Last chance to enter!

Last day to enter my giveaway, folks!!!  Remember, I am ahead of you by several hours.  Technically, it will be the 1st two hours from now, but you have at least until I get home from church tomorrow.

Adeline Makes Friends

As usual, Adeline seems to draw attention where ever we go in Korea (as do other children...especially blonde haired, blue eyed ones).  Here are some more pictures from our trip to the Korean Folk Village.

Watching Adeline play with this little Korean girl was priceless.  

Here is something else that happens a lot in Korea that just does not happen in the US.  People (including grown men) will want to pose for a picture with Adeline.  This is especially popular among teenagers, but it happens with men and women of all ages.  While I was watching one of the shows and Patrick was watching Adeline, he said people were constantly coming up to take her picture....almost always using a camera phone.

This little boy chased her all over the place.  It was too cute!

And, of course, here is Adeline's friend, Caden, who came to the park with us.

Korean Folk Village

Be ready for some pictures today, folks!  On Monday, we went with our friends, John, Amanda, and their son, Caden to the Korean Folk Village.  There is a variety of things there, as you'll see...

We watched some women making silk thread from...

the cocoons of these silk worms.

This is my attempt at being artistic...

Patrick trying out the stone grinder.  

There were some beautiful gardens.

We spent some time with the animals.  Caden LOVED this cow.  He couldn't stop laughing.

Adeline had a BLAST walking EVERYWHERE, playing in the dirt, climbing rocks, and making friends (that'll be another post).

We watched several shows.  This was an equestrian show.  They did a lot of fun stunts using the horses.

The guys had fun on these giant swings.

The tightrope walking show.  This guy must have been funny because there were several times when he had the crowd laughing, but alas, none of us speak Korean.

The first show we saw was of traditional Korean dance.  There was a drum band playing, and these dancers used long ribbons tied to their hats as part of the choreography.  The best part was when they did these leaps in a circle.  I'm not sure how they didn't land on their heads.

The see-saw show....you can imagine, lots of flips, stunts, and high jumps.

Adeline was amazed by it all.

We spent some time looking through one of the museums, but I didn't take pictures there.  You can click on Amanda's blog to see more pictures if you like.

At the end of the day, we found the amusement park section.  Unlike everywhere else in Korea, there were not many people there, and they turned on some of the rides just for us.  Adeline got to take her first ride on a carousel. 

Here are some of the family shots we took...

We are sitting among some kim chi pots.

Adeline learned a new skill today....kissing her daddy on the cheek.  It was TOO CUTE!  Mommy didn't get any kisses until later.

Thanks Nichols family...we had a blast!

Wordless Wednesday...View from my window

Dad's race times are in!

The results from my dad's race have finally been published, so I thought I would give you the run down of his times for those of you that are interested in such things.

500 yard swim:  13 min, 56 sec

15 mile bike ride:  54 min, 49 sec

5K run:  27 min, 41 sec

Total time (including transitions):  1 hour, 40 min, and 29 seconds!!!

  Great job, dad!  I can't wait to watch you compete next year!

I'll blog some pictures after some of dad's paparazzi email them to me.

Sunday Finest

The Race Begins

He's racing....right now...as I'm typing!  He just got out of the water.  I am SO excited!  I'll post the results for you in the end.  Go dad!

Okay, I'm coming back to add to the post I started earlier this evening.  He finished!  I'll post his times tomorrow after the results are in.  I talked to him briefly.  He was tired, but I think he was feeling good about how the race went.  I'm so proud of you, dad!

Friday Fun

Why you should always check when your kids are too quiet.

I went to lunch with a friend, and they sell WONDERFUL cookies 3 for $1.25, and they bundle them in this cute little container that looks like a take-out Chinese box.  I brought two home for Patrick, and apparently Adeline found the stash!  (yes, of course I grabbed my camera before taking them from her...like any good blogging mommy would do).  I did let her have a bite or two though.

Dad, I'm so proud of you!

These are the most recent pictures I have of my dad.  They are from the end of Feb when my parents came here to visit for Adeline's first birthday.

Last May, Patrick participated in his first sprint triathlon.  It was in Mt Gretna, Pa.  It was a 500 yard swim, a 15 mile (very hilly) bike ride, and then a 5K run.  My dad really enjoyed watching Patrick compete, and I started the prodding..."Dad, YOU could do this!"  He was hesitant, but I saw the spark in his eye.  

My dad is one of those guys that is always in decent shape without really trying.  When he goes for a physical, the doctor always tells him his health is like that of a man 20 years his junior.  If you saw what he eats, you would be in awe.  Patrick and I did a bike-a-thon with him several years ago to support the MD brain injury association.  My dad never pushed his bike up a single hill, but Patrick and I pushed as much as we rode.  This course was INSANE!  Um, those were NOT "rolling hills" they were MOUNTAINS in disguise!  But, a triathlon was a whole new concept for him to consider.  He knows how to swim, but has only done it for recreation.  He was not a runner...never really tried it outside of playing sports.  I could tell he wanted to try it, so I put the icing on the cake, "If you do it, Adeline and I will come home early to be there."  That was when I thought Patrick was coming home at the end of June.  He started training and was very gracious when I backed out of our agreement, really not wanting to voluntarily be apart from my husband for 2 1/2 months.  

This picture is of my dad and Patrick heading out for a run in Feb.  My dad has trained with diligence.  He has stuck faithfully to the plan Patrick printed out for him, and oh my how he has improved.  On Saturday, at 58 years young, he is going to participate in the 5th annual "Got the Nerve" triathlon.  His first ever, and I AM SO PROUD!!!

Dad, so sorry we can't be there, but I will be rooting for you the whole time (and calling mom every few minutes for updates).  If any of my readers happen to be in the area and get some good pictures (or video) of him, I would be SO VERY grateful.  There is already going to be a paparazzi there for him, but if you see him, give him an extra "Whoo hoo!" from me.

...and of course, I'll post again after the event.  You're going to do great dad!  I love you.

Wordless Wednesday...Oh sweetheart, if you only knew...

Honeymoon Pictures

Addendum...since a few of you asked...we were married on Dec 22, 2001 (6 1/2 years ago). Thank you for those that used words like "younger" to describe how I look in these pictures and not words like "thinner." Seriously, did I REALLY look like that before pregnancy?!?

A friend asked me recently about our honeymoon after reading #5 on this post. I thought I would dig back and share some photos. Now, this was back in the day before we owned a digital camera (how did we ever survive?!?), so these are scanned from prints. The quality is not nearly as impressive as when you see them in print, especially for the last one, but you can get the idea.

As a refresher, we went to a beautiful resort, Ladera, in Saint Lucia. Our room literally only had three walls. We had our own private plunge pool (a small pool with a waterfall, tree in the center, about 4 feet deep). The first picture is taken in our room! I am sitting by the edge of the pool, with the ocean and the sunset behind me. This was such a happy place...

The twin Pitons which we could see from the restaurant and the larger pool on the resort.

This is Patrick and I in the restaurant. Unfortunately, the picture came out a bit dark here. The restaurant is also open to the outside with a beautiful view. In the morning, they had water guns on your table to ward off the birds...Patrick thought this was just slightly cool.

Have I mentioned before that I love vacation?