Mac Meltdown 2012

Earlier this week we had the first ever GSIS Mac-n-Cheese Meltdown!!! Here were the event details: 

Here are some pics from the event... Everyone getting ready to start eating.

 Here are all the different mac dishes.  There were 11 different dishes. 

 This is my friend Kim (who was my "sous chef") pointing to the ones we made.  I actually made two dishes for the competition.  One was traditional and one was a slightly different twist using gouda and parmesan.

 Friends, Becki and Elise, enjoying their mac.

 This is my plate.  Every mac dish was given a letter and if you look closely you can see I have letters along the rim of my plate so I could know which mac dish I was tasting.  My dishes were D and J.

After tasting all of the dishes we voted for our top three.  

 Dish "B" won, made by our friend Joe.  And we took second place!!! You can tell Everett is so proud (and full of drool).

 The Mac Meltdown was so much fun! I highly recommend participating in a food competition with your friends; the smack talk and tasty food were great!  It was also amazing how every single mac-n-cheese dish had its own unique feel.

Now after thinking about macaroni and cheese and eating mac-n-cheese for over a week non-stop (in preparation for the competition) I'm ready for a mac break.

the best christmas gift from 2011

Check out these hilarious earrings from my sister-in-law, Jen.  While going through some old boxes Tom's siblings found these little charms that Tom's mom had.  Jen then converted them into my very own little Tom Meyer earrings! So funny!

laughing

Everett is always quick to smile but it's hard to get this little man to laugh.  Here Tom was able to get a rare recording of E getting his laugh on.  (Also, make sure to check out those teeth! Dang!).

6 months

Say what...?!?!?! Everett is 6 months old?!?!  Here are some new pics of baby boy.

the cold, hard truth

A friend of mine sent me this article yesterday.  Sadly, it's all true.  Our school is experiencing frigid temps, especially in common spaces like the cafeteria.  I'm in a constant state of wearing my winter coat.  This article explains why.

Shivering S. Koreans Battle Big Chill in Offices

Everett blowing raspberries

Lunch with Wendy Jessica Won-Young Park

Wendy Jessica Won-Young Park is actually one person.  I taught her for my first three years at GSIS.  The first year I taught her she was Wendy.  Then after that year she decided to change her English name to Jessica.  So I decided she should go by both of her English names and her Korean name.  She was definitely among my top Math students here in Korea and was one of our 68 graduates last spring.  While she was back in Korea for her winter break from Rutgers she and her mom invited Bonnie, Everett, and I out for lunch.  It was awesome and we felt so loved!  Wendy had never met Everett before so this was her first time to meet our little man.  We had a lot of fun and hope to get together again in May once she has completed her first year.  Some pics from our time together:

Wendy's mom showing Everett the little fake stream that ran through the restaurant.

Wendy's mom, E, and Wendy

Thanks Wendy Jessica!

dreaming....

"I can't wait until Everett is older and we can make milkshakes together. It will be awesome!"--Tom

For now E's satisfied with milk and carrots...

growing baby boy

It is incredible how quickly our baby is turning into a little boy.  When I went into the ELC (daycare) I saw Everett sitting with the "big kids" at the snack table.  He was suppose to be playing with a toy while the others were snacking, but in reality he was trying to grab food from the other kids.  You can see in this picture him eyeing his buddy's plate.

This week we also discovered that Everett can sit alone!  He was pretty wobbly the first few times but now he can sit like a pro.  It's amazing; one day he can't sit without help...the next day he's a big boy doing it alone.  How does it happen that fast???

Here's E sporting his big boy clothes.  The sweater and pants are both for 12 months.  We don't like to think of Everett as chubby, but rather an overachiever.  :-)

Thanks Uncle James/Aunt Jennifer for the sweater and "Aunt" Emily for the pants!

Lastly, yet another reminder of our growing baby boy is that tooth 8 is on its quest to the surface.  I predict it will pop through in a day or two.  We're really hoping after tooth number 8 he'll have a teething break.

Everett has something he would like to say...

More rolling

Everett is now rolling both ways!  He rolled from front-to-back for the first time yesterday and then proceeded to do it about 10 more times in the next 30 minutes.  Thankfully we got one recorded.

New Zealand (Part 2)

Our trip to New Zealand was awesome. We've been back in Korea for a little under a week, and we're soaking up our last few days before we return to school.  Here are pictures from the second half of our New Zealand trip.  

Everett's first swim:

 Hiking at Moke Lake. 

 Feeding himself for the first time:

 E's first time at the beach:

 Hanging out with a couple from our school, the Pettigrew's:

 Geothermal sites in Rotorua:

 Geyser exploding:

 Time to go back to Korea: