Bits and Pieces...

The couch arrived April 28th. We bought it, the week beforehand, but it couldn't be delivered until then.

So thrilled to have the couches.

I'm so thankful that Branden is just like his dad.... in the fact that he can put any piece of furniture together all by himself. He put this TV stand together like a boss! He did such a fantastic job. 

The living room coming together, little by little.

Long John Silver's and Taco Bell are inside 1 restaurant where we live. So you can order Taco Bell and your family could order LJS or go either way. One night, we went to Long John Silver's and Taco Bell. My kids had never eaten LJS before ever. And I used to have a LJS near me, when I was growing up. And we would go there once every 2 months. I don't like fish. LJS is an American fish and chips type place. I always ordered the "chicken planks" Which is basically just chicken strips. Anyway, knowing my kids had never eaten LJS before, I tried to steer them to Taco Bell that night. Only because I *know* my kids and know what they like to eat. I thought, I would order LJS chicken planks, for old times sake. But the kids wanted to try LJS too. And so, okay. So we 3 ordered the chicken planks meal. It came with 3 strips/planks, fries, 1 hushpuppie and coleslaw. My kids absolutely hated it. Didn't just mildly hate it.. but hated it times a thousand. They told me... it was the greasiest meal they have *ever* eaten in there life. It was extremely heavy for them. And I hate to admit it, but I completely agree with my kids. After living in Japan for 15-16 years. I can't handle LJS either anymore. In Japan, we would have karaage once a month and chicken katsu once a month. If cooked right, they're not greasy at all. In Japan, my family and I seldom, if ever ate tempura. Even at the deli, if we'd get 2 tempura breaded shrimps, after shrimp one, I felt completely greased out. My kids could never handle eating tempura in Japan either. And this meal at LJS was like 100 times worse than tempura. I know Noboru enjoys LJS. And when he comes here, I'll be picking something from Taco Bell instead. 

What else happened? Let's see in the US, Avengers came out on Thursday, 2 weeks ago? It's a school night here. So, I promised to take the kids to the movies on Sunday. I couldn't take them on Saturday, since Saturday we were waiting for the furniture store delivery people to deliver the couches. Also, I made a small mistake at the movies. Again, I'm getting adjusted back to living in my home country. And boy oh boy. So let me tell you the story. In Japan, when you go to the movies in Japan, you have to pick your seat. I actually really like this system of prepicking a seat. And I really love that about Japan. Now, every time I go to Guam or Hawaii or Denver, we always go to a few movies. And the system is a bit different, seats in the movie theater are first come, first serve. And I know that. I get that. I wrongly assumed that was the same system all over the US? So Sunday, morning, April 29th, we went to our nearest movie theater to where we live. I mentioned to the kids, "do you think it's like Japan, where we pick our seats in advance?" "Or like Hawaii, Guam and Denver?" Both the boys said, it's going to be first come, first serve type seating. I agreed. And so to the movies we went. The movie started at like 1pm, we got there like at 12 noon. I figured by the time we park the car, get our movie tickets, go to the bathroom and then hit the concession stand. We'd have enough time to find a good seat. Okay so, I am standing in line to get the movie tickets. And I said, "hi I'd like movie tickets to see Avenger's Infinity Wars for the 1pm showing please" The nice teenage boy looked at me a little bit like I was on crack. Because he looked surprised. And he said, you didn't pre-purchase your tickets and pick your seats? It's nearly sold out. Would you like to buy tickets for tomorrows showing instead? Insert complete shock face from me here. OMG, you guys, never have I felt... more like a freaking "out of the know" idiot! I would have liked to slink away. But, I am the mother to 2 boys. I must be strong. I asked the kids... what do you want to do. And they said see it anyways. So, Noah and I sat together and Branden sat alone, but right in front of us. And my dad sat way up front... 3 rows away from the screen. Why am I sharing this story with you? Because I have *always* been for real with you guys on my blog. The good, the bad, the totally embarrassing. The silver lining? Well, I learned 1 thing. My nearest movie theater is like Japan... in the fact, you must pick your seats in advance. And another silver lining? I will never make that mistake again. That, I know for darn sure. 

