Captain Select!

It's official!  Ben made it through a fairly choosy Captain's board and was selected to pin Captain in May.  I'm so excited and proud of him!  His squadron had a little party to celebrate.

Ben and Captain Jennings.

Mmm... Ice cream cake.  Yum!

It says: "Congratulations Capt (s) Quigley.  We still don't like you!"

They've got a running joke - Ben jokingly tells everyone that he doesn't like them.  So they're reciprocating, I guess.  :)

BBQ and Blues.

The base does an annual BBQ ribs competition with live music and lots of fun booths.  Ben and a couple guys from work put together a booth and competed in the ribs competition.  Their booth was roadkill inspired.

"The Eagle" stopped by.

Silly Chief.

The guys babying their ribs.  Mmm... those ribs were so tasty!

Ben's Sustainment Services background came in handy when arranging the judges' plate.

They didn't win for their BBQ, but their booth got 3rd place for decoration!

Fall.

I love fall in Korea!

The rice fields turn the prettiest color of gold and the hills are vibrant.  We took a little hike before the leaves had changed, but it was still gorgeous!

The rice fields by our house are so pretty!

Even the Lillie-dog is enjoying fall.  She thinks this little pumpkin is like a ball or something.  She carries it around the house!

We love fall!

Suwon Fortress.

For months, we have wanted to visit the Hwaseong ("brilliant") Fortress in Suwon, and we finally took the opportunity.  Completed in 1796, the fortress is really a 3.5 mile long wall that encloses the central part of Suwon city, the provincial capital.  There are four main "gates" or guard structures, as is standard in much of Korea.  Seoul city has four gates as well and the Suwon gates are structured after Seoul's.  If you're feeling ambitious (as we were), you can walk the entire wall circle.  It is very hilly, making it a fairly challenging excursion.

Looking out over the more modern part of Suwon.

Ben was fascinated with the holes in the wall.

I like the contrasting new(er) city behind the old wall.

Pointing out the structure.

The East Gate (I think).

We stumbled across a "Hat Museum."  It was closed, but you can bet we'll be back to visit another day!

The south floodgate.

Hwaseong Fortress was built by King Jeongjo to house and honor the remains of his father, Prince Sado.  The prince was murdered by being locked alive inside a rice chest by his own father, King Yeongjo, because he didn't commit suicide as he was commanded.  So, when we saw this rice chest, we had to see if Ben would fit.  Turns out, he fits!  The Korean family watching us was laughing and making gestures like Ben was a giant.  It was hilarious!

Hwaseong Fortress is a must-see when visiting Korea.  I'm so glad we finally made it!

Doggie Day at the Pool.

To close out the summer pool season, the base's outdoor pool has the annual tradition of inviting all the dogs to have a pool party.  With over 20 dogs in attendance, it was a blast!  Lillie was one of the few brave dogs who played fetch in the pool the whole time (there were no stairs, so the dogs had a hard time getting out of the pool.  Most of the dogs were too scared to get in more than once).

Jump, Lillie!

 Yeah!  So much fun!

Boat-Shelf and Ducket.

The base had an antiques auction a few months ago, and we were lucky enough to get a couple great items.  

(Yes, I'm just now getting around to posting about it.)

This shelf is probably the coolest thing I had ever seen.  It used to be a canoe and was transformed into this:

This is our pet 'ducket' - you know, it's a duck bucket - ducket!  Actually, I think it's a goose, but lets not spoil it.  Ben fell in love with it at a preview weeks before the auction and was determined to win it.  So he did!

The glass balls are Japanese sea floats.  Fishers use them as floats on their nets.  A friend of ours here gave them to us - this is only half of them.  Of all our collections, this is probably my favorite (or tied at least with the book collection).

Ox Tail Soup.

Yep.  You read that right.  Apparently, ox tail soup is fairly popular here.  So obviously Ben had to try it.  

And he made me try it.  Not a fan. 

All gone!

Fireworks and a Heart Attack.

To celebrate my favorite country's Independence Day, we went to Liberty Fest at the base.  They had live music, tasty food, and best of all, fireworks! 

And, just to throw this in somewhere, the missionaries gave us a heart attack:

Ha!  Love those guys!