Who said washing dishes isn't fun?

The Nature Girl has been especially sweet and affectionate lately and it is just so sweet. She has been coming up to me, out of the blue, and saying,"I love you, mommy". It just melts your heart. Tonight my husband was washing dishes (which he usually does after dinner... bless him!) and the Nature Girl came running up and said,"May I help you daddy?" He said sure and she grabbed her stool and climbed up next to him. She asked him for some soap to start washing a ladle. The next thing I heard was her sweet little voice asking him, "Daddy, will you please share the sink?" He was crowding her and she wanted a spot to work, too. How cute is that?

Then the Artist came up and wanted to help, too. They started arguing!!! Arguing about who GOT to wash dishes! I wonder how long that will be a problem in our house! LOL! I love my girls!

A Tough Goodbye

Today was the last day of summer camp. The parents were invited to come and watch the kids sing songs, perform skits and have lunch with the campers. The kids put on a really cute show. There were still several hours left after they finished, so the Nature Girl and I headed home. We hung out at home until we got a call from my husband telling me he was done working for the day and was hoping for a ride home. Since I had heard that the counselors would be leaving the area at 8:00pm that day, I wanted to grab something for dinner for them. The Nature Girl and I grabbed Korean pizza, ran over to get my husband and then headed over to pick up the Artist. I was about 10 minutes late and I was feeling badly thinking that the counselors were stuck there having to watch my daughter when they needed to get packed up and on a bus in just a few hours. I was not prepared for the scene I walked into... Kids were trickling out of the building crying. One of them stopped to tell me that my daughter was in there crying and so was everyone else. The campers and counselors were having a tough time saying goodbye. The Artist was sobbing standing next to Miss Rainbow and she was crying, too. Kids everywhere had tissues. The counselors were signing shirts and arms and bracelets and passing out their email addresses. Everyone was lingering, unwilling to have the camp come to an end. Ms. Rainbow came up and thanked me for my help over the past 2 months and I almost started crying! When we were heading out to the car, the Artist said, " This is my first 'Last day of camp'. I have only had a first day of camp." She was so upset. Poor thing.
Thank you Mr. Monsoon and Ms Rainbow! You two have really touched our family's life and we wish you both the best. Thanks for letting the Nature Girl and I join you for swimming and field trips. We had a blast!


The Artist and Miss Rainbow


Mommy and the Nature Girl grabbing lunch


The Artist grabbing lunch


The Artist and Zay with Mr. Monsoon and Miss Rainbow


Camp Casey Camp Adventure


Campers with Miss Rainbow


Campers with Mr. Monsoon

Locks of Love

I am so proud of my little baby girl. She wanted to give her hair to Locks of Love. Her hair has been growing for about 3 years. Both her and I have been wanting to cut her hair for awhile... at least since Dec. My mom wanted me to wait until after my brother's wedding in June so her hair would still be long. And, of course, she did look sweet with a french braid crown. So today we finally had the opportunity to cut her hair. We cut about 12 inches off. She looks adorable! I love the look on her! Great job, baby!

Rainy Day Fun

When I heard that Korea gets about 49 inches of rain a year, I decided that we needed raincoats and boots. I found rain boots in AZ, but I had trouble finding raincoats. While we were in NY, I finally found them. The girls were so excited about their new apparel that I had to promise them that they could play in the rain with them one day. Well, the Artist never forgets anything. So, every time it rained, she kept after me begging to go play in the rain with her new gear. Today, I finally caved. It is raining outside and my girls want to go play. What do you expect? They've grown up in AZ. So, I got the girls dressed in their new raincoats & boots and gave them their umbrellas and let them run around in the rain for a bit. The Nature Girl found a water-logged bug and kept her eye on him more than anything. The Artist just played on the playground equipment without a care in the world. I can only imagine what the Koreans who saw us must have thought of those "strange Americans" playing in the rain.


The girls can't wait to go play in their
new coats and boots in the rain


Umbrellas up







Even in the rain, she can't help but watch bugs




Wet or dry, merry-go-rounds are fun!

Camp Adventure

When we got to Korea, The Artist was having trouble getting settled. She had spent 6 weeks saying goodbye to many friends and family members. I wasn't sure how I was going to help her get through the heartache of moving and missing her friends. I checked out a magazine put out by MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation) to see what was going on in the local area and found Camp Adventure. It is nine 1-week camps with arts and crafts, games, field trips, bowling and swimming for 40 hours a week. It sounded like the perfect opportunity to help my daughter get settled. We weren't able to get her in until the 3rd week and she just loved it. It was the solution she needed to finally feel settled and at home. She had a great time with the other kids and the counselors, Mr. Monsoon and Ms. Rainbow. And she can't wait to go back again! She went to a beach in Korea this week. The family was invited to join the kids, but the Nature Girl and I didn't... wished we would have, but I needed to get some things done around the house. I'm still trying to get moved in. Maybe next time.

The Artist and the Nature Girl

When I started my blog, I had some concerns with whether I should include my children's names in the posts. I really didn't want to and after talking with some other parents, decided that I wouldn't. But to constantly be referring to them as the "oldest" and "youngest" just got tiresome. A friend of mine gave her children nicknames in her blog and I really liked the idea. So from now on, my eldest daughter will be referred to as the "Artist" and my younger daughter will be referred to as the "Nature Girl". The names match their personalities and will add to the fun of the blog as you see those characteristics come to light in my posts.