Throwback Thursday...

Gee, I sure love Throwback Thursday. And I usually will put 2 pics on, 1 for each of the boys. But since I missed/skipped last week since we were in Hawaii, this weeks TBT, will be a tad extra long. This throwback, takes us back, to February 2007 and our family was off on the tiny tropical island of Saipan (near Guam) Our family has been to Saipan 2 or 3 times. While Guam is the bigger of the 2 islands. Guam is like the "gathering place" island, same as Oahu, versus the other islands, in HI. Same for the Marianas (where Guam and Saipan are located). Guam is the hustle and bustle and has many movie theaters, malls, it's definitely got a stronger American vibe. IHOP, Chili's. Frozen Yogurt, Cinnabon, Eggs N Things. Guam even has L&L Drive in (from Hawaii) There's tons to see and do. Where as Saipan has way fewer places to shop and not much else but beauty and relaxation to offer. And that can sometimes be a good thing. Saipan is perfect for relaxation and no shopping. Guam is where the action is. So when we do choose Saipan, it's with the understanding it will be strictly rest and relaxation. And that's what our family needed back in Feb 2007. : )  Noah was 1 year old and 7 months at the time. So he was just a little fella. : )  Branden was in yochien/kindy.  There's Noboru, papa walking the boys to spend the day in the many many fun pools the PIC (Pacific Islands Club) has to offer.

And another day, while on our way to the buffet for breakfast. We get the gold package while on Saipan and that provides us with breakfast, lunch and dinner at any of the many restaurants they have at the resort. They have a huge buffet, a pizza place, a steak house. Many good choices and a nice size conbini (convenience store) so you really don't need to ever leave the hotel. Although once or twice we did sight see. But the hotel there, is just too much fun to want to leave. : ) Noboru and Bran walking faster and while our toddling Noah was a tad slower, so I always walked last...to sort of "book end" the kids. that way we kept a watchful eye on both kiddos. Not to worry dearest Noah, mama has her eyes on you. I've got your back, kiddo. : )

Noah's always been such a fantastic eater. With pancake bib, saying Breakfast Time. Yes, he was all ready for some breakfast action! Ready to try a few bites of waffle, a tiny silver dollar pancake, some crispy bacon, omelet on request/order, a half of hasbrown (we had them share one). In tiny portions yes, but we wanted him to sample different flavors, eat different fruits, some pastry. Gosh his hair was such a nice light brown color. And his eyebrows were like almost nonexistent. His eyebrows had the faintest outline of eyebrows but the hairs were like an almost blondish color. Noboru used to joke and kid and say...we should color in his eyebrows, hahaha. 

Branden was going to swimming school, however since he wasn't a super swimmer, since he was young, we wanted him in a life vest. Bran played all over and we played with him for days and days. He was the captain and we were his mateys. LOL. 

He went down the slides so many times, climbed on all the crabs and whatnot's daily. Went down the lazy river raft on inner tubes. Bran would crash fast to sleep every night because he played *so* super hard every day. Just too much fun. : ) 

My quiet one, my tender heart... I look at this picture and I remember this moment exactly...exactly. There was a kiddo about the same exact age as Noah and he was crying his head off, about 2 tables away and Noah didn't say anything, but he watched the other kiddo. I could see Noah's facial expression and eyes and he was really trying to figure that kid out. And at first, Noah was wondering if he should join and cry too? He didn't of course. We were waiting for our lunch. And we just spent many hours, since breakfast playing from pool to pool, from slide to slide, lazy river and after all that swimming we were so famished, we were so ready for lunch. So, Bran just sipped his soda and chatted non stop to Noboru and I and Noah just quietly chilled and checked out that very upset kiddo 2 tables away. Noah and that kid played in the toddler pool area, earlier so they were sorta toddler buds for that day, I think Noah was worried. Worried for his bud. Told ya, he's always been a worry wart. : )  Luckily Noah's fascination with the boy in distress... stopped as soon as our lunch arrived at our table.. then his attention diverted to our lunch and back to the happenings at our table. Aww, my little tender heart. : )

Noah and papa, chilling on the lazy river. : )

Family fun. We literally went on this probably 30 times each day, at least. It was just THAT fun.

Oh my precious angel baby. Look at that big smile on Noah's face. He would laugh and laugh. A total water baby, right from the start. Both of the boys, total water kids.  All we have ever wanted to do... is be able to provide our 2 boys with the best life we could give, with 2 solid parents and give them as many opportunities and love and our time... as we could give them. And just try and make some awesome memories together, year round. And I think we've done that, because they're good kids, real good kids. We must have done something, right. : )  Anyway that was this weeks Throwback Thursday, from our family, February 2007, in Saipan. : )

Hi you guys, we're back...

