Allen, Dana, & Judd in Korea

Amber Posted:

Dad checking out the XXL shorts in Namdaemun, we all laughed because they weren't that big.
We ride our bikes to the 7 eleven and get banana milk and milkis. This is one of Logan's favorite activities to do so we had to take Grandma & Grandpa. Dad really loved this drink can you tell? Mom said it tasted like "dirty carbonated milk" (It's pretty good actually. :-))
Check out the little bananas in the tree......I think they made my Dad go bananas. We were hot can you tell? (Cheju)
I love this picture. Mom, Logan & Judd looking out over a river in Miryang, it was really pretty.
I wish I had Judd here to tell me what the name of the temple is but I don't. Anyhow we had a great time here and enjoyed its peaceful, quiet, beauty. I do know this was in Miryang.
Dad & Logan loved these swings outside a nice restaurant in Miryang.
Our traditional Korean meal in which we all had some firsts. Man did we have a lot of firsts on this trip with Judd. This meal is was RAW HAMBURGER......no we didn't know it all the time. Mom & Dad got pretty good with chopsticks. Dad does better with his left hand and he is right handed, so that was funny. He said "Judd taught me left handed".
Mom was the best with all the food she made up for me and Dad at times. If you can see there is a bowl in front of us it has little whole crabs that about pushed us over the edge when they brought it out. Luckily we didn't have to eat that. But everything else we gave it a try. I told Judd the lettuce on the right....tasted like celery, he said "That is what God does for you." :-)
Cheju oh how we miss you! Elder Asay, Mom & Dad in front of the falls. Good times, man these pictures sure make me miss them too.
Dad I think you look so handsome in this picture. This was such a gorgeous place on the island.
What a good looking couple. Thanks for your sacrifice to come and pick up Judd and see us. We loved having you all here. We have great memories and did so many fun things we really appreciate you both.
Judd, you will need to fill in for me but this was in Daegu and is the tallest Buddha pretty incredible. Korea is so pretty when you get out of the city. We walked a lot on this trip and we had so many stairs from this place. We wondered if it would be worth it and it sure was.
Mom you look cute with your cheesy grin. We love you all! Thanks again for coming to Korea.

A peek at our adventures thus far...

It is hard to believe that we have been here for almost three months. Yet in three months we have managed to fit in so many experiences, we still have a bunch of catching up to do, and at the rate we are going (going places and taking pictures) we have a long way to go. So... here for your viewing pleasure, are some random pictures that represent Korea to us. When Amber's parents were here visiting, they saw many of the places that Judd (the former Elder Asay) served and met many of his friends. We will post on the people soon, so keep tuned:)
Beautiful Miryang, I never served there but rode a train through many times, from the pictures, I can tell this is definitely a place that I want to see, I doubt Amber will put up a fight.
Here is some more of Miryang, I just noticed that we don't have any of the Kimcheon pictures, I will have to find them.
This picture is Seoul in a nutshell, people everywhere, all in a hurry. Sometimes you just have to sit back and wait for them to pass so you can get through.
This is Namdaemun market.
This is the Mongolian horse show we saw on Cheju island, it was very entertaining, and thanks to Judd's friend, Grace, we had excellent seats.
I will have to put up a video of this. We went to Cheju the same time that a typhoon swerved past us and hit Taiwan. The downside was, all of the beaches were closed to swimming (even though the waves were as small as ever). The plus side was these monstrous waves on the South side of the island which sent spray shooting hundreds of feet up the lava cliffs and over our heads, the sound of the concussion caused by the water hitting the wall was amazing, it made us all feel small.
Here is one of the other beaches we went to, below is where the famous Haenyo (diver women) have shop set up. We spent a few hours down there collecting sea glass while Logan played in the dirt.
Our first night in Cheju we watched the sun set on the North side of the island, it was magical.
Judd took us to several parks and gardens where the 'grandpa gods' were a common sight.
This is a detail of one of the ceilings at the Yongbok palace in Seoul, I love how detailed everything was.
Here you can see the roof tiles contrast on the hills behind the palace. Really beautiful country.
More of the Palace.
Logan and Addy fit right in:)


We will post more as soon as we can... with people in them, I promise.

A day in the Sun

Water Park & Bus Ride Adventures

Amber posted:

This might be more information than most of you want but for my mommy memories I want to write it down. Plus it was funny and pretty unbelievable for me.

Yesterday we went to a water park here in Korea with my new friend Hope and her two daughters Amber and Taylor. We took the 8:00 bus from Yongsan to get to Humphreys. It is a 2 hour bus ride and the kids did great. The water park was a blast. Logan loved everything and could have lived there all summer I wish we lived a little closer. Next year it will be something we do a lot. He dived off the diving board 6 times and after watching a little boy do a flip he tried it. Logan is so awesome he dove in 3 times did so good but the last flip attempt he landed flat on his back.....he was hurting from that. He went down the water slides so so many times. He really loves the water and loved spending all day there. Addysen was super cute splashing in the water and going down the slides with me. This is one of those trips I usually don't take alone and we wish Spencer could have come he is a fish too and would have loved it. It was sad to leave the water park but by 3:30 Logan was wasted he never would have admitted it but he was tired.

