Free Time...........Just Kidding

We finally had all of our belongings and the house was well on it's way. We were all getting into our new routines, and I was starting to think, "Wow, I might actually have some free time here!" With a smaller place, half the amount of things to pick up or dust, no dogs to clean up after or take care of, less places to be, less people to see, and not comfortable enough to go exploring alone, I was starting to think I might actually make time for the things I usually put off, like learning how to use my sewing machine I've had for 8 years, or scrap booking!!! (I've got tons of supplies, and plans for books, and one book I made 9 years ago!) Then Carter and Addley's extra curricular classes we signed them up for started! All hopes of free time where gone!

Pretty big class!

Carter started Taekwondo! We signed him up for both classes, the one in our 'village' and the one on post because they both had wait lists. The one on post is the one that had an opening first. He had class Mon., Wed., and Friday at 5PM. Which meant the kids and I would have to take the bus and Austin would come pick us up from class when he got off work. We would catch the 4:20 bus and make it to the gym around 4:45. Class would get out at 6 and we would be lucky to get home by 6:45. Making an hour class take up almost 2 1/2 hours three days a week!!! When we got home at 6:45, we still had to eat dinner. It was not working out!

That's him in the blue shirt! 1st night!

Getting promoted from white belt to yellow belt in his 4th week of class.

Luckily the class in our village had an opening beginning the next month and we switched!! It's a much smaller class very close to our apartment and is from 3-4! It is working out wonderfully! I feel like he's learning a lot more in the smaller class and that this class is a little more about learning and less about paying to move up to the next belt every month! We really like Grand Master Kim! He holds a Taekwondo 9th Dan, that's a 9th degree black belt, the highest there is in Taekwondo! And for some reason he reminds me of my dad...I don't know why...he just does!

Getting his certificate for high yellow belt

Addley started ballet! Her class was also on post but at 10 am on Tuesdays. It was impossible to take the bus because of the time of class. We would either be late or an hour early. We ended up taking a taxi every week and when Austin could he'd pick us up on his lunch break and take us home.  

1st class!

She absolutely loved it and it was beyond adorable to watch! Unfortunately , her instructor PCSed (moved) and they haven't found a replacement yet. :(

Our first drive in Korea!

We had received all our household goods and were just waiting on our truck. If you read Loose Ends you know how we barely got our truck shipped before leaving the states! We knew it would be the last to show up and it arrived JUST in time. The day after Austin received notice our vehicle arrived, he went to take his Korean driving test which consisted of a few pages of multiple choice questions. He passed! Thank goodness, because we had to pick up our Christmas tree we had already ordered and payed for THE very next day!!! We really lucked out, we had no idea what we were going to do if our truck had not shown up. We ordered our tree several weeks earlier and just hoped we would have a way to get it home. We went to the Commissary the very first day the Boy Scouts started selling trees. I wanted to be sure we got one. I had heard they only get a limited number and sell out super fast, and if you don't get one from them, it would be tough to find one on the economy. Though I never saw any Christmas trees on the economy...I'm not too convinced that it really is hard to find one. Also, the Boy Scouts sold trees for a few weekends after that first one!

Anyway, the truck arrived, and Austin made it from the pick up area, back on post to fill up with gas, and home with no problems!

We were all super excited, but had nowhere to go and Austin wasn't exactly ready to tackle the Korean roads for no reason. So we all had to wait for the next day to take our first drive in Korea!

All strapped in and ready to go! (Before I get hate mail about Carter's seat belt placement, I'll point out that this picture was taken while he was in the process of buckling up...we didn't drive around like that!)

 We made it on post without any trouble, but it sure was an experience! First stop, pick up the Christmas tree...check! Next...visit Santa!

The fan kept blowing Addley's hair in her face, is why such a face!

Worst Santa ever! The kids were SO excited to tell him what they wanted for Christmas and he never even asked. Did not talk to them at all actually! VERY disappointing!

After our very disappointing visit with Santa we stopped by the shoppette to get an ice cream shake...yes, it was cold, but we wanted a shake! As we went to get back in the truck I noticed Addley was messing with the tire...and discovered this....

LOVELY! Not sure where it came from, but judging by it's placement, my guess is it was there when Austin picked up the truck and came from the shipping container. Next stop...tire shop!

Household Goods Delivery! Hallelujah!!

Two full weeks after moving out of the hotel and into our apartment our household goods had finally cleared customs and were ready to be delivered! And boy were we ready! This was all of our stuff we hadn't seen since being packed up the second week of September. Luckily household goods delivery is something they usually let Austin off work for. It always takes all day and is very busy. There are multiple movers, one master inventory list with a ton of numbers on it that we have to check off as they come in the door, the boxes don't come through the door anywhere near the order they are on the list, and the mover wants a quick response to what room the item goes to, plus an excited, eventually board, 3 and 1 year old to keep happy and out of the way.  I couldn't have made it through the entire day without him. I know because I had to make it through the last half of the day after he got called in. This unit is NOT family friendly.

