Lotus Flowers

Some photos for your viewing pleasure. I know, there are not people in these pictures (Dad). They are just for the joy of nature. I couldn't resist the water drops resting on the leaves of the lotus plants. It was really a calming scene. I also thought the flower bud and the blossom were beautiful. So, relax, take a deep breath and enjoy nature.

Children's Grand park II

OK, after going to Children's Grand Park last Saturday I couldn't resist posting more pictures. I took over 400 pictures that day! This little Momma monkey above loved the boys. She just looked so sad sitting there watching everyone. Skoebie fell and she jumped down off of her perch to come check on him. She even tried to help him up through the glass. She was playing with Stew by putting her hand up against his through the glass. It was really sweet. I also had a lot of fun watching Skoebie drink from this water fountain. He was completely soaked. Good thing it was a hot afternoon. I just like this picture I took of an old Korean building in the center of the park, So I decided to share. Last but not lest we have Joe and Stew feeding the Elephants. These guys love Carrots! Elephants are also very strong, just ask Joe. After he was finished feeding this guy he reached his hand out to pet the elephants trunk and it grabbed his hand and pulled him. I think he thought Joe had more food. Joe was shocked that the elephant got a hold of him so quickly. It scared Skoebie because Joe was holding him at the time. Joe was fine, he didn't get hurt or go anywhere, it just gave him a good tug.

McDelivery Anyone?

Yes, you read that correct McDelivery. McDonald's in Korea delivers. Can you imagine how much worse our obesity problem would be in the States if McDonald's delivered? I still thought it was funny. McDonald's here also features unusual items like shrimp burgers and corn salad on the menu. So, just a short post about how life is different in Korea.

Children's Grand Park

Here we are at Children's Grand Park in Seoul on Saturday. It is a HUGE park with shows, a zoo, play areas for kids, and an amusement park. Admission is free to the park, you just have to pay for the rides and shows. We paid to see the show Anistory, ride a camel, feed deer and feed elephants. Over all we spent less than $25 Dollars for a full days entertainment at a zoo/park for a family of four. Skoebie loved feeding the animals. He just couldn't get enough of having the deer licking food off of his hand. He kept laughing and asking for more. Stew's favorite part of the day was riding a camel. The entire time he kept saying, "Mom, I'm riding a camel! Mom, I'm riding a camel!" The boys had a lot of fun. They also enjoyed playing in the man made fountains and streams designed for kids. I thought we would never get them out of the water. Joe found a way, he bought Stew a hot dog on a stick wrapped in bread. MMM Food... At the end of the day we found a barefoot park. A barefoot park is a walking path with different textures on the ground designed to stimulate the nerves in your feet. They have things like small stones, round rocks, planks of wood, metal balls, etc. all cemented into the ground for your walking pleasure. Truthfully, pleasure for a 90 pound Korean, is not so nice for a big American when it comes to the tiny stones. Over all it was a great day.

Korean Snow White

We went to Children's Grand Park in Seoul on Saturday. While we were there we watched a show called "Anistory". It it a Korean version of Snow White. As you can see from the pictures of the boys above, it looks like they have the right characters. When we get inside to watch the show... things aren't quite like Disney. When we first meet Snow White she is dressed in rags doing cleaning chores and talking to birds like another princess we know... Cinderella perhaps? Then we meet the dwarfs... little monkeys dressed in costume. The story then begins to look more familiar as the evil witch forms a plan to feed Snow White a poisonous apple. But wait, now we have two princes competing for our lovely princess. How do they compete for the love of a sleeping princess you ask? Well, with sports of course! They each have a seal play basketball to see who wins. The winner gets to wake up Snow White with a beautiful flower. Not a kiss folks! Finally, Snow White, her Prince, and their two seals play beautiful music. Who would have thought that fairy tales would vary so much from country to country? I wonder how other countries stories differ from the ones we were told as children.

