Potty Talk

The toilet in out master bathroom has more buttons than my iPod....because it doubles as a bidet.  Bidet's are really popular here and we saw them in almost every house we looked at.  (I guess a flushy-potty/bidet is better than a whole in the floor and a bucket of water.)  I'm a little nervous about it and all of the buttons that accompany it.  Especially since they are labeled in Korean.  In fact, on our first night here I had to ask Mark how to flush the toilet.  FYI...there is a traditional lever flush on the side of the toilet.

I'm not the only one a little anxious about all of the buttons.  Mark, the girls and I were out to lunch this week and the toilet in the restaurant was a bidet as well.  Morgan went into the stall and I calmly warned her not to push any of the buttons.  But it was no use.  The bright colorful buttons scared her almost as much as toilets with an automatic flush.  She eventually did her business and we were on our way.  

Jumping Beans

I know I said I would never do it.  I always said I would NEVER buy my kids a trampoline.  But they are sooooo much fun.  And honestly, I can't envision our daughters jumping off of the balcony onto it.  

Everyone in China had a trampoline.  All of Morgan's friends and the kids in the neighborhood.  So before we moved, we bought one to bring with us to Seoul.  It was supposed to be a surprise for the girls when they arrived, but the weather did not cooperate and Mark wasn't able to put it up before then.  So on Tuesday with a break from the rain, Mark put it up.

The girls LOVE it!!!  (When Mark's not hogging it to himself!)  Morgan wants to go out first thing in the morning and several times throughout the day.  Even Molly seems to be enjoying it.  She likes to play "Ring Around the Rosie" with Morgan and then laughs so hard when they fall down.  This is certainly one purchase the whole family can enjoy.  

A New Beginning

The girls and I have only been here for 5 full days and already I feel like there is so much to share with you.  I think I'll have to wait to post details about our trip to Costco, my first International Driving Experience and more.  Korea is proving to be significantly different than China which is a shock and yet no surprise at the same time.  

We are settling into the house one box at a time.  We are making progress and I hope to have a video of the new house posted by the weekend.  Our maintenance man will be by tomorrow to hang pictures on the walls for us.  Once again we are dealing with concrete walls so Mark's normal drill will not do the job.  

Our dog Sadie is currently en route and should arrive in Seoul by noon tomorrow.  We know her flight from Chicago to Amsterdam has landed.  She will lay over for a few hours and be able to stretch her legs, eat and get some attention before making her connection to Seoul.  She is turning out to be one well traveled canine.  

Mark and I have already started our Korean language lessons.  We are reading, writing, and counting and are hoping to learn the basics to get us through this assignment.  Key phrases for us to learn are "I'd like a small cheese pizza", How much is this?", "Where can I find...", and "I'll take a red wine, please".  

So many expat families are still home for the summer.  They should start trickling in, especially now that the "rainy season" is over.  We are anxious to meet some new people and find some play mates for the girls.  

There is so much more to tell, but it will have to wait for another day.  Please stay tuned.  Posts should be arriving more frequently with the promise of pictures too.  

A taste of home

Since we are still settling in the house and unpacking, and still trying to learn the ways of the grocery store, we've been trying to get ourselves familiar with the restaurants in our area.  This is proving to be more difficult than in Shanghai.  Most of the restaurants here are Korean and finding english speaking servers and printed menus is a task.  Luckily for us, there is a Pizza Hut and a Baskin Robbins at the bottom of our "hill".   Which can be good....or bad.  We've already visited both establishments, much to Morgan (& Mark's) enjoyment.

Ordering pizza for delivery wasn't easy either.  Mark called Pizza Hut and they said "no English".  So Mark asked our temporary driver to call for us.  Which he did and dinner was on its way.  Only to have a call 5 minutes later from Pizza Hut asking us for our order.  Apparently they find someone who speaks English and then call you back.  Good service, but a little confusing.  And in case you were wondering....Korean Pizza Hut tastes the same as US Pizza Hut.  No Sweet & Sour sauce here!!!

I wish I could give you the full details about the "hill" that takes us from our house to the main road.  It is very steep and about 3/4 mile long.  So steep that Mark and I have set a goal for ourselves to be able to walk down and back up by the end of the year with the promise of a treat from Baskin Robbins when we do.

Mini Miley

It is no secret that the biggest Hannah Montana fan in our house is Morgan.  She is constantly quoting lines from the show, singing the songs and wearing her new favorite HM t-shirt.  But I bet you didn't know that the littlest Hannah Montana fan is living here too...Molly.  Lately she has been sining one of the HM songs over and over again.  No doubt she is simply repeating what her sister is singing.  But it is cute!  

Move over Miley...here comes Molly!!!    

Home Sweet Home

 The girls and I safely arrived in Korea on Friday evening.  The flights went fine and the girls were angels.  Morgan was a huge help to me when I needed it, pushing the stroller or carrying a bag.  The flight from Chicago to Seoul was almost 13 hours.  We kept ourselves occupied with Barbies, coloring books and sleeping.  

