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. 

Reflections #20

Happy Monday Y'all! 

Well, we've made it to our last month. On the 10th, I hit 20 months of living in Korea. 

This is our last month living in Korea, and I am filled with mixed emotions. In 26 days, Matt and I will be boarding a plane headed for the ole USA. 

Mostly, I am excited about going back home. I am ready to be in a country where I can understand 100% of what is going on around me. I am excited to eat the yummy food. I am excited about not having to work at my current job ever again. I am excited about our really cool summer plans (Harry Potter world, Georgia, Idaho, Utah, California, Disneyland!!!)

But this weekend, Matt and I stayed up in Seoul for a mini-getaway and it reaffirmed my love for this country. I absolutely love Korea. I would move back to Korea in a heartbeat if the jobs we were offered were way better than our current situations. And if we had a way nicer apartment. 

I was siting on the subway heading back to our apartment last night when I realized Matt and I didn't get lost once this weekend. And in fact, we haven't gotten lost in a really long time. Navigating the train and bus lines and walking around the city has become second nature to us. I think at that moment it really hit me that this is home. I always felt like Korea was my current home, but I realized this weekend that we've really adapted to it. The language is still a huge barrier, but it's gotten so much better.

There are a lot of things that annoy me about this country, but I know the same can be said for America. This really has been a wonderful last 20 months.

I am really looking forward to starting our new adventure back in the states. I am excited/ nervous to start graduate school. And I know that we are just pressing pause on our expat adventure. I know that we will return overseas within the next few years. Where that will be- I have no idea, but I know we are going to try as hard as possible to move overseas again.

One more month y'all! 

Reflections #19

Happy Monday Y'all! 

It's been a while since I've reflected on my time here in the ROK. In fact, I left off on month 16. Way back then I listed things I was excited for and things I was nervous for. 

And that list has pretty much stayed the same. Except I am way more excited to be going back, but way more nervous about driving. 

The thing I've realized about nearing the end of your time in a foreign country there are highs and lows. Some days I can't wait for time to speed up (actually this is most of the time). And other days- I really want to take in as much of Korea as I can. We have a few more Korea trips on the books that we are looking forward to. 

We love Korea. We are just tired of teaching English and working for our schools. We are tired of our teeny weeny apartment (and by apartment I mean room). We are tired of the lack of American products. 

But we will miss traveling. We will miss the pretty great public transportation. We will miss living in a foreign country.  

So like I said- highs and lows at month 19 (and really closer to 20). 

Things feel a lot better now that we know exactly where we will be going in May. We are excited for our summer vacation before Matt goes job hunting and I start school! 

I look forward to reflecting for the next two months! 

Have a great week. 

A&M Project 2015: January

Happy Monday Y'all!

This year I thought I would document what Matt and I have been doing. I wanted to capture the little things that we do each month that usually go undocumented. I thought the best way to do this was via pictures. 

Here's how our January looked. 

Watching: A/ Friends on Netflix // M/ Hunter X Hunter on Netflix 

Playing with: A/ Crochet projects // M/ Inking techniques 

Wearing: A/ Cozy slippers, leggings, and my new socks // M/ New wooden bowtie with the Atlanta skyline etched in 

 Reading: A/ Outlander by Diana Gabaldon // M/ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling 

And that's that. 

I look forward to seeing how this project turns out. 

Year in Review: 2014

Happy New Year Y'all! 

I can't believe today is the last day of 2014. Where has the time gone?!? Matt and I were so lucky to have had the opportunity to travel a lot this year, and I thought this would be a great time to recap our year. 

At the start of this year I posted a list of travel destinations we wished to go to this year, and I am happy to say we got to a lot of them. 

{2014 Travel List: Kyoto, Japan ~ Osaka, Japan ~ Boseong Tea Fields, Korea ~ Cherry Blossom Festival, Korea ~ Jeju Island, Korea ~ Taipei, Taiwan ~ Philippines ~ Thailand ~ Cambodia ~ Vietnam ~ Tokyo, Japan} 6 out of 11 isn't so bad. We will be hitting up the tea fields, Thailand and hopefully Jeju before we leave in May. Taiwan and The Philippines will just have to wait till we move back to Asia. 

Here is our year in review- 

We started the year out right by traveling to Kyoto and Osaka, Japan in January and February. We fell in love with Kyoto and wish we could make a return trip. We hope to get back to Japan and spend a long time exploring the wonderful country. We loved the food- the city- and the people. 

In February, we spent a weekend up in Seoul and had a fun time exploring some of the famous palaces in the city. 

March we met up with some friends and explored Incheon. We walked along the board walk- explored Chinatown and had a lot of fun. 

April took us down to Busan and Jinhae for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Busan has to be my favorite part of Korea- I loved seeing the ocean and walking in the sand. 

In May we really stepped out of our comfort zone and traveled to Siem Reap, Cambodia. While this was on our travel list- it wasn't high on the list. But man am I glad the ticket prices were so low and we chose this place over The Philippines. We fell in love with Cambodia. This is another place I would easily travel to again, and I might even be convinced to live there- that's how much I loved it. 

My dad also visited during May. During his visit we explored Korea a bit more. We went back to the DMZ. Took a trip to the Imperial War Memorial where Matt got to see the name of his Great Uncle Tetsuo who died in the Korean War. 

For my birthday in June- we took a trip to Tokyo, Japan. We visited Tokyo Disneyland and ate our way through the park. It was so much fun. We also spent a little time in the city and enjoyed wandering around. 

A bit of July and August was spent cruising along Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. This was a place that grabbed us as well. We loved it. We took in a performance at the famous Hanoi Opera House. We ate wonderful seafood watching the sunset on Ha Long Bay. And had a wonderful time. 

September we took a trip to the steppes of Mongolia. We slept in a ger- held a hawk- rode a horse- and had a blast. Oh Mongolia- we love you. I could live here as well. 

October, November, and December did not include any international travel, but we did continue to explore Korea. We love Korea more each day. While we are excited to be going home and starting this new chapter of getting our graduate degrees under our belts- we can't wait to return to Korea. {And yes- that's a subtle hint that we are already looking at ways to return.} 

October we took a trip to Sokcho and Seoraksan National Park. We went on a few hikes and took in the Fall colors. November we celebrated our 4th anniversary (which I've yet to talk about) and we visited the Seoul Lantern Festival. 

We celebrated Christmas in our tiny apartment and enjoyed our last Christmas in Korea. 

We especially loved looking at the ornaments we collected throughout our travels. 

And that's basically our year all wrapped up. 

We flew around 27,000 miles this year. 

Our passports are filling up quickly. 

Our wanderlust is completely sparked with no signs of slowing down. 

We had a blast and can't wait to see the adventures of 2105. 

Happy New Year's Eve Y'all!