The Deutschland

Since we moved from South Korea, I can't exactly call this blog SoKo Loco anymore. It is now Holthaus à Go-Go. I don't know where that came from but it makes me laugh. Anyway...

Pinch me! We're in Europe!
Tobin was a wee bairn the last time we were here and ever since we've been plotting our next vacation or way to get a job. I'm still shocked that it happened and we're actually living it! And we even found a house.

Marc and I really like urban settings because we prefer being able to walk everywhere, but with young kids we also need space for them to play and run around. City parks are great but it means I have to go along, too. And having just lived in an apartment, I really would like a yard for them to play in so I can stay inside if I want to or if Bingsu is napping. The absolute ideal for me would be a modern house with a decent size yard, in a walkable area (grocery stores, restaurants) with lots of other kids around. This was proving to be very difficult. The homes in walking distance to the village or city center are small and very outdated and the really nice, modern ones are way out in the middle of nowhere. Germany can certainly do modern but its almost never near the town center. We're finding that there is always some big trade-off. The house is nice but it's too far from Marc's work. Or it's close to his work, but it's not in walking distance to anything. Or it's in walking distance to something but there is no yard. Or there's a yard in a great location but the interior looks like a well-used frat house.

We did several drive-bys and walked through a few homes, all with some big "problem". We don't have to rush to find a home (we've only been here two weeks) but this is the high-season of Americans moving in and out and it can get competitive. Do we wait to find something better or settle for something we can get right now because maybe this is actually the best we can find? Its a gamble. We had one more appointment the other day in the very same village we're staying in and as soon as we walked in I knew it was going to be good. Its simple, modern, close to the town center, close to Marc's work, has a yard, its on a dead-end street and in walking distance to a grocery store. It has so much of a what we wanted that I couldn't pass it up. The only trade-offs are that the town is pretty small, there are no playgrounds nearby and we have yet to see if the neighbors have kids. But its a great house and there is plenty of room for guests.

Germany has some crazy-cool play things for kids!

Trying some local strawberries.

Can you stand it?

One of the reasons I wanted to find a home sooner than later is so that we could determine which schools the boys will go to before the end of summer. There are four different American schools in this region and which one you go to depends on the neighborhood you live in. So now we know which American school Tobin is assigned to. The thing is, since way before I had kids, I have wanted them to have a second language and here is the perfect opportunity! They are exactly the right age. I know that I would be incredulous if my family had lived abroad when I was young and my parents didn't give me the opportunity to learn the language. But its going to be tricky. Tobin is very social and very sensitive and I don't know if he's up for the frustration of not understanding anything for several months. We still need to check out the local school and we don't even know if they accept foreign students or if there is space available. We also have the space question with Jonah and preschool but I'm not as worried about him because preschool here is play-based. Tobin will be in first grade and actually doing lessons in German. We want to do what's best for his needs but I will be a little sad if he ends up going to an American school and missing the opportunity to learn German. The American schools here are really good so either way he'll get a good education which I'm grateful for.

A tiger, a pirate and Marc, representing Korea.

One of the many attractions at a festival in Wiesbaden.

Here at the Holthaus (that's Holt Haus, as in house, if you didn't get it) we are doing our best to dive into the culture. We listen to German radio and asked the landlords where we're staying to switch the cable box from the American stations to the German channels. If the boys want to watch cartoons, they're in German. We could have stayed at the Air Force Inn on a base but we opted for a house rental out in a village. The Inn would definitely have made it easier to start meeting people and making friends because we're pretty isolated out here, but it would be like living in mini-America which is not why we came. Its nice to have the American bases here if we need something but we're going to try to do as much as we can on the German economy.

On a ferris wheel over Wiesbaden.

At some local castle ruins in Landstuhl.

Food at the festival. And we had a to-die-for banana-Nutella crepe. Ooh la la!

Its been really helpful having some knowledge of the language. I (Marc, too) understand quite a bit, but there is a lot that I used to know and now forget which is really frustrating. And of course there is still a ton that I don't know at all. But everywhere we go I say what I can and most times its such a short interaction that I don't need to use any English at all. I actually had a pretty decent conversation with a Grandpa at a park a few days ago. We talked about the boys, his grandkids, schools, etc. It was pretty cool although I'm sure he dumbed it down a lot for my sake. I hope we can find some classes because I really want to be conversational as soon as possible.

