Highlights of 2015

I may have dropped the ball on blogging this year, but I am not going to miss highlighting our 2015 and getting one last post in before the new year. 

This year brought a lot of changes for us. We started the year in Korea finishing up our teaching contracts and soaking up our last few months before leaving for the states. 

We went around Seoul. Took in a baseball game, ate at our favorite places, and went to Pyeongchang- the host of the 2020 Winter Olympics. It was great to take a few days before our long flight back for a nice relaxing trip by ourselves. It was such a quite town and just what we needed. 

In February, we took an 8 day trip to Thailand. This would be the last international trip for awhile, and for the most part we enjoyed every minute of it. We had so many adventures and I can't wait to finish blogging about it. 

In May, we moved back to the states and with that we had a nice long summer vacation seeing our family. We had so many nice adventures-- here are some of our pictures to hold you over until I catch up. 

The first stop back in the states was to Orlando to visit Universal Studios and of course the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was just as amazing as you would think. Matt and I had a blast with my little siblings, Jud and Olivia, and my cousin, Jessie. 

May also brought a mini-family reunion in St. Augustine, and watching two of my cousins graduate high school. 

{Mmmmm Butterbeer}

After my birthday, ekk 27!, we headed out West. Our first stop was California to see my dad and his wife. We had adventures in Lake Tahoe, Matt picked up fly fishing, and we took a took to Disneyland. 

We also got to visit Devils Postpile. Matt and my dad went fishing and I had fun at the camp sight and took a mini hike. 

Matt and I then took a road trip to Idaho to see his parents. We were able to see Jackson Hole, WY, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone. 

Idaho was filled with family reunions both on my side and Matt's. 

Three generations worked and finished this quilt. Matt and I love it. 

Disneyland was amazing. We were there for the 60th anniversary, and I loved every minute of it. 

We went camping a few times this summer, and I loved it. Any place with Matt is good for me. 

When the summer ended, I started graduate school at Georgia State. And a whole new adventure started. We haven't had too many traveling adventures, but the end of the year still brought a lot of change. 

We actually had all six siblings in one place and took some squinty eyed pictures. 

On Thanksgiving this year, I ran my first and maybe last half marathon! 

And Matt and I celebrated five years of marriage! 

 And those were the highlights of our 2015! 

Cheers to you and yours!

Have a happy new years. 

Matt's 28th Birthday and Pie Palooza

I know I said I wanted to get back on the blogging wagon, and I have to admit I've been a little overwhelmed. There is so much I have to share with y'all that I got stuck on where to start. 

But today, as I was going through our pictures, I decided to talk about Matt's amazing birthday party from this past July. 

This was Matt's first birthday back in the states and the first one with his family in a long time, so I knew I wanted to do something big. Since Matt loves pie, I decided have a pie themed party. 

We opted for 28 pies on the table verses 28 types of pie. We did it this way so there would be a variety in the shapes and sizes of the pies. 

Matt was very picky with the pies he wanted to include in his party. He decided on the following: Apple, Oreo, Peach Crumble, Lemon Merengue, Strawberry, Banana Cream, Grasshopper, S'more, Chocolate, Chocolate Coconut,  Key Lime, and Chocolate Peanut Butter. 

I was responsible for all the pudding based ones and his mom did the fruit pies. Some were regular pie size, mini pies, pies in a cup, or two bite pies. I love the way the table turned out and I think the variety was awesome. The different size pies allowed us to not be too overwhelmed with pie leftovers, which was great. 

{Can you see the faint 28 in the pie crust} 

For lunch, we served pizza (you know like pizza pie), and we had Mexican glass bottle coke and IBC root beer. We had a lot of Matt's Idaho family over at Matt's parent's house, and it was great to see them all. Matt had a good visit with his family, most of whom he hadn't seen in years. 

I tried all of the pies, except the coconut one-- cause gross, but I was happy with all of them. But I did realize I am more of a pudding pie person, not a fruit pie person-- and Matt's the opposite. 

The Bowen children really love their sweets, and I love spoiling them and getting them sugar high. 

My grandpa and his girlfriend, Rena, were able to come over from Boise for the party. 

Eli, our nephew, really fell in love with the root beer. 

Obachan, Matt's grandmother, was able to make a visit from Hawaii to see us while we were in town. It was great to see her, and we can't wait to go to Hawaii and visit her soon. 

The Ho and Bowen Family. We finally got an updated family picture, although I'm sure we will need a new one soon as this family seems to always be growing! 

I think Matt had a great time at his party. The food was good and the company was even better! 

Getting Back in the Game

I can't believe the last time I've wrote on this blog! I feel guilty for abandoning it, and not documenting the wonderful summer and fall we've had. 

So, this is my attempt at getting back to this blog writing thing. 

I hope to go back and share our past adventures and keep track with what is going on with our current life. 

I don't have much time tonight now to write, but here's a quick list of what's been going on. 

1. We moved back to Georgia after living in South Korea for about 2 years. 

2. We visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando with my younger siblings and my cousin. 

3. Took a trip out West and visited my dad, Matt's family, and my Idaho family. 

4. Visited Yellowstone, Devil's Postpile, Yosemite, Jackson Hole, the Tetons, and Disneyland

5. Had a family reunion with Matt's family 

6. Started graduate school and almost finished with my first semester 

7. Trained for a half marathon - race day is Thanksgiving! 

8. Saw my sister, Chantal, and her daughters for the first time in years

9. Started looking for apartments 

10. Getting excited for our 5th wedding anniversary 

Friday Letters #72

Happy Friday Y'all! 

How lucky- two posts in one day. But I've had a lot of free time at work, and I thought this would be a good use of my time. There's only so much facebook one can take at a time. 

So I haven't done a letters post in a while, so here is what we've been up to. 

-Weekend adventure trip to Seoul 

-Watched a Korean baseball game Doosan Bears vs. LG Twins 

-We sat on the Doosan side and had a blast. The cheer section was amazing. I think I am going to do a whole post about it

- I really committed to my team and bought this super cute bear headband 

-After the game we hit up the Hard Rock Cafe Seoul. 

-Booked our tickets to California to visit my dad 

-The next day we went shopping around COEX Mall. This is the world's largest underground shopping mall

-We ate some yummy Mexican 

-Went to the aquarium 

-Drank some delicious Gong Cha bubble tea 

-Last weekend, I went to a baby shower for a friend at church

-We got a care package from my Fahey grandparents

- I started working on my family history work again 

-Kept running (I'll be hitting the 5 mile mark this weekend) 

-Found this cool ice cream Avengers cake for Matt 

-Had a date night to see Avengers last night

-Experienced a Korean photo booth 

-Finished up our 2nd to last week of teaching (only 4 more work days left!)

- Watched Star Wars with Matt 

-Bought the rest of the yarn for my ripple pattern blanket. Don't ask how much that cost

And that pretty much sums up our last few weeks. We are getting a little sad about leaving, but mostly just so excited about this new adventure we are starting! 

Happy Friday again. 

Love, Alex