Ben Has Arrived!!

Taylor was the first grandchild on my parents side.  Before she was born I asked my mom and dad what they wanted to be called as grandparents.  I told them the only options not available were Grammy and Papa because that is what Russ' nieces called his parents and I didn't want to have both sets of grandparents called the same thing.  So, my mom choose Gram and my dad Grampy.  When Taylor was born we had a Grammy and Papa and a Gram and Grampy.  It worked wonderfully until Taylor got to the point where she was starting to talk.  Instead of calling my dad Grampy she called him Papa.  Every time we corrected her she would insist he was Papa.  And when she tried to say Gram it came out sounding just like Ben.  None of us could figure out why it sounded so much like Ben but every time she said Gram it came out Ben.  So, as a joke we started to call my mom Ben.  And, unfortunately for my mom, it stuck.  So now, 11 years later we have a Grammy and Papa and a Ben and Papa.  My wonderful mom has gone with the flow and embraced the name Ben. 

We were very excited when my parents decided Ben was going to come over for a visit.  Unfortunately, when her plane arrived I had another commitment and I wasn't able to pick her up at the airport, but she had quite a welcoming committee there for her arrival.

 She arrived a few days ago and we haven't sat down since.  In the last three days she has gone to Lucy's class for a special lunch, rode the subway, visited a famous Korean palace, walked 3 miles along a river, hiked a mountain, met tons of my friends and shopped in a Korean produce market.

There is no time for jet-lag when you come to visit us, we just jump right in as soon as you get off the airplane. 

A Korean/American Wedding

In the past few months Russ and I have had the opportunity to attend two different weddings of fellow Marines.  Both Marines married Korean women but the ceremonies were very different.   The first ceremony was a traditional Korean ceremony.  I am still collecting some pictures from that event so I will post pictures of it later.  The second wedding was a mixture of American traditions and Korean traditions.   Koreans like things a little more flashy than many Americans do.  It was fun to see the two cultures mixed.

The groom asked a few Marines, including Russ, to be a sword detail for him.  Therefore Russ wore his dress blues to event.  It is always a good day for me when I get to see Russ in his dress blues.  :)

Often Korean wedding are held in wedding halls.  These are "one-stop-shops" for weddings.  They do the pictures in different settings (many times Koreans get their wedding pictures taken a few days before the wedding-in my opinion that seems like a major pain to have to get dressed up 2 times), they will plan the ceremony, help with the preparations, details and decorations and host the reception.  I can't imagine how much it costs to have all of this done but it does seem much eaiser to have everything done in one building.

One of the major differences in Korean and American weddings is that you sit at tables during a Korean wedding.  Often you will even eat during the ceremony but at this wedding we just watched and ate afterwards upstairs at the wedding hall.

The bride and groom walked down a lit up aisle.  I so badly wanted to pretend I was in a fashion show and do my runway walk.

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I don't know about every Korean wedding but at this wedding the bride and groom did not have anyone else stand up with them and they faced the audience during the ceremony, which was entirely in Korean.

It was a very quick and simple wedding.  I didn't really understand any of it, so I can't tell you much of what was said.  The bride and groom bowed to each of their parents and they did say their vows to each other in English. 

The sword detail was very cool.

Russ is the first one closest to the elevator doors in this picture.

During the reception the bride changed into another dress and they both moved around visiting their guests.

 The cake-I have no idea what the red and blue birthday looking candles signify.

A few last pictures before Russ changed out of his uniform.

We don't get many opportunities to attend weddings anymore and we both had a great time at this wedding. 

First Day of School

Lucy started 3rd grade and Taylor started 6th grade.  I can't believe my oldest is in middle school and my youngest is in 3rd grade...that does not mean I am old it just means I had my children when I was very young.  :)  I was talking to some ladies the other day and we were discussing how when we had toddlers we used to look at the moms who had children that were all in school and think how old they were.  I don't think that way any more.

Both girls had a pretty good first day of school, lots of adjustments and changes to get used to.   I was thinking about Taylor's years in school and I realized...in the 8 years she has been attending school (preschool, kindergarten and 6 grades) she has attended 7 different schools in 4 different states and 2 different countries.  Only a military child would be able to say that.

"Stand close to each other and act like you love each other"

6th grade and 3rd grade

One of Taylor's birthday gifts this year was to customize a pair of Converse sneakers.  She decided to wear them for the first time on the first day of school.  I think she did a good job designing her sneakers.

Russ was able to be home the morning of the first day of school. 

Waiting for the bus.  This is her first year riding the bus alone without her older sister.

This year Taylor walks to school with some of the other neighborhood kids instead of taking the bus.