Winterton's Wanderings

Bye Sangju!

2011-04-22T03:13:00.000-07:00

"On that first Resurrection Sunday, Mary Magdalene first thought she saw a gardener. Well, she did- the Gardener who cultivated Eden and who endured Gethsemane. The Gardener who gave us the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley, the cedars of Lebanon, the tree of life."
~ Jeffrey R. Holland~

We will be basking in the sunshine of Hawaii this Sunday. Our 35th Aniversary is this June, so we decided to celebrate and do a pit stop on the big Island for week.
Happy Easter!

This is Amorice (her Catholic given name and much easier for me to pronounce than her real one). She is pretending to cry as I take her picture before I leave. That smile kind of makes me think she might not be THAT sad. She gave me a hug as I walked out the door and whispered "I love you." Koreans don't verbally express that sentiment very often even to their own spouses, so I took it as a great compliment. She is one of those people that opens her heart to everyone that walks in to her shop, and also goes to the hospital, donating time, money and talents to teach handicapped people how to sew. I love her too.

The girl in the front on the left is very quiet and shy. She did not want her picture taken. Meyoung is directly behind her. She has studied in London and speaks great English. She has been a good friend and I wore her out with translating :)

I'm going to miss these ladies. They have kind of been my sanity while living here. I have made more bags/purses/quilt blocks while here, than I will probably make again in the next decade. Most all speak pretty good English and hand sew everything!
I am the cheater "megoo" (Korean terminology for an American) and use a sewing machine when at all possible.

Not sure why I find didn't find a good Vietnamese restaurant until the week before we head out of here, but I will miss the one good meal I had here. It fed two of us for the equivilent of 6 bucks. And there is the joy of no tipping in Korea. Yum (with the exception of those two bowls of kimchee in the background.)
When we return, it will not be to Sangju. The company is moving us to Daejon, a much larger city by several million. Every town in Korea picks a theme for its city. Sometimes the English is a little misunderstood, and so the translation probably isn't what they think it is. For this town, well its "JUST SANGJU."
On second thought...maybe they got it exactly right!

November Blessings.

2011-03-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

"It was Autumn, and incessant
Piped the quails from shocks and sheaves
And, like living coals, the apples
Burned among the withering leaves."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Our farming community is in full harvest come November.

Cows would have what appears to be a crowded, crummy life in this country.
There are no ranches for them to roam. They just stand in a stable.
Their owners try to relax them by giving them some buddha chanting to listen to over loud speakers, and a daily swig of alcohol in their diet.

Some of us in the branch got together for a girls night out

Love all of these women...they are my sanity on more than one occasion.

Every year Woongjin does a service project and all employees that can walk a half of a km. up the road to this apple farmers orchard and help him harvest his apple crop.

Its technical...you have to pick them with the stems on.
Then the stems have to be trimmed just so...at an angle.

The apple of my eye.

This is S.T. Beck. , Chairman over the plant and the guy who convinced Lyle to take this job and move here.

Harvesting was also in full swing across the street from the orchard.

Remembering October

2011-03-22T05:24:00.001-07:00

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all."
- Stanley Horowitz

October posts turned out to be a mosaic of memories and pictures.
Here goes...

I started a yoga class. Spoken entirely in Korean, so I just focused on the moves. I learned Koreans are very flexible, and this meegook is not. The picture of the woman above is going on my fridge for inspiration.

As I walk through my neighborhood, I always wonder...instead of a car, should we have just bought Jazzy's (matching colors of course). They are so practical...good mileage, convertible, easy to park, and you can even accessorize with a basket to pack your belongings, not to mention if you get good at navigating them, you can run them on sidewalks and through Wallmart.

I bought a pair of these in a baby's size...to hang not wear.

I have mentioned before how amazing Korean culture is at using up every square inch of space.
As well as used styrofoam and buckets. This is container gardening at its best. Not uncommon, in many small yards.

Started a few new sewing projects for some of our grandbabies.

Someone, being thoughtful, gave us some dried squid to snack on.

This is about as far as we got when it came to eating it. We were going to pay it forward, and pass Squidward along to someone who would appreciate him, but the smell became to much for us to bear.

So this became our fishy friend's new home.

They gave us the honor of becoming honorary citizens of Sangju.

Lets just say we have now had our 5 minutes of fame.

and flowers!!!

They came in very handy for a Relief Society activity a few days later.

Hwa Soon is our landlady. She speaks a little bit of English, and is so nice to take me to different places. We exchange language lessons on the drive. This was a cow festival about an hour out of town.

Every festival in Korea will have venues, serving up tea and food samples.

Along with demonstrations of cultural arts and crafts.

There was a cow auction...forget cowboy boots, this is technical stuff...requiring camera's and lab coats.

I haven't decided if the cow on the right is falling in love or sniffing out imposters.
And they say cows are dumb.

Just a sampling of beef. Koreans love marbling and fat in all their meat.
We went home with two packages costing about $90.00, weighing about one pound each. Hwa Soon had connections and got a couple of coupons, so we actually didn't have to pay for our future heart attacks.

And last but not least...there was that fabulous Halloween Party at the Peterson's.

Due to a lack of title let's just call it...September!

2011-03-22T04:52:00.000-07:00

I went with several friends from the church to a Pottery festival, unfortunately I can't remember the name of the town it was held at.
I do remember the 2hr. bus ride it took to get there.

Checking out the Local Sites in August

2011-03-22T04:06:00.001-07:00

For the most part we stuck pretty close to "home" in August and explored a few of the sites near by.

I never ceased to be amazed at how they can squeeze a vehicle through the tightest spots.
Never assume pedestrians have the right of way.

I was driving to pick up Lyle from work, and was dying of thirst. I pulled over to a local convenience store to buy some water and this was the store front window display

Just in case you needed a closer look...I like to think they are smiling at the camera.

We threw our bikes in the car and drove about 45 miles to the town of Andong, where they have restored a Korean village from yesteryear.

It was a very hot, very buggy (knats EVERYWHERE) kind of a day. I took this picture to have evidence of the hill we rode, walked, but mostly drug our bikes up to get to the village...that hill kept going for another 1/2 mile.

Sangju is a small farming community with a population of about 70 thousand. By Korean standards that is considered very rural, since most of their cities have several million living in them.
There is a huge equestrian park just outside of town. They have one big international college competition that is held there once a year...and then it pretty much is used by the few that can afford to own a horse in this area. The picture below is just a small portion of it.

Lyle and I pondering the meaning of life while visiting the Sangju museum...

Korea is a small country, due to lack of space they like to build up--not out, including some of their swings.

Proof men can sleep anywhere.

Hit the Refresh Button!

2011-03-22T03:32:00.000-07:00

It took 5 months but it finally happened...even I got tired of looking at the same family reunion pictures every time I opened up my blog. So, I said to myself, "Someday I will have this blog made into a book, and I have this vision of my grandkids wanting to pull it down from a bookshelf, open it up and see pictures of themselves, along with reading about a few of the adventures their grandparents had, so get caught up. Or at least finish July of 2010!!!"

July was highlighted by the sweet arrival of Rebeca Faye Jones.
Born in Tulsa Oklahoma on July 19th.

Six months later that dark hair has turned blond and she has blue eyes.

The Jones family grew by 2 feet.

Rebeca's first challenge in life will be learning how to keep up with these three hooligans.

Family Reunion at the Cabin...July 2010

2010-10-31T22:42:00.000-07:00

"You don't choose your family, they are God's gift to you."
~Desmond Tutu~

A few years ago, the Winterton clan decided we were all getting older, and starting to live a little more on borrowed time.
We also decided it was time to do some family bonding. The goal is to get together every other year.
This was that year and everyone made it. Considering no one lives in the same State, and the really odd ones don't even live in the same country...this is no small feat.
I am so glad everyone feels the need to enjoy a week together.

Lyle's siblings trying hard to smile for the camera.
Lt. to Rt. Patty, Lyle, Sue, Jim, Rick...missing-Lynn, the youngest. He was there, but left before we were thoughtful enough to take pictures.

This look comes much more naturally.

Lyle's siblings are very "purpose driven". They are all much happier when they are productive.
They aren't the kind to want someone to wait on them, but rather they do the waiting upon.
Lyle decided a little cabin service project would be needed (remember I said purpose driven).
He's been wanting a flag pole up at the cabin, so the men bravely went into the woods--which was conveniently 10 feet away from the back door, and cut down a dead pine tree.
It sometimes it takes a village to get the job done, but it was well worth the effort.

Old glory is up and waving. In fact she's up so high you almost need binoculars to see her.

We do allow the single nieces and nephews to crash our party. Kind of makes us feel younger knowing they want to hang out with us :)
(We're gonna miss you next time Emily!)

Bathing beauties without the bikini's...Sue, Patsy and Kris.

Patsy, giving the "don't mess with this Grandma look."

And Rick.
I have to say it was a two way tie for Best Wearing of the Cowboy Hat.

Cabin couch potatoes...Lyle and Patsy.

Due to to many memories of canoe tipping last reunion, we all piled into one big raft, stayed dry and let the men do most of the paddling.

We have a talent night that has minimal effort combined with minimal talent.
Patsy broke that tradition by upstaging the rest of us with a beautiful quilt she had made for the cabin.

I would call this floating geriatrics.
We were constantly screaming "Go slower!!" Notice there is no wake. Not bad, considering the one in the middle is in her 70's.

The macho man contest. I don't recall a winner being declared, but its obviously Lyle.

Hotties in the hot tub!lt to. rt. Patty, Patsy, Kris, and Mary

And then there's the hard part to partying...parting and saying goodbye, til 2012!

Like branches on a tree, our lives may grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one." -Author Unknown

July in October

2010-10-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

"People don't notice whether its winter or summer when they're happy"
~Anton Chechov~

I figure if we can have little crafting events called "Christmas in July" I can start my own procrastinators blogging event along that same line entitled "July in October". With that said here's a few images from July.