 Hi you guys, we're back! : ) It's so nice to be catching up with you all, right now. Let's see, where to start...where to start. We got back from Honolulu, Sunday night, July 26th Japan time. Monday, Noah had swimming at the local elementary school from 10am to 11am and then everyone goes home... but/except the swim team, stays and has practice until noon. At public schools around our area of Japan, from 4th grade to 6th grade if you're fast, they will ask you to be on the school swim team. They could not ask Noah until this year, since he started the 4th grade this April. Branden swam for our elementary school, when he was in elementary school too. Noah didn't raise his hand or apply, just....during regular swimming during PE, before summer break the swimming teachers and head teacher saw Noah swimming. They called a handful of kids from 4th-6th grade over the intercom to go to the gym. And from there... they were asked to join the swim team. Noah brought home a parental consent form, before we left to Hawaii and we asked Noah...most important..."do you want to do it?" If not...no worries. Noah, said he wants to. So, we signed it. He missed the first 2 practices since we were in Hawaii. But he went on this Monday right away.  So...yep, that's what Noah's been up to since we got back. Monday we also went to the regular grocery store and to Costco to fill up the pantry and fridge. Noboru meanwhile...has the haunted night at the school this Friday, July 31st, and he and the Father's Club dad's are preparing for that. The dad's are also thinking about staying the night in the gymnasium Friday night too. Hahaha, if he stays... which I think he should...the dad's will probably have a lot of fun! Branden and I are taking Noah to that, this Friday.

What else...the trip to Honolulu was so nice, you guys. We went to the beach. I took 650 photos? Seriously....that's an awful lot of pics! Hahaha. But then in my defense, I am the keeper of memories. : ) We did see 3 movies...The new Terminator. Inside Out, and the new Minions movie. We bought some stuff, but not tons. We just mostly....relaxed. Spent our days at the beach, eating shrimp twice, going to 3 movies. Just recharging the ol' batteries and enjoying some much needed family time. I barely put the pictures on my external hard drive today. So, I'll get it up and posted. But honestly...I don't think it'll be up for a few days at least. I've just been enjoying my quiet time here at home with the family. Oh guess what...while we were in Honolulu, I made a point...to be unplugged the entire trip. I didn't check my email, not even once the entire week. Didn't get online at all. Noboru checks his mail daily and stuff, even while on vacation, which is fine... but I can honestly go without it. So that was really nice for me. To go on vacation and just concentrate on my kids...and just concentrate on my husband/best friend, does that make sense at all. Hopefully some of you "get that"....or know what I mean. : ) Anyway...so we are back. I'm not moving a whole lot...online, because I'm enjoying my time irl (in real life) with the family at the moment. But I am around. : ) The Honolulu post maybe by Monday? And I might have to break it up in smaller parts/posts...if that's okay with you all too. That's just a little easier on me.  : )

Oh...we had a very nice simple backyard BBQ last night. That was so nice. Everyone had kalbi beef and I had 2 chicken breasts with the same type a sauce. For dessert we had the sweetest fresh cut up pineapple from the store...it was so good...yesterdays pineapple. Hahaha. : ) Anyway...I better end this for now. Just wanted to say...hey and hello! : )

Honolulu, Hawaii here we come...

