Fun

We have been having fun so far here! We do miss our families, but we are trying to make the most of our time! We have been heading off base to different places- usually the kids and I- finding play places, especially indoor things! We have been going with friends of ours, going someplace different every week. There is a place called Home Plus, which is a department store, with a grocery store on the bottom floor. There are several floors- and there are these moving walks that move you to each floor- and the carts click into the floor, really cool. I can't explain it well enough, I will have to take a picture next time we are there! Anyway, there is a little play area, and you can drop your kids off- it is supervised of course- and go shop! Your kids have to be 2- which we fibbed a little with Ryan, he is close enough! You just leave them your cell number and they call you if they have a problem. Ryan was good for about 20 minutes, and they called because he was crying. We went and got him, took him with us and shopped, then went back and played for a little longer. The kids liked it, and trust me- we WILL get Ryan used to being there!!!!!!! He is fine with me there, but we will work on it!:)

Well, I used to take Eric to all kids of classes in Tucson- Little Mover and Shakers, and Storytime and all kid friendly activities. It seems Ryan now gets to go wherever Eric goes, nothing really for him. I signed him up for a tumbling class, and he is really liking it. It is a mommy and me class, just like the Litte Movers and Shakers. I am happy that I finally am able to do something with him, poor kid!!

A bunch of us went to a little indoor play area called Little Bear. It is small, but something different for the kids while we have to stay inside, due to the frigid temperatures! They had a really good time, we will definitely be going back.

The squadron's children's Christmas party was a lot of fun. They had a magic show, and balloon animals, and Santa came on an A-10, and they all got books from him. There was good food, good people, and good fun!!!

Eric is in school, and he had a little Christmas party right before Christmas. They sung some songs and Santa came, and they made reindeer food and ate cookies. It was cute!

And finally Christmas!!! We had a great time! We opened presents in the morning- and Santa was really really good to us!!! We had a few of the single guys over for dinner, and then friends with kids came over for dessert! For those of you who really know me... you may be thinking that I HATE to have people over to my house! You are CORRECT!!! I started out wanting to invite everyone over for dinner, but chickened out and just decided to do dessert. It all went well, so we'll see what happens next time!!!

Anyway, we will do this again BEFORE New Year's, and have shorter blogs now! I promise!!!:) Don't forget to go check out the boys website and the pictures there! http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/jeric/- and the password is jericmacasek. The photogallery is from Shutterfly, and it has the same password.

Home Again Home Again

So we are all moved again, and actually kind of settled! We have everything done, including putting up the tree, but we haven't put up pictures yet. That always seems to be the last thing to do. Maybe this next weekend we will get that taken care of!

AND the best news of the day, is we rented our house in Tucson! YEAH!!! We were pretty excited, but we figured it would wait until the winter VML, and probably go to a B courser, and it did! We are really happy, Happy Birthday to John and Merry Christmas!!!:)

So just to catch up a little... I have tried to update this several times, and it won't let me do something, and I get frustrated, then I don't do it for awhile! Hopefully it will stay with me, and maybe someday I will be able to upload videos too??? Anyway, we had a great Thanksgiving, we participated in the Thunderbolt Feast. This was a meal that John's squadron made a fantastic feast for all the maintainers of the A-10- all the guys who take care of them, well you know the weives actually made everything- but it turned out great! Everyone seemed to have a good time.

We moved into our hosue on base on November 30th, and have raeally enjoyed living on base. It is so convenient, you walk everywhere, so having a car is actually a pain sometimes. The parking is horrible, so it is really easier to walk. There are some things that I miss about being off base, but for the most part, I am super happy that we accepted this house and moved on!!!

Not that this is next in importance, but one day I was taking Eric to school, and my friend asked me what happened to my eye. I said nothing, and she said that I had a black eye! Well it got worse and worse, and I couldn't figure out what happened. I finally did, I was at the commissary with the boys and they were in a car- attached to the front of the grocery cart. I bent down to stop Ryan from climbing out, and he flipped up this bar- that was supposed to keep the kids in- and it hit me right in the eye!!! Anwyay, this was a great converstaion starter for the next week!!! Today it is the 17th, and I still have a little blue!!! And the picture does NOT NOT NOT do it justice!!! Trust me!!!

