Driving in Seoul!

Mark picked up the van on Monday, and I got my official license today, so we thought it was time to take the plunge and drive in Seoul! The weather was just super beautiful, so we hopped in the car and drove to Namsan Tower.Namsan means "south mountain", and it has a tower with a restaurant on top. A cable car or a network of stairs and trails gets you to the top- we opted for the cable car. It is a tradition for couples to come to the top and put a lock on the fence, then throw the key over the side. It symbolizes them being together forever. They are really cool to see, the thousands of locks.

There are recreations of the fortress and signal beacons from the middle ages on top of the mountain, as well as a beautiful pagoda, snack stands and a teddy bear museum.

The day was sort of foggy/smoggy near the skyline, so I don't have great pictures of the amazing view. Seoul stretches as far as the eye can see, in every direction. Below is a view of the Han river and bridges. The girls were impressed with the hugeness- I don't think they quite understood what a huge city they live smack in the middle of until today!

We're going to Lotte World, an amusement park, to celebrate Gryphon's birthday on Saturday, and then hopefully to a mountain to hike on Sunday. So more pictures coming soon!

Seoul exploring

I woke up at 5:30, because the dog was whining, and when I went downstairs to let her out, I was greeted by a bouncy Gryphon. "Hi Mom! I've been up since 2! I'm making waffles!" Ah, jet lag. So I stayed up, and Rowan joined us at about 6. Earliest she's ever been up. :) We walked the dog, unpacked, and waited for Mark, who said he'd come by at lunch. Well, he showed up about 10 and has a few days off to get us situated. But instead of doing paperwork and whatnot, I talked him into taking the day and going into the city. The girls were so excited- they wanted to go to NamdeMun market.We hopped on the subway near the post, and went to the Seoul Station area to get lunch first. Gryphon's criteria was a place we could sit on the floor at. We found one, and had kalbi (ribs) cooked at the table and wrapped in lettuce, with rice, garlic, and of course kimchi and side dishes. SO GOOD. Rowan got all adventurous and though it couldn't tough anything else she had, did try the kalbi and pronounced it "good". Mostly though, she ate rice and lettuce. (But not together, because in Rowan's world, food can't touch.) Gryphon chowed down and tried it all. That's my girl! We practiced Korean, and the words are slowly trickling back in- I pulled the word for garbage can out of my brain somewhere, and garlic, and a few more just arrived out of nowhere. So while I definitely need to study, it does help a great deal to be *in* Korea. Many people said my Korean was good, but I know they are just being polite! :)

We rode the subway then to Namdemun, a wonderland of "stuff". From garlic to rice cakes to towels and Korean clothing, its here. Rowan bought a doll- she named her Mina. Gryphon is searching for a small plaid backpack she saw somewhere, but oddly enough, didn't find at Namdemun. We saw beautiful Hanbok (Korean traditional clothes) and bought chopsticks.

Its a good thing I warned the girls that Koreans might touch them or their hair and would talk to them, because Rowan got a lot of that. Gryphon is not too old, but she *looks* older, so she got comments but not as much touching. Rowan actually enjoyed it, for someone normally so shy. She thinks it is great Koreans are so friendly, and she is not shy in Korea because people are nice. They *are* so nice- so helpful if you look lost, and always smiling, it is so great to be BACK!

We had planned to go out and eat with one of Mark's friends from work tonight, but when we got home around 3, Gryphon and I crashed. We are soooo tired. Rowan, on the other hand, did cartwheels all the way to post from the subway station, drug Mark to the park 3 times, went to the Burger King playland, and stayed up until 10. She apparently has no jet lag. Tomorrow is paperwork day- I need to get my license, a ration card, get us into all the various military systems. I'm sure we'll get an early start, at like, oh, 3 am, since we'll be up!!

SO good to be here. What an adventure, and the girls are amazing- nothing phases them!

