Hwaseong Fortress and Chad home!

So Chad works a lot. I now realize just how spoiled we were in Germany. Working late meant eight o'clock at the latest and one Saturday a month. For reals. Working late here means he gets home and I've been asleep for hours. He also has either been in the field or working twenty-four hours shifts many weekends since we've been here. Booo! This use to cause me a lot of grief because I never knew if I should count on him for dinner... make him a plate.... leave it out... put it away...  or keep the kids up to say 'goodnight.'
Man, it was stupidly stressful.
 Once I axed that entire thought process and realized he has to work but he is a grown man who can successfully warm up a plate of leftovers in the microwave when he got home, life became a lot easier. I'm not trying to be insensitive or anything but after going weeks of what felt like being "stood up" by my husband, we both agreed it better for everyone to just go about our business... take care of the kids... get them on a good schedule, etc. 

So every day and night... dinner, bath time, bedtime... it's just the three of us.

Sometimes military spouse-hood aint all it's cracked up to be.

That is why we were super stoked when Chad got to spend nearly four entire days in our company thanks to the Columbus Day holiday. 

We took walks, went out to dinner, and visited the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon.

We've been talking about going to this place for awhile now but as you can see, there hasn't been a lot of opportunities to do so. 

Suwon is about forty-five minutes from us so it made for a nice day trip. This fortress is a UNESCO world cultural heritage site if that means anything to you. 

Suwon itself is a pretty cool place too. They have a lot of interesting street art and it was fun just walking around.

Rhett practically gave me a heart attack every five minutes by running up to the edges of the wall but we survived!

We conveniently showed up at the same time as friends and after walking around in the scorching sun with five kids between us we decided to eat at a Lotteria (Korean McDonald's) out of desperation. Our energy was restored thanks to bulgogi burgers and soft serve ice cream. 

We checked out a few more sights (including the palace where they film a popular Korean soap opera) before heading home.

On the drive home, Chad took a wrong turn and we spent an extra hour on the road. That was annoying. It's kind of funny because as I sat there (really annoyed!) Chad says to me, "too bad, we had such a nice day too." Then I kind of got over it because... ultimately... it was a nice day.

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Every few hours they do a little bow and arrow clinic for those interested. We went on a Monday so things were a little slow. If you visit on a weekend they have lots of activities for kids. We'll keep that in mind for next time.

I never mentioned the time when I bought a coconut drink from one of these vending machines. 

It had gelatinous chunks in it and didn't taste like coconut. I was sad.

 I guess this is recycled? Up-cycled? What I can't get over is how this person grows beautiful plants in old water bottles and I kill cacti. 

Just a 350 year old tree. No big deal.

The tour guide told me these are the two main characters in the popular television show that is filmed here or based on this place?  I don't know. I was sweating a lot and had twenty-four extra pounds on my back so I (regretfully) wasn't listening.

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Just FYI: The fortress is not stroller friendly, baby-wearing all the way. There is no food on Food Street. You want to eat? Go one block over.

GPS address and more info here.

Summer in Korea. Over. Thank you, Lord.

It's raining.
It's not the insane monsoon kind of rain though.
It's quietly sprinkling outside with that funny rain smell being carried throughout our house on a nice, cool breeze.
It's over. 
We have officially survived our first Korean summer.
I couldn't be MORE thankful for this change in weather.
I love fall. I have mentioned this here. Here. Here. And here.
But this fall seems especially promising. A new place. A new home... ripe with possibilities.
I love that time after a PCS (army move) when you've had time to reflect and you can finally breathe a sigh of relief because things are starting to feel more normal.
No one craves more normalcy than those who watched their entire life's possession thrown into boxes, followed by being ripped from your home, transplanted onto another continent, forced to find a house within 10 days of getting off an airplane all while dragging your young children through the military's in-processing brouhaha.
::Sigh::
I'm glad that's over.
And we should be here in Korea just long enough to forget how hellacious it was before doing it all over again.
This crazy mixed up life we lead.
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One good thing about summer that we enjoy every year is Rhett's birthday. I can hardly believe I have a three year old. I still like talking about the delicious food we had for his second birthday. Anyways, because I had no official excuse to not do anything like last year we had a little birthday bash with friends. It was a lot of work but it was worth it because Rhett had a good time. Well... I'm about 90% sure he had a good time in between his time-outs and a pretty long nap smack dab in the middle of his party.

 

----- And Ava turned 8 months old! 

---- The end of summer also meant the beginning of school days in the White household. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this event.

---- And lastly, with all this routine in my life I have no excuse to have a messy house. A housekeeper helps too. Here's what our little Korean apartment looks like with all our belongings (on laundry day) for those of you who were asking. ;)

Home... Korean style...

Maybe it was because this wasn't my first rodeo. Maybe Koreans just move faster than Germans. Maybe we realized the limitations of our sanity while the four of us co-habitated in a compact hotel room with a crappy continental breakfast. I don't know for sure but what I DO know is that it doesn't matter... because we got our house! 

Moving day folks... the single most exciting yet stressful day for any military spouse! Thankfulness oozed from my pores as box by box, my little home came together. 

I haven't seen my stuff in nearly 6 entire months. It's still the busted up Ikea furniture we bought in Germany but it's here in Korea... in our little apartment... and it's mine, mine, mine!

Even as I walked around taking note of little chips, dents and dings... I felt grateful that I didn't lose everything to a tornado or a hurricane and that's always something to be thankful for. 

Unfortunately, once the movers left and I was surrounded by boxes and bubble wrap... I kind of got overwhelmed so I figured I'd start fresh tomorrow. 

I'm still grateful though....

just with a side of panic.

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Living room...

Rhett's room...

Guest room ( I adore their little sun porches)...

Kitchen, dining room and attached sunroom for laundry and misc...

Kitchen...

Living room with view of balcony and adorable baby...

Rhett on the balcony... 

I have a lot to learn. Once I got in the house, I couldn't get back out. Too high tech for me.

Master bedroom...

Ava's room...

This is a dressing room and vanity area off the master bedroom... and a sun porch.

This plump blue-eyed beauty is VERY excited about the goings on....

Rhett waiting patiently for his "trucks, cars, toys and trains."

No pictures of the 'after delivery.' I hope to erase those from my memories. If you're curious... go back to  this Germany post and use your imagination.

Oh and Mom, no need to bring your coat when you visit... we have yours here.
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I suck at daily thankfulness...

In my real world, I'm mindful and thankful (I promise)... it just doesn't translate here.

Oops.

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So for the last few days let's just summarize all 'thankful fors' by saying I'm VERY thankful for those who have served, those who currently serve and those who will serve in the future. 

Thanks to all our veterans. 

Mine, in particular.

xo

Today is Military Spouses Appreciation Day...

"Our military spouses are unsung heroes who maintain the home-front during lengthy deployments, give back to their communities through volunteer work, and provide moral support for their loved ones serving at home and in harms way. At the same time, many hold down full time jobs and raise families. While the service member is rewarded for superior job performance with medals, promotions and ceremonies, the military spouse generally only receives a kiss and a 'thank you'."(The Flagship: Heroes At Home)

but we'll take it. 

Happy Military Spouses Appreciation Day 

and 

thank you for all that you do.

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