Just to give you an idea of where we live...we bought the latest edition of Rick "My Crush" Steves' book on Germany to get all of his helpful advice. Yesterday we drove to nearby Wiesbaden, which Ricky says to skip altogether because its become too touristy (read: its so beautiful that everyone wants to go there and can get crowded). Our city of Kaiserslautern is not even mentioned. The word does not appear in his book at all. I doubt Rick has ever even been here. BUT, being Germany, its still a very nice city and the villages surrounding it, like the one we're in, are still adorable and picturesque. I guess I won't be bumping into Rick on my way to the bakery, though.

*giggle* Oh, Ricky! You tease!

I know I said in my last post that well-traveled people no longer need to make comparisons or something like that but I never said I was that person. Har-har. I have not yet reached that traveler's nirvana.

Germany could not be more different from Korea. Its not even worth talking about really because its like apples to oranges.

Inititially, I was really nervous to drive here. I've already told you why its scary to drive in Korea - anything goes and you can't count on people to follow the rules. But here, there are so many rules that I'm afraid I'm going to miss something and make everyone mad, or worse, cause an accident. I've only been licensed to drive for about a week so I hope all the new rules will become second-nature soon.

The Internet here is terrible. One would think that with everything else being in such perfect working order that they would get to work on improving the connection speed. In Korea, you can be three stories underground on a subway and not suffer any loss of connection. Here, I walk into the next room and completely lose my signal. Korea is way ahead of you, Germany!

In the village where we're staying everyone says hi to everyone. If you're walking down the street and pass someone, you say hello. If you're standing in line at the bakery with fifteen other people and a new person walks in, the new person says hello and everyone greets them back. It's the cutest thing and has quickly helped rid me of the perception that Germans are social icebergs.

Its beautiful. Just breathtakingly beautiful. Once again, we're surrounded by a lot of agriculture but it's a totally different look. Korean fields have this sort of ancient, misty (cough-smog-cough), grittiness to them whereas German fields are perfect, pristine and dewy-green. Not a blade of grass out of place. And the yards are like that, too. Everything is clean and orderly! The houses, the cars, even the trash cans! There isn't that one weird house on the block with a bunch of junk in the yard. Oh no. Everyone cooperates!

Ahhhh, fields and villages, fields and villages.

Gartenshau, one of the local parks with giant dinosaurs and tons of play areas for kids.

I'm curious to know what the Germans think of us. Do they know instantly that we're American? The attention we (the boys) got in Korea was fun but its also nice to blend in. And, hey! Germany has my shoe size! What's been surprising to me is that there are a lot of people here that I'm positive are American by the way they dress but then find out they're actually German. Maybe we can pass for locals after all.

I'm anxious to make friends which I have a feeling its going to take a lot longer than where we just came from because its a much larger region. I miss my Korea friends so much! And they all better visit. Buuuut, so far its been wonderful and I think we're gonna like it here.

"Argghhhh!"

"Weee!"

Thank you, Korea

Photo by Racheal White

The time has come to say goodbye to Korea. Its a surreal feeling because on one hand it feels like time has flown by, but when I read my very first blog entry it feels like ages ago. Now I have those same feelings, but about leaving Korea and going to Germany.
Here's the last line from my very first blog post...

I have a (hopeful) feeling that living in Korea will prove to be much better than I think and that our experiences there will turn my neutrality toward Asian culture into deep admiration and appreciation. If nothing else, at least I know they have really great food! 

I'm so happy to say that all that came true. Where do I even begin with how I feel about leaving Korea? I remember so clearly arriving here and thinking, "You've got to be kidding me," plus it was January, so that didn't help. But when I think of everything we've experienced and the people we've met its hard to imagine that soon it will only be memories. I've made a list, in no particular order, of some of the things that have made a huge impression on me that I will really miss. All but one of these photos were taken by one of my favorite gals, Racheal "That's-how-she-spells-it" White. She takes so many amazing photos but we had to narrow it down to just a few. These are all taken around the town where we live.

Photo by Racheal White

Photo by Racheal White

HOSPITALITY There's hospitality...and then there's Korean hospitality. Its difficult to adequately describe The Kindness. I've gotten used to it and I think anything less will be a difficult adjustment. Koreans, in general, are just so wonderfully kind. I may have already mentioned that its perfectly normal for a waitress to hold a baby so parents can eat. They just come and take them and its amazing and now I expect it. Uhhh, ladies? I'm trying to eat over here. Can you please take my fussy baby already?! Koreans ADORE babies and children, but they also really want parents to stuff themselves full of good food. Farmers have given us produce straight from the plant when we've walked by. Its normal for someone else to wipe your kid's runny nose and help them if they fall down. And now I have the unusual task of unteaching the boys the ultimate no-no: That its no longer ok to accept candy from strangers, because that is also normal!
 

