Travel

Our {Un} Reliably Miraculous Car

/ Ali Craft / 2 Comments

An emotional story of our recent car whoas with .gifs of my actual face for emphasis.

(creative liberties taken with the use of the word actual)

Remember that happy, happy day a while back where we felt free to frolic all over Seoul, wind blowing in our hair, just reveling in the new found freedom found in our new-to-us car?

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Let’s just you say you are in a bad way when you are praying for your car to not start. This spring we were plagued with a barrage of car problems. We got to the point where all we wanted was for the car to be consistent. Start, don’t start, but for the LOVE, pick one. We would take it to the shop and they would say nothing was wrong. Suppppperrrr helpful.

It quickly became clear that the only guaranteed way to get our car to start was to call a tow truck. Twice, after trying and failing to start our car for upwards of 30 mins, meanwhile messing with all the buttons in the car which usually helps (does this tell you what kind of fine machinery we are working with?), I surrendered and called a tow truck, only for the tow trucks to show up and the car to miraculously start. The tow truck guys are all pleased and smiling like, yay, no car problem, while I was more like:

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Anytime we would leave the house we would have to leave early to try and account for having take public transportation if the car didn’t start, and then just when it would seem our car was healed, we would leave with no time to spare and boom. Car. No. Workey. This is just as annoying as it sounds. Also, being late for work is awesome.

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So…while we loved (/hated) our ever un-faithful car, we began the hunt for a new car. Actually, during summer break in America we had been given a lead on a van in Korea that some people were trying to sell before moving back stateside. Our friends that passed along the info, a family with 4 kids that don’t want a car because they have vowed to never leave the house again are super heroes, said they weren’t really interested but thought maybe we were.

At this point we still had our broken down car sitting in our parking garage in Seoul, fulling expecting it not to start after upon our return to Korea, so we decided to check on getting the van. In a moment of brainstorming, our superhero friends decided we should both buy the car and share it: GENIUS. So it was settled, we sell our car to the junkyard and get a community van. Naturally this meant that when we returned to Korea our car started just fine and ran like it had no problems…for about 2 weeks and then died again. Please message me for our address if you wish to send your chocolate and sympathies (or a new car).

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In moving ahead on the van we made all the arrangements, pulled off getting a new insurance policy on it in about 8 hours (impressive for life overseas), wired the large amount of money for one year of insurance, and ran out of work like our hair was on fire to make it to the office to have the titled transferred before it closed.

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I will save you the details that don’t even make sense, but after literally jogging to the office to make it in time, we get there and as the people selling it started talking to the car people, it became clear it wasn’t going to work. Basically, it would cost more than than the car AND the insurance to even TRY to transfer it from U.S. citizens (military system) to us (Korean system).

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Whelp. That’s not going to work. Back to square one. So actually, one of our best friends who ABANDONED us to move back to the states after last school year hadn’t been able to find a home for her car before leaving. So great right??? We needed a carrr, she had a carrrr…only one problem…

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This isn’t exactly the perfect car for a large family. But now, in light of all our car whoas, it seemed like a great option. That day, we picked it up at school and drove it home. We pulled up next to our broken down car in the parking garage, and began to transfer carseats. There is nothing worse than hauling all the kids to the car and then trying to install 3 carseats. I was happy to find that it did have 3 seat belts, so the whole family would fit!

We hefted them out of the old car and I started on one carseat while Isaac grabbed another. We threaded the belt through them one at a time, buckled it, and then went to tightened it. That’s when something very curious happened. The seatbelt went totally loose…

Ya, pretty sure that buckle part is supposed to be firmly attached to the car. Alrighty then. We tried the second carseat with the exact same result. We stood in shock and dismay and decided, “ok, well, this is now the adults only car” (and any passengers that like to live on the wild side).

I figured at least we still had a car to get to and from school and to get to home quickly from tennis practice. That was until 3 days later it refused to start. Well, then. Now we have 2 non-working cars sitting in the parking garage, and I just don’t even have the energy to deal with it.

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Thankfully we have a wonderful Korean friend that heard of our plight and now is traversing the World Wide Web for us, trying to find us a new community van with a couple promising options. I will keep you posted on our car adventure, and until then, we’ll be waiting at the bus stop like…

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Traveling With Kids: The Master Class

/ Ali Craft / 2 Comments
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I should feign humility, but I’d really like to think that if I have any skills at all (besides making babies) it’s traveling with kids. After all, I have spent the last two years conducting some very intensive research on the topic and we have all lived to tell about it. May you find it helpful and if not, take heart, horrific travel experiences make for great stories; consider it your contribution to mankind.

Also, my experience is obviously geared around younger kids, so my advice will be too. I would like to think that by the time my kids are older they will pack and carry their own stuff, watch movies and eat junk food for the duration of the trip, and leave me the mess alone. Don’t you dare spoil it for me.