The movie tickets are $10. Which is basically considered "cheap day" for me since I'm coming from Japan. So while my fellow American might not care for the movie price, it's normal price for me. What I do love... is that the seats are super wide leather reclining seats. The thickest cushiest seats ever. And a tray table for your movie snacks. Both Branden and Noah got their own nachos. Branden got his own large soda and Noah and I shared a medium soda. I had a small popcorn, but I'm getting the nachos next time too. We also snuck in 1 movie candy or chocolate from Target. Noah brought in Hot Tamales. Branden had picked an Oreo mint chocolate bar and I picked M&M's. The seats are the best and there's only like 15 seats per row at the most, so you don't feel all cramped in this movie theater. 

That's Noah's legs all stretched out.. relaxing at the movies and that's Branden's head in front of Noah. 

Deadpool 2 is coming out soon. May 17th, I think. Comes out on a Thursday again. I have learned my lesson and so yes, I have already purchased our Deadpool 2 tickets for Saturday May 19th. I'm learning ya'll, I'm trying so hard.

What are the pros of living in the US again? The fact that at any given time, I have 3 different types and flavors of ice cream in my freezer for the kids. Peanut Butter ice-cream. Pumpkin pie ice-cream. And of course we have the old school, ice cream sandwiches too. The ice cream flavors in the US are just the best. And so plentiful with the flavors. Just yesterday, I saw a quart of Twinkie ice-cream and Hostess cupcake ice cream too. 

My favorite flavor of yogurt since I was a child, has always been coconut flavored yogurt. While, I loved living in Japan, it always seemed they had the teeniest tiny amount of cereal variety and the teeniest tiny variety of yogurt. In Japan, we had vanilla yogurt, strawberry and blueberry. Perhaps the seasonal sakura flavor, which just tastes like perfume to my tastebuds. But, I often would mention to Noboru, I sure miss coconut yogurt. And I miss the huge selection and flavor varieties. Also our yogurt in the US is thicker. Even after trying the Greek yogurt in Japan, our regular yogurt in the US is much thicker. I know, because I tried both. I have been trying every brand and type of coconut yogurt they make in the US. My faves so far are the Yoplait Pina Colada because it's very tropical, pineapple and coconut. I also like the Tillamook coconut too. It's so thick and divine. But, I have been buying new flavors too. For the kids to try. So many Girl Scout flavors available.

Noah enjoyed the Girl Scout caramel coconut.

So, like I said the pros of living here is having the pure and simple convenience of having American food at my finger tips 24/7 and available. And American food is native here... so it's so freaking cheap. Yogurts are 60 cents each. Japanese food is considered foreign food here, so it's expensive. I have not eaten rice since I left Japan. And neither my kids. Well, wait they have had rice when they go to Panda Express. But not Japanese or medium grain rice. I always pick noodles so I have not eaten rice though since I left Japan.

I'm also learning which grocery store I find the cheapest. I have been to Alebrtsons and Safeway and the local chain here. And also price compared at Target and Walmart too. I personally find Walmart grocery store cheaper on everything. And I love buying their 96 or 98% fat free ground beef.

What do I find the hardest about living here? Being without Noboru. We've been married for 20 years, this year marks year 21 for us. While some people have crap marriages or they fight all the time. I can honestly say, I married my best friend. We have just always gotten along so well. He knows me best and I know him best. I miss him so much, that at times when I am alone, I just want to burst out crying. We were like a pair of shoes. Two sneakers. And now I feel like just 1 lone sneaker, without the other one. We Line message everyday. We talk on Line, most days but not all days.  I'm trying so hard to keep it all under control. And I won't tell my kids how unbelievably grief stricken I am. Or how sad I am. Because again...I need to be their rock.  We're waiting on that green card. And I know that. And so, I have to be calm. And composed. But yes, I miss him so much, that I can't really even describe how sad that I am, without him. Noboru called me last week, asking, how long to cook one of those Costco frozen pizzas and what temperature to put it on. Why? Because he too is having a hard time without me too. As far as cooking pizzas are concerned or anything in the house....I frankly always handled it. And so he never had to think about such things. Because I always did it all. Now I'm not there. And yeah...he's feeling it too. And so am I.