Yep, it has been decided and yes the odds were not in our favor for California. We watched all Friday... our flight online. Stand by list and such. Saturday was our day of hope. The flight was for evening. And by 9am yesterday breakfast time, we could see, we didn't have a chance in heck to catch last evenings flight. We decided it would be best, not to even "try" to get to Haneda airport yesterday, because why? Because it costs us 5,000 yen to get there on the highway and also include parking. And if we couldn't catch the flight, it would be a wasted $50 US basically. And I do mean we checked hourly, the status. We could get on, but just 3 of our family of 4. Which is nuts. Leaving one of us behind, clearly we'd not leave a child but it means either Noboru or I would go with the kids and the other adult, would have to fight to get on another flight someplace somewhere. It was yesterday that we booked a place in Hawaii after debating over the pros and cons of California or Hawaii. We debated it all day yesterday. Our last chance to get to California was for Sunday/today...the evening flight. It looked great all this week. But by yesterday, Sundays flight to California looked iffy. As in..cutting it close. As in, if 1 or 2 other non revs with a higher priority came to our  LAX flight with a higher seniority we'd be wiped out. The other thing...Hawaii, is a sure thing... this Honolulu flight. Totally open and available sort of calling for us. Come here...come back to Oahu. So we were left anxious yesterday...do we pick the iffy California flight. Do you go with an unsure thing or a sure thing. Granted, California, is where we REALLY want to go. Or do we say to heck with it...and take a sure thing. Therefore no more stress. No more...what ifs. Again time not being on our side either. As in, you have 24 hours... before check in, to cancel the California hotel or you'll be charged. Yes charged. And you need 24 hours advance notice to book a place in Hawaii. So...again time not really being on our side. We needed to decide and we needed to decide yes or no, by Saturday. Gosh were Noboru and I stressed to the max yesterday. We finally thought about it logically. If we put all our eggs in the California basket. We might not end up taking a vacation at all. And that would totally and completely suck. So...yeah...not a gamble we really wanted to take. Granted would it have been lovely if the flight was wide open to California, yes, you betcha. But it just wasn't. However there is a bright side. The bright side is. We now sorta realize... us trying to get to the mainland US from Japan, in summer time as a non rev... just is NEVER gonna happen and we need to understand that and accept that. Phew. Very freeing understanding that. So, if we do want to go to the US mainland from Japan and fly non rev. It best we fly in Fall, or Winter or Spring. We can get there then...and for free. But just not a chance in heck, for us in summer. Lesson learned. And thankfully we didn't have to learn it the *hard way* meaning at the expense of us not getting to go anywhere this year, because we wanted California or nothing. Another bright side is...we admit defeat and we know when we're facing a losing battle here and we move on to plan B quickly, meaning no time to dwell. We were smart to say...you know in all probability California's just not gonna pan out. Let's go for plan B. So, in that respect, we did everything humanly possible... and we did it the right way. Anyway, so we rented ourselves a privately owned condo this time around on Oahu, this time. We're frankly tired of paying the $25 resort fees for staying at a hotel in Waikiki (yes all hotels in Waikiki charge you that for staying there) and paying $25- $35 US for parking per each day (last time one of our hotels charged $25 and the other hotel charged us $35 per day to park at their hotel). Add that on top of your hotel rate and it gets pretty expensive. So...we're staying in a nice little suburb. We have a rental car. And so we're pretty excited. No more stress of...will we get on the flight or won't we. It's done. The good thing is, we're packed and ready. We just have to throw the boogie boards in the 2 big empty suitcases and grab some extra sunscreen and we're all set. Will we like this whole renting a private condo thing? We may, we may not. I'll let ya'll know when we get back. But the place we picked looks gorgeous though! There's a beach 3 minutes from our condo. Plus we'll be hitting lots of different beaches. And shopping, Sephora, Target, Walmart, Nature Republic, Ala Moana Shopping center, here we come. And plus we also just want to relax and bring a packed lunch to the beach and do nothing all day...many of our days... we will spend them like that. Also movies, we have a ton of movies we want to see too. Terminator, Inside Out, Pixels, etc.

Not the vacation we had originally wanted. But, it's the vacation we're fortunate enough... to be able to take.  And we know that.. so for that we have huge appreciation. So we're happy. Happy we are going somewhere for summer break. Plus you all know we're beach people anyway. : ) 

Branden is looking forward to the shrimp.

June's Dairy Queen Blizzard flavor... was the Jurassic World blizzard (2 types of cookie dough)...and the commercials we've been seeing all July, on our cable say...July is brownie batter blizzard flavor. So, wonder if anyone of us will try the July flavor. I know for me, I would like a Peanut Buster parfait. This thing pictured here. Yumm. Anyway, catch up with you all, when we get back. : )

Throwback Thursday...

This picture is date stamped, July 4th, 2007. Happy Birthday America! Anyway, the time this picture was taken was 1:54pm. So not quite 2 years old for Noah. But awfully close, since his birthday is July 7th. So an almost 2 year old Noah. Just enjoying Guam with his mama, daddy and big brother Branden. : )

My gorgeous and kind Noah.

And Branden's throwback actually has a date and time stamp, this time. May 13th, 2006 and the time was 9:13am. Place, Honolulu, Hawaii. Both the boys always grew up going to Hawaii and/or Guam, some of their earliest memories, is of them spending time there. And always grew up spending time at a beach. Water boys. Beachy boys. : )

Anyway, typhoon update. Nothing here yet. But today was super windy, all day today. A few sprinkles here or there. But no real rain, lasting over 5 minutes to speak of yet. Dinner tonight, buffalo wings (just took them out of the oven), cheesy baked potatoes, corn... (rice if anyone wants) and salads. I'm tired today. I want to get dinner done, dishes into the dishwasher, kids showered (neither kid has homework, thank the lord) and have an early night. : )

Interview...

Tomorrow is trash day. And we had 1 extra trash bag, but Noboru said to me this morning, "I'm going to run to the grocery store, it just opened and I'm gonna grab an extra pack of trash bags, you need anything?" I said, Thanks but I'm good : ) and he left. He came back from the store, with some one's phone number written on a piece of paper and told me "someone needs your help" ...My help? @_@ "Okay, what is it", I asked. So he said let's go to the kitchen, so I can tell you the story. Holy goodness, I thought. So I grab a hot coffee and sit down.

