Konichiwa

Mizzou football!

2010-12-07T01:04:00.005+09:00

On November 13th my dad, Ben and I headed out into the freezing cold to watch MU stomp on K-State! I love going to football games, even it is 30 something degrees out!!

Ben & Papa

This is what Ben thought of the game! He tried to fall asleep during the 2nd quarter and finally zonked out for the whole 3rd quarter.

Visiting family - our around the world trip!

2010-11-10T06:40:00.007+09:00

My Uncle Vernon has been seriously ill the last few months so we decided to journey up to northeast Missouri to see him and a few other members of my family. We headed for a town called Mexico, Missouri. My uncle was in the hospital there and my cousin Karen Sue owns a restaurant there.

We all had a nice homemade lunch at the Jackson Street Diner.

Karen Sue with the kids :) Her restaurant is filled with tractors and Ben loved checking them out.

My cousin Becky's son Jared and her daughter Alaina.

Pretty countryside.

After lunch we stopped by to see my Aunt Isabelle in Paris, Missouri. She is one of my father's sisters. She looks pretty good for 97!!! I think she got a kick out of meeting Piper Isabelle too!

Our final stop was to visit my cousin Becky Jo in Madison. She owns a restaurant too which recently burned down. She picked herself up by the bootstraps and rebuilt an awesome new restaurant.

Becky got each of he kids a new FarmAll Tractor. Ben got a pretty cool combine!

So in one day we traveled to Mexico, went by the outskirts of Louisiana, stopped in Paris and ended in Madison. Have to say it was a crazy around the world trip but we made it! haha!

Hanging out

2010-11-05T01:47:00.000+09:00

Lots of pics of everyone hanging out...

Being silly with Uncle Rob
Mmmm - Steak N Shake!

MU Campus!

Waiting to get pictures taken.

Uncle Richie

All of the boys watching tv. Ben's feet are on the purple ball.

Feeding skinny and his guinea friends

My old violin!!

TROUBLE!!

We bought several Halloween costumes which were on sale after the holiday - Ben had a great time modeling them for us.

Who knew a microwave box could be so much fun?!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T08:00:00.001+09:00

Of course on Halloween Day we had to do a few traditional Halloween activities. My mom and dad had a pumpkin for us to carve and we headed to the local high school for a little trick or treating.

Ben did not want to even touch the inside goo, let alone help me pull it out. Oh well.

Piper and Nana had a good time watching.

My finished product.

Nate wasn't as proud as I was.

The "trunk or treat" at the high school. They had a great crowd show up. It was pretty chilly so this ended up being our only trick or treating for the day.

Our dinner! Yummy American pizza!

Dessert!

Ben reading his new Halloween book.

Ben reading with Nana and Nate.

Halloween Morning

2010-10-31T02:46:00.008+09:00

On the 31st everyone woke up in a bit of a funk. Piper was completely exhausted and everyone else felt a cold coming on.

MMM - Papa Jake's donuts!!

Ben's HUGE barrell of cheese balls thanks to Nana!

The guinea's and turkey in my parent's front yard.

Pre-Halloween at Nana and Papa's

2010-10-30T05:10:00.006+09:00

The day after we got into Missouri we jumped right in to activities. Ben had a great time riding the lawn tractor with Papa and we also were able to go to the park and ride the train.

Nana and Papa met us at the airport with balloons which Ben loved playing with!

My mom also thought it would be funny to take a picture of my trying to change Piper.

It was so pretty outside.

Yay for the tractor!! Piper didn't care for it but Nate loved it!

My parent's neighbors have chickens, guineas and a turkey. Ben was fascinated with checking out their chicken house and chasing them around.

Here is Nate and Piper checking out the decorations at the park.

Uncle Rob!

Ben and I on the train.

We tried to get a decent group picture and this was the best we could do...

Later in the evening we went to a Halloween party at the convention hall. It was soo crowded we didn't stay very long.

Nate has figured out how to get into the bottled water thanks to big brother Ben.

Visit with the Johns family

2010-10-26T06:36:00.004+09:00

When I first arrived in San Diego years and years ago I was very fortunate to stay with the Johns' family. During those few months we formed a friendship that has lasted all these years. Every time I am in San Diego I try to stop by and see them.

When I first met Melissa she wasn't even one yet! Look at her now!!!

She LOVED hanging out with Piper and Nate. It was so neat to watch her play with them.

And here's Victoria. I won't even go there on how she has changed over the years! Such a beautiful young lady!

Ben thought it was cool to play with Sam's toys. Sam is a year older than Ben.

Look at those boys go!

We tried to get all of the kids to look at the same time - yep that was pretty much impossible!

The two boys :)

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-26T06:00:00.001+09:00

We were able to go to the pumpkin patch at Bates Nut Farm while we were in San Diego! It was packed with school field trips and families looking for just the right pumpkin.

Ben thought he was pretty cool pushing around the wheelbarrow.

They had tons of pumpkins and lots of cool Halloween/Fall decorations. Look at that beautiful blue California sky too!

They had some huge pumpkins!!

Ben riding Cracker Jack

Piper thought she was bit like Ben and could drive the wheelbarrow!

More fun in San Diego!

2010-10-25T21:54:00.016+09:00

After a rough night of sleep everyone woke up a little late on our first morning. It took us awhile to get going but soon everyone starting running on adrenaline and started having fun!

Grandee got Nate and Piper some fun new slippers.

Nate cuddling with Grandpa

The babies managed to get into a lot of things at Grandee and Grandpa's house including the rice!

The kids loved playing with the bubble fire engine from Grandee too.

In Grandee and Grandpa's backyard.

Mmmmm - Islands for lunch! I had forgotten how loud and crowded American restaurants can be!

Nordstrom's Cafe for lunch another day! I was so happy to be out eating American food!

Silly boy - kind of looks like Alfalfa in this picture.

Nate stealing Piper's food as usual!

Nate loved Grandee and Grandpa's kitty's water bowl. He would dip his hands in the water and try to clean anything around him.