The good news... is that as soon as the kids get out of school for summer break, we're going back to Japan for about 4 weeks. I can't wait. And I know Noboru can't wait either. So in June we're going back. So yes, there are pros and cons for living here. Living in Japan, I always felt like I had 1 leg in Japan and 1 leg in the US. And here...I too, feel like I have 1 leg in the US and 1 leg in Japan too. I think though... when Noboru moves to the US...then I can finally start to feel like I have 2 legs both firmly planted in the United States.

Pics of our townhouse and of Noah's middle school...

Hi, today's Tuesday over here. Both Bran and Noah are at school right now. My dad's at the motor vehicles right now getting his drivers license switched to this state. And so, I have some free time to just catch up with you all. The wifi in America, where we live is absolutely so freaking slow compared to the internet speeds we have in Japan. The reason is because we use satellite for our internet and we also have the Dish for watching TV. So, when the kids are home like in the evenings and weekends. I doubt I will blog then. Because of the slow wifi. But, I think I can blog twice a week, in the weekday. And hopefully I can eventually catch up. I will post what the outside of our townhouse looks like another time. But for now, I will share pics of what the townhouse looked like the day we moved in. This is what our living room looks like. Of course now we have 2 couches in there and a  55 inch flat screen TV in there now. But this is just pics of the day we moved in. So this is the living room. This is all on the main floor of our townhouse.

Behind this little door in the living room, is a storage area for the kids and my suitcases.

What it looks like behind that little door. The storage area. Fully carpeted and with a light switch.

Looking from the first flight of stairs towards the downstairs. Notice the detailing on the banister near the stairs. Again, it's barely 1 year old these townhouses.

Love the wood flooring or faux wood flooring. It's in the main floor bathroom and in the laundry room too, as well as in the master bathroom upstairs too. See the lightning in the dining area? It's so cool. Granite counter tops. American stove and oven. Microwave, dishwasher and fridge (with ice and water available on the outside of the fridge door) and tons of counter space and cabinets and a food pantry near the stairs, but in the kitchen obviously. 

Not sure if you can see the rock wall outside the windows and the flowers. Ceiling fan in the living room.

My laundry room on the main floor. There's 2 cabinets for laundry soap and Gain dryer sheets. I have Gain pods in there too. And a hanging pole to the left of the cabinets. So yes it is a proper laundry room. That is just in our townhouse for the 4 of us. 

Water heater and central air conditioning and heating system are in the laundry room.

The full bathroom on the main floor. This is my dad's bathroom. The kids can use it, if they want to too of course. But, I know my dad enjoys having his own full bathroom. This is right next to the laundry room and my dad's bedroom.

My dad's bedroom. It's located on the main floor. The things located on the main floor are. The living room. The dining area, the kitchen, the laundry room and the main floor bathroom and my dad's bedroom.

The master bedroom. Now, I had wanted Branden and Noah to have the master bedroom. Because in my mind, it made sense, because there are 2 of them, so they need more room. And me, I'm alone. So, I felt they should have the master bedroom. But, Branden said, that would mean "mom would come into our room in the evenings or middle of night to go to the restroom." And he said he didn't want that. Sad face from me. : ( So, I am in the master bedroom. And they come and go to the bathroom anytime and I'm absolutely fine with that. They're my sons, I absolutely adore them and so they can breeze on by, anytime they'd like. : ) There are 2 doors inside my bedroom. This door you can tell is the bathroom. Ceiling fan as well.

This is the door to the master walk-in closet.

Top row for hanging and lower bar for hanging clothes too.

Built in shelving.

It's a fantastic closet.

Master bathroom. Again this townhouse is only 1 year old. I love the floor in here.

I absolutely love this sink and pure white cabinets. I wash my face at night every night in this sink. Brush my teeth in the sink every morning and night. And put my makeup on in here every morning.

Shower.