Seattle or not, here we come

Atkinson clan rejoice, Stewart's get out the tissue box. Joe just received his Orders this morning and it looks like Fort Lewis, WA. Fort Lewis is just south of the Seattle/Tacoma area. The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful part of the country with a lot of fun stuff to do. As you you can see from the pictures above there is the waterfront and the Puget Sound. Then you have Mount Rainer which Joe want to climb. He might be slightly crazy, but I still love him. He asked me if I wanted to climb with him and have to admit my first thought was, "Uh, OK?!? Are you Crazy?" I did tell him I would think about it, I need to get in better shape and maybe that would be great motivation. Any who. Of Course, I can't mention Seattle with out thought of Pike Place Market. Home of the World Famous Fish throwers, and the FISH Philosophy. This is an amazing farmers market with incredible variety. When we were there we saw fruits, vegetables, baked goods, fresh flowers, and even art. It will be a good move for our family. I am excited but sad. We will be about 8 hours from Joe's Family. Which is great I love them dearly. But at the same time I have mixed emotions because it would have been nice to be close to my family also. We will make the best of it while we are there I am sure. The best part is that the Winter Olympics in 2010 are in Vancouver, BC (close enough to drive)! I am really excited about that! At this point after living in Korea "non-command sponsored" I am not sure it really matters where we live any more. I just look forward to getting my household goods again. I miss my fridge, and my washer and dryer. :) Silly, I know... It's the simple things in life.

Shh...baby sleeping

Tonight I watched this sweet little 5 week old so his Mom and Dad could go out on a date night. He was really good for me the whole time they were gone. He went to sleep while I was trying to get my boys ready for bed so I made him this comfy bed. Yes, I know it is two towels in the bottom of the laundry basket. That is not what matters. He slept comfortably there for an hour and was also protected from Skoebie. Skoebie ans Stew both love this little guy. Stew was a big helper with him tonight. Stew softly snuggled him, held his bottle for him, and gave him a pacifier when he was crying. Skoebie was a handful. He was jealous of Mama holding a baby, wanted to help with the baby, but couldn't, wanted to love the baby and was a little to rough. It was a fun evening. Best of all, I got to give the sleeping little guy back to his loving Mom and Dad before he woke up in the middle of the night.

Can you feel the Beat?

The boys love music. It is so fun to watch them get into the beat and start dancing or bobbing to the music. Skoebie's new thing is to start shaking his fist in the air. It is like the beat just takes over them. They are goofy. Here they are wearing Joe's headphones thinking they are cool as can be. They normally are not allowed to touch them, let alone wear them. Then we have my handsome Stew. He saw Joe putting his tie on for church a couple of weeks ago and insisted he needed a tie for church instead of a polo shirt. So, I gave in. He was thrilled that I bought him two ties and new dress shirts. He was begging everyday to go to church so he could wear his tie. When Sunday came I thought he was going to burst with excitement. We had to get pictures. He looks so grown up for being 2 almost 3. Then we have Elton John. Our friend left her daughters sunglasses here and Skoeb wanted to try them on. He didn't seem to care for the pink lenses, but he left them on for me to take a picture. He looks like a mini Elton John. I just had to laugh at him. I love my boys.

Soccer anyone?

Here are some pictures of the boys playing soccer with some of their friends last week on the turf field across from Joe's house. The boys love to play soccer. Skoebie will run and kick the ball as long as you let him. However, with the older kids we had playing too he did a lot of carrying the ball. We have pictures here of Skoebie running with the ball - Run Skoebie Run! Skoebie playing keep away from the big kids. Stew and Sydnee sitting on the balls (I know that one is a basketball...we didn't have enough soccer balls for all the kids). And Finally Stew playing Goalie -stopping the ball outside the net. The kids had a blast. I hope you are having this much fun.

When all else fails... go Bowling!

Ok, so the other day we decided to have some friends over for dinner and then go to the pool. We enjoyed Hawaiian Haystacks and then proceeded to go to the pool. The hovey pool was closed due to a broken filter. Yuck! They told us that the casey pool was open until 1930, (7:30) The book on post that tells the hours of the pools said sunset. We arrived at the pool around 6:30 and just as we get ready to get in the lifeguard blows his whistle and says "OK, Pools closed." Apparently they got to work an hour early and just decided to close an hour early. We were quite upset, Stew cried. So instead we decided to go bowling. Since we were wearing flip flops, Joe went and bought us some socks....Notice, lovely tube socks! So here we are bowling in swim wear and tube socks. Who knew I was a fashion diva! I actually bowled better in a tankini! Crazy! We are going to try the pool again this afternoon. Wish us luck! I don't think the bowling alley can handle much more of this. ;)