Birthday party

Sunday was an eventful day. We were invited to a friend's son's birthday party which was going to take place at a bowling alley in Bojeong. We had a late start since Stacy woke at 5am to watch the Sooners play. So he woke me up at 8:30 so he could go back to bed. He slept until noon. I was a good wife and didn't bother him. I cooked breakfast for Ethan and myself, Skyped with Stephanie and called my mom. Stacy ate leftover breakfast and then we all started getting ready for the party.

We were told to arrive around 2pm because that is the least busy time. We made it to the main road at 2 and met the Taylor's who were also running a bit late. We all worked on flagging down taxis who were obviously blowing us off. When we finally got one to stop, Susan and I piled in with the kids and let Stacy and Todd catch another cab. I don't know if it's a good idea to sit in the front seat of a taxi when the trip long. I swear we could have wrecked at least 3 times but miraculously we didn't. I wonder what their drivers ed is like. Maybe the U.S. should make teens wait until their 18 like they do here.  Anyhow, we made it to the bowling alley at 2:43. Late as always but the party was just getting started.

We bowled for maybe an hour and then made our way over to the smallest Baskin Robbin's in the area. Mind you, there were at least 11 kids and 8 adults who crammed into this BR to continue the party. When we walked in, the employees were wide eyed. Steve and Miriam bought a delicious ice cream cake that fed all of us. We sang the birthday song in English, Spanish and Polish. Then we did presents and pictures. We caused quite a spectacle considering the store had glass windows and people on the street were peering in to see what all the fuss was about.

After the hooplah, we left on our own because we were going to catch a bus. When we didn't find the buses we wanted we chose to walk down to Shinsegae mall that was nearby. I took lots of pictures of this area. We found the bus stop that the 390 stops at and caught the bus home.

The 390 drops us off on the main road near our home which means we have to walk about 4 blocks, maybe 5 to get home. Some of our KIS friends were playing at the neighborhood playground. I had picked up some groceries at the store down the street so Stacy took the groceries home while I stayed with Ethan and visited with Jenn. We stayed maybe 30 minutes. I told Ethan it was time to go. As he was walking next to me he thought it would be a good idea to hop on the exercise equipment one last time. BAD IDEA! It moved and hit him square in the shin. The way he dropped to the ground grabbing his leg, I thought he broke something. Everyone at the playground was grabbing at him and checking him. He wailed so hard that it scared me. When we finally concluded that he had not broken anything, I picked him up and walked him home.  He instantly bruised. I felt so sorry for him but there is always a lesson to be taught. Here was the lesson: if we are leaving, is it a good decision to go back and play or should you follow mom/dad? Ethan: I should follow you and not jump on the walking thing. I have a feeling he'll remember this lesson for a while.

We got home and I had to carry this boy who weighs like 50 pounds up 3 flights of stairs. I realized I need to get in better shape. LOL! We put some frozen fruit on it (its all we had) to keep the swelling down. Some friends from the neighborhood came to check on Ethan and let us know that they would be willing to drive us to the doctor if the need arises.

Ethan has not gotten hurt so badly in a really long time. We have been really lucky.

After a long day, we fell into our routine of cooking dinner, doing some laundry, cleaning up, ironing clothes for the week, washing dishes, and the like. I told Stacy that we should shoot for a job in a place where we could have a maid and a cook and a gardner. He laughed and blew me off. :)

I think my next blog will be random things that have been coming up.