On Our Way

Sunday we got up and drove back to Woodbridge, to the neighbor's house to say goodbye and pick up our suitcases and cat. While I rearranged luggage, the girls said goodbye to Nina, Delia and Ben.It was pretty sad, the kids have been such good friends- playing dogs, having sleepovers and just getting along so well. We will miss them so very much! We loaded the suitcases into an airport car, and headed to a hotel near Dulles for the night. Grammy and Papa followed us with the cat, who was actually very sweet and loving in the hotel. We think maybe we got the wrong cat!

Next morning, we got up and went to Dulles, and checked in. Our luggage was fine (I was worried it was over weight!) and the cat was okay to go (some confusion at the last minutes, so I was SO relieved!!).

Then onto the plane, where the beautiful flight attendants were waiting. The girls *love* the KAL flight attendants- they are so pretty! And they dress really beautifully, and bow, and are really just super pleasant. Gryphon enjoyed pushing the call button and getting lots and lots of peanuts and drinks. They had in seat movies and games, so the girls were well occupied, and we ate bibimbap (rice with vegetables) for lunch. The flight actually went somewhat fast, considering it was 7000+ miles and 14 hours!





The only wrinkle was the cat. Rocko was drugged, as per the vet's directions, with Dramamine. Supposed to work better than Benedryl for cats. Well...not so much. I gave her some on the way to the airport, but she howled at take off, so once in the air, I took her to the bathroom and gave her more. Then she somehow got out and ran around the plane! Yes, through the first class cabin, back down to the flight attendants area. I had to catch her and stuff her back in. I have no idea how she did it- one minute she's in the carrier, safely stowed under the seat, the next she was out! The latch was still closed, she didn't chew a hole, I guess she pushed the zipper about 1 inch and that was enough. So she rode on my lap after that, in the carrier, to be sure she wouldn't get out. I gave her yet more Dramamine. Nothing. More? Nothing. I am sure I way overdosed her with the stuff, so we'll be getting something different for the ride home, or better yet- we'll fly when she can go under the plane!! But she made it, no one was too upset, and thankfully there were 3 babies and one very, very irate toddler on the plane who screamed more than enough to cover any meowing. And the girls were great- they needed almost nothing and are such wonderful travelers that I could focus on the darn cat.
Mark and a guy he works with (I forgot his name!) were waiting for us, and we got into a van and drove to Seoul. It was so weird to be back, but so much older and with the kids! The weather was really cloudy and foggy, so they didn't get the full effect of how large Seoul is. They were tickled by our house, immediately unloaded all their stuff into their rooms and ran to the park next to the house. Then we drove around post and Mark pointed out the sights. Its much smaller than I remember! Rowan crashed about 8 pm on the couch, and Gryphon just after her.

We made it!!

Junior Olympics, baby!

And, Rowan's 8th! She got to sleep in, and we surprised her with a very impromptu breakfast party in the hotel lobby. Grammy and PaPa stopped and got 2 balloons, which we put on her chair. Olga and Val, from the gym, and their mom Natalya joined us, it was so cool. Then it was off to the room to put on the warpaint (lots of sparkly make-up) and head to the college for the competition.The competition was kind of a blur, I cried all through her ball routine and didn't even really see it, because I knew it was the Very Last.There was a fire alarm in the middle of age group awards, which was interesting.

Rowan won her age group for her ball routine (I did get to see it, on video!), I forget hoop (5th??), and not so hot on floor.(Normally one of her best!) They only awarded out to 12th place, so their was a whole lot of girls who got no awards at all, and I was worried! She ended up 3rd all around, in her age group. But overall, she didn't place in anything but ball, 6th best in the whole country. Which certainly doesn't suck!It was sort of a downer seeing the podium though- a lot of girls on it for the overall awards were girls she had been beating all year. Given all that is going on in her life right now though, it was no surprise she wouldn't be at her best. And how surprising her best event was *ball*, which has been far and away her very worst all year. You just never know, I guess!