Cleaning the back door.

Ben making candy with Grandee for the hospital bake sale.

My new favorite shirt of Piper's :)!

Our slow journey to San Diego....

2010-10-25T17:00:00.000+09:00

On October 25th the kids and I set out on our long journey to the USA! We left Sasebo a 4:30 a.m. (granted I am such a worry wart that I had been up since 2:30!) Leigh showed what a wonderful friend she was by driving us up to the airport!

Here we are ready to go check in. Our journey was interesting. The ride to Fukuoka from Sasebo is about 1 1/2 hours. Once we got to the airport they told me that I couldn't use our carseats and they took away my double stroller. So I had one loaner carseat from the airline and a single stroller to tote around the airport. I was a bit surprised at the lack of help in Fukuoka but that is o.k. Our flight to Narita (Tokyo) was only 1 1/2 hours. We had a seat for each child but since I only had one approved carseat I had to hold a baby on my lap the whole trip - bummer :(

Here is Piper in our single stroller in Fukuoka. I tried to put the babies on their "leashes" and let them walk around but they went crazy and I had them each going in opposite directions so that didn't last long!

When we arrived in Narita I was greeted with a single stroller again which I had to give back at baggage claim for the domestic airline. That meant that I had to get to the international terminal with no stroller and the two car seats that I couldn't use on the domestic airline but could on Delta - grrrr. Luckily the wonderful Delta agent took the time to go "underground" and retrieve my double stroller for me to use during our 6 hour layover in Narita. Thank you Naomi!!!!

The kids had a good time running around and getting into mischief in Narita although it was so busy that noone really strayed far from mommy.

This picture was taken about 45 minutes before boarding in Narita. Everyone was getting tired and cranky!

Yay we are on our flight to LA! Once again I didn't have much help but oh well. They made me put the babies in the middle seats of our row so Ben was on one end and I was on the other. This meant that I spent a lot of the flight getting up and down to help him out.

The kids meal on the plane - so Japanese and so cute!

Playing with Grandpa once we finally made it to San Diego. I don't even want to do the math as to how long our trip was. I'm just happy we all made it safe and sound!

This was poor Nate at dinner that night. He could not stay awake!

The morning after.....

Misc for Daddy :)

2010-10-04T13:57:00.004+09:00

Just a few new pics of everyone :)

This was taken after one of Piper's many haircuts. I think she needs a haircut every other week! Her hair grows like crazy!!!

Picture compliments of Ben.

Mama's boy!

Sports Festival 2010

2010-10-02T12:22:00.007+09:00

Ben had his sports festival for school on Saturday. Japan has a special holiday every year for health and sports and many of the schools celebrate it by having a festival. Ben's school has been practicing for weeks getting ready for the event. Races, dances, relay races, gymnastics, etc. were all showcased. Unfortunately not even halfway through the day it started to rain and everything had to be cut short. Regardless we had a fun time.

This was Ben's costume for the opening dance. The kids all represented different countries although I noticed all of the American children wore the US flag.

Ben and his friend Paige

Ben and Owie-chan

The opening ceremony.

You can see Ben with the American flag fluttering behind him.

Getting ready for his race.

Go Ben!

Watching the events.

It started to rain and as people picked up their blankets you could see all of the dry spots.

Blah - rain, rain go away!!

At the very end the kids got to grab apples off of trees. They were then given medals and a little goody bag.

Saying goodbye to Natsumi Sensei

The view from the top.

Of course I had to take another picture of the doggy bus!

Ben and his bus driver.

Ben in front of his school bus. It is a brand new bus!

Irashaimase!!!

2010-09-11T09:27:00.009+09:00

Yesterday Ben had a "shopping event" at his school. Basically the classes had made various items to "sell" such as fake vegetables, fake ice cream, toys, etc. It was a ton of fun and very loud! The kids were screaming irashaimase which means welcome to my shop for about 1 1/2 hours straight!

Ben's classroom

There they all go to sell.

I'm not sure what Ben was selling. The little red things next to him though sold like hotcakes.

Clapping and yelling.

Here's what he "sold."

Now it is his turn to go shop! He had ten tickets to spend. Some things cost 3 tickets, others 2 or 1 ticket.

Trying his luck at fishing. This was a game the oldest kids at school put on.

He got a turtle!

Donuts

Pastries

Popsicles

He had a bag full of goodies! Ben was very easy to shop with. He knew what he wanted, bought it and moved on. It didn't take him long to make any decisions!

Ben's friend Hana

All of the cars parked on the school playground. Luckily I had parked at the market across the street and was able to get out quickly!!!

Bye Again Daddy!

2010-09-01T11:59:00.000+09:00

Grant has once again left on deployment. Right before he left we took the kids onto the ship to show them (well Ben) Grant's room once again.

Ben was ready to stay. He had it all planned out where everyone could sleep. Um - I don't think so buddy!

The flight deck

This was taken the morning Grant was leaving. We drove him down to the ship by 7:00 a.m., said our goodbyes and the kids and I stuck around the pier to wave goodbye to the ship. Well shortly after Grant boarded we got the phone call from him that a typhoon was going to delay them for a few days. When Grant came home that night it felt like he had been gone for three months because my mindset was already switched to him being gone! It was so strange!

End of summer

2010-08-31T13:40:00.007+09:00

Soon Ben will be going back to school and Grant will be leaving on a long deployment. We had a great summer and it was wonderful to have Grant around for all of it! Now we're ready to start our fall and plan our trip back to the states for a few months!!

Messy babies!!

Huis Ten Bosch characters

Bio Park

Sports Camp!

Water Park!

Ben is getting ready to go down the green slide. He loved it!

Shortly after this picture was taken I cut Nate's hair. I just had to take a picture though beforehand of his curls!

Tokyo/Yokosuka Day 4

2010-07-21T18:56:00.012+09:00

On Day 4 we headed down to Yokohama to visit good friends who were visiting from Hawaii.

On the train they have cars which are supposed to be for women only. These were designed for women afraid of being groped on the train. There are certain hours displayed on the sign when the car is only for women but other times throughout the day anyone can ride in them.