Love the lightning. Noah does his hair in this mirror every morning. Branden showers in here every night, so does Noah. Both the kids do, they take turns. I shower in the morning.

This is both Branden and Noah's bedroom. They are sharing a room here. And they're bedroom is right next to mine. Noboru, liked this townhouse because the kids bedroom and mine are upstairs and a little more private... away from the rest of the house. For the most part we're all usually in the living room watching TV together or in the dining area.. eating or talking up a storm. But it is also nice for my dad to have a room on the main floor, for his own privacy if he wants or needs it. And when he wants to be on his laptop. Or take a nap, he can close his bedroom door and have some privacy if he wants to. And let's be honest, everyone wants some privacy once in a while...even in the best and closest of families. And the kids also can go upstairs too and know that grandpa won't ever go upstairs, because he has no reason to go upstairs. So the kids can go upstairs if they want and have complete privacy. Flop on their beds. And play online games together or talk. Just a private place for them to unwind. And again even for kids, they need a space that's just theirs and I "get that", I understand that. If we were all on the same floor. The kids could maybe be too loud for my dad too. So, this 2 bedrooms upstairs thing.... and 1 bedroom downstairs was perfect for us. I'm glad Noboru suggested this. Everyone can have privacy if they need it. And likewise... everyone can gather in the living room and dining area when they would like some help with homework. Or to talk and chat and enjoy family time too. 

Is it weird having an Ulta 5 minutes away from my house by car? Yes, completely weird. Is it weird having a Target 5 minutes from my house, by car? Yes, I'm still not used to this. And is it weird having a Walmart 6 minutes from my house, by car? Completely weird. And a Panda Express. Long John Silvers. KFC, A&W. Mickey D's. Qdoba. Subway. Again all 8 minutes or less from my house by car of course. Yes, it's weird. Is it weird that Pizza Hut, Dominoes and Papa John's delivers to my house? Yes. Because after we built our dream home in Japan and moved to the inaka. For the past 12 years we had no delivery pizza of any kind, for where we lived in Japan. There is a free standing Krispy Kreme about 6 minutes away from my house. Noboru wanted to go inside the day before he left back to Japan. They offer and sell different donuts than the one in Japan. Of course the original glazed and sprinkles ones were the same, but the variety here is bigger. 

The kids and I each picked a cereal to put in the food pantry and that way anyone can have it. I picked this and it's so good.But to be honest, every time I see this cereal in my food pantry it shocks me just a little bit. The fact that this cereal still surprises me every morning... means to me...that I've not adjusted to being an American living in America. The fact that I'm still dazzled and amazed when I walk into a Target means I'm not adjusted yet to living here. I know that I need to be gentle and patient with myself. And so I'm not rushing myself. I'm trying to adjust at my own pace. When will things start to feel second nature or normal here? I honestly don't know. Only time will tell. 

Foothills. Trees galore. Greenery for days. On my way to Target one day.

Hello blondie horse!!! She has a chocolate horse friend that is separated by a fence.

Hello chocolate horse! That's blondies friend.

Noboru driving my car when he was here. Again pure black Volkswagen Jetta 2014, leather interior. Only 30,000 miles and still under warrantey and the warranty was trasnferred into my name. My husband said, "You look so cute and classy driving that car."

Costco run. While, Costco Japan has 75% things American and 25% Japanese. But here in the USA, Costco USA has everything American. The sheer amount of what's available at Costco here shocks me still. Again, I'm not yet adjusted to my life here yet and you know what...that's okay.

This is what Noah's middle school looks like. It's an absolutely gorgeous middle school. New facility. American flag hanging at the entrance.

