August

Time is flying by.  

Lately the weeks seem to pick up speed without me even noticing.  It seems that one minute I'm reluctantly getting out of bed Monday morning, and the next thing I know I'm leaving work on Thursday evening.  We've been busy lately, (though I have come to hate the word busy) with school events, dinners with friends and extra classes occupying every evening. 

We have so much to look forward to in August, which will be our last full month living in Busan.  We are celebrating three years of marriage in Korea's tropical Jeju Island.  I am turning 28 and don't plan to spend that day on an airplane like I did my 27th.  AND my best friend in this world is coming to visit us!  I am overwhelmed with joy when I think about Erin being here in Korea where she was born and experiencing the culture and country where we've lived for nearly two years.  

Yep, August us going to be an amazing month.

In the meantime I'm going to savor the last few days of July.  Our days here are numbered and we plan to enjoy them to the fullest.  We're leaving early tomorrow for camping on Korea's west coast.  On the weekend's agenda: reuniting with two great friends from our first year in Korea, swimming in the ocean and relaxing completely.  

Have a fantastic weekend!

Another Day Out With the Kiddies

We took a field trip to a fire station recently with our four and five year-olds.

 

  

They had a blast learning about fire safety as they put out "fires," made their way through a "smoky" room and learned what it feels like to be in an earthquake.  

Don't breathe in the smoke!

    

A Day Out With the Little Ones

Recently our youngest classes took a field trip to the Marine Natural History Museum. Since I'm the main teacher for the three and four year old classes, I got to tag along. 

So that's what the inside of a shark looks like...

The class of two and three year olds.  

They're thinking: "This is way more fun than learning how to spell English words!"

Me and my Happy Class.  

And a shark.

An exotic American Alligator

Lunchtime!

It was nice to get the kids out of the classroom in a smaller group and have practical conversations. 

 Next up this week... fire station field trip with the five year olds.

Lately

+ Homemade peach shortcake

+ Fresh pesto in my Hello Kitty food processor

+ Outdoor showing of Breakfast at Tiffany's

+ Lazy Saturday at the beach

+ My fancy pedicure

+ Long walk and city view 

+ A new noodle restaurant for Sunday dinner

+ Spicy Korean jampong (almost worth the hour wait)

Cheers to this weekend!

Happy 30th, Mom and Dad

My beloved parents have been married for thirty years today. 

 

Thank you mom and dad, for showing me the compromise, patience, teamwork and love that it takes to create and sustain a wonderful marriage.  You've officially been married ten times longer than I have, so it's safe to say you know a little bit more about marriage than I do. :)

You are truly inspirational.

Happy 30th!

The 4th of July

"The only beer we can drink tonight is Budweiser,"said Ryan.  

 

I complied because hey, it matched my outift after all.

We barbecued with friends on an outdoor patio looking out over our favorite beach.  It was one of those perfect summer nights where it's breezy but warm and you don't need to think about a jacket, even long after the sun goes down.

This was the second 4th of July we've spent living outside the US.  

We weren't home in Oregon to soak up the sun with friends and family, we missed the annual Waterfront Blues Fest, and we couldn't catch the fireworks as they lit up the sky over the Willamette River.  

And....we had to work.

It was different from last year's holiday weekend, that's for sure.

But this year on the 4th of July, we had a great time just the same.

Back on the Farm

Last week we headed back to the potato farm to harvest our crop from April's planting. 

The kids had a ball digging with their flimsy plastic shovels, fighting over the best spots and getting to know the local wildlife.

The teachers had fun too.