Brothers

 This month I've been hanging out with my brothers.  I dropped one off at school, helping him move in.  It was a fun drive and good to see where he'll be going to school.  Notice the shirt.  This brother has a wardrobe with a sense of humor.

I spent an afternoon with my youngest brother at Lagoon before he too started school.  We had fun, the park was empty and there were no lines.

The funny thing about genetics is that we had to add quiet rides between the crazy roller coasters.  Without any lines, I needed time to settle my stomach before going on the next.  This also allowed time for photo shoots with the ham.  Something about being the youngest means that you love the camera in your face.

Learning and Exploring

Megan and I have been taking turns show each other the sights and tastes of Korea. One of my favorite outings was just to the Korean grocery store. She walked me down every aisle and explain what things were and gave them the thumbs up or thumbs down. Brilliant!


We also have gone to our fair share of museums! I love exploring the history and the art. There was one artist, Whang Inkie, who recreated various famous paintings... like van Gogh's Starry Night in legos.
My kitchen is the cleanest it has been in months and look at the lovely vase I bought at Icheon.
I love these shelves and the pottery wasn't bad either!
Leek pancakes are an excellent way to eat your vegetables!

Visitors

The hike up the mountain was definitely worth the dazingly light display of a panoramic view of Seoul.

It's great to have family come to visit and even better when they speak Korean! Everyone has been so shocked to have a white girl talking to them...

Dad's Visit

Dad stopped by for a visit on the way home from a business trip to western China.

It was great to spend time with him, show him my fabulous life... where I work, live and worship. He was a very good sport as I dragged him to my various activities. And he enjoyed my GPS just a little to much. (It's Korean and the English translations are just a little off. For example: every time you approach a large intersection it says, "Approaching danger zone." And it beeps at you if you go just one km over the speed limit. My favorite is when you are in bumper to bumper traffic, it announces that "You are in a parking violation zone.")

Missing you!

Bob, I see reminders of you all over. Koreans love onions. You will fit right in. I'm serious, there have been onions in every Korean meal that I've had... multiple varieties in each meal.
Onions, the gift that keeps giving.

Spring... is not quite here

The weatherman said that today was suppose to be 50 degrees. What a wonderful reason to have a picnic!
I don't think that it was that warm... Andrea froze but we still had fun!

Mammoth Cave

Last weekend I asked my Midwest siblings to take a small trip with me. We went deep into the earth... well, kind of deep.
This was our chance to say goodbye before we all split ways. Richard is leaving too this year... final destination unknown.
It's amazing how going two hours south can result in a radical temperature change. It was in the high 40s and felt great after our teen temps further north.

Mammoth Cave was lots of fun, and I would suggest visiting in the winter. The cave is the same temperature year round and there are no crowds in January.

Christmas Moments

Random pictures of my family and celebrations in no particular order...

Wishing you and yours a wonderful New Year!

Sunday Night Tradition

I know that I am home when I here the happy sound of tiles clinking.

It's been a while since I laughed this hard... I shouldn't have eaten so much popcorn!

Thanksgiving

Hanging out with family...

Newly named "Bob" and the 3 pies, he contributed. Pumpkin eggnog, pumpkin cheesecake & apple. Fabulous!

The coolest part of the train museum for the Friendly Hero was the model trains. We took turns, thrilling with him at the magic of the moving train.

I also learned this weekend, that if you are going to steal your neighbor's Blizzard it is necessary to be charming, darling and young.

Grandma's Visit

Time to play catch up... When Grandma came Math Hero decided to walk out her baby. We came along for moral support.

Corn mazes are serious business in Indiana. The one that we went to combined 5 mazes into one giant maze.

It even had sponsors. There were different stations in the maze where you can punch your entry pass and earn coupons and free stuff from local businesses... like free Blizzards and such.

Grandma wins an award for rewarding patiently reading and rereading Friendly Hero's favorite book.
(It has a bus, which means it is the coolest ever.)

It was great to see you Grandma!

Not my news...

...but I couldn't resist sharing. More information to follow through proper channels.

Corn

Darling help and hinder.

Finished delicious product.

What we started with.

Some things are worth it!

Art Museum

Meet the Superheros at the Indy Art Museum. It's great to have a middle ground with lots of things to do.
We took pictures on these odd chairs. Partly because that was when I remembered to take my camera out.
And partly because this was the only time that Friendly Hero was stationary. He has learned to walk and is very confident in approaching complete strangers with his smile.
Ironically, family members, such as aunts take a little more to warm up to.

I am my mother

I made salsa deviled eggs for a library program. They were great, and surprisingly festive looking with the green and red chunks.

The reason that I am my mother... the recipe I used for these devil eggs was actually for relish devil eggs. Yes, after years of complaining how Mom changed the recipe without trying the original, I did the exact same thing.

Laura's Visit

Laura came to visit and I had a blast spending time with her.

I drove Laura out to visit Richard.

We spent time exploring the local museums.

We stopped for a stagecoach photo shoot.

See ya later, partner!