Some tips and tricks for traveling with (young) kiddos:

  1. Don’t.
    • Ha. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. For real now.

 

  1. Talk up the trip.
    • Build excitement about the trip. Talk about riding in the car/plane and about all the things you will do and people you will see when you get there. Try and make travel days something to look forward to and not to dread.
  2. Wear them out before leaving.
    • Let them play outside or run round before loading up. The last thing you want to do is try and travel with kids with pent up energy. When flying, after we get to the gate we try and let the kids run around, climb stairs etc. for a bit before boarding. Our airport in Korea has a play area for young kids; check to see if your airport has one.
  3. Travel days are SPECIAL.
    • Things that would never fly on a normal day are totally ok on travel days. These are the days that there is no moderation, no balance, and no one is trying to win a parenting award. There are limitless snacks and too much TV, and that is OK. The only people judging you are your fellow kid-less passengers, and they too may one day know just how real the struggle is.
  4. Snacks.
    • “Healthy” (crush proof) snacks: Feel free to pack Cheetos and gummy bears, but eventually you may to want them to stop eating that, lest you want to clean up puke. I try to pack mostly things that if my kid ate their weight in it, I wouldn’t be too concerned. Find the balance between some special snacks and things that will make them be excited but not too sugary/sticky/etc. Ex. pretzels, applesauce pouches, dried fruit, trail mix, cheese sticks.
    • Pack snacks in Nalgene bottles: Still want to take fragile snacks? Can’t live without Goldfish? Fill up an old water bottle with snacks to keep them from getting crushed and spilled in your bag.
    • Ziplock bags: Great to have on hand to distribute snacks and/or collect trash. Each kid gets a baggie to hold their snacks and they can be refilled as needed.
  5. Movies.
    • We also try and bring some device for the boys to watch movies. Make sure to charge devices the night before, maybe load a new movie or two, and bring headphones and a headphone splitter if they are sharing.
  6. Wrap up some new (or even old) toys.
    • Go to your local dollar store or bargain bin and stock up on small/inexpensive toys and grab some cheap wrapping paper to wrap them. We try to space out letting the boys open them so they have something to look forward to. We have even wrapped up some old toys before, so this would be the perfect time to wrap that toy that you loathe, and pray it disappears into the airplane abyss.
  7. Clean crafts.
    • Color magic
    • Stickers
    • Painters tape
    • Magna Doodle
    • Wikki Stix
    • Tongue depressors with velcro dots on the ends for building
    • Temporary tattoos
      • All respectable children should have at least a half-sleeve by the time you arrive.

Driving tips:

  1. Car toys.
    • We have a special basket of toys that live in the car. What makes them special you ask? THEY LIVE IN THE CAR. They don’t come inside, so there is automatic anticipation to use them. #momhack
  2. Landmark incentives.
    • Ex. You can have another snack/open another toy when we cross the big bridge! It gives them something to look forward to and keeps them from running through treats too quickly.
  3. Talk about what you see.
    • When I can tell the kids are getting antsy (“I wanna get outtttt” on repeat) I sadly turn off our audio book and talk to the kids about the scenery. Judah has learned lots about back hoes (and I’ve realized I don’t know nearly enough names of construction equipment to be a proper boy mom) and water towers…and I have only almost driven off the road as Judah excitedly spots them and shrieks “NOTHER BACK HOE, MAMAAAA!!”.
  4. Maximize your stops.
    • Sometimes your kids need a slow, no stress kinda trip with lots of stops, and thats ok, but otherwise, we try and make the trip as short as possible. We try to multitask at each stop, ex. I will nurse Z and Isaac can let the boys run around at a rest stop or Isaac will do diapers while I pump gas and grab food. Road trips are great all, but sometimes it good to just get to your destination.

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Flying tips:

  1. Consider bringing carseats. 
    • We brought carseats on the flight for the first time on our last trip from DFW to Seoul. It was a game changer for us as Isaac was sitting in a middle row of 3 with the boys so there was no way to barricade them both in, and I was one row in front with Zoey. Our boys are pretty good road-trippers, so putting them in their carseats made them seem much more calm and happy to stay in their seat than ever before. I don’t think it is right for everyone or for every trip, just consider your kids ages, temperament, and length of flight. Also, you have to make sure you carseat is FAA certified; it should say on it or have a sticker if it is. 
  2. Get the bassinet seat. 
    • If you are flying, especially internationally with a baby (usually ~1 and under, but it is based on height and weight), a bassinet can be super helpful. At the very least hopefully you can get baby settled in it so you can eat hands free. Check with your airlines as some will reserve it for you ahead of time, and some have you request it on a first-come-first-served basis at check in. You also have to be sitting in the first row of the cabin to use the bassinet. I will say it is basically Murphy’s law that if your baby is fussy and you finally console them and get them to sleep in the bassinet, the the seatbelt sign will turn on and you will be asked to hold your baby. I have definitely gotten to the point of exhaustion where I just want to say, “LISTEN LADY, I assure you that if it gets bad enough, I will grab my baby, but for the love of ALL THINGS, pleaseeeeee don’t make me move them yet.”-the pleas of an exhausted mama.
  3. Cheap toys.
    • We try and bring toys that we wouldn’t lose sleep over if they got left on the plane accidentally, as everything ends up getting spread out over the course of the flight. Again see: wrap up dollar store toys.
  4. If you have small children, bring water on as long as they will let you.
    • Staying hydrated can make all the difference in how you feel at the end of an international flight, so bring water if you can. Usually with young kids, as long as you set it aside while going through security so they can scan it, they will allow it. At the very least bring an empty water bottle to fill up on the other side of security.
  5. Bring empty sippy cups. 
    • Instead of worrying with bringing milk or juice for our kids, we just pack them empty, and ask the flight attendants to fill them. They have always been happy to oblige.
  6. Cabin pressure.
    • I feel like this is common knowledge, but when flying with babies-toddlers, just try to nurse/feed or have them sip something through a sippy cup during take off and landing to help their ears adjust to the change in pressure. Between 3 kids and more flights than I can count, we have never had an issue.
  7. Fly Tot.
    • We also have this thing called the Fly Tot that we love for helping little ones stretch out and sleep. It is basically an inflatable footrest so that they can lay down. You should guess we are all too happy to through money at anything that might help my kiddos sleep. We have been really happy with it. See the Fly Tot here.