We were on the train during the hours when the car was supposed to be women only. Funny thing is there were several males in the car. Wow - everyone follows the rules so well!

We finally met up with Yoko and Yuno!!! We lived down the street from them in Hawaii. They moved to our neighborhood one year before we left. Yoko's husband is in the Japanese Navy and is currently liaison officer in Hawaii. They are getting ready to move back to Japan and had come home to get things ready for their move back next month. We were so excited to see them!

We went to their house for lunch. They live in a small Japanese apartment. It was a real eye opener for me to see where they lived. They had a rooftop patio where we could see all over Yokohama.

Ben loved hanging out with Yuno in Hawaii. Granted there is a 7 year age difference but Yuno was always very nice to Ben. They picked up right where they left off.

Puppy love!

After we left Yoko and Yuno we headed back to our hotel to meet up with more friends! Ben was so tired!

We went out to dinner with friends of Grant's dad. Mr. and Mrs. Sata took us to the Tokyo American Club. It is a very nice club with three levels of dining. Very fancy to family dining with a playroom! They made a perfect choice in the location. The kids had fun and so did we!

Look at the mess under Piper's chair!!

The play area right by our seats!

Mr and Mrs. Sata gave Ben a Hummer car, which he of course thought was wonderful! Can you tell from this picture that Mrs. Sata has a grandchild?!!

Baby race back to our room at the hotel!! Who can get in bed first??!!

Good night - we're all exhausted!!

Tokyo/Yokosuka Day 3

2010-07-20T16:42:00.009+09:00

On Day 3 we hit Disney Sea. Tokyo has a Disneyland park and then Disney Sea. Disney Sea has a "sea" theme to it. We decided to go to Sea because we have been to Disneyland in the states and thought it would be fun to go somewhere new.

Mickey window on the monorail to the park.

The view from the front of the monorail.

Ben and Goofy. I had to elbow out about 20 other people to finally get this picture. I tried to be patient and wait my turn but noone else did!!

Ben and Chip.

It was sooooo hot in Tokyo. Here I am pushing the babies up the hill about ready to pass out from heat exhaustion!

Disney Sea has a whole indoor Little Mermaid section. It was perfect for us because it was air conditioned and the rides were perfect for Ben. They also had a great Little Mermaid show.

Ben on the jelly fish ride.

The view from up high in the jelly fish.

We ate inside the Little Mermaid area. I had packed us sandwiches which was great because the food there was a little different and now that we are a family of five, eating can be a bit expensive!

Having fun!

The two story carousel ride.

One of the thrill rides there - it was some sort of Indiana Jones type roller coaster.

Ben playing with bubbles at one of the gift stands.

As we entered the park I immediately bought Ben a fan with a spray bottle attached. Throughout the park there were employees who would "water fight" with the kids with the water bottles.

Getting ready to ride the water ride.

We got soaked!!

Grant and Ben getting soaked. Disney Sea was not very busy the day we went. Japanese schools got out the day after we were there so we were able to pretty much walk onto every ride we wanted. It was very nice considering it was so hot!

At the end of the day we were so thirsty! Nate was showing us how to get the fluids down!

Tokyo/Yokosuka Day 2

2010-07-19T16:39:00.001+09:00

On the second day we traveled from Yokosuka to the military R & R hotel New Sanno which is in Tokyo. The New Sanno is about a 45 minute train/subway ride from Yokosuka.

Grant took this picture of me giving the people sitting down the evil eye. People on the trains can be very oblivious to the fact that possibly a lady with a baby or an 80 year old woman with a cane should sit down. By the end of our trip I was pretty frustrated!

Dinner at the New Sanno!

Tokyo/Yokosuka Day 1

2010-07-18T15:39:00.005+09:00

On Sunday the 19th we headed up to Tokyo and the Navy base at Yokosuka for the week. I was very excited for this trip because we had lots of plans to see friends and sight see.

We started our trip at the city bus station in Sasebo. We took the city bus to Fukuoka (about 1 1/2 hours), then we took a plane to Tokyo (about 1 1/2 hours) and then we rode several trains to finally reach our destination - Yokosuka. Ben loved hanging out at the bus station watching all of the buses come in and out.

Everyone waiting for the bus.

Here's Piper - ready to go!

Ben got a little bored on the bus...

Both babies were pretty tired because we woke up early to catch the bus. It took a little time but both babies finally fell asleep.

On the top level of the airport are several restaurants. We had a bite to eat and watched the planes come and go.

Waiting to board.

On the train to Yokosuka. Ben had a great time watching the conductor.

Since Piper and Nate have started drinking milk we have realized they have a bit of intolerance to it. At the airport I was desperate to give them something to drink so I got regular milk for them. Within 20 minutes poor Piper was suffering. You could tell she had a belly ache and finally was able to get a little relief. Unfortunately we smelled up the whole train!

Grandparent's day!

2010-07-16T13:20:00.006+09:00

Today Ben had a open house for grandparents. Since he has no grandparents in the area I went. There were lots of Japanese grandparents and American parents!

Ben standing next to one of his best friends in the class. I'm not sure exactly how to spell her name but you say it Owie. And just in case you are wondering, yes they are required to keep their shorts hiked up to their chest! The teacher actually went around to each child and made sure their shirt was tucked in and their shorts were pulled up!!

Ben's turn to answer to roll and then ask me how I was doing. He used to be pretty shy but not anymore!

Ben LOVES school! He loves to sing his Japanese songs and dance around.

During this song the kids went behind us and gave us massages. They sang a song and eventually started rotating around in a circle to give the other adults a massage.

After our massages we went to their performance room for a show.

Ben's class - he is in the upper right.

Time to leave. Sayonara!

Big hugs from Sensei Natsumi!!

It's party time!

2010-07-12T06:23:00.008+09:00

On Saturday we had a birthday party for the babies. I had my heart set on a sock monkey theme and had ordered the plates and napkins a long time ago. I think in the end everything came together very nicely. The best part though was just celebrating with friends.

