An-Dong Mask Dance Festival

I was able to take the boys this weekend on a tour given here to a mask festival. First we went to a muesum and looked at masks from around the world and then ate as much of the Korean meal as we could. Then we were taken to a mask dance and was a little shocked at what some of the performers were doing. Here in Korea it is alright. Was sitting seperate from the boys and so I am hoping that they were missing a few things thast happened in a few of the dances. It was in Korean so I am sure we all missed quite a lot of what was happening. Very glad went went for a new curtural experience.


Traditional Korean meal. We brought sandwiches because w eknew what we were getting.

The music was loud but very fun.


I'll let you guess what is happening here with the cow.



Isaiah and some carvings.

The boys and I outside a traditional Korean hotel.

One of the performers who looks like a movie star from the Korean TV shows here.

First Day of School!

BRaxon started school last Monday and told me that he didn't want to be known as a Momma's boy and wanted to be cool on the first day of school, so he needed to go alone. Well, I was nervous the entire day due to the fact that I haven't met his teacher and that my little boy was going to be riding the bus to school. Today mark the the day that Isaiah is starting school. He was so nervous. He wanted to be next to Braxton and started to cry when I wouldn't let him. So he isn't as happy in his picture as I would have hoped for. But, it was a great start to the first of the year!

Labor Day and Woobang Land

We decide to take the boys for a fun outing to Daegu's version of a Six Flags. It is called Woobang Land. Well, it was fun. Not as big as I would have expected but the boys had a good time. And it was fun to get out and do something different. We pretty much had the park to ourselves because Labor Day is a US holiday and the Korean kids are in school. So we were able to get on each ride without having to wait most of the time. There was only one rollercoaster that Braxton couldn't ride, but overall it was fun. I am not sure if you can get amusement park hangover, but I am still having the nausia today after a halfway decent sleep. We were surprised to see a few of Disneys things there: An Aladin fun house, the seven dwarfs were found among the plants. Does Disney mind? All in all we had a great time.

New friends and IAAF World Championships

We recently met some friends at a park here, who quickly became our frinds. Jin and her son Yong Ho invited our family to dinner and to the IAAF World Championships here in Daegu. We were excited but a little nervous to try the subway and new foods. Our friend Jin was a cook by profession and cooked us some traditional Korean food. We can't remember the names of what she made, but Brandon's favorite was a clear noodle that we found out is made out of sweet potatoes (his mom would be proud). She also made a dish that Braxton likes made with anchovies. Brandon tried it and did his best to overlook the fish eyes and heads. Over all we tried new foods and kind of liked the experience. We walked to the stadium from thier house and had a blast. When we got there there was an area for kids to try some of the events that they were going to be seeing, and because we are still living in a hotel, our boys needed this experience. What a great experience to see the world's top atheletes competing in men's javelin, women's high jump, women's 4X400m relay, men's 200m, we also saw some wheel chair races. Wow! We were on the edge of our seats the entire time. We are so grateful to have met Jin and Yong Ho. They are truly what we have come to know the Korean people to be like since we have been here. They are so willing to go out of their way to help anyone. We are so blessed to be here in Daegu and are looking forward to what new experinces we will be having in the future.

Rafting the Bong-Hwa

This past weekend we took the boys on a river rafting tour. We hopped on a tour bus on post and sat back and let them do the driving. We thought that we would share some of the scenery we saw along the way and so you will see pictures taken from our bus windows and they were pretty dirty, sorry! Braxton was so greatful to see coutnry life, he misses it after being in the city for two weeks now. Everything is loud when we go out and it does get a little tiring at times. We had a blast even though the rafting wasn't as rough as we were expecting it to be. There were a few small areas that got our hearts going. They also stopped along the way to let everyone jump out of the raft and jump off some small rock cliffs. Isaiah decided that he wanted to jump off when it was time to leave that area and so he was disapointed. Isaiah had to sit in the middle of the boat and he really wanted to be able to use the oars. So when it was calm we let him play with the oars in the water. We all had a blast and the boys also got to experience squatter toilets for the first time and Braxton talked aobut them on the bus ride home. Wow, glad we are in a place where we will have toilets.

The boys and I went to Dalseong Park today, it is a histrical site dating back as far as 261 b.c. We were told that there was a small zoo there and were pleasantly surprised to see there was also a museum. The boys were just thrilled to be getting out and going someplace different than the shopping center near the hotel. The humidity is quite high today but it was nice to get out. Braxton was also thrilled that there is a place where it doesn't just look like city everywhere.



The boys wanted to try out the excercise machines that were in the park.

Cute bear begging for food after a man threw some in to him.

The boys with an eagle

This is how we spent our day

We finally didn't have anything to do today, and the day started out rainy and so we thought we were going to be having to be staying in the hotel, but the weather quickly changed and we were able to get out. We found that there is a fun little fountain in the shopping center close by and so the boys have been dying to get in. We went to eat at a quiznos for lunch and then I let the boys have over an hour to play. The locals were amazed by the boys willingness to get wet. The local children just get their feet wet and today there was a little boy who told his mom he wanted to play for one minute and just as he said that he was getting just as wet as the USA kids, and his mom got after him. I guess we are just a little extreme. I have to say that they did stir up quite a crowd. In a few of the pictures you can see the local police station.