Japanese School Open House

The Japanese start their school year on April 1st. This past week the school had an open house so parents could see the new classrooms. The first picture is of Alex and Ian in front of the giant Koi Nobori, or Carp Banner at the school. The Japanese holiday, Boys' Day, is celebrated May 5th, and typically in last half of April you will see the Koi Nobori displayed over homes and businesses to celebrate Boys' Day. The Koi (Carp) signifies that families want their boys to grow up and be strong, like the fish.

Ian has graduated from a pink sports cap last year to a lavender this year! He is in the Reisu Gumi, or Squirrel Class this year.

The Robert boys with their good friends, Jacob (pink hat) and Noah (white). The younger classes wear their blue smocks over their sports uniform when they are playing outside.

Ian singing his song

Alex singing his Koi Nobori song

Ian's 4th Birthday Party

The day after we returned from Guam, we had a joint birthday party for Ian and his good friend, Jacob. Their birthdays are only a day apart. It was pretty low key, but the boys had fun! We kind of had a mixed theme with both Shinkansen and Cars. My friend Sharon made the Shinkansen cake, and it turned out beautifully!

Our Trip to Guam (finally!)

We went to Guam for a family vacation the second week in April. We all had a great time! We stayed at the Pacific Islands Club. http://www.picresorts.com/en/Guam/Guam_About.asp The resort had several pools, kayaking, windsurfing, kids pools and kids' club where we could drop the boys off for a few hours in the morning and afternoon, and several restaurants. It was pretty nice. We went with several friends, so there was lots of great company. The weather was a sunny/partly cloudy 88 degrees all week. The snorkeling right from the resort was wonderful, with a huge variety of fish and coral. We took the boys snorkeling, and even Ian had no problems! It was great to have a taste of the U.S. as well, and of course we hit several of the U.S. chain restaurants, just because. We celebrated Ian's 4th birthday while we were there, too! Here are a few pictures...

Our whole group

At the resort overlooking the grounds.

A "dory" fish we saw snorkeling. The boys got a kick out of this one!

Talofolo Falls

Ian snorkeling

Noah on the beach

Christian's homecoming!

After over 5 months, many holidays, birthdays, and milestones, Chris is back at home. We got word earlier in the week that he would be arriving on Friday, February 27, if all went as planned. They left Iraq and spent a night in Thailand, then left Thailand very early Friday morning. 12 jets made it back home, 4 were left in Thailand due to maintenance problems (they will be arriving in the next few days). I didn't tell the boys until I knew for sure that the jets were inbound. I picked the boys up from school, and told them I had a surprise for them. Alex wanted to know if it was a Nerf gun or Star Wars toy. Of course, it was much better than that! Here are a few pics of the day...

A little late night run in with the dresser...

I knew I should have gone to bed earlier...Friday night I had my first visit to the urgent care clinic. It was 11:30, and I was just crawling into bed. Had my PJs on, brushed my teeth already, even had my night mouth guard in my mouth, ha. I somehow tripped (just call me Grace) and hit my slightly open bottom dresser drawer. And boy, did it hurt like the dickens (yes, I know I am a wimp)! I thought, now that is going to leave a huge bruise, and when I was writhing in pain on my bed, I looked down and saw blood. I pulled up my pajama leg, and there was a big gash about 3-4 inches long right below my knee on my shin. I won't get into gross details! Me being a (very tired) nurse...I freaked out. I called my neighbors and they ran over. And of course, we were in the middle of a blizzard at the time! Tami checked on the boys, and Ken brought me to the urgent care. 3 hours and 3 layers of stitches later, I was back at home. Unfortunately, I am not able to drive for a few days since the sutures are very near my knee, and can't risk popping them open. I was feeling sorry for myself since Chris is still not home and will just have to manage with the boys, but I know it could have been much worse. The best thing is my friends! Friends and neighbors have helped out with the boys, shoveled the tons of snow, and brought us dinner. Friends are also going to be chauffeuring us around the next few days, and taking the boys to and from school. What would I do without them?