Rebecca's last tree trimming...

Even though it's a bit early, we all decided it was time to put up our Christmas decorations. So last weekend we decked out the apartment with strings of twinkling lights, candles and many festive red accessories. As we prepared to trim the tree we all lamented the fact that this is the last time Rebecca will be home when we put up the tree. She was like the guest of honour for the afternoon; knowing she is graduating in June made this decorating session a very special one. We're not really allowing ourselves to admit that the year is almost half over, in the hope that her graduation will never arrive.

Celebrating Birthdays in Geriatric Style...

On Saturday, Nov. 21st, a bunch of TCIS folks gathered at the Gobius home for a Halfway-to-90 Party in honour of Marg and Heidi's 45th birthdays. Everyone dressed up according to how they envision themselves looking at the age of 90 and the results were spectacular. Mike and Jane were the most convincing, with Marg and Timo taking a close second place. There were many, many laughs shared throughout the evening and we all agreed that more costume parties are needed this year!

Family time...

On Sunday afternoon (Nov. 8), we had a rare hour when all five of us were together! We enjoyed wonderful coffee drinks at Kaffe Espresso in our neighbourhood and talked about all kinds of things. Ahh... family time. Also, the other morning the moon hung over the horizon outside our kitchen window and I couldn't resist taking some photos.

An evening making pottery with friends...

On Friday, October 30, Brian and I traveled back to the nearby pottery village to make pottery with several friends. We met with a talented potter and art history professor who taught us about how traditional Korean pottery is based on shapes from nature. We all made pieces on the wheel (with a lot of help!); Brian made a beautiful bowl and I made a candle stand (after destroying a few attempts and creating a small mountain of ruined clay). When we were all done, we sat and had tea (served in wonderful handmade cups) with the artist and his three-year-old daughter. She was particularly interested in our family photos that Brian had in his wallet and entertained us all for quite a while. To top off a wonderful evening we went to a nearby restaurant and tried three delicious new dishes we'd never eaten before. The last one was a traditional soup with green-tea noodles. Scrumptious!

Volleyball Champs!

Volleyball season officially came to end on Saturday, October 31st, with both Hannah and Rebecca's teams taking third place in their final tournaments! Rebecca's varsity team went to Beijing two weeks ago and came home with a third place ranking in APAC (Asia Pacific Activities Conference), playing teams from the Philippines and China. Rebecca also won an All-APAC award (which is like being voted MVP for the tournament). At their final tournament in Seoul for our local league, the varsity girls played hard and ranked third again (it's been 15 years since a girls' volleyball team from TCIS ranked in the top three) for the tournament and the overall season. Rebecca came away with an All-KAIAC award (MVP of the tournament) and a player of the game award. In addition, our girls won the sportsmanship award for the season and our coaches were voted coaches of the year. It was a great season and now both Hannah and Rebecca are immersed in basketball. Cora wrapped up cross-country season on Saturday, Nov. 7 and now starts into swim season. Where did these athletic tendencies come from, anyway??