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Things to consider:

  • Baggage allowances- most airlines allow for an extra bag as the infant’s diaper bag, a collapsible stroller to be checked at the gate, and then extra allowance to check pack n’ plays, carseats, or larger strollers. Check ahead of time!
  • Some airlines will allow you to select a special kids meal (hot dog, spaghetti, pizza, etc.), infant meal (water for making bottles, premixed formula), or even an older infant meal (baby food, juice).
  • Early boarding- most airlines will let you board before they board the main cabin. This will allow you to get everyone settled and claim your overhead compartment space near your seat.
  • Airports will often let you use express lines for security, immigration, or customs if you have your hands full. Don’t be afraid to ask. I’ll never forget after a particularly horrific day of travel we walked up to the immigration line and it was ENDLESS, and I promptly pushed our stroller to the DIPLOMAT/FLIGHT CREW/IMPORTANT PEOPLE line and Isaac’s like, “…babe…” I responded with, “Isaac our kids are screaming, exhausted, and covered in throw up (I told you…horrific). Leaving this airport ASAP would be public service.” *They didn’t turn us away, they must have seen that glimmer in my eye that told them I was fully prepared to fight someone.
  • JUST ASK! There may be extra seats and often times the flight attendants will take pity on you and give you some extra room. Or you can go as far as asking them to move the people around you so that you have more room…I have totallyyyyy never done that. Survival of the shameless.
  • Always bring a change clothes. If not, you are basically daring someone to throw up. Now I know. See: Why You Should Pack Clothes For Everyone.
  • If all else fails, bring earplugs.
    • You can’t win them all. If you have tried everything, sometimes your kids may just fuss. Crank up your favorite jams, pretend the kids aren’t yours, and try to tune it out. 🙂

 

And just for your reading pleasure, a few humorous moments:

 

When turn around to find your son making a call on the TSA telephone.“Sorry, mom, I’ve got to take this”.

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Or when you are going through security and think your husband has the child, your husband thinks you have the child, and then you hear, “um, excuse me, is that your child over there?”. (See your child running through the airport about 20 yards away.) Nope…never seen him before…

 

When you are so over parenting on an airplane that you literally ask the grandma sitting next to you if she wants to hold your baby…and you get him back 5 hours later. ALL THE PRAISE HANDS.

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When your kid refuses to sleep any during the 14hr flight, and finally passes out…while landing. Hello, unconscious Judah.

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When you are headed off for an international trip and you see a well dressed family and wonder where the heck all their stuff is….(that is only half our luggage).

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When your child makes a new friend because he unexpectedly refuses to get on the escalator and you only realize after he is out of reach. #goodparents

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Well, I’m not sure if I have helped, or actually convinced you to not travel until your kids graduate. So, if you get brave, may we see you in the clear skies or the open road. ❤

 

Summer in the States

/ Ali Craft / 3 Comments

I know you were all waiting with baited breath to hear that we did indeed, by the grace of God, endure our first (and second) trans-continental flight as a family of 5. There were fits, sleep fighting, and tears (only a little from adults). The only saving grace of these flights is that it’s doesn’t have to be pretty, we just have to survive. And then there is jet lag…

…and since we are clearly idiots or experts, a traveling with kids post is coming soon.

We spent the summer around some of our favorite people in the whole world, eating good food, playing outside, and not remembering what day it was. Hello, eternal Saturday.

With Isaac’s family we took a little trip to Atlanta to see the Braves play in the new stadium. Naturally, after driving 6 hours with 3 kids, as we pulled into our parking spot at the stadium it started raining. After a 2 hour rain delay, the game finally began at 9pm. Anyone know what it’s like to try and contain un-napped children in public after they should be in bed? Cue snacks…The boys are getting old enough that things are holding their attention more (HALLELUJAH movies on the plane), so it was fun to see them excited for baseball. We finally made it to our hotel around 11:30pm. I’m pretty sure our summer motto was “What bedtime?”.

We also found time to squeeze in two trips to The Varsity between baseball games and a trip to the aquarium. If you are ever in Atlanta and haven’t eaten there, go. Also see: why our pants our snug.

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After our time with Isaac’s family we swung through our old college town to see our best friends for a few days on our way to Texas. And as if we didn’t know we were best friends before, who in their right mind invites your family of 5 with 3 three and under to stay at their house?

The boys thought they were in heaven between the ducks, geese, chickens, horses, lake, bikes, trampoline, and rope swings. I still have no clue how we got them in the car when it was time to leave.

https://youtu.be/hEyRieFsRAM

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Then it was on to Texas to see my family. We took a little trip to Austin, TX for a long weekend. We went to an awesome indoor play place (hello A/C) and children’s museum, and swam at the hotel in the evenings. The boys slept well those nights.

We also made it out to The Oasis on Lake Travis for dinner with friends. The view never disappoints.

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On the way home from Austin we took the long (out of the way) route, to take Isaac on a little tour of Texas. We toured the Shiner brewery in Shiner, TX, stopped by the Blue Bell creamery in Brenham for some ice cream and a quick hello to a cousin who lives there (hey, Stephanie!), and then headed on to College Station just so we could drive through enemy country.

