Halloween on the other side of the world

We are so spoiled over here!  We might not be able to trick-or-treat like we do back in the States, but we've never been able to leave candy on the doorstep and go out with our kids together.  This year, we found a friend that has a teenager, so she said she would hand out candy for us. 

We live in a set of buildings called Viva Family (Shinchang Viva), and we are in the 100's buildings.  There is a group of 6 buildings in the 100's, 2 in the 200's, and 4 in the 300's.  We went to each building (families sit on the steps in front of each building to hand out candy) in the 1 & 200's.  The event was supposed to start at 7pm, but at 642, I could already hear screams and shouts and giggles through closed windows (and even though we live on the 6th floor- it echoes pretty well between the buildings).  When we started out, there were only a few other families, but boy, did they POUR outside a few minutes later. 

Anyhow, we walked around for about 20 minutes, hitting each building.  Take a look at the haul we got!

Here are a couple of photos from Saturday night's Trunk or Treat, sponsored by West Casey Chapel.  They had free hotdogs and chips, a few nice games, paint the pumpkins, a bounce house climber, and lots of trunks to get a treat from.

Happy Halloween!

A couple of recent pics

We went up Soyosan last weekend, and it was amazingly gorgeous.  Completely crowded because, of course, we had to go during one of the two weekends that they are having a maple festival! :D   I got a bunch of cute family photos for my friends, and a couple of good ones of the flowers at the festival.  Here are 2 of my favorites, and one of the kids that just makes me smile. :)

Immediately behind me, there were 100-odd Korean people watching the kids and laughing with them.  And true to the nature of Korean people, they called the kids over and fed them cookies. :)  They are so spoiled, and so wonderfully blessed to have this experience. 

They normally have their babies and children say hi, to practice their English.  So we practice our Korean with them, and they giggle. :)  One time, a grandma put a newborn baby in Jamie's arms (he was about a year old at the time), and took their picture.  They touch their hair alot, because its light blond.  Its really fun to see how much they love kids here- we will miss it when we come back to the States. I guess that's all I have for now- my sink full of dirty dishes is calling to me (that, and I'd like to be able to cook tonight.. lol).  I'm still waiting to see if Shutterfly is going to respond to my entry- I blogged about their Christmas cards last year, and I'd love to do it again- they have some beautiful ones this year.

A few more gifts to start my Friday off right

15.  Toddler version of Ring around the Rosy- 'wanna ro ro!'
16. Being able to shower without said toddler
17.  Beautiful fall mornings.
18.  Wonderful friends to trade babysitting with.
19.  Time to go check out new photography spots.
20.  Health improvements for a friend's little girl. 
21.  Finishing the top piece of my Halloween quilt.
22.  Teaching a friend how to sew a quilt for her daughter.
23. Finding lots of neat ideas for a Halloween party- that aren't gruesome or freaky.
24.  Movie night with popcorn and hot chocolate. :)

Just wanted to make sure that I kept up with my blessing list- since I totally forgot to post them for the last few days. 

Halloween wreath

Fall always makes me want to craft ALOT!  Since September was so busy with friends and family, I didn't even have time to pull out my fall decorations.  This last week, with Jon being on leave and the older two in school, I pulled out my boxes and managed to get most of my fall items out and placed around the house.  Just one picture for now, my Halloween wreath.  Inspired by Tatertots and Jello's halloween wreath http://tatertotsandjello.com/2010/09/happy-halloween-wreath-tutorial.html , this is my take on it. :)  We are a bit limited here as to holiday ribbon, and I didn't want to wait and order ribbon from the states, since it takes roughly a week to a month to get craft orders.  Anyhow, please enjoy, and leave some love at TT&J if you liked her tutorial! :)

more pictures

Here are a few more pictures of Gyungbokgung Palace. :)  Hope you like them!

Caitlynn took the two shots of me, which turned out to be hilarious, because she had my ridiculously expensive camera hung around her neck, and a Korean lady was snapping tons of pictures of Cait while she was taking my picture.  Jon just laughed and shook his head.  The lady was nice enough to offer to take a shot of Cait and I, so that's where that one came from. :)

A beautiful reflecting pool. The water was directed in such a way that the water would remain perfectly still, in order to maintain the glass-like quality. 



Looking back towards the main entrance.



Nana <3

The King's throne.

more of the throne room. 

The actual Palace Museum, which we didn't go into.  Maybe on another trip. :)

When the Japanese invaded, this is the palace that was hastily built for the king and queen, since they got kicked out of the main palace.  This is also where the queen was murdered, and afterwards, the king moved to one of the other palaces, so this one was never painted.

From the main entrance looking in.

Not really sure... one of the kids took this. :D



Another kid pic.  The Korean people believed that these statues would protect them from evil spirits.  They are all over the place on many of the buildings here.

More to come, as I catch up on my editing!

And more blessings...
8.  snuggly warm blankets.
9.  pumpkins, pinecones, candy corn, leaves, apple cider..
10.  my children's laughter
11.  the experience of living in a different country
12.  learning a new language and teaching it to my children
13.  encouraging friends
14.  being encouraged by friends