December Fun

The girls and Ryan made 4 dozen cookies to donate to the single airmen on base. In addition to being a great service, they had a ton of fun.

 Alice turned 3, and we continue with the nontraditional birthday desserts. Carl had pumpkin pie, and Alice requested a flat cake (complete with hand motions).

 What is a birthday in Japan without streamers?

 Carl helped Ryan put the finishing touches on the bunk-beds he made for the kids. His favorite tools are the electric drill and the rubber mallet, both are so different yet each has its appeal.

 Here are the completed beds. Ryan did a great job and came away with all his fingers intact.

Continuing with our birthdays of unconventional desserts . . . Ryan requested a Rocky Road Pizza.

 Helen had to choose between rinsing dishes and putting the second coat of powdered sugar on the snowball cookies for her evening job this week. Can you tell which she chose?

Seoul, South Korea

I love breakfast in Korea and have been dreaming about honey bread since the last time we took the hop over. The honey bread is on the plate in the background. I gambled and lost on the white bean waffles in the front. They looked yummy, but had the consistency of shoe glue. (Note the peace sign from Helen. This is totally normal in Asia)

 We got to go to the temple while we were in Seoul - what a blessing!

 I talked Ryan into taking me back to where I got my haircut the last time we were there. The best haircuts I've had while in Asia have been in Korea, and at only 15.00 USD it really is a steal. 

 Here are the girls outside a traditional dress shop in Korea. 

 Markets are fun no matter where you are. Luckily, all the fish products were dry so it didn't smell hardly at all. 

Jeju-do, Korea

Last month we escaped the cold rainy fall weather of  Misawa for the sub-tropical island of Jeju-do off the southern coast of Korea. Carl and I were really excited to see these little pineapple plats at the botanical garden. 

 I love the colors of fall, especially when I don't have to wear a winter coat to enjoy them.

 It was tangerine season while we were there, and the whole southern half of the island was covered in citrus groves. A fun highlight of the trip was visiting the Citrus Museum. How can you go wrong at a museum with a giant orange slice in the front?

Koreans just love little kids, and would give our kids oranges and tangerines. Carl was most appreciative of the gestures and wouldn't let go once he got his hands on one.

They taught us how to pick tangerines, a foreign experience for someone from Iowa. 

Citrus trees as far as the eye could see . . . 

We had an fun experience washing cloths at a laundromat in town. I probably made 10 trips back and forth to the 7-11 across the alley to procure us lunch. I learned after the first batch of instant noodles that the kids can only handle 1/15th of the spicy Korean flavor package included with the noodles. 

 Here we are at Jeongbang waterfall, the only waterfall in Asia that falls straight into the ocean. 

 I love public transportation and so do the kids. I think three of them had a nap on this bus ride and the other one threatened to toss her cookies. 

The most awe-inspiring portion of the trip was at Seongsan Ilchulbong crater. As we did not take a helicopter ride, we thought this picture would be a great substitute. 

Here we are half way up the crater. Rest assured we were the only people with kids. We were also the only Americans, but there were plenty of people from all over Asia there. 

We went for a walk the next day along the beach to work some of the soreness out of our legs.  You can see the crater we hiked the day before off in the distance.