She is hidden behind the 5th place girl in this photo, the over all (every Level 4 who qualified as one of the 10 best in their region) ball awards.

More to come- we're pretty sad right now because it was final goodbye day to Olga, Val, Brianna, Nicole, Becky and Coach Konstantza. I know we'll be back, but good grief, this just sucks.

What we've been up to!

Lots of gymnastics- here is Gryphon enjoying the best part of practice, snack time.

Lots of goodbyes- here are Rowan and Libby, who met waaayyy back when Rowan did artistic (regular bars and beam) gymnastics. They are such good friends. Libby wrote Rowan a journal full of entries that will just break your heart.

Gryphon and Gracie- who met waiting with their moms for their little sisters to get done with the gym! They bonded over a mutual love of all things Harry Potter.


As for Mark, he has been hanging out at palaces, like this one. Also scouting the Russian section of Seoul for a gym, and walking Cleo, and oh yeah- working. Our household goods are in Korea already, as is my beloved van! So that's great news...except the small shipment that was supposed to be there "early" is no where to be found, and it has all the girls bedding and ALL my home school stuff in it, so....not loving that!

Tomorrow: leave the house for good, last gymnastics practice, stay at a hotel. Leave early Thursday for Virginia Beach, where grammy and PaPa will join us. Watch Rowan kick butt. ;) Watch Nicole kick more butt. Drive back Sunday, stay in a hotel at Dulles with the cat, and we're off. I already have a playdate at the Yongsan pool lined up for Wednesday afternoon with some area homeschoolers, so lets hope our plane gets in on time!!

I'll be posting as much as I can, on our big adventure!

Cleo is in Korea!

Due to complete morons at Delta Airlines, Cleo had to fly to Korea unaccompianed, as cargo. I was NOT happy about this, as you can imagine! We got her kennel all set up, with a guinea pig bottle for water and a pad for any accidents, and made the reservation as soon as Mark got a phone number in Korea.I wrote in Korean all over the cage, as you can see, just in case!

The girls and I drove Cleo up to Dulles, to a big loud warehouse. I was pretty nervous- she had to be there 4 hours before her flight. I put her on the scale, in her cage, and went into an office to do paperwork. When I went back to say a final goodbye, she was actually laying down, calm! That made me think m-a-y-b-e, just ,maybe, she would do all right. When we got home ,an hour later, I called, and they checked on her and...she was laying down! No barking, no stress. Started to feel better.

I obsessively checked the flight status (15 hours in the air!) and Mark was under strict orders to call me as SOON as he had eyes-on her at Incheon. He did, about 4 am, and she was ...you guessed it...laying down in her kennel! Korean workers kept coming by, reading her name off the kennel (in Korean) and talking to her, "Oh! Cleo! Cleo!". Glad I thought of that! :)

Mark got her home, bathed her, and she crashed. She had a few days of jet lag- crashing at 4-5 pm and waking up early wanting out, but has been just fine! I've seen her on Skype, and she seems pretty happy hanging out with Mark. We can't wait to join them!

Here she is, in our house in Korea, on our bed!

We have a house!! In Korea!

Mark has been taking pictures for us sicne he arrived in Korea Monday night, we run to the computer first thing every morning to see what he's sent. Here is the big hotel on Yongsan where he is staying, the Dragon Hill Lodge.

And in today's batch of photos- our house! I wanted pictures of just whatever the housing looked like, but it appears he got a house already. Our door is the upstairs door on the right.
Rowan wanted to know about parks, this playground is right next door.

The interior (I won't bore you with them all) is white tile floors (eeeeww) but otherwise not too bad. Small, outdated, but overall about what you'd expect for military housing. This is looking into the kitchen from what will be the school/play room.

We can't wait!!

Regional Championships!

OK, so the photos are from the video camera, and they suck. Also if they are sideways, they stay that way! But regionals went AWESOME!

