Long Time No Post

Wow!  As I went to the blog today to pull up a recipe, I realized it has been MUCH longer than I thought since my last post.  Wow...there is still a Christmas background up for goodness sake!  Unacceptable, I know.  We have had a busy few months with an adventurous trip back home, lots of time with extended family, lots of work from Bill, a bit of work for me doing a little tutoring, school, and some crafting, and some new adventures on the RoK.  Ryan started preschool last week and is loving it.  Kaitlyn and I are using the time in the morning to do school, so we can play in the afternoon.  Wednesdays are our no (or little) school days, as Ryan has Wednesdays off, so expect some more adventures as the weather warms.  Kaitlyn is enjoying dance, Girl Scouts, and will start T-Ball for about 6 weeks in April.  Both kids are doing AWANA and really enjoy the interaction with other kids their age.  Last weekend Bill and I went on a trip to the DMZ and actually stepped foot into North Korea!  This weekend I am going to a Women's Retreat in Seoul with the ladies of the base chapel, so be on the lookout for a few posts (hopefully in the near future) about our trip to America and our trips around the RoK.  Here are a few pictures from Ryan's first day of preschool.  

Ryan and Kaitlyn outside the school.

 Saying goodbye.  She really did miss him while he was gone.

 Our very excited big boy.

Ryan with his class waiting to have his picture taken for picture day.

Sledding

While we didn't have a white Christmas, we did start getting snow the day after Christmas.  Is has been a very light snow, more on than off, for the past couple of days.  Plus it has been bitterly cold (lows in the single digits, highs in the mid-upper 20s), so the snow is sticking.  As you can see from the pictures, there isn't much, but it was enough to take a few rides on the sled.  

The kids and I went over to the golf course today and got to sled on some fresh snow.  Apparently, we chose a great spot, as the other spot we scoped out turned out to be a muddy mess.  As we were hanging out at the lake, wrapping things up and getting ready for lunch, the teenagers were just heading out, so our timing was great too.  Ryan wanted to bring his dump truck and had a ton of fun with that.  Kaity really wanted to see if the lake was all ice, but I am no fun and made her stay pretty far back.  It was beautifully covered with snow and a sight like that was a first for all three of us.  If you have a couple minutes, please check out the pictures in the slideshow below.  There are some pretty cute ones in there.  It is forecast to snow this light off and on snow for the next few days, so hopefully there will be more sledding fun in our near future.

What's Your Name?

Kaitlyn has been really into ballet again after a 2 year hiatus and was having an open rehearsal before her 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 performances.  She walked over to her "audience" and started a conversation with a stunningly handsome blue-eyed boy who caught her eye.

Kaitlyn the Ballerina:  What's your name?
Ryan:  Ryan
Kaitlyn:  What's your in trouble name?
Ryan:  Ryan Travis Maclin

Obviously, this got a giggle from us and we thought you would get one too.  :)

Feeling the Love

This morning I was helping Kaity condition her hair and she wanted me to dry her off and do her lotion. We were talking through this process about nothing in particular, and this is where the conversation went.

Kaitlyn (who keeps asking for Hello Kitty panties b/c they are her favorite, though she has a lot): I don't need any more Hello Kitty panties Mommy.

Me: Why is that?

Kaitlyn: Because I have enough already.

Me: True

Kaitlyn: I don't need any more love either, because I have enough of that already too. You give me so much I already have all I need.

Talk about warming my heart. Oh, and just so ya know, I'm not gonna stop givin' the love sister. It's the gift that keeps on giving. Gosh I love this girl!

The First Snow of the Season

Last night I looked up the weather forecast and discovered it was "currently snowing." I didn't even know snow was in the forcast! We were just outside riding bikes right before dinner. It was COLD, but didn't seem like it was going to snow anytime soon. I knew there was rain in the forecast a couple of days this week, so imagine my surprise when I got out of bed and looked out the window. The snow was really coming down and there was quite a layer already built up! I was almost too excited to sleep! I had already decided we were going outside to play as soon as the kids woke up and had breakfast. Well, they both decided to sleep until 8:45 (on the one day I wanted them up!) and Kaity came to my room first. She walked to the window and looked down, noticing that it looked different, but not really registering anything yet. I asked her what she saw. She broke into a huge grin and said SNOW! Then she told me she almost didn't recognize it. Silly girl! We went to the kitchen and started breakfast and as soon as Ryan heard Kaitlyn, he ran out of his room and said, "I didn't know Kaity was awake!" I think they just didn't want to get out of their warm beds. Can you blame them? He looked out the window in the living room and started hopping around the living room yelling, SNOW! After gearing up we headed downstairs to play.


Kaitlyn getting her amunition.

Ryan ready to fire.

Kaity's wicked look waiting for me to safeguard the camera so she can fire.

They had a blast sliding faster and farther on slide and bed of snow at the base.

One of the great things about homeschooling is the flexibility it provides. Today, we had a three hour snow delay. It was awesome! We played outside for a long time, was joined by a friend, and then went upstairs for a warm playdate with coffee and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Now that's how I like to start school! It was a great day both in the "classroom" and outside.

Liver and Onions

I am sick and my husband has quarantined me to my bed.  Mostly because he is supposed to fly twice on Monday and doesn't want to miss out by getting sick himself.  Plus, he wants me to get better as soon as possible.  Uh huh, sure. ;)  So, I am making the menu for the week and sending him to the commissary to do my dirty work.  I have come up with a few things and asked him what he wanted.  He said he didn't care (pretty standard response for him, as he is pretty easy to please.  I really wanted some direction, so I told him, "fine, liver and onions it is."  He laughed and told me I wouldn't eat that.  I told him that I was sick so I wouldn't be eating in general.  Kaitlyn quickly responded, "The people that are not sick will not eat that either."  I guess they called my bluff.  All Recipes, here I come!

So This is Fall....

Growing up in Florida and never having lived north of the Mason Dixon Line, I have never really experienced fall. I mean really experienced fall. The bright, vivid colors of the trees, the cold (okay maybe cool, remember I am from Florida) temperatures, spending the day outside with pink noses, and coming home to warm up with a bowl of hot soup. Today was my day! Today was the day where I got to experience fall. To be able to see all of the shades of fall on one tree. Sure, I had a slight taste of fall on our newly planted maple in South Carolina, but this year was the first year I got to watch the leaves on the trees change color. Fall was just starting to arrive while we were in Japan, and I was loving it! Over the past couple of weeks, the temperatures and humidity have been dropping and the leaves have been changing. Today was one of the most beautiful days I have spent in nature. It was certainly the most colorful and I just have to share the many pictures I took. While the day itself wasn't remarkable, it was cold and hazy, the Garden of Morning Calm was a place I will always remember and will make plans to return to. Last week a friend of mine sent me a link to a place about 2 hours away and asked if I was up for a road trip. Of course...I am almost always up for a road trip! So, we packed our lunches, packed in her car, and headed northeast of Seoul. Two hours and one missed turn later we found ourselves walking through the Garden of Morning Calm. While it was still morning, it was not at all calm. We had 2 boys ages 2 and 3 and a 6 year old girl and were in Korea, where there are always people around, no matter when you go. After all, Seoul's population is over 10 million people! While it wasn't calm, it was fun and a great way to spend the day. Here are some pictures of our day.  They are in no order (they uploaded randomly and I don't have time to figure it out) and there are a lot.  I narrowed them down the best I could (there were A TON!), but I'm outta time....  Enjoy and HAPPY FALL!!!