I was planning on ordering a cake from the commissary. At the last minute I made these monkey cupcakes and I think they turned out much better than a pre-made cake would have!

Waiting for their cupcakes!

Some of the guests.

Both babies wanted those candles so badly! I think they both got a little feel of the flame but Ben quickly helped them blow it out!

Dig in! They had already practiced on their birthday so they were pros!

As we were cleaning up they both found a cup of yogurt in the fridge and had an after dinner snack.

Time for a bath and bed!!

Happy 1st Birthday!

2010-07-07T10:53:00.002+09:00

On July 7th we celebrated Piper and Nate's first birthday - just the five of us. The party will come later! We had a great night. Ate some fajitas, had cupcakes and opened a few presents (thank you Nana and Papa and Caroline and Shane!)

Ready to dig in!!!

Mmmmm!

It took awhile to clean up after them but it was so worth it! Happy Birthday Babies, it has been a great year!

Parts of Summer and 4th of July

2010-07-04T09:49:00.007+09:00

On June 12th Piper got her first haircut. Her hair was growing straight down over her eyes and really needed to be trimmed!

I can't say the results were that great - haha - but at least her hair is now out of her eyes!

Sad, dirty babies!

They are growing up so quickly! It has been really neat to watch them change into individuals yet totally function at twins. They love to be around each other.

Happy Father's Day Grant! I made this shirt for Grant and I think he was a bit embarrassed but he was a good sport and wore it all day long!

I am slowly starting to get rid of a lot of our little baby stuff. Piper started playing in her old carseat and got stuck! Her leg was tangled in the strap and she couldn't figure out how to turn around to get out.

I was so excited when I saw this! I figured I didn't need to do fold the clothes that day!

Crazy hair day!

My friend Leigh and I have been training to hike Mt. Fuji for some time. We were supposed to climb in the beginning of July but the weather was too bad. Hopefully we'll make it up in August. Right before our scheduled Fuji hike we went on a hike with MWR here in Sasebo. It was raining really hard the day we went and the trails were crazy! It was a lot of fun but a bit dangerous!

We were soaked to the bone by the end of the hike!

This chair is actually Ben's chair and before we left Hawaii I was planning to get rid of it. Boy am I glad I didn't! Piper loves this chair. We actually call it her throne!

She sure wants to walk!!

Silly babies! Always getting into something!

Happy 3rd of July!

Happy 4th of July!

It was raining her pretty hard on the fourth so we stayed in. They had a large party at main base but we opted to BBQ at home. We had a few friends over and had a good time! This is our friend Andrew enjoying one of the 4th of July cupcakes! Yummy!

Singapore!

2010-06-10T18:21:00.028+09:00

Grant, Ben and I were lucky to have my mother-in-law Deena come out and take care of the babies while we went to Singapore! We left on a Saturday morning and flew from Fukuoka, Japan, to Taipei Taiwan to Hong Kong and then to Singapore! Whew!! We took the city bus to the airport in Japan and Grant took this picture of the guy in the row with him. Looks like he is comfortable!

Our flight from Hong Kong to Singapore ended up being three hours late due to a brake problem on the plane. We ended up completely switching planes! It was crazy! We got in at midnight! The next morning we at breakfast at the hotel where they brag about eating with the squirrels. If I was the hotel I wouldn't be bragging about them. They were pretty scary!!

On our first morning we met up with Grant's brother Scott and his wife Manju. They stayed in the hotel with us and spent the first day with us traveling around Sentosa Island. Sentosa Island is right off the coast of Singapore and it is where they have lots of adventure activities and lots of resorts. In the picture above Grant and Ben went to explore on the beach while I finished up breakfast.

The scary squirrel!!

Before we headed out on our adventure we were able to skype with Grant's mom. Here she is with the babies! I missed them so much that I took a picture of them on the skype so I could continually look at them on my camera!

The beautiful view from our hotel. Notice all of the ships out off the coast. Lots of ships hang out there waiting for work.

Our first stop was Underwater world and the dolphin show. They have pink dolphins there. I thought they were a bit sick looking but I think it was just their pink skin.

This was a cool sting ray tank. They were very friendly and would come right up to you and let you pet them and they would splash us.

You could stick your hand in the tank and try to feel a fish or at least try to feed one.

Aunt Manju and Ben trying to coax a fish over.

At Underwater World they had a people mover floor system that took you through a huge tank. It was really neat. I think Ben could have gone through that thing over and over again.

After the aquarium we headed next door to get a fish pedicure. It was crazy!! We stuck our feet in a pool of fish and they nibbled on our feet and calves for 20 minutes. It was such a weird feeling!!

I had to bite on a cloth half the time because all I wanted to do was scream it felt so funny!

Grant chose a pool of bigger fish. They went crazy on his feet!! Unfortunately 20 minutes is not long enough to make much of a dent on scaly feet. I think we would need to go back every day for a few weeks to feel cleaned up and baby butt smooth.

Ben was such a good trooper. He couldn't participate but he patiently waited while we freaked out!

After our fish experience we headed for the Megazip zipline. If you have seen Amazing Race you may have seen this zipline when they went to Singapore. I had hyped myself up into doing it! I am extremely scared of anything like this and have no idea why I decided to do this but I did it! The picture above is Ben once again patiently waiting while we did adult things. Grant didn't do the zipline because he has done it before.

You are taken by cart to the top of the mountain and climb up a tower where you are strapped on and let go!

This is the ending down on the beach.

I hooted and hollered the whole way down. I was so amazed I actually did this. My whole body hurt afterwards I think due to a huge adrenaline rush.

We then headed on to the luge ride. For the luge you take a life to the top of the mountain and then ride in small cars back down. Finally Ben could have some fun!!

This is the chair lift. I was more scared on this than I was on the zipline!

Scott and Manju in the chair in front of us.

Weeeeee!!!

This is at the end of our first day - you can tell Ben isn't in the greatest mood! He was tired and his feet were hurting. Poor guy!

