my guys : )

Branden wearing his cute little Osh Kosh overalls in size 4T and floppy Osh Kosh hat. And Noah wearing his little Aloha onesie (yup, I bought this one in a few different sizes, lol) and his Gap denim floppy hat and in the other pic is the one where Noah was wearing his cool Aloha bright yellow swim trunks (these were Branden's) and Branden wore the same swim trunks but in size 4T (yup I got these in all sizes from 6 mos to 4T actually...do I stock up or what? lol) but in fairness, I only stock up on stuff I *love* not just any ol' junk kwim? My boys are just the cutest, I must say! : )

We're back!

Our trip was so fantastic! I will try and write as much as I can and in as much detail as I can so all you family and friends can feel like you were there with us a little at least.

On our plane trip there we actually flew over a live volcano. Yup some volcano in Japan was apparently active and lava was apparently drizzling out that day and smoking and steaming like crazy. I personally didn't see any bright orange lava flowing, lol. But I did have a perfect shot of the volcano out Branden's window so I took a picture. I could see the volcano and the steam coming out! And since I have not seen steaming volcanos too many times before, I figured I should take a picture of it. Ha ha ha.

Our hotel we stayed at was honestly *at least* five star. It was called the Leo Palace and yes it really seemed like a palace. Put it this was, way ritzier then the Hilton or PIC that's for sure. This is the nicest and most exclusive hotel in all of Guam. And also the most expensive. The cheapest room in the worst location for example is (according to their website) is at least $300 US. It's Japanese owned. Just to pull your car in you need to pass a security check! And there is a sand volleyball place. They have their own private baseball stadium that's as big as the big leagues. Their own private lake. About a hundred different swimming pools! Everything! Enormous golf course. This place was a resort not a hotel. And actually seemed more like a country club!

How did we come to stay here? Well, Noboru's coworkers who travel a heck of a lot. Told him how they buy the "stockholders" tickets always available on auction online in Japan. And the tickets are always cheap, about no more then 1500 yen ($15.00 US) We bought our tickets online for 1000 yen for each night. We spent a grand total of 2000 yen ($20.00 US) for our two nights stay here! Seriously that was the sneakiest and best deal ever! We are living proof you can stay top of line, for mere peanuts! See? airline employees know all the little tricks!

Everyone who stayed at the hotel were super rich Japanese people. But obviously we're not rich! So we had a bunch of fun staying there anyways!

Pics are of the volcano and Noah jamming to the music on the way there. And a pic of Branden arriving at the hotel, he still hadn't got to change his clothes yet into his shorts or swimwear yet.

inside our 1000 yen (US$10) a night room

inside our bathroom (a tiny peek)

The bath tub and shower were incased in a totally see through glass door. It was quite nice. the bath was huge! I showered first and then showered both boys and then we played in the tub while Noboru showered. So we all had fun chatting, while we were all bathing! It was great! Also they loaded each room with so many free toiletries, like shampoo and conditioners, toothpastes and hair bands! Chamomile scented suitcase sachets, lol. Big plush robes! And get this...all the drinks in the mini bar were all free and complimentary or on the house! Usually they charge and arm and a leg for those, yk! But this resort was so nice, they actually gave you all the mini bar drinks free! Noboru had some beers on the balcony every night and watched the palm trees swaying in the warm breeze. LOL, seriously though!

Here's pics of the outside of our resort we stayed at. Notice the pic of the gate, that they check who goes in and who goes out. They don't want anyone in there,who has no business being in there, kwim? Because it's so private. We obviously were guests staying there, so we were fine. Also check the wicked private baseball stadium. Noboru and Branden played catch in there after our swim. And I played a bit of sand/beach volleyball with a few other guests. This was an absolutely gorgeous place to stay and at only 1000 yen a night, you just can't beat that deal! We loved the pool and the jacuzzi too!

test

a message to grandpa from Branden

Okay, Branden just wanted to tell grandpa that he has his Buzz Lightyear travel suitcase carry-on all packed and ready to go.....full of DVD's and his portable DVD player and an extra pair of clothes and his floppy hat and plenty of snacks! He also wanted to say he's being such a good boy, that he's also holding his little brother Noah's spare change of clothes and diapers in there as well!

Way to go Branden!!! You really are such a sweet helpful boy!

Okay, so he's got his jammies on now and it's off to bed, for us all, because we gotta leave the house by 6:00 am and catch the flight at 9:00 am. Bye : )

travel plans changed once again : )

Well, we all got a good sleep this morning. Man, is it nice to NOT have to wake up so early now that we are on Christmas break!

Anyway, Noboru must has his shorts in a twist or something, because this morning, he said even though the plane was changed today! He wants to still go to Guam! Hell or high-water, sigh! So, we are going to try to hop on the airplane tomorrow. According to the private NWA employees only website, that we can see how many passengers are on etc. And who...lol! There are 15 seats available for tomorrow and no one is listed as stand-by. So....long story short, he wants to try and catch that flight *tomorrow*!

So, mom and dad, if you don't here from me for a day or two (probably 2) now at least you guys will know why. : )

Today, we are headed to the dump to start making a few loads of stuff to throw out, since we're moving in about 35 days from now.

Love to you all,
Gina

Not a stocking in site, lol

Mom, the boys haven't got their stockings yet. Are they still coming? We've gotten everything from Denver already. Maybe California is just slower with the mail. Anyway, no worries. : )

I've got some of Branden's old stockings from his other Christmases I can reuse. I can't find his first years stocking, it maybe at dad's. But, I got his one from when he was two years old, the one you bought him, remember? It was his Elmo stocking. Geeze, he hasn't been into that guy in years, lol. He still likes him, but he just totally outgrew him and it doesn't interest him at all anymore. And last years stocking (his three year old stocking, you also got him) which was the Dr. Seuss, stocking you sent him last year, remember! It's cute, but he ain't into him at all either. LOL.

I'm going to the mall tomorrow and will look around and will try to find some new stockings. Crossing fingers. If, not, I guess I can use the Elmo stocking for Noah, he won't mind, because at that age, babies aren't into having a favorite character yet like the bigger kids do, lol. And I will have to use the Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat one on Branden, but I think he won't like that at all! Sigh...... ha ha ha. Hoping I can find a Thomas stocking tomorrow. Otherwise it'll just have to be Dr. Seuss again.

A change of plans

As most of you people in the know, know! LOL. We were going to be going to Guam tomorrow for about 4 days. However, the two airplanes that are used to go to both Saipan and Guam (high density airplanes) are out of service. One airplane was hit or broken somehow by the mechanics in Guam (most of the guys in Narita swear the guys in Guam are incompetent mechanics anyways, so go figure!), and the other one is just not working right at all. The flight yesterday got cancelled completely and since Noboru works for NWA and has the inside scoop. He found out that they are going to use an aircraft/plane starting today that usually flies to the mainland US. And so this is actually smaller. So, because of using a smaller aircraft the flight is now over booked and we have no hope of getting to Guam now. Man, now if that doesn't suck, I don't know what does....lol!

As usual for Christmas season the flights to Honolulu are wide open. Even my friend was going to fly there the other day to get herself to the mainland US. Don't ask me why...but the flights are always wide open to Hawaii around Christmas time. So, we can go there no problem. And we already got a hotel reserved. With bump protection (this is a service to airplane employees with ID) means we can cancel without being charged. But honestly? Our hearts were really set on Guam, not Hawaii. I wanted to get the boys their immunizations done in Guam. And since the Guam flight is less than 3 hours away, I always bring back perishable food, like lunch meats and hot dogs and stuff without it getting all gross and yucky! Since the hot dogs in Japan are disgusting! So the food travels just fine with this short flight!

Our hearts were just not into Hawaii this time. And we know we *have* to go to Hawaii anyways in February anyways to bring back the couch. So, in short with Guam being out of the question. We started questioning if we should even go anywhere. We wanted to go to Guam and if we can't, we figured this gives us time to get ready to move to our new house anyway.So sorta this is a blessing in disguise, I guess.

So, since Noboru is on vacation starting tonight and for the next 4 or 5 days. We are going to call a few movers to come to our house and give us estimates on how much it'll cost them to move our stuff! Yup, we are hiring people to do it for us, so that way if anything gets ruined in the move, they will have to pay for it! Not us, lol! And we are also going to make an appointment to have a professional landscaper come to our new house and meet us this week and talk about some ideas of how we can do our front yard! He'll have to give us a few computer generated ideas of his thoughts and we'll see if we like any of his ideas and if not...we check someone else out!

Sigh, yup, building a house is not so easy. The choices are endless. And even though our basic house choices were chosen last year. With houses, it is endless. Such as now, we got our landscaping to do. Also, like where do we want our cars to be parked? Do, we want concrete or something else for the driveway? Many many decisions have to be done. And believe me, I am not complaining about it! I know, I'm lucky enough to have my own brand new house and able to make these choices to begin with. but, yeah there is a bunch of work involved. Sigh....so this week, we will: (and not in any sorta order at all)

#1 schedule movers to come and give estimates.
#2 schedule a professional landscaper and driveway guy to come and brain storm with us on the best ideas for our house!
#3 And tomorrow, I'm running to Costco and to Lalaport (Lalaport is a shopping mall here in Chiba that is quite nice actually)

We, also are going to be driving back and forth to the dump to throw many things away. And also, I may be going to the recycle shop to sell a few baby things that I don't need anymore. So, in a way I think this week is going to help us get ourselves ready to move, to our new place next month. So, while I'm bummed about not being able to get to Guam, I'm okay still because I know we got a bunch of stuff that needs to get done.

Here's another tiny peek at some more of the things the boys are getting for Christmas.

Fleece jeans. I got Branden two pairs of jeans with fleece inside. I buy him 2 pair every single winter. Because wearing regular jeans in spring and fall and summer are fine. But wearing regular jeans in the winter time, sucks because it's too freaking cold and it's simply not warm enough. Doesn't provide that extra layer of warmth that wearing fleece lined jeans does! And believe me, I would know, since I grew up in Denver, Colorado where we are more then used to cold weather and dressing in cold weather.

I also got Branden a six pack of socks. I'm forever buying my kids new socks, lol. Noah also got a bunch of new socks for Christmas that I already wrapped and I posted pics of them here a few weeks ago anyways.

I also got Branden a new robe. I always got pajamas and robes for Christmas growing up and so, I always do the same with my kids too! Branden gets a new robe for Christmas every year. Noah got one over the summer, so he doesn't need one yet. And yes, for those of you reading this in Denver, will recall my Branden's robe from this summer, and comparing it to the new one I got him now, it does sorta look really similar. But it isn't, this one is a bit different, I just loved the colors and look of the one last year so much that when I saw this one, I bought it immediately, lol. I will show pics of his one he's using now and the new one, that he'll be getting for Christmas this year. So, maybe you can spot the difference, who knows. I got the new robe in size 5T. And although he just barely turned 4 years old, I really have noticed that kids robes especially, American kids robes (meaning robes from the US) seem to really run on the small side. I figured he'll grow into it. And just roll the sleeves, it'll be fine! Perfect actually.

Another little look at some of the boys Christmas stuff. Shhh! : )

Here's a pic of the fleece lined overalls Noah is getting from the Gap. He'll stay cuddly warm in these for sure! And they are in size 6 to 12 month's. He'll be able to wear them the entire winter this year without outgrowing them.

I'm also showing you one of his toys, he's getting this year. This one is a pic of the airplane he's getting. I took the pic over a week and a half ago, it's all wrapped up now.

Here's the fab fleecy jeans Branden's getting this Christmas. Ho ho ho!

Here are a few more pics of my new house. One of the pics is of my large walk in closet, for our master bedroom. I swear this picture just does *not* do it justice at all! Again *obviously* it's not done yet, but this will at least give you an idea. And yes, we will have two poles going both ways because we actually have *that* many clothes and could really use all the room for hanging we could get, lol. I love my closet.

The other, is another view of our upstairs hallway. The closed door with the gorgeous gold knob is our hallway closet and we will use that as our linen closet. The door right after the linen closet that is open is the upstairs bathroom and also the wash room/laundry room.

Our other picture is of the hallway celing. You will see two round holes and they are for our down lighting. And the rectangular, thing that's installed that has a piece of protective card board covering, that wonderful thing is one of our central heating ducts. I can't wait to have central heating like all American's have. As, I've said before, the place we are renting *now* has NO insulation at all. It's basically the equivelent of me, living in my dad's garage in Denver for the past 4 years! So, if you can understand that we have been freezing our butts off these past 4 years then you will understand why, exactly we are so happy to be moving into a place with central heating! And no, many places in Japan aren't insulated at all. And if they are, they are insulated terribly or have such shoddy workmanship that they got drafts of cold air. So, many people living in Japan freeze every winter, just like we have been doing! Which, is why we are just so darned tootin happy to be moving to an American house, because I tell ya, after living in a Japanese rental house for the past 4 years, I've had my fill of that....forever, lol!

Yahoo! Christmas break has begun : )

Well, my munchkin is finally on Christmas break! Honestly, I have realized that school vacations and breaks are actually as much for the parents, as they are for the children! Ha ha ha! Branden won't have to go to school now until January 6, 2006. So this means, that I won't have to wake up as ridiculously early on the weekdays as I have been doing since he started school way back in April. I also won't have to be making a bento/lunch at the wee hours of the morning either! Yippy! I honestly think, I was happier about his going on Christmas break then Branden was/is.

a sneek peek at my kitchen, shhh! : )

Here's some pics of our kitchen. Remember it's not finished yet! So, it will look *way* better when it's all finished! But, I'm gonna let you all get a sneek peek of it. And look, the height of our counter tops are standard American height...notice how they are as tall as my big American stove! Yippy, now that's what I'm talking about! : ) Also, the gold handles aren't on the cabinets yet either. But, like I said this is just a sneek peek : )

Here is a pic of our shoe closet in the genkan downstairs. And a picture of Branden's closet upstairs and the pole to hang his clothes and the shelf above it. And the other pic is of us being in Noah's room and you can see Noah's bedroom door with the gold handle and the hallway where Branden was playing, lol and the open door in the background behind Branden, is our master bedroom. So, hopefully this gives you all a better idea of some of the rooms and stuff with our house.

By the way, both the boys rooms are identical in size and in every way. Noah's closet is the same as Branden's. They both have the same amount of windows and same amount of electrical outlets and whatnot, lol. We did that purposely, so we would not have sibling rivalry about who has the better room, in the future when they get older lol. This way we can say..."hey they are exactly the same!" LOL.

thoughts about the progress this week on the house

Okay, so we went to our house today. And all I can say is, wow, I am so happy this is my house, that at times I can barely even believe it! I swear, I should pinch myself to make sure I'm not in some really good dream about all this! Ha ha ha! This sounds so cheesy and all, but this really is my dream house! I am so completely floored and in awe by this house! Geeze, I don't even think I can actually even write or type my real actual thoughts or think of the words that could match what I'm feeling. I'm just on cloud nine!

Now for the progress for this week! The scaffolding *did* come down. And it looks great. They also put the shutters on. They also put in place the plastic coated wire wracks for our shoe closet in the genkan (entrance way)! We were going to go with solid wood. But we chose the pricier plastic coated wire shelving, because we wanted air flow, because to be blunt...shoes can stink! And we know that! And we want all the ventilation we can get in a shoe closet! So, which is a major reason why we wanted wire, but again wire could possibly tarnish or rust, kwim (know what I mean?) so we asked for plastic coated wire racks. We also made sure each rack would be able to have enough space and we purposely left a gap on the bottom for rain boots and boots in general! See? We were so smart about our shoe closet huh? And for what it's worth, the shoe rack alone cost us a whopping 70,000 yen or if it helps my mostly American readers, it's $700.00 US, isn't that ridiculous? Like I said, it seriously would have been way cheaper to go with plain wood but we really were worried about getting air in there. So we splurged and just got the plastic coated wire racks we were hoping for. Just tiny little things like this we considered and mulled over, forever it seems! And we are so happy about our choices!

Also, most of our kitchen is done now. The cabinets are in and the counter tops have all been built. And even the green counter top is on, but it's being covered for now but it is on. The Kohler sink is installed and in place, but the faucet isn't yet (faucet is still in the box). Also the oven/stove is in place as well too. The shelving is in place for my food pantry and dish cabinet. And the doors were not up but they were leaning, so I did see them there. Also the wood flooring is done in the living room but it's being covered too.

The upstairs is basically finished. Even the boys bedroom closet doors are up. And all the doors are on and stuff.

What still needs to be done? Well, the kitchen floor needs to be put in. And the wall paper needs to be put on in the upstairs and downstairs. And the carpeting upstairs needs to be put in. Also the front porch needs to go up and the terrace tiling needs to go up as well. So there is still stuff that needs to get done.

But, we are getting there! I will share a few pics with you all : )

Today we are going to our new house. Today is going to be a really big day for us there. A couple weeks ago our home builder told us that on December 14th, is when they will consider our house 95% done. And that from then on just the few little do dads will be completed, such as our tiling on our back terrace, and our landscaping in the front. And a few last thing to be done with the inside but the majority would be done. And to United Homes they would consider December 14 the day that our basic framing for our house to be thoroughly completed. So, since we could not make it yesterday due to Noboru work party obligation. We had them change the day to today.

We are meeting the United Homes supervisors and the home building supervisor today at 2:00 pm and we will go through each room and have some sort of inspection or so they say and saying, yes this room is what we want or not or change this or that type of last minute stuff. Obviously we have been checking weekly anyway, so we are really happy and are on top of things. But this is just formality. Also today the scaffolding should be gone, so our house will be making it's debut. LOL. Yes, I am a nerd, lol.

Pizza Hut's in charge of dinner tonight ha ha ha....

Today and tomorrow are Noboru's days off. And tonight is his works annual Christmas party/end of year party. He's actually the guy whose hosting it this year. So, his party starts at 6:00 pm tonight and he'll be home by 11:00 pm tonight. I don't mind because he never goes out with the guys unless, I'm in America or for this Christmas party, and I want him to have fun with his friends so, I am really happy, he's going.

Today, I ran to Yuzawaya, obviously you guys don't know what that is, lol. It's a fabric store and I went to get Branden some Thomas patches, so I can have my sewing lady, iron them on and sew them onto his yochien shoes (yes I have her do both, iron and sew them on, lol). Yochien shoes are white shoes that kids wear in the school buildings here. Since regular shoes aren't allowed in the school buildings here in Japan. Okay, did I just raise a few eyebrows? LOL. She also made our yochien bags for us. In Japan, bags are supposed to be homemade. However since I don't sew, not since the lip pillow incident in seventh or eighth grade, it's just easier and better for me to have the sewing lady do it for us.

Anyways, I went to Yuzawaya. And then after that I went to the 100 yen in the same building to buy more snacks. Ha ha ha. Since it's so cold lately, I figured we needed more snacks so I went ahead and stocked up on a few more, just in case it gets much colder around here.

Tonight, I am giving myself the night off from cooking! So, I just ordered a large Pizza Hut pan pizza. Yummm! They said it should be here by 3:20 pm. Hmm they must be busy, lol. Good thing I ordered now. : )

So, me and the boys will be lazy now for the rest of the night. Eat pizza. Watch cable TV. And I got a movie on cable, I am waiting to watch at 9:00 pm tonight, It's sorta old and wasn't too popular. But it's got Julia Robert's in it and it's called, Something to Talk About. And I really like this movie...so, I got my TV guide ear marked! And we will just stay inside the house all night and stay cozy and warm with our pizza and TV.

Oh....I also went and bought a case of sodas today too. Only because the weather is such crap around here lately, really way too cold to be going outside after sunset or even in the early mornings. Brrr!

So, an early good night to you all and love to you all : )