It's spring break here in Korea and with all the birthday and Easter festivities behind us it was time to start enjoying some time off. On Monday Dan had a comp day and it was gorgeous outside, our first day in the 70s, so I set off to the zoo with the boys and he set off on a bike ride. I didn't take  many pictures at the zoo because we've been there 4-5 times now, but i had to get a shot of the boys all excited to go!

About 30 minutes after we got to the zoo I got a call from Dan. Now, any of you cyclist wives can understand that when your husband says he's going to be riding for 5-6 hours and you get a call, you should be worried. He said, "I don't have much time, but i've been in an accident, i think i'm okay, but an ambulance is on the way and they're going to take me to the hospital."  He explained a little bit about how it happened and where he was. He was cycling down Namhansanseong when he felt his back tire slip, and in trying to correct the slipping he ended up going straight where he needed to curve. The road is lined with cement blocks to prevent people from falling so he ran straight into one of those, flipped over his handle bars, landed on something hard and ended up in a ditch.

I was ready to leave the zoo right then but he said he'd let me know when i should come. The ambulance took him to a Korean hospital and thankfully on of the KATUSA (korean soldiers) that is in the band met him there and acted as his translator (and we'll be forever grateful for his help). They took an xray and determined that he had a fractured left rib, and of course a lot of cuts and bruises.

So I made my way to the Samsung hospital, which turned out to be not very far from the zoo. As I pulled up to the hospital I got a call from the KATUSA saying that Dan had been told he was at Samsung hospital, but he was actually in another hospital somewhere in Bundang. We talked on the phone (as i was parked illegally) and finally found it on my GPS. Commence more driving and finally made it to his hospital. I helped him get discharged and into the car and then our next step was to retrieve his bike. This meant we had to make our way back up the mountain to the Firestation that responded to the call and kept his bike and ID.

It was once we picked up the bike that Dan realized it was damaged beyond repair. The frame is pretty bent though some of its components are salvageable and can be put on another bicycle. What an emotional thing! It'd be like someone throwing my piano out the window or something, taking away my means of stress relief and joy.

Finally we headed back to base to have him evaluated at the hospital on base. They had prescribed Dan about 3 days worth of 'pain killers' in the korean hospital, but we had no idea what they were or if any of it could react with medicines Dan was already taking. Better to be safe and get a second opinion. Our friends graciously took our kids (who were sick of the 'boring car ride') and off we went.

Take a look at my man and his injuries!
The american doctors did quite a few xrays and said there wasn't a fracture in his ribs, but either way it can't be treated and he still hurts a lot. I thought day 2 would be bad for him but he seemed to be moving around pretty well. Then day 3 (today) came and he hasn't been feeling as hot.

The bummer is that we were going to take a trip down south this weekend to cross the Damyang Bamboo forest off my bucket list, and then Dan was going to do a 300 kilometer bike ride in a neighboring city. That won't be happening and now we're spending spring break at home and trying to take care of eachother as i've been pretty darn sick. One of the worst colds i've had with allergies on top of it and the doctor said there's no sinus infections or ear infections, yet my head feels like it's in the clouds and my ears have been plugged for 5 days now. But as in all things, this too shall pass, and we've set another date for the Damyang Bamboo forest. Also Dan is in the search for a new bike, deciding whether to get one here or wait until we get back to the States.

I'm so grateful he wasn't hurt worse, and that he wasn't hit by a car. A riding buddy of his crashed the next day and broke his pelvis, so we know his recovery will be much longer and harder.


p.s. I'm secretly proud of all the navigating through Korea we did that day, and never got lost!

If you're not ready for a picture overload then do not read this post! :)  Our boys get a party on the even years of their birthdays so there are lots of fun pictures to share.

First Cade was so excited to do the snack on the last day of school before his birthday and spring break.  Here are his mario cupcakes, made by our  neighbor Marie (maker of the best cupcakes i've ever had), with mario tags by me.

Then I put Cade to work. Here he is helping put the goodie bags together. He put on the names, pictures and put everything inside.


From Grandma Kathy

 From Grandpa Bob
 From Alex
From Mom & Dad (he loves wearing a black tie, but lost his)

 Now it's party time! Here are the boys all ready to go!

Instead of having six 5-6 year olds in our apartment we decided to have it at the bowling alley. It was so much fun and I think all of the boys had a blast. Cade was allowed to invite 6 friends (since that's how old he was) and they all turned out to be boys, much to the dismay of a few girls in his Kindergarten class. "Cade's mommy? Why did Cade only have boys invited to his party?"  lol.  Here are some shots.
















 Time for cake and presents!





 Someone inhaled enjoyed the cake!
Thank you hugs

 The whole crew

Lastly Dan asked all the boys to make their best crazy face. Happy Birthday Cade! It was a fun day.