Crazy weather

We have some crazy weather here. Of course, anywhere you go and anyone you meet will say the same thing about their home town. "If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes and it will change." I can't complain when the east coast is getting hit with that crazy blizzard and thousands of people are stranded. I can tell you that during the course of 1 week, we have gone from the cold, windy 50's to the sunny, warm and gorgeous 60's. Winter coats to shorts, sweatshirts to t-shirts. Crazy.

We went from Brrrrr...

...to playing at the beach.

Finally! Eating real food...er, sand covered raisins, anyone? Yes, he literally pulled them out of the box and dipped them in the sand before eating them. Better than rocks, sticks, shells....
After 2 boxes of raisins, decided just to eat straight out of Mary's sand bucket.
What a week.

Super cool awesome fun!

I'm not sure how many mega pixels it is. The pictures aren't super clear like your standard digital camera, but all in all, for a kids camera it's not too shabby...and it's super cool awesome fun! I'm definitely having as much fun using it as Mary. Here are our pictures from today. (If you haven't already guessed, all the pics except the obvious one were taken from her camera) She's so stinkin' cute!!!!!!



The camera. It's big, isn't it?
(ps, this is the obvious one)
Fun time outdoors.

My turn!
Ok, crazy face time!



Life with a 3 1/2 yr old is sometimes exhausting, sometimes frustrating, mostly amazing, and always completely memorable.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas...

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. Doug and I were so excited about seeing Mary's reaction this year. She surprised us...Lately, we've been having wake ups at 6am. Adam usually wakes first and cries and as I'm going to get him, Mary's either sitting up in bed or waiting for me in the hallway (that can be a bit startling when it's dark and I'm groggy). We told her that she needed to wait until Adam woke up before getting out of bed this year on Christmas morning. Why? Because mommy and daddy want to sleep as long as possible and we don't want you waking us up at 5am cause you're so excited. O.K. Of course, Adam didn't get that message, and since we messed up his eating schedule by having dinner 2 hours early, so we could attend Christmas Eve mass during our normal meal time, he woke at 4am wanting breakfast. Yikes. Milk and back to bed equalled sleeping in for us. Yea! I heard Mary wake up at 6am, she went to the bathroom (and according to her, she peeked in the living room and it was dark, so she went back to bed). I heard her thumping around in bed, but she stayed there. Doug and I drifted in and out until 7:15am and we decided she had waited long enough. There she was sitting up in bed, patiently waiting. I asked her if she wanted to get up and she looked around her room and replied, "I don't think Santa came yet." I said, "Where does Santa put the toys when he comes?" "Under the tree!!!!" I said, "Have you looked under the tree?" She immediately ran out of the room and into the living room. I wish I could describe the look on her face when she walked in the room, how her eyes lit up and her smile was big enough to make even the grumpiest scrooge laugh. Adam quickly woke up after hearing all the commotion and it was a good thing, since there were presents to open.

Hey, what's in there?

Adam taking his new car for a ride. This thing is awesome. The screen moves and you steer a little car using the steering wheel. There are tons of noise makers, a real turn signal, headlights and even auditory gas and brake pedals. Pretty cool. (I'll admit, I even took it for a spin).

This was the year of Thomas. We received Thomas the Tank Engine trains, lunch boxes, puzzles, toys and books, books, books. Wow! Hard to believe the recipient for most of them is a girl. She loves her trains. I am glad that Adam also got some Thomas things. Now Mary doesn't have to feel obligated to share so much.

She even got a train table! Although Adam thought it was for his own caboose.

This pictures totally sums up my daughter... A little bit girly, a little bit tom boy.

You know it was a good morning, when there is so much drool that it completely covers Santa. My failed attempt to get a good pic of the two of them in front of the tree. Adam was too wiggly. What's new?

