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Saehae bog manh-i bad-euseyo! Happy New Year (Korean style!). So basically, the feast goes like this, you start with two kinds of soup (the sweet cucumber was my favorite), LOTS of little dishes appear, then meat keeps coming and Mrs. Choi keeps cooking it until you can't take it any more. Then Mr. Choi reminds you how to make the little lettuce wrap taco thing and you keep eating, then out comes a silver lunch box that they shake up and you vow you can't eat another bite, and before you know it bipimbop is all you can dream of. At least, that's how it worked for Augie (which, by the way, means "baby" in Korean).

Augustus keeps asking for "Bop", which is confusing because it means both "rice" and "food" in Korean.

BOP!

Bathing Beauty

Augustus loves the water! Here are some pictures sure to bring him great joy/embarrassment as he gets older. But, what's not to love?

Friday Fish Fry!

Another Wisconsin tradition that we honor, is the Friday fish fry. Turns out, we don't even really know the differences between the fish, except that it's usually beer-battered, and it's delicious. Jacob, Tesha and I enjoyed a lovely meal and conversation. Grammy and Papa, well, see below . . .

the entertainer

Alchemy

We met Papa Strom for lunch (poor guy still had to work), but it's a treat to meet at one of my favorite Madison haunts, Alchemy. Their sweet potato fries are ah-mazing and they mix in all kinds of local and seasonal goodies!

Tesha/The Nugget enjoyed wasabi green beans and Tommy, when asked if he would like his soup as his side, replied "AbsoLUTEly not."

Daddy's girls

My new computer background image <3

State Street!

We love heading down to State St. and snooping around. It's so quite with all the UW students away on holiday break, but the spirit lives on, as do the memories of nights at State Street Brats and Urban Outfitter bargains.

We Bought a Zoo

Ok, well, we didn't BUY a zoo, but we did GO to the zoo! Madison has a fabulous (seriously better than Lincoln Park Zoo, sorry Chicago) and free zoo. Perfect! We had so much fun watching Augie watch animals. For me, the highlight of the trip was the sparing giraffes, a.k.a. "big Sophies".

One of the few pictures of the baby awake
(after a quick nurse in the primate exhibit, he went comatose)

"I am so glad each Christmas morn!"

There's no way to capture all the smiles and laughs shared on this magical day, but needless to say, Strom traditions were out in full-force. From reading the Christmas story from the big white Bible before gift opening to booze-fueled sugar cookie decorating!

ASH's new badger hat matches his Christmas PJs!

Getting in the spirit of things!

Let the games begin!

Grammy Strom wows us again.

Post-dinner entertainment