Have I mentioned the best part of both family road trips was that our kids were in the other car with their grandparents??? We didn’t want to deprive them of quality bonding time, after all…

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It was the best summer we have had in a long time. The kids traveled so well and we got to see so many people we love. Now that Nana (my mom) and Nino (Isaac’s mom) have summers off, we just need to find a way to get Grandad (my dad) and Poppy (Isaac’s dad) off work and it will be PERFECT! We survived one more trip over the Pacific and it’s right back into work. School started for teachers last week and kids came this week, varsity tennis starts today, and our schedule is full of catching up with people we have missed all summer long.

What a gift we have to have family all over the world.

P.S. Here are some new pictures of our school! They worked all summer redoing the entrance.

 

 

 

 

Kid Update and Summer Plans

/ Ali Craft / 2 Comments

I can officially say, nothing makes a school year fly by like having a baby in January. I really can’t believe that summer is next week. I think I may be in denial as summer=packing and flying 14hrs with our new family of 5.

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Isaac and I have been reading the book Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp, which is all about godly parenting and making sure the purpose of discipline is to teach your children to love and obey God, not just obey us for our own convenience. As we begin to discuss this upcoming flight with our 3 year old, 1 year old, and 4 month old, we have decided that the goal is to give them whatever they want, as far as humanely possible, and as Isaac told me, “ain’t nobody’s heart getting shepherded on that plane”. Operation just survive is a go.

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Isaac and I coached middle school tennis this spring, which was a lot of fun. Zoey was our MVP this season, for sure.

The cherry blossoms, magnolias, and the azaleas have come and gone, and we are headed straight for hot and humid.

We have had some extra time to appreciate the foliage this spring as our children’s love for throwing things out the window has been reignited. Yes, we strongly scold them and no, they do not listen. Asher is basically on house arrest and not allowed to approach the windows.

As the temperatures have warmed up we have been outside every chance we get, barring when the air quality or my allergies are trying to kill us.

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Lately we have been working with Judah on his numbers and letters. Naturally his favorite number is four, so if you ask him to count it always starts “fourrrrr, fiveeeee”. Sorry boutcha 1, 2, and 3. He is always in parent mode, ready to scold Asher, hold his hand in the street, or rock Zoey (with or without adult consent or assistance).

Also, lately Judah has become more particular about how things are done. Isaac always just gives me a look and says “he’s your child”. I think I’m offended. So walking to church the other day I realized Judah was lagging a bit and I turned around to see him trying to readjust a paver that wasn’t flush with the others. Bless him…he comes by it honestly.

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Asher is becoming Mr. Independent. He is happy playing on his own, and has adopted Judah’s attitude about everything, “MY DO”. So fun. Makes everything more enjoyable, like the 857 tasks that at the ripe age of 1, he insists he can complete on his own, when as a matter of fact, he can’t. Knowing that this summer sleeping arrangements will vary, we have just transitioned to a big boy bed to hopefully give us more options for bed assignments. The boys have seemed to get a big kick out of being roommates the last few months, but I’m sure all bets are off for the kids’ sleeping well for the next while. The word of our life…transition. Something is ALWAYS in transition.

Zoey

Hey-ooo. Zoey’s first official kid update. She’s a champ. She is a happy, smiley, get-along kind of gal.

*me frantically knocking on ALL the wood*

It has been such a treat to cough, cough, finally have a laid back baby. She tolerates her brothers prodding fingers and not-so-gentle touches like a trooper. She currently sleeps about 10p-4a and will eat and go back to sleep until I feed her right before work at 6. More nights than not, it is Judah getting up and out of bed that keeps us up more than Zoey.

And not to worry, just like Judah and Asher, she draws attention when we are in public.

So we are T-11 days until we land in Texas for summer break. We will be there for a few days, and then head on to Mississippi to see Isaac’s family and his sister’s wedding, then come back to Texas and spend sometime before heading back to Seoul at the end of July. We are so excited for the open road, Mexican food, cokes bigger than 8 oz, and seeing all our friends and family. Here’s to having three kids in one row in the car where *gasp* they can touch each other. I am not above driving like this.

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See you soon, America!

Kid’s Cafe: A Parents Escape

/ Ali Craft / 6 Comments

Folks…America needs to get on this ASAP. This is basically like ten steps above a Chick-fil-A with a play place. The price might also be ten steps above Chick-fil-A, but there are days I would literally throw my wallet at anything promising to entertain my children while I sat down (note: my wallet is probably empty anyways).

Kids cafes are a big deal here in Korea, and admittedly, we have not been taking full advantage. We’ve only been to two, but with baby three on the way, something tells me kids cafes could soon be playing a large part in keeping our sanity.

These cafes are all over, often with different themes. Last week we explored our second, and now favorite kid’s cafe, Lilliput. This one was about $13/kid for 2 hours and you had to buy food or a drink. So while my kids play I have to enjoy a delicious snack, or drink?? … Twist my arm. They even have staff that are there to monitor and play with your kids while you sit. I’m thinking we might move in permanently.

When you come in you leave your shoes in a locker, and take a pair of snazzy Lilliput sandals to wear, helping to ensure the place stays nice and clean…a very Korean custom. You pay for your time at the counter and are given a menu and shown to your table.

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We went with another couple (hey, Mandy!) and their two kids, so we got lucky and were given this private sitting area all to ourselves! I am working on the assumption that they may have wanted to hide the rowdy foreigners, compared to the usually calm, quiet, and composed locals, but then again maybe they were just being nice.