Take this, for example. We lost this hat over a year ago and never knew where or when. A few weeks ago we walk into a restaurant that we hadn't been to in a long time and before I could sit down, one of the ladies put this on our table. Jonah lost it here, they kept it for over a year (who does that??) and remembered us as soon as we walked in the door, as though they were waiting for us to return so they could give it back. 

FOOD Korea has some of the best strawberries, cucumbers, sweet potatoes and apples I've ever tasted. I will miss bibimbap, the cold buckwheat noodle soup and those cinnamon pancakes! And I don't even want to think about all the flavors of the barbeque and the side dishes. I'm already wiping my chin from the drool! Nothing will compare to the in-country, authentic, good stuff. SOB!

Photo by Racheal White. Hello? Nat Geo?

Photo by Racheal White

THE GUARDS Every time we drive onto the Army post we have to stop for the guards to check our IDs. I don't care if its snowing or 99 degrees and humid, those guards are the sweetest, smiliest, friendliest guys doing one of the most monotonous, thankless jobs around. Every day its a different crew on duty and every day they say, "Hello, babies! Have a wonderful day!" Just a few weeks ago, upon seeing the boys in the back of the car, one of the few female guards said, "Three boy? You must be so happy!" instead of some comment on how exhausted I must be. I will never forget the meaning of what she said and I will miss their kind, smiling faces. Lesson learned from Koreans: Even if your job stinks (sometimes literally because of the manure) you can still smile, be happy and have a positive influence on someone's day. I'll miss you guys!

Photo by Racheal White

Photo by Racheal White

 
SAFETY You know that sixth sense, perhaps heightened in moms, when it feels like something is weird or unsafe? Yeah, I don't get that here. And it isn't just me! I've talked to several other moms who say that the feeling of safety for their kids is the best part about living in Korea and they're going to miss it when they leave. What's so ironic, though, is that to most people the thought of South Korea immediately makes them think of North Korea and how much danger we're all in and aren't we all worried about "the nut to the north"? Nope. Not really. When North Korea is all over the news in the US, no one here is losing sleep over it. (Ok, I'm sure somebody does because there is always somebody.) I think I have had two conversations about North Korea lasting for a total of five minutes. I realize, as civilians, that we're in a different boat than the military families, but even Army spouses whose husbands would have to stay behind in a conflict don't seem to be fretting. I'm sure the soldiers have to talk about it all the time (because that's their job) but the rest of us are talking about the weather and where the watermelon guy parked his truck. We actually think its funny how much our US friends worry about us! I think its a combination of feeling so safe here in day to day life and having confidence in the military in the unlikely event that something does happen. But worrying about the safety of my kids in public is not something I've had to deal with and I will always remember that about Korea and be grateful.

ATTITUDE Even though the American presence in this country is ultimately to help Korea in case of a war, which I think they are very thankful for, the people in this community have every reason to be ticked off with having to share their little town with increasingly more foreigners year after year. We don't speak the language. Not all of us follow their rules and customs because we either didn't take the time to learn them or we just don't care. We're loud and we don't all respect their ways to the point that sometimes I am embarrassed. Obviously foreign groups living with locals happens all over the world, but despite their justified grounds to be irritated by us, they remain gracious, patient and kind. If they are annoyed I would never know because they don't show it. Its just not their way. They could easily be rude or condescending for "doing it wrong", but they're not. In fact, they feel bad for not being able to speak English to us in their own country. I continue to be amazed at their friendliness to foreigners. Lesson learned from Koreans: Go above and beyond in kindness and patience to the foreigner in my community.

Photo by Racheal White

Photo by Racheal White

MY LADIES I mean, wow. I never expected to find such a supportive, fun, helpful and wonderful group of friends all in one small place and I don't know if I will ever get so lucky again. They were my village, helping to take care of me and my kids in countless ways. And my neighbors (sighhh). One of the great things about apartment living is that you can pop over to their place in 2.2 seconds and...Boom! Cup of sugar. Boom! Play date. Boom! Mommy Happy Hour. This has got to be the hardest part of all the moving around - cultivating friendships and then inevitably having to give them up, at least in the hanging-out sense. I love this quote that someone posted on Facebook: "You will never be completely at home again because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place." I can't imagine going from this kind of network to being all alone in Germany! (Double dry heave) I will miss my ladies immensely.

Now, there are certain things I will definitely not miss like enormous mutant insects, the yellow dust and crazy driving. The driving didn't really bother me at first, but after two and a half years, I have seen too many people making some really BAD choices. Every time I drive or even walk across the street I see or experience close calls because someone decided they didn't feel like stopping at a red. This is the one safety issue I have. Lesson learned from Korea: Never trust a green light (or, dare I say, a Korean behind the wheel). That's something I am really looking forward to in Germany. They have a lot of driving rules that people actually follow. I'm ready for some rules and rule-following.

Photo by Racheal White. Oh! These farmers work so hard! And most of them are well advanced in age.

Photo by Racheal White

After all this time here I've learned a lot, but one thing I did not learn is the language. I always thought it was so sad when someone had an opportunity to live somewhere for so long and not learn the language! Waaaayyyull...now I understand how easily that can happen. I like to think it would have been different if we truly lived on the Korean economy, but so much of our time was spent with other Americans. Tobin, age six, can count to ten in both of the number systems (yes, there are two!), sing songs and knows most parts of the body! I knew two words when we arrived and now I have maybe fifteen. Sad. Its just too hard with all the lines and squares and circles and two ways of counting! Marc did amazingly well from going to classes and studying on his own. In my defense though, I was either pregnant, postpartum or worn out, and...sorry Hangul, but I'm just not that into you. I think I am equally enthusiastic about learning German as I am apathetic toward Hangul. I feel bad saying that but the language was never on my bucket list. Hopefully I can make up for it in Germany.

As a family, we have seen and done a lot in Korea, but there is a whole lot we never got around to. I can't believe we never went to a lantern festival or to the east coast which I hear is stunningly beautiful. The depth and richness of the Korean culture is so vast and so foreign and we have barely scratched the surface. I will never know how much I don't know but I do know its a lot. What I can say is that I'm learning to stop automatically making comparisons between what I'm used to and Korea. Instead of saying, "That's not how we do it" or "that's unusual", I think, "This is Korea. This is their way." I imagine that someone who is very well traveled in all sorts of cultures gets to the point where they never even think about comparisons. It is what it is.
 
As odd as it sounds to hear myself say this, is that Korea, though still so foreign, feels like home and this land that I had never thought twice about three years ago will now always have a special place in my heart. Its strange being here, in this small, unknown, farming village, like I'm not really supposed to be here, but I am, and I'm getting a glimpse of someone else's life. But as much as I've grown to love Korea and will always miss it, I will miss my friends more. Hugs and kisses to all! XXOO
 
 

Photo by Racheal White

Photo by Racheal White

Next Stop...

We are exchanging Hyundai and Kia for Volkswagon and BMW! Marc got a job in GERMANY! We're moving to Kaiserslautern at the end of May. Excuse me while I breathe into a brown paper bag.

Prost!

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted the opportunity to live in Europe, specifically Germany and I've always really liked the German language. I'm not sure why but its a true story. I took Spanish in high school only because German wasn't offered so I took it in college and it turns out Marc did, too. That was one of the random things we had in common when we met. How many kids from southern California have taken German?? And we used to be pretty decent, but that was twelve or more years ago. So when the offer was official I pulled out my old German textbooks and we started reading and its all coming back to us! We remember a lot which is a good head start, but still, reading German in a textbook is way different from understanding native speakers talking at their normal speedy speed. We'll be lucky if we can pick out one word in each sentence (at the beginning anyway). Our hope is to try to speak it as much as we can even though most of the locals can speak English.

Let me try to explain how much this means to us. I'm not exaggerating...ever since Marc and I met we've shared a common dream to live in Europe and nine out of ten weekends for the past several years we talk about how to actually do it. Its just our normal weekend routine. Over coffee and blueberry pannycakes...How can we get a job there? Wouldn't it be great? Let's watch Rick "MyCrush" Steves and day-dream! What out-of-the-box thing can we do to get there? Who do we know that might have a connection? And then we hit a wall and realize how difficult it is and admit that the only realistic way is if he got a job with the government but that's almost impossible so let's just stop talking about it because it makes us feel defeated and our dream will never be a reality. Let's accept that its probably never going to happen. More coffee? EVERY WEEKEND.

Even government jobs are hard to come by in Europe because the US presence there is getting smaller and bases are consolidating and closing down. The other thing is that many Americans who have jobs in Germany don't want to leave. Once they get a job there they figure out a way to keep staying making it very difficult for anyone new to come in. By law, a job opening has to be posted for everyone to see, but it usually gets filled by someone already there. So its next to impossible to even get an interview, let alone an offer. Thanks to Marc's credentials, perseverance and a little (maybe a lot?? of) luck, he beat the odds and got one of the few jobs available to him. We still can't believe it!! Just thinking about it makes my heart beat faster.

Every Army spouse I know who has lived in Germany has only good things to say about it and they all want to go back. And when a spouse posts a question on a Facebook page asking for advice on whether they should take the post in, for example, Hawaii or Germany all the other spouses emphatically type-yell, "GERMANY!!! TAKE GERMANY!" I will say, though, that those who have lived in Germany and are now here admit that there are a lot of great things about Korea that Germany doesn't have. But still! I'll learn to live with it! Its Europe for crying out loud!

Believe it or not, through this process from the interview to getting the job, we haven't been jumping-up-and-down-excited. I don't quite know how to explain it other than its kind of scary when you actually get what you want. Is this really going to happen? What's the catch? Its sort of a "waiting for the other shoe to drop" feeling. Its ironic to me that just as I've gotten used to (and am totally okay) with the idea of staying in Korea another year or more, this pops up and changes everything! I just assumed we'd be here for at least another year. I already know how to live here and moving again means I have to start from zero. Its kind of nice being a "veteran" of living in this community. I know what's up and now I'm going to be the rookie again! Despite having done it several times, its still really hard moving to a new place.

We have it pretty good here. This crummy little town - seriously, ZERO curb-appeal - has really grown on us. It's the people we've met here, American and Korean, and the Korean people and culture in general. And I love, love, love our apartment. Except for not having a yard, everything about it from the layout to the amount of storage is just ideal for our situation. And I have two sets of neighbors that I simply adore just steps from my front door and plenty of other neighbor friends in other buildings. Even though we've been here over two years it feels too soon. We have so many great things going on - Toby's school, all the fun things to do for kids, our amazing neighbors and friends. But the reality is we're going to have to say goodbye to it all at some point anyway. One friend left this month, another leaves in July, and more in August and December, not to mention all the friends who have already left. A few more are staying until next year, but it's still just a matter of time. I thought I would be sending them off, not the other way around. Yes, I've moved a lot but its only been the last few times that I'm really heartbroken about the people I'm saying goodbye to because I know its unlikely I will ever see them again in person. And it means our little era of fun is over. At Toby's school it seems like every other week one kid moves away and a new one moves in and life goes on. I don't really like that part but I'm grateful for these experiences and relationships. Moving around is one way to meet a LOT of people from all kinds of backgrounds. Its hard to believe we have to say goodbye already. This apartment is not going to be our home for much longer. We're going to miss the food, the jumpy house, the kid cafes, and the cinnamon pancakes from heaven just to name a few. And my heated toilet seat?!?! Oh, the humanity! But even with all of the great things we have going on here, the opportunity to live in Europe is not something we could even consider passing up. We can't not do this. 

There is a lot that I really like about living here (and I need to write a whole blog just about how sad I am to leave Korea) BUT there are some things that make me want to pull my hair out and scream, so I've always thought that I would like to leave Korea on good terms rather than get to the point where those things become intolerable and I can't stand it and feel desperate to leave but with no job to take us away. Right now I'm on good terms with Korea and Europe is knocking. So I guess its time to go.

Start planning your trip now. Visitors wanted!

Nw USA Vacation

Hi! Here are some pictures from our trip to the Northwest. For anyone on Facebook, this is going to be repetitive, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. 

Here we go! These two did great.

Here's me thinking I'm really amazing because I got him to sleep JUST SITTING on the plane on the way to Japan. But the joke was on us (and everyone else on the flight) because he was the exact opposite on the long flight from Japan to Seattle.

We survived the flight, despite Doren's solid attempts to shatter the airplane windows with his screaming, and arrived safely in Seattle. One of the very first observations I made being back in the US was when Tobin needed to use the bathroom. It was the first time in a long time that I felt anxious about him going into a restroom by himself. That sense of worry about my child around other people in public doesn't come to me in Korea, but it suddenly came rushing back. I feel like he's too old to come into the women's restroom and Marc was dealing with the luggage somewhere else. I let him go in but I didn't like it at all. Its been really nice not feeling that feeling while in Korea. 

The next thing I noticed happened while we were driving to my in-law's house. I was nodding off in the passenger seat when I woke up to really loud sirens behind us. All the cars moved over so quickly and three or four emergency vehicles blew past us. It was impressive! Korean ambulances always have their lights flashing, even if they're just driving around, but will turn the sirens on in an emergency. We've seen ambulances trying to get through traffic and its kind of a mess and doesn't seem to be taken too seriously. I hope we never need an ambulance, period, but definitely not in Korea.

It was a great feeling to be back in the US, but it wasn't as weird and wild as I thought it would be. It was just like seeing a good friend after a long separation and starting up where we left off, like we were never apart.

Yay! We're here! One of the first things we did is head to the beach to fly kites...

...and collect rocks and shells. The best part was seeing the boys running free all over the beach and getting dirty. Its been a while since they ran free, as in not on a playground. It was fabulous.

Feeling the vitamin D soaking into his bald head.

Snuggles with Grandma Carol

Getting to know Papa Joe

Cousin Addisan was so sweet to read to her students...ahem, cousins. We love her!

Tobin and adorable Summer

An added bonus to making this trip was to see Marc's grandma whose health has failed a great deal since the last time we saw her. Marc went to the States back in January and was able to see his Grandpa who died just four days later. Grandma Min died a few days ago, just two weeks after these pictures were taken. She was one special lady and I just loved her.

Family and friends took care of her around the clock in her own home.

I'm so glad Doren got to meet her. I know seeing him brightened her last few days.

We had a nice dinner together until we had to leave because Doren was screaming like a pterodactyl.

Jonah is afraid of dogs but really wants one. It was a big thrill to walk with Lucy.

Posing with the blossoms

More kite-flying and running free

I love that smile

Mexican food!

Playing with Great Uncle Nick

They have so much grass!

At a really good coffee shop in Port Townsend. Mama like.

At our old local playground in Portland

At OMSI in Portland. Toby used to play here as a wee tyke!

This is pretty accurate

Crawling free in the baby section

Our first trip back to Trader Joe's and I'm really THAT excited. Don't get me started on how much I love and miss that store.

With Uncle Aaron. Doren has perfected the stare-down.

omg, Waffle Window. The boys each got a banana, Nutella and whipped cream waffle. I was good and got the veggie one which was still so delicious. But then I also ate half of each of theirs because they couldn't handle it. Pssh

We love breakfast!

Now with more cousins in Portland. We are so lucky to have them!

Officially crawling like a boss

They have a whole backyard playground!

He LOVED the swing!

It was so great to have Easter here

So much fun!

Clowning around

Uncle Justin is so silly!

This may not have been exactly legal, but if anyone pulled us over we could just say we're from Korea and didn't know the rules about seat belts.

Tree climbin'

Ok, below is a picture of dark, leafy greens. I had to take it just so I could stare at it longer. The American grocery store on the Army post does its best, poor thing, but we never have anything like this. There is a little box with a small pile of sad, wilted kale and its definitely not organic. I can count on one hand the number of organic products we have available. And Korean markets aren't much better with the greens. I also saw a large section of an aisle devoted entirely to plant milks. I expected to see the almond, rice and soy varieties, but I am so out of the loop because they also had cashew, seven grain and oat milk! What??! Oat milk? Anyway, my point is, walking around these fabulous grocery stores reminded me how much variety and abundance there is in American stores. I admit I'm a little jealous. I feel like it would be a lot easier to make healthier, more interesting meals if I had all these options! And it would be really nice to have the choice of organic produce.

It's so gorgeous. I can't even.

Another thing on our bucket list: Chipotle. So easy! So healthy! Check!

At the rental house with my side of the family. Nonny!

Breakfast at the kids' table

Great Uncle Rick

Its always a party with Molls

Cousin Lindy. Its so fascinating to look at her because there is such a strong resemblance to my late Grandma Dori. I love this picture! The ruby lips!

Love this lady

More staring

My sister's cute kiddies

Playing with Auntie Lisa

Cry me a river, Jonah

On our last morning we woke the boys up at 4:30am to head to the airport for what was hand's down our most excruciating travel experience so far. I'm so glad that day is over! The vacation, though, was wonderful. We packed in as many people and experiences as we could in the time we had. It was a nice break from Korea, but it was also nice to get back home. Home is wherever we are!