Noboru says, you know when I was fuku kaicho that one year? I said, yes I remember. He said, well, this lady was also a member that year also. He then started to get into the story of today, he said,  he was at the store, with trash bags in hand about to go to the check out line/register. When she appeared with her 3rd year, 9th grade son. She said, "hello I'm sorry to ask this but, your wife is American, right?" Noboru told her in Japanese, "yes, she is" She said, "first, I should probably introduce you to my son" The son greets Noboru and Noboru greets the son. Why wasn't he in school today? I don't know why, anyways back to the story. Anyway, she told Noboru, he goes to a private JHS somewhere. And their school assignment in English class, is to track down a native English speaking foreigner and interview them. She also said, the problem is...at least 95% of the class don't know where they can find a foreigner #1 and #2 would they be willing to be interviewed because not every foreigner would be willing. So many of his classmates have an idea. They will go to Asakusa this weekend and hopefully track down some English speaking foreigners. And hopefully interview them. His mom...the woman in the store doesn't think this idea of a group of the class going to Asakusa will work. For whatever reason she doesn't like the idea. So she's been wracking her brain ever since, apparently. And so she's been asking around town. Do you know any native English speaking foreigners? And finally someone in the housing community told her...you know that guy....(they meant Noboru) who was fuku kaicho 2 years ago...his wife is American. So..as luck would have it. She saw Noboru at the store, while she was with her son. Seriously, you guys what are the odds. And so she asked. She also was quite embarrassed about asking. She told Noboru...I am so sorry to be bothering your wife about this. But...she's our only hope. Something along those lines. @_@ Anyways...so Noboru told her...well... we are about to leave Japan for a bit. But, I can ask her. So, she wrote down her phone number. So Noboru told me..."what do you think?" I told Noboru..." OMG, of course I'll help him!"..."how could I not"

So, long story short. Noboru phoned her. She's now thrilled beyond belief, she found someone willing to help and so close by, and according to her, the son is relieved, which makes me happy. And so a 9th grade boy, is coming to my house tomorrow at 2pm, to interview me for a few minutes. She also wanted to tell Noboru, that he has his questions already written down. Bless, his little heart. : ) Branden and Noah do not know about this yet. I'll tell them this afternoon. Heck, I just found out today, myself. : ) My boys, get off tomorrow at 11am. They'll just chill out, in the living room while he and I get this interview wrapped up, right quick. : ) It shouldn't take very long and I know they won't mind, it's for a school project. It's legit, hahaha. And the good thing is, he lives in our same housing community, so he will only have a short 2 minute bike ride to my house, from his house. Anyway, no big deal, just wanted to say...interview tomorrow at 2pm. : )

And yes, I bet a few of you are wondering the same thing I thought too....I did think...wait a minute...he's only 1 year older than B? That must mean they went to the same elementary school. The one Noah is going to now. They had to have seen me all these years. At undokai. On observation day. No? Am, I right? I worked at my housing community selling lemonade and hot dogs 1 year. And sold stuff for the yakuin last year, the kids club, at the same summer festival. Yes, I can over think things to death. But whatever the case may be...it doesn't matter. Yes she could have genuinely not known, about me all these years, which I sorta highly doubt. I'm an obvious foreigner. I stick out like a sore thumb unfortunately. Or...you know...she could have just been really shy or nervous about asking. And...probably mulled it over and debated it. And then...now the assignment is almost due. And so...now she has to abandon all shy feelings and just got for it. And her asking in that way...The old..."I did not know..I just found out"...made her feel safer...or better. Does that makes sense. And of course, also maybe she genuinely did not know. But whatever...either way...if it's for a kiddo and he needs help or assistance. I'm down for helping.  Anyway...must stop over thinking things. Will try. Hahaha. : ) Anyway, he's coming over tomorrow. : )

Good eats. TV Talk, that new Scream TV series on MTV, is so good! Salon visit complete. And an update on our summer vacation plans...

How's everybody doing? I know you guys in the US are already on summer vacation (since June, right?). As for us here in Japan, school is still going, but luckily winding down. For our town, the elementary and JHS, last day of school is this Friday and it's a half day letting out at 11am for both Bran and Noah's schools. So that's the good and positive thing, summer break is so close ya'll... we can almost touch it! We can already feel, just how near it is! : )  How have things been here for us? Pretty good. This is a random pic from a dinner we had this week. You know already, what this is, most likely. : ) I made this a few weeks back too. This is 2 lean blocks of pork, rubbed down with some BBQ rub. Slow baked in the oven one day. While everyone was at school (the kids) or work (Noboru)

It was so tender. I just pulled it apart with 2 forks. And covered in tin foil. Until everyone got home. This time, I did not add any BBQ sauce to it. I think for Noboru, being Japanese the sauce is a bit too overly zesty, which is fine (it doesn't bother him with ribs but this shredded with sauce can be a bit too zesty and intense... though he didn't mention anything and wouldn't...he's just too sweet, I could sorta tell the last time, that it was a tad/pinch zesty for my 3 guys though). And so the BBQ rub was more than enough seasoning and actually I too... prefer it this way and this is perfect for our family. Will be making it this way, from now on. : )

Making this 2 times ago, I was worried, should I go and get mini baguettes of bread to make this? But you know what...it's cheaper using hot dog buns and they're so soft and it's actually super delicious this way. Coleslaw bought at KFC, again just makes dinner easier. And some Bush's Baked Beans on the side. Branden had 3 of these sandwiches, Noboru had 4 of them, he loved these! Noah had 1 bbq sammy and extra beans on the side. His tummy tank is just tinier than everyone elses. : )  What else is there.... to talk about real quick. 