Day 2 - a playground at a mall in Singapore. There were lots of kids at this playground with their nannies!

Singapore was sooooo hot! You can tell in the picture above! In the afternoon we headed out to Juroung Bird Park. Ben's had developed blisters on his feet so we rented a stroller and pushed him around. This park was full of bird exhibits and shows.

One of the bird shows - look at those crazy flamingos!

Ben was dripping with sweat!

This was the birds of prey show. The animal in the background is fake but the birds are real.

Grant was chosen to help out during the show! He used a sling shot to shoot up a piece of meat and a falcon swooped down and got it!!

Good shot!

On our way home we stopped and played in a fountain near our hotel!

The water felt so good!

Day 3 we explored more of Sentosa Island. This is the merlion. The merlion is one of the symbols used for Singapore. It has a lion head and a mermaid body. Singapore means lion city - one of the earliest settlers thought he saw a lion in Singapore which actually turned out to be something else but the name Singapura or Singapore was already established.

We checked out a museum called Images of Singapore. It showed the history of Singapore. They did a great job! When Ben pulled the tail above it made a lion sound.

This exhibit was showing how the early workers would move things off of ships.

Ben being a rickshaw driver.

Now daddy's turn!

After the images we went on a ride that took us up this pole and we were able to see a 360 degree view of Singapore.

We were in a round capsule that spun around as it went up and down.

You can kind of see the capsule.

After the capsule ride we headed to an area that claims to be the southernmost point of Asia. On the way there Ben found these flowers. I thought they were quite beautiful and pretty unique.

Here I am at the southernmost point!

We had to cross a bridge to get there.

They had two towers with great views.

This is the restaruant where we ate lunch. It wasn't the greatest food but they had wireless internet and it was pouring down rain so at least we were under cover!

Ben found another fountain to play in!

This birdcage was on the side of the road by the beach. The man inside is holding a piece of watermelon for the birds.

They were beautiful birds (and hungry!!)

After exploring Sentosa a little more we headed out to the famous Singapore Night Zoo. Ben was ready to go with his Stitch bag from the airline and his Sentosa Island crown. Unfortunately the zoo is pretty far out - we had to ride the monorail to the train to another train to a public bus. It was a lonnnnggg trip! Our public bus ride was about 30 minutes and Ben slept the entire time!

This was a fire show right outside of the main gate to the zoo.

Inside the zoo they have an animal show that features animals of the night and then we paid a little extra to take a tram throughout the park to see the animals out at night. You can also walk through the zoo but it would have been way to hard for us with Ben. Unfortunately I have no pictures of the animals because you couldn't use a flash.

Day 4 we decided to explore Singapore. We headed out to an Indian restaraunt where you ate with your hands and we went to a local street market to check out souvenirs.

Here is a picture of Grant at the train station. We knew the trains VERY well by the time we left!

This is the famous Raffles Hotel. Raffles Hotel is an old hotel similar to the Hotel Del in San Diego or the Pennisula Hotel in Hong Kong. Of course we could never afford to stay there but it was cool to see inside,

One of the top tourist things to do is get a Singpaore Sling from the Long Bar at Raffles. The Singapore Sling is a fruity drink which at the Long Bar costs about $25.00!!! Of course we had to try it but I don't ever need to pay that much for a drink. At the Long Bar you also are given a bowl full of peanuts which you eat and throw the shells on the ground. Ben thought that was pretty cool although it took him awhile to feel comfortable doing it. I think he kept thinking he would get in trouble! And yes - we did take a four year old with us into a bar!

After our Singapore Sling (notice I said Sling not Slings - there was no way we were going to get two!) we went for a ride in a bumboat. The bumboats were used in the early days to transport people around, now they are just used to make money off of tourists and show them around the waterways of the city!

It was nice to just sit down and enjoy a little breeze while checking out the sights.

This is a sculpture of kids jumping into the river. I guess at one time that was a common sight.

Another merlion

Yes that is a boat on top of a hotel!! It was crazy looking!!

Finally our day ended with a dip in the hotel pool. This was Ben's absolute favorite place. They had a beautiful pool.

Ben has finally become comfortable in the water again.

Ben is on the right slide.

I just had to take a picture of this. Twice a week they fog the hotel for bugs. This is the side of the hotel facing the beach. It was really weird to see but I guess necissary.

Siloso Beach sand castle.

On our way home from Singapore we got stranded in Hong Kong for one night. Grant was thrilled but I was tired and greatly missed the babies. We did try though to make the most of it. We went out for a good dinner and went for a ride on the famous Star Ferry. The city skyline was beautiful.

We have a good friend in Singapore who owns a tailoring and jewelry shop. We stopped by to see him and he gave Ben this dolpin wind chime. Ben was thrilled.

On the right is another Star Ferry.

Tired and ready to get back to the hotel.

The airline put us up in a hotel connected to the airport. Our room looked right out on the runway so we were able to watch planes landing! The windows were so thick though that we couldn't hear a thing!

On our way out I couldn't resist taking this picture of all of the taxis lined up at the airport. I guess they all end up getting enough work but there sure were a lot of them!

Ben's school birthday celebration

2010-04-30T12:00:00.006+09:00

On Wednesday Ben's school did a birthday celebration for all of the kids who had birthdays in April. I had no idea what to expect.

All three 3 year old classes were present. Even though I had told Ben I would be there I still think he was very surprised to see me.

I had to take the babies with me. I was a little nervous about how I would carry them since the show room is on the second floor and strollers are not allowed. I put Piper in a carrier on my back and carried Nate plus all of my bags on my arm. The little girl above is Makenzie. She is about two months older than the twins and she looks a lot like Piper. Her older sister Maddy is in Ben's class and has a birthday in April too.

The birthday kids put on shiny vests and we walked them up to the front of the class.

This is one of the sensei's talking to everyone about sitting properly and being quiet.

There is Ben - yawning! He really was excited and he did have a good time!

The senseis went to each child and asked them what their name was, how old they were, what their favorite food was and what they wanted to be in the future.

