July 17, 2011

Okay, for whatever reason, I cannot switch to Korean in Internet Explorer today.  Figures.  But I'm too tired after "vacation" to reboot and try again.  Please do not take that "vacation" as a negative comment about Korea.  It is a negative comment about "camping."  I have years of experience camping, and while it can be fun sometimes, I generally dislike it.  I like nature--but I prefer to sleep in my own bed, thank you very much.  And a "pension" is really just glorified camping.

However, it was AJ's birthday, and he LOVED it!  He wants to live in the "house with the steps where we eat outside."  HEAVEN FORBID!!!  But I'm glad they had a good time.  I'll post more on the trip at a later date, but in the meantime, here are some of his pictures.

July 14, 2011 : 2011년 7월 14일

오늘 사진 안 찍었어요. 그냥 살고 있어요.  잠간만요... 그냥 살고 있어면, 컴퓨터 안 한다.  (...)
Today I didn't take any pictures, I just lived. Wait a minute, if I was just living, I wouldn't be on the computer. Hmmm...

이제 오늘은 한국 사람 삶닭 먹는다.  건강 더 하고 도운 여름 날씨에 때문에.  Today Koreans eat boiled chicken (chicken soup to Americans) to guard their health in the hot summer weather.

And it was hot.  오늘도 도아요!

Here is a picture of buying chickens in the "country" (note the general lack of green and you will understand why my husband's hometown is so unique).

July 12, 2011 : 2011년 7월 12일

어제 밭얖에 수영하로 갔어...
Yesterday, we went to go swimming next to Grandpa's field.

The water had risen from the rains but was still calm in places.
비 때문에 물더 많이 있었어요. 그러나 위험 안인데.

만났는 할머니 우리한테 <위에 더좋은 수영한 장소다.>
We met some of the older ladies from the town who told us there was a better place to swim further up.

There was certainly more water. 진심으로 물더 있잖아...

이주 전... Two weeks ago...

Yesterday...  어제...

우리 수영"장"!

Our swimming hole!

폭풍전 좋아아아아!
It was great until it started to storm.

Walking home in the rain.
비에서 집으로 갔어...

July 11, 2011 : 2011년 7월 11일

트랜스포머 좋아! The boys loved the Transformers!

So, we went to Dong-A Department Store to sign BJ up for a hip hop class that his cousin had loved a couple of years ago.
우리가 동아 백워점에서 진희 힙홉줌학원 등록하로 갔어요. 얫날에 그 수업이 혛은 좋아했어요.
But this time there weren't any boys--only girls.
그러나 지금은 남자 다 없어요. 여자만 있습니다.
So naturally BJ didn't want to go.
그레서 진희 그를 하기 싫어요.
But, there was a movie theater next door, and BJ still had hopes for the evening.
그러나 학원 얖에서 영화관 있고 진희의 생각은 영화를 보기 좋아요!

Now, if we were with my parents-in-law, I could just say no and that would be that.
우리 할머니 할아버지랑 갔으면, 나는 <안 돼> 라고 다 끝내지.
But my sister-in-law understands a good bit of what BJ says in English.
그러나 우리형님 진희의 영어 말씀 잘 아십니다.
So guess who got to see the Transformers?
야후! 진희 범찬 진형형이랑 트랜스포머 3 볼수 있었어요!

AJ went to the bathroom three times, ate two popcorns, and drank two drinks.  BJ and Jinhyung had less than half that.  Needless to say, what with the bathroom and buying snacks, I didn't see much of the first half of the movie.

Coming down the escalator afterward with Minji and their aunt - just like old times!

진형 큰엄마랑  Jinhyung with my sister-in-law, called "Big Mommy" by the boys because she is my husband's older brother's wife (I am therefore "Little Mommy" to her children).

My niece Minji - 우리 촉하 민지

thumbwrestling - 엄지 싸우

BJ with his toy from his movie cup.

AJ with his.

July 9-10, 2011 : 2011년 7월 9-10일

비가 많이 와요!!!  It is totally raining!

Here's a sparrow in the rain eating Grandma's food garbage.  (Later I'll tell you this saga.)
여기 잠새가 할머니의 음식 스레기 먹는다. (나중에 이야기 줄게.)

One of the rivers near my husband's childhood home.  Those green dots are the tops of fullgrown trees.

That yellow tape up above is the underpass leading into Ilsuk's hometown, which is completely flooded.

So my children were engaging in natural rainy day activities--newspaper sword fighting.

And when AJ couldn't win that way, he resorted to butt attacks.

So, my sister-in-law was going to try to get BJ in a Hip Hop dance class, and that sounded really good on this rainy day.  And when she got ready to go, she said, "We might not be able to get back, so you might have to sleep at our house." 

Well, sure enough, we couldn't.  But we sure had a lot of fun.  And I'll have to tell you about that later because children are sleepy and crying.

July 8, 2011 ; 2011년 7월 8일

Today my children were all about writing.

BJ wanted his red notebook from Grandma and immediately began writing, "Today is a good day.  The next day with be better if Mom not start (start what, he didn't say).  Goodbye, kid.  From me, BJ. See you tomorrow, kid.  I will see you tomorrow, everyday, everyone.  I will go back to the USA. I will sit in the shade. I will wait for you, with AJ for my friends, for you, kid." 

This accompanied the following picture.

AJ wrote millions of letters and finally managed to pull together the sentence, "I GO," of which he was very proud.

They also wrote postcards to Daddy and to the library, whose summer reading theme is "One World, Many Stories."

After all that hard work, naturally, they needed ice cream, and guess what we found, Bowen and MJ?!

BeyBlade popsicles!

There look to be about 40 of these 2" beauties in the box.

They even spin...kind of.

July 7, 2011 : 2011 년 7월 7일

I have no overall theme today, and the boys are passed out at my side from sheer exhaustion.  They have played (and fought) hard!  And I just can't translate today either.  I must work on that!

Anyway, here was our day. 

Every weekday, after breakfast and a call to Daddy (on Skype as captured by AJ), the boys start with their homework.  One thing we have discovered through our struggles this last year is that change in routine and transitions kill us, so doing homework everyday has minimized the change from leaving school, the change from leaving home, provides a steadfast routine everyday, and will help ease the transition back. 

Besides, homework is the Korean thing to do.  ;) or ^.~ (depending on your side of the Pacific)

BJ thinking...

AJ working...

Then after various other activities

(and a lot of ice cream),

We met a friend and her boys for dinner.

Then we had drinks in the garden and played.