I have been cleaning house like a crazy woman. Because, I really hate coming back from vacation to a dirty or dusty house. I know it sounds weird. But I say this every year and those of you that are long time readers know that. I totally prefer clean the house spic and span before we leave and that way when we get back to Japan, we feel happy...to come home to a nice clean house. May sound weird but eh.... it just makes me feel way better. I'd say about right now. The house is just about ready! Oh and that blind duster is a good one and I bought it at the Daiso/100 yen shop. : )

TV talk...I keep wanting to mention this, but I keep forgetting to mention it, each time. I have been loving the new Scream TV show/series on MTV. You know...how when movies become.... spin offs or TV shows, they almost always suck. Well...this one does NOT. This show is on *fleek*. It's actually really good! It just recently started, it's a brand new show and I have been watching it weekly ever since it started. I really like it a lot.

Last Saturday, July 11th at 10am was my hair appointment, I got my hair cut, colored and I got that super hair straightening thing called...the Japanese thermal hair straightener. Took forever at the salon, but in the end it was worth it. Flat irons are used twice during the process and it's super pin straight now. My hair is shiny and all one length at my shoulders. The hair is on point...the hair is indeed on point, ya'll! Just saying. ; ) And I'm just happy... to get it all over and done with... and now I don't have to think about my hair...worry about it... for summer now. And the hair straightening makes it superly easy to take care of. The simple cut alone, also make it even easier to take care of. So one more thing scratched off the list, of things to get done before summer vacation. : )

At the end of each semester each child in elementary school brings back. All their stuff. Paints, crayons, earthquake safety thing/seat cushion. Just everything. Noah has been lugging stuff home all this week. He's already brought home his paints, his shuji/calligraphy stuff. Each day he brings more. He's almost brought everything, I think his last day, he'll bring the seat cushion and inside shoes. : )

I am so sad, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are indeed getting divorced. Like the cutest couple, ever, am I right. He couldn't have married a sweeter girl. When I heard it at first, I was like...that has.... got to be a lie! It can't be true. They're too cute together...plus they've been together for what...10 years. It's got to be gossip news. An untruth. And then sadly...they said it too. Sigh. Just super sad. : (

An update on our travel plans. #1, there are like 1 or 2 typhoons approaching Japan (I thought there was just 1, Noboru says there's actually 2 different ones coming). OMG, why now right, well the logical answer would be...typhoon season is still trying to cling and hold on! And it's getting hard to know...will they affect our flight. And if so... will it affect our flight in a good way? Meaning all other stand-by passengers got stranded elsewhere and therefore could not make it to the flight, therefore leaving all the seats for us? Or affect us in a bad way...meaning the flights canceled. Or in another bad way...meaning everyone stand-by just moved to our flight? That sort of thing. So...yes...the 1-2 typhoons coming to Japan somewhere between Friday and next week are starting to worry us. Granted since we are on this side of Japan....usually they pummel/hit other parts of Japan first (sorry), so we are just hoping they loose their steam before they get to the Narita area. So the weather...we have been keeping a close eye on the weather. I just wish this typhoon would change directions and save us all in Japan the headache. Hahaha. Many of us are indeed trying to get back to our home countries and this can totally wreck the plans here. Bad typhoon...bad bad! : ) So the typhoon is a worry.  Straight up...it is.

