The Korean Folk Village

A week ago we went to the Korean Folk Village for a long Saturday afternoon with our friends Grant and Summer. We had a blast visiting the original Korean Folk, I guess you could say :) They had old houses, demonstrations, museums, rides, and so on. There is a really hilarious video at the end of us riding these stuffed animals and of some demonstrators...be sure to watch them. Here are some photos of our day...

Summer and I standing at the front entrance

As you walk in there are a ton of trees with restaurants before entering the main area.
We walked over the bridge to get to the amusement park and saw this person hanging out in a boat...turns out she's dead....not really, just fake!

Awwww....I wuv you too!

Andy getting ready to wrestle a chinese statue...I wonder who will win???

We walked through a statue garden and I was holding this pose for what seemed like 5 minutes on one leg while Summer was busy tripping a poor little Korean girl...way to go Summer!!

A very, very tired Tyler :)

Summer is having fun on the Carousel while Andy looks like he'd rather poke out his eye!!

Which one is not like the other?

We put 1,000 Won (about 75 cents) in these little animal things that drove us around. Can you tell Grant is having a good time??...you have to watch the video at the end...I cry tears laughing so hard!!

Walking over another bridge to get to the demonstration area. Beautiful view

Old farm house

A little kid banging a drum...for a very, very long time...so cute :)

If you can't tell, Tyler is in the stroller. He draws a crowd quite often around here :)

Selling little trinkets...

and beef on a stick!

Now it's OUR turn to be Korean!

Don't look too closely, my face looks really scary in this photo! I bet I could scare off Chuck Norris with it though! :)

The bride in a traditional Korean Wedding Ceremony

They carried her down the street in this box and then stood there with the groom on the horse for people to take photos.

I was pretending to take a picture of Summer and Tyler but was really taking a picture of the lady who stared at herself in her little hand-held mirror and did her make-up for about 8 minutes...maybe 10, but whose counting?

Aha!! There's Summer and Tyler!

To end the day, we topped it off with some toasted walnuts and dried squid...YUM! (not really)

The Hwaseong Fortress

Our first weekend back we decided to take advantage of the warmer weather and start some Korea exploring! It was cold before we went back to the states, so it's nice to get out and see all that Korea has to offer. We decided to check out the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon; just a 30 minute drive from where we live. It took some time to find it becuase it is smack dab in the middle of a very big city, but we got there. The fortress is huge and I wish I could tell you something about it; but with little daylight left, we had to hike up to the Fortress and back down quickly.

As we were driving to the Fortress, school was getting out and kids where everywhere. Every school here has a uniform dress code for the students; which is why we notice there aren't a whole lot of sub-cultures. Most koreans (especially the younger ones) dress a bit preppy and are always clean cut. You don't really see the groups we see in the states (urban, goths, hip hop, etc.)

Our first glance of the Fortress

Getting prepped for the climb...

Lots of steps! Almost to the top!

Where's Waldo???

Tourists

If I haven't said it before; Korea is just one big sea of APARTMENTS!!

Cute old men just chit chatting...or apparently just observing the dirt on the ground :)

In so many places, you will find Koreans "exercising". You don't see them running or going to gyms (I've only seen one), but they will be in parks or sidewalks where there are bars or free standing elipticals for locals to stretch or do cardio. They are everywhere and you will always see them being used. Here this cute lady is doing some serious stretching!!

I was pretending to take another picture of the Fortress, but I really wanted another shot of this lady :) Can you see her on the bottom right? You can click on the picture to enlarge it I think. She is wearing her mask which a ton of Koreans where cause of the Yellow Dust pollution and the random stink that is so apparent here. Turn a corner on a side walk and the sweet aroma of who knows what follows you home!!

GGGOOOONNNNGGGGG!

Everything was in bloom!

Last look of the city before our hike down...are you ready Andy? "Tara, I was BORN ready!!

