Staying Alive

He's FIVE!

We had Alex's birthday party (his first one with friends), and we recycled an old birthday party idea - the MESSY party.  Super easy, super cheap, and super fun. 

First up is playing with shaving creme (I laid down a shower curtain on the table, which made for a quick cleanup). The kids got a little bit crazy on this one, but I didn't care (it's just shaving creme), and they LOVED it!

Then we did some finger painting. 

Oh, were expecting pictures of the kids finger painting?  That would have been really cute.  Well, sorry, but after the shaving cream, I forgot about the camera, and most of the other pictures I have are thanks to friends who took over the camera for me:)  I do have a picture of Alex's masterpiece though.

Then the kids decorated their own cupcakes.  Lots of fun colors! (I hope nobody got the bright icing on their clothes, but we had some really colorful tongues and messy faces).  

We also put a candle in everybody's cupcake, so that when we sang Happy Birthday to Alex, everybody could blow out a candle.  Alex got to blow his out twice, so we could get a picture;) 

I invited them to get even more Messy, and try to eat the cupcakes without their hands - only a few took me up on that;)

 Then it was time for presents.  I like Alex's different facial expressions:)

 Alex is really into Marvel and DC comic book heroes right now.  We got him a Captain America helmet and shield.  He loves it!

Dear Alex, I love the way you're always happy.  I love the way you dance - you're a natural, and you've got some great moves.  I love how you're a Daddy's boy - I love how you have to copy the things I do.  I love when you get so excited to see me (or anybody else in the family), and run as fast as you can to me, and almost plow me over!  You're a wrestler, and you're not afraid to take me on:)  I love how you explain stuff all the time, even though half the time I have no idea what you're explaining.  I love your facial expressions and sound effects.  I love how you sing all the time, to movies, or just when we're listening to music.  I love how you're still ticklish under your chin - it's the secret spot.  I love you!  - Dad

It's Already Spring Down There!

We had a FABULOUS Spring Break! We spent a few days down on the Southern coast of South Korea. It was warm, and beautiful, and so much fun!

We went to the GOSEONG DINOSAUR MUSEUM in SANGJOGAM COUNTY PARK:

Right along the coast you can see actual dinosaur footprints - INCREDIBLE!!!

Such a beautiful setting, and all the blossoms were out.

I love this picture of Joe and Cora walking with their arms around each other:)

The museum is up on a hill, and there is an escalator to get up, but on the way down they have the option of the longest roller slide ever - my kids LOVED it! Why don't they do this everywhere?

At the end of the slide is this sign that says, "Wasn't that fun?" Yes. Yes it was:)

We went to the JINHAE CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL:I've never seen so many blossoms in my life - Amazing! There were vendors Everywhere, and we gorged ourselves on street food....but not ALL of it.Yes, there were baby chickens cooked with their heads on. Yes, there was whale meat. Yes, there were many things that we had no idea what they were. It was all very.......entertaining;) Ironically, the best food I had wasn't korean, but a kebab from a turkish vendor, where we also got icecream and a "show" (I wish I had a video of this).

We went to the KOREAN NAVAL ACADEMY and took a tour of the DOKDO:

This is the lead ship of their amphibious landing ships - SO COOL! We couldn't take pictures on the inside, but we got some outside.

We went to HAEDONG YONGGUNGSA:This beautiful buddhist temple is right on the coast - very picturesque:)We went to HAEUNDAE BEACH:

The kids thought this was one of the best parts of the trip, even though they didn't get to swim. They love the ocean! I loved it because it wasn't crowded like I know it is in the summer.And here are some more pictures of the kids from the trip. They make everything so much fun!

Cora:Joseph:Madelyn:Alex:

I got a lot of things checked off my list of Things-to-do-before-I-leave-Korea:) It was a great trip! We came home to colder weather, and we can't wait for the sunshine and blossoms here in Seoul. Bring on the Spring!!!

Just Gotta Dance

Dancin' to K-pop in the 7/11. The girl at the cash register was lovin' it!;)

p.s. this is the song he was dancing to - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-zRAQmKUkI

p.p.s. this is a really dumb video

p.p.p.s. hey, I never said it was a good song, but the chorus and whistling DO make you feel like dancing;)

Nobody got Fleas or Rabies

A couple of weeks ago I chaperoned a field trip for Cora's class to an animal exhibit at Sindong subway station - seems like a strange place to have an animal exhibit, but there it is. We loved it so much, I knew we had to go back with all the kids, and luckily, our Seoul Searchers group decided to go last Friday, when the kids had the day off of school.

This exhibit isn't like anything you'd see in the States - Korea doesn't have very strict regulations when it comes to stuff like this. I guess that can be both bad and good, but it was all good for us - hence my title, because nobody came away with any diseases or anything;)

This was a very hands-on exhibit, meaning you could pretty much hold anything there, minus a few things like the alligators and piranas. There was a large reptile section with lizards...

turtles of all sizes....
and Snakes galore! They had several huge glass cases with all the LARGE snakes, and if you'll notice in the picture below, the keys were in all the locks - Only in Korea!:)Then there was an area with the more furry-type animals. There were rabbits....
guinea pigs, ferrets, hedgehogs, hamsters, mice....

a skunk, minus his stinker (I don't think JT believed me that's stinker was gone, because he kept covering his nose with his shirt when he was around it)....a few dogs (Alex was getting this little black one to chase him all over the place....and there were some really cute little puppies that Cora fell in love with....and a couple of cats....and more - enough to entertain for hours.

There were also two things there that I have always been too afraid to hold, but this time I decided to conquer my fears and just go for it. The first one - these HUGE ugly grub things. Ewwwww.....except they weren't as bad as I imagined. But I wouldn't eat one;)And a tarantula - also not as bad as I imagined. I held it one time, and then a second time when the guy who was working there tried to put it back into it's case, and it scampered up his arm super quick and onto his back where he couldn't reach it, so I obligingly pulled it off his back for him. Yeah, I'm a super hero;)Last of all, we got to see one of the big snakes eat a rat. We all circled around the case, breathless with anticipation....they put the rat in the case - he didn't have far to run....and *BAM* in a split second the snake grabbed the rat....and started to coil itself around it. Everyone kind of jumped when the snake attacked - it was kind of funny to see.As quick as the initial attack was, the death and eating thereof was painfully slowwwwwww. Poor little rat. Oh well, circle of life and all that.

I'm pretty sure my kids would go back in a heartbeat.