Starting with the rest of our stay in So. Pasedena with Carrie and Eric.

Krista and I trying to stay awake after they dimmed the lights at the planetarium.

Dad and Grandpa putting the finishing touches on Henry before he is blessed.

4th of July decorations in the neighborhood park. I would live here if the homes weren't all over
2 million.

Missing Chapters of My Past Life

2010-09-29T04:27:00.000-07:00

"Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June."
~Al Bernstien~

I am way overdue for a blog post, and since this is my journal/life in pictures I've got some catching up to do.
I will start with June, and hopefully in the next week not get too distracted to catch up through Sept.
May and June is the big transfer time with the military. Our branch probably lost 50% of its members. Fortunately we had more move in this year than what left.
Tracy and her family (she's in the middle) got their new assignment to Louisana. She was the branch R.S. Pres. and her two dedicated counselors (Moi and Vanessa) decided to take her to lunch two days before she left for the U.S.
We started out happy and carefree....

Tracy was driving my car back to her home after lunch. Little did we know that is illegal in Korea, until she bumped into the car in front of her.
No big deal, or so you would assume since there was not a scratch or dent on the car!
We thought, no problem, and we can all go on our merry way.
W.R.O.N.G.

Lets just say that for not a scratch or a dent on either car, when you have an accident in Korea things can get complicated. The korean princess that she hit, insisted on a trip to the hospital for x-rays and a Dr.'s exam, the military police had to come and get involved, both insurance companies showed up, one of the managers from Lyle's company drove 90 min to make sure matters didn't get out of hand, two nice guys~one is standing there in the pink shirt~were in the car behind us and stuck it out the entire time to help to translate, a group of school girls, several old people and other random people all got involved. 100 bucks and four hours later, and it was
finally over.

Then there was that mysterious, wicked spider that bit me during the night and scarred me for life.
So when life gets tough, the tough go to...L.A.!

Krista and Tyler came as well. See that white skin on Tyler. His skin color matched his beach towel by the end of the day. No sun screen plus one hour of nap time on sand equals pain and suffering to the blond-haired-blue-eyed type.

Grandpa Lyle teaching Lillie the fine art of burying yourself in the sand

By far the most important event in June occurred on the 4th.
Henry Eric arrived, and we all showed up to celebrate!

He's adorable and has got a lot of the Walker genes. He's in the top 2% in his height and weight. I'm sure that's not coming from our side of the family.
Hank the Tank is what his dad calls him.
Henry decided to skip being a newborn and doubled his 8lb birth weight in about 14 weeks.

Lillie is at such a funny age. She is two and speaks Spanish (thanks Dora), knows her alphabet, and is showing off the loot she got from Korea. Those are luggage tags hanging from her arms, but the Korean visor is my personal favorite.

We managed a trip to Disneyland with my sister. I'm pretty sure I took pictures, but I have no clue as to what happened to them, and we also spent time in Hollywood.
It felt so good to be home with family again!

Beijing...The Great Wall

2010-06-06T02:37:00.001-07:00

"The Great Wall of China, as it is called, is undoubtedly one of the most wonderful monuments ever made by mankind. Stretching approximately 6,700 kilometres from east to west of China, the Great Wall snakes up and down across the undulating topography, like a gigantic dragon."

Souvenir shopping

Lovers Great Wall graffiti.

Me trying to not look to exhausted on the 4k walk UP along the wall (ok, some of it was down hill but there were a lot of stairs and climbing to get up that mountain)

some one dressed this Budha statue. I thought it looked like he was wearing a shower cap.

People buy these locks and hang them on the chain at the Wall as a remembrance of their visit.

Weekday crowds. Lots of tour buses... I'm glad we didn't show up on a Saturday!

This is day one of my trip to Bejing in May 2010

We Love Family visits...

2010-05-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. ~Benjamin Disraeli

I am a little slow in getting pictures posted, but still savoring the memories of two great weeks with our girls and their spouses coming to visit us in Korea. Here are some photo's of a few of the things we did. Lisa and Krista posted some photos on their blogs as well...

Dinner with Dr. James Lee and his wife Anna.
He is one of the Directors for the company and works a lot with Lyle. He got his PHD in the U.S so he and his wife speak great English.!

My kids looking really excited to dig in...actually it was steak with all the Korean trimmings and even Lisa liked some of it.

Lisa and Krista pondering enlightenment no doubt, at the Buddhist temple in Gumi.

Nate also pondering...or showing off those $20.00 shoes he bought in Sangju

Lunch in Seoul with one of the advisors to the Chairman, Mr. Cho.
Best Chinese food I think I have ever eaten, and someday we will forgive the girls for letting their crab go to the garbage. Mr. Cho gave the girls jewelry boxes and scarfs and "Woongjin" ties for the guys. (Oh and the color pink has no gender in this country...it is worn by both men and women.)

Temple day in Seoul.

Nate wondering if he should spend his hard earned money on a one-of-a-kind hat from Korea.
(In case your wondering "dong bang" translated means..."south room". Don't ask me why you would want to put that on a hat!) He didn't buy it, but I think I detected some regret later on that he hadn't made the purchase.

Cherry blossom time! (Notice how I have learned to flash the "V" sign~true Korean photo-posing style)

So many grasshoppers...so little time to eat

Free samples anyone?
Fried or raw, a hopper still tastes the same. Nate said his was too juicy, and Mike isn't hiding that "I think I want to barf" look on his face either~yuck!

Peeking in on a Buddhist cemetery.

Jejiksa temple grounds.

Me and the girls trying to make Buddha a bit more modest. (He looks like he's enjoying it just a bit too much.)

Post lunch jet lag. The advantage of having your own room to eat in, and eating on the floor is it makes taking a nap so much easier. Lyle didn't have jet lag, but that doesn't mean he won't nap with the rest of them.

Haeundi beach, in Busan. A bunch of foreigners jumping on the beach created a bit of a spectacle for some Koreans who also started taking our picture! We have high hopes of being in the next travel brochure.

Stay tuned...there's more to come!

HOPPY EASTER!

2010-04-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

I found a small quilting shop in Sangju last fall and started taking the beginning quilting class. They hand sew EVERYTHING! No sewing machines. Lisa said I should start posting some of my projects.
In the Easter spirit here is my contribution to the bunny population. The original pattern had no face but as these little critters kept multiplying like rabbits and I just couldn't leave well enough alone. My fellow Korean quilting sisters think I am so darn creative. It's not brain surgery, but its hard for them to think out of the box. I find alot of them are programmed to just follow instructions and if I ever suggest an easier method they look at me like I am crossing a forbidden line and need permission from the instructor before proceeding. I do it any way. I just can't help myself. I guess that's just the Korean in them and the American in me.

Easter in Korea is not commercialized like it is in the U.S. so you hardly know the holiday is here. Mostly due to the fact that only about 23% of the population is even christian. We celebrated by attending church (we don't watch general conference until next week due to the fact that we are a day ahead of the U.S.) then we came home, had pot roast a la crock pot (I can't buy a good ham in this town) watched a byu.tv show on Christ followed by Desperate House Wifes. (Note to self...we need to be more righteous.)

I will close this post with an email Lyle's brother Lynn sent. I thought it was an excellent Easter message, and I hope he doesn't mind my sharing it.
Happy Easter everyone!

Facing our own kind of "Saturdays"

I have often wondered what might have gone through the minds of those gentle men of Galilee who were witnesses to the awful events on Golgotha that Friday afternoon so long ago. As any writer does, I have attempted to place myself there and to recreate in my own mind what must have been the emotional cacophony they were experiencing throughout their entire beings as they watched their precious Master being lowered by loving hands from the grave that was His cross. What must they have felt as they watched His lifeless body being covered with myrrh and linen as it lay on the cold limestone slab inside Joseph's borrowed garden tomb. A terrible sense of finality must have coursed through their bones as the giant stone thundered into place as both a seal and a barrier.

He was gone. He was dead. It was over.

What now? Where? How? Many questions were being silently formed for which there were no ready answers as no voice could even give utterance to neither query nor response. Stunned silence hung like a dark cloud, broken only by occasional distant whimpering and long hopeless sighs.

Sundown had brought the Sabbath. For the rest of Jewry, it was time for the Seder. Homes had been prepared, loaves of hallah had been baked, tables had been set with bitter herbs and salt, an empty chair for Elijah was added to the rest. It was a time for remembering the promises of God and rejoicing for His deliverance. Most importantly, the Pascal Lamb had been slain.

Far too busy about preparations for the feast, no one even stopped to take notice of the similarities of the events that had transpired just outside their own homes that day. A sacrifice had been made by another lamb that same dark afternoon. One they could not, or would not, see. For many, they also could not see beyond the busyness of the Passover into the symbols it stood for. Nor did they even care to ponder those symbols in their hurry to be simply exact in their lawful annual compliance. Moses had taught them how, but they had forgotten why.

The now lonely men of Galilee had already celebrated their Passover. It transpired in an upper room the night before, but had been like no other Seder service they had experienced. They were taught yet another new thing that night by the master teacher who had taught them many new things over the past three years. Even they, could not make the connections that we, with many hundreds of years of both hindsight and insight find now so obvious.

But now, He was gone. He was dead. It was over.

A sleepless Friday night turned into what became a depressing and lonely Saturday. The complete and utter silence of the authors of the synoptic gospels about that Saturday speaks volumes to us about the state of mind of the disciples. Words are lost of that historic day most likely because there was a complete loss of words to describe it. Crying within, not knowing where to turn, ships without rudders, lost at sea and tossed by waves of uncertainty and deep, debilitating despair.