The building does say..."blank middle school" on the building in this pic. Which I grayed the actual name of Noah's middle school out. Noah lives so close to the school, that no school bus is offered to Noah. But many kids do ride the American yellow school bus to middle school everyday to this middle school. As for what we do? School starts at 7:55am every morning. And I drop off Noah at school every morning at 7:30am. He loves this school so much. Noah's had pizza at school. Nachos at school. Ravioli at school and turkey dinner for lunch too. Yesterday the main choice was yakisoba. Noah said he picked a sandwich, not the yakisoba. Every lunch you have to pick a fruit or vegetable. Your choice of course, which one to pick, but you have to pick one and I like that. Noah usually picks apples or bananas. And he said he likes picking chocolate milk and wonders why chocolate milk wasn't offered at his school in Japan. He also says his middle school is immaculate type clean and the bathrooms smell of soap at his American middle school. It's because there are janitors cleaning the schools. And they have industrial strength cleansers. In Japan our local shoggako cleaned with water only and the toilets smelled unpleasant...would be the politest way to describe them. I dreaded using the toilets during undokai or observation day. Branden says the same thing....that his high school is so clean, and smells so good. Branden's high school is gorgeous and brand new too.  

Picking up Noah every afternoon. He walks right to my car and always has a great big smile on his face. And he tells me so many stories every single day.

Other informative tidbits. Noah goes to school Monday through Thursday 7:55am and gets out at 2:25pm. And on Fridays everyone in middle school gets out early. Noah gets out at 1:25pm every Friday. An American middle school schedule? It's not stressful. Noah feels so happy getting out of school at 2:25pm most days, but he can't get over the fact that he gets out at 1:25pm every single Friday. Also, free wifi at middle school for all kids. And yes, you may use your cell phone in class. This is shocking to me. Because this is not allowed in chugakko in Japan. Also, Noah told me that after first period/class everyone in his school... has snack time. Everyone brings a "school approved" snack (no nuts) to eat in their classroom after first period. What in the heck?!!! Please keep in mind. I have been an American mother in Japan for 16 years. I know how to send my kid to a Japanese school, yes I do. I did it and I did it well too!!! Now I'm here and I have absolutely *zero* idea how to be a mom to children going to an American school. A Target run was in order... to buy "after first period snacks." Individual snack sizes of Goldfish, Mint Milano cookies, Snack size of Chips Ahoy and Nutter Butter and some other type too. Also, everyone drinks 500ml of water throughout the day at Noah's school. So they don't get thirsty during their study. So, now every single day, Noah brings a snack for after first period and a 500ml of bottle water. Good thing a case of bottled water is like $3 here. OMG, you guys. I'm learning so much. Noah was given a brand new Chromebook (laptop) each child is issued one for free. Each family pays $30 for insurance on it for the year. Kids here do a lot of assignments in middle school on that. Plus they do worksheets a lot here too. Branden used one in his high school in Japan. But we had to buy B's Chromebook in Japan. It's nice that here... you don't need to buy it, the school provides them, to all the kids. Noah has about 13 kids in each of his classes, in middle school. Considering Noah used to have 38 kids in his class in Japan. The small class size at his school here is nice.  Noah has about 45 minutes of homework every night. He does it on the kitchen table and I sit with him, ready to help. Last night Noah did homework on Christopher Columbus. Noah does the pledge of Allegiance every single morning, to the United States of America.

Noah has always been extremely western looking. In Japan, it was always so super easy finding Noah during undokai or during a Christmas play. Or even if my child was playing in the playground at the local elementary school in Japan, it was always super easy to find Noah. Noboru used to tell me.... every undokai..."thank goodness it's so easy to find Noah"...meanwhile my Japanese friends would put bright socks or patterned long socks on their child... so they could easily find their child. But for us, we could find Noah super easy. And we didn't need socks to help us, lol. His face stood out enough. So it was always easy. I mention this because...on Noah's very first day of school. The teacher collected Noah from the office and we, Noboru and I stood there and she walked him into the hallway and there were western kids walking everywhere. And as soon as Noah walked a little bit aways. I could *not* tell the difference of where my son was. Which son was mine? He blended into the crowd of western faces so well, I could not pick out which one was my child. That has absolutely never happened to me before with Noah. Not ever. And after school, when I am waiting for him to walk out of the building and to my car, again, I can't tell which kid is mine anymore. Every day I sit and think hard...what was Noah wearing this morning? I miss being able to find my child in a blink of an eye.

