366 Project: Week Twenty-One

Well, I have 10 days until I need to have our entire lives packed into a number (still undetermined, thanks to difficult airlines) of suitcases and bins. We got rid of some big things this week, which helps me feel like I'm making some progress, though I'm not. Today is my first day of the week to actually be home to get some packing done, and here I sit blogging. I'd better get this done, so I can get back to work!

141/366: Of course I got some shots of the girl actually singing in her concert, but the shots I got of her and her friend, Ella, were way more fun. Our Friday night was a little crazy with Kennedy's concert and the 8th Grade Gala. Our friend got hurt playing basketball, so his whole family was in for the night, and they let us borrow their car to get to school and back. That was a huge help with everything going on, but we were actually pretty lucky because at least our events were on campus and none of us had to spend the night!

142/366: Kennedy's first swim meet was on Saturday, which meant the two of us spent most of the day there. It was actually a lot of fun, and of course, we were so proud of her! I have lots more pictures to share, so hopefully I'll get around to that at some point.

143/366: On Sunday, we took our down day seriously. With such a busy week finally behind us, we spent Sunday working on getting some packing done and spending time as a family. The weather was beautiful and the clear skies are greatly missed at this point.

144/366: Yet another last on Monday, this being one that I'm going to miss more than words can say. The monthly YISS Moms' outings have always been one of my favorites. I've gone through several stages of them over the past 5 years (the '13-'14 school year being the only year I couldn't participate at all). Our first year here, I brought both kids when my school schedule allowed it (rarely). My second year, I just brought Cade, again when my schedule allowed (more frequently). The past two years, I've just had Reece while the older two have been in school, and even though he hasn't always benefited, it's always good for me to get out of the house and hang with other women. The group has morphed significantly over the years, too--different moms and different kids (in fact, only one of these kids was born when we arrived!). I'm not even going to start on how much I've loved doing life with these ladies and their kids, but I will say that it's hard to imagine a future without seeing them on a regular basis.

145/366: Tuesday was a bit rough. I went on Kennedy's last field trip--it wasn't a great one. The trip to school in the pouring down rain was a little tough once I discovered that there were about 10 other people also waiting for taxis at our intersection. I headed for the bus--which of course was packed--so I arrived at my stop at the same time I was supposed to be in the school lobby. Thankfully, I was only about 5 minutes behind schedule, but then my lunch bag ripped in the middle of the street (a paper Starbucks bag does not make a good lunch bag when it's raining!). A friend was there to help me rescue the contents the first time, but the second time around, I had no help and was walking up a steep hill, so most of my lunch contents were lost down the road. The field trip itself ended up being all in Korean, so I had no idea what was going on most of the time (nor did about half the kids), and Reece was not loving it. In the afternoon, I was home long enough to clean up the house and prep dinner for the babysitter and then I was off to meet Eric for the SIP dinner in Itaewon. Thankfully, the day ended much better than it started, but these were two lasts that I won't miss!

146/366: Wednesday was much more relaxed as I didn't have to go to school until the afternoon to watch Cade's last swim lesson. He's made such huge leaps in the last two years in the pool. When he started, he would crouch in the corner of the pool, pretty much hating the water. He's not quite swimming across the pool yet, but he's making progress! After swim, I went to my last Zumba class; I'm going to miss looking like a crazy person dancing with those ladies!

147/366: This week has been kind of depressing, I'll admit. Part of it is bad news from home, part of it is being so close yet still so far away from the end. But, I think a big part of it is this nasty air that we've had. Sure, last week was hot--about 90 degrees every day, but I'll take multiple showers every day over 80 degrees with stagnant hazy air. It's still hot, but now we don't even have cool evening breezes, and if we did, we couldn't open the windows. I'm SO ready to be done with the nasty air!

And now, I must get back to work! This stuff isn't going to pack itself!

366 Project: Week Twenty

I think I already mentioned last week that emotions were running high, and I can promise nothing has eased in that department this week. Even Cade cried this week--for the first time admitting that maybe he doesn't want to leave Korea. I had to say goodbye to a good friend on Sunday, and then there was the first of many farewell speeches at the end of Cade's concert on Tuesday that had us all in tears. It feels too early to start this stuff still, but I suppose if we left it all for the last week, then things would be pretty ugly.