So the black eye thing was on Thursday, and John and I got a babysitter and went to the OG Christmas party on Friday! The black eye was a great accessory for my outfit!!!!!!! That aside, we had a great time, but not so much the next day!!! As many of you know, I don't do much partying anymore, so I am probably good until we are ready to leave here! BUT I have to say, I am really glad that we went- I really did have a fantastic time!!!

We had our pictures taken at the A-10, AND saw Santa or 'Ta' as Ryan reffers to him, taxi in on one! The kids had such a great time seeing 'ta', and they were able to sit on his lap and get their pictures taken with him. Good times!!!

I finally got Eric into 'school' here- 2 days a week in the afternoon. I thought it would be a good transition for him not napping. So he doesn't nap 2 days, and so far it has worked out pretty good! There is no school for Ryan:(:(:(!!! I did get him into a tumbling class, it is just like the Little Movers and Shakers class that I used to take Eric to in Tucson. Thank goodness, he needs something, I haven't done anything with him!!! I am going to take Eric to Ta Kwan Do, to see if he likes it, and then start him 3 days a week in Januaray- if he does. That should be cool. I would like to take classes too, the adult teacher taught Chuck Norris- so don't mess with me!!!:)

Anyway, other than all that running around, we are just meeting new people, haning out with friends, eating at the BX way too much, and getting used to Korea! Good so far!

Oh Yeah

Oh yeah, just an add on to what is going on... We were offered a house on base. Not as big as we would have liked, but we accepted it and we will be moving AGAIN on 30 Nov. Hopefully that will be the last time for at least 2 years- well almost 2 years!

And while I started the last post, the men were here fixing the leak in the bathroom. They finally fixed it- YEAH!!! Let me tell you something! Talk about pride in your work, and doing the job right! I am so impressed! First off, every time anyone comes into your house, being work men or movers or realtor or anyone, they take off their shoes. It is just their custom. Anyway, the workmen were in the bathroom on ladders in their socks! Funny! Some also had those little slip on booties over their shoes. Anyway, when they were done, the one guy full up cleaned my bathroom! It was dusty and whatnot because they had to take the ceiling down, but he FULL UP cleaned my bathroom!!! Tub, sink, toilet and floor! I was just floored! Then he got on his hands and knees on the floor outside the bathroom and wiped it down to the door with a cloth! WOW!!! I would NEVER want to live anywhere (for good) besides the best place in the world- Good Ol' USA, but let me tell you what, maybe we should take notes!!! It almost seems like- as John put it- Korea is like America was 50 years ago. Crime is so low- people don't steal or vandalize or hurt other people! They aren't lazy, they take pride in their work, and they work hard for their money. Nice to see, but something to think about...

Sorry

Ok, I'm not sure what is going on, but I can't upload a video right now. I have tried for 3 days, numerous times each day, but nothing! I'm not sure why! I will ask John what he thinks the problem is and try again later.

Anyway, I will put a video on with the boys and John playing Rock BAnd! It is so cute, the boys really get into it- well and so does John! It is actually a good time had by all!!!

Eric learned a new trick at the park! I taught him how to flip over the bar, and he is way excited! I'm sure he could have learned it earlier, but I guess I never thought of it! But he loves to do it, so that is another video we have!!!

Since we have had a leak in the boys bathroom for over a week now, we have given them baths in our bathroom. They like it, but it is harder for me. They do have a good time though!

We went to Seoul last weekend and had a good time. You see some pretty crazy sights, like the pink suit, and yes that is a man!!! And can you imagine seeing a motorcycle driving around town in the US??? So funny, but it is normal here! We had a really good time!

My friend and I drove on base the other day, and her car battery died. We were down in a parking lot, on the end, with the front up against a wall, with a car next to us on the other side. We were able to find a lady-Korean- who jumped us. She drove up on the sidewalk, so they were up above us. It doesn't sound like a lot, and the pictures don't even show it justice, but it was halarious I couldn't believe it. That is why I took the pictures in the first place! We were so very apprecitive though, it was totally awesome!!!

