Miajima day trip

Here we are in front of the torii. This is the original town gate at Miajima. Miajima is an island. It is covered with deer that have no fear. They can actually be a bit agressive if you have food. This is a fun day trip. In the summer, there are monkeys at the top of the higher peak you can hike up.

Penguin Time!

There is a neat little aquarium on the island. As per Japanese tradition, you actually get to touch animals at these places. There is even a penguin petting time. Carrie and Kyle were thrilled! It was really neat to get to touch them. Collin however, would not get any where near touching them!

Japanese Photo OP!
There is a big shrine area and a pogoda there as well. The kids look tiny in front of the pagoda, but they ARE there!

Oh to be young!

Just soooo tired mommy! Collin has been trying to learn to sleep in his own room for naps and some of the night. This has truly exhausted him...

He has been falling asleep in the strangest places. :)

But when he is awake, he is full of smiles!!! Here he is painting for the first time!

Update!!!

Hello Everyone. Sorry it has been so long since I posted. The whole family is good. I have had a terrible head cold, but life is trucking along. There is truthfully nothing even remotely interesting to report on.
The kids and I have our usually boring routine...if you count homeschooling 3 kids boring...and Kevin is so busy he is usually gone or working. Kevin isn't home yet and it is almost 8 pm...Carrie is singing in the bathtub at the top of her lungs while Collin and Ky are jumping on Collin's new big boy bed.
Collin has been napping in his own room and making it halfway through the night in there too...He is showing zero signs of wanting to wean.
Kyle is reading and beginning to write some words for his weekly "spelling tests."
Carrie is so big we are beginning to share shoes... oh how depressing...She is still taking her piano lessons. She is doing fairly well too!


We are all missing you and thinking of you often.

MLK weekend

It is a nice long weekend 'Thanks to MLK day'. Kevin is home for the 4 day!
Friday was a blur...I took the kids to the homeschool co-op, we had sushi out in town, and that was about the extent of our day!
Saturday was Carrie's birthday party. We had a bowling party. It was a blast. Carrie had 13 girls show up. She was really excited. We had cake (homemade) and some snacks. I was really impressed with all of the kids. It was the easiest birthday party ever!
Kyle hung right with them and didn't even complain that he was the only boy.

Sunday is our family day and day of REST!
The kids are playing right now, but were all over Kevin this morning while I went for a run. He watched all 3 kiddies so I could get away and sweat. Kevin and I are hanging around the house and trying to decide what to do tomorrow...maybe hiking with the kids and dogs. Looks like a good weekend for it.

Snowy Pics!!!

SNOWY PICS!

CUTE EH?

SNOW DAY!

We had a great snow day this weekend. The kids and I all loaded on the layers and headed out. Collin and I hung out as long as possible. He kept repeating, "What is it?"

Carrie and Kyle were drug into the house several hours later and had red faces and big smiles.

Unfortunately, Kevin was traveling. We took some cute pics and a short video so that he could see Collin's first time playing in the snow.

Last year Collin was just a little squirt, so this year was his first time getting into it with both hands. I couldn't keep his gloves on him. At first he wouldn't walk in his boots, but as soon as he figured it out he was very excited by it all!!!!

We really had a blast!

So much to share!

We have been so busy this New Year. We spent New Year's Eve celebrating with our good friends. WE actually stayed up until midnight for the first time in years. Only their youngest and Collin fell asleep! The kids (6 in total) then ran down the street banging pots and pans...REALLY FUNNY!

We also went ice skating in a Japanese rink about an hour from here. They had the sled chairs that I had only seen once before. We had a blast and Carrie was cruising along. Kyle just never found his footing. :( Collin and I enjoyed skating with the tummy pouch and he took a few rides on the chair with Kyle.

Right after New Years Day we went hiking in a local park. The place is known as Green Mountain. We have named it the Jolly Green Mountain (as per the neighbors son).
It was a beautiful place with great hiking trails and streams. A neat little waterfall too.
The dogs had a blast swimming in the ice cold water and running through the woods. With 3 dogs and 8 kids in tow, we really did have a blast and it was suprisingly an easy trip!