Cottrell Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We missed our family and friends but had a enjoyable time here in Korea. On the actually Thanksgiving day we went to the Bartlett's. We had good food and enjoyed having 4 Missionaries with us. It was neat to see the excitement of the 2 American Elders. They were so happy to have American food. I think the 2 Korean Elders thought we were all crazy. At one point one of the American Elders said "See Elder now you know how I feel everyday." We had our own little Thanksgiving the Saturday before. It was awesome, we love having our own little family. The turkey was actually tender and everyone was pleased. This picture above of Addy makes me laugh...."WHERE IS MY FOOD?" And of course Logan with his Korean peace sign.
Spencer always enjoys the legs.
We were all in cozy clothes. It was nice to be comfy. :-) Expandable waists are always a plus at Thanksgiving.

Spencer was so happy with the results.
The best part of our Thanksgiving was our homemade pies. I got this new pie crust recipe from Amanda and it was easy and delicious. The even better part was we ate pie before dinner. We couldn't resist. It was a good order we might have to do this every year.
Raspberry and Blackberry pie for Spencer.
Apple pie for Logan. Grandma Pauleen gave us this book called The Blueberry Pie Elf. It is really cute and makes you want pie. Logan the morning before Thanksgiving first words out of his mouth....
Logan: "Mom do we have apples?"
Mom: "Yes, why?"
Logan: "So we can make an apple pie. How many do we have?"
Mom: "I don't know."
Logan: "Okay, I will go check" (goes and checks) "5 apples mom is that enough?"
Mom: "Yes."
Logan: "Do we have a rolling pin, and an oven to put it in?"

It was so cute I had to make him his own apple pie.
Addysen was excited to help out.

I am so thankful for this opportunity to be in Korea. We are having so many wonderful experiences. It was a different Thanksgiving but one we will never forget. I do have to admit when my family stayed up until 2 am playing card games I was lonesome. :-) And the Cottrell family was all together. Those are the times when it is hard. It was so nice to have more time with Spencer and we have our Christmas decorations all up. I love this time of year. I love being together and making traditions and memories that last forever.

Puzzles No.5 & 6 & Counting....

We are puzzle crazed fools!!!
adventures in neverland....
Disney mural 2, these ones are lots of fun.

A bit of what we've been watching to get into the christmas mood

Brother & Sister

Logan is getting big. He is so curious and interested in everything. His new thing lately is what does that start with? How do I spell that? It's so fun to see him growing and learning. He sure is my big helper around here.

Addy loves to talk. She is saying new words and also new phrases everyday.
Addy and Logan have a lot of fun together. Logan is enjoying her more everyday. He likes her being a little less breakable.......this hard wood floor makes me nervous. :-)
I am so THANKFUL to be a mommy. I couldn't ask for two better kids. I love them both. I am thankful that they are patient with me as we learn together. I love having brothers and a sister, I am hoping they grow up feeling the same way.

French Braid and More

I was able to do a french braid in Addysen's hair for the first time. I was so excited that she sat long enough for me to get it done.
This little girl is something else! She is a true pleasure.
Play dough fun.
Logan looks so handsome these days. The girls at school love him....he can't figure it out.
Grandma Dana sent Logan these to make and he had a blast. I know it is Thanksgiving and I am just barely putting this up....I'm a little slow.
Logan you are one lovable kid. When we went to Namsan Tower they had this huge bear he couldn't resist giving it a hug. I love you buddy!

Fall Fun

"Cheese"
Addysen wants to do anything and everything that Logan does. I think next year she will be crusin' on this scooter and Logan will need a bigger one. Anyone thinking of buying a scooter this one has been the BEST! It is a little different t,he handle bars don't do the turning the wheels in the front do, you lean to turn. We wondered at first how it would be but now I can tell you Logan is the fastest. He can go so fast and has so much control with this scooter. We get around so fast him riding that and me walking! No complaining about how much farther. It is a little more money but really worth it.
Addysen was playing peek a boo with Spencer hat. I love her little fingers.
I love her little fingers.
This was part of the on base October Columbus Day Celebrations. We had a parade, where the whole town was involved. One of the greatest things about base is it feels a bit like Logandale to me. It has that small town feel, you start to get to know everyone.
Logan and Addy both loved getting candy that they threw. Logan especially this must have been his first that he can remember.
The parade had a whole bunch of different military marching bands.
The leaves in Korea are huge! Logan thought it was pretty cool that it could cover his whole face.
We found this playground on base that we enjoy coming to. We meet friends every Thursday with a picnic and the kids play forever. I am going to miss coming when it gets so cold out.
Addysen loves going down the slide all by herself now. I can't believe how fast she is growing up.
The park is next to the Heli-pad and the soccer field with a track around the outside. So we get to enjoy soccer, playground, picnic lunch, friends, track, and helicopters every Thursday!
We are having so much fun in Korea. I feel so blessed to have a great place to live and be with my family. I love being a mom and making memories with my family. We have met so many nice people it is great!