Oh well, I guess that is enough for now. I will try to get some videos on here- I am working on it!!!

Monopoly Anyone???

Ok, no this isn't monopoly money, this is our first month's rent and security deposit in won! Crazy!!!

And it is getting cold cold cold here! We had to go buy the boys winter coats this past weekend. They do look so very cute in them!!!

8:15pm

Ok, so I got the kids to bed at 8:15, which is 6:15amEST. That is when I can call and BS with someone, who is up??? And you all in Tucson, Abliene, and Vegas need to thank your lucky starts that I don't call you! Hope I don't start drinking and start drunk calling you all at crazy hours in the morning!!! BUT if you are awake, call me!!! Please keep an eye on the time difference- 520-232-2552. Oh yeah, our address is PSC 3 Box 3073, APO AP 96266.

Happy Halloween!!!

Well the kids had a great time trick-or-treating! Ryan was Yoda- because that was what Eric was, and he just really didn't have a choice!:) And Eric was Bumble Bee Transformer! He totally chose that- and grandma bought it for him- and he has been wearing it for a month already! He LOVES it!!!We first went to meet up with friends who we knew from Tucson to take pictures. We have done pictures of the kids in Tucson before for Halloween, and we wanted to keep the tradition going. I was going to put the earlier years on here too, but those pictures are on the other computer- that we don't have yet. Anyway, they were too cute!







Then we went over to JD and Bobby's and went trick or treating with them, and some of our new friends. They all had a really good time together. We all ended up back at the Hunt's and ate and had a good time. Thanks Ginger and Jamie!!!







When we got finished trick or treating, the kids were too busy playing to even think about eating candy, so when we got home, we dumped the candy out and they were both able to choose a few pieces and eat it before they went to bed!
















Hope you all had as good of a Halloween as we did!!!:)






I puy the rest of the Halloween pics on the website!:)

Funny Thing

Oh yeah, one little funny thing... our dryer is American, but the hook up and everything is obviously Korean. They had to rig something so that we could use the American dryer. Korean dryers work a little differently, they don't use the dryer hoses like we do, so they had to hook ours up, and put the hose out the window. I mean liteally open the window in the laundry room, and hang the hose out. I understand that they work differently, but that is just one thing I think is kinda funny! I guess we will just have to close the window after we do laundry in the winter???:)

Yes, and that is a transformer on the dryer, so that we can use it also! We have them all around the house, just another fact of daily life around here!:)

Firsts for Everything!

Ok, so we are all moved into our house- well as much as we can be for now. We have loaner furniture from the house, and our first shipment of goods will be delivered tomorrow. The boys are doing ok, but testing EVERYTHING!!! Especially Eric! He has definitely been a handful, but I guess they both are pretty good- keeping in mind their world has been turned upside down too!!!

So the first first, is just getting a house and moving in off base! It really isn't that bad- once you get used to the idea of living in a foreign country. It is actually closer to the base than our house in Tucson, so we are better off that way! Once we get our car, we will be golden! We were offered a house today on base, and it was so small that we turned it down. We wouldn't be able to fit our furniture into it- and that is with putting half of our stuff into storage!!!

The second first, is we were at the BX eating the other day and Eric had to go to the bathroom. I took him, and when we got there he wanted me to go into the Men's room. I told him that we had to go into the Women's room, and he said "I am a boy mom, I don't want to go into the girl's room". I let him go into the bathroom by himself! It was pretty dead in the BX, so I wasn't really worried or anything, but it was hard to let him go! I sat outside and yelled in "Are you ok?", "Don't touch anything!" "Do you need me to help you?" among other things, and it is a good thing that he is young enough that he wasn't even embarrassed!!! He just went in, and I heard him say to the guys in there "I am in Korea!" I just chuckled to myself! What a big boy!!!

Then my other big boy- my third first- is that we got a single loaner bed for each of the boys! That means that Ryan slept in a big boy bed last night for the first time!!! Well it didn't go so well, but it was still a first! Tomorrow we get some of our stuff- like I said before- and the pack-n-play is in there- and he will probably be back in there!!! I don't know if he is scared or what, but he won't stay in bed! He cries and had such a hard time for nap and to go down last night. AND for nap today, which he should be taking right now, but ISN'T!!! I have put him back in bed soooo many times, and he cries, and then 1 minute later, he is in the living room singing or whatever! What do I do??? He kept getting into Eric's bed, so I even moved all the furniture around and pushed the beds together, didn't work like I wanted it to! Oh well, I guess it is ok, because I wasn't really ready to have him out of the crib yet anyway!!!

That was really my big firsts! We are in Korea, so actaully everything is a first! Other than that, we have just been playing and the kids are having a good time!

Our first week in Korea!!!

Ok, so we are here in Korea. We got here Sunday evening- October 18th. The boys did a really great job on the airplane, I was actually really surprised how well they did! Eric watched movies and played his DSI pretty much the entire time, I think getting up to pee only once! He did go to sleep for the last few hours of the plane ride. He was watching Ice Age and looked at John and said "I think I am going to take a nap now" And that was all he wrote until we landed! Ryan was a little more tricky, but still so good! He watched a tiny bit of the movies, but mostly took walks around coach- because we were told not to take kids into first class, and stay out of business as much as possible! Nice hugh? Anyway, he took 2 naps, the first one being the better- starting off on John's lap and then moved to the seat. The second one- he had to share space with Eric, whose legs were up and over the arm rest, so Ryan had nowhere to put his head! He was laying so close to the edge I was afraid he was going to fall off. I kept repositioning him, and sure enough, I fell asleep for like 2 seconds and Thud- Waaaaa!!! He fell off- poor kid! But other than that, all really did go well!

We got off the plane and everything went really smoothly, everything is in English, so it was really easy to get around- and it was nice that John has done this before and knew where to go. I kept taking pictures of everything, so I really looked like the American tourist, but oh well, I wanted to capture the moment!!!

We had a ton of bags, and John kept making fun of me, but we are moving to another country- I needed them!!!:) ALL of them!!!:)

We have 2 Turumi rooms- which is the hotel name here on base. They are NOT TLF- which have a bedroom and kitchen. Turumi is a hotel room with a double bed. John is staying in one room with Eric and I have the other with Ryan.

MONDAY

Ryan got up at 1:30ish, went back to sleep, but was up probably every hour from there. We got up for good at 4!!!

We started doing the run around, like getting my ration card, and John had a lot to do in-processing and everything. We went to the housing office, and found out that even though we received a form stating that we would get housing immediately upon arrival- we weren't going to get a house until probably January or February!!! So now we have to find off base housing- Great- Fantastic-Wonderful! (All sarcastic!!!)

We also found our friends Ginger and JD and Bobby. The boys were so glad to see each other, and they just played all morning together! John got a bunch of stuff done while we were visiting, and Ginger let us keep the boys there so we could go get a few more things done together. It was so nice of Ginger!!! I have such a hard time asking people for help- I have to get over it!!!

So we are going to let the boys take naps at the regular time, but set an alram and make sure they get up so that they will be tired for bed at night. Today was really really really rough getting them up! They were so tired and so miserable!!!

TUESDAY

Up at 1:30 again, but then again like 3 then 4 then up for good at around 4:30.

I took the boys in the stroller and went running this morning! It was great. Then we walked all over the base looking for Margie and Lucy! After many wrong turns and walking up to the top of many wrong hills- like mountains!!!- we found them! We had a really good time playing with them too! We went to a park near Margie's house- the boys had a great time!!!

Naps were still very hard. They are just like logs when the alarm goes off! They don't even budge!!!

WEDNESDAY

Up at 1:30, 4:30 and up for good at 5- getting better!

We start to look for off base apartments. We went to 2 realtors before nap and 1 after. I love 1 house, and I would put a picture on here, but I accidentally deleted all that were on my camera!!! Luckily it was only a couple of days worth!!! This house- well duplex- had a lot of traditional Korean design to it. I really loved it, but when our furniture comes, it will not fit! Things are much smaller than in the states. Even the larger places are more petite!!! We will have loaner furniture from the base until ours gets here. We looked at many places this morning, probably 10ish. The boys HAD to be finished at that time, they were both melting down, they NEEDED naps.

Naps were very tough getting them up again!!!

We saw one more place after naps, and we really liked it- but it won't be available until Nov 10. We narrowed it down to 2 places- we really liked some aspects of them, hated others. Things are different here! They don't have traditional closets built into the wall. They have pieces of furniture that stick out, which takes up room space. Most seem to have that, although some have sort of built in closets, the whole wall is a closet with several doors. Each door has something different, like it may have a few shelves, then another will have room for hanging clothes. Kind of like built in closet organizers, they are neat! Both places we really like has those in the master bedroom, and the other rooms have nothing!!! A lot of places don't have bath tubs too, so it is great to find them too! And dishwashers, and elevators! Little quirky things that you really don't think of in the states when looking for a house! Anyway, one house had a bathtub, but it was very wierd. It was like a cut out made for the bathtub. The walls were directly on the sides of the tub, you didn't need a shower curtain- you could only get in from the end of the tub. You would have to get in with the boys to give them a bath, that would be the only way! Wierd things!!!

THURSDAY

Up at 1:30, 4ish, and up at 5:45ish for good- yeah, almost there!!!

The boys and I went to Ginger's this morning to play and then she watched them again while John and I went to look at one more place!!! Well, we found our house! This apartment was awesome! It is big, nothing real wierd, I will definitely put pictures on here of it later!!!

I forgot to say that Korean driving is CRAZY!!! People just drive how they want, you have to be really careful. The streets are narrow, and the realtors talk on their cell phones and fly all over the place, not wearing seat belts, and it is not necessary that the kids are in car seats! Eric was in his own seat belt in the back seat with me, and Ryan was on my lap with a belt around the both of us! That is why we asked Ginger to watch them again while we went today! Much better this way!!!

Naps were still pretty tough getting them up!!!

FRIDAY

Trying to schedule everything so we can move into our hosue next week. We went to another friends house- Lauren's- to help make Halloween bags for the single guys in the squadron. It was nice to meet more wives from the squadron.

John got a lot of running around today, finished up a lot of odds and ends which was good.

The boys got up on their own from naps today!!!!!!! We are at the final stages of jet lag!!! I think!

SATURDAY

Didn't wake up at all over night, I was up at 6, but Ryan didn't wake up until 7:22ish! I think we may be back to normal??? Dare I say it???

Ok, so things are run a little differently over here. Although we didn't sign a lease or anything yet, we were able to get the keys- well the combination- there aren't really any keys here (wierd but nice) to the house so John could move out of his dorm room.

Look at the website pictures to see all the house pics!

......................................................................................

Ok, if you made it this far- I promise this is the longest post I will ever make! I just needed to get it all out! I will tell you more crazy things- how the housing office and CDC make things up as they go- later!

Bull Riding!!!

Well we went to the Pima County Fair again, and Eric wanted to ride an elephant!!! It was reallycute, and he wanted to do it all by himself! So brave! Well we later came across a mechanical bull! Eric saw it, but we really didn't say anything about it. We were sitting across from it- eating- and he said "I want to ride that". I said "What?"- because there wasn't a ride around. He pointed to the bull and said "That". I looked over and couldn't believe it, but I sure did hear it correctly!!! The sign read "All Ages", so we went over- they gave him a hat- and he rode the bull! They went really slow, then she turned it one direction, then switched. The lady then asked if he wanted to go faster, and of course he said "YES"! I kept having him put one hand up in the air, and he had no idea why, but now we have watched actual bull riding online, and he gets it now!!!:) We also watched the Mutton Bustin- which is the little kids riding the sheep, and now that is our next adventure!!!:P

Palamalu

Any Steeler fan will understand this!:)

WAtching Eric

We were at the fair, and I thought Ryan would love to get on the rides. I THINK he was having a good time, but his face showed no emotion. No smile, no laugh, no nothing! Well he was watching Eric on a ride, and every time Eric came around, he would LAUGH and giggle and scream! I was cracking up, it was so funny! I tried to video him, while I was holding him, so it isn't great quality!!!:)

Bumper Cars

We went to the Pima County Fair, and Eric just LOVES to ride the rides!!! And he doesn't care if anyone goes on with him, he would actually prefer to do it himself! He is so funny! Well here he is on the Bumper Cars, and he couldn't get going. He didn't get how to steer and push the pedal, so he kind of kept going in circles, not really hitting anyone, but man if you heard him talk about it, he was hitting everyone!!!

More Dancing

Like I said, put the music on, and the boys start dancing!!!:)

Dancing with Grandma

Eric has ALWAYS loved to dance, and Ryan is following in his footsteps! You turn on music, and they both just start moving!!!

Sit Down

Ryan is following directions, to a point, and testing those limits!!!

Quad Riding

The boys are so different. Eric wasn't a big fan of the quad when he was Ryan's age, and Ryan just loves it!!! He doesn't steer so well yet, and isn't quite sure how to- or when to- stop!!!

Are you Cold???

Ok, it is only March 2nd in this video, but I swear it wasn't that cold! The sun had gone behind a cloud- which is crazy in and of itself- but it may have been a little chilly for a soaking wet boy!:)

I have been teaching Eric the days of the week, and Happy Days just came in handy!!! I guess whatever works!!!

Spatula Hockey

Eric likes to invent games, this one is Spatula Hockey. We don't play it anymore, just too physical inside!!!

More PLease

We are getting the sign language, so cool!

Smart Cycle

Ryan wants so bad to play the Smart Cycle too, so he does what he can!

Pull Toys

Pull Toys are fun for both kids!

Dare Devil

Ryan likes to do the daredevil type things, and I know he is going to get hurt at some point! And Eric doesn't egg him on or anything!!!

Ryan riding the quad

Well we got this 'Lil Quad' for Eric for his 1st birthday. He was a little intimidated by it- until he was about 2ish. Ryan- not so much! He rides it, stands while riding it, so funny! He does have issues holding the button in, he keeps jerking it, and doesn't really get too far- especially when going up hill!!! Then he gets interested in something else...

Eric, Carly and Ryan dancing!

Eric loves to dance, and he found a partner! This is Eric and Carly gettin' jiggy wit it!!! And trying to get Ryan dancing on video- he gets down too!!!

Batting Cages

Eric found a fantastic 3 year old batting cage. He is pretty smart, I would have never thought of this!

Opening Presents

Ryan is able to listen to simple directions now, it is a lot of fun. AND so is opening presents!!!

Helping Mummy

Eric is a good little helper!

Hockey

I am no hockey player, but I am really trying to sharpen the boys skills!!! We are planning on professionals here!

Swinging

Here is Eric swinging on a rope swing at Ryan's party.

Birthday

We started out Ryan's birthday party at Springs Gym- a place where the kids could utilize all the equipment at a gymnastics gym. Here is Ryan jumping on a trampoline with Sunny!

Playing

"Sweet Home Alabama", Monster Trucks, Steelers, and brothers! It can't get any better than this!!!:)

Spiderman

I have tried to capture this song, but he always goofs off! I guess what do I expect from a 3 year old?:) Anyway, I got a good one!!!

Pickles

I think it is safe to say that Ryan does not like pickles...

Dancing

'We' don't always focus on eating when it is meal time. Eric has moved himself to a little picnic table that my friend Christie gave us, so he doesn't really eat at the big table anymore. I have decided to pick and choose my battles, and right now, this one is one I choose not to pick! BUT the problem is that he doesn't tend to stay seated for long periods of time- which we are working on! But one night he decided to get up and dance, and I just had to record him! Probably not sending the best message, but oh well...

Pushing Ryan

It is really fun now that the boys are able to play with each other! Sure makes it easier on me too!:)

roller blading

Ok, so Roller Blades probably weren't the smartest choice for Santa, but we will get there!!!

Walking

So Ryan took his first steps in the beginning of November, but was sidetracked with his surgery. Here he is a few weeks after his surgery, taking more steps!

Wrestle Me

Ryan figures that this is the only 'person' that he can win wrestling against...

Fixin my bike

Eric and Daddy fixin' Eric's tricycle...

Ryan and Daddy

Eric used to love this too, so cute!

Happy Birthday to Daddy

Here is Eric's oh so sweet birthday song to daddy!