134/366: Friday was a long day because Eric went glamping after school, but it was nice to have clear blue skies, perfect temperatures, and kids in good moods. Kennedy was a huge help--doing both the dinner and breakfast dishes (I did have to redeem a mom's day coupon, but it was worth it!)--and both boys were pretty good, too.

135/366: Saturday was another big last: the International Bazaar. Full of some of our favorite people and our favorite foods, we are always amazed at the size and intensity of this event. This year, I had a Japanese pancake, an Uzbek stir fry, Turkish ice cream, and a Thai iced tea (but that's only because I refused to have Indian for the 2nd this week--it's usually my go-to!). We are going to miss this!

136/366: It's a real shocker as to why this place was on Kennedy's #bucketlist. Chocolate chip French toast is always her first choice at Suji's Deli. We had to say goodbye to friends from church who are PCSing, which wasn't much fun, so comfort food seemed like a good idea.

137/366:  I'm going to say that these Cranberry Ginger granola bars were #eatingdown success. They depleted the rolled oats, the flax seed, the crystallized ginger, the almonds, cranberries, and the last sheet of parchment (which may or may not be stuck to the bottom--oops!). It does leave me feeling a little better about my pantry, and they taste good, too!

138/366: I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the kids' concerts (which is funny because that's what Ms. Weir posted on IG after the concert ended, too!). I hate that we show up 30 minutes early, but immediately upon arrival feel late because the line for seats is out the door. I hate leaving the house feeling like I'm dressed up (appropriately) for the event and then arrive to find every mom dressed in heels and hose. I hate that I'm just proud of myself for getting us all dressed, fed, and out of the house on time, and then walk in the door and remember that every other parent has done those things, AND had time to stop and pick up a bouquet for their little singer. But, then the lights go down, the music starts, the kids file in, they start singing, and I'm in tears because their little voices are just precious and they're the cutest things ever. And this music teacher is one the most amazing teachers our kids have ever been blessed to have. She puts together incredible concerts and has over 150 little 1st and 2nd graders clapping, snapping, and singing in perfect time, and it's so impressive!

139/366: Matching girls playing at the playground. Mika is in first grade with Cade, but she has a little brother in Kindergarten, so having them as neighbors has made it easy for all of them to play together. They have all grown pretty close this year, and it's going to be tough to tear them apart in about three weeks.

140/366: Field day! These two were so excited that they picked out all of their blue clothes the night before, and then they were up and out of bed 10 minutes before I normally wake them up. It was a bit hot--a high of 90 (and now, at 7:15, it's only down to 80)--but they still had a lot of fun and managed to come home without a sunburn. They were ready for bed early tonight, though!

Tomorrow will be pretty crazy with Cade going on his final field trip, Eric going to the 8th Grade Gala, and Kennedy having her concert (at least they're on the same campus!). Saturday, Kennedy has her first swim meet, so we're excited, but it's a long day. Next week might be slightly less busy since we don't have any concerts; we just have other plans every night of the week. This whole "ending well" thing is tough, but it's worth it. And now, I'm going to take advantage of some down time to relax!

Nancy and Michael's Visit

Do you remember how last year, as soon as Nancy and Michael left everything got really crazy, and it took me until the end of the month to finally post something about their trip? Yeah, I remember that, too. And things haven't really changed this year, except maybe (if it's possible?) we're even busier. Last year, we moved apartments and flew to Jeju for three days. This year, we're moving countries and Kennedy and I are flying to Japan for three days. Apparently, we don't learn our lessons!

But, I am going to try to get this post done before May 30th, and then it might be quiet again. Except for those weekly posts. I don't think I could ignore those if I tried. (Though I should probably see how I'm doing for this week and get some photos loaded!)

I spent my morning working on getting myself a little more organized. I've felt like I'm kind of at a standstill...can we live without that pan or pot for three weeks? Can I pack a few more books? Do we really need this many clothes for just three weeks? But, once I booked those tickets to Japan and realized that I need to have all of the bigger suitcases in "final pack" mode before I leave, it became clear that we're just going to have to live without that stuff. If I don't get started now, I'll never finish in time!

We still have some big jobs to do, and not a lot of free time in which to do them (some of them complicated by the fact that we no longer have a car), so things are a little tense around here. Emotions are high as we think about all of the changes to come and the people and things we're leaving behind. But, we're doing our best to end well.

