Adventuring With Dad & A Fun Way to Cool Off!

A couple of weeks ago Peter wanted to take the kids to go explore one of the park areas here on post that is fairly new so we hadn't been to it yet.  It was a VERY hot day that day, but we all still enjoyed it very much! :)

We found some great areas to look for bugs and other critters, especially around the swamp/lake. :)

 

Playing around the cool bridge is always fun...but this time Mom stayed up top and took pictures of Daddy and all the kiddos exploring down below.

 

It always amazes me how he can make something as ordinary as a walk in the park so much for for all of us. I love him for that...and so many other reasons. :)

 

 

On our way home we walked by the baseball field and stopped to get a drink at the fountain which quickly turned into a water fight!

 

Thankfully no one was really fighting because everyone welcomed the cold splashes. :)

 

Joy was soaked by the time we left but she said she finally felt cool and comfortable! :)

Joshua the Cub Scout

I haven't blogged in so long....but that's not for a lack of having many exciting things going on around our house these past few months. Today, though Joshua had a fun experience that he wanted to make sure the Grandparents got to see! So I'm finally taking the time to post some new pictures...

Today he had his first event as a Cub Scout and got second place in his age category in the Raingutter Regatta boat race!

He worked hard on his boat with Dad getting it ready earlier this week.

Here it is, all ready to sail!

Here are all the boats in the "marina" waiting for their turn to race.  :)

Joshua got to race his good friend Tristan. One time Tristan won, one time Joshua won so they had to have a 3rd race to determine the winner. Tristan won the final round. Since they were the only two in their age category though, they each got metals and badges for their scout shirts. :)

1st and 2nd place cub scout winners!

Joshua was a great sport and had a fun time watching and cheering on all the other boy scouts racing today.

The whole family was there to watch but Samuel spent most of the time digging in the dirt and playing under the trees.

His sucked in cheeks crack me up! He was blowing so hard to push it down the lane!

Joy and her sweet friend Grace, hanging out cheering on the boys.

Joshua enjoyed watching some of the races from the tree top.

Here he is getting his 2nd place metal.

He doesn't have his scout shirt yet, but when we get it his metal will go on it along with his other badges. He's pretty excited and really had a fun time with the group.  :)

Goodbyes :(

We have made many friends since we joined the Army 2 1/2 years ago. We have already seen many come and go and have grown accustomed to the 'revolving door' in our community. It's just how the military life is. We came to S.Korea two years ago, our first duty station. During our time here we grew very close to three wonderful families. Three families who ALL PCS (permanent change of station/move away) this month. We said goodbye to two of them tonight and the last one we'll say goodbye to in two weeks. Two years ago I never would have thought that I would meet people while we were here in Korea that I would ever call some of my best friends, but I did. These three women and their families have made such a difference in my life. They've inspired me, encouraged me and have been there for me when everyone else in the world that I loved was thousands of miles away on the other side of the world. They have been my family and support and are some of the greatest people I've ever known. I will miss them terribly!

This Easter was the last time that we were all together here in S.Korea...

Jason, Jocelyn, Peter, Me, Mike, Kim, Carrie and Nick

So tonight we had to say our goodbyes, and that was very sad. But what was even more heart wrenching was watching our kids have to say goodbye. Our sweet, tenderhearted Joshua burst into tears when we told him it was time to go. He gave each of his friends a big hug and told them he was going to miss them so much! Joy cried all the way home. Faithy kept asking, "Will we ever see them again?" They are old enough to understand now what it means when someone is moving away and their little hearts were breaking to have to say goodbye to some of the closest friends they've ever known. These people have become such a huge part of our lives. We see them several times a week, sometimes almost everyday. They have become like family to us. There will definitely be a void in our lives with them gone.

Our adorable kiddos after the egg hunt on Sunday

I know that God has called us to this life in the military and that means lots of moving around and lots of goodbyes, but it breaks my heart to see my kids have to go through this. They have made some amazing friends here. God has truly blessed all of us with friendships in these families that I pray will last a lifetime. We've had some people tell us that "you get use to it" being in the military and moving around so much, and maybe it will get easier. But these friends are very special and now having gone through it, this is definitely my least favorite part about being in the military.

I'm praying that God will heal our saddened hearts and continue to grow our friendships even as we all scatter to different parts of the world. I hope our paths will cross again and that we'll get to experience life together in another place. I'm so thankful for the time we have had with each of these families, they have blessed us in so many ways! God has been so good to us and we will treasure all the fun times and great memories we've made with them.  :)

Stage Makeup

Joy is in the musical HONK! (The Ugly Duckling Story) this coming weekend. Tonight we had dress rehearsal. She wasn't happy about letting me put makeup on her but I told her the director said she had to wear it....

After I was done, she looked in the mirror and decided it was alright....

And by the end of rehearsal she told me that stage make up was kind of fun. :) 

She's her Mama's girl.

Musical Rehearsals...

This one is for the grandparents who wanted to see some rehearsal pictures from Joy's musical she's in. The show is HONK! The Ugly Duckling Story. She is a duckling named Fluff, one of Ugly's sisters.  :) She's doing a great job and I can't wait to see the show at the end of the month when everything comes together. I helped out with the choreography for several dances in the show and Joy has been working hard to learn her lines and songs. I have so much fun watching her, it reminds me of all my years doing shows when I was little.  :) She's super cute up there...