Logan's Preschool Halloween Song & Dress Up

For any of you that might now know my child is a performer, he loves the attention. He is really good at singing and remembers words to songs super fast. He has a memory like Spencer and luckily the vocals too. Logan must take from me a little more of the outgoing personality. He just came home from school today saying "Kamora kissed me, but it's okay mom I wiped it off of my cheek".
Addysen loves going to school to see Logan and the other kids sing. This was what they did for dressing up on Halloween. The school dressed up the kids in all these costumes and they sang a cute song. Logan loves doing all the actions and having fun with music!
Addysen can't get enough hugs out of this kid. She always says "thank you" when she is done. Yes my child was the only one that bowed. The teacher taught them to do it and here he is. Ms. Jenny sure got a kick out of him.
Logan, we never have a dull moment with you around. Last Sunday was our Primary Program. Once every year the primary kids from church 3-12 years old put on the first hour of church. It is my favorite Sunday and Logan did so good with his lines. He had the longest part in his class and had it memorized after we went thru it one time. "When I get hurt my mom gives me a band aid and a hug. Hi, I'm in Sunbeams and I'm trying to be like Jesus."--he added the hi and up on the stand he said "oh wait a minute" after the hug sentence. He was really cute. He was reverent walking up to the stage signing "I Am A Child Of God". I was hopeful, then he sang a couple songs great, said his part.......and then his brain turned off. He was a monkey up there. Making faces, trying to get all the other kids to laugh. Being so crazy, acting like he was going to hang himself with his tie. Swinging his arms like a bird....you name it he was doing it. He was crazy. Spencer was holding me back. :-) I tried to remind myself if he wouldn't have been mine I probably would have been laughing and thinking he was so cute. So you might be able to guess we had a reverence Family Night on Monday! He is so fun.....drives me crazy and makes me laugh all at the same time.

Black hawk Up

Last week I had the opportunity to spend the day in a Black hawk helicopter making deliveries to some of the soldiers out here. I had never been close to a chopper let alone in one so I was really looking forward to the trip. We took off at around 10 am and made our way to a few installations up near the DMZ.




Along the way there was so much to see. we flew over cities, mountains and farms, sometimes our flying took us pretty close to the ground. Before going everyone had been warning me about motion sickness and I was told to be sure to bring a bag (just in case) but I found the flight to be pleasant and comfortable, I have been on airplanes with more turbulence.
We flew through several canyons banking turns and blowing the leafs off of the changing trees. The timing couldn't have been more perfect, Korea is beautiful in the fall.
The rice fields have all been harvested and the changing colors are great.
this picture gives you an idea of how low we were flying.
the distance we flew in four hours would have taken us a couple of days to drive even with no traffic on these rural roads.
Once landed, we got to meet some of the soldiers that spend over 6 months at these installations without ever leaving. At one of the places, the Chef was wonderful enough to prepare cookies for us and a roast beef lunch. I felt like I was at my mom's for Sunday dinner.
The pilots were great and went out of their way to make us comfortable.
At one of the installations we got to see a Korean historical site called, the kings bath. One of the Korean Kings of the three kingdoms period was banished up into the mountains and he had this bath built on a natural spring. Nearby are hill tops that were fiercely contested during the Korean war such as Pork chop hill. Korea is so small but has had so many battles and wars, it is hard to go anywhere that is not historical.
most of the installations had a dog for a pet, one place had 3 puppies, I wanted to take this one home with me.


I hope I get to go again someday.