Many among us are having their own kind of "Saturdays" right now. Souls of men and women are crying within, not knowing where to turn, lost and tossed by their own waves of hurting and trouble. The followers of Christ in His day could not help each other all that day. As they cast their gaze upon those around them, they saw the mirror of their own pain and sorrow. They were helpless themselves to give help and comfort.

Saturday was a terrible day.

What they didn't know was what the dawning of Sunday morning would bring. The gloom of Saturday was about to be overshadowed by the triumph and majesty of Sunday morning as the sting of death was gone forever and the grave could no longer claim victory. Life…hope…joy could now reign in the human heart replacing doubt and despair.

Whenever we become burdened with sorrows during an awful "Saturday" of our own, and turn to thinking that all is lost, that nothing could possibly bring help or comfort, we have only to look to that most glorious Sunday morning for relief. The dawn of resurrection promises us life, gives us hope, and brings us joy. Saturday gloom is gone…forever.

He is risen. He lives. Forever more.

Michael L. Wuergler
March 29, 2007

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This Blog's Not Dead, Its Just Been Hibernating

2010-03-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hibernate: v.i., to pass the winter in domestic seclusion.

Its the best excuse I can come up with.

But spring is begining to arrive and we are starting to wake up around here.

This is our new pocket pal... Kia.
I told Lyle with no home, or yard or busy church callings to attend to after work, and being the project
kind of guy he is, he needed a new frustration to keep him happy.
I'm seeing lots of happiness on his face and hardly any frustration.

Persimmons A Plenty!

2009-11-10T18:42:00.001-08:00

"Known to the ancient Greeks as fruit of the Gods"
~Wikepedia~

Persimmons are one of the main crops here in Sangu. The fruit trees are everywhere! Sangju claims to be known as the City of Three Whites.
One being rice, another silk, and the persimmons, which start out as white and change to an orange color as they ripen.

This cute little girl was more than willing to pose for a picture for me.

They don't pick the persimmons until they are ripe. There is a funny taste in the fruit (high levels of tannins) that is gradually removed as the fruit ripens.
Koreans also believe that as long as any fruit is on the tree it is living, and as soon as it is picked it becomes dead.
So they try and ripen all the produce while still on the tree, bush or vine. Thus you have much better tasting strawberries, canteloupe etc., etc.

They string up the persimmons to dry after they are picked.

Many of the older ladies in town take jobs during harvest to earn some extra won. ($$)
I was amazed how they do every thing by hand and that no one has yet figured out a quicker way of doing this.

They have their work cut out for them stemming and peeling all these persimmons!

I had never tasted a persimmon before coming here, and I can't say they are the best fruit I've ever eaten, but when in Rome...

(Lets just say I would rather eat persimmons than kimchee,)

Another birthday? Make It A Double!

2009-11-02T16:23:00.001-08:00

"A years gone by,
How time has flown.
We can't believe how Emmett's grown!
He's such a joy and so much fun
Oh, my our Emmett's turning one!"

It's Emmett's Big day today! Happy Birthday double E, double M, double T, which in another year could also spell trouble!

Emmett was not due on Lisa's birthday.
He made his arrival on it anyway.
He turned out to be a pretty good present, even if he will steal her thunder for the next couple of decades.

Since it IS also Lisa's birthday, we will devote this blog mostly to Lisa.
Emmett can't read.

Lisa was a perfect baby and the cutest little girl. We kept saying how good she was and how she never cried or complained. It was nice while it lasted (sigh) and then she turned two, but that's a whole other story. So for this post we will stick with the facts...

~Lisa posing with that look of determination~

Lisa would not have had to share her birthday with her son if she had arrived the week of Halloween when she was supposed to. Maybe her and E struck a deal in the pre-existence to share the same day.
Determination is one of her traits. Maybe it was a survival skill she learned being the middle child :)
If she puts her mind to something, good luck trying to talk her out of it.
It made for some interesting younger years, but is such a quality as an adult.

Lisa has so many great traits.
She is not a procrastinator and she is very organized. She goes through her closet every 6 months and pitches what she doesn't wear anymore. (Is she really my daughter?)
She isn't afraid to try something new...this year she bought a bike, started training and did her first bike race.

She complained about her white skin when she was a teenager.
I admire how she could care less now. No tanning beds or sunless tanners for this girl.
She doesn't ever try to be something she is not.
She is the real deal inside and out.
She has learned to accept her trials and learn from them.

She is a great daughter, sister and a very loyal friend.

She has angelic qualities.
She is kind, sensitive to the spirit, to the needs of others, and would never intentionally hurt anyone. She is also quick to forgive.

She occasionally surprises us.
We had our dog stolen in Provo one year. She tracked down the thief (long story but the equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack...did I mention determination?) went to the dog snatchers house and asked for the dog back...drove to Butte and set him on the front porch with a sign around his neck that said "Butte or Bust", then she rang the doorbell and hid around the corner :)

Lisa has the longest eye lashes. For many years she wouldn't put much mascara on them because she thought they looked like spider legs! She also has close to perfect teeth (so said a dentist) without ever having braces...and we won't even discuss the fact that she had over a 9lb baby and went back to her pre-pregnancy weight within 6months, eating milkshakes and oreo's.
Lisa is beautiful on the inside and the outside.
We love you! Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Carrie!!!

2009-11-02T02:48:00.000-08:00

"Celebrate this day and embrace all the reasons to believe in wishes again"
~Anonymous~

Carrie said to me shortly after Lillie was born how strange it seemed to have a little baby girl that belonged to them.
I remember telling her that within a day it would feel like she belonged to their family and wouldn't be able to imagine a life with out her.
Today as I was sorting through pictures of Carrie and getting this post ready I thought how true that also is of my daughter and son-in-laws.

Carrie may have sacrificed the possibility of a modeling career to join our family. Instead she improved the Winterton gene pool when it comes to beauty and height.

She takes great care of this crew.

She has georgous big eyes...and can be seen pulling this face when she doesn't like the food, what she's doing, or doesn't feel too good.

She supports and loves Eric, and somehow manages to keep him inline.

She's smart and worked very hard to get her Bachelors degree in nursing.

Shes always aware of the needs of others and is sensitive and thoughtful.

She's very crafty, very talented (she sewed these outfits Lillie and Ella are wearing)and always a great mom.
Carrie sees things that need to be done, and doesn't wait to be asked. She just goes to work on it.

We are so grateful you are part of our family!
We hope you feel good enough to eat a slice of your birthday cake...If not, make a good wish and we will keep our fingers crossed that it comes true. Happy Birthday!

Delicious Autumn!

2009-10-30T05:04:00.000-07:00

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
~George Elliott~

The company Lyle works for decided we needed a trip to Naejangsan Nat.'l Park to see the fall leaves. They let him skip a day at work to avoid the weekend crowds...Thanks Woongjin!
The scenery was breathtaking, and I was wishing I was a better photographer, and had a better camera. But Mother Nature made up for my inadequacies. So enjoy this fall walk in Korea. I know we did!

Everything looks better with the right background...even us!

It was about here I started quoting Robert Frosts poem about two roads diverging in the woods...

Our Chaperons for the day: Mr. Goo on the rt. (process engineer) and Mr. Jang (plant manager).

Living in Butte gave us only about two weeks of fall weather before the freezing temperatures and snow usually put an end to it. Moses Lake wasn't a whole lot better due to the wind that ususally blew the leaves off what few trees they had the week after the trees changed colors. So we have been loving this autumn. It started in September and we are told will last through November. Low 70's during the day, cool nights and no wind.
Perfect.
Makes me want to bake pumpkin bread, go for a walk and kick some leaves.
I love Fall!!!

Mike Turns The Big 30!!

2009-10-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

"Just remember...
Once you are over the hill,
You begin to pick up speed."
~author unknown~

Random things every one should know, and admire about this "Birthday Boy"...

Mike is lovingly known as one of the "Valley Boys".
He loves the Star Valley area where he grew up. Let's just say you can take the boy out of the Valley, but you can't take the Valley out of the boy.
Mike loves the great outdoors. He has been known to wake up at 5am, go for a long hike up in the mountains alone, to get out of the city and reconnect with Mother Nature. And then be back at 9am, just as everyone else is barely rolling out of bed.
He is very good at woodworking, and made a gorgeous log that is up at the cabin.

He loves to try new things...bonsai gardening, fly fishing, and gourmet cooking to name a few.

He is the most patient guy on the planet, always puts others needs ahead of himself, and is still living that scout motto of doing a good turn daily.
He loves the gospel, and is a very dedicated member of the church.

He's a great husband and the perfect match for Lisa.

He's a great dad!
His "dangle baby skills" are much better than Michael Jackson's.
At 6'4" he will forever hold the honor of being the tallest member of our family... we look up to him not only physically but also because of his many great attributes.
Happy Birthday Mike!

Autum Bike Riding

2009-10-14T23:24:00.001-07:00

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle." ~Earnest Hemmingway~

So about a month ago we bought bikes!
We could only walk along the same couple miles of river dodging other Koreans that are getting their exercise as well, before we had the desire to find out just what does lie around that river bend that we couldn't see by car.
We have been biking almost every night after Lyle gets home from work, and I am sad the weather is starting to turn cold and we will have to put them away for a season.
I brought the camera with me last week and here's some pictures from our little ride.

One thing we discovered is "Pumpkin Bees" You can't really see this guy on the sunflower because he blends in so well, but their bodies are orange and black, some of them are quite large...and they do sting.

Here's Lyle striking a pose while I take a picture of all the flowers along the bike path. Along with the bikers and walkers, this narrow road also had an occasional car driving along the 8 mile path. Koreans can squeeze into a small area better than anyone I've ever met.

A few elderly people collect boxes and cardboard to earn extra money form recycling. The rules of the road are they have these people have the right of way...tough way to make a living at any age.

