy the ingredients, which was so helpful, since not many of us can read Hangul! Once our shopping was done, it was back to her place to start chopping, cooking, steaming, assembling, chatting, laughing, etc., etc.! Here are some pictures from our afternoon!

Jihyun cooking the meat for the Bolgogi & Mint Leaf Kip Bop.

Daniella & Meredith (and Erin, who was also taking pictures at the time I snapped this one) doing some prep work for the Kip Bop.

This type of Kip Bop consists of Spinach, Carrots....

....Korean Radishes (two different kinds), ham, crab....

....and egg!



We also bought the ingredients to make Korean Vegetable Pancakes which you make with a special batter, chives, carrots and onions.

We ran out of time to make it at Jihyun's house, so I attempted to make it at home this evening for dinner. I think I did okay, however, the next time maybe I'll make them a little thinner - it was kind of doughy in the middle. But, everything tasted so yummy!

Saipan?

Okay, so. If you're anything like me Christmas morning, you would have opened one of your presents, looked at the airplane tickets and said, "Where the heck is Sai-p-an?" Hum. Who know such a place existed! And come to find out that the place is a US Commonwealth! Holy Smokes! For those of you who are geography dummies, such as myself, Saipan is an itty-bitty island that is part of the Northern Mariana Islands. Look it up on Wikipedia or something if you want to know more!

So, anyway here are some random pictures of our vacation this last week! We all had a ton of fun. Kami could have spent every waking hour in the pool, if we let her. Unfortunatly, she got the brunt of the sun. In fact, I feel like such a bad mother! She came home with a sunburned head, face, back and arms. I promise you that I put sunscreen on her and reapplied it! Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Me, Drew and Kami going down the Lazy River at the resort we stayed in.

Is Kami's Mommy cool, or what? And, no, Kami's feet aren't on backwards, that's just her shoes!

At the Beach! I LOVE B&W beach photos! They're the best!

Here are a couple of cool sunset photos from our room! It was so beautiful!

A big wave came in and splashed all over Kami. She loved it, of course. Unfortunatly, mom didn't bring a change of clothes!

Here's a sample of what Saipan looks like. The pretty parts anyway. Most of the cities look pretty poor and run-down.

Does anybody else remember their dad's doing this with them?

First golf lesson.

Another picture from our hotel room.

So many times since we've been in Korea, Koreans love taking pictures of Kami. This mom that we ran into was determined to get a good picture of Kami with her daughter. Since she was snapping pictures, I though I'd join in, too. I dunno. This just looks like two mom's forcing our kids to be friends or something. Hmm. Anyway, I hope that mom got the picture she was wanting!

Major Feth!

Yeah! So, as of last month, Drew is now known around the office is 'Major Feth'. Whoa there, Mr. FGO! No really, we are all very proud of Drew and the hard work and dedication he puts into serving his country. He truly loves what he does. Okay, maybe not every day, but the overall picture of what he's a part of makes his job worth it.

Anyway, here's a couple of pictures courtesy of our friend, Eve Robinson. Pictured is Drew and Lt. Col. Jack Stokes. Jack is a friend of ours from church and is the commander of the 25th fighter squadron here at Osan AB. He's also the dad of one of my super cute Mia Maids (soon to be Laurel)! ;^) If you're wondering about his hair-do, it just happened to be 'Flat-top February' for their squadron. For the month of March? You guessed it, he's sporting a mustache! LOL! Those pilots are crazy!

Cute Cousins

So, just before returning to Korea, Kami and I made a stop in Seattle to visit my sister, Rachel and her family! While we were there we hired one of her photographer friends to take pictures of our girls together! They turned out awesome! Here's a sampling of one and the rest you can visit her website at: http://carriestroudphotography.blogspot.com/

Twilight Blog

Hey Twilight Fans! Just thought I'd share a blog that a friend of mine made!

Feel free to check it out!

www.afatalattraction.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday, Drew!

Hey Drew! We hope you have a very, very happy birthday! We love you and miss you!

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!!!!

Disney

And of course we did Disney! I so thought that Kami would be afraid of all of the characters, but she was quite the opposite! She loved them! Which made waiting in line for nearly an hour all very worth it! And she even learned a new word. "Mou?" Everything she says sounds like a question. Her latest is when she does something naughty and I make her say sorry, she says, "Arey?" That makes everything she says super-cute. Anyway...this days was a lot of fun. She didn't sleep a wink until we were in the car on our way back to Tampa. She was taking in everything she saw around her her at Disney World. Very, very fun!

The Beach

Of course, what would a trip to Florida be if you never went to the beach? That'd be just craziness, I tell you! This was the first time Kami had ever been to the beach and she absolutly loved it! I wish we could have spent more time there, but we started out at a playground and decided to walk to the beach. Little did I realize that it would be a 20 minute walk!! We spent maybe 15 minutes total enjoying the ocean and then we had to turn around and walk back to the car so that we could pick up my sister from school. We'll be back soon, though! There's some warm days coming up this next week and maybe we can bring along one of Kami's new suits!

Where Do I Begin?

Awe, yes. Poor Pats! Okay, so I'm not really a Patriots fan; actually, I'm not really a football fan for that matter. But, my brother-in-law is from Boston and is a HUGE Patriots fan. We went over to his sisters house a few miles away from their house for the big game and had a really, really big Superbowl party. So, here's Kami enjoying the game. Or at least the attention.

Twilight

Okay, for those of you who are just as obsessed about these books as I am, this post is for you!

There's not many times when a book is so good that it captivates my attention enough to read an entire series in one week. Yeah. Obsessed. I am not kidding when I say that this book was glued to my nose and there were a few times when sleep evaded me and I stayed up reading (uninterupted) until 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. Crazy, crazy crazy! I usually have a hard time staying up past 10 PM (just ask my husband). Anyway, I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the fourth and final installment to the series coming out in August. For those of you who live in Osan, Korea and are also obsessed with these books I am seriously contemplating having a book release party then, so stay tuned! ;^)

Also, for those fans who are, like I said as equally obsess as I am, you'll also be excited to know that there is a movie coming out in December (See, I told you, it's a sickness! Beware!) and they've cast the entire Cullens family. Here's a picture from Stephenie Meyer's website.

Alright. Enough about my latest obsession. I'm truly getting in trouble from my husband because I haven't posted any pictures from Florida on the blog yet. I guess I better get on that today! So. Stay tuned. I'm still here. I'm still well. Just enjoying the sunshine, shopping and lazing around!