Library of Congress Book Fair

If you are local and have never been to the Library of Congress Book Fair, you are missing out. There is something for everyone and it seems to get better every year. We loved meeting the Cat in the Hat. GaEun is not familiar with this story. I am going to have to bring my books home from school to let her read them.

See those green bags? PBS Kids had goodie bags filled with books, activity books, and a CD Rom as well as many other things.

Betty stood in line to meet all the characters.

Love watching this girl skip down the mall.

It was GaEun's first trip into DC. We didn't have time to do any real sight seeing but we promised we would take her very soon.

It may have been the end of September but it felt like July.

Have you ever been to the Book Fair on the Mall?

Here's The Latest

Like any good mom, I made sure to take a first day of school picture of GaEun before she got on the bus. She looks tired because it was 6:00 AM. High school starts early here and the bus comes even earlier.

She likes her classes however she is less than excited about US History. But who can blame her? It is not her history so that makes it even harder! She has to read four novels this year for English class. That would be challenging for many high school students who were fluent in English. It is going to be even more challenging for GaEun but I have feeling this will really help her improve her English. If you have any suggestions (currently she is reading "The Mermaid Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd.) please leave a comment. The book can not be one that has been made into a movie...I guess they want them to READ the book!!

GaEun is very willing to try new foods so that makes it easier and very fun. She has already expressed her hatred for pickles but ironically likes Chick Fil A. (They soak their chicken in pickle juice.) She likes Arby's, baked ziti, (thank you TD for the recipe) and of course chocolate chip cookies.

Any suggestions on other foods she should try?

Enrollment and Orientation

Marcus and GaEun have had a busy day. They went to the high school to register and as luck would have it the school was having orientation later that afternoon and a parent meeting that night. GaEun was excited to stay and acquaint herself with the high school.

Earlier in the day they went to Super H to pick up some more food for GaEun. Marcus said her eyes lit up when she walked through the door! I am so glad she has a taste of home here.

This weekend she wants to go shopping for school clothes. In Korea she wears a uniform so wanted to do a little shopping for clothes when she got her. Can't wait!

Here We Go Again

I really thought I was finished with this blog. Really, I did. I couldn't delete it because it was is such a great photo album/memory book out of a huge year in our lives. But I never thought I would blog on it again.

But I was wrong.

And I am glad I was wrong.

Monday was the day that everything seemed to happen. First day of school for the girls and back to work for me. So after a very busy, fun, tiring day at school we rushed over to Dulles Airport and anxiously awaited the arrival of GaEun, our new exchange student from South Korea.

We had not planned to host again. Not at all. But to think about it, we didn't plan to host Sojung. It just fell into our laps. Sojung needed a host family or she would not be able to come to the US. She was able to get into a private school so we did it.

Fast forward about two years and same story. GaEun's placement fell through the end of August. They needed to find her a home or else she could not come. Marcus worked hard to find a high school that would take her and a bus route that would work for her and, well, here we go again!

Since this isn't our first time around I have to tell you how much easier it was to prepare for GaEun. The only thing we bought when we found out Sojung was coming was a rice maker! We were clueless when it came to the food. This time around I went to Super H and bought a huge bag of kimchee, Japenese noodles, a new 20 pound bag of rice, udon and ingredients for gogi. I was pleased to find out I hit the jackpot. Many would argue that she should just jump in head first with American food but I disagree. I think she needs to have a little bit of her Korean home in her American home. Having traveled overseas I know how nice it was to have some good ole American food after feasting on the local cuisine.

GaEun is adjusting to the time change, English and, well, us. She starts school on Tuesday.

Please stop in and check up on our journey. Feel free to ask questions. And please comment.

I Need Your Help

The time has come to close this blog. I don't want to delete it but feel it is time to start another. Your help is needed to name the new blog. The focus on the blog will be our day to day life so family and friends can watch the girls grow up. So you have any suggestions please comment. I will post the link to the new blog when a name has been selected and it is up and running.