The one and only horse we have ever seen in Korea. (Horses take up too much space.) This guy was riding along the river and hollered at us because we were "Migos" translated-- Americans.

Did I mention horses are few and far between? So you improvise and go for a cow ride.

Regarding this picture and the seven women and children in the small wagon, refer back to my previous comment that Koreans are great at fitting into small spaces.

Rice fields in Sangju just about ready for harvest.

I tried to get Lyle to do this, but I think some of the romance has turned into practicality...like keeping our balance, and not falling off the bike.

A farmer getting ready to start up the ol' tractor and take off.

Farmer doing that never ending job...weeding.

Gloves...check. Hat...check. Arms covered...check. Face covered...check. The legs...who cares!
It's all about sun protection. They don't want their skin to be dark, the whiter the skin the prettier you are.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!

2009-10-07T18:15:00.001-07:00

Tell me I'm clever,
Tell me I'm kind,
Tell me I'm talented,
Tell me I'm cute,
Tell me I'm sensitive,
Graceful and wise,
Tell me I'm perfect,
But tell me the truth!
~Shel Silverstiein~

Just wanted to tell Tyler that after 25 years you are all of those things and a whole lot more.
Here are just a few of them...

Tyler's passionate and stays true to what he believes in...

He's a great uncle, and even has a nephew that bears a strong resemblance...
(refer to picture below for proof)

He learned to party like a Rock Star at a very young age...

Has always been a loyal friend...

Likes to try new challenges...

Looks down the road, and plans ahead...
Thoughtful...

Not afraid to get out of his comfort zone...

Works hard for the money...and will do things that take some courage...

Keeps his creative juices flowing...

Never stresses...never.

Could have won "Cutest baby contests" everywhere.

Chick magnet...

Loves to have a good time...especially if its in the great outdoors...

Loves skiing, and if necessary would sacrifice money necessary for survival and a college class for a good ski day...

We are so grateful you are part of our family!!!
Happy Quarter-of-A-Century-Birthday Tyler!

CHEUSOK!!! {a.k.a. Korean Thanksgiving}

2009-10-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

"For...we are all of us from birth to death guests at a table which we did not spread. The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of the banquet." ~Rebecca Harding Davis~

Our "family" Cheusok/Thanksgiving photo:
(lt. to rt. Mary- wearing Rachel's pants, because she forgot her suitcase; Lyle-just hoping his brain will survive this group and the hike, Rachel-from NZ- an English professor & hostess with the mostess; Luz- A Maori from NZ- who can't take a serious picture-also an English teacher; her husband Brian from SLC-also an English teacher-he once lived in our stake in MT; John-Another Maori from NZ- married to Rachel and an English professor. He put us all to shame by being the first one up the mountain at age 67!)

This past weekend was one of Korean's biggest holiday's of the year. It's a combination of Thanksgivng and Memorial Day all rolled into one. The Korean's all hit the road and clog up the expressways as they head to the parents home to eat traditional food and visit the graves of their ancestors. We were invited by some friends from church to come spend the weekend with them in Daegu and the Kiwi's proved to us they know how to have a great time!

Day 1: Was spent eating lunch at a great Chinese restaurant in Daegu. After the lunch the guys went for a bike ride and the girls got pedicures...loved the wax treatment!
Later we went to a BBQ at our Branch Pres. home. He is the commander of Camp Walker, so we got our first visit of the military base in Daegu. It made me homesick for the US. When you go on Base it is a little like stepping out of Korea and back on familiar ground.

Day 2: We decided to take a hike straight up a mountain to visit Mr. Gatbawi...meaning Budha with the "stone hat". The hike started out up hill...never a good sign, and only got steeper. We kept seeing old ladies coming down the hill and a few of them packing grandchildren on their back, so I kept telling myself it can't be that bad...wrong!

Taking a much needed picnic break.

The steep hill soon became too steep for a path so they turned it into a steep staircase. Did I mention it was steep??? This climbing went on for over an hour to get to the top.

This monk had set up shop and was chanting about 2/3's of the way up the mountain. I'm sure if you translated what he was chanting it was something like ..."you all are crazy to do this hike... come buy my bracelets you crazy people"...repeated for hours.

Still climbing the stairway to heaven...

Finally made it to the top!

Lyle Gatbawi...I believe that is some Maori's finger growing out of the top of his head, or maybe just holding the rock in place!

Gatbawi and John saying it best when they say nothing at all.

Mr. Gatbawi himself...probably tired of the sun in his eyes.

Food offerings, because its Cheusok.

This woman was kow-towing to Gatbawi before taking the food offerings away. The food is used to help feed the monks.

Sweeping up the insense ashes.

Candle and incense burning are a big part of the rituals.

I was told that many parents had come to pray to Budha in behalf of their children this weekend because the college entrance exams are coming up. This test is a huge deal for Koreans, how they score on it pretty much determines their entire future.

Two home-boys rivals. One went to East High, the other West High...trouble, no matter how you spell it.

When you can't throw coins in a fountain, you can always hang them on a rock.

Luz had this great idea for a photo, but the camera proves she cheated.

Serious game playing at midnight (or just to tired to laugh). Girls won by the way.

Thanks Kiwi's for making this first Thanksgiving in Korea one we are grateful for and won't soon forget!

Last Weekend....Visiting Song-si Nat.'l Park

2009-08-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent in the ideas of living." ~Miriam Beard~

Saturday we woke up to the sound of dripping from our spare bedroom. After emptying the room and waiting four hours for the villa owner to show up and take a look at things (he said he would be there within the hour) we gave up and decided to hop in the car and drive 30 miles to a nearby Nat.'l Park. Here's a few pictures of some of the beautiful scenery. I wish you could also feel the heat and 90%humidity as well to get the full effect of the day.

One of my finer photographs if I do say so myself.

This tree was growing on top of a rock, roots and all.

This waterfall was at the beginning of the trail.

A little Korean boy taking a snooze by the waterfall in his rubber rafts.

Monks facilities near the temple.

We have yet to find a Nat.'l park without a Budhist temple on the premises. This one was under some renovation, but was still pretty amazing.

Budha watching over all...

I don't understand much of the symbolism in Budhism, so I will give you my interpretation:
"If one Budha is good, three or four is better."

This is a little "hobbit" bus stop we passed along the roadside on the way to the park. If there were an award for "Cutest Bus Stop In The World"...this would be it. The man standing by Lyle was waiting for the bus, and after some coaxing agreed to have his picture taken with Lyle.

Trees carved into totems near the park entrance.

Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood??

2009-08-16T02:07:00.000-07:00

We have lived in Sangu for over a month now and I haven't introduced anyone to the locals so here you go and "Welcome to Sangu!"

I don't know if you can see this but the hard hats for the construction workers are wide-brimmed. Korean's are very concerned about sun damage. Hopefully someday they will worry more about the lung damage from their cigarettes.

Just doing his job and doing it well might I add.

The hospital is right behind us and it has an open door policy as near as we can tell. We have seen much worse wandering around carrying around their I.V.'s on a wooden pole as they walk. I'm not sure its such a bad idea to get a breath of fresh air and some exercise when your on the mend, its the contamination factor on both ends that kind of worries me.

This is the local car wash and detail shop right behind our "villa." Villa translated:small apartment complex, don't think we are in a french type villa when you here that word. It just means we are no longer 30 stories high.

A little Korean girl in our villa.

Korean halmoni (grandmother)

No, that's not your average white trash in the hood. But it is the corner of our block. They don't use garbage cans everyone just kind of dumps it on the road side at night. The local wild cats have first dibs on it and then the garbage fairies come at night and its gone in the morning. Magic I tell you. We never see or hear a garbage truck.

Scary American roaming the streets...NOT looking like one of the locals.

Wedding Pictures!

2009-08-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

"You will feel no rain, for each of you will be a shelter for the other"

~Apache Blessing~

I was cleaning out a drawer yesterday and found a cd I had forgotten I had copied!!

My sister Kris took these pictures of the wedding festivites. It's kind of a long post, but mostly pictures...I don't feel so bad about leaving the camera at the cabin now.

The Lowes hosted the wedding dinner the night before in Provo.

Lyle giving his final speech and words of wisdom at the marriage of his youngest daughter.

Nates mom Kathy singing "At Last"

The Big Day....

As Nate and Krista got in the car to drive towards eternal bliss, Nate realizes he has forgotten the marriage license.

Sheer panic strikes Krista.

Nate stays calm, cool and collected knowing he has friends that can drive from Provo to the SLC temple in 30 minutes if necessary.

As a mother I see these looks as pretty much a foreshadowing of how these two will handle most of the unexpected surprises in married life.

Carrie trying to keep a couple of toddlers from running away while waiting for the bride and groom to appear.

The Lowes!

The Rain!

It started pouring rain just a few moments before they were ready to come outside of the temple...So we headed over to the Joseph Smith building for pictures.

Nate's family...great people, lots of fun and lots of kids!

The Winterton's.

Not as many of us, but just as great and fun ;)

Tyler trying to keep some of the neices and nephews entertained during the reception...or he just realized Lille has gotten a hold of his cell phone.

The reception just before it starts. We had a great turnout. Thanks so much for all of you that were able to come! It was so fun to see everyone. We just wished we had had more time to visit.

Krista probably giving Nate one last reminder not to mess with the hair and make-up when he feeds her cake.

It was a perfect day...including the rain.

Memories made while back in the U.S. of A.

