Journey to Korea Part 1: Getting to Seattle

We have two boys, ages 3 and 5. So, when I found out we had orders to Korea, naturally, I was worried about the flights. I did research, research, and more research to read others’ experiences. So now that we’ve made it through, I thought it best to pay it forward and write a few posts about our journey to the ROK. We flew regular, civilian flights to get to Seattle and then Patriot Express from Seattle on. Of course, your voyage may be a little different but this was our experience.

We took leave in Ohio before our trip so we had to drive a rental car from there to the Nashville Airport (where Transportation booked our tickets from). We travelled with 8 big suitcases, 4 carry-ons, and a stroller so we needed something with a lot of space. We rented a mini-van and folded the back seat all the way down. This worked extremely well for our family of four. All the suitcases fit in the back and our boys still had room to wiggle a bit in their middle bucket seats. We used Hertz for our rental and I would recommend them. The price was comparable to all the other companies we checked; no hidden or unexpected fees when we paid, and the return agent even helped us unload our massive amount of luggage at the terminal.

When we arrived at the Nashville airport, things moved pretty quickly. We had about 2 hours until takeoff, but considering everything… that ended up being the perfect amount of time. We first pulled into the “Rental Car Return” garage. The Hertz agent took down our car’s mileage and our names and then got us a Hertz driver to take us over to the Departures terminal. There were luggage carts available to rent right outside the Departures doors. The cost $5 each to rent; we got two and piled them completely full. We (very carefully) pushed them inside and parked in a corner where the boys and I waited with all the luggage while my husband walked down to the Hertz rental counter to close out and pay. It took him maybe 10-15 minutes. When he got back, we got in line at the Southwest Airlines counter to check our 8 bags and print our boarding passes. Our small circus act definitely caught the attention of other travellers in line. Both our boys were so excited, they didn’t hesitate to tell everyone that we were moving to Korea! They all wished us well (and lots of luck!) and we got through the line in about 10 minutes. At the counter, we used the self-kiosk to print our boarding passes and designate how many bags we were checking. The clerk checked my husband and I’s IDs, weighed all the bags one by one, and then took them to be loaded. We left with our carry-ons and the stroller and took the 2 (now empty) luggage carts back outside to return them. You get a quarter back when you return them.

We had about 1 hour until boarding started at this point, so we headed straight for the security checkpoint because it looked pretty busy. There were six lanes open for ID check (this was around 5pm) and we just chose one at random. The TSA clerk check our ID’s and also our children’s’ passports. We proceeded to the X-ray scanners and metal detectors. I folded up the umbrella stroller and sent it through on the conveyer belt. We took off our shoes, emptied our pocked, and got out the laptop and sent them through in the bins. We were told we didn’t have to send our iPads through separately; they could stay in the bags. We sent our carry-ons through and walked through the metal detector as directed by the TSA agent. When we got through to the other side, it was CHAOS! Everyone was rushing around trying to get their things at once. We grabbed all of our belongings, walked bare-footed over to a quieter spot by the windows, and gave our boys their shoes to put on while we got everything else back in order.

By the time we had found a restroom and then walked down to our gate, we had about 20 minutes until boarding. We found a place to “park” by the window so the boys could watch the luggage being loaded onto the plane.

My husband stayed with them while I went to purchase a bottle of water for each of us. When I returned, it was time to start boarding. They boarded the “A” group and then called for family boarding.  With Southwest Airlines, you don’t get assigned seats, you just pick when you get on the plane. We gave them our boarding passes and found some seats near the back. Our plane had 3 seats on each side of the aisle. For us, a family of four with two small children, we decided to sit parent/child and parent/child, one in front of the other. This worked really well; both children got a window seat (which they both wanted), we could easily pass toys and snacks between the seats, and it cut down on sibling bickering since they weren’t sitting next to each other and each had a parent’s undivided attention. We sat near the back to be close to the restroom.

We had a brief layover in Denver where we got off and directly onto another plane at the gate next door. We got to board first since we were “through to Seattle” passengers but we chose the same seating arrangement as before since it worked so well the first time. The flight attendants from our first flight also transferred to our second flight with us. They were awesome. They let the boys get a peek in the cockpit, see all the buttons and lights, and say hi to the pilots. They also gave them extra snacks before takeoff and talked to them about their trip. They made them (and us!) feel so welcome. It made a long flight a bit better knowing that I could ask them for something, or help, if we needed it.

Both our boys did great on the first two flights! They each had their own rolling backpack that they carried or pulled themselves. Except when little brother fell asleep in the stroller on the plane, our oldest was a trooper and took both!

Here’s what we packed for each of them:

iPad mini

headphones

sticker book

coloring book and crayons

small container of play dough

one stuffed animal

blanket

fun neck pillow (which they didn’t really use)

snacks (carrots, apple slices, pretzels, goldfish crackers, granola bars)

My 5-year-old used his iPad and headphones the most and my 3-year-old favored the play dough and his sticker book. They both snacked A LOT! We didn’t really limit their snacks, especially since we were flying at dinnertime. But, we were thankful that we did NOT pack sugary snacks. I feel like that would have been a disaster. My advice? Stick to light whole grains, fruits and veggies, and a little protein if you can.

