The adventure begins...

 We're pretty delayed in making an entry but we've been going nonstop since we got here, and then... when you have 3 boys who are in various of stages of sleepless nights, you just sleep when you're able.

Our travel day started great. August 22nd was greeted with a lot of excitement by all. Only mom and dad knew what a true marathon we were in for. Lesley picked us up at home and got us to the airport safely. The Rochester American Airlines contingent was awesome. It's so easy to get everything taken care of at our little airport. The flight to Chicago was fantastic (read as short). The boys said they loved flying. Charles comment was 'Cars stink. Airplanes rule.' Henry was served a snack and said, 'I could get used to this.' Travis was sitting with Min, and his only comment was that Min was trying for maximum number of calories burned while strapped into an airplane seat. At least he was happy.

Min loved this truck. Said it had a yellow button on it.

Min continuing to get some exercise in Chicago.

Little does he know how long he's going to be in that seat.

Waiting for the train in Tokyo.

The boys ride from Chicago to Tokyo started out great. Ended not so well. Henry didn't sleep well than started to feel sick. Made it to the bathroom in just enough to vomit on the bathroom floor. Well, at least it wasn't on the nice lady next to him (who wasn't me.) Charles got a bloody nose right before we landed in Tokyo. We gave them all Benadryl in Tokyo (thank you for permission, Dr. J!!) and had a really great flight to Seoul (read that as all boys, including parents, slept).

Waiting for luggage in Seoul. We made it through customs and immigration quickly and easily. Found our luggage with no trouble due to some advice from Travis' great aunt Ethel... we tied multi-colored ribbon to the handles.  Who elses luggage looks like a Christmas present.

Had some trouble downloading photos in order. This is in Rochester before we left. Mrs. Park stopped out to drop off something to take to her neice. Thank goodness as she waited with us until we got through security.

2011 US Open Tae Kwon Do Hanmadang

The first weekend of August, we went to Palatine, Illinois for the US Open TKD Hanmadang Tournament. What an amazing experience!! Both for the family and Henry. I put in the links of the videos of the 3 events Henry was in.

Henry individual poomsae
Henry got first in this event.

Henry and Lexi pairs form
Henry and his friend, Lexi, competed in a pairs event and got 2nd place.

3 Amigos group form
This is Henry, and his friends, Lexi and Jasper, doing a group form. Please pardon the video as Min was hanging on Travis's arm. Made it awfully hard to get a non-shaky video.

All in all, a great weekend!

Henry black belt test

Henry tested for his black belt in tae kwon do on September 25th. I've had a ton of trouble trying to get the video uploaded to the blog so finally decided to upload it to You Tube. We thought he did great but we won't find out if he passed until November. Here are the links to the video:
Board breaking  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMTzAwSSHLM
Sparring  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZhGXJdybxc 

Just to make our home a little more chaotic, we decide to....

get a puppy!! Yikes! Yep... a little golden retriever. His full name is not decided yet, but Jack is part of it. Short for Jackie Chan (Henry's choice) and preferred by Charles. And... gulp... we're going to try to have a Korean dog and teach him his commands in Korean. Thank goodness my Korean teacher has a dog. All he knows is Korean. We'll see how it goes.

Day 2 continued

We headed back to the beach this evening. Everyone was hot from hiking around and needed to relax. Went to a different beach this evening.

The great thrill was on the way home. We were very close to the aerial bridge when we had to stop so that it could go up. That means only one thing... a ship is going under. We saw some other people hop out of their cars and run over to the bridge. So... being the tourists that we are. We did the same... except Travis who, as the driver of the car, thought he should stay with it. Never mind that we were all dressed in only swimming suits (I did have a pair of shorts) and no shoes...except Min who was sandy leaving the beach that Travis took his trunks off and wrapped him in a towel. So the boys and I (carrying the naked, towel-clad 3 year old) ran down the sidewalk to the canal. And luck was with us... the ship wasn't just some sailboat or tourist carrying boat but a real cargo ship. The Edwin A. Gott. And it was spectacular. There is something about being 15 yards away from a 1000 foot cargo ship going under an elevated bridge. The boys were speechless! And, then it was gone and we had to sprint back down the sidewalk...barefooted in swimming suits to jump back in the truck before we had to drive. I try not to think about what a sight we were but feel much better that I wasn't the only mother racing her kids back to the car.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow so we will plan to go to the ship museum and..I'm not sure what else.

Family Vacation Day 2... The Road Less Travelled

We made it up to Split Rock Lighthouse and State Park this morning. We'd never toured the lighthouse before so we did that today. The majority of our time was spent hiking around. You'll see the purpose of my title a little later in today's blog. It is a favorite poem of mine and was pretty suitable for the days hiking. Charles and Min walking down the path. They were absolutely nuts. We made it through the lighthouse but no other buildings because the boys couldn't quite control themselves. Scary when you're in a historic house full of antiques. So... off we went.

Min and I on the trail. He was the only who would agree to actually looking at the camera...but he couldn't do it with a straight face.

It was nearly lunchtime so we decided to have a picnic on this little island. This was the start of a bumpy road. Not only did we have to make it over Pebble Beach. Think.... a beach of fist-sized rocks, 3 boys, and lots of throwing. No...no one got hit by rocks.

Then we had to make it over this cliff. We were happy to see that the boys are pretty good climbers. No one fell off the cliff into the lake. Min and Travis had a great conversation going over. Min...'Dad, what's this?' Dad...'I think it's poop.' Min...'No. I think it's marshmallow.' Dad...'That's bird poop, Min.' Min...'Oh.. gross!!'

Min with his collection of favorite, beautiful rocks. Yes, we carried them all the way back to the truck in the cooler.