First Gryphon, who had her best scores ever! Her first year goal is "not last", just like Rowans was last year. And she made it, all year! RG is not something you just decide to do one day, it takes years of very painful stretching to get flexible enough to do the skills. She's been working all year though, and she has come a long, long way. We're super proud of her!

And then Rowan swept all of the Level 4 events- hoop, ball and floor, no one came close to her scores. Of 54 girls, she is 1st in everything. Regional Champ! So that means she's going to Junior Olympics in Virginia Beach on her birthday!!

I knew she would make the regional team, thats the top 10 girls (regardless of age- up to 15). There are 6 regions in the US, and the top 10 from each region's championships go to Compulsory Junior Olympics. She *had* beat every girl in our region at one meet or another, but never all at the *same time*. Well, she did it today, when it really counted! Her floor routine got an 11.4 out of a possible 12, the highest score I've ever seen in Level 4 this year. She totally brought her A game. Knowing how hard she worked, she deserved every bit of it, too- this has been a tough year. We're very proud of her drive and hard work!

And now the fun video! All the routines for both girls are on Youtube, go here: http://www.youtube.com/user/camibami

But I will put a few on the blog, too!

And so it begins...!

We drove to the Port of Baltimore to say goodbye to the van yesterday. I miss it already!

And movers come tomorrow, so I am packing suitcases that we will live out of for the next 2 months. As you can see, they are pretty huge!

Mark and Cleo leave Sunday, after packers and movers and Regional Championships all this week. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Pack to packing I go...

Woo hoo! Getting so excited now. We bought massive suitcases (I'll post pictures of Rowan inside one soon!) and cleaned out the playroom. Getting c-l-o-s-e-r!! To bide the time and distract me from just worrying about everything I need to do, I have been perusing Flickr's Korea photos. These are from there- not mine! Above, Seoul.

What I am looking forward to most- FOOD! I totally plan to eat my way throughout the country. I've gone so far as to make a list of regional specialties from all over Korea, and the plan is to travel and eat, travel and eat.

First stop is Namdaemun Market in Seoul, as per the girls' request. I made the mistake of saying it opens at like 3 am, so if we were messed up from the time change, we could go there. So now the girls are banking on a 3 am trip to Namdaemun. It's beyond description really- you'll have to wait for photos.

More great photos of Namdaemun are here if you are bored!

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Namdaemun%20market&w=all&s=int

A great Ohio meet this weekend!

We were in Columbus, Ohio for a rhythmic meet this weekend, and it was great! Here is Gryphon, with medals- wahoo!

Rowan won 1st in every event and all around, first time she's ever totally swept all events, though she has been 1st all around before. She sort of looks bored in this picture, I believe she is thinking "Yeah, yeah, I know. I totally rock."

And...they got a *trophy*!!!!!!!

Now, our gym has lots of trophies, but not one of them for the rhythmic team. They are for the artistic girls and boys teams, which seem to get big honkin trophies for everything. Rhythmic never, ever gives out trophies. But they did team awards at this meet, they combined the top 3 scores from each team in the level, and our team got 2nd place! So now there is a trophy, woo hoo!

Next meet is (gulp) Regional Championships. Then maybe Junior Olympics and then...Korea!

Rowan photos (aka circus freak)

I really love the cool "s" shape her body makes here. Not so much the rug in the foreground, but I'm hoping a frame will cover it, because I can't crop this any different. Whoops.

This looks sort of easy. But when I tried it, my foot was like 3 feet from my head. Go ahead, try it. Ouch.

These are too blown out, but good shots otherwise unfortunately. Gryphon is a dream to photograph- nice facial expressions. Rowan always looks crazy or mentally challenged. All the other shots of these poses are- you guessed it- in the crazy category.

I am pretty sure that if you do this stuff long enough, eventually your body just stays this way. And you have to walk around bent in half, with your head hanging to your bum. Lets hope I'm wrong about that.

These photos were *so* fun to take. I am constantly amazed at what her beautiful little body can do. You should see the girl's abs- she has a 6 pack!! So much fun.