We made it to Seattle with no major issues or meltdowns. I hope you have the same luck! Check back for my next post, which will be about the second leg of our journey; from Seattle to South Korea!

Annyeong Haseyo

Annyeong Haseyo!

We made it to South Korea!

Actually, I'm a bad blogger... 

We got here three weeks ago.

Let me tell you, it's been a whirlwind of an adventure so far!

If this is any indication of how the next two years are going to be, we are in for a super fun ride!

No. -to answer your first question (if you know me). 

I have not tried any weird foods. 

I'm still trying to "find my feet" just being in this new country. But I PROMISE, eventually I will ingest things I cannot pronounce purely for your entertainment.

I want to say a quick few words about my children. The partners in crime. Pinky and the Brain. The brothers from the same mother (doesn't quite have the same ring...).

Anyways, I just wanted to say this:

my children are amazing.

Of course we've had rough times, where they've ran in front of someone on the sidewalk or fought bedtime many hours into the night. 

But...

for the most part, 

they have taken this move better than I could ever have imagined. 

We are in the hotel here for one more week until our apartment is ready. They are more than ready to be in their own rooms, surrounded by their own things, sleeping in their own beds. However, until then, we'll make the most of #hotellife

Yay for blanket forts!

PCS Leave

We are now within one week of our departure from the US! Crazy!

We've been back in our hometown since right before Christmas (about 3.5 weeks) and I must say, it's been a whirlwind. It feels like time has flown and also like we've been here forever all at the same time. 

A big chunk of our time has been spent trying to get healthy! Southern Ohio as a whole seems to be infected with a nasty respiratory bug right now. My mom had pneumonia over Christmas, my dad had a serious sinus infection and double ear infection, the Soldier had an ugly cold for a few weeks, and I lost my voice and was severely congested for about a week and a half! Thankfully, we are all feeling a bit better.

That's not to say we haven't had some fun!

We spent a wonderful overnight at Great Wolf Lodge playing in their massive indoor water park.

We've played in the snow!

The boys loved it so much! They and my little sister spent almost that entire day outside.

We've celebrated our Buckeyes rolling over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and beating Oregon in the the final playoff to become the National Champions!

{photo from the Columbus Dispatch}

And we've spent lots of time with our amazing family and friends.

It's been a pretty good couple of weeks. I've had a few hard, emotional days. That's to be expected I suppose. My husband reminds me daily that it's all going to be just fine, that in the big picture the things I'm worried about are small, and that we are not going to be away forever. Thank goodness for that man. I don't know what I'd do without him.

Thankgiving 2014

Being as this was our last U.S. Thanksgiving for at least two years, we feel so blessed to have had such a good time with family and friends!

 

The week before we had friends come to Fort Campbell to visit us. We are so blessed that they travelled so far just to see us. The boys were so excited, the absolutely love Tyler and Jenna. Jenna has been my best friend since high school and when Tyler came into her life, it was an instant connection between he and our boys. He is their best friend (other than each other) for sure. They love our children like we do and I hope they know how much they mean to us and our little family. We had a great time while they were here. We went to see Big Hero 6 (such a great movie!). We also spent hours playing Dominoes and Cranium after the boys went to bed at night. A low key weekend, but that's definitely our style. Seeing Jenna have to act out "toaster" in a game like charades and hearing Tyler scream "BREAD ROCKET!" as if it made perfect sense was priceless. You are never living that one down, Tyler! (:

 

 

 

In preparation for moving to South Korea in the dead of winter, I've been "winterizing" my wardrobe a bit. I found this awesome coat at Kohl's. I LOVE it! It's so warm, it's waterproof, and it had a hood with fur.

 

 

I also finished the hat for myself that I talked about here.

 

Thanksgiving in Ohio was great. We spent time with both sides of our family, ate lots of food, and cherished (almost) every moment. Jack barfed on Thanksgiving morning from congestion, I didn't really cherish that.

I didn't take many photos because everyone else was snapping so many, but I did manage to catch Pop-Pop sleeping on the job. Hehe. PS. Boy 2 looked so handsome that day but he promptly stripped his adorable button-down shirt off as soon as he started playing with cousins and got sweaty. And see that jar he's holding? Aunt Michelle let him go to town on some M&Ms. No wonder the boys love family holidays!

 

The best part of my Thanksgiving came when I was least expecting it. Boy 1 got home from school on Wednesday and I got his folder out of his backpack just like I always do. I immediately felt the tears welling up in my eyes when I opened it and saw what was inside.

