Family Fun

This week was pretty routine and kinda blah. Last weekend we didn't do much at all except get groceries at the Commissary. It pretty much was rainy all weekend. We spent Sunday afternoon playing board games with Giulianna and watching movies. The baby gates arrived this week which was half good. Only the one at the top of the stairs fit as I had forgotten the measurements of the top and bottom landings were different. So I am now waiting for the adapter for the bottom stairs to come so I can put that gate up. On Wednesday I made dinner and then skid-addled out the door when Mike got home so I could catch a movie. I finally got to see "The Conspirator", and have a little Mommy alone time. The kids and I went to story time at the library on Thursday, again this week. Thursday evening we spent some time on the playground and Giulianna made a new friend.

Giulianna has some big shoes to fill!!!

Friday was another routine day and very hot. There were warning about the heat being at a level 5, which is the highest for the area. We pretty much stayed inside but we got to have a little fun doing a craft that my friend Kelly did with her daughter Regan. We made sponge balls!!! When Daddy got home on Friday we decided to go explore around Hannam Village a bit. We had dinner out and then walked around and finally got donuts at Dunkin' Donuts!!!! One interesting observation was that there was far less English in this area overall. No one seemed to speak English and there wasn't as much on signs and such. I think this is interesting mainly because you have Hannam Village, US Army Housing smack dab in the middle of an area where English isn't prevalent. And to add to it you go a few blocks away and you are in an area where almost everyone can speak at least a little English. My goal is to at least learn to read Hangul and hopefully speak a little Korean.

Giulianna and I made 5 sponge balls, which she loves. Thanks for the idea Kelly!

Out for some Korean food. That's a bowl of noodles and 2 different kinds of Kim Chi.

Mike is mixing up the Bee Bim Bap, which is vegetables, rice, hot sauce and a fried egg.

Giulianna happy about her dinner, she loves the noodles.

Rhyon decided he wanted the kim chi, and after he finally got a piece he seemed to like it, but didn't have enough teeth to actually chew it. This is radish kim chi which I personally like better than cabbage kim chi. Both are a bit spicy.

Rhyon loves the noodles too!

As we walked around we found street food, this is chicken on a stick. You can also get other "parts" of the chicken on the stick.

Down one of the streets. Example of far less English around.

This is a fish market restaurant. Basically whatever you order is already in one of these tanks.

Squid!

Invertebrates, technically sea cucumbers.

Eels, flounder and rock fish I believe.

This is the "catcher/ chopper". It was fun watching him.

Catching an order.

Squid, it's whats for dinner!!!!

 Here is a video of the chopping process, very interesting thing to watch! Maybe we will get to eat here sometime!!! Guess I better learn Korean so I know what I am ordering....

More invertebrates for dinner!

A flock of floundering flounder!

In this picture you can see people at the traditional short tables where you sit on the floor and at regular tables. The place was pact.

There is out door seating too. It doesn't get fresher that that!!!!

We kept trying to get Giulianna to leave and stop looking at the fish but she was amazed!

Right across the street was another restaurant but much smaller. However this one had crabs and octopus to offer.

Octopus! We were surprised they weren't climbing out!

Giulianna said the squid looked sad, I guess they were since they were gonna be dinner!!!

We were gonna get ice cream but Giulianna wanted donuts.

The menu was slightly different, but over all the same as in the states. We had a tofu donut and some other more normal ones and green tea bubble tea. In the states bubble tea is tapioca bubbles, here they are rice ball bubbles. It was like having frogs eggs in your tea, very interesting!

Saturday I had the opportunity for a little more Mommy alone time. I took the bus to the main post and dropped some stuff off at the thrift store, get some misc stuff at the PX like towels, and have a pedicure. Mike an the kids joined me a few hours later and we ran to the Commissary for their HUGE TRUCK SALE. It was a bit disappointing but we now have lots of diapers, toilet paper and snack pack pudding! We then made it to church for the first time since we have been here. For dinner we went to Pizza Hut and ate outside. Giulianna wanted to go to the playground, where we ran into her new friend from a few days before and they played until it got dark. Mike and I had the opportunity to chat with his parents and some of their friends, all of which happen to be Russian. They are all very nice people and I look forward to getting to know them better in the future. All in all it was a great weekend.

Today (Sunday) we think we might go in the pool for a bit and play with our sponge balls! Tomorrow Mike is leaving on a training exercise and leaving me alone for a few weeks. I am hopeful that I will be able to accomplish a few things in that time such as getting my Korean Drivers License and getting the kids enrolled in CYS (Child Youth Services) so that they can attend preschool and be left for child care. Giulianna has also been asking about dance class, so I will be signing her up for that too. Guess that is about it for now!