We live in a very nice community. It's seriously so pretty here. And Noah's first day... during lunch. Other kids kindly wanted to give a cookie to the new kid from Japan (meaning Noah) Noah was sitting with his new friends at the lunch table. And he said, the kids were excited but kept walking around the lunch room, saying "where is that new kid from Japan at?" Noah said they passed him like 6 times. Until one of the boys Noah was sitting with said, "this is Noah, he's the one from Japan" ...the kids were all super nice, but Noah said they said..."you??? You can't be from Japan, you're *not* Japanese!!!"  I'm sorry but that made me....LMAO....Poor Noah. And ya'll know...kids are the most honest, they say it like, they see it. Noboru was still here when that happened. And we were all dying laughing when we heard that. Noah did say politely, "I am half Japanese, my dad is Japanese, my mom is American." They could not believe it. They asked him to speak Japanese and Noah obliged with a few sentences. And they then believed him. I don't think anyone has mentioned Japan or the fact he's half Japanese, since the first day. And he hasn't been asked to speak Japanese, since that one and only time. You bottom line in life... get treated by how you look. He doesn't look Asian to anyone here and they always said that in Japan too. And while Noah is proud to be hafu and proud to be half Japanese. He basically just blends into 98% of the rest of the school.

I have good Branden stories to share too. But that will wait until next time.

Update...

I've missed you all. I have absolutely so much to say. So much has happened. Has it been 3 weeks? It feels like a 100 years, since I got on here and caught up with you all. Before, I get you all caught up with our life now. Let me start with the day we left Japan. The 4 of us all left Japan with 6 pieces of checked in luggage. One of those checked in pieces of luggage was a big ol box which was/is my computer. My computer was totally fine. The flight in first class was quiet. And uneventful. That's Noah and Noboru in this picture. And Bran was sitting right behind me, like how Noboru was sitting behind Noah. And the seats lay down to flat beds.  

I watched the Shape of Water. It was a really good movie. I'm glad I saw it, but I wouldn't watch it again or buy the DVD.

I also watched Wonder. It was an extremely good movie. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. I wouldn't buy the DVD or anything though.

Enjoying some warm mixed nuts and a lemon coke. As soon as we left Japan.

A breaded chicken breast with mozzarella cheese inside, wedge potatoes and green beans. Noah had the same thing as me and Bran had the steak and Noboru picked the Japanese meal.

Dessert, a hot fudge sundae and a coffee.

Noah enjoying his sundae and watching a movie. So did Bran and Noboru.

We moved to the left half of the United States. However the only flight open the day we wanted to leave Japan was to Atlanta Georgia. So even though it was completely opposite direction of where we wanted to go. It was still a way into the US, so we took it. We landed in Atlanta. Thoughts? A gorgeous airport, and such super friendly people working in that airport. 

Since we were in Atlanta the home of Chick fil A. We all grabbed lunch while we waited to fly to the west part of the United States. Longest flight ever, omg! But we got there. At like midnight. We grabbed our rental SUV. Tossed all our belongings inside. Including giant computer box. And we all went immediately to sleep at the hotel. The bright side was that we were in the western part of the US. 

Our hotel room.

We're lucky in the fact that we worked our butts off, before we left Japan. Meaning we researched where we wanted to move. We found about 6 different townhouses and houses that we wanted to rent. We had 3 cars we were interested in buying. And because of that careful planning, we immediately the very next morning started looking at places to live... that were marked on our list. We checked place #3. And we liked it enough to rent that place. It's a 3 bedroom townhouse, 2 story. 1 year old townhouse, just built last year, so super new. Gorgeously landscaped. Grass and flowers everywhere. Yard work is included for us. Water is paid and each unit had their own washer and dryer in the individual unit/townhouse. We couldn't move in though...until 5 days. So we stayed in a hotel until we moved in. Meanwhile, I got my drivers license since I had an address. Opened a bank account. Noboru bought me a car, a black 2014 Volkswagen Jetta. Got license plates. Car insurance. What else, we moved in to the townhouse. Bought a shower curtain. Bathroom mats. Two laundry baskets, one for the kids and 1 for me. Laundry soap. Dishes. Had the power turned on in our townhouse. Ordered internet. Honestly you guys? It felt like we were on a hamster wheel on the fast speed for the 3 weeks. It was not fun. It was work. There's lots of work... getting your life set up in a different country... then what you were living in for the last 15-16 years. Even if it is my home country.

This is Noboru driving the rental SUV. This pic was taken about a 2 minute drive from our townhouse. Can you see the horse?
We made the decision last Fall for my dad to leave Guam and move to where the kids and I lived when we would move to the US. Because #1, there's really no point for my dad to be in Guam anymore... because he only moved to Guam to be closer to me in Japan. And with the kids and I in the US now. He didn't need to be in Guam anymore, there was just no point anymore. Plus, I have never in my life lived in this state. We picked this state because we liked it. And we didn't pick the capitol or surrounding areas because they're  heavily populated like normal bustling cities are. And considering my kids and I were used to living in the inaka/Japanese countryside. Moving to an average sized populated city in America, would probably send us running back to Japan. LOL. So, we mindfully and purposely decided to pick an extremely quiet, very rural area to move to. Granted there's still wonderful conveniences. Like shopping and places to eat. But there are an awful lot of horses. And tons of land. Wide open spaces. We picked the best place for us. 
Enrolling the kids in school. What a surprise. I was in communication with a school head by email. Granted she is a school head... for the next city near my new city. But what she told me was. As soon as you move. Because the school year in the US is nearly over, go ahead and pre-enroll your kids for the Fall semester. She told me to bring, proof of vaccinations for the kids. Proof of US citizenship. And their last report card from their previous school. We moved to the next city over because it was more countryside and we wanted that. And a better school district. But, I figured the same would apply. The boys would get pre-registered for the Fall. So, Noah's middle school is a 2 minute drive by car from where we live. Noboru and the kids and I went to pre-enroll Noah first. And we were completely shocked when they said that we would like Noah to start the following week? @_@ Holy goodness. We walked into the office. Told them hi and we'd like to enroll Noah. They asked us which city are you moving from? We said, we're moving from Japan!!! The entire 3 office ladies all swiveled in their chairs and faced us. JAPAN? They all said. Yes, mam, we've moved from Japan. Here is Noah's American birth certificate, American passport. Here are his American vaccinations that he had in Guam. And here is his report card. She gave me a huge folder. Said sign all these forms come back the next day. She took photo copies of all the documents we brought. We then went to the high school. And got the same complete and utter shocked look.... when we said...hello we'd like to enroll our son Branden. Which city are moving from. And when we answered Japan. You could hear a pin drop. The high school gave us way less forms to fill out. But we gave Bran's birth certificate, passport and US vaccinations and she made copies. That night, we went home and filled out forms for Noah and Branden. The schools told us this.... There is only school until June 12th. And they wouldn't get credit for going to school until June 12th but...they suggested since we're from Japan. And the boys have never gone to school in the United States before it would be a good idea for them to attend now and get adjusted now. And then in the Fall. By that time they're used to it. So we agreed.

So Bran was in the 10th grade in March... but because of his age, he is with his same age classmates who will finish the 10th grade in June 2018. So same grade as Bran. Branden started American high school last Thursday. He's a sophomore until June 12th. How does Branden like it? OMG, you guys he freaking loves it. Because both my kids are 100% bilingual. And I was such a stickler on their reading and writing in Japan in English. Neither of my kids are in an ESL class. And neither is in a remedial class or anything. So Bran has been in high school for a little over a week now. Noah was supposed to take an assessment test last Friday, but the counselors were busy with an assembly. So Noah took his assessment test this Monday and we asked the school counselor. Actually Noboru did. He asked her how Noah did. And she said, he's right up with the kids in his grade. Noah has been in school and attending classes since Tuesday of this week. He's got a little group he hangs with and eats with and stuff. Middle school here is 6th grade, 7th grade and 8th grade. Noah is still a 6th grader until June 12th. And in the Fall he'll be a 7th grader. With his age kids.

Noboru left back to Japan today. This morning. I'll update more when I can.: )