*Imagine here a picture of our super swank private area that I forgot to take a picture of.*

If you squint and look past the mom and son playing, our hang out area was just next to the ball pit, with a low table and pillows for lounging.

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Not pictured is a sweet lego area/craft area that the boys will love when they are older.

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Here is Judah cruising on his Land Rover.

Asher playing a rousing game of hand the shoes to the kind employee. They both loved it.

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This “sandbox” is actually filled with little wooden cubes! Way better than bringing home sand.
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Introducing the cleanest ball pit ever, with clear balls so you feel less like there is something terrifying underneath. Also, that wall is interactive so you throw the balls at it in different games. Fancy.

 

Here is a not so appetizing picture of half finished delicious food, I was too hungry to take a picture before eating. We had margarita pizza, carbonara, and french fries. This is what happens when a pregnant lady misses lunch…

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And if you had any questions about our spectacular parenting…mid-bite of pizza I looked over to see this. Naturally I took a photo while Isaac rescued him. I won’t admit how hilarious I find this photo, so don’t even ask.

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Side note: since you obviously wouldn’t wear your nice Lilliput sandals in the fancy bathroom (I would, but I am basically an untrained monkey) that comes complete with baby-sized toilet, they have bathroom sandals for your selection. Kids sizes too, so cute.

It was so lovely to visit and enjoy a meal with our friends as our kiddos played. I feel like at this stage of life for us the only way to have an adult conversation is to get a sitter, or have people over after the kids are in bed (lol at that because that’s when I go to bed,too).

So if you need me, you can likely find me at Lilliput.

{Part THREE} The final chapter of our (NOT) quick trip to Jeju.

/ Ali Craft / Leave a comment

The never-ending blog post of the never-ending “quick” trip is coming to a close. And all God’s people said, amen!

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(If you missed part 1 or part 2, here ya go)

The next morning, after a restless night of sleep, we headed down for breakfast and to see if any headway had been made in flights. We were told that we had new flights scheduled for 7pm, and that we would check out the hotel by 12 and kill time until heading to the airport. We thought we would try and get the boys to take an early nap since we would be on the go for the rest of the day, which resulted in 2 hours of telling Judah to lay down while we sat in a pitch black hotel room. We stored our bags at the hotel and headed off to lunch.

Then it was off to find some formula for Asher just in case of emergency, of all the things we can make do without, soy formula is NOT one of them. We flagged a taxi outside of the restaurant, carefully jumped in with Judah still in the hiking pack, and just as we started to move I remembered: THE PACI! I vividly remembered it falling under the table at the restaurant and thinking, oh I’ll get it later. In that chaotic moment, my minimal Korean came to mind and I hollered, “Ki-dah-ryo-ju-se-yo!” (WAIT, PLEASE!). I threw open the taxi door, ran back inside, ducked under the table, grabbed the paci, and was back in the taxi in seconds. Considering that was the only paci we brought, and they don’t sell the kind Asher likes in Korea, that could have been very very bad.


We got to the grocery store with no problem, and found the formula we needed. Victory! We were a little bummed out that we had forgone site-seeing to get formula, so we figured we would wander around for a little bit before catching a taxi back to the hotel and then heading to the airport. We were pleasantly surprised to find the ocean directly behind the store. Which brings me to another favorite memory from the trip. In the last month Judah has taken to calling any liquid, milk. Cup of juice? Milk. Water fountain? Milk. Judah had been asleep in the hiking pack after finally giving up the fight while shopping. We were walking along the ocean front when he wakes up and seeing the ocean, yells “MILK!!!”. Not quite, buddy.

We made it back to hotel to meet the group, grabbed our bags, and hopped in a taxis to the airport; we were so close to being home. {cries quietly}

Ok. I can’t even keep this up anymore. We get to the airport and get all checked in. This was the scene. People as far as the eye could see. Us and 40,000 of our closest friends trying to get off of this island. (At one time, the flight from Jeju to Seoul was the most heavily trafficked air route in the world.)

We made our way through security to realize that we hadn’t even seen the half of it.

The next six hours looked a bit like this:

  • Lines so long at the bathroom you just resolve yourself to be dehydrated. No line for the men’s bathroom because, duh.
  • Getting stepped on/over and almost going all mama bear crazy because people are about to step on your sleeping baby.

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  • A toddler that refused to nap/sleep because there was obviously a party to partake in.

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  • Koreans finding cardboard boxes to break down to sit on to avoid sitting directly on the ground. You should know that as shoes are taken off when entering the home, they are apparently also taken off before stepping on your cardboard box… that you got from the trash.

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  • No real nutrition, as airport restaurants ran out of food, leaving us to share snacks from duty free. Macadamia nuts, chocolate covered macadamia nuts, and dried mango do not a dinner make.
  • Leaning back to back with Isaac to find some reprieve.

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  • Ajummas (Korean grandmas) that kept giving Judah food. While the rest of us may have gone without dinner, Judah certainly did not. There was fried chicken, kimbap (let’s just say it’s like sushi), cookies, rice cakes, candy, more cookies. Because if there is one thing that a sleep deprived child needs it is sugar. Isaac would try and take a bite and then give Judah only half, but the adjummas weren’t having it, so they would give him two the next time. Also fun, is when they offer him something he doesn’t like, so I try to keep him from spitting it or at least don’t let them see it, so what happens? They offered him more, while I sat there discreetly holding the last half chewed bite they gave him…

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…so we showed up to the airport at 4:30pm for our 7pm flight. That became a 9pm flight. That became a “please come check later for info on your flight” flight. At 10:45pm, among shouts of joy and possibly actual tears, we boarded our plane home. Now, THIS was the happiest we have ever been to see a plane.

We made it home just after 2 am. We are alive, and have since recovered from the illnesses we somehow ended up with after our relaxing getaway. It was one of those events that is so traumatizing, that the group was bonded together for life, so to my Jeju trip family and the ones of you that have stuck through this whole story and are now equally scarred:

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{Part TWO} Did we survive? The conclusion of our trip to Jeju island.

/ Ali Craft / 1 Comment

Day 2 of our trip: ~2am in a dark hotel room in Jeju island, Korea:

Isaac- “Are you shaking the bed?”

Ali- “What?? Huh?? No…”

(we were both confused but fell right back to sleep)

It was only when we woke up to a text from my dad asking if we had heard about the earthquake in Japan that it all came together. Luckily we were far enough away to only feel the small tremors, but it was certainly erie to realize that we are all at the mercy of “mother nature”. Anyways, let’s just say that the tone had been set for a day full of unexpected moments…

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Site of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake- Japan’s Kyushu Island

We were up early and headed back to the hotel restaurant for a buffet breakfast, thankfully with plenty of “western options”. You guys, if I have not mentioned before, let me just tell you, of all the things we love about Korea, Korean breakfast is not one of them. Basically, Korean breakfast looks the same as Korean lunch and Korean dinner, and 8am is just a little too early for these people to be eating kimchi.

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After breakfast, we loaded up the vans and were off to a day of adventuring and hiking. Rain had been forecasted so our faithful tour guide suggested that we follow the planned schedule as long as we could, and reevaluate if it started raining. Cue rain.

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Our new plans were announced within minutes and we were off to Aqua Planet: Jeju. Going to the largest aquarium in all of Asia as your back-up plan isn’t too shabby. It was Judah first visit to the aquarium out of utero (and let’s be honest, that view wasn’t the best), so we were excited to take him. We also made it the whole way to the end with Judah and Asher in there respective carriers, which was a major victory; we got to actually look at fish as opposed to herding kiddos.

Luckily, we beat most of the crowds by going first thing in the morning; as we left I am confident that no less than 75% of the population of Korea had shown up.

Then is was lunch time, our favorite. We had our pick of two of Jeju’s most popular foods, black pork (from a kind of pig native to Jeju) or fish. I will say that while in the States, Isaac and I are huge fans of seafood, we generally steer clear of it here as it often refers to squid (don’t think yummy calamari) or “fishy” fish that we have never heard of served with bones. While in America we almost always eat our fish filleted, it is said that Koreans like to eat it on the bone as it seems more fresh. Well, you do you, Korea. So we, and all the rest of our group chose pork which came with a variety of other proteins. It was served in the traditional Korean barbecue style, around a small grill with a retractable vent hood, where we cook the food ourselves.

Sweet baby Asher had fallen fast asleep right as we pulled up to lunch, in true baby form. I just planned to do the mom thing and eat with one arm, but our tour guide asked the waiters if we could make a pallet for him out of the floor cushions in the floor dining section. They happily obliged. When we sat down to eat, all the tables around him were empty, but they quickly filled, and as the ajummas (the name for older ladies in Korean) got seated at the tables near him they couldn’t help but crowd around to take a look and readjust his blanket. It was all in good nature, but thankfully our tour guide made sure that they didn’t disturb him (other wise I would have had to go all mama bear “DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE LAST TIME HE TOOK A GOOD NAP WAS” on them). Crisis averted.

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Next up was the Haenyeo Museum. The term haenyeo refers to female divers that dive for shellfish, seaweed, etc., without the use of diving equipment (their only tools are googles, a basket for their catch, and something to help them balance). This is a tradition that has been practiced for hundreds of years.

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To this day, although the tradition is dying out, there are still many women that continue the trade. The funny thing is that since this kind of work is becoming less popular, the ladies that still participate are even as old as 80+ years. Our tour guide’s aunt is a haenyeo that still practices at the age of almost 70. These women are basically rockstars.

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Sorry, I couldn’t help but put that gif there. Moving right along. By the time we left the museum, it was a full on downpour outside. We bundled up the kids in their carriers, and made a mad dash for the bus, the kids laughing hysterically as they bounced around. We were wet and tired and all ready to be on a plane headed back home. HA. Ha. ha.

We loaded up the bus and were headed to the airport, until the bus pulled over unexpectedly. Everyone began to murmur, wondering why we had stopped. Then there was a quiet announcement at the front of the bus, our flight had been cancelled due to weather. Cue one of the funniest parts of the trip. I turned around to make sure that the people behind me had heard the news; we would not be sleeping in our own beds that night.

Me: “did you guys hear the news?”

Ladies: with two thumbs up and big smiles “ya, we are stopping to get coffee!”

Me: “uhh, ya, but did you hear about our flights?”

Ladies: “wait, what???”

Needless to say I had to be their bearer of bad news, but on the other hand, we now had plenty of time to kill at a coffee shop while people tried to make us new arrangements. Our colleagues and their caffeine habits have certainly helped fuel our “coffee is life” fire.

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Our hosts made us new arrangements near the airport, so off we went to grab a few snacks and dinner before dropping off us at the hotel.

We got to our hotel feeling especially exhausted and whiney, only to find our previous night’s spacious accommodations were a thing of the past; we would be sleeping Lucy and Ricky style in separate twin beds. We made a bed for Judah halfway in the closet, and called for a crib to be sent up, only for them to send the world’s largest porta-crib to our world’s smallest room. The air in the room had also not been switched over from heat to cool yet, so it was a balmy 83 degrees. Opening the window was also not an option because the bad weather brought wind gusts over 50 mph, and the window would just slam shut. We thought we could out smart the wind by propping open the window, only to create a room sized whistle as we channeled that 50 mph wind through our room and under the crack of our front door.

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I only considered breaking the window and using this 5 times.

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You are likely looking for the escape hatch from this post, I too feel your pain. I will stop for now, and if you are looking to put off doing something you hate more than reading this story that will never end, stop on by next time for the real conclusion of our trip to Jeju.

 

P.S. I’m not sure where this should logically go in the story, but it is worth mentioning that as we entered our hotel, we were greeted by a family of giant Asian teddy bears. Ali out. *Mic drop*

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{Part ONE} A “Quick” Trip to Jeju Island

/ Ali Craft / 2 Comments

This story is so absurd, it wrote itself; please enjoy our sufferings. After our pretty intense escapade to the Philippines, we thought an overnight trip to Jeju, a small volcanic island off Korea’s southern coast, would be just the thing. All the older/wiser/people with a brain, are welcome to go ahead and start laughing now. Our school is part of a foundation of Korean foreign schools, that so kindly host trips each year to show the staff Korea. Our trip began with a 5:30am departure, no big deal after our 3am departures to and from the Philippines; the kids were champs. Never mind me leaving my phone on the bus in the chaos of unloading, thankfully it was a bus from our school, and Korea is well known for the fact that if you lose something, odds are good that someone will turn it in. Yay, Korea. Now, just look at that happy bunch.

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We got all checked in and were given our boarding passes, which is when we realized that we were already supposed to be boarding, and so the adventure began. You must know how this story goes, we are in a massive hurry so of course, the security line has never been longer or slower.

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I am still wondering if I will ever be able to go through security without breaking out in a sweat from wrangling bags, children, boarding pass, etc. I have no doubt that I looked as though I had just run a marathon, or died trying.

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Isaac waited for all of our bags to come of the conveyer at security while I took off running with Asher in his Ergo baby carrier and holding Judah, as though the large group of Americans wasn’t drawing enough attention. We are so obviously the poster children for traveling with kids.

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We made our flight by some miracle and the awesome Korean speakers in our group that could fully communicate our distress. We thought we would never be so happy to see a plane……….(there just really aren’t enough … in the world for this, so we will just keep moving)

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We made it to Jeju and were met by our wonderful hosts. We loaded up on the busses and headed off down the rocky coast to breakfast as our tour guide told us all about the island.

FYI: This is the beautiful Korie, fellow teacher and child wrangler extraordinaire, whose help is the only reason we didn’t consider jumping off one of the scenic cliffs.

 

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This was the scene at breakfast. Our efforts to get stranded there and spend the day staring at that view and drinking coffee were thwarted by our ever patient bus driver. After we had been nourished and most importantly, caffeinated, it was off to the bonsai tree garden.

It was so nice and relaxing. Although we love Seoul, there is a rather large problem with air quality especially during spring, so walking through the garden had us all like:

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Next up was the traditional tea ceremony at the tea gardens. One of the things that Jeju is know for is for its tea crops, especially green tea. Isaac and I took turns attending the ceremony since apparently children, boiling water, and ceramics don’t mix. While I did my tea thing, Isaac changed diapers and wrangled kids, and while Isaac did the ceremony, Judah and I made soap, sounds fair right?

Next was a delicious lunch of Korea barbecue. There was a beautiful pool on the patio that the boys had some fun splashing in.

Just when we were ready for a nice long nap in the sun, it was time for a nice windy hike up a hill with fussy kids. We got a late start up the hill as we had diapers to change and caffeine to chug (have you noticed that our move to Korea has increased our reliance on Jesus and caffeine??). From the end of this trail you could see the two small islands that are the southernmost part of Korea. Fun fact: Jeju was the last strongholds that Japan had at the end of the Japanese occupation of Korea before they were completely driven out.

We opted out of the next sight seeing venture (a cliff or something) to let the kids nap on the bus. We did get off long enough to poke around the tourist shops selling the popular Jeju treats: oranges, green tea, chocolates, vitamin C tablets from Jeju oranges, sea cucumbers…guys, this is a real thing, and bleh. We “sadly” missed out when the group tried this. If you haven’t heard of this sea creature, you just need to google it.

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Then it was off to the hotel to get settled. We had a lovely room and a balcony with a killer view.

Dinner was a buffet at the hotel restaurant complete with crab legs, yes, please. We ate our fill, and then some, and just when the kids started to make a scene (read: after) we headed out to the let the kid(s) run around.

We finally headed back to our room for the night and happened upon and interestingly labeled door. I try to live without regrets, but I don’t know that I will ever forgive myself for not giving this a go…I mean really, the fact that this stuff is still around in 2016 makes me happy and concerned at the same time. Something tells me that Koreans must not be quite as “lawsuit-happy” as us Americans…

 

We got the kids in bed and may or may not have been asleep before our heads hit the pillows…that was until the earthquake.

