Still in Korea ...

We are still in Korea!  Advice to anyone flying the Patriot Express is to expect delays.  We were put on the manifest for the flight out today but were delayed several times until finally we were all sent home and told to come back tomorrow morning.  We left our checked baggage at the terminal and, thankfully, due our last incident with broken jets, I knew to pack extra clothing and treats.  Now we are staying at Brett's place while he is TDY at Osan until we leave Korea.  I am very grateful that we are able to stay at Brett's familiar dorm rather than a hotel, which some of the passengers are having to do.  I still think paying approximately $120 for round trip tickets to Korea is completely worth it and I don't want to leave!!!  The boys and I are really enjoying it out here and I can't wait to come back.  

Here are a few pictures from the past few days ...

Bowling

So excited!!!

Gavin bowling on his own.  

The Rurkas might be very good at a lot of things.  Bowling is not one of them. 

Goodbye

Saying goodbye to daddy round one of three.  You never know when to say goodbye when flying standby!  

Seoul Flower Market

Hanging out at Osan

Gogi mandu, gogi bibimbap, dolsot bibimbap. 

Andrew LOVES bibimbap

Visit to the ER!

Gavin slammed his finger in Brett's very heavy front door last night.  He was screaming, jumping around, and his finger was turning a lovely shade of purple, swelling, and looked weird from where the door shut.  Brett wasn't home so, thankfully, I was able to get a ride to the hospital from Samantha, Brett's next door neighbor.  She took Andrew back to the dorms and waited for Brett to let him know where we were.  Poor Gavin.  He was freezing (we ran out of the house in his pajamas), scared, and hurt!  Thankfully there are no broken bones but the doctor said he might have a hairline fracture but should be ok.  I, of course, had to document the occasion.  Enjoy.

Calming Gavin down.  He freaked out when he saw Brett walk through the door.  He thought he was in trouble! 

Not a cast.  Just a splint.

Korean Folk Village and More!

We wanted the Gavin and Andrew to see a bit of their Korean history so we took them to the Korean Folk Village.  I had been there once before with my parents but it was Brett and the boys first time going.  It was freezing but we had fun!

The boys and kimchi pots

Hahahaha.  I caught Andrew in mid-fall.  Poor guy.

Gavin is such a good brother to make sure he's ok!

Where we ate lunch

Happy Andrew to be eating Korean food.  The kid loves Korean food!

He ate half of my dolsot bibimbap in addition to his own food.

Osan 

For those of you who don't know, Brett was stationed at Osan AFB from Jan 2005-Jan 2008.  The base has changed so much since we've left!  The new housing looks like mansions compared to Mustang Valley and the 'new' towers that everyone lived in right before we left is now considered the ghetto.  So much has changed and we love to go there on the weekends to get away from Kunsan.  Thankfully, our good friend and old squadron commander is, once again, stationed at Osan and he lets us crash at his house when we visit.  Thanks Schtick!

Honorary Uncle Schtick

I turned around and the boys were holding hands!!!

The one thing I insisted on doing before we left Korea is go to our old apartment.  I wanted to recreate our picture from our first time bringing Gavin home.  I swear, this will now be a tradition every trip to Korea.  Brett and I laughed imaging us being back in Korea while the boys are in high school and me making them pose like this.  They're such good sports :).

Snow!

We found one of the softball fields completely untouched and filled with perfect, serene snow.  The boys had a blast getting energy out and making snow angels.

The boys were amazed by my snow flower.  My mom taught me to make these.  

Galbi

We often go out for galbi, or beef on a leaf as many Americans call it.  The boys love the different side dishes that accompany our food!

Sweep

The fighter squadrons here have these things called sweeps which is essentially barhopping around A-Town.  What is A-Town, you ask?  It's an area full of bars and less than mediocre Korean restaurants catering to Americans.  Classy.  

Mommy and Daddy on a night out.  

Andrew multi-tasking: eating and sleeping