August 10- Back to the "san"

Today we took another hike up Chiaksan Mountain. Chiaksan Mountain is actually a little repetitive. San is the Korean word for mountain.
Joining us were our neighbors (and good friends) baby Eve, Sarah, and Kevin. Today we made it past the waterfall thanks to the backpack we borrowed for Sterling to ride in. We all laughed the whole way up the mountain about how we felt like true Koreans. Koreans put a great deal of emphasis on exercise. Weekends during the warmer months find almost everybody camping, hiking, and just enjoying the great outdoors. Needless to say, the mountain was packed today. No matter, we still had a fun time enjoying each other’s company, even stopping along the way to wade in the river that runs down the mountain. Little Eve is a lot like my kids, she’s very used to being thrown on her parents backs, and drug around the world. At one point, while Sarah and I were walking side by side, Eve and Ella were reaching out and holding hands with each other. It was so cute! It's always a good thing to have a friend (or friends) when you're so far away from loved ones.
Sarah and Kevin let us borrow their Kelty baby backpack to carry Sterling up the mountain. Both Sterling and Daddy loved the pack. I love my Ergo carrier, and wouldn’t trade it for the world, but I think Michael has been looking for something a little more “manly” to wear a baby on his back. I guess this pack met the “manly” qualifications. Sterling had the best view in the house because the way the baby sits up above the parents head in the pack. He didn’t fuss once in our 3-hour hike, in fact, he spent the whole hike squealing with happiness and reaching out to grab leaves off trees. Watch Sterling riding piggy back at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6f58LwX1qw
Stopping to wade in the river.
I couldn’t decide which expression I liked better… tickled, happy, or timid.
Tonight Michael grilled ribs, and boy were they good! He made enough to feed an Army...literally. So, he called a few of his soldiers and invited them to join us for dinner; which I'm sure was infinitely better than whatever they were serving in the chow hall. And then I guess the smell of the ribs cooking on the grill must've wafted down to all of our neighbors, because the next thing I knew, we were covered in folks helping themselves to plates of ribs, potato salad, pasta salad, jambalaya, and apricot cake. There were people walking to and from my kitchen that I’d never even met before! We loved it! There is nothing that makes us happier than spending an evening enjoying the company of good friends. It reminded me a bit of when we lived on Crest Street in Florence. We had a house full of college kids living behind us, I believe there were 6 of them total. It was never any surprise to see any of them (or even their buddies!) at our table come dinner time, or walking through the kitchen fixing a to go plate on their way to classes or work. That’s exactly the kind of house Michael and I like to have…one where the door is always open!