When it was Ben's turn his teacher had the questions written out in English. She speaks very little English but tried hard to ask the questions correctly. Ben said he liked hamburgers and wanted to be Anpanman when he got bigger. Funny thing is, every time we got to McDonald's he wants chicken nuggets, not a burger and he has never asked me for a burger. I have a feeling that when they asked the kids in the classroom they tried to think of American foods and mentioned hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, pizza, etc. and Ben chose hamburger.

After the questions the parents were asked to come up front and the kids presented us with a drawing. Ben drew Grant and I.

The teachers then put on a skit. One of the senseis came out dressed as a farmer.

She started to water this brown box (the dirt) and a green shoot came out. The shoot got bigger and she tried to pull it out but couldn't.

Then Anpanman came to the rescue!

Anpanman and the farmer tried but couldn't get the shoot out.

Then the birthday kids tried and they couldn't. So then the parents went up to help and we finally got the carrot/radish whatever it was out of the ground!

Ben getting his birthday card from Natsumi sensei.

Singing and dancing towards the end.

Another skit put on by the teachers.

All of the kids. The split them up between girls and boys. Ben is in the middle of the birthday kids with his bright blue vest on.

He thinks he is so big!

2010-04-30T11:56:00.002+09:00

Nate and Piper are really on the go these days. Piper does most things first and Nate seems to eventually follow. The funny thing is, once Nate starts doing it, he perfects it and goes a little further. For example - Piper has been standing up next to Ben's chair for quite awhile. Well Nate starting standing up next to it, then starting climbing up onto it and then eventually used it to climb up onto the couch. Little booger!!

Mt. Eboshi

2010-04-30T09:57:00.007+09:00

We headed out to Mt. Eboshi sports village on Sunday. Mt. Eboshi in a way is right outside of Sasebo. They tout a large "sports village" close to the top.

Checking out the koi fish and a turtle. The park was extremely busy. It was a nice weekend for once so everyone was out enjoying the weather. At the village you can rent roller blades and unicycles. You can jump in a ball pit, ride tons of "funny bikes", play on a playground, sled, etc. It was lots of fun.

This picture is for our friend Yuno. When Yuno moved down the street from us in Hawaii she had a unicycle. She couldn't get over that noone in the US had one and we couldn't get over that she naturally had one!

This is a grass hill for skiing. Right now though it is obviously not in use!

A slide you would never see in the US! Very high and steep!

There comes Ben...

They have a little sand area and that is actually where we spent most of our time.

The babies take after their big brother - they love sand!

They were soooo dirty afterwards but so happy!

You could pay a few bucks and for a half an hour ride all different types of bikes. Next time we are going to check that area out.

Ben chose to ride in the speedy car with daddy.

Of course he had a blast. I think this kid thinks he is 16 and can already drive!

I thought this machine was funny. You could get a hot lunch to go. I'm sure it is quite tasty!

Ben sledding. Awhile back he burned his ankle on one of these hills and has been very apprehensive about going again. Luckily Grant got him to go and now he is back to enjoying it. The boy on the right in the bottom picture was treating him like a little brother. He would help him out, get his sled for him, etc. It was pretty neat.

Mt. Yumihari

2010-04-30T08:42:00.003+09:00

On Saturday we went to the lookout on Mt. Yumihari. Mt. Yumihari is right in the middle of Sasebo and offers great views of the city.

The base. The ESSEX is the large ship right in the middle of the picture.

I don't think about how big Sasebo is, but it really is a nice sized city.

Very bad lighting but very cool view!

Yochien picnic

2010-04-26T13:13:00.012+09:00

Last Friday Ben's school had a picnic. The weather had been yucky all week long (nothing new here in Sasebo!) But the rain held off long enough to squeeze in the picnic. It was a bit muddy and chilly but we had a great time!

The kids doing their exercises. Ben is the last child on the right with a blue hat on.

Still exercising. It was so fun to watch. After awhile the parents joined it. Ben is to the left of the child with the yellow jacket on.

Here is a video of them exercising!

Next they did a running race to their parents.

Ben was holding hands with a little boy. I'm not sure why because noone else was holding hands. About 3/4 of the way through the other little boy gave up and sat on the ground and started to cry.

Then we had a class picture.

Ben squatting like a true Japanese.

After pictures we had a hula hoop race.

Ben and Natsumi sensei - his teacher.

Ben with Saki sensei. Saki was one of his teacher's from last year and he made googly eyes at her the entire time at the picnic. It was sooo funny.

As we sat down for lunch the weather got worse. Most people started leaving pretty quickly.

Beppu - April 2010

2010-04-19T10:08:00.018+09:00

On Friday afternoon we set out for the town of Beppu. Beppu is on the other side of the island of Kyushu from Sasebo. Because Grant is a speed demon we got there in about two hours. Beppu is known for its onsens or hot spring baths.

We picked Ben up from school and headed straight out. Here he is busily working.

And here is he is a few minutes later sleeping! He slept most of the trip.

Our room at the Kamenoi Hotel. We booked our hotel through the Travel and Tours office on base. We were originally given a smoking room and when we went to the front desk they told us they were completely booked. Well I rolled the babies around the corner as well as Ben and they quickly gave us a non-smoking room! So much nicer!!! Our first room had the standard two double beds but our second room had four beds! I think a lot of extended families travel together in Japan. They even have rooms with 6 beds! Right when you walk in the room they have slippers that you put on while in the room. Ben thought these were pretty cool.

That is the bathroom step Nate is up on. The bathroom is elevated.

Our cool room.

Piper is happy. Both babies are now pulling up on everything. The beds in our room were the perfect height from them to pull up on.

Our first night we ate sandwiches in our room and then set out for their ginza. This was some sort of shrine in the middle of the ginza. This man with the big nose signified something.

Ben took this picture of Grant and I.

This is the nose on the figure in the shrine.

Starting Ben off early.

They had street tiles on the ground which lit up every few seconds. Their manhole covers even had fancy designs on them. Japan doesn't miss anything!