2009-08-03T06:14:00.000-07:00

{Emmett wondering if this grandma will ever stop kissing his chubby cheeks.}

It was great being back in the States and the time flew by way too quickly.
We are back to looking at fish and kimchee on the menus, and adjusting to our new place in Sangu.
I thought I would post a few pictures of our time spent with family and friends, and will tell you from the beginning that I accidently left my camera at the cabin :(
Tradgedy, because I had only put about half of my pictures onto the computer. The other half that is still on my camera would be the week of the 4th of July at Island Park (you will have to wait to see that picture of Lyle waterskiing in the sunset...and most importantly, Krista and Nates wedding!!! To see pictures from the wedding you can view some via facebook and go to Lisa's or Krista's pictures they posted. Trust me, it was a wonderful day, even with the downpour of rain in SLC right when it was time for the bride and groom to make their grand appearance and take photos. Other than that everything else was perfect. Here's a short recap of the rest of our visit.
*****************************************************

Like father, like son...waiting for Lisa to come in on her 15 mile bike race in Logan.

Hanging out with the Smiths and Raymonds at Lagoon.

Did I mention like "father like son" a little earlier...

We were so grateful to be a part of Jordana's sealing to her parents Tammy and Dave in the Bountiful temple, and as an added bonus got to see Meagan again.

Went to the Oquirrh Mt. temple open house.
Oops, I didn't realize this picture was skeewampus, and you already know I wouldn't have a clue as to how to turn it.

At the Draper temple for Krista the day before the sealing.

We were able to listen to the Tabernacle Choir's dress rehersal before they hit the road and started their summer tour.

Some of the cousins with Krista at her bridal shower

Pictures From The Past... May and June cont.

2009-08-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

These are not in cronological order, but then really does any one really care?

We spent one day at Lagoon with the Gleue's, Smith's, Raymonds, and The Jones. Kacey's little guy Isaac didn't want to stop spinning and eating sugar after spending 8 hrs. of going non-stop on the rides. Proof again that too much of a good thing, is a good thing.

Chris and I were able to a spend some quality girl-time together. Seen here doing one of our favorite past times...eating out and shopping. (Notice the matching necklaces...yeah, its a little bit on the junior high mentality, but ask us if we care.) Thanks for coming to the wedding and cabin Chris!

We had the traditional memorial day BBQ at my sisters home in CA.

We spent four days at my parents scrubbing walls, carpets, and anything else that could be washes and cleaned. Then bought them new furniture for their living room.
We all look a little bleary eyed by the fourth day. We wore them and ourselves out.

Celebrating Krista's birthday a week late.

Nate looking thrilled she is finaly 21!

We also celebrated my dad's 84th birthday with him while we were in St. George.

Texas Roadhouse made him sit on the saddle while they sang Happy Birthday to him.

Met up with Carrie, Eric, Lillie and a few other famous people while at
Universal Studio's.

Went to the Jimmy Buffet concert while in LA with Mike, Diane, Dustin and Jen. This is me and my sister and her hubby doing our version of "Fins to the right...Fins to the left.." Yep, we should probably apply for the job as backup singers for the show.

Jim-bob Buffet himself. He was great. Almost as entertaining as the party in the parking lot before you walked in.

Lillie at the zoo trying to tame an aligator.

No Matter What Happens Travel Gives You A Story To Tell

2009-07-29T23:51:00.000-07:00

So its been awhile since posting.
Not that life hasn't been happening. In fact my biggest excuse for not blogging is I've just been enjoying life.
There has been a lot going on, so I don't lack for things to post about.
{Confession...I've never been consistent in writing in my journal, so I for one am not surprised by a little lack of steady commitment on this blogging thing.}
But there was that pang of guilt seeing my name at the bottom of the friends and family lists when I checked out some blogs where your name is lined up according to how recently you've posted. What little bit of competiveness there is in me said "I can't just live at the bottom of the list forever. Two months is starting to look like I'm a slacker, so for the sake of my posterity who may read this some day and my pride...its time to move on up."
I'll recap the past couple of months in photos... as soon as I can find them! Still having a few computer issues, {I'm sure it can't be me that's the problem here} but Lyle is back from Japan so I'll have him work out the bugs tonight.

Lessons Learned Visiting the DMZ

2009-05-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other. ~Charles Shurz-General in the American Civil War~

Tyler and I were fortunate enough to get on a USO tour of the DMZ. It is a neutral area between North and South Korea about two miles wide that splits the country in half. It felt anything but neutral. The ground in the DMZ has not had a human set foot on it for over 50 years now. Plants and animal life are left to grow as mother nature intended.
South Korea is protected and supported by the countries represented on these flags. They told us that they use to fly the flags until once during some negotiations they caught NK soldiers blowing their noses and spitting on two of the flags, so they took them down and just display them in this case.

Pres. Bush made a visit in 2002. Celebrating a railroad that was built connecting the two counties so that South Koreans could visit family members in NK and work in some of the factories there.

ROK soldiers guarding at one of the three stops we made on our tour.

Behind this building we were allowed to look through telescopes into North Korea. But we were not allowed to take pictures of North Korea here.

Camp Kim is where the USO in Seoul is located and where we loaded the bus to begin our tour.

Another stop on our tour we were able to descend 350meters to check out the tunnel the NKoreans spent 4 long years digging to try and sneak into SK. It went quite a distance and they almost made it before being discovered in the 70's. We were again not allowed to take pictures in the tunnel, but the next 5 pictures are of the park the South Koreans built where the tunnel is located. Always tall fences with barbed wire in the background. (Click on the pictures to enlarge.)

Lessons Learned... Continued.

2009-05-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

Ballinger Hall is where the military tells us proper behavior while we are on the tour...no pictures, until we are given permission to take them by the MP, no gestures or talking to NK soldiers, no walking anywhere unless given permission to do so, etc. and you sign a waiver saying you understand that you are taking a risk with no guarantee of safety by visiting this facility.
"In Front of Them All" is the motto for this camp because of their proximity to NK. About 10 miles.
They have a one hole golf course here that was photographed and dubbed by Sports Illustrated
as "The most dangerous golf course in the world" because of its location.
The DMZ is protected by many countries. With South Korea providing the most men. It is mandatory in this country for all men to do 2 years of active duty service beginning at age 18.
The US is second in the number of military personel stationed here. The U.S. men that serve here have to score a higher apptitude, and be very physicaly fit to get assigned duty at this place, and they serve for only one year at this post.

North Korean soldier standing guard of the "NK Welcome Center"

There are cameras all over the place on both the NK side and the SK side. The MP told us we could "go ahead and take pictures of this guy", and he said "I guarantee they are taking pictures of you right now. If you are on facebook they will know who you are in about 30 minutes."
In 1994 a Russian from NK was taking a tour on the NK side and decided to make a run for freedom down those stairs. It ended up in confrontation with four people loosing their lives. Three were North Koreans trying to keep him there and one was an American soldier.
The guy made it across to safety and freedom.
The soldiers stay half hidden incase any NK decides to take a shot at them.
The blue barracks are where meetings take place.

Tyler and I standing next to a ROK (Republic of Korea) Soldier. We are standin in North Korea on this side of the building. These guys don't smile, and we were told not to talk to them.

This table is in the middle of the room. It is where both sides will spend time negotiating when they meet. Those are microphones in the middle of the table.

Korea is the only divided country in the world.

Sculpture depicting the world trying to put Korea back together again.

There are over 2 million land mines placed along the border of the DMZ on the SK side to keep the NK soldiers out.

I had such a great appreciation for the work our military does after visiting this place.

Their special forces unit that is assigned to the DMZ has to be able to be dressed and combat ready within 60 seconds at any given moment. The record is 43 seconds.

I thought about the song "War, What Is It Good For?"

And decided that sometimes the answer to that question is Liberty and Freedom. {Priceless.} After that, maybe absolutely nothing.

Yongso Falls

2009-05-10T01:45:00.000-07:00

"Let us erect in the Basin a lofty fountain
suckled on ponds.
The spirit craves a watery mountain"
Wallace Stevens~poet~

When the mountain gets to steep for a trail they just build stairs. We climbed about 2 miles of these, but it does get you to the top.

Just cooling off.

Every Parade NEEDS a Foreign Camera Man

2009-04-29T05:57:00.000-07:00

We went to the Annual Lantern Parade in Seoul Sunday evening, and the next few posts are some of the highlights of the evening.

Lyle M.C's the Lantern Parade

2009-04-29T05:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, perhaps Lyle shouldn't quit his day job quiet yet.

Budha's Birthday Parade

2009-04-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle
And the life of the candle will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases by being shared.
~Budha~

Budah's birthday is coming on May 9th. The celebrating has already begun.
This was an AMAZING parade. The pictures just don't do it justice. Everything was done using Korean Lanterns.
The Mormons don't hold a candle to the Budhists when it comes to parades celebrating their religion. This parade involved thousands of people carrying Korean Lanterns, incredible floats along with dancing, and playing drums. It lasted over two hours, so this is a long blog, but hang in there...
This may be as close as some of you get to ever seeing it and since its mostly pictures you'll be done before you fall asleep!

You just can't have to much of this guy when it's all about him.

The elephant is a symbol of the strength of the mind.
{Could be where they get the saying an elephant never forgets.}

Light signifies the stability and clarity of patience, the beauty which dispels all ignorance.

Musical instruments nature is wisdom, which makes an offering to the ears.

What's a parade without some pretty ladies?

Dragons have a ton of meaning, depending on what they are wearing, if they have a human face, if they can mate with humans, and even the number of claws on their feet has symbolism.

The short version is they protect Buddhism.

Although fearsome and powerful, Asian dragons are equally considered just, benevolent and the bringers of wealth and good fortune.

So you just can't have too many of these guys in your parade.

The Phoenix (or Bird of Paradise) represents peace and tranquilty.
"The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp."

I thought this Monk just looked so darn happy.

Of course you have to include the tree huggers.

This one is for my sister. She's not the only one that flies in a helicopter for a living.

Baby budha does too. Notice the round eyes :)

And evidently baby Budha's like Thomas the Train as much as my grandson's do.

