One day we decided to drive one of Colin's bike routes through the mountains. We stopped at a rest area to stretch and take this picture with our little white Kia Pride in the background. We bought the car more than two years ago for about $500 and it's still getting us where we need to go .

Camelbak Boy

Recently Colin purchased a Camelbak so that he could keep hydrated on his long rides. Colin was pretty excited because the weather has been so hot and humid. Little did he know that somebody else would enjoy his purchase just as much.

Playdate and Reunion

This past weekend three of the teachers I used to work with came to visit. Because of the hot weather we were forced to turn on the air conditioning and eat the Baskin Robbin's ice cream that they brought.

Just after Ben was born Ally moved to Seoul to find work. She recently changed jobs and is now working for the Bank of Iran.

Anna just returned from a trip to Europe. Here she is laughing at Ben trying to eat his toes. Tanya's daughter Yoon-Seo was born one month after Ben. Tanya is expecting another baby next year!

Yoon Seo and Benjamin face-off.

It was Benjamin's first time to get down and play with someone his age so I was curious as to how he would react. At first he was hesitant but he soon became braver, even daring to touch Yoon-Seo's hair.

The two babies had a lot of fun with Benjamin's expensive toys. (A water bottle filled with popcorn and the tupperware cupboard were the hits of the day!)

Colin claimed there was too much estrogen in the apartment and made his exit, but not before charming Yoon-Seo. Although Tanya says she usually takes a while to warm up to people, Colin had her giggling moments after meeting her.

It was great to catch up with these ladies. They all taught at Catherine during the time Colin and I both taught there, and we loved working with them!

Weapons of Mass Consumption

While we were up in Seoul for the visa interview we ate at Bennigan's...more than once. Would you believe more than twice? We ate there as soon as we got off the train, stopped in for dessert one night, and also ate there after getting the visa! The "Death by Chocolate" dessert really did almost kill us - although two desserts between three people didn't seem excessive when we ordered them. (No, we're not counting Ben as one of the people - Grandma was still with us at that time.) On our third trip one of the waitresses helpfully gave Ben two balloons. Ben was delighted and proceeded to see how much of our meal he could pick up by whacking it with the balloons. We usually leave a precautionary swath of empty table around him because he manages to reach much further than it looks like he should be able to. Unfortunately the balloons extended his reach so that there was no safety zone. Needless to say, one of the balloons didn't make it back to the hotel, and the other one mysteriously missed the train.

Like Father, Like Son

The top three comments when we take Ben out are these:
1. He's so cute!
2. He's just like his father!
3. He looks like a doll!
Sometimes we even hear all three from the same person. (Does that mean Colin looks like a doll?)
Number one - readily apparent! (No, no, we're not biassed. And anyway, all those comments prove us right.)
Number two - check out the above pictures.
Number three - a comment I never would have expected to hear as much as we have. The truth, however, is that most Koreans we meet have never seen a caucasion baby except on TV...or dolls.

Testing the Waters...