Making Memories

Daddy leaves on Tuesday so we're spending the weekend making memories. On Saturday we went to our favorite park to play and see the cherry blossoms.

Hurry up Mom and Dad!

Taking a break to take a picture.

Getting dizzy is fun!

The infamous drop slide.

We're such horrible parents, but he's fine, he loved it, and he did it several more times.

Mommy and the boys!

Daddy and the boys!

The cherry blossoms are blooming!

January is a beautiful time of year in Okinawa.

Dance Party Okinawa

If the music is right, these boys love to dance (in the privacy of their own home). On this day, Ethan found a CD of Native American Pow Wow music (obviously something Andy brought into the marriage). Despite the odd choice of music, they were little boogy-machines!!

I love my brother!

Rub a Dub Dub...

...Two Goofballs in a Tub!

Bath time is always an entertaining time of day at our house. Common occurances include splashing, FIGHTING, and silliness. Fortunately, this time there was more silliness and less fighting.

Dare I Say It?

Is winter over? We have been outside nonstop. Swinging, sandbox, and the beach this week. Today we had a football game in 75 degree weather. 75 degrees in January is okay by me!

Are You Ready for Some Football??

Ethan and his team, the Saints, had their first football game on Friday night. It was so fun! Ethan is one of the youngest on the team, and he doesn't have the aggressive bone that football players need, but he still does great. Way to go Ethan!!

"I'm number five because I'm five."

Good thing they didn't give us number two.

Focused.

Oops. He was playing center and thought he was playing quarterback. Maybe it was a secret play?!?!

Slipper Party

It is COLD today. The thermostat says 57, but I think it's off by at least 30 degrees. Because of the frigid temps, the boys and I decided to have a slipper party. The whole gang was there...Spiderman, Elmo...you name it, they were there! At least it was a fun way to pass the time indoors (something we're not very good at).

L to R: Mommy, Ethan, Jackson

Jackson was fancy and matched his "Melmo" shirt with his "Melmo" slippers.

Ethan was the entertainment for our party - scootin' in slippers!

Wild Child(s)

I should be grateful that my children do not watch TV, but the "electronic babysitter" would be helpful now and then. Every once and awhile, Ethan will sit down with a movie for about 30 minutes, and sometimes Elmo will distract Jackson for 30 seconds. Instead of frying their brains, these boys choose to be wild and destroy my furniture! I know not watching TV is a good thing, but Mama (and the couch) need a break!!

Kings of the couch mountain!

Hanging in his fort.

Playground Fun

Here are some more shots from our New Year's weekend. We spent a good part of New Year's Day at the playground. It's so fun now that both boys can do all of the attractions. It's even more fun when Dad joins them!

Ready, set, go! Ethan was originally in this picture, but he zoomed down before I could take it.

Loves the swings.

Loves the slides.

Cheeseball

Following his big brother through this contraption.

Family Land Regulars

On New Year's Eve, we made another trip to Family Land. This "Japanese Chuck E. Cheese" is just perfect for Ethan and Jackson. It's also perfect for our wallet. We spent an entire morning there for only 1,000 yen (about $10.00), and all the video games and attractions are included in the price. We are doing our best to have quality family time together before Andy leaves.

Ride 'em cowboy!!

Whoa horsey!

Ethan and Jackson playing together on the trampoline.

Daddy and his boys invading the ball pit.

New Year, No Training Wheels

On a whim, Andy asked Ethan if he wanted his training wheels off. Ethan, wanting to be cool like his dad, said yes. Surprisingly, he rode his bike sans training wheels with ease. He's a pro!

Not wanting to be upstaged by his big brother, Jackson grabbed the big wheel and zoomed away.

Then we brought out the scooters.

Scootin' is no problem for this 19 month old.

We took lots of pictures over this holiday weekend so be watching for more posts, and I'm going to attempt to download a video of Ethan riding his bike.

Happy New Year 2010!!

It's 2010!! I was just reminding Andy that this was the year we were SUPPOSED to move back to the U.S., but a looming deployment changed our plans. Oh well, we'll try our best to keep a positive attitude. We rang in the new year with the Wii, movies, champagne, and homemade jerky. Ethan was in charge of decorations this year...he made a great banner and hat at preschool.

We hope you all have a blessed year.