Dan has been working A LOT lately. Have I mentioned that to any of you at all? I'm talking like full work days with gigs at night going late late late and then waking up and doing it all over again. So when Veteran's Day rolled around we were hoping for some time off, and he got a Monday off. Dan wanted to do something with the family, but Cade had school. I suggested pulling him out for a day and the plan was in action. I took advice from my friend and didn't tell the boys what was going on or we'd hear about it ALL THE TIME. So Cade woke up for school and we told him he didn't have to get ready because we were going somewhere fun!

Where did we go? Seoul Land! This was THE best decision ever because the place was empty. No lines, no crowds, just lots of fun.

Only one on the coaster!!

Now, it was pretty cold. We considered going to some of the indoor play places around town, but those cost almost as much as Seoul Land did but you only get 2 hours of play. We stayed for 6 hours.


I'm sad that my face is so goofy in this, but they had a musical merry go round. I got to ride on the french horn :)
 Seoul Land has a lot of things for the kids to do, including a whole playground with a ball pit, inflatable bounce house, trampoline, slides and a rope climbing thingamajig.
 Nice pose Cade!







While we were walking around looking for rides we came across the Tilt House. The first half of it was kind of pointless, but then you have like 4 rooms that really mess with your equilibrium!



 Dan attempting a pull up on in a slanted (black light) room!
The only drawback to no crowds was that not very many restaurants and snack vendors were open. We did find this lunch place that was 'fast food fusion'. That at least meant there were some chicken tenders for the kids. Dan had a pork cutlet dish common in Korea called Donkassu, and I had a pasta carbanera thing.

While we were eating Cade discovered that a ball from the ball pit had stowed away in his hood. This picture is priceless!
 Another kid's play area was this giant white tarp/tent thing. Slippery and fun!


This next picture is from the log flume ride. (Yes, it was cold and we still went on the water ride, twice) As you go around the corner you see this pirate with water and immediately you are worried that you're going to get soaked. And then you look closer and realize where that water is coming from!!!

 I love the look on Alex's face as she was buckling him in, like "Don't touch me!"




Look how strong I am!



And another Korean gem. Thanks for coming on our adventure with us!

This week Cade passed his blue belt test! Here are some pictures from the belt ceremony.

This is another one of our fun adventures with the Seoul Searchers group. Would you believe that there is a huge playground and kid's area in the middle of the horse race course? There are races going on around you and you can barely even notice! Supposedly it was built for the Olympics, but I like to think they designed it this way so that the moms have something to do with their kids while the dads do the only legal form of gambling in Korea, betting on horses!

We went on a Friday and they had a few horses out for the kids to see. There were even a few races going on. Even if you go on a major race day it is only 800 won to go to the playground (that's like 75 cents!) It was free for us that day.

 Posing with some interesting Korean characters
 Enjoying the playground! Most of the playgrounds in Korea are sandy, which you either love or hate. I don't particularly love it b/c the boys get SO dirty and end up either being the one throwing the sand on some poor Korean kid or getting sand thrown back at them.



 Here's Cade doing the monkey bars all by himself for the first time!! He made it all the way across!
 Not sure why there was a giant metal shoe, but it made for a cute picture. The cute blonde girl is my friend Shauna's daughter Zoe.
We had a blast and it was close! It is right next to Seoul Grand Park, and you can even get off at the Seoul Racecourse Park subway stop, then find the giant map which shows where the park is.

Still going with the pictures from my phone here. This is from one of our Seoul Searchers outings to a little folk village nestled in the busy city. It was really hot the day that we went!

A nice shot of the Seoul tower from the Village

Koreans have no shame. To them there is no need to be discreet about bodily functions and things that would be construed as perverse in America are commonplace here. Alas, the inappropriate slides in Korean playgrounds.
There's not much to say about those, right? I mean who really wants to come sliding out of a robot's, um, stomach? But don't forget to pose by the giant astronauts that are there for no apparent reason!
The kids had a blast on this thing.
Oh, and most Korean playgrounds have exercise equipment, AND it actually gets used. I'm sure this is only a small part of the secret of why Koreans stay so thin and healthy. That and Kimchi.

So sometimes I go out on adventures and forget to bring our camera, or choose not to carry it around because it is rather large. I take all these pictures on my phone and never post them! So here come a few posts based on pics from my lovely iPhone :)

First we have some pictures of the boys at one of our favorite spots in Itaewon. Denice showed us this lovely English book store called What the Book. The boys always have fun and I love this little reading spot!

Next are a few pictures of the LDS temple here in Seoul. It reminds me a lot of the Chicago and Boise temples, but still a little smaller. It is up on hill, but you can't see it unless you're right in front of it.


The next picture is of one of those great Korean signs. It's always helpful to know that I'm eating at a 'good restaurant'!