Time for yet another post...

Decked out in Iowa and Jayhawk gear! Woo Hoo!

Now you see why we love them so much...they are just so lovable!

gettin sleepy

She misses her daddy so much!

My mom arrived in Korea on the 8th! She came for a visit and so I wouldn't be alone while Clinton is gone. 

Avery and mom have become good friends. I think she's gonna have a hard time leaving him!

Mom with her canine grandchildren.

We have been shopping and cleaning and exploring this past week and a half.  Today we went to Seoul to do some sight-seeing for an article I am writing for Life Beautiful magazine...which everyone should pick up at your local Hy-Vee :P Anyways...we enjoyed some Pizza Hut pizza when we arrived in Seoul, and I must say it was DE-licous.  I've noticed that there are three things that taste better here... Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and Coke! After lunch we headed out into the absolutely freezing outdoors. Iowans, I have to say that Korea is giving you a run for your money this winter. It might be a little colder here right now. Not nearly the amount of snow...but Brrrrrrr! We ran into a cab driver who has family in Iowa! Who would have thunk.

We got some Dunkin' Donuts for the ride back......yeah, that didn't work out so well....

On the way home, the subway was super super packed. One man squeezed in the train before us and didn't quite fit, which made the doors open back up. You would THINK that he would have gotten off, but he didn't. He just pushed a man and woman and practically leaned his way back on. It was ridiculous.  We finally got on another packed train and squeezed our way to a couple of hand rails.  there is a single row of seats along both sides of the train and handle bars in the middle for standing room. My mom and I were standing in front of two elderly gentlemen sitting in the row of chairs... facing us. One was asleep and the other was dozing off and on. We were jam packed next to whoever was next to us.   We stopped at another station and even more people piled into the already packed train car. For some reason everything seems funny when you really shouldn't laugh. You know it's true, because I'm sure it has happened to you.  Because the man next to me was asleep...he didn't notice me struggling. His feet were where my feet needed to be. A man came right up behind me and was leaning into me. I felt like I was playing twister. Left foot green, right foot red, hand in the air on the handle, random korean guy pushing you over. Meanwhile I am trying not to fall face first into the sleeping man. So I'm scissor-legged, I've got one hand holding on, the other hand gripping my tea and Dunkin' Donuts,  a random guy leaning his full weight on me...as I am hovering over a sleeping man on a moving train. Haha...are you picturing this? To make matters worse, I could NOT stop laughing! Everything was making me laugh...not to mention the tangled mess I was in. Oh brother! Believe it or not, we DID make it home and eventually the train cleared out enough for us to eat our Dunkin' Donuts :)

Clinton spent his last night "in the field." He has two more days and then graduation. Then he will be HOME! yay! He is officially a Sergeant now :) I can't wait for him to be back. I'm making mental notes of all the things we need to go do before we leave Korea...preferably when it is warmer!!  We can't wait to have Clinton home again :) I think Whit my have a panic attack she'll be so excited!

Praise the Lord for a washer and dryer! I'm so excited! No more dragging our large laundry bags into the taxi. It is a blessing, that's for sure.

* By the way* Clinton and I are still NOT command sponsored, which means we still have no idea when we will be leaving Korea. But, in all reality, no one REALLY knows where they will be in a week anyways. I guess we are all in the same boat. It's in God's hands.

As I mentioned before, I am writing an article, which means I actually have to know what I'm talking about. I even need to use proper grammar! I mean usually if I don't know how to make my sentence flow like I want it to I just add a few "dot dot dot's (...)" and continue on. Run-on sentences, fragments, comma splice...ahhh! I have to remember what I learned in high school!? Nope! That's what those lovely editors are for, right? :P (Alison and Wanda, if you are reading this...I am just kidding!)

One last thing before I hit the hay...

My mom is bound and determined to have Avery potty trained by the time she leaves (which is in two days.)  We hung a bell on the patio door that the dogs are supposed to ring.  The other night the dogs were running around terrorizing each other, chewing things, and being crazy, when all of a sudden Avery took a break from the action and slowing walked to the door. It was almost as if he was moving in slow motion. My mom and I lifted our eyes from our computers at just the right time to see his little beagle nose slowly, slowly touch the bell. jingle.... You would have thought that he had done something amazing, like speak english or something (which we all know he can't, because he is korean...duh)...because my mom and I both started loudly praising him (in the high pitch "good job" puppy talking tone), clapping, high-fives all around, Cartwheeling around the house. I'm just kidding, I can't cartwheel. A lot of fuss over a little accomplishment, but it looks like my mom did it. She trained Avery in just over a week and a half.

Okay, really this time...just one more thing.

In the women's restroom today, my mom and I noticed an interesting "soap system." I like to call it, soap on a stick. Now, I know I might not be the best person for this because I have been called a "germaphobe" before...but I am sorry, I was not about to use the communal bar soap. No way, Jose.