I cannot rave enough about the flight attendants on our Korean Air flight.  They were helpful, courteous, and friendly.  It was as if they actually enjoyed their job and wanted to be their helping us.  They would stop by and say hi to the girls and talk with Morgan or tickle Molly.  They "baked" cookies for a mid-flight snack and brought some to the girls first.  They were very accommodating, and they looked great too!  Throughout the entire flight their hair was done up perfect, makeup touched up, and scarves tied crisp around their necks.  A far cry from what I've seen on Northwest lately.  

Anyway....we are home and a whole family again.  It was great to see Mark!!  The girls greeted him with HUGE hugs.  He is impressed with the changes in Molly and was not surprised to see how tan & blonde Morgan is.  We're battling the jet lag now, but hopefully it wont last too long.   We're also dealing with unpacking, which is no small feat.  The movers did an awful job unpacking the boxes and just put stuff in any open cabinet or drawer.  There is a lot of shifting that needs to be done.  But we'll manage.  It's just great to be "home"!  

Welcome to Korea

Well since the girls are dealing with Jet Lag from the trip home to Korea, I figured I would send out a post and let everyone know they made it home OK.  I am very happy to have my girls home and have been enjoying every min. I can get with them.  We were able to fit all the luggage in the Winstorm with some creative packing.  As a Packaging Manager I had something to prove with the loading of the vehicle.  I would like to mention I think I did a great job of getting everything in the vehicle without having the girls with there feet up on the luggage on the way home. 

Kristen and I have been trying to get things put away in the house from the move.  She is much better at doing this type of stuff than I am.  She has the majority of the kitchen done and is started on the girls room.  We were all up about 03:00 this morning due to the jet lag.  I was along for the ride on this one as Morgan came and woke me up.  

We were able to get to the store and purchase some additional groceries that I had not gotten while the girls were away.  I was not sure what was in the house and Kristen was able to remember by memory everything she had shipped to the new house.  All I have to say is amazing on this.  The day went pretty smooth considering everything that has been going on.  The girls did OK.  They are still adjusting to the new house but are doing well.  They seam to love the new place and love going up and done the mountain side to get to and from the house.

Well that is it for now.  I know Kristen will get some pictures up when she gets a chance to sit down and relax. 

More camping

The girls and I went with my parents camping again this past weekend.  It was a really fun time.  On Friday we went to Michigan's Adventure Amusement Park.  The girls LOVED it!  The rides were perfect for the both of them.  Molly enjoyed it the most.  She was eager to get on the rides and cried when they were done.  On Saturday we went on Dune Buggy tour of the Sand Dunes at Lake Michigan.  We also spent a little time on the beach.  

Good Friends

Last week, the girls and I spent time with our friends from Grand Blanc (where we lived before moving in November).  It was great to catch up with the moms and kids from our MOMS Club and our neighbors from our old house.

Fond Farewell

It is hard to believe that our month long visit to the US is already coming to an end.  The girls and I head out on early Thursday morning for Seoul.  We have enjoyed seeing our family and friends and have kept busy these last few weeks.  We certainly are excited though to see Mark again and to get settled in our new home.  

I know that I have been delinquent with the blog.  But rest assured, I will get back into a routine with more stories, experiences and pictures as we get familiar with our new city and culture.

Stay tuned... 

Camping Pictures

The day after we arrived back in MI from our SC visit, we headed up to Grayling to go camping.  It was a really fun weekend spent with my parents, Aunt Linn, Cousins Kim, Rachel and Hannah.  

We swam, visited Heartwick Pines State Park, roasted marshmallows and visited the Traverse City Cherry Festival. 

It was a really fun weekend.  Even Molly got "lost" in the excitement.  

South Carolina Pictures

I know I've been so bad about keeping up with the blog.  The girls and I have been so busy during our visit that I just haven't had time. 

Here are a few pics from our visit with Mark's parents in South Carolina.  Molly really enjoyed her southern fried chicken, and also made became great buds with her Grandpa.  Morgan (and Amelia) loved jumping off of the dock into the lake.  We were all astounded by this.  They couldn't touch or see the bottom of the lake but they jumped in over and over.  

It was a really fun week.  We had a great time swimming, boating and visiting with family.  

We're Here...

The girls and I made it to South Carolina for our visit with Mark's parents. Morgan was excited to see her Nana and Grandpa and Molly seems to be warming up to them quickly. In fact, she can call them by name. We got it late last night, but have had a fun first day. We went swimming in the afternoon, and again in the evening. There was a summer picnic, complete with live music, at the activities center. We packed a picnic dinner and headed over for some summer fun. The pool was refreshing and the girls had fun jamming to the music. Molly had her first taste of southern fried chicken. She wouldn't just let me cut the chicken up on her plate. She wanted to eat it off the bone, just like her big sis. She enjoyed it so much that she finished off two chicken legs.

There is more fun to come as the week goes on. Mark's brother Karl and his family will be here on July 4th. Morgan is anxious to see her "favorite" cousin Amelia. We'll be boating and swimming and probably shopping. I'll post pictures when we get back to MI.