Ryan and Will

Goofin' around. It's hard to get a 'regular' picture of RyRy these days!
Here's a begrudging smile. ("Pleeeeeaaase just smile, Ryan") This little man is fully immersed in the scaring and joking phase of childhood. He loves to hide and yell "Boo".....only he doesn't get how to be sneaky yet and I keep trying to explain that it doesn't scare me when he's 'hiding' in front of the refrigerator! He is so ready for Halloween that he can hardly stand it. He wants to be an airplane. I found a costume online that looks like an F-16, only it says "Eagle" on the side. That will never do in an F-16 family (for those of you who don't know, there is another Air Force plane, the F15, who's nickname is the Eagle. There's a bit of competition - or so the Eagle community thinks - between the two :-) We may still get the Eagle costume and take it down to the patch-y shop and have them fix it up!

Poor baby.....it's better everyday, but it's already been a week and a half.

"Puh-Puy" (puppy) is the love of Will's life. He hugs and kisses and carries this dog all day. When he wants to play with something else he'll put him back in his bed and say "ni ni puh-puy". It's so cute, until he wants the dog out of the crib and he screams at me until I go get it. I haven't let it leave the house yet (except to go to the ER). Puppy is starting to turn brown and a little stinky. I'm afraid to wash him because Will would be devastated if anything happened to him. I may wait until I can get back to the states to buy a backup.

puppy love

our love

Mt. Fugi

I thought these were pretty cool pics of Mt. Fugi. I have no idea how there were obtained or how they ended up on my camera. By the way, Heath went to Japan last weekend to be in an airshow.

Our Weekend

Another week in lovely Korea down! We spent Saturday running errands downtown - mailing all the birthday packages we were so behind on, paying bills (all transactions are in cash paid to our realtor. Fishy? Korean Won is about 950 to 1 USD, which means we have to go to the ATM to take out huge stacks of bills. It seems like Monopoly money!), and we finally took Ryan to look at Heath's plane. He was so excited! Sunday morning brought a big scare. Will fell off of the couch face first into the coffee table. His eye swelled to golfball size. We had to rush him to the ER. Thankfully, there was no cut so no need for stitches and no damage to the eye. The swelling has gone down enough now to see that he hit above his eyebrow. He has a pretty good shiner! I'm sure this isn't the last of Will's ER visits! He is fearless! He was fine by the afternoon so we headed up to Seoul to check out a Korean department store we've been hearing about. Try to imagine 9 floors of wall to wall people in booths rather than stores and prices are negotiable, which is good because everything in Seoul is really expensive.

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Yuck

I thought by now I would be feeling better. Lately it seems I am more sick with this pregnancy than ever. I had to bow out of a lunch yesterday because of it! Now you know that's gotta be bad.

Korean Independence and a shift in reality

Today is Korean Independence Day. I wished my Landlord a 'Happy 15th of August', relating today to our 4th of July. He looked at me and said, 'Today is not a happy day'. I thought he meant it more a somber day of rememberance. What he meant, however, was that many Koreans still feel that they did not win their own independence. In his words, today is the day that America won freedom for South Korea. 'America is the greatest nation in the world', he said. As I scrambled to strap the kids in the car and hurry off to swimming lessons I pondered his explanation. I thought about my reality - temporarily living here, feeling sorry for myself because of the heat, strange food, language barrier, not having any of my 'stuff', grumpy because our water was shut off for the 2nd time this week due to road construction. Then I thought about their reality - living in a very real fear of North Korea, grateful for America's support and defense but perhaps hopeful for a truly independent state, wondering the fate of their families if and when our troops really do leave. I felt ashamed for taking my husband's service for granted, for complaining that he had to night fly 3 times last week and I had to feed and bathe the kids by myself. What he does here is important; it matters, and it keeps people safe. Others appreciate him. Knowing myself, I'm sure I'll continue to complain about being here BUT I am glad for this expereince and proud of the job Heath does.

FES in Korea

**UPDATE**

It has been brought to my attention that some of you don't know who FES is? Could that be? FES stands for Foreign Exchange Student from That 70's Show. I don't even know the character's real name. Wilmer Valderrama (the actor's real name) also does the voice of Handy Manny on Playhouse Disney. He is also the host of the 'Yo Momma' series on MTV. I am starting to feel like the only TV junkie around.

I am so sorry to have failed all of you.......