The exterior wall of the FortressAnother cute lady on her bike waiting to cross the street. Not only do they love their masks; but they are big fans of the VISORS :)

I know we parked our car here somewhere :)

Together Again...

So I realized I hadn't posted any pictures of our journey back to Korea or our reunion with Andy. It's nice being back and being here together in the spring. We have so much we want to see and have already explored two major attractions here (pictures to follow!). During the day, Tyler and I have been hanging out a the base, re-joining a women's Bible Study, re-uniting with friends, and running with the jogger in our neighborhood. It can be a bit tricky since there is no good path or road to run on and people drive crazy; so we have to be a bit careful or just do the trail on base. Andy has had to work quite a bit still but we are excited to have a date night this weekend for a Squadron Ball. He has to wear his Mess Dress (military tuxedo...sorta') and I have an evening gown. Should be really fun and a much needed time for the two of us. Here are some photos of our first week back...

Tyler reading Sky Mall magazine while getting ready to take off from San Francisco to Tokyo.

mmmmm, Sky Mall tastes yummy :)
This is our thrid overseas flight and each one, without fail, includes a complimentary "poopy" accident :)

After staying up for the whole first 11 hours to Tokyo...he finally fell asleep 10 minutes prior to our decent...perfect timing :)

Andy's Dad flys for Delta and came in on a flight just hours prior so he waited to meet us at the Security checkpoint for a half hour...so funny to have seen him just days before in San Franciso and here we are meeting up in Japan; crazy!

We got in late on Saturday night and Tyler was already asleep; so they had to do their "catching up" on Sunday. As soon as Andy talked; Ty knew it was his Daddy! My friend Summer to the right and Lisa; ladies from the squadron. We were walking the path on base that takes you around the flight line. I had to pause and take this picture because it's not everyday the average bear gets to go for a walk while encased with barbed-wire fencing!!

Yeah!!! My box of toys arrived!

This was my high chair before Ty's portable chair arrived in the box I shipped. I tried the car seat first but he got ancy, then the couch while being propped with pillows and he just kept sliding down, then the exersaucer but he wanted to play; my lap....yeah right, and finally the umbrella stroller...it seemed to do it's job for the first week. At least he couldn't move :)

Meeting Daddy for lunch at the BX (Base Exchange)

Chillin on the swing...watching the passers-by...

Aghhh, my TEETH better get here soon!!!

We stopped at a coffee shop in the shopping district and they had the huge snowman that Tyler could not quite figure out...Staring contest...you, me...now!

He never gets tired of playing with Daddy.

I LOVE to Bounce!The first time I drove on base again, I noticed there were wildflowers everywhere! These flowers grew on the hillside like grass right after passing the front gate; even the shrubs along the curb were sprouting with gorgeous reds! God has a way of making things so beautiful just for us to enjoy!We also went to this indoor virtual golf place. For 10,000 Won (about $7), you can play 9 holes of the course of your choice. The ladies there treat you like Kings and Queens! They bring you beverages of your choice, fresh cut up fruit, sandwhiches...whatever you want! We are definately going back :)

Here is a video of me golfing. Keep in mind for you golf pros; I have not swung a club in 2 1/2 years before I broke my wrist snowboarding...and even then I was just learning. So I'm pretty proud that I at least hit the ball :)

Laughing or Crying!?!

So I just have to post this video! Tyler has been teething quite a bit recently and he goes through these spells where he doesn't know wether to laugh or cry. Well, this video is one of those. I wasn't doing anything but smiling and watching him try to figure out what he wanted to do with himself :) I love the escalation towards the end! I went and bought some teething tablets and baby motrin today so that will hopefully help...nothing else seems to work; so please pray the lil' guy cuts some teeth soon! He's gone through 4 months of this already...yuck!

Tyler's 7 Months!

A couple days ago Tyler turned 7 months! He has been so happy and playful; I don't want him to grow up!! Anyway, here is his 7 month photo and a couple cute videos of him. As usual; if you get this by email; you have to go to our blog to watch them...enjoy :)