Also...the flight itself.  We sort of know by now, which flight is the one, for us to try and catch. The flight we think we have the best chance to get on. As for Friday...straight up, there's no chance for us to catch a flight this Friday, too full. So Friday...forget Friday, Friday for us is out. Also, the flight we are trying to catch, there are 15 available seats in first class. We are like # 6,7,8 and 9 on the stand-by list. Being 6-9 is a bit scary, we've never been that bad of a number on the stand by list. However, there are a lot of older Americans who have been with Delta since Noboru and I were in kindergarten or elementary school, apparently...trying to get on that flight. And so while yes.... they're as old as the Crypt Keeper, they do have the seniority, which is totally fair...but also for us frustrating. So, while these people were hired and already working in the 80's. I was...off riding my Big Wheel in the 80's and collecting Strawberry Shortcake dolls and Noboru was off fishing or collecting Ultraman dolls. @_@  So...what will we do. We will attempt to get to California for 2 days. And we actually might get on those flights. The following day has like 22 seats available in first class. So we do actually have a shot here! Again though..is the typhoon going to make flights delayed and add more stand-bys on our flight?  So we have agreed that the best thing for us to do is...we will spend 2 days trying to fly to California. And again...we might actually get on the flight the first day. Who knows. However though it is always smart to have a plan B. Or back up plan. Our back up plan is this...if we cannot get on the California flight for 2 days. We will then say forget California. It's not California's fault. Hey...no worries, but we also don't want to waste valuable vacation days... sitting at an airport either. So, again we will spend 2 days trying/attempting to get to LA and if that does not happen...we will say no worries. We tried. Best to forget it. And move on. And plan B is...we will go to Honolulu. The Honolulu flight for us is wide *wide* open. And most Americans (stand-by) fly to Hawaii from the mainland US. So not much older folks with higher seniority... to worry about from Japan to Honolulu. And we'd be like #1-4 on the stand by list. So...it wouldn't even be a worry or second thought like..."gee, I hope we get there." We know, Honolulu is a definite. Granted our first choice and hope is for California. But you know...if it wasn't meant to be...at least we have plan B. We have our hotel booked in California already and car...gee, since way over a month ago. And this morning we checked for the availability of our hotel we like in Hawaii and it's available. Again we like to plan ahead and prepare for the worst. So...I think by Saturday or Sunday morning we'll pretty much either be in California or know..if we will have to switch plans and destination. The good news is and I do always believe there is a positive, shorts and tee-shirts and swimsuits can go to either destination. Meaning it's not like we're going to Antarctica and the Caribbean and would have to pack for 2 totally different types of weather....and therefore pack different clothes. I hope we can get to California you guys. And I can't tell really right now...which way things are going to end up. My feelings on stand-by? I still absolutely love it! The fact, we can fly for free. Plus we don't have to sit in coach/economy so the seats are very comfortable.  And not have to spend $800 US each... for each of our family of 4 or even $1000 US each... for our family of 4, for airplane tickets. I love that! That just saves us money. Money we can use towards, our hotel, or going to the movies while there, eating out... or on things we plan to purchase at Target or Sephora and whatnot. Knowing we can save such huge amounts of money, by not having to pay for our airfare really helps. I absolutely do not mind flying stand-by at all. We love you Delta, you take good care of your employees, best company to work for. So, nope we do not mind flying stand-by...not at all. I do want us to go to California. But hey...if we can't...saving our family US $3500-$4000 for the flight and going to Honolulu and sitting in paradise for a week...isn't exactly bad either. Which way will the coin land? I honestly don't know. It's Wednesday here in Japan already. And again...we're just trying to keep a close eye on the flight and a close eye on the typhoon. We'd love it if the typhoon would just skip Japan all together. That way we'd have 1 less thing to think about. : )  Anyway that's the update on the flight situation. We're going somewhere, but as to where? We're still unsure, which of the 2 places it will be. 
Dinner tonight, homemade tostadas (beans are done boiling on the stove already, I will mash and fry them after lunch). Alrighty, it's lunch time and that grilled cheese and some sliced dill pickles are calling my name. : ) The house is clean for today and a load of fresh clean towels is flapping in the breeze, heavily clipped on the laundry poles on the back patio, I'll bring them in, after my lunch. I'll catch up with you all again, I'm sure... before we leave. : ) Bye for now. : )  Both the boys get off school at 3:45pm today. : ) The boys and I, will also be going to Guam this summer as well. But after we get back from our main summer vacation. : )

Going to the movies with good friends...

So, last Thursday, July 9th was my fun little movie date and lunch that I had set with my 2 favorite/best friends. We were all set to catch the morning 9:35am showing of The Avengers, Age of Ultron movie. And we were going to have lunch of course afterwards and more than likely we'd be talking and staying at the restaurant, all the way up until it was time for us, to pick up our kiddos. So, I knew dinner either had to be cooked courtesy of my Crock Pot, that I bought and brought here over 10 years ago from Denver, to Japan with me. An American moms best friend in the kitchen, I tell ya....we do love our crock pots. Hahaha. Or it would have to be an easy already rotisserie chicken from Costco, you know what I mean...it had to be an easy dinner though, because I wouldn't be home that day. Knowing this on Monday as I was writing out my weekly menu, I picked up a lean block of beef, Wednesday, I defrosted it from the freezer and so Thursday morning, I sliced and cubed it, skillet fried it in a tad of oil and salt and pepper, then I filled my crock pot up with the right amount of water and threw it into the crock pot, on high. 

About to be plugged in and quickly set. I do have a counter in my kitchen obviously, but...I didn't want to move my rice cooker or anything else and as I was pressed for time (had to get dressed, wash my face, put makeup on etc etc) I just put it here and called it done!