Now for the crazy times.....we all go potty before getting on the bus. 10 minutes into our 2 1/2 hour bus ride home Addy went potty a ton so I changed her. Then another 10 minutes go by and Addy "makes a snake" (This is Logan's term for going #2). So it is smelling up the whole bus I change her. Not long after I get Addysen situated Logan says "mommy I need to make a snake." I am dying, what do I do?? Buses don't wait for anyone or stop for anything. So I put a diaper on my 4 year old. He says mommy I am not a baby I can't do it. I am like, "Logan are you sure?? If you go in your pants we have no other clothes". We get him dressed again. Then 20 minutes pass and he says mommy I need to go potty I am thinking he has to go #2 or else I would have done the whole pee in a bottle but nope....I put a diaper back on. He is sitting on my lap half way and then I feel the warmth!! Now I am dying by this point because I know exactly what happened. The diaper couldn't hold it so now my leg is drenched and the bus seat...I clean him up luckily his clothes are still dry. Wipe him and he is dying, laughing, "Mommy I am not a baby." I was laughing too... I think to keep from crying. Hope had some paper towels and I used some wipes we got it all cleaned up. My wallet is wet and so am I and all I kept thinking was thank goodness he has had a lot of Gatorade to drink today cause it was diluted. :-) Then yes, it gets worse... or better depending on whether you are thinking of the situation or of the unforgettable story. More time passes and Logan says "mommy I have to make a snake I can't hold it anymore." Poor kid! So Hope says she has a bag. I then proceeded to put Logan's legs through the handles on each side and told him to hold up the front... I held up the back. The bus ride was crazy, and we were bouncing all over so just try to imagine me, my two kids one of whom is in the back of a bus trying to poop in a sack. I am holding him and he goes #2 then says mommy I need to go pee too.....so he does it the whole time I'm hoping this sack doesn't have any holes or else I will be wearing it AGAIN. Luckily there were no breaches and we did okay. I am so embarrassed to even be admitting this but that is what happened.

We finally arrived at Yongsan, which is about 10 minutes away from our home and Hope says, "WOW that was an eventful ride home... it sure helped time go fast." We both laughed about how nothing else could have gone wrong.....seconds later Hope's daughter Taylor (that just moved to sit with her mom) says, "Mommy I think I am going to throw up." Oh... I freaked out, and frantically began looking for a bag. I found one and opened it but before I could hand it to her she had vomited up the isle of the bus. Then another bunch in the bag. The smell in a closed up bus was horrific, you get my drift...we opened the windows while Hope wipes poor Taylor up and cleans the floor trying not to loose it herself. (She definitely deserves an award.) We were dying laughing seriously could it have gotten any worse. We were happy to have our feet on the ground and get home to bed! It was a fun, crazy day! Glad I had Hope there to laugh with me. (I promise none of the is exaggerated I wish we would have had a video camera on the whole time.)

The life of a MOMMY!

Tell your friends about me

Logan turned 4 yesterday and has had a blast with his fun new toys. When Gma Dana and Gpa Allen were here, he had a party with uncle Judd, then a few days ago he got a card from Great Gma Cottrell, as well as a package from Aunt KR, Gma Pauleen and Gpa Court. Here is a little montage of him becoming Batman. He loved the presents and now the only trouble is convincing him to take it off for baths and bed. Thanks!

Do you know this boogie is for real?

So until we find a better way to upload videos to the blog, this will have to do. Unfortunately it is illegal in Korea to upload videos to sites such as youtube that don't require you to provide your real name and contact information. sooo.... just use your imagination to blow this up a bit bigger and enjoy:)

Catch Up Time

Amber posted:

We have been so busy.....we moved into our new place on July 20 our shipment arrived on July 22, my parents came July 30! We worked hard to get unpacked here are a few pics along the way. We are loving our new place and the little ones that live in it! Logan and Addy are so much fun! We have so many firsts to blog about with our adventures picking up Elder Judd Asay from his mission. I am going thru pictures right now but man we have tons so I thought this might be good to start with until I have them all organized.

Here are a couple of our apartment not complete but for those of you wondering what the inside looks like here is a sneak peek.

Kitchen Table Area/Office
One of our views looking out over the Han River and busy Korea.
Our Kitchen/Laundry room with the dryer hose I stick out the window when using it :-)
Logan and Addysens room
Our play room!!
Part of the master bathroom on the left is the shower.
Our Family Room with a cool enclosed balcony the kids love to play on.
Addysen loves her food. This isn't the best picture but I love it showing off Addys cute flip flops from Uncle David and her begging Logan for food a pretty normal happening at our house.Logan loves to swim we have done a lot of swimming this year. On base there is a really nice pool with a slide and diving board. It has been hard to get pictures when I go with the kids alone but we will get some. Logan is enjoying the new bathtub.
This is to show how we sure did have some long days. Never have I ever had a child fall asleep on the couch. Here is a first.
Logan trying to unwind from a crazy day.
I love these next pictures. Addysen loves to bite noses of those she loves. It is her way of showing her love. They are great friends and I am so happy to belong to them!
That little face man she is something else.
My pretty little girl.
I always want to remember those chubby little fingers. She is so independant and never lets me feed her. She is using a fork these days......but for my sake those cute fingers.
We were sad to miss Uncle Davids wedding, and are so excited for our new addition to the family. Happy to get to pick up Uncle Judd from his mission in Pusan. Life is good for us in Korea we are trying to enjoy every moment. Spencer is working hard and I am so proud of him. I am having fun with Logan and Addysen, making new friends and missing our friends and family we left behind. We love and miss you all!