Mary received a camera this year. She's been begging me for a pink camera and even though I tried to gift her with my old one, she wasn't satisfied and said that the elves were busy making pink ones this year. Thankfully, Santa was able to find one. It's super cute, it's made for kids so it's big, easy to hold and tough. It also has cute stamps and frames to add to the pictures to make them more fun. I'll admit, I think I had as much fun trying it out as Mary. However, I went to download her pictures this morning and she had 287 already (and I had deleted some yesterday)! Good thing the camera holds 400 at a time! You're downloaded and empty baby, go take some more pics!

A big thank you to all our friends and family that helped make this a super special and memorable Christmas for us and the kids. We love and miss you so much and can't wait to be closer next year! Merry Christmas!!!!

Sled Boarding

You might call it sled boarding...or board surfing...or merely sliding down a hill. We call it FUN!

This afternoon, we had a play date with Jaiden. He showed us his super cool hill, his extra large cardboard and the great activity he does with both. We might not have any snow, but there's some serious sledding going on in Okinawa.

It looked like so much fun, that I had to take a turn. Ok, Mary was a bit freaked after her first experience and wanted me to go with her for round 2. It was a steep hill and we went really fast. She quickly got over her hesitation and went all out after that.

Yep, the scaredy cat actually wanted to go head first, just like the boys. Ahh, peer pressure.
Adam didn't get the opportunity to sled board, though he kept trying to throw himself off the side of the hill as much as possible. He looks like he's trying to figure out how to get a piece of cardboard away from the bigger kids.What a fun afternoon! Thanks Nicole and Jaiden. Can't wait for the after Christmas box sledding. I have a feeling it will great!

Round 1

I've heard about Round 1 from a couple different friends, but I'll admit, the cost was somewhat daunting. There are so many cheap or free things to do with young kids on the island and to be honest, I think 3 yr olds have memories like Swiss cheese...lots of holes. Heck, most of the time, Mary can't remember what she ate for breakfast, but for some reason can remember exactly what I bought Doug for Christmas. Really? Anyway, Kristen and the girls were heading to Round 1 this morning and after I got over the initial hesitation about the $, I decided to tag along. Hey, we're only here for 7 more months and before we know it our friends will start moving away. We also met up with our friends, Nicole and Jaiden. So for 2,200 yen ($26.83) for me and Mary (Adam was free, thank goodness), we entered into the most amazing play land (for 90 minutes).

There were balls.
And balls.And balls, balls, balls.


There were things to climb on,
to climb in, And to climb up (which kept me on my toes and out of the massage chairs, darn it).
After all that playing, we headed over to the game section. Can you say free?!? Ok, we paid a LOT to get in, so it was great that it was included. There was some drumming...
some racing... I saw a glimpse of "future Mary" and I'm afraid she's going to be the stereotypical "female Asian driver", not a good thing.
and some quiet, reflective time with the big man in the corner. We had a blast! It was a great way to wear out the kids (and the mommies). We finished off the morning with lunch at A&W and a kiddie cup from Baskin Robbins. Mary picked my all time favorite, mint chocolate chip. I branched out and tried Love Potion #31- vanilla and raspberry ice cream with dark chocolate hearts filled with raspberry deliciousness. I think I'm in love! Doug said it sounds like a "chick" flavor. That was our adventure to Round 1. All I can think about is pinching my yen so I can go back for round 2!

A Putthoff Day

An Astonishing Day: When Adam draws on the driveway with the chalk instead of eating it.

Errr, I take that back. It's just a regular day. An Exciting Day (at least for us): When Adam finally realizes cow milk isn't so bad. See? I told you.A Funny Day: The joy of finding out the milk cup fits perfectly in daddy's empty beer box.
A Good Day: When I can get a picture of Mary (on the first try) with her eyes open.A Fantastic Day: The innocence of childhood and the joy of a carefree laugh. (For some reason, a lego block and play spaghetti from Mary's kitchen are hilarious. Who am I to judge? I asked Mary to entertain her brother while I was trying to get ready for church. I ended up sprinting to grab my camera in time. Ahh, a ponytail is just fine for church.)

That's what our days are like...minus the occasional temper tantrum, whining or crying spell. Hey, no one's perfect, right? But some days, it can feel that way.