We 3 went to the movie. We enjoyed the movie so much! We went to Saizeriya (an affordable Italian restaurant, it's a chain restaurant) after the movie and we stayed there from 12 noon until 2:10pm. I had to get Noah at 3pm and drive back from Ibaraki to my town. So, I had to leave at that time. I made it right on time to get Noah. Bran got off at 3:45pm. I picked up Noah and we went home. The rice cooker was just finished, it was playing, it's little melody/song as we entered the house. The beef in the crock pot was fall apart tender. I, at that point, started to slice an onion, get the mushrooms out of the fridge, peel 2 large potatoes. Slice the carrot. And at that point. Noah stayed home, in the kitchen, and did his homework with strict instructions, do not answer the door for anyone (he knows this though already). And I'll be back in 5 minutes. I went and swung by the plaza and sure enough Branden was just walking up, he hopped in the car and we were home lickity split! Bran, went upstairs changed his clothes and whatnot. I meanwhile, transferred, the crock pot contents to a regular stock pot type pan on the stove, added the veggies set the timer for 30 minutes so the potatoes would be soft but not obliterated. While dinner was just finishing up. Noboru came home. He took a shower. And by the time he came downstairs, I was already melting the beef stew roux in the stew. Noah *loves* beef stew so much and considering he's such a skinny minnie, I am very excited to see him eat. Noah had 2 full servings of beef stew. Which made me thrilled. Branden ate, Noboru ate, we all ate a very nice hearty meal. We all asked about each others day. And just had a nice dinner conversation as a family. I didn't have many dishes that night. The crock pot I washed by hand, Bran dried it for me and put it into the dish cabinet. But other than that, I really only had a knife, a cutting board and our 4 curry/stew curved plates and some spoons and whatnot to toss into the dishwasher. It was a fairly easy peasy dinner. We all had cantaloupe for dessert, and that's only because melons are superly cheap around where we live, so we eat honey dew, cantaloupe and watermelon all summer long. Until we're all sick to death of it. hahaha. Luckily we're not at that point yet though, so it was wonderful. : )  Anyway, that was the... fun little movie date with my friends. And then a quick dash to get the kids and a quick and easy, dinner (thank you dearest crock pot). : ) 

Happy Birthday Noah!!! The start of the double digits! Our newly minted ten-ager!!!

Happy Birthday, our dearest most gorgeous Noah! No more single digits for you anymore. You've officially hit the big time kid! It's double digits from here on out....well until you hit age 100, then you'll be hitting the triple digits, hahaha!  Anyways, our good luck Tanabata Boy, came home, from school July 7th with a huge smile on his face. Nearly bouncing around like Tigger from Pooh, you know what I mean. As he was bouncing and getting into my car, he said matter of factly with huge enthusiasm, I might add. I have decided where we should eat mama! I said..."oh where Noah...please do tell, do tell!!!" He said Jolly Pasta. Keep in mind out of all the restaurants this being the farthest, from our house. LOL. Our nearest Jolly Pasta being about an hours drive, each way. But never mind that, it's what the birthday boy, would like to feast on, for his birthday and so done and done! : ) Noboru was just getting home and we waited for Branny McB to get out of school at 3:45pm and when he did, he came home and quickly changed from JHS uniform, to regular clothes and we took off, without much delay because it was quite the drive. We had tunes on in the car. The kids and I belted out tune after tune. Jam after jam. Noboru's not much, of a singer in the car, but he *loves* that we are, so he listens, he's a fan, hahaha. : )  Noah crooned away at Lay Me Down by Sam Smith and many other songs. He really sings nice. Same for B, he sings nice as well. We arrived at perfect timing at Jolly Pasta, because there was only... 1 other group of people there at the time. A group of 4 seniors drinking a huge bottle of wine and I do mean, it was huge, eating Italian yummy goodness and they stayed there even longer then us, but they were just having a great old merry time with their quiet little group in the corner. They were adorable. So just them and us. We ordered. Bran, Noah and I ordered this pasta, pictured. You can see by the pic, there's a tiny chili pic and garlic pic, under the pasta pic. It's really good pasta, it has chili so it's slightly spicy, but Noah said it wasn't spicy at all, just good flavor (we all love spicy in our family). : ) It has chili, garlic, mozzarella. This pasta dish is amazing. Noboru picked a different pasta dish and we each had a personal pizza. And a drink bar. The quality of their food is top notch. After we ordered, like tons and tons of people started coming in and sitting down. Different families and before you know it, the place was packed with people. We laughed and said...doesn't this always happen to us? We get there, it's dead...we order and then like...BOOM explosion of mass amounts of people afterwards. But, we all agreed good thing... we ordered first. Before the crowds. Silver lining. : ) 

The glasses are really nice and cute. And we honestly spent over an hour in the restaurant. We talked quite a bit. Refilled our glasses quite a bit. Again our birthdays are always spent really quiet...just our family together. Just... very chill. The kind of birthdays we prefer. 

My pasta. Noboru's pizza was a jalapeno pizza. OMG, his pizza was so good! We seriously just had the best *best* time being at the restaurant. And YES, of course Noboru had to recount to Noah...the old....when you were born you were *this* small, type stories. And he had to recount the same stories he tells Noah *every* birthday, same as he does the same exact thing for Bran's birthday too. Again though...the birthday dinner was very cool. Very low key. Just very chill. Just, us together as a family having a great time. 