This week, we have concerts for both kids, Kennedy's first swim meet, Cade has a field trip, and Eric has the 8th grade gala, as well as the regular stuff like swim lessons and Awana. The kids are really excited about field day on Thursday, too. With any luck, next week won't be quite as busy in the evenings, but it seems unlikely since there are still people we need to schedule final dinners with. We're got to give it our all right now, even though it doesn't always feel like we have much to give.

Our time with Michael and Nancy was really good, though, and it gave us a chance to get some major things checked off of our bucket lists. They arrived really late on Tuesday night after a delayed flight and an "express" train that blew right by Hannam-yok, making their trip much longer.

They hit the ground running on Wednesday, though, with Michael getting up early with Eric to go play basketball at school. He and the kids had school that day, and Kennedy had two tests, so we thought it best that they both just go, in spite of our guests. I took them to school in the late morning, and then they visited the kids and hung out with Eric for a bit before taking the "scenic route" home.

That night, we had big plans to go to the National Museum of Contemporary History for the night view of Gyeongbukgong Palace, so we picked up some Moroccan sandwiches at Casablanca (one of our favorites!) for a quick dinner before our neighbor came down to watch the kids (and by "watch," I mean be in the house with them while they all read or slept!), and then we were off!

I took my time getting the perfect shot (or the best I could do...I wish I could see some of the shots that the real pros up there were getting...at least I looked the part with my tripod and stuff!), so they had time to peruse the museum for a bit before we headed down to the Cheonggyecheon to see the lanterns that were not yet lit. (This is what they look like lit up.) Then, we began the trek to find a taxi and eventually made it home.

On Thursday, the kids were home from school but Eric had to work, so we played lots of cards and had a relaxing morning while Reece got in a 3 1/2 hour nap (because that's what toddlers do when you're all waiting on them to wake up!). Once he woke up, we took the van to school and walked through Itaewon to one of our very favorite restaurants--Petra Palace--for the last time. We had chicken and hummus, lamb and laban, tabbouleh, and of course, naan. The only thing I'm sad we skipped on was the falafel, since there's is delicious, and I probably won't get to go back. Oh boy. Now I'm hungry, and I already ate lunch.

After we stuffed ourselves with Lebanese food, we headed to a store right across the street that has been on Kennedy's bucket list ever since it opened in November. I have no idea what Line Friends is, and I don't care to put in the effort to Google it, but it is extremely popular among Koreans (what isn't?), and it would seem, 3rd grade girls. The store was not stroller-friendly, nor was the line of Koreans waiting to take their picture with an over-sized stuffed bear, so Reece and I hid in a corner while Nancy and Michael escorted the kids around the store. What a thrill it was!

By the time we were done, Eric was done with his meetings and he met us as we meandered through alleys on the way back to school. He put sincere effort into finding a restaurant that he went to years ago with friends but hasn't been able to find again since. The upside for us was walking by one of the touted "best coffee" shops in Seoul for a refreshing iced coffee. It was pretty delicious, but no doubt I won't make it back to Peer Coffee, either, in our limited time remaining.

For dinner, we continued our world food tour with a trip to Busan Galbi (and a return to Itaewon...we got lots of walking in!) for Korean food because no trip to Korea is complete without it! We had both pork and beef galbi, kimchi pancake, and dolsot bibimbap, as well as the many banchan. Probably another last for us as it's not a cheap meal, and we've got money to save (though it is much cheaper now that Reece is a picky eater; he definitely ate more than his fair share the last time we had galbi!).

Well, I still have tons to do this afternoon in order to get us all bathed, fed, and out the door for Cade's concert tonight, so I'd better get to it. Nancy and Michael still had three more long busy days after this, so I'll have to get back to it another time! I'm off to get Cade from the bus!

366 Project: Week Nineteen

We had a great visit with Nancy and Michael (lots more pictures to come from that!), and we've hit a few more major milestones in the countdown. We have less than a month to go, so we're shedding stuff like crazy, and life is beginning to feel a little uncomfortable as our ordinary conveniences are passed onto others. Maybe all of this discomfort will help the last month fly by? Hmmm...seems unlikely! I am feeling more and more thankful that I decided to do this project, so that I have the motivation to actually take all of the pictures that can seem silly or mundane, and actually record them here. Sorry if it's a bit boring for y'all!

127/366: Cheater day. It rained all day, and Kennedy was sick all morning. Eric, Cade, Michael, and Nancy went to the school "picnic" that had to be moved into the cafeteria because of the rain. We had planned to go on an afternoon bike ride after the softball game that usually happens after the picnic. Our plans started a bit off when Kennedy woke up with an earache and ended up throwing up. Then, it rained through the picnic, and we ended up hanging out playing games. Nancy and I headed out in the afternoon to get coffee at Fazenda, but I forgot to take a picture of that, so I'm using the picture I took the day before at Peer Coffee (another bucket list stop for me! It was delicious, but it's expensive and inconvenient, so I doubt I'll make it back.). My one picture from that day is an awkward one of Reece changing that one of the kids took.

128/366: No danger of a lack of pictures of our trip to Nami Island on Saturday, though. I took pictures all day long on one of my major bucket list trips. Not somewhere I would need to go back to, but at least now I won't wonder whether I missed the most amazing place in Korea!

129/366: On Sunday, we took off on a Mother's Day hike out in Gwacheon where Eric used to play baseball. Most of our hike was not actually on Gwanaksan, but we had some pretty views of it, nonetheless.

130/366: I spent Sunday night doing the packing dance, as Michael was taking back three 70 pound bags for us. Thankfully, I had done a lot of prep work and had most of the stuff stashed away already, but there's still that final pack--making sure that everything is full so nothing moves, the breakables are properly packed, and the weight limits have been met but not exceeded. It was quite a show. He took off Monday afternoon, after a quick ride to the airport bus, because it didn't seem fair to make him do the luggage shuffle that we do when it was our bags!

131/366: It rained most of the morning, so the plants were looking lush with raindrops on them when I went to pick Cade up from the bus stop. I couldn't help but take a picture, and since it was exactly one month from the day we fly out, a quote seemed appropriate. At this point, this is the kind of reminder I need because the alternative is curl up into a ball and cry.

132/366: We had to get rid of the car this week in order to avoid paying the hefty fees for vehicle inspection and insurance, so Reece and I made (hopefully) our last trip to Emart. Unfortunately, I didn't remember until late in the day that we're probably still going to have to make a trip to iPark to get Kennedy some pants or a skirt for her concert next week. Wish I'd done that before we got rid of the car!

133/366: And some days, you just gotta have fun. Without a car, our lives will be considerably more homeward bound, but this kid often finds himself needing to get out of the house in the afternoon. So, we walked a few laps around the playground to get in some exercise, and then he took several laps up the stairs and down the slide to get some energy out.

Tonight, we got rid of another load of stuff for the Seoul Swap on Saturday, so after nearly 10 boxes last weekend, plus three suitcases back to the States, we're feeling like the load is lightened a bit. Most of what we have around now will be either delivered or thrown away in the next couple of weeks as we finally start to figure out suitcases for the final pack. It should be interesting! We have another busy weekend ahead of us with Eric going glamping with friends tomorrow night and the International Bazaar on Saturday. With any luck, we'll have some time to relax on Sunday, because I think we're ready for it!

Things We're Going to Miss

Obviously, I can't write the post of things we're not going to miss without also writing about all of the things we are going to miss. But, the truth is that this one is a lot harder to write. This one will bring all of the emotions to the surface, whereas the list of what we're not going to miss just makes it that much easier to throw things into boxes and suitcases. We have exactly one month left here, and it is going to be an emotional roller coaster for all of us. Since I like to generally be emotionally stable, I'm really not looking forward to it, but I guess I may as well get started...

1. Ynot food delivery: Let's start things off on a lighter note, okay? A couple of years ago Ynot? entered into business--the only English-speaking food delivery company in Seoul at the time. It took me a really long time to try it, because, why? I could walk anywhere I wanted to, to get nearly any kind of food I wanted, and if I didn't want to walk, I would send Eric. (Because he's good like that!) Then, one night, Eric was gone, I was vastly pregnant, and the big kids and I needed food. Enter Ynot. And it hasn't left our lives since. It's actually been huge for us since we've moved neighborhoods and not everything is within walking distance anymore. With Reece, we tend to eat in a lot more often, and Ynot is really handy when we don't have time to cook or go out and get food.

2. Food from all over the world: While I do not love city life, I do love having access to food from nearly anywhere in the world. Let's just see how many I can think of...Korean (see #3), Japanese, American, Canadian (yup, it's a thing), Mexican, Italian, Turkish, Greek, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, Indonesian, Moroccan, Lebanese, Russian, Australian, Bulgarian. That's all I can come up with off the top of my head. Obviously, some of these we enjoyed even in little 'ole Stanwood, and we definitely have favorite restaurants in the States, too, but I'm really going to miss some of these. Especially Turkish and Lebanese. I think I could eat it every day.

