One of our days spent hanging at the pool! And good news, Noah can swim underwater now and hold his breath without manually plugging his nose! : )

Through this blog, it helps me give you guys updates on the kids. How they are progressing or, what new thing they are learning or other types of achievements. A few month's back, I mentioned Noah could stick his face in the water, in the bath, face first and hold his breath. Now, we never asked him to do it and nobody urged him to try it. But the boys have a pair of goggles in the bathtub along with other fun toys. But Branden, always like to dive in the tub or float. Drop a little plastic Spongebob toy and go and get it. Anyway, Noah as we all know, likes to copy whatever B does. So, of his own accord, he started doing the same. He learned how to hold his breath, did not breath in while, his face was in the water yada yada. And he got it. Often many times, B and I count for one another and hold our breath under water. Noah started copying us. I think I mentioned, one time he could hold his air under water for 11 seconds, lol. Well, it sorta snowballed and grew and grew from there. Okay so now that I tell you that, it will sorta make sense in a few pics down below.

Who is Noboru looking at underwater? It's honestly Noah.

There's Noah. Now you seem em'

Now you don't! And yes, that's our 2 and a half year old! But heck, he got it all on his own!

And coming up for some air and then going back down.

He has no fear of the water, same as his brother! It's really quite amazing actually!

All 5 of us, enjoyed a day at the pool together! We spent quite a few of our days at the pool. The kids couldn't get enough of the water.

Getting a cruise from grandpa.

Playing with grandpa. And I think he just got some water in his eye. They keep my dad, young, or at least feeling young, that is! : )

I see Noboru trying to be a shark and get Branden's leg, ha ha ha! : )

Noboru and Branden had a race! Go Branden! : )

And the race was on! Oh yeah and besides the awesome elderly Japanese couple, that were in this pool. There was an American man in here all alone. Noboru mentioned to me that he was a pro football player. And in the hot tub, we all soaked in later, he sure enough had a "super bowl champion" tattooed on his upper bicep, my roman numeral knowledge is horrible, so I can't tell you which Superbowl he was in. And as I didn't care and am not a type to mob famous people, I just chit chatted with him off and on in the hot tub but didn't really care or go outta my way either. He said, he goes to Guam every 2 weeks around this time. And he was going to be there until Feb 2nd or 4th? Can't remember. I said, "really, wow, sounds great". Listened to some and tuned other people out at times too. My kids are my #1 and who I was paying attention to completely. So, who was that guy? I haven't a clue! But he was very nice though. Not a jerk, very respectful and he spoke with the elderly Japanese couple quite a bit as well. he was really nice. And he never mentioned he was a football player at all, had no ego at all that I could see. It was just the 'super bowl champion" tattoo, and the sheer size of the fella. And the fact he says, he likes to get away, how perfect this place was for peace and quiet. I agreed and nodded my head in the hot tub. So as we all sat and talked about how wonderful Guam, was. I excused myself and went to another pool. It was my time to slide that my favorite slide.

Hi Noah!

The view from the infinity pool was amazing. And to see the ocean, so close up, was and is always the coolest thing. A wonderful way to wind down the evening, to see the sun set, ahhh! This day, we did just that, we stayed in the pools until the sun set.

Earlier in that day, my dad slid down with Branden.

Branden slid down the slide alone! : )

And yet more fun had by Branden!

And we can't forget Noah! Here's my dad, holding Noah!

Grandpa is so safe with you, Noah did you even get a chance to get wet? Ha ha ha! : )

And Noah, said, more, more. So grandpa obliged him!

See? Even when grandpa went under, he still held you up firmly above the water! Ha ha ha.

Hi, Mr. goggles boy! : )

Noboru took both the boys down the slide one at a time too. As did, I.

Noboru went straight to the bottom. He still managed to keep Noah above water, but his face did get some water splashes, but just a few and he is fine with it anyway.

A dunked and soaked Noboru and an A-okay Noah! : )

And there's Noah swimming yet again. People were watching in amazement. Pointing saying "look at that swimming baby", I kid you not, that's the phrase we kept hearing people say. And although, yes we do consider Noah a toddler, he will always be the baby in our family, that goes without saying. But yeah I think strangers called him like that because they saw this tiny body in the water doing something most of the 8 year olds in the pool with us, that day, couldn't even do. And we saw many big kids just holding for dear life on those intertubes. Meanwhile here was this tiny 2 year old swimming and underwater nonetheless, that got them, I think. It was really unusual for people to see a little 2 year old swimming underwater. My dad, said, wow "everyone is pointing" The whole pool of people were honestly pointing and impressed. Grandpa was so proud. I think every one's seen a kid swim before, sure. Branden swims perfectly and he's only 6. But to see a little 2 year old swimming underwater like that, was like, sheer "wowsa" to everyone at the pool! Even the football player thought it was cool! Ha ha ha. Proud parents we are, and rightfully so. They are good with swimming, that cannot be denied! : )

There goes our swimming baby fish yet again. He starts swimming lessons this coming July. Noah should pick it up really quickly!

This was the view from our hotel that morning, that we snapped. We had a view of the pool, ocean and also the parking area. And we were super high up this time.

A view of both was nice, we could see the ocean, pools and the parking area. Excellent views.

So much swimming for Noah, that he slept through our entire meal at Tony Roma's. Noboru offered to hold him, I accepted because I am usually the one stuck holding him and it was nice he offered. : )

Everyone had the lemonade. Branden ate his meal. My dad was there but I somehow must have forgot taking a pic of my dad, sorry dad!

The rib-y aftermath! Ha ha ha! I had the original baby back ribs, cheesy baked potato and corn. I also had a cup of baked potato soup. We had fresh mini yeasty loafs of bread and butter. We all enjoyed our meal, we talked, we laughed, we ate. After parting ways, we went back to the room and since we showered before dinner, we just put our jammies on. I washed my face and we all just hung out and watched TV for a few hours until going to sleep. And we did get Noah a meal, and he did eat it in the hotel room when he woke up. He woke up to eat and went right back to sleep. It was funny. : )

The day we arrived and my thoughts about getting through the new line at immigration.

I know there has been great discussions in the gaijin community about the new entry into Japan. I can only tell you my first experience of going through the new way, this past week. And my thoughts on my experience on going through. For everyone it's different but for me, here's my thoughts. : ) In a nut shell, it was awesome. So totally not what I was expecting in a long shot! Before the new system was put into effect, I went through the Japanese line, because I have a reentry permit and my husband is Japanese and my 2 small sons are dual citizens. When we were in the airplane, they passed out these forms to everyone. Apparently everyone has to fill these out. However, the flight attendant, said 1 per family. There would have been no worry if this happened say last year because we woulda went through the same line together but with the new way, I wondered. I had a moment of hesitation because, since I would be going through a line all by myself, perhaps I needed a whole other form, so my immigration officer could see my own form? I wondered. My husband assured me, only 1 form per family. And again, I thought, how would they know if we were a family, if we went through 2 different lines. Okay, so that was the only question mark moment I had during our flight. The flight back was awesome, Branden was perfect as always in the airplane, the kid doesn't need to be entertained, because he can entertain himself and thank god about that! Also, Noah is nearly at that age himself. He watched some DVD's with his brother and played with his sticker book and slept, so he was no trouble either. Phew, knocking on wood about that, because with Noah, we can never be too sure.: ) Okay, so the flight lands, and we follow the arrow/colored line to follow our way down to immigration. And Noboru took both Branden and Noah through the Japanese line. And I had this big question mark. Would I be sent to the foreigner line? Would it be miles long? My answered was just around the corner and the answer was no. They had a separate aisle/lane for reentry permit holders/permanent residents etc. And the line had *zero* people in it. The Japanese lines, where my husband and kids were, were quite full, obviously since most of the flight was Japanese tourists. The gaijin line had a good amount of people in it as well, seriously were they on the plane with me? I didn't notice, ha ha ha. And my teeny tiny 1 single line smack dab, in the middle between the Japanese lines and the visitors lines in Japan, I tell ya, it was truly placed in a fitting spot, ha ha ha. Was empty, I flashed the guy, my gaijin card of Japan, I got into the line ASAP, they were extremely polite. He asked me, if I could place my fingers in the place for my 2 index fingers, it took about all of 2 seconds. He said, thank you. He said, look up, and my picture was taken so fast, I didn't even get a chance to smile or fix my hair yet either, sheesh, ha ha ha, seriously though, I didn't see my pic, which was good, I must've looked like crap. Ha ha ha. But it was so polite, so fast and efficient. I zipped through, and would you believe, I actually beat Noboru and the kids? I kid you not. I was waiting for the hubby, he saw me on the other side, I smiled and waved. He was upset/angry about me going through alone, he was upset about me having to go through. He was pissed actually, he actually gave me an ear full about it on the escaltors on the way down to immigration! But when he came out, he said, "how are you honey" I said, I'm fine, it wasn't so bad actually. Okay, he was clearly more pissed about it then I was. I am glad they have the line separated the way they do, for us foreign wives at least, our wait is shorter at least. Anyway, that was my experience with the line, it wasn't so bad. And heck, do I wish it was the way it was before? Of course, I do. But to be fair, we fingerprint and take pics in the US, like this too in immigration, when people fly into the US now, have since it has been changed since the 9-11 tragedy, for anyone who isn't American or who doesn't have a green card. Noboru doesn't need to go through it, because he has a US green card. But Jun and his wife and my niece for example had to get fingerprinted and pics taken when they were in Hawaii last November or whenever. So it's not just like only Japan. And I don't feel like I am singled out at all. I guess, I must just be really laid back, because I am fine with taking it. And my line is shortest of them all, so yay for me and the re-entry permit line. Ha ha ha. But yeah, do I wish it would go back to the way it was before? Obviously, yes, but again I said that, but this isn't so bad for me either really. Anyways, that was my experience with it at least. : )

We had a a whole heap of luggage to lug back to Japan. So much food. Plus Noah's spare car seat.

It was raining, and bitterly cold. What a greeting back to Japan, huh? ha ha ha! : )

Yup, I packed some sweatshirts in the Carry-on suitcase and jeans or overalls, for the boys to be warm, when we arrived in Japan, however we were still freezing our ever lovin' butts off. Oh yeah, big time! : ) But, as you can tell by the smile on B's face, we were all happy! Happy to be together and happy to be home, back in Japan! : ) PS, and that form, I wondered about. It wasn't needed until we go through customs and we were already together at that point anyway. : )

Some of the things we brought back with us this time! : )

Okay now here we get to the part of where I show a few pics of the things we brought back to Japan with us. I choose to share, because so many people ask. I've been on so many foreign clubs and that was always the most loved and most popular question....the ol' "so what did you bring back" or the "what are everyone's top things they bring back". Questions like this have always been fun, silly. And my god, I have always got so many good ideas from other mom's living overseas. And since as they say, a pictures worth a thousand words. And I'd prefer save my words, and just post up the pic and go spend some time with my kiddos. it's always been easier for me this way. And plus it's girl talk. And again, I am always going to through out my warning or caution, rather, that I use every single time. If you'd prefer not see what another fellow mom living overseas drag's, bags and tags and lugs back to Japan with her. No skin off my nose at all. Please avoid this post, like the plague and don't read it. Otherwise, let's dish, let's share. And if you brought anything fab back recently or the last time you were home, and care to share, please feel free, share with it us, if you want. Okay let the girlie talk begin! Ha ha ha! Okay what's in the pic #1? And I better explain some. I have managed to lug bits and pieces of America with me, one piece at a time. Like the crock pot, I swore up and down I needed and I have in my dish pantry. Or the blender, when I was in my fruit smoothie phase 2 years ago, I am sure some of you are still laughing about that phase in my life. Btw, I am slowly thinking smoothie again, so beware it could be round 2 for my fruit smoothie craze. Ha ha ha. Measuring cups, and spoons, I think all of us have brought those back over the years, I know I have mine. Cake pans, baking tins. Pizza pans. Check and check. So what was left? A Belgian waffle maker. Yup, I've been wanting one for ages. And every time I go back to Guam or to the mainland, I always get something else and never get it. It's been literally years that it's been on my "to buy" list. Finally, this trip, I bought it. I am so happy about that. Also, I have been wanting a cookie jar set, but a really nice one. However, I did find one at Macy's this trip. But, I worried since it was glass/ceramic I would put it off for the time being, sigh. But I still needed something to put cookies in, and I found this cheap plastic Martha Stewart storage cylinder and it said it was air tight, which is what I liked. Definitely not as cute as what I wanted, but, a "good enough for now", cookie holder. And I'll look around Japan as well. Perhaps I can find some really cute ceramic cookie jars. Anyway I also bought 3 magazines. I really dig, Katie Holmes, she's so cool, so beautiful and her daughter Suri, is just gorgeous, I love Instyle magazine, so I know I'll enjoy reading this. Parents magazine, my subscription ran out, and although I will renew it this week, I don't wanna be without any copies, so I had to grab this one. And then the title of People magazine alone, geesh, I had to buy that. Britney's mental illness? We all know she's had trouble lately, with the shaving off the hair, the whole k-fed wedding, divorce thing. The wearing no panties around town knowing full and well photogs would be around her everywhere and she gets out of the car and gives, the dreaded "crotch shot' seen round the world, and then finally the breakdown where they wheeled her away in an ambulance after she wouldn't surrender the kids. So, it's a no brainer, I wanted to find out what was wrong. I'm only human. If there's a cause, and it's in this magazine, I'm nosy enough to read it, I'm guilty. Ha ha ha.So, anyway, lot's of fluff to read now. : )

My mom and dad, played the Sorry Game with me since I was 6 years old. And now that B,is the required age to enjoy this game, I picked this game up at Kmart. We have lot's of American games in the house. I always buy 1 game every time we go somewhere. So, the Sorry game is for Branden and the whole family to play, it's as fun for the adults as it is for the kids. And the Memory game is for me to play with Noah during the days while Branden is at school, and also it's a game that the brothers can play, both B and Noah alone. No reading is required and it's for age 3 years old and up, so it's a bit early for Noah, but he's a smart kid, he's figured it out already. Also, each boy got a Spiderman plate. They love Spiderman.

I have a few bottles of kids shampoo in my hall closet upstairs, but I picked up another bottle for the boys, just in case. And we love the cherry scent of this, it smells so fresh, like a cherry popsicle. And some cherry smells put me off, but this smells fantastic. And apple kids spray conditioner because Noah has such baby fine hair, he needs it because he gets static in his hair in the winter otherwise. 2 Dove green tea cucumber deodorants for me, I love this scent. The got2B hair gel is for Branden and my god it smells fantastic! Like tropical or something. Coconuts and green apple, it seems. 1 tube of toothpaste, tampons, I think we are all adults, no big deal about tampons. And corn holders, I already have 4 sets at home, but I always buy extra sets. Because with all the summer BBQ's we have, and all the company we get for those, we will need all the extra corn cob holders, we can get our hands on.

Snack things, not tons. Just a few snack things we might eat during, say a Saturday night DVD family movie night. Like some chocolate bars, Milk dud's, god I love these. Gummie worms for the hubby, or rice Krispie treats, and the Nutter Butter peanut butter cookies, the kids are just crazy for these peanut butter cookies.

A few baking/ cooking goods, dessert type things I can make with the boys. I got 3 cake mixes, coconut (yumm!) carrot (already have cream cheese frosting at my house) and strawberry cake. I have some yellow cake and choco cake mixes already, so that's why this time I got some new flavors. I look forward to baking these on a cold wintry weekend with the kids. Some frostings. Some sprinkles. Jello, we love jello around our house a bunch. And for some cookie baking. I got some Nestle Toll house choco chips, some Reese's peanut butter chips, and some Health toffee pieces for cookies as well. Not much stuff really, but a few good pieces that we will really enjoy.

Healthier snacks. Dried mango, both the kids love dried mango, when Noboru eats the gummie bears, he gives the kids the dried mango instead, ha ha ha. It's sweet still and it's better for them. And microwave popcorn, yumm! I just love microwave popcorn, so quick and so yummy! This is a generic brand, I buy it because it's cheaper but really good and it's theater style. And mac and cheese, good for a quick lunch or for an obento side dish. Again, nothing too major or fantastic, just a few things our family might need during the winter.

Chili beans. Cheap as chips and so good. We have hot dogs and these make the best chili cheese dogs. It's like Texas style chili, but without the beef. Sorta spicy, but not too much. So one use, is chili cheese dogs. And use # 2 for us, is for nachos, on days when we wanna make a dinner on the quick and don't wanna use those dreadful refried canned beans, homemade refried beans are good but in the can, they suck,just beyond dreadful, sorry, personal opinion. Also, on some British TV cooking show, I forget her name and she's my favorite host, not Nigella the younger hip mom cooking show. This lady is older, in her 40's and has short hair, I really enjoy her cooking and one time she shared her recipe for making a quick meal, she opened up a can or as she said, a tin of chili beans and after it was warm she laid the beans on bread and then fried some eggs and placed it over that and she said it was a healthy and quick meal. Would you believe I saw that about 5 years ago, and I have been eating that on lazy Sunday afternoons for lunch, whenever we have a spare can laying around. So, in short, why did I drag so many heavy cans of hot chili beans back with me? For chili cheese dogs, for nachos, and for a quick meal on bread with a fried egg. These made my suitcase so heavy! I had to put a few cans in each suitcase, ha ha ha. Sorta redistribute the weight. And with my Mexican cookbook and how I shared how I wanna learn to cook new things this year, I will be making guacamole, and my own refried beans or whatnot, so I got some other ingredients in this picture. Nothing too major here really. I also am going to start making my own tandoori chicken and Indian curry as well. I made that (Indian curry) a few times and blogged about it last year, but I haven't made it in a while. So, this year, I wanna make some new dishes. Really mix things up a bit! : )

I usually buy the buttery syrup of Mrs. Butterworth's. But, at $4.50 a bottle. Meanwhile this was $2.05 a bottle, and same size, being a cheapie. I bought 3 of these and felt, happier I got a better deal and more for my money.

And all these things I had in my dad's fridge until the day I left back to Japan. 4 things of ham, 2 are brown sugar flavored ham and 2 are honey ham, so thinly sliced. And 2 packs of Swiss cheese. I can't wait to eat or send Branden to school with a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich, yay! Pepperoni, we make a lot of homemade pizza around our house. And 4 packs were totally needed. Oscar Meyer all beef hot dogs. Can't wait to eat a chili cheese dog! Velveeta slices are for B's grilled cheese sandwiches for yochien. Or for Noah's grilled cheese sandwiches/ the Kraft slices are for any kinda sandwiches. Miracle whip. And 2 tubes of biscuits. I can't wait to bake a pack of these biscuits. Again not a whole lot. But just a few things, we might miss and not be able to get in Japan. Just some comfort food, food that I miss from home, is all. These few things, I miss so much, will be nice to eat in my home in Japan.

Some frozen burritos. Each pack cost me just $4.99 and that's for 10 frozen burritos in each pack. So many times, Noboru will eat a late night snack of some microwaved takoyaki. And I miss being able to eat a quick microwave meal myself. So, these will be greatly appreciated by me. And Branden and Noah love them too. Good to just zap a burrito in the microwave and let B eat a quick snack between, yochien and Kumon for example. So it helps. And flour tortillas are for all the snack wraps, I send Branden to school with for lunch. And the corn tortillas are because in part of my mixing up my meals a bit, I will be making enchilada's soon! : )

I was so surprised to see these in the DFS at Guam's airport, as we were flying out back to Japan. I was in DFS buying some omiyage for a few of my irl, friends and I saw these soaps. The soaps are from Hawaii, you probably remember I bought these soaps last year when we went to Honolulu. They smell fantastic the scents actually last! They are expensive though at $8.50 each. But, it was the only thing I bought for myself and only for myself the whole trip. Mostly things were just food for the family as a whole. Or stuff for the kids. Or a shared set of snorkel goggles. This was the only thing, I got just for me. And I said, why the hell not! So, I sniffed every bar. I wished they had the pink bar I bought in Hawaii, but they didn't. I bought these 3 and will love using them. : )

A Blockbuster run was in order. We bought 2 brand new, "new release" DVD's which was Saw 4, this came out the day we bought the DVD's. Wasn't for sale until the 22nd. And the Nanny Diaries. I had wanted to see it so badly. I caught the Nanny Diaries, on the flight to Guam this time and you know what? It's so funny, so good and actually worth buying! I am so happy I bought that! The Shrek was a used DVD, but I don't mind a used DVD at all. Not in the least. And the other 3, were a deal, it was a buy 3 for $20.00 deal. I picked Waitress with Keri Russell, (felicity, I really dig her too) and saw this movie in an airplane once and it's a good movie, so I am happy I have it. The Ex, this is hilarious! And License to Wed, we haven't seen it yet! So, just a few DVD's, nothing major.

With so many trips to the Micronesia mall, it's obvious we hit the Ralph Lauren shop a few times.

I was a bit upset they had no size 7 anything for Branden at all this time. They had 1 size 6 t-shirt, but when he tried it on, I wondered if he'd outgrow it in like a second. So that's why I didn't buy it. And even for Noah, I bought his in size 3T, even though he won't even be 3, for a half year from now! But in any case, I bought him these beautiful RL shorts in size 3T.

I love the zippers on the shorts and all the pockets. I also bought him a matching t shirt. In his favorite Noah, color. So, I was pleased about this purchase a lot. That's it, you guys. I am sure I bring way less exciting stuff back, then most of you.: ) But, anyway, this is the stuff we brought back. The hubby brought a whole heap of guy stuff from Home Depot. Home improvement type stuff, gadgets and mosquito repellent for the grass and yard. Anyway that's all. Not too terribly interesting but I'll share it anyways. And as always, if any of you ever need anything and you know I am going someplace, please get in touch and let me know. I'd be happy to bring something back for one of you needing something! : ) Also, if anyone would ever like to go to Guam with me and my kiddos, I'd have to know you though and you'd have to be a female obviously. You can fly out and I can fly out. We can meet at the Guam airport. You'd have to be a fellow foreign mom or foreign lady in Japan most likely. We could go and enjoy Guam together. Let me know, if any of you ever would like to go. I obviously can drive in the US. I know everywhere there is to know and go. Anyway, just thought I'd put it out there. So in closing. Our week long trip to Guam was wonderful! I got to visit with my dad quite a bit. The kids got to spend more quality time with grandpa. I got to spend time with my husband and he, me, he also got to spend more time with the kids. We all got to tune everyone and everything else out. Just concentrate on our little family. To reconnect and tune into each other like this was amazing. The quality time we all got was good. We did come back with new hair cuts and colors for me. And an eyebrow wax. We all felt refreshed, recharged, energized. Stuff brought back to Japan? Ehhh! Nothing too fab or major. Mostly just food stuff. No biggie. Anyway, that's our trip in a nutshell.: )