The kids and I also had some hot cocoa. Noboru had a coffee. We went and paid and then we hopped in Olive and she took us home. 

Ice cream cake from Nagano, homemade! Choco banana, the top layer is homemade banana and the bottom layer is Italian chocolate which describes it as, having hazel nut flavor and it tastes exactly like Nutella ice cream. This cake is amazing! And the cake at the bottom is yumm too. Totally high quality birthday cake, for sures!

You can see Noboru's elbow on the right of this picture, or shirt. But Bran absolutely adores his little brother. I mean, they're super tight, these two! He's always been sorta like a second papa to Noah... mixed with a best friend. They're close and as an only child myself, I am so glad they have each other! So, Bran said, I'll light Noah's candles. And so he did. And as he did, he told Noah, "now be careful..it's hot okay?" Obviously Noah knows that, he's 10. But...you know hearing how much he worries and cares about Noah and watching B go around this cake and light each candle with care. I don't know...but it made me proud of the both of these two! Good kids. : )

And the last candle for B to light. And as the name plate says...Happy Birthday Noah. 

You are so loved! While your brother is strong and opinionated and brave and fearless and extremely competitive! Bran raises his hand in class probably 20 times a day, to answer the questions in class, he likes being top dog. As always and probably always will. He's definitely one of the cool kids, Branden. He's *very* Alpha male, Branden is. And qualities that are super wonderful for a boy to have! You...Noah in personality are quite the opposite.... you have always been very gentle, very agreeable, you are the least competitive person, I know. You are also popular, but you're different, you don't want to be top dog, you're just totally content. It's very interesting to watch, you both..... and I love you both so much. Noah, you naturally, share everything. If you have 5 pieces of gum, and you are with 6 people (including himself) you'll give all your friends a piece of gum and you'll have none for yourself (this worries me, as your mama and we have had talks about this, you and me...the old... "you matter, and you need to care about you a little more"... pep talk). You are nice...*so* nice...sometimes I worry, too nice? Hahaha.  You do have a very kind heart. For real, straight up...he has the kindest heart ever, you guys! This kid has seriously hands down... never been greedy or jealous or unkind to others, like *ever*... a day of his life! He's never went to a store and said..."I want this...I want that." Absolutely never. He's totally Charlie Bucket...not Veruca Salt, if you know what I mean. His heart you guys, he's golden, this Noah-chan! You always think the best of people (even when they don't deserve it). And you always want the best for others and always look at things... as the glass half full. He's so positive and bright and shiny and good. So pure of heart. Which is why... we 3... always protect you (we're like 3 lions guarding you always) and look out for you and watch out for you. And you give the best hugs and cuddles! You *always* say please and thank you.You are very polite (Bran is too though, I was a stickler about manners when they were younger) It's very interesting watching the two of you grow up and see how your personalities differ so much. We love you Noah...exactly as you are!!! Oh and the whole ten-ager thing. Noah being 9, last year, saw Branden become 13. And he idolizes his big brother, we all know that. : )  And he said all last year...wow Branden is so cool, he's a teenager. Branden too says...I'm a teenager. We knew Noah was in awe all last year... because we have heard the word...*teenager* being used all this past year. So, Noboru told me...let's call Noah this year...let's call him a  ten-ager. That way he can sorta- semi join Branden. I said...you know what...that's an excellent idea! So, on his birthday at the restaurant, we called him a ten-ager! And OMG...you guys...he loves it! Noah totally loves it. And now we say...we have 1 teenager and 1 ten-ager! Hahaha. So, a term we coined and we will be using all this year. Sorta cool, yes slightly corny... but who cares...when or if you have kids...you'll more than understand about wanting to make them smile and we personally love the word. Ten-ager! Hahaha. : )

You guys already saw, the swimsuit Noah got for his birthday and cool outfit with matching shoes and stuff. But this was Noah's big gift this year. We wanted to get Noah a larger tablet this year. A brand new 2015 model one. We bought it from the company on this box. We considered buying it from Walmart, when we're in California next week. However since we live in Japan, and if anything happened... we would have a hard time replacing it or whatnot. So we bought it from Expansys. It's a company that sells electronics worldwide. They are a legit company. They sell in America, in Europe, all over. And if we buy from this website, but in Japan, we have a 12 month warranty, that way...we're safer... if anything happens we can send it back. So the 12 month warranty and stuff factor, is what drew us to buying from them. Versus buying at an actual store in California. 

The brand new Samsung galaxy Tab S, 8.4 inch screen, so it's huge! Perfect for reading books or playing games. The graphics, we compared to different tablets online on Amazon.com, they have comparisons on there and this rated best. Highest resolution, pixels, processor (speed), just super top of the line. