Ahoy, Mateys!

Carson had a Pirate Party for his 7th Birthday. The party was held on Saturday, October 25th. We originally planned to have the party outside at our apartment's playground. However, due to rain and cool weather we moved the scallywags inside. Argh!

Gran made the Pirate Ship cake.

Joe also known as the grandson of "Black Jack George" created an inside treasure hunt.

Clue #1
Baby Garrett helping with the treasure hunt by eating the evidence.

Finding the "hidden" treasure!

The 7 cannons are lit!

Happy Birthday, Carson!

Happy 7th Birthday, Carson!

Our little or not so little Carsy turned 7 on October 22nd. My mom, Gran, was here to celebrate with us. We had Monkey Bread and present opening before school, cupcakes at school and bowling with pizza that night. Joe was TDY to Osan, but came home to surprise Carson. Carson is a very active, energetic, sweet, creative and smart 7-year old. He's 50 pounds (mostly skin and bones) and 49 inches. He loves Legos, Kinex, Lincoln Logs, puzzles, drawing, and every kind of sport - soccer, golf, baseball, basketball, etc. His new hobbies are Karate and our new Wii. Thanks Gran and Pooops! He's such a terrific big brother to Jess and Baby Garrett.

Jessica's 1st Kindergarten Field Trip

Jessica had her 1st field trip in Mrs. Hoffman's class. We walked to the Yongsan Fire Station during Fire Prevention Week. After watching a video on Fire Prevention the viewing room began to fill with smoke. We were told ahead of time that we would be exiting by crawling on the ground. However, Jessica and many others began to cry. Jess, Garrett and I exited through the front door instead of crawling through the back. The kids' favorite part was the fire hydrant robot who was shooting water at them. Jessica and Alex (her best boyfriend) - I think Alex is doing a Power Ranger move and Jessica is doing a dance move. Alex keeps trying to teach Jess Tae Kwon Do, but I'm not sure if pointed toes and dance hands will work.

Jessica with her Kindergarten class

Jessica doing her "Sorority" pose. I promise, I did not teach her that.

Jessica with her graham cracker fire truck.

Jessica in the fire truck

Garrett's 1st Steps

Garrett took his 1st steps by himself yesterday (Sunday, October 26th) at 9 months and 3 weeks of age. His balance is getting much better and he's willing to stand on his own more often now. He took 2 steps in Carson and Jessica's room trying to get to Carson's Nerf gun and then took 3 steps to get to Daddy. Yeah! He will stand anytime if you give him the remote control and it can't be the remote control that we don't use. He likes the one that works.

Marrakech Nights

We tried another Morrocan restaurant. The food was good, but not as good as Petra Kebab House Restaurant (see previous posts). Joe had a yummy lamb dish with raisins and a brown sauce. I had chicken and vegetables over couscous. The kids ate the chicken and couscous with me. I don’t think they loved the food, but they were great kids anyway. We took some cute kids’ shots after dinner.

1st Hike to Seoul Tower

On September 24th I hiked to Seoul Tower on Namsan Mountain. I went with the AFSC (American Forces Spouses’ Club) Hiking Club. I carried Garrett in the backpack the entire hike. What a workout! Namsan is geographically the center of Seoul, however, when you’re on the trail you feel like you’re completely away from the city. The views were spectacular! The entire hike up and down the mountain took us 3 hours. I was one sweaty mommy at the end. My friend Kristen took the photos with her camera, notice the Seoul smog. Yum!

Garrett's modeling

Garrett had his 1st professional modeling job! Garrett was a model for a Korean children's catalog. He did very well when they took his picture in a little bear outfit outside on a blanket. He wasn't too hot and it was early in the photo shoot. This was just Mommy taking a quick shot with my camera.

Then they dressed him in pants, long sleeves, a hood, and socks, and strapped him into a car seat. If you know Garrett, then you know that he hates car seats. The 1st try wasn’t successful, so they gave him a break, and tried again. I didn’t see him smile much more the 2nd try, but the Korean photographer was satisfied. I also took some photos of him at home with his “Garrett” onesie. He's such a sweet baby and loves when we get the camera out. He usually comes after the camera and wants to chew on it. Maybe that's why my camera is not working that great these days?