A public bath/onsen in the middle of the ginza. This onsen had machines where you paid to enter. The onsens have a side for men and a side for women. Once inside you completely undress and bath yourself at a sit down shower type thing. Then you enter the bath, still completely undressed, in front of everyone. It definitely takes some getting used to!

This is a foot bath right outside of the onsen. It is based on the honor system. You put your coin in the box and rest your feet in the water. It feels sooo good!

On Saturday morning everyone was up VERY early so we grabbed a few breakfast snacks and headed for a local park.

Mommy jungle gym!

After breakfast we were going to go to a local indoor water park but because we were up so early we still had a little time before it opened. We explored around town and found this beach sand bath.

They fill up pools of sand with the hot thermal water, drain it and then bury people in it.

They had a fun little waterfront area there too that we explored.

This is the drain from the beach pool area.

Acquabeat indoor water park.

These slides come out of the building and go back in.

These type of steam vents were visible all around town.

The baby pool inside acquabeat. Piper and Nate loved getting in the water. Since they can hold themselves up now they really had a good time holding on to the side and playing.

Opps, daddy let Piper fall in!

The kids pool area was nice but a little small. It really didn't matter though because there was hardly anyone else there. It was soooo hot inside acquabeat.

Nate ready to get in.

The wave pool.

They also had a lazy river area.

The babies were so tired after playing. I can't believe how big they now look in the stroller. Time is flying!

After the water park we headed over to Takasakiyama Monkey Park. It is basically the side of a mountain that has been taken over by monkeys. We walked up a hill and there they all were. It was so weird. They can be pretty aggressive so we made sure not to look them in the eye and we left pretty quickly.

Monkeys roaming freely everywhere.

I put hats on the babies and Ben to make sure the monkeys couldn't see their eyes very well in case the kids looked at the monkeys the wrong way!

I'll let you figure this one out...

Actually they all pick at themselves and each other but this position was just too funny to not take a picture of.

We could see monkeys in the trees all the way up the mountain.

Once back at the hotel I decided to brave the public bath at the hotel. As I left our room I told Grant I felt like I could throw up. I was so nervous about bathing in front of other people.

It actually wasn't too bad.

The awesome Indian restaraunt we found in the ginza. Yummy!!!

The ginza had tons of small side streets. It reminds me of scenes in Memoirs of a Geisha.

Cars actually drive down some of these streets!

Takegawara Onsen - This is another sand bath onsen. Next time I would like to go there.

Ben riding Anpanman at our hotel.

Breakfast at McDonald's on Sunday morning. Once again we were up VERY early. I had to take this picture. I wonder how many kids will eat corn for breakfast. McDonald's serves corn with their happy meals and Ben got a happy meal breakfast. He wolfed down the corn.

The babies playing footsie.

After McDonald's we set off for the beach sand bath. That is Grant there getting burried. You lay down in a hole they dig and they cover you all the way up to your neck in hot sand.

Grant relaxing. You lay there for 15 minutes.

Ben, the babies and I went out exploring while Grant bathed.

We found this cool lantern out in the bay.

Here I go. You wear a robe and nothing else!

Are my 15 minutes up yet? I was trying to get out at this point. I started to get a bit clausterphobic about 5 minutes into it.

Ahhh!! Afterwards you go back in the changing room and wash off and get in a hot bath!

After the beach bath we headed to African Safari. This is a popular zoo like park in Beppu.

The most fun we had was riding the jungle bus. Ours is the one on the left.

Waiting for the bus.

We were given this container of food for each of the different animals we saw.

Feeding a goat?

Feeding raw chicken to the lions! It was crazy!

Nate made a new friend. Actually a few new friends. This lady held him most of the trip and then he was passed around to others on the bus. Piper would never let anyone do that to her!

After the bus ride we walked around the inner park area.

It wasn't too spectacular but as usual it was very intersting!

Rudolph in Africa land! I told Ben he was checking on him for Santa!

One of the exhbits was cat world. You literraly pay a few bucks and walk into a room filled with free roaming cats...

The cat from Austin Powers! He was so friendly!

My biggest laugh of the entire trip came from this moment.. Back view...

Front view... The sad thing is it was cold outside and they had a little girl who looked younger than Ben with them.

She is well on her way to looking just like them.

After Safari Land we made a quick stop at the Jigoku's or Burning Hells. They are basically little parks with unique hot springs in them Beppu has several of them. There are eight right in a row so we just chose one to see. The one we went to was called Umi and the water in the hell looks a lot like the sea. Another has a pool of boiling mud and another has a pool with white water. We are already planning another trip to Beppu to see the other hells.

On May 5th they celebrate boy's day or children's day in Japan. People display fish flags in celebration of this day and Umi Jigoku already has theirs up. I am sure I will learn even more about it in the next few weeks and will post more about it.

A random pool in the Umi-Jigoku.

The hot spring behind us.

They boil eggs in the water and sell them.

Messy ice cream on our way out... Time to go home and plan our next trip to Beppu!!

First Day of Age 3

2010-04-08T13:30:00.005+09:00

Today was Ben's first day of Age 3 class. He was so excited to put on his uniform and go get on the bus.

He has soooo much stuff he now has to take. But he is so proud of himself.

There he goes...

Opening Ceremony at Kurinomi

2010-04-08T12:49:00.006+09:00

Tuesday was the opening ceremony at Ben's school. Grant took off the day and our next door neighbor babysat the babies. Japanese schools start in April. Their age cut off date is April 1st so last year Ben was in the two year old class and now he has moved up to the three year old class even though as of April 3rd he was four. No biggie for us though. The age 2 class was great for him and we are so excited about his age 3 class. For age 3 class he has to wear a uniform. Every day he wears his dutch boy outfit to school and then changes into uniform sweatpants and sweatshirt. He is so proud of himself!

Ready to leave for the opening ceremony.

His new cubby for his shoes. This year he is a frog. Last year he was a carrot. That basically means he looks for the frog and knows where to put his stuff! Although I think he now knows what his name is in Japanese. The first five characters are our last name and the last two characters are Ben.