That's your Budhist education for this week. Amen.

There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country...

2009-04-21T05:39:00.000-07:00

Paul Scott Mowrer said "There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country. A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo. Even a bicycle goes too fast."

That makes us feel better about not owning a car or a bike! We are definately moving at the right tempo. Now if our feet just wouldn't hurt after the 3plus mile walk we wouldn't miss our wheels quite so much.

We decided to check out the hill two blocks down the road from our apartment and we found all kinds of things to take pictures of hiding behind the trees along the street. The pictures on this post and the post below are of recap our walk.

Koreans make the parks their neighborhoods and back yards. I guess the advantages are no mowing, weeding, watering or maintaining your outdoor space. You just have to be willing to share it...and clean up after your dog along the way.

There is nothing like walking....continued

2009-04-21T04:57:00.000-07:00

There were several family cemetaries along our walk. Judging by the height of the mounds, it doesn't look like they used to bury the deceased very deep in the ground. The burial grounds were all fenced, and had these granite statues watching over things

I think this is the first time we have walked anywhere in Seould that would be considered forest. It was a small one, but still nice to walk on a dirt path surrounded by trees, instead of being surrounded by highrise apartments.

It is very common to find exercise equipment in almost all of the parks where people walk. This was at the top of the hill next to the pagoda.

I think this is suppose to improve circulation and good for the brain, right??

A favorite game played by Korean men using a board similar to a checker board and flat white and black marbles. {I really need to find out the name of the game one of these days. It's so popular they even have a t.v. channel that is dedicated to it.}

This was at the top of the hill, who knew...not the ones that can't read Korean signs, that's for sure!

Heading back home, the cherry blossoms are pretty much history now, but these bushes are all over the landscape, and started blooming about the time the cherry blossoms disappeared.

And last, but not least, we took the missionaries to dinner a few days ago. We just had to take a picture of the electrical wiring nightmare they had hanging from each of the telphone poles along this street. Crazy.

Spring Cherry Blossom Festivals

2009-04-13T04:57:00.000-07:00

Alfred Housman said it best:
"Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough."

Two friends Hye Gyeon, and Yung Sueng invited me to go with them and see some of the Spring Festivals in Seoul today. The first one was here in Walkerville...that's Korea, not Montana for all you Butte people that may have thought your local Walkerville was transformed.

Those are blossoms that have already fallen on the ground (we had a little wind on Sunday).

Next, we went to "Lotte World" at Jamsil. It's a shopping/amusement park/hotel/lake area in Seoul.

We walked around the lake, which is about three miles.

Then we found it...the mother of all cherry blossom trees!

Lyle put his stamp of spring happiness on our walk last night, so I thought I would finish with this pose. (Yes, he does think he is pretty funny when he is behaving just the opposite of the spring cheerfulness in the world around him)

To my high altitude friends who never see spring

2009-04-11T05:50:00.000-07:00

I have been MIA the past couple of weeks not because of a lack of things to blog about, but because we have been so busy. I didn't realize when I first started this blog that it was so appropriately named. I will post pictures of our travels from the past several weeks at a later date. For now I just had to put up some pictures I took from my walk yesterday. The Haun river is about one block from our apt. and they have built wonderful parks, and walking/biking paths for miles, so this has been my daily stroll. I love it! After 5 years of barely a blink of spring in MT, this has been good for all my spring fever senses.
So hopefully all my high altitude friends can take a minute and go on an internet spring walk in Seoul. I just wish you could smell the cherry blosssoms! (Which by the way, were planted mostly by the Japenese when they occupied Korea)

A few fine feathered friends along the river...

They let hospital patients that are well enough go for a walk with a nurse. That's probably better for you than most medicine.

This is an outdoor game they play. It looks like they use a soccer ball and a lowered volleyball net. They can only hit the ball with their heads or their feet.

This is under an overpass on the highway. {Lyle said if he were homeless, that's where he would want to live.}

Dedicated to my friends who never get spring continued...

2009-04-11T04:33:00.000-07:00

Korean women are smart when it comes to protecting their skin. Some even have visors that not only protect their face, but act as sunglasses as well.

Seoul has terrible air quality. You see people wearing these surgical masks all the time.

No, its not raining, this is to keep the sun off your face as well.

These ladies are weeding. For some reason, they don't spray in these huge parks, they get rid of the pesky weeds the old fashioned way. Korean women can squat like this...it is kind of a fetal position I have also seen them assume this position while waiting for subway, even the elderly can squat. Which reminds me of a discussion I had with a Korean friend about their toilets, but this subject is spring, so I will save that one for another time.

If you enlarge this picture of the little girl in green you can see she has already learned the offical photo pose of most all Koreans here {sideways peace sign}

The mom spied a carp in the water while she is fishing.

Ahh, the bike can finally come out of the parking garage.

Birds Eye View

2009-03-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

This Saturday's excursion was going to the Seoul Tower. It was a clear day, but very cold. We thought we better go anyway for the sake of pictures with no fog, smog or clouds.

This guy in the picture below gets lit up at night. I think he's really there to make us wish there was another mode of transportation besides stairs!
(There really was a gondola ride almost all the way to the tower.)

I liked this mossy stone wall as we were making our way to the top.

I had to make Lyle stop for a photo shoot. He's modeling my first completed knitting project!! It's full of mistakes {but was made with love.} He wouldn't know if I skipped a row or lost a stitch anyway. It's all about functionality, not style as far as he's concerned.

Nate (Krista's fiance) told her Seoul is tied for the no. one spot of Largest City in the World along with Mexico city. Here are some pictures to give you an idea as to why....these pictures really don't do justice to the size of this city. I'm showing you less than half of what we saw.

Our apartment is somewhere across the river in the background of the picture below.

We were also fortunate enough to be there for a martial arts performance on the plaza.

And of course we couldn't leave with out the customary "tourists with part of the cast" picture.
I promise some day it will be warm enough here to have a photo of me on this blog without the black coat on.

There was one female kung fu fighter...don't mess with her.

If you want to know how fun it is to chop bamboo I think this guys face tells it all.

Helen Cummings and I took a class about 21/2 years ago on Take won do. (I KNOW that's probably not spelled right, but I'm too lazy to look it up.) Anyhow, we never quite mastered the art like this guy did...but it brought back a few funny memories of two old ladies thinking they could get into shape and be cool looking at the same time. I'm pretty sure we didn't succeed at either one.

We Love To See The...

2009-03-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

Krista and I headed of to the CoEx Mall today and while we were wandering around lost {again} we stumbled onto this Budhist Temple area. The buildings are dated from the mid-1800's, but the site for these temples has existed since 749AD!

There are quite a few pictures here, but we enjoyed seeing the area so much we thought you would too.

There were people worshiping and praying in almost every building, so we didn't go inside.

This is one of the monks (below) walking on the grounds.

The Korean children are so adorable. This little girls father said we could take her picture. She was playing in the bushes, but got very sober looking when we asked her to smile. She waved and smiled later. Typical kid behavior no matter where you live.

People come to these statues and light a candle and leave it there or they drink from these community plastic cups. I believe they thing the water gives them good fortune.

I don't think this Budha is as large as "Our {famous} Butte Lady of the Rockies" but he was big!

We thought this was a cool knarly tree that must have taken years of pruning.

Krista drinking from the fountain... for good luck, or someone's cold. Everyone uses the same cups, and they are well used.

Women lighting candles.

A Few More Reasons Why We Love Subways!!!

2009-03-09T03:17:00.001-07:00

I know I mentioned all the exercise we get walking to and from the subway stations as well as all the stair climbing opportunities they provide, but I failed to mention a few more advantages to ditching the car payments and going on the subs.

There's all those photo opportunities!

Click on the picture below to see this Monk's eye glasses. Definately designer wear, as well as the Fila bag he is using.
Religious and stylish...he almost sounds like a member of that mormon faith I belong to.
Riding the subways is also a great time to show off your fake designer handbags, shoes and clothing. How do we know they are fake you might ask? If you could afford the real deal would you really be riding the subway? We, however have not given up our Jansport backpacks yet, even if they aren't counterfit.

Subways also provide that time for a quick little cat nap or a little reading time while getting to your destination. Korean's sleep alot on the subways. Krista picked up on that activity really quick.

And when your not sleeping you can always practice your model pose.

It's going to be tough leaving life in the fast lane someday and getting used to driving in a car again when we return to the States ...not.

Hwanyeonghamnida (welcome) Krista!

2009-03-05T05:21:00.000-08:00

We got our first visitor to Seoul!
{Lyle's brother, Lynn does NOT count since he only had an hour layover and couldn't leave security.}

After about 30 hrs of driving to, and sitting in airports, and flying time Krista finaly arrived!

This is her "fresh" off the plane at the Incheon airport with her dad.

After a semi-good nights sleep on our very firm couch (Koreans do not like soft anything when it comes to home furnishings) She was ready to check out the neighborhood.

Next, we needed to sit and ponder with the rat about cow poop and where to find a bridal gown.

(Those to subjects just don't seem like they should be in the same sentence do they?)

Anyway wedding dresses won. Peace little rat buddy...we are out of here!

We thought our map to the wedding district was good....but we ended up walking in four different directions, because everyone we asked pointed to a different street. (I don't think they really understood us so they probably just wanted to get rid of us :) Things were starting to smell just a bit fishy...

OK, maybe alot fishy! (We were kind of glad we packed our own lunches, but we felt a little guilty eating tuna fish sandwiches.)

This korean lady was busy fixing all kinds of goodies for sale in her little shop. She was nice enough to let us take her picture.

So after walking around aimlessly for about an hour and down yet another narrow market street, this 20something guy stops his car in the middle of the road and asks me if I would mind if he takes Krista's picture?!?! We agreed (keeping in mind we had been outside in a steady drizzle of rain with no umbrella for quite some time and looking really swell)! The best part was he worked at a near by hospital, knew the area and spoke decent English. Yea! He understands us!!