Once we made it over Pebble Beach we had to cross these rocks to make it the island.

On the island trying to find a place to eat.

Charles and Min.

2010 Duluth Family Vacation

We headed up to Duluth for a long weekend and a family vacation. The day started out with swimming lessons at the Y for Henry and Charles and then we left. I must say that taking long trips back to North Dakota has certainly paid off. The boys have gotten to be pretty good travellers. We made it all the way up here without movies. Yes, Henry played his DS and the other looked at books and Min took a nap, but...hey... there was hardly any fighting or anything. Charles didn't even ask how many days it was going to take us to get there. It was hot and we didn't have time to do much else on Wednesday so we headed to the beach. Yes... the beach at Lake Superior. It wasn't even that cold. And... where else can you drive to Northern Minnesota and feel a little like you're at ocean. We went to a beach close to the downtown area. A ship in the distance.

I wish I knew how to edit my pictures a little better on the blog. I don't have Photoshop on this computer. But, Charles has the great smile!! What a water boy.

Min is loving the lake!! His first comment.... 'It's so shivery!.' Didn't take him...or anyone.. long to get wet.

I think w'e'll head up to Split Rock Lighthouse and Park tomorrow. Charles should love it. He's such a little ship fanatic. More to come!!

I'm going to back date a bunch of highlights for the fall.

Congratulations, Henry!!

Henry tested and was advanced to the rank of recommended black belt. This test required quite a lot of work compared to the other tests. He had to write a paper, memorize a lot of information, and the test was quite long. But, he persevered and advanced. We're very proud of him!! Receiving his new belt from Ms. Hansen.

Mr. Q reading the certificate.

In his new black belt uniform.

Halloween 2009

Has anyone ever seen such a happy Power Ranger and frog? Henry says he was smiling so I have to assume that I also have a happy...hatchet carrying scary thing.

Honestly, have you ever seen such a cute frog?

Off we go! Min and Charles made it around the cul-de-sac..about 15 houses... then went home. Henry and I continued around most of the neighborhood, stopped to talk to a few friends, went through the neighborhood haunted house and then made it home.

First Snowfall

The boys were so excited with the first snowfall. They couldn't wait to get outside. Charles immediately wanted to build a dam...a tradition in the Paul household but is usually done in the spring. Charles did manage to make a dam. It filled up with melted snow and Min played in it.

Charles is pretty proud of his work.

Min making snowballs.

Resting after a hard days work.

Charles is passionate about many things. Here are just a couple. The cat, who he picked out. She started out as Abigail...then Noki Abby...Abby...and now Abba.

He also love to build with a passion for Lincoln Logs. This is entirely his creation built with no help from any of us.

11 years!!

Happy Birthday bone marrow!!! You're 11 years old!!

Happy Birthday, Min!!

We were lucky to have my brother and his family here during Min's 3rd birthday. It always adds a little more excitement and chaos to the party. Min and his Thomas cake. Min is obsessed with Thomas and his 'favorite' engine is Diesel 10. To unknowledgeable Thomas folks, Diesel 10 is a naughty engine. I truly hope that is not a predictor of my son.

My nephew, Noah, came too. Here he is helping Min unwrap his presents. He's turning 5 in a couple of weeks and was so good to Min.

Noah, with what I was told was a wanted movie of his.

Min at the restaurant where we had his birthday dinner. This was after drinking his ice cream as you will see in the next picture.

We were a little surprised to see Henry 'skiing' behind the Gator. They left to go around the cul-de-sac. Henry was roller-blading...alone, and Charles and Min were in the Gator. This is what we saw when they made back to the house.

This is a pretty good shot of the 'real' Min. The Min we see at home. He always hides when people talk to him in public. Yes, he's nuts. Poor Charles... he had been working on building a dam in the sandbox. He didn't get too upset though.

First Days of School

School has officially started. Henry started on September 7th and is in the 2nd grade. None of his close friends are in his class, but he loves school anyway. Charles started kindergarten on September 10th. He was very nervous about school starting. But came running out at the end of the day with a smile on his face. I asked him if he liked school, and he said, 'I love school!.' I asked him he had any homework, and he said, 'I don't think so. I don't know what that is.'

Happy Birthday, Charles!!

Charles is 6. Wow!! We spent most of the day in the Cities. We went to the Como Zoo and amusement park. Very much a hit with the boys. Afterwards, we made it through the traffic mess of the State Fair and got to the Mirror of Korea for dinner. We stopped over at Kim's Market for melon bars before we left for home. Charles and Min fell asleep on our way out of St. Paul (at 6:00 p.m.) and slept all the way home. Yes...you're right.... it's not good for a 2 and 6 year old to take a nap at 6 p.m. But, they did crash at 10...not midnight like we had thought.

It has been so fun watching Charles grow to this age and seeing more and more of his personality shine through. On his first birthday, he stuck his fingers in the cake and screamed. He hated it. Now, he's very much a rule-follower (he's going to LOVE school). And, thinks everyone else should follow the same rules....even when you're 2. And, when you don't follow the rules, well... he's not especially happy. He loves to build with Lego's, Lincoln Logs, and in the sand. He could play in the water for hours and hours. He's literally spent the majority of the summer wet and sandy. He also adores ships. He's not a speed talker like Henry. Thankfully...you can really only have one or maybe two of those per family before you start buying stock in earplugs. But he is a thinker and an analyzer. He asks some incredibly thoughtful questions. Most of the time they are also incredibly thought-provoking. He is our Charles. Our Jeong Min 정 민. We love you, buddy!! Pictures with the brothers!!

Opening presents....He got a remote control airplane and a remote control helicopter.