Standing in front of his new classroom. His new teacher is one of his teachers from his Age 2 class. He was thrilled and so was I!

The class birthday train. His is the very first one for April 3.

The auditorium before the ceremony began. For once we were there early and got a front row seat!! Plus I didn't have the babies so I was so relaxed and was able to enjoy everything!

Each class filed in with their teacher and then each teacher was introduced.

Leaving the ceremony. That is the principal behind Ben. She spoke and then the teachers did a little song. On Wednesday they had a welcome ceremony for all of the kids who had never attended Kurinomi before. Although his class was small for the opening ceremony I'm sure it is a lot bigger with many new kids. Can you tell how proud Ben was of himself!

Natsumi Sensei - his new teacher!!

The birthday boy! This was taken back in one of the age 3 classrooms. Because his birthday was not on a school day we sang to him at the ceremony.

Natsumi Sensei and Ben :)

Hugs!

Each child got a present from their teachers. It was an Elmo washcloth. The kids are required to bring a washcloth everyday to use during lunch.

Lots of bowing!

Ben's class! Again it was very small but I think many more are in the class and went to the welcome ceremony. These kids were all with him in his age 2 class. Hannah, the little girl right next to him lives in our neighborhood and her mom Emi is two ladies down from me.

Ben's class.

Sushi! Ben loves sushi and had been constantly asking Grant to take him. I do not like sushi but Ben asked me to come and we had time before we needed to get home.

He loves this stuff - blah!!

Pottery painting

2010-03-25T13:03:00.002+09:00

Today we ventured out in the rain to paint pottery near Arita. A friend had suggested it and I thought it would be a fun thing to do while my mom was here. Denise and family also came. Of course Andrew and Ben breezed through their painting but my mom, Kat, Denise and I took our time. Pottery is very popular in this part of Japan and Arita and the surrounding towns produce a lot of famous pottery.

Being creative :)

This is my finished product. It will be fired and during the firing the plate will turn white and the design will be blue. Arita is known for its' blue and white pottery.

Trying to keep the boys and the babies entertained while we worked.

This and That - March

2010-03-21T06:43:00.010+09:00

This post is for daddy...

The babies and Ben have changed so much since you left. Hope you enjoy these pics...

Hey! I know you!

Daddy's little princess..

Mmmm, paper

Ben's new friends at Saiki park.

Go Mizzou!

Hugh Hefner

and one of his playmates...

Opening of toll road party!

2010-03-14T15:07:00.005+09:00

All around Japan there are tons of toll roads. In the Sasebo area they have a toll road which stretches from the Fukuoka area down towards Sasebo. They just completed a section of the toll road which actually took the road all the way down into town by the main base. In true Japanese style they had an opening for the road so of course we had to go check it out.

It wouldn't be a toll road party without a goat to pet!

This Taiko group was so cool to watch!

Of course the boys were more interested in the puddle and getting dirty than watching the show. I would have thought though that maybe they would have been interested in loud drums but the puddle won out!

We were able to walk up the exit/entrance ramp and go up on the road.

Tully the Tulip from Huis Ten Bosch!

Ben, Kat, and Grace

View of Nimitz park from the top. Nimitz park is a military owned area which is generally open to the public. They have ball fields and a USO there plus an entrance to the Sasebo shopping arcade.

The Sasebo Burger Boy! The Sasebo burger is very famous here. It is a burger with egg and a few other weird things on it that the Japanese think are great! We can't wait to drive on the new road! It will probably cut out about 10-15 minutes from our commute to main base!

Bath time fun!

2010-03-09T07:17:00.002+09:00

Ben and Nate's comedy act continues...

Misc. with Nana 3

2010-03-09T07:12:00.003+09:00

Nate is on a sleeping strike! My mom has been desperately trying to help him sleep but he sure isn't giving in! These are her failed attempts from yesterday!

Flurry of posts!!

2010-03-06T19:29:00.001+09:00

Sorry Grant - I hope these posts make up for my lack of them in the last couple of weeks!

There he goes!

2010-03-06T18:19:00.001+09:00

Well I decided it was time to buck up and take Ben's training wheels off. With Grant gone so much I knew it probably wouldn't get done anytime soon so I just decided on a whim to do it. Ben did great although he still looses power and crashes quite a bit! Hopefully soon we will be taking bike rides together sans training wheels!

Misc. with Nana 2

2010-03-06T18:10:00.004+09:00

More various pictures with Nana.

My mom started having laptop problems and I wanted a small laptop to bring upstairs since Grant takes our other on cruise. So we went out and bought small notebooks. Here is our kitchen table covered in computers! How much more dependant can someone get!

Playing on the bus at Jusco. I think my mom was in overwhelmed mode by this point!

The outside of the bus.

Playing air hockey in Jusco with friends Kat and Andrew.

My mom got a kick out of these appliances in Jusco. These are typical refridgerators and on the left is a washing machine. Very small!!!

Girl's Day

2010-03-06T18:04:00.001+09:00

March 3rd was Girl's Day here in Japan. On Girl's Day a doll festival is held. Platforms are covered with red carpet and ornamental dolls are placed on it representing the emperor, empress, attendants and musicians dressed in the traditional dress of the time period of 794 -1185. The dolls were believed to be able to contain bad spirits. Ben's school had their dolls on display this last week. What a neat tradition.

The Emperor and Empress

Swim School

2010-03-04T08:04:00.007+09:00

At Ben's school they offer swimming lessons through their swim school. On Tuesday my mom and I went to see him in action.

Anna and Ben waiting for class to begin.

Before class begins they throw water on the window of the viewing area to get the condensation off.

Getting ready to start.

Ben started to get a little tentative about halfway through class. It was so strange for me to see because he is always so fearless. I have to admit though that it was nice to see him for once stepping back and watching and not going full speed ahead.

Anna and Ben during free play at the end.

This is a video of Ben swimming. He is with the teacher in the back and goes under and swims to the second platform and then crosses over by the male teacher.