jinbei

Bought the boys jinbei a couple of weeks ago and wanted to post a pic of them.  Jinbei is usually worn as night wear or house wear.  Super comfy and cute on the boys.  Daddy has one too, but of course, he's not here to take a picture.  Maybe upon his return....

swimming

H making one of his famous faces

K being flirty with the ladies

A being just plain weird

H so proud of himself after lesson

H making yet another great face

A entertaining himself during K's lesson

K jumped in and was ready to go

don't ask about the ugly sunglasses on the teacher...

Today was the first day of swim lessons that it didn't rain, so I took a few pics.  Here you go:

happy father's day

Oh, forgot to add the very best father's day wishes to daddy and buggaboo.  We miss having daddy here today and it wasn't the same without him.  And, buggaboo, you're the best!  Love you both!

Wishing all the best to all you great daddies out there!!

crazy crazy days

So the last few days have been something else!  Yesterday, I decided to take the boys to the beach for the afternoon.  It had been raining here for at least 10 days, and yesterday we were blessed with sunshine.  We get all dressed, pack our beach bag and walk on down.  Now, we live less than a block from the beach and I can easily see it from our house.  I saw the tide was out, but didn't realize how far out it was.  There wasn't any water.  We walked out pretty far and wandered through some tide pools, which were hotter than bath water!  Little A was NOT happy about that and the fact that there were slimy black sea cucumbers everywhere.  I mean, they are kind of gross looking and he did step on one and it freaked him out.  It was so unbearably hot and humid that we ended up packing it in and heading home in less than an hour.  No fun at all!  What a bummer!

check out all these kids, sorry it's a bit shaky!

H had his first karate tournament practice today.  He'll have another one at the actual location next month, then he will compete in a world tournament in August.  The first video is mostly to show you how many kids there were today, just at the practice.  It will be a sight at the actual tournament!  K and A were pretty great about sitting through the practice, which made it alot easier on me.  I was a bit worried about it, since A has been a bit of a pill these last 2 days.  He's missing daddy bunches and is acting out.  Plus, we've been going to swim lessons for K and H, twice a day, all last week and will do it again this week, and A is a creature of habit and hates when his schedule gets all screwy.  So, needless to say, his good behavior during H's practice was a very pleasant surprise.

some of the kata H needs to do for the tournament, he's way in the back towards the center

Oh, and I've been cruising in daddy's new car since he left on Friday.  It's super fun.  Daddy picked up a mini cooper back in May, and I told him I'd be driving it around when he's gone.  I mean, it is really cool, and how could I not drive it???  

So this morning, we head of to church in the mini.  I am driving by daddy's work, and notice up ahead that an MP is parked by the speed limit sign.  I look at him, notice he's writing stuff down, see the sign, look down at my speed and see that I'm going the posted 30 km per hour.  I cruise on by the MP and head to church.  Never bothered to look behind me, since very few people are driving around the base.  The base chapel is only about 2 blocks from where I saw the cop.  Well, he had his lights on and pulled into the chapel parking lot.  I backed into my space and then it dawned on me, that he must have been pulling me over!  I send the boys into church and ask if I was being pulled over.  He said that I was.  I ask why and he shushes me!  How rude!  He was trying to listen to his radio and shushed me!!  Well, after I wait there and start sweating (it's unbearably hot and humid here now), he said that he caught me going 40 km per hr in a 20 zone.  He said where, which is right by daddy's office.  Now, he was past that section, and he was writing on a clipboard, not holding a radar gun.  So I ask him about this.  Just as he starts to answer, however, one of the chaplains (the one I like) comes out and asks what's the problem.  He tells the cop that he should not give me a ticket since I'm a good person.  The cop said he would probably let me get away with a warning, but he wasn't sure yet.  The chaplain said "well, alright then..." but it was clear he was on my side.  The cop ended up telling me to slow down and let me go.  Turns out the cop attends chapel there too.  I didn't recognize him at all, especially in his uniform, but I guess he's a regular attendee.  I mean seriously, a 20 km zone???  That's like 12.5 mph, how could anyone drive that slow?  And, I looked at my speedometer and was going 30, not 40.  Plus, I'm driving a tiny 97 mini cooper, like I could be speeding!  Personally, I think that daddy's zippy driving is making the mini stand out a little too much and the cops are just looking for a reason to get a closer look at the car.  So, while I was locking up the car, finished with the cop, the new chaplain comes out to introduce himself.  What a FANTASTIC first impression I make!  He really wanted a closer look at the car, since he had one in the states and sold it to move here.  He was super excited to take a look at daddy's new ride.

That's mostly it, well, except the fact that K has decided to start calling me either "sweetheart" or "my sweet matato (ma-tay-to)".  He's really calling me his sweet potato, but never says potato, just matato.  Silly boy keeps me laughing.

Oh, and I am SOOOOO loving my new template.  It's perfect for me and daddy.  Someday, when you see us, you'll know why....

Love to you all!

here we go again...

we took daddy to the airport this morning....AGAIN.  he'll be gone for the next 2 weeks.  he comes back on july 4, at night, then he's home for a few days, then leaving again for a few more weeks.  i guess it's better than that 7 months without him, but darn, we miss him already.  we'll be keeping very busy over the next few weeks, and hopefully it will pass quickly.  not much else to add tonight, just feeling kind of lonesome...

updates

A at the Toyota History Museum, Tokyo

H at Guiness World Records Museum, Tokyo Tower

C playing at the park

Sensoji Temple

K lounging at the Botanical Gardens

Wow, it feels like FOREVER since I blogged.  I'm not really going to be all that great about it tonight either, but I thought I'd take a quick minute to let you all know we are still here and doing well.  Here's the last month or so in a nutshell:

C came home - FINALLY!  We got a new car for him.  We went to Tokyo and had a wonderful family vacation.  We did Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, which were truly incredible.  It was my first Disney experience and I was pleasantly surprised.  It was super clean and the people were so nice!  Adults and children get so excited to be there and wear cute little ears (think Lilo and Stitch, Mickey and Minnie) on hairbands and barrettes (including the guys).  It's contagious, their thrill to be at Disney.  It wasn't as expensive as we expected and had a ball spoiling the kids and ourselves.  We also did Tokyo Tower, Odaiba (very neat district of Tokyo) and the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo.  We had planned on getting around to Yokohama and such, but found so much to do around Tokyo that we ended up near there everyday.  C was a great Tokyo driver, as we rented a big van and he managed the Tokyo traffic like a champ.  GPS was awesome and so very helpful.  Anyway, kids are good.  H finishes 2nd grade tomorrow.  K finished pre-k the last week in May.  H and K are still doing karate.  H will compete in a karate tournament towards the end of July.  H and K are doing swimming lessons starting next week and then H will do a golf camp the first week in July.  Little A cannot do much at this age, but just enjoys being outdoors as much as possible.  He loves the ocean and the beach and will spend as much time as we allow there.  C is getting ready to leave, again.  This time, for a few weeks, then home for a few days and gone for a few weeks more.  The boys and I had planned on going back to the states for a few weeks, but travel with the kids is quite hectic and we are being told that trying to get a space available flight during the summer is futile.  Oh, and my dear friend MA is in the states for a month and I'm going a bit nuts without her!  Shopping online at night is just not the same!  MA, if you're reading this - can't wait for you to come home!!!

Ok, that's about it for tonight.  It's hot and humid and I'm just tired out.  I'll try to get more pics up of vacation and such, someday....

Night night, all.  Love you and miss you.