Erwangni Beach....

Last week, one of our neighbors invited a group of us to a local beach near Seoul for the day.  I didn't realize there was a beach within an hour and a half driving distance, which was really cool! Josh and I have already planned to take the kids back on Labor Day because the kids and I enjoyed it SO much!

Since I do not have my Korean drivers license yet, we rode with Trish, one of our neighbors and the one who organized the whole trip ( one day I will have to write a blog about how she and I met...pretty cool story)

After a minor set back ( we took the wrong exit and got a little turned around..hehe), we finally made it to the beach.  This is where we parked our vehicles.

The little crew of kids headed to the beach...since we were the only Americans there ( as far as I saw) it was pretty easy to spot our group :)

On the beach they had these wooden tables with umbrellas that you could rent for 35,000 won ( which is about 30.00).  We rented two for our group :)

Once we got settled, we headed to the ocean.  It was low tide when we first arrived, which was great for the little ones.  They could walk quite pretty far out and it not get too deep for them. I brought two small floaties for my little two, but we rented Ethan & Rachel bigger tubes for 5,000 won a piece.  SO worth the money...they played with them all day long and had a blast!

After about two hours, the kids were getting hungry.  We brought our own lunch, but there were snack bars there that sold Korean food to eat.  I figured my little ones would do better with our own food :)

Michael and Caleb also loved playing in the sand.  This is actually the first time since we left FL that they have been to a beach, so it was new to them.  They LOVED IT!  One of their friends had to show them how to make a castle using the bucket...so sweet!

By the time they had eaten lunch and played in the sand, high tide had rolled in.  This was fun too because they could really float and ride the waves ( they were small waves, but they had a blast! )...

My back door neighbor and her sweet son :)

The mom's from the group....we had such a great time together!

Do you see how these Koreans are dressed?  It was really hot that day and they are wearing longs sleeve shirts, pants and hats! A LOT of the Koreans were dressed that way...it was quite interesting.

The American Tube Chain :)

We really did have such a great time!  I can't wait to go back and take Josh with us....hopefully I can remember how to get there!

Until Next Time,
Michelle :)

Girls Day Out

When our sweet Ray Ray was born, I couldn't wait until the day she and I could go out and spend time together.  I'm so thankful that God blessed Josh & I with a very girly, girl who loves going window shopping, getting her hair/nails done, dressing up, playing tea, etc.  She is a true little blessing in my life.

About two years ago, she and I started having Girls Day Out about once a month.  It's a special time for just the two of us to spend time together.  We hadn't had one all summer long due to our big move, so on Saturday morning she and I went all out :).

First, I took her to a shop on post called The Chosun.  It is ran by the American Forces Spouses Club on post and profits from the shop go to several Korean and American projects.  I just LOVE this place!!  They get lots of items shipped in from Indonesia, Bali, Philippines, Vietnam, China, Japan, and Thialand.  I have already found a couple of cute and unique Christmas gifts for my peeps back home :).  Anyway, Rachel LOVED the store and asked if she could come back for her birthday....a girl after my own heart!  She ended up buying a small tea set and the cutest story doll!  At first it looked like Little Red Riding Hood, but when you turned her dress inside out it looked like the Granny...but wait, when you turned Granny's cap inside out it was the Wolf!!  SUPER CUTE!!!  They also had dolls that told the story of Snow White, and other characters.

Here is the doll as the Granny....

After shopping a little while, we headed to get something to eat at the little food court down from the Chosun Gift Shop.  Rachel was so excited about getting a kids meal because it came with a surprise toy.  Boy, was she surprised!! When she opened her bag up it was an apple...not a toy apple, a real apple!! lol...she thought that was so funny!

Next up, it was time for her to get her hair trimmed and for both of us to get pedicures.  Usually when she comes with me, she just gets her toes painted, but since this was a special girls day she got a full pedicure.  It was SO worth it....she smiled the ENTIRE time and said "This is the best day of my life!"

She loved sitting in the big chair and getting her feet/toes done....

LOVED her expression when they turned the chair on and it started massaging her back....she then said "Ah, Mom, this is the life!"... <3 her!

Rachel's crazy toes...she thought they were pretty cool!

What an amazing day with an amazing little lady!!!  Truly blessed!

Until Next Time,

Michelle :)

Wordless Wednesday: Good Night Kisses

End of Summer is Drawing Near..

I can't believe we only have two more weeks and summer will be over!!  Part of me is happy about that because it will be nice to get back into a routine, but the other part of me wishes it would last just a little bit longer :). This week we are actually starting the kids on their school wake time/bedtime schedule so it won't be such a shock to them.  They were really spoiled last year in VA...their school didn't start until 9:00, so they got to sleep until about 7:30 everyday.  Here their school starts at 7:40, so they will be waking up A LOT earlier.

The past two weeks have been busy with swim lessons for all 4 of the kids.  They had their final lesson on Friday and I'm proud to say all 4 passed their level!!! They had so much fun and their instructor was wonderful.  A University from the US sends a group of instructors to come here and teach the kids during the summer.  From what the kids teacher told me, it's like an internship program and they earn college credit for doing it.  Our kids LOVED it and really did learn a lot.  Here are some pics from their last couple of days..... if you are not their grandparents, you might get a little bored.....consider yourself warned :)

On their last day, they had Fun Friday...the kids had a blast! Ethan and Rachel's class was in the afternoon and held in the indoor pool on post.

The little boys class was in the morning at the outdoor pool.  Here they are singing their last song for the week...

 Getting ready to jump off the diving board for the first time...

Michael didn't know what to think at first, but once he jumped it, he couldn't get enough of it :) If you click on the bottom right hand corner it will make the video bigger....

Caleb couldn't wait to jump in...he was ready :)

All four kids had the same instructor, Ms. Zoe and they LOVED her!  

Another activity that has been keeping us busy is Taekwondo!  They meet three times a week, all year long.  At first,  was the only one who wanted to sign up, but now that the other three have seen what he does, they all want to take it.  Rachel is going to start next month and the other two will have to wait until next year to take it.  Caleb is actually old enough, but we wanted him and Michael to start at the same time.

Ethan's class is made up of all different levels of belts.  They begin each lesson with a warmup/stretching session and then they break into groups.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but I had left my camera at home and was using my phone.  Ethan is the closest one to the wall.  Right here the little boy in front is getting into trouble because he want pay attention...lol

Next week we are planning a trip to a nearby beach with some of the other mom's and kids from our neighborhood.....so hopefully the next two weeks we can continue to do some fun things before the kids go back to school!

Until Next Time,

Michelle :)