Thank you for following our journey this past year.

January 19, 2008 we picked up a total stranger from the airport.

December 27, 2009 we sent one of our daughters back to Korea.

It was quite a year. And none of us will ever be the same.

Saying Goodbye

Sojung and Michael
This was a very tough day for us. Sojung had become part of our family.

See the security guard behind her? He was not amused I was taking pictures. Sorry!

Sojung~thank you for sharing a year of your life with us. We love you. Visit us soon!

She Goes Home On Saturday

Whatever will we do without her?

Merry Christmas

My three favorite girls.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Audrey's Last Day As An Eight Year Old

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

We decided to make this Thanksgiving one that everyone would remember. Last year it was just two of us and we celebrated with a nice quiet dinner at an inn. We spent the meal dreaming about our family. This year we had a family and were excited to make some wonderful memories.

The first time I mentioned driving to NYC to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Marcus looked at me like I had lost my mind. That is a look I am used to receiving. After talking it over for several days we decided to take the plunge.

I called my friend Twice Blessed Mommy who is a travel agent if she knew of any great deals and she was unable to find anything in NYC for less than about $400.00. So, maybe we can just make some memories at home. But she called me a few days later saying she found a deal that we could not pass up. We would have to pay for the hotel up front and if we cancelled we would lose our money. We talked about it and decided to do it.

Of course after making the reservation weather.com only showed rain for Thanksgiving. But we were going to matter what! Turns out it was cold, but dry.

We drove up on Wednesday, with everyone else and spent the evening in Times Square. The girls loved Toys R Us.

The Barbie house in Toys R Us.

Times Square

This is for you Twilight Fans.

M & M World

Hershey

Self portrait.

The morning of the parade. We were up and ready to go by 6:30 am.

We were in our spot by 7:30. I had stocked my bag with lots of Halloween candy to keep them occupied. A wise person told me when you are traveling with kids and they start to complain, you feed them. It works!

Nothing like a lollipop for breakfast!

Beautiful Audrey

The lollipop has kicked in!

8:54 am and 37 degrees

The parade starts at 11...

Beautiful Sojung. I think she is still asleep in this picture. Crazy American customs...

This is what has sealed the deal for parents of the year. This is Miley Cyrus.

Trace Adkins

Everybody leaving after the parade. We were actually pretty close to the street.

We didn't have any plans for lunch after the parade. We walked about 6 blocks with the parade crowd and as luck would have it we passed an Italian restaurant that had just opened their doors for business. We were the third family in the door. The food was amazing.

Someone asked if we missed eating turkey and stuffing. No! It is not everyday when you get the best Italian food for Thanksgiving. We'll have turkey for Christmas.

Audrey and Betty enjoyed their first cab ride in NYC.

Would we do it again? Yes! Anybody want to tag along next time?

Truffles

Sojung helped me make truffles tonight. They are delicious!!!!

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients needed: 1 box of oreo cookies--makes about 20 truffles

1 cup of whipped cheese cream

1 big bag of milk chocolate chips Steps:

1. chop the oreo cookies into the blender until the cookies are very soft and smooth. place in a big bowl.

2. mix the cup of cream cheese with the blended Oreos. mix until you can't see the cream cheese anymore and until you get rid of all crumbs.

3. take out a pan and place foil on it.

4. make little round balls out of the mix and place in a pan.

5. melt the chocolate chips into a pot. place boiling water in one pot and put another empty one on top to be able to melt the chocolate in it.

6. once the chocolate is melted, time to roll up your sleeves! this is the tricky part. if you wait too long, the chocolate will get hard. so you must take one little 'ball' of cream cheese/Oreo cookie and dip it in the melted chocolate. twist the chocolate all around it and try to make it as round as possible and then quickly place into the pan.

7. once you have completed step 6 with all the chocolate balls, place your pan in the fridge for an hour or two, until cold and hard.

The trickiest part are steps 5-6, and DO NOT add milk or water to the chocolate chips!

Wordless Wednesday