It's here, it's here!!!!!

Austin chose to keep a wrangle on the kids rather than make sure all our stuff showed up. Which is good,  because he wouldn't have a clue where I wanted what! I'm sure his decision had nothing to do with the fact that Tuesday morning, AKA Monday night, football was on! ;)

We've never had the movers unpack all our stuff for us, but living in an apartment with limited space and options of disposing of all the materials, there was no doubt it was all going to be unpacked! And just like in the states, it was obvious the movers did not want to unpack. They tried to talk me out of it multiple times and eventually offered to come back and pick the boxes up when I called them. Yeah, right! I assured them that it was ok that they were out of room to put things on the counters and table and it was fine to just stack it up along the walls! This is probably when they decided they were going to take all of my lamp harps! ;) I now have 4 lamps I can't put lamp shades on! Minor problem compared to getting rid of all this trash! So much material, I couldn't even get it all in on picture!

The kids didn't mind the chaos one bit! We were all ecstatic to have our belongings and get started settling in! Never mind that it was two days before Thanksgiving!!!! I was positive that though I LOVE cooking, and love Thanksgiving, there was absolutely NO WAY Thanksgiving dinner was going to be prepared in this kitchen!

The next day was very busy! Austin had work as usual and Carter had his Thanksgiving show at school. I still don't understand why it was at 10 am and not after school like any normal place, but Tracker, Addley and I, and our two store bought pumpkin pies, made it right on time! I recorded the program since Austin wasn't able to come, but don't feel right about posting a video of other peoples kids on the internet! I didn't get any pictures due to taking the video, but trust me, it was super cute! Carter was the kid that participated and knew all the words, but tried his hardest to not look like he was having any fun! Every once in awhile a smile would slip through! No matter how hard I try to avoid it, those things always make my eyes water! Once the program was over and we had Thanksgiving lunch, we had to hurry back home so more movers could pick up our borrowed furniture! I sure wasn't sad to see it go! It was nice and clean, but comfortable, it was not! Rather than carry the queen bed down the stairs, they opted to take it out the window! I tried to catch a picture before the mattress was out of sight, but missed it!

Even though the one day I had between our delivery and Thanksgiving was super busy, we were able to get everything on the table and floor under it put away, and thanks to Popeye's, had a great Thanksgiving dinner! It wasn't like back home, but it was delicious!

Seoul Tower

The second weekend in our new house, we still only had the 800lbs of unaccompanied baggage and our borrowed furniture. The week was long and that 800lbs of stuff was as organized as it possibly could be! Luckily Austin is always quick to make friends and lined us up a couple of tour guides to go see Seoul Tower! The kids had been marveling at it since we arrived! We were all pretty excited! The communication tower is located on top of Namsan Mountain in Seoul and marks Seoul's highest point at 777 feet tall, 1,574 feet above sea level.

The sign for Namsan Park, where Seoul Tower is located. 

 You can hike up the mountain if you'd like, but with three kids, we decided to take the cable car up. The cable car only takes you so far though. There were still plenty of stairs to climb!

Packed TIGHT into the cable car to get up the mountain!

Once we made it to the base of the tower we saw a performance that just started. I can't tell you anything about it, because I didn't understand a thing they said. They did repeat everything in English, but we were still getting use to the accent and weren't able to make out much. It was still pretty neat!

Addley and Shin. (Shin is one of Austin's KUTUSA's (Korean Augmentation To the United States Army soldiers) who we all like a lot.)

An up close view of the tower. 

Before going up in the tower, we were well aware that Seoul is a mega city! The city itself has more than 10 million people.We were also aware that there are tons of high rise building, but until you see an aerial view with your own eyes, it's unimaginable for a couple of small town Midwesterners.

Every direction was buildings as far as you could see. Just amazing. You could play one heck of a game of iSpy from up there! A favorite to keep our kids busy!

Shin and Carter. 

We spotted many buildings with outdoor activity areas on the roofs.

We found the Korean War Museum

We also found our home away from home! The Dragon Hill Hotel we stayed in for so long! 

You might remember this picture of the tower we took from our hotel room! 

After we finished looking around and made our way back down to the base of the tower, I spotted the tower fence I had heard about. Apparently the tower is a very popular date destination in Seoul. Couples like to add a padlock to the fence as a symbol of their love. We didn't have a padlock, but you know I had to have a picture! It was pretty crazy as well.

A view of the city from the cable car on our way back down the mountain. 

After we made it back down the mountain Shin took us to a Korean restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately  I was too busy with the kids to get any pictures, but the food was delicious and we all had a great time! We can't wait to go back in the evening.