FES aka Handy Manny aka Wilmer Valderrama was here on Friday doing a USO tour with the cast of Yo Momma. Not only did I not go to the show, but (it gets worse), I saw him in the BX (which is the military's version of a department store). He was right behind us in the checkout line (they were laughing over the tabloid headlines. FES was relating to his friends that some actor - I couldn't see who - only has 4% body fat) with a bunch of guys wearing USO Tour t-shirts. It couldn't have been any more obvious. There were no fans harrassing him.......just me too nervous to turn around and say anything. I HAD MY CAMERA IN MY PURSE. I wasn't quite ready to give up so I hulked across the hall to the flower shop and stalked him from behind the fish tank. Heath was no help and convinced me that I would look totally retarded sneaking a photo from 30 feet away instead of just asking for it. I am ashamed to admit that I just walked away. What gives? Why did I feel so star struck and silly around FES????????? So, this photo is merely for visual recognition - I swiped it off the internet.

Brothers

I have heard so many stories from friends about relationships between brothers. So far, they've all ended with "......but we're really close now". This gives me hope for the future! A friend recently asked Ryan, "So, how do you like having a little brother?" Ryan's immediate answer was, "not good". As I type, I'm watching Will gleefully follow Ryan around the living room, thankfully, not understanding Ryan's "WILL! OUT OF MY WAY. I'M NOT PLAYING WITH YOU THIS YEAR"! Ryan enjoys reading, working in his mathbooks, and spelling. Will enjoys climbing on the coffee table and jumping off, throwing dvd's out of the entertainment center, and hitting everything in sight with his baseball bat. I wonder what #3 will bring to the mix!

The General

Heath's good friend Steve 'bequeathed' us his infamous car, "The General" as his parting deed before leaving Korea. This car has been the focus of much controversy on the base, receiving a formal complaint from the Chaplain himself. I am just happy to have an extra car; sharing has been difficult with Heath's crazy hours! It probably won't last past October, as we're fairly confident that it won't pass it's annual safety inspection. For some reason they get all nervous about having taped on bumpers. Come on! What's unsafe about that?

"Flying Fish"

Ryan's world lately consists of two things: airplanes and swimming. His obsession with aviation prior to this summer was mere child's play. There is not a conversation in our home between the hours of 7am and 8pm that isn't airplane-centered. It's become all consuming - even Heath is beginning to tire of answering all the technical questions...how fast does the f16 (a10, c130, bell x1, f15, f86, c5, c17, u2, e3, you get the idea) fly? how much gas does it take? how long do you taxi? how many buttons are in the cockpit? how many guns, bombs, missiles? can you show me the landing gear, canopy, throttle, engine, ladder, ...? Is the (fill in the blank with your favorite plane) in Korea (California, Oklahoma, Arizona, Alaska)? Our friends are blown away with the firing squad of questions Ryan has become. Actually, not just our friends......anyone in a flight suit is fair game. Walking through the BX can be excruciating! As exhausting as it is, I am so happy to see that he has such a passion for the family business at this tender young age!

We've been spending a lot of time at the pool this summer to beat the heat. He started swimming lessons today and loved it! He actually propelled himself through the water on his own.......it was during the floating lesson but hey, I'm not going to quibble. He was swimming! Our lessons are everyday for 45 minutes over the next 2 weeks. I can't wait to see his progression.

9 weeks, 2 days

It's official! March 8, 2008 is the due date. We had our first ultrasound this morning and finally got to see this little being that has been making me so ill over the past couple of months. I have been so grumpy and tired and nauseated (and quite selfishly wondering how my life can accomodate another child) lately that I expected to be unaffected by seeing this baby. I couldn't have been more wrong. It is such a wonder to see this tiny person moving, to hear his heartbeat, and to know that he is so fragile and innocent and completely dependant upon me for the next 7 months. I am ready to move forward now, to share my body - again - knowing this WILL be the last time, and to give this and our other two beautiful children the best chance in life that I can offer. I am so lucky to be sharing this with Heath, the greatest husband ever!

We are so blessed.

In and around Seoul

Everything just looks so different here, from the people, to the cars, the construction, housing, street signs, you name it! Here are a few shots of things that struck me on our way up to Seoul today.

Traffic Guy in the Rain

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough traffic to slow us down enough to get a good shot......but, here he is, nonetheless, decked out in his rainy weather gear!

My first knockoff!

I finally did it!

I shopped around for 8 weeks - there are so many bags to choose from and so many different 'qualities' - but finally settled on a Jimmy Choo. I'm so excited! I'm feeling confident now to go out and search for all of your requests. FYI, the 'good knockoffs' won't go for less than $50-$60.

For Erich........the Motherland!

A sampling of Korean cars.