Is she serious? Did we survive? Did all of our fun plans get rained out? Did our flight get cancelled? And then delayed? And then the airport ran out of food???? I guess you will just have to tune in next time for the conclusion of our “not so quick” trip to Jeju island.

 

Spring Break: A Story in Pictures (and words)

/ Ali Craft / 2 Comments

We had a great trip to the Philippines a couple weeks ago. We went with 7 high school students, 4 teachers, and our two kiddos; sadly, we were supposed to take two more students but one ended up with the flu and another one’s grandma passed away. They were missed!IMG_6636

Needless to say we were a little anxious to wake our two cherubs up at 3:30am, load them in a car to the school, a bus for an hour to the airport, a plane for four hours, and then another bus for eight and a half hours to our final destination. Hear this people, there is no surer sign that God is good than us making that voyage without mental breakdown. Hooray.

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Waiting on our bus in Manila to Baguio. It was hot, especially compared to the Korean winter we had come from.

 

 

Our days were filled with breakfast at the seminary we were staying at, vacation bible school in the morning at a local school, lunch provided by the wonderful staff, then back to the seminary for Bible time and then some good old fashioned manual labor. The days were long but obviously worth it. In the evenings we would either order food in or clean up and head into town via a jeepney (the most common means of transportation in the Philippines) to grab dinner. We would come back and get our kiddos in “bed” just in time to debrief our day with the team.

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Isaac and I feel very strongly that the main benefit of short term mission trips are to expose the people on the trip to cultures outside of their own, as well as a different way of life, and even just a reminder that we don’t serve an American (or Korean) God, as opposed to the idea that we are providing some sort of life changing aid or spiritual enlightenment. There were even many times this trip as we were teaching VBS that the Filipino kids would finish our sentences during the Bible story. The real value we saw was the impact the trip had on our students. They are very privileged and they were able to witness people satisfied without material things. It was also a great time while they were out of their normal routine and comfort zone to talk more about the role that God plays in their personal life. And not to go unmentioned, the obvious impact of short term missions in our family was to broaden our horizons and to give us a heart to share Jesus with rest of the world.


Being my first mission trip as a mama, the best part for me was watching my kids interact with our students, the fellow leaders, and the local Philippine people. Needless to say, they were the stars of the show. I was told as we said goodbye on the last day, “We will miss…Judah and Asher”. All week the awesome ladies from the school watched our kiddos while Isaac and I taught bible stories. At one point one our VBS students came to me and said, “Mrs. Craft, can I hold your baby?”, I told her that I didn’t even know where he was, to which she replied, “oh, he’s with the security guard.” Well, at least he’s safe, right?

On Monday of our trip, our sweet Judah turned the big T-W-O. We celebrated in style with lots of balloons, love, and cake. Lots of cake. Our awesome co-leaders and the ladies at the school had coordinated to get Judah an awesome double layer birthday cake to celebrate.

This post would not be complete without a proper shoutout to our fellow trip leaders. These rockstar ladies kept all the balls in the air while we changed diapers, feed kids, and coordinated naps/betimes. Not to mention they did more than their fair share of Craft child herding/holding. We humbly refer to ourselves as the Dream Team, but really, we are awesome. (It is critical to know that the sign they are pointing at says DANGER: HOT WORK IN PROGRESS KEEP OUT) It is photos like this that need posting to the internet that validate all my hard blogging work.

Our team was plagued with something resembling the flu and threats of getting acquainted with Philippine hospitals kept things interesting. Four out of our seven students ended up sick but luckily the leaders dodged the bullet. During our last day we stopped off at a local market for a few souvenirs. Naturally the guys on the team had no interest in getting out so they got put on kid duty. Much to their chagrin, moments after we left them alone Judah started throwing up. Bless their high school boy hearts. One of the students managed to find us to deliver the message, “Judah just threw up massively”. Massively; great word choice. The next words out of his mouth were, “I tried to entertain him (the child that had just thrown up) but it didn’t work.” How bizarre, usually you can joke a toddler right out of the stomach flu…bless. Bless. BLESS. We got him home and cleaned up (with our precious driver buying Judah two brand new “I-love-the-Phillipines”-esque  t-shirts so he had clothes to change into. He got sick one more time as we somberly packed up for our 3am departure for our voyage back to Seoul.

We braced for the long travel day ahead, packing extra outfits for Judah, a t-shirt for me, and plenty of barf bags. The vans pulled up at 2:45am and we loaded up, Judah burning with a 102 degree fever. Praise God that his fever broke somewhere between Isaac and I almost throwing up ourselves from our driver’s enthusiastic maneuvering through the mountains and our arrival in Manila. We ended up at the airport with plenty of time to spare, so we set up shop for the next 5 hours.


Finally, we boarded our plane and thought we were home free. In case you didn’t know that God has a sense of humor, as the wheels left the ground I was graced with the sound of not Judah, but sweet baby Asher (the child with only one set of extra clothes) throwing up on Isaac (the parent with no extra clothes). We survived with only one more round of vomiting; I can’t say as much for the handy airplane blankets.

We landed in Korea a little worse for wear but so happy to be home. Let’s just say that when we approached the customs line that ended up taking our friends two hours to clear, I took it upon myself to take my foul smelling and acting children directly to the line reserved for more important people than us and dared someone to stop me. They didn’t. We got through, grabbed our bags and a taxi home, stepping foot into our apartment 20 hours after leaving that morning.

And I know I’m crazy because I would do it all again.