3. Korean food: Let's just continue the food theme, shall we? Korean BBQ, japchae, bulgogi, and sticky rice have definitely become staples for us. Even dongkatsu. It's not one of my favorites, but we'll miss it. The banchan. The kimchi pancakes. The kim. The bibimbap. Even the sweet and spicy friend chicken.mThere are still so many things that we haven't even tried yet; it's shameful. Word on the street is that there is a Koreatown not too far from where we'll be living, and the kids are already excited to go check it out.

4. No tipping: Okay, this is just one of these convenience things that we don't think about anymore (well, unless we're just about to head back to the States). Years ago, I used to be really bothered by Korea's definition of restaurant service, but now it feels normal, and I appreciate that they just leave you alone unless you need something. Because they generally leave you alone, there's no need to tip for good (or bad) service. And I kinda like it. (I've clearly never worked in the service industry, so please don't stone me!)

5. Free entertainment: The parks, the museums, the palaces...so many of these spots are free (or really cheap) that I am now at a place where I feel like we spend more when we get to the States. Sure, we might have to pay a little to park at some of these places, but I feel like so many parks and trailheads charge in Washington now that we can barely leave the house without having to fork out some cash just to get outside.

6. Public transportation: There are some obvious downsides to relying solely on public transportation, but having a car and being able to use public transportation when you want? That's the best of both worlds. I'm going to miss the convenience of buses, taxis, and subways when I want them. Whether it's because there's nowhere to park, traffic is terrible, or just because we don't have two cars, it's pretty handy to have alternate choices. School-provided transportation to and from school every day for teachers is also a perk that we have benefited from for the past (almost) five years.

7. Convenience: Everything is literally minutes away. Having grown up in the country and always feeling like it took 15 minutes to get anywhere, this was big for me. The stuff dreams are made of! And it has been so nice to be close to the school, the grocery store, our neighbors' houses, and church (though we do have to drive there now as opposed to the 10 minute walk we had before). We have many friends' houses who live within walking distance (and great neighbors!). We can walk to the nearest store for milk and be back within 10 minutes. When it's raining, snowing, or just frigid, I can go down to the car, drive to the parking garage at E-Mart, and never even go outside! It's about a 10 minute drive to school, but only because of the traffic. It takes us less than 10 minutes to walk down to the bus stops, even the airport bus is so convenient! (Thankfully, since we are going to have innumerable bags when we leave here!) Biking from our front door and down to the "trail" on the Han River is really convenient, too. Obviously, the huge hills are a pain, but it's nice to not have to load a bunch of bikes and the trailer into a car just to go for a ride. While I'm definitely looking forward to country life again, I'm going to miss the convenience of city life. A little story for you...

A few weeks ago one of the nuts fell off of our stroller, causing it to crumple (with Reece still in it!) in the middle of the street. (The actual experience--Eric hauling bags of food to bring to pass out to the homeless at Seoul Station, along with the two big kids and two others from church--was a major pain. All you can think at that moment is why can't we just drive?! Park, pass out food, and drive home. Seems simple enough. But no, they take the bus or the subway and it's kind of an ordeal. Luckily, I showed up just in time (returning from my retreat via subway and a long walk) to take Reece home in the car, and they were able to continue on without the broken stroller!) Anyway, the point is that the broken stroller only needed a new nut, and after a quick drive over to our old neighborhood (because I knew exactly where the store was), I parked right on the sidewalk outside of the "store," left the kids in the car (I was never more than 5 feet away from them, but it wouldn't have mattered here anyway), grabbed the stroller and went inside. The man who owns and runs the shop found the nut within about 5 seconds and sent me on my way free of charge.

8. Seasons: By this point, no doubt, you've noticed the cherry blossom pictures in this post. In spite of the fact that my pictures do look pretty much the same as every other year, I did have to go out and document them in our last year, or #thefinalseason as I've been hashtagging (is that a word?) on Instagram. One of my favorite parts of living here has been the four distinct seasons. Unfortunately, winter and summer are definitely the longest seasons, and obviously the most extreme. Fall and spring are perfect, so they don't last long enough! The weather is a mild mid-70s for October and November, as well as April and May. In the fall, we get real fall leaves (everywhere!), and in the spring, we get all of the beautiful flowers. I'm going to miss that!

9. Exploring: With life in the city and a new culture, there is always something to explore. We do go back to our favorite places, but if we wanted to, we could probably go somewhere new every single weekend. Baseball games, palaces, plays, museums, parks, street food, shopping, traditional markets, amusement parks, mosques, churches...all of this is a subway, bus, or car ride away. I couldn't even name all of the places that we have explored and loved here! Years ago, I wrote this post about where to visit in Seoul, and it seems so naive now because we'd been in the country for such a short time. I recently read this quote, and it is oh-so-true: "Spend a day in a country and you can write a book. Spend a week, you can write an article. Spend a lifetime, you can hardly write a sentence." It puts things in perspective for me.

10. Community: The built in community that comes from working at YISS is the number one thing that we will miss when we leave here. Obviously, we've made wonderful friends--some that we will see again and some that we won't, but being plopped into this amazing community on day one is something that I had never experienced before in the same way, and something that I don't think any of else will forget. When you move overseas, you leave your entire family, all of your friends, and a life that you will never regain behind. That alone creates a sense of comradery that is nearly unmatched, but when you realize that your friends and co-workers must become your family, it helps to change your perspective on those people around you. Little things that could become annoying have to be overlooked. The fact is that you can either choose to love those you're with or you can choose to be alone, and alone is not a good way to go when you've been plopped into a new country and culture. Without a doubt, we will miss both the YISS community and the community that comes from being an expat.

366 Project: Week Eighteen

It's crazy that we can continue to have lasts every single week. Do we even do that many different things? That we can do them all for the last time? I dunno. Our major last for this week is having our last visitors. It's definitely all down hill from here with just over a month left to go!

119/366: This guy. He's had a cold this week, and he's been a little cranky at times. He actually really enjoyed this morning bath (it's rare that he gets the bath all to himself!), but in the time it took me to grab my camera, his 'tude changed, and this is what I ended up with.

120/366: The big kids and I spent Saturday at the end of the soccer tournament (a torturous game to watch that ended in a loss after overtime and a shootout). Since we didn't stick around to watch the awards, I ended up with pictures of the azaleas at school. I have enough pictures of those soccer players, anyway.

121/366: Eric and the kids did their last homeless ministry while Crankypants and I headed home for a nap. On their way home, they picked up some flowers for me for May Day.

122/366: Reece and I did some cleaning up in preparation for Michael and Nancy's arrival. This is his version of cleaning up. Haha. Most of these are toys that we will be passing onto friends in the next couple of weeks, but capturing a shot of them made me feel a little better.

123/366: On Tuesday, Michael and Nancy arrived, but it was pretty late. Reece and I headed to Emart in the morning to pick up a few necessities. I felt a sudden compulsion to capture the "packaging station" at the store. These little stations used to make me sweat when we first arrived. They're usually pretty busy, and the idea of putting together a cardboard box and loading all of my groceries into it, and then finding a taxi (or getting on the bus) with two little kids was just too much once upon a time. Thankfully, it's just part of the routine now.

124/366: One of my bucket list items has been to visit the National Museum of Contemporary Korean History because it has the longest museum name known to man. Haha. No, I've just always wanted to take a night view shot of one of the palaces (or gates as they're called) , and this museum provides a rooftop view of one of the biggest palaces. I figured that with Nancy and Michael here, it would be a good chance to go check it out. It's definitely one of those touristy-worth-seeing things, but it's got the I'm-here-with-a-local feeling. I was up there for awhile trying to get everything just right--light streaks from the moving cars as well as the colors in the sky and the lit palace--so they had some time to peruse the museum for a bit, as well.

125/366: We've been taking them on the world food tour, which basically means all of my favorite restaurants that we get to go to one last time before we leave. And, of course, no world food tour in Korea would be complete without galbi and bibimbap!

Kennedy woke up sick this morning with an earache and ended up throwing up, so we're sitting here relaxing while Reece naps and Eric, Cade, Michael, and Nancy headed to school for the annual staff picnic. They also loaded up the school van with boxes and plants and drying racks to get rid of at the school rummage swap, so I'm feeling a little better about the amount of stuff around here. But, I'm starving and looking forward to their return, so I can finally celebrate Cinco de Mayo (one of my fave holidays) on May 6 with a little On the Border! (Look at us hitting another country on our world food tour!)