What a great way to spend Mother’s Day! We drove to the east coast of Korea to a place called Gangmun beach. It was about an hour and a half drive from our house…not too bad. And of course, as always, the scenery is just so amazing that it makes the drive go by very quickly. We went with Mrs. Yu, her daughter, her sister, and her mother. This is the first time I’ve seen the ocean in almost 2 years, so I was really excited about this trip. It was really pretty, but it’s still pretty cool here, and the wind was really blowing down on the beach, so we didn’t get to spend as much time I would have liked to on the actual beach. And it was certainly too cold for getting in the water just yet. We’ll certainly be going back this summer when it’s nicer weather. See the waves at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jX2UrnVFvA
You can see on our GPS navigation system where we are.
See that jacket Eun Ji’s wearing? She had the right idea. It was pretty chilly at the beach, and the strong winds didn’t help any. Luckily I brought sweaters for the kids, just because I never go anywhere without a sweater for them, but Michael and I were freezing! Good thing we didn’t pack swim suites!
I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet or not, but Koreans love to make the peace sign when posing for a picture. I have no idea why? But, for the millionth time, when in Rome, do as the Romans.
Dinner. Or as you would say in Hangul...cho-no.
No need to be afraid of this scary looking sea creature…we ate him. To be a bit more precise...Michael ate him.
Michael and I were greatly amused at the “advertising” the restaurants in this beach town used. We didn’t need to read a bit of Hangul to know what was on the menu…
In front of every restaurant were tanks filled with a variety of fish and seafood. I felt kind of bad for the little fishies in this tank; the next stop was our table for at least one of these guys. Sitting right next to the tank was a net (just like at the pet shop), but I’m pretty sure no one was purchasing one of these guys to take home as a pet. At least most seafood restaurants in the states try to tactfully remove the lobsters without anyone really noticing. Not here…it’s literally scoop…onto the plate.
This was the “cooked” portion of our dinner. When Mrs. Yu suggested we take a trip to the beach, she asked if we liked sushi. Michael and I have enjoyed going out for sushi many times in the states, but NOTHING could have prepared me for the sushi we were served tonight. Let me just mention, there were no California rolls on the menu. Actually, there was nothing I could even begin to imagine eating. I’ve been so proud of myself, trying all sorts of new and different foods. I hate to call myself a picky eater, but that shoe might fit, so I’ve been so proud of myself, venturing outside my comfort zone to try all sorts of foods I would never even consider trying if we were back in the states. But tonight’s dinner was just a little more than I could handle. Michael made the mistake of asking what a particular plate held at one-point…fish guts. Okay, we throw away fish guts, not eat them! I should’ve known when the meal started with seaweed soup, instead of miso soup, that this was not exactly the kind of sushi I’m used to. Bless their hearts, I tried really hard to conceal the fact that I wasn’t eating anything on the table, but Mrs. Yu’s sister noticed, and ordered a cooked fish for me…again, just look at that above picture…I just couldn’t do it. Michael on the other hand was a real trooper…he tried almost everything on the table!
From L-R: Ella, Michael, Mrs. Yu, Sterling, Mrs. Yu's mother, Mrs. Yu (the sister), and Eun Ji.
Wish YOU were here...okay, bad joke.
I don’t know why I think this picture is so cute. Maybe it’s the silly grin Michael has on his face watching Ella? Or maybe it has to do with the fact that Ella looks like a mini version of Michael in this picture? I don’t know, but in any case, I just had to share this sweet picture, and a sweet little story. I told Michael the other day that my sister thinks Ella looks more and more like her Daddy every day, to which he responded, "I love it when people say that, it makes me giggle." Giggle?! I just thought that choice of words was so cute.
I can’t believe we have a whole day devoted to being a Mommy! It’s not always an easy job, actually, it can be very overwhelming at times, and it’s very rarely a glamorous job, but it’s always a rewarding job, and I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to have been blessed to be the mother of these two incredible babies. It continues to amaze me how much I love them…and how I love them more and more with each day that passes. Thank you Ella and Sterling for allowing me to be your Mommy…that’s the best Mother’s Day gift in the world!
Last week it was Sterling being our little social butterfly; this week it’s Ella. While we ate dinner, Ella made friends with a little boy at an adjacent table.
Looks like they hit it off pretty well, huh?
She'll try anything, but she's not a fan of lettuce. Watch Ella playing with her food:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18uHe723xX0
I swear we did eventually stop her from making a mess, but not before getting another video in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn2HhtClOes
Sterling did eventually start feeling a little better after a does of Tylenol. He was at least entertained by Mrs. Yu's antics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu2r1ydG_UE
Mrs. Yu's older sister.
Poor Sterling. You can just look at his eyes in the above picture and tell he doesn't feel well. When we got down to the beach he was running a 102* fever. His nose wasn’t runny, he wasn’t coughing or grabbing his ear, his stomach didn’t seem to be bothering him, no diareah...he was just burning up, and lethargic. All he wanted to do was sit in his Mommy’s lap, which I was most obliged to accomodate. At one point he started squirming around, so I let him stand up, thinking maybe the Tylenol I had given him had kicked in. Nope, he immediately sat right back down and dissolved into a puddle of tears. It’s so heartbreaking to see your baby sick. I’m still not sure what was up with the fever. My last guess is maybe it’s connected to the teething? He appears to be working on cutting his two bottom molars now, and I’ve read that teething can cause a baby to run a fever.
Update: Sterling is feeling much better today. After a LONG night…up at 11:30pm, 1:30am, 3:30am, and 4:30am…he slept in (thank you, God), and woke up with a much milder fever. It was down to 99* this morning, and he’s being much more active. Just to be safe, Michael took him to the doctor on the base to get his ears, nose, etc. checked out. The doctor said he didn’t see anything wrong, and whatever it was, he seems to be doing better now. I have to admit, it was very weird having Michael take him to the doctor. I’ve never not been the one to take the kids to the doctor, but Ella had already gone down for their morning nap, and Michael was technically at work, so he couldn’t stay home with her. So, the only option was for Michael to take him in. Of course, Micahel did just fine, although I’m not sure who was more upset about getting their ears checked, Sterling or Daddy.
It was so nice to have the oppurtunity to meet Mrs. Yu's mother.
Looking sharp little guy.
Eun Ji is forever trying to avoid people seeing her face in pictures. At the exact moment you snap the camera, she’ll cover her mouth with her hands. So, I wanted to share this picture of Eun Ji with you so you could see what she looked like. She’s a very pretty girl, isn’t she?
After dinner we went back to the beach one more time before hitting the road, and heading back home. As you can tell, we had a really good time, and cannot wait to go back there in another month or two when we can actually enjoy splashing in the waves.
Goofing around with the Mrs. Yu's.
Nutcases. Yup, they exist in every culture...and here's a couple of them.
Happy Mother's Day!!!
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