 

At only five years old, he has seen more in this world than some adults have ever seen. And he's about to embark on an even bigger journey. Despite all that he's seen, all that he's been through in his little life, he us thankful for US. How can that be? This little boy is nothing short of a gift from God. He and his brother have been our strength through some very tough times. We thank God every day for them. And yet, at five years old he feels thankful for us. That is amazing. God is so good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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HHG Shipment - Check

Our Household Goods are officially on their way! This is the biggest of two shipments that we have going to Korea. It includes furniture, most of our small kitchen appliances, dishes, extra clothes, and anything else that we won't need immediately upon arrival. We opted to send this shipment two months in advance since it typically takes 2-3 months to arrive (it goes by boat). We would rather be inconvenienced for a bit here in the states rather than be without our stuff for longer than necessary in a new country. We can always borrow from friends here and because it's holiday season, we are traveling and visiting with family a lot anyways.

The hardest part of preparing for this shipment (and the rest) is that we're still living in the house. My strategy for this first shipment worked fairly well so I think I'll use it for UB (Unaccompanied Baggage) and our Storage Shipment as well. Here are some tips I found helpful.

First, get yourself a good organizational app and use it. I recommend Evernote. I have lists for each shipment stored in my Evernote app. I recommend organizing these lists by room. Walk through your house and take note of every single thing and which shipment and where (in what shipment) it's going. I also have serial numbers of our high value electronics and photos of each. I haven't even explored what else I can do with Evernote but I know I can record audio too if I need to in order to take notes later (would be great to utilize during a housing move-out or PCS brief). One more thing about Evernote, it is available for smartphone, iPad, and computer. So I will have access to my notes everywhere.

Designate a certain area or areas in your house for the shipment items to go. A few weeks before our shipment date I cleaned out our downstairs storage closet and my youngest son's bedroom (we moved him in with his brother for the remainder of our time in this house). Then, I started using my lists to gradually put all the HHG items in those two places. Obviously, our furniture could not go the closet. We have two family rooms downstairs so we put all the furniture going in one and the furniture NOT going in the other. Simple. When the movers got here, I was able to just point and say "pack all of this." It made their job easier and it made me worry less that they may pack something they weren't supposed to.

Have something for your children (and pets) to do! If you can, sending them to a friend's house would be best. If not, designate a kids/pet room for the day. The house will be filled with brown paper-wrapped furniture and boxes. It can be overwhelming, and a dangerous place for precious babies! Our boys were in pre-school for half the day, when they came home we sent them to our master bedroom with snacks and the iPad for a movie night afternoon.

Be nice to your movers! We were lucky enough to have great movers. Plan for them to be there the entire day. Offer help/advice where you can. It's your stuff after all, why not do your part to make sure everything gets there safely! If you have original boxes, keep those and provide them, your movers will appreciate it. They will also appreciate coffee, water, Gatorade, snacks, and/or lunch, but those are not required. We didn't have that much stuff this time around so our movers were only here until about 2pm, so we provided them coffee and water but not lunch. When the company comes to do our storage shipment, I imagine it'll take most the day so we'll likely provide chips, fruit, and sub sandwiches for lunch.

Be flexible! Things happen, timelines will change, things will get packed that weren't supposed to, there will be things you didn't plan for, etc. Remember that most things can be borrowed or replaced fairly cheap. Did your movies accidentally get packed? Visit the library. Did your hairbrush end up in the box? Walmart (or if you're already in Korea, I've heard Daiso is a good place to shop!). If your salad bowls got packed? Thinks outside the bowl and use a flower vase. I definitely never would have thought to do that but my husband did!

Lastly, do a big woooooooo saaaaah, have a glass of wine, and relax.

The next shipment will be going out soon enough.

(:

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Veggie with a Wedgie

This week, Boy 2 had storybook day at his school. They don't celebrate Halloween, instead they have a day where the children bring their favorite book and dress up as a character from that book. 

So of course, I asked my independent 3-year-old what book he wanted to bring... "the veggie wedgie book!!!"

Of course.

Why am I even surprised.

We had recently checked out this book from the library.

Boy 2 loved it! He thought it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. 

So being the supportive mother I am...

I ordered a copy from Amazon (thank goodness Amazon Prime and 2-day shipping!)

and I crocheted my boy an awesome carrot-top hat... 

and we dressed him up as a carrot with a wedgie. 

Boy 2, 

I apologize in advance for putting these on display at your high school graduation party and/or in your wedding reception video.

Goals for November

Hi, I'm Kate.

And I love lists. 

So here we go,

my list of goals for November 2014.

Goals

1. Have a successful HHG shipment pickup. This is happening in t-minus two-ish weeks. Yikes. Why am I even still sitting here. 

2. Yoga at least 3 times a week. I'd really like to aim for more than that, but 3 times is good.

3. Thanksgiving with family in Ohio. We are really looking forward to this. Must take lots of photos.

4. Keep my A in Calculus III. A lot of my time is consumed by studying but it's worth it, and I love math... most the time (:

5. Dress Boy 2 up as a carrot with a wedgie. I'll leave you to ponder this. TBA.

6. Be available and supportive for my neighbor/good friend. Her husband left for Africa this morning to be a part of the fight against Ebola. Prayers would be much appreciated. 

7. Enjoy my sweet husband! We are both so busy sometimes we forget to just stop and enjoy that we are blessed enough to be together. I love that man.