I asked him where the wedding dress shops were, and the next thing we know he is clearing off the seats of his car and telling us to get in and he will take us there. I thought "Hooray!" and Krista gave me that "are you kidding me Mom?" look.

Aparently she had just watched some scary movie about a girl being kidnapped while in Paris.

Me, being forever practical thought he seems nice, clean, well educated (yea I know, so was Ted Bundy), and its two against one. Not to mention the fact that we are wet and desperate, besides I know its close by...about a mile and 5 minutes later we were finaly there. All for the meager cost of one more picture!

So many shops, so little time...

Each shop has their own seamstresses and dress designers, and they all tell you they can make any dress you want in about four weeks. We should have done our homework and ripped pages from brides magazines before coming.

These are all pictures of dresses we didn't buy.
It was alot of fun. Krista wore out before I did. But then I was the one sitting on the couch, and she was the one that had to keep changing dresses and was still feeling the jet lag.

We went back to the first shop we ever went into (of course) and ordered her dress from there. Custom made to fit her in 20 days. The lace on the dress we chose is from France and its really beautiful, but you will have to wait until June 20th to see it!

Morals of the story:

Fish can sit out on a wooden table all day and still be considered "fresh".

Don't drive with strangers in any country other than Korea.

Being the "baby" of the family definately has some advantages!

{Sorry Kacey and Lisa, you had the birth order disadvantage.}

Stairway to Heaven??

2009-03-02T04:20:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday and Sunday was Stake conference. These are our cute sister missionaries that were standing at the top of the subway when we got off. The Korean on the left (Sister Lee)has been a member of the church her whole life, and speaks fairly good english. The one in the middle (Sister Lemons) is Dale Eager's neice for all you Moses Lakers out there. She is a great missionary and is training the other two. She speaks Korean really well and has only been on her mission for 8 months. The blond on the far right (Sister Olsen) is from the Logan ward my brother lived in. Its such a small world sometimes. 7,000 miles from the U.S. and you can still make a connection with people.

So our Saturday of what would normaly be sight seeing turned into the long trek to church.

OK, I know the pioneers had it much worse, but here are the subway steps we tackle to get to all our subway stations and transfers.This is only one leg of the trip. I decided to spare you of all the additional escaltors and walking in between stops. I'm really not complaining (except for maybe the hour and a half it takes to get there one way) Lyle decided we were going to not take the escaltors anymore unless it was the only option. I am getting my exercise. Now if I just didn't pass Krispy Kreme when I go walking, I might actually loose some weight. Suzanne Sommers and her Stair Master will have nothing on me when I am done doing this.
These stairs are pictured in order from Sunae to Yeongdongpo-gu.

The picture above is four flights, I have to stop half way and check to see if I still have a pulse.

That's about it for this week. Oh, I almost forgot...I ate my first raw fish Friday night. Yep, the gag reflex didn't even kick in for either of us. {Be proud of us Andrews, be very proud} Lyle's boss took us out to dinner at a fancy french restaruaunt with a Korean twist on it. Hence, the raw fish on top of my salad, and the pickled radishes as a condiment. But the creme brulee made up for everything!

Krista comes tomorrow night. Yea!!!

Our Newest Additions

2009-02-23T05:39:00.000-08:00

Ok these three little guys don't look so spectacular, compared to what was available, kind of reminds me of Charlies Browns choice in a Christmas tree. There was some method to our madness. They only have to be watered once a month and even less in the winter. We have a half of chance of keeping them alive if the can survive neglect. When we go back to the U.S. for three weeks, I don't want them getting thirsty. The large one is a Chinese Jade plant. Its 30 years old to get it to that size, and it will flower every spring. I will have to have a burial service if we kill it, it is so old.
The picture below is what we could have selected from, if we weren't so practical.

I'm getting spring fever

2009-02-23T00:18:00.000-08:00

This week we went to 63 Building. Yea, you read that right, not Building 63. It is the tallest building in Seoul. And here's the view from one of the windows. Incredible, how large this city is. You are only looking at a tiny speck of the view from up on top. You can click on the picture to get a little better idea. Sorry it was kind of a foggy cloudy day like most of them in the winter.

63 building also has an aquarium in the basement and it was pretty good, even if the fish I am standing by is literaly older than dirt that has been embalmed. It was the only one I could find that would hold still long enough for a picture., oh except for this one...

Notice how Lyle can be calm and collected in any situation. Even a pending shark attack. What a guy.

We also went to the flower market. These people never do anything on a small scale. It was a wholesale and retail market, and of course 5 large green houses. It took us about an hour in each green house if that tells you how long we hung out there. Every plant was georgous.

I always took a little pride in getting my two struggling orchids to bloom every year, thinking how great they looked. I have been humbled. They obviously need more water and more plant food Lisa.

Sorry a couple of these wanted to stay sideways, I had them flipped in the folder, but they kept wanting to turn back the other way when I posted them. Give your neck a stretch on these.

Can you be this healthy with no dirt. Obviously, if you know what your doing.

OK, one more. This is just a smidgen of what was there. There were rooms full of these.

Church was good. I am a bit of a quote collector. Have been for years. That and recipes. Ok, and maybe a few stamps and shoes too. Anyways, this is a quote from Pres. Monson that was part of our R.S lesson on Sunday. I thought it was fabulous council, now I just need to try harder to follow it.

"Let us make our homes sanctuaries of righteousness, places of prayer, and abodes of love that we might merit the blessings that can only come from our Heavenly Father. We need His guidence in our daily lives."

Krista and Nate are engaged!

2009-02-15T05:23:00.000-08:00

Krista and Nate Lowe got engaged on Feb. 13th.
We are so happy for them! (Thanks Krista for giving your Mom an excuse to come home a little earlier than planned.)
Nate grew up in the Northwest, (Portland) and they found each other in Provo.
No wonder they call it happy valley..ya gotta admit, they look happy! And so are we. Congratulatons!

Signs of the (good) times in Korenglish

2009-02-15T03:14:00.000-08:00

I took a walk through the neighborhood with my camera. I thought you would like to see how a few things get "lost in translation" and yet, on the other hand "a rose, by any other name is still a rose."

I am POSITIVE they got the name on this bar right. The Man Club didn't have near the business...

I am pretty sure they could open up a whole bunch of these bars in Butte and do well.

Are they trying to say "Keep the kids home, please." It wouldn't make it in Utah.

I always prefer my IK (??) to go, but its nice to have the "bottoms up" option.

By the way, when you are at the "Buy the Way Cafe", they prefer it if you BUY!

And forget poppy seed bread, puppy seed is much tastier. Although I'm still wondering where they go to get all those little puppy seeds. Hmm.

I love this guy, he reminds me of the U.S. I wave to him everytime I am walking to catch the subway. He's most definately my SEOUL Man.

Now this is a great idea...since guys usually have a difficult time explaining how they want their hair cut anyway. All they have to do is decide on which of the four haircuts they want, point to it, and the barber gets it right and the customer is never disapointed. Sadly, it wouldn't work for Lyle, since these drawings all have hair, and his haircut is not one of the options here :o(

Haven't bought these yet, but they've gotta be as good as homemade.

And what eye couldn't use a good friend?

I could go on, but I will end with asking Eric, why are you spending so much on dental school and the high cost of living in California? Just come to UCLA in Korea and let us spoil Lilly...please?

Week three, but who's counting?

2009-02-08T01:37:00.000-08:00

Well, we must have been busy, because the week flew by pretty fast.

Our excursion this week was to the venue where S.K. held the Olympics, some 20yrs ago.

T The park is in great shape and we got a chuckle out of the rows of totem poles, sometimes I think they resemble some of my moods.

We are also still trying to figure out how "Happy Christmas" got lost in translation to Helpy Christmas, but then I pretty much slaughter the Korean language as well. I guess they leave some of the Christmas decor up until the Easter Bunny arrives.

There were also some pretty interesting sculptures from each of the countries that participated in the Olympics there. I had already walked at least two miles on blistered feet (didn't know my new tenni-runners would be getting such a work-out and you can only walk so far with toilet paper stuffed in your shoes) so we didn't find the sculpture from the U.S. It will give us a reason to go back I like to call this one "Are You My Mother?"

And here' just a couple more..

Don't ask me to interpret any of these sculptures . I will never understand or probably appreciate to the full extent what is going on in the brains of some of these artists, and how this ties into the Olympics or represents their country. These sulptures go on for acres, so it was kind of a fun walk. Not very often I get a little culture in my stroll. (No offense intended to those friends and family members I have walked with over the years on that last comment.)

It felt good to get out and walk so far your legs were stiff the next day. Gotta get in shape for when I figure out where all the good shopping is and Krista arrives in a couple of weeks! We had a great time and as always, wish you were each here to enjoy it with us as well.

We survived week two!!

2009-02-01T01:42:00.000-08:00

We had a great week. Because of the New Year's holiday Lyle had Mon. and Tues. off.
We decided it was time to explore our neighborhood about a half mile down the road. This will give you a little better idea of the Korean lifestyle. I guarantee you there are no meter maids, or parking tickets in this country. It's pretty much anything goes and they give new meaning to the phrase "off street parking"

We also had a little house fire in the hood. This is the tale end of it. It was almost over by the time the fire truck showed up. We watched it from our apartment, and I thought I would see if my zoom lens is any good. Turns out it is. You couldn't see those little people from our window.

Lyle and I feel like we have mastered the subway system here (only because things are written in English, and its a pretty easy system to figure out...so we went to the temple on Tues.

It is tucked in a small street. Unlike most temples you won't see this one from the highway.

I'm not sure why the spires look bent in these pic's. But I liked the stone work on the sidewalks.

I am amazed at no matter how busy the area is where the city is located, there is always such a feeling of peace and serenity as soon as you enter the temple grounds. You really do feel like you leave the craziness of the world when you arrive.

Just down the road from the temple is a little restaunt owned by some members of the church.

They joined the church about in the 70's, sent several children on missions and he was a bishop for 10 years. They were very kind, and it was nice not to have to tell them "no tea." But the same did not hold true on what we were going to eat.

I told her I would like the beef dish, but she insisted that I would love the duck. Not being that brave and I hadn't eaten in a while and didn't want to go on that 2 hr. subway trip home hungry, I said I thought I would take the beef , and she said "no you try the duck, everybody likes it." So I said "self, when in Korea do as the Korean's do and eat the duck." She was right, It was great, and the meal was excellent. I tried the grape leafs, sauces, pickled garlic, thin sliced radishes, etc. etc. with it, but passed on those skinny silver looking sardines. Lyle had a couple of them and said they weren't bad. "Tastes a little like beef jerkey" I believe is what he described those little swimmers tasting like. Umm....I'll take his word on it.

I'm still mentaly adjusting to the thought of eating duck, but when you eat it sliced thin and cooked on a Korean barbeque, its pretty yummy. She asked us during the meal if we would like lemon (we thought that she ment in our water, so we said yes.) The next thing we knew the noodles were going in the pot and what she had really said was ramen :o)Ok sorry these pictures are so random. Don't blame it on my teachers, Eric, Lisa and Tammy (it takes a village to teach this old lady) just blame it on the student, and the learning curve. Pray I get better at this, or you learn to tolerate it, which ever comes first!

Happy New Year...! (Lunar Calendar)

2009-01-25T00:46:00.001-08:00

Whew..! What a week.! We survived a 13 hour plane ride and setting up house and a 1 1/2 hour commute on the subway to get to church. All of the above worked out well. We feel like newly weds that are setting up house with cardboard boxes for night stands, an itty bitty kitchen, small closets and the bare necessities of life. Here are some pic's of our week in a glance........

This is our neighborhood. Not exactly Butte, MT, but the big building at the end of the road is a 4-story department store with resturants. If Mary needs a shopping fix, she only has to walk a block. There is also Stone Cold Ice cream and McDonalds on this same street to fix those other things that need fixing.

Here's the view from our apt. We live on the 30th floor of the "Royal Palace Houseville". Kind of makes you dizzy to look down and our ears pop going up and down the elevator.

Korean custom is to take your shoes off at the door. Our apartment came with slippers to slide on...!

Here are some pic's of our apartment. Don't let Lyle in the kitchen fool you. He still doesn't cook. And neither do I..! Koreans do most of their cooking on the stove top and they eat out a lot. Thus it's common to have no oven nor a lot of storage space.

We really like the toliet. There are a whole assortment of options for flushing and bum cleaning. The seat is always heated.

The shower also has a menu of options. We love the shower.

We took the subway today to get to church. It was a little scary because we barely knew how to use the subway. It was a bit of an adventure and we made it with no wrong turns. Lyle kept having trouble with the ticket machines. For the first time in my life, the machines liked me better.

The English speaking branch has between 80 and 100 that attend. They come from Africa, Philippines, New Zealand, Korea and the USA. It felt good to be around members and have them understand us. Since we can't speak or understand or read, we've truly felt deaf and dumb at times. But most Koreans can understand English and we've really had no trouble getting around, asking directions or getting help purchasing things. We
even made a Costco run!

This week is the Happy New Year (Lunar Calendar) holiday in Korea. Come celebrate with us...! We miss you all. Get yourselves a web cam and call us on gmail.

Annyong-hi kashipshio

Mary and Lyle

Winterton Farewell

2009-01-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from the going away party that the Andrews threw Lyle and Mary. I told Mary that I (Tammy) would post these for her for free this time, next time she wouldn't be able to afford me. It's not like she has anything else to do! LOL.

New Years Resolutions!?

2009-01-08T20:20:00.000-08:00

My New Years Resolutions is to maintain this blog for 2009. So here is my post, it has been so long I have forgotten what little expertice I once had carried in my brain. So, here I sit at Tammy's house in the remedial class for blogger flunkies. Here's the funny part, I am the only student.

The difficult lesson of how to hold a mouse was all I could handle for lesson #1 before I became bleery eyed.

2008-07-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

Lyle and Tyler no doubt having a deep discussion on nature, or perhaps how tall your gonna be someday......

2008-07-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

This is kind of a funny picture of everyone messing with their camera's

2008-07-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is the Winterton/Robinson tribe after floating/capsizing canoes down the river. It was so much fun (unless you were Patsy trying to chase a paddle in the river after you've been dumped out, or the Robinsons who all fell out trying to re-do their seating arrangement. They had missed the detail of which end was the front end of the canoe when they first got in.

Lyle and Roger

2008-06-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

The real bucket list

Sydney and Rogers Visit

2008-06-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

I should have known

2008-06-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

We decided to risk the weather and float the river one of the days we were in I.P.
This golden eagle was watching us as we drifted by....its a little fuzzy because its hard to get a boat to hold still when your on the water. I took about 10 pic's and they were all blurry....Lyle waved to him, but his wings must have been tired because he never waved back.
Lyle gave me a kiak for Christmas this year and this was its maiden voyage.....me being the maiden of course.
OK, I know these pictures are out of order, but I'm barely figuring out how to do this let alone do it correctly...
The baby bison have all been hatched in Yellowstone, and they were usually running around the meadows acting like 2yr olds. I think it was nap-time here.

The canoe ride was rough for the boys. Roger fell in the water as soon as he stepped in the raft. (He was in his shorts being from the desert in St. George) and was a soggy-bottom-frozen-boy after sitting in the raft for a couple of hours. He was thinking positive, that those cloudy skies would disappear. I guess he should have known that we were just lucky it didn't snow that day, even if it was June. (The snow waited until the next day when they were fishing.)
Lyle had worn his waders so he got assigned search and rescue when we hit the shallow spots.
He spent more time in the water than in the raft for the first 1/2 mile

Blogging is like a public confession of how rarely you write in your journal...but because this is public, I am hoping it will guilt me into more writing than the journal that sits on our shelf and only gets attention a couple of times a year.

We spent memorial weekend with Mike and Lisa. Lots of fun. Can't believe we actually paid 5 bucks for the entertainment in Wise River, MT. Its not eveyday you get to enjoy seeing grown men singing songs about having diareha and a 70 yr old women clogging her only two steps she knows with an anorexia lady. Our big regret on that outing is that none of us brought a camera.

Spring time in the Rockies

2008-05-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

We took off Friday for a day at the cabin to see if
it had unthawed yet....heaviest snowfall in 10yrs
at West Yellowstone this year, so I'm sure it was t
the same for Island Park.

The weather was georgous, and snow when its
80 degrees outside really doesn't bug me in
May, so the two old geeziers went for a stroll.

Lyle took a picture of these two finches.
kind of blurry, but you get the idea........

It was a liesurely walk down the lane about
2 miles, but afterwards Lyle insisted on
stretching so his muscles wouldn't stiffin up.
I think he was really trying to prove he could
still bend over and touch his toes.

Some Pictures

2008-05-12T20:35:00.002-07:00

Time flies when your having fun...

Wow, I don't know if I really have time for this blogging stuff, at the rate I'm going it will not get updated as often as it should, so here's a recap as to all my excuses for why I was to busy to blog..
I took Lyle to the airport last Monday morning at 6am and as soon as I dropped him off, I headed for SLC for a couple of days.
My sister Kris and I should not go shopping together. We bought two dresses that are just alike, and laughed so hard that we almost had to request oxygen and get janitorial services. It was painful, and almost as memorable as when we went shopping for body shapers together a couple of years ago.
We also went to Provo and had lunch with Tyler and Krista, and then took advantage of Krista's professional haircutting skills and discount in the hair supply store.
I spent Wed. night at Lisa and Mike's. I drug them out to look at an older SUV in Draper. The guy selling it couldn't speak English and couldn't tell the truth to save himself, so lets just say Mike did all the Spanish speaking and needless to say I bagged the idea of purchasing the gas guzzler.
In the meantime Lyle was enjoying Germany and Austria.(And he calls it "work") The guy he was with took him about 11,000 ft up for a full view of the Alps. Lyle said it was georgous every where he went. He picked up these little hand carved wooden musicians from a couple in a small village. The husband carved them, and the wife did the dickering. They have a ton of detail, right down to the buttons on their coats and the wrinkles on their foreheads. They are so cool, our children will want to fight over them some day when we are gone.
Yesterday was Mothers Day and Krista and Tyler came home for a couple of days. They brought Alex Rahlf, and Tyson Pyle with them. The weather was too cold to be out, so we took naps, played games and watched movies. Oh, and Lyle got carried away with the whipping cream that was for the strawberry shortcake, and tried to fill up some empty mouths with it.
It snowed again today...did I mention we have snow 9 months of the year??? I should probably change that to 11. I'm hoping we get to have July as a snow free month.

I am teaching Eric patience

2008-05-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Eric is worried I won't be able to handle this when he goes out the door in the next 15 minutes, and he's probably right. So we are going through the drill one more time.
So, you get to see a picture of me and Lillie.

Pressure from my kids made me do this...

2008-05-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

This is my first official post for this blog. Eric is tutoring me, so he gets to be in the first picture.
They have been here for a week while he is on spring break.

We took off for Bozeman to visit the dinosaurs on Tues. at the Museum of the Rockies. Lillie fell asleep during the planetarium show and Carrie tried not to get motion sickness.

Lyle was sleep deprived, so he took more naps than Lillie, but I think we got our money's worth.

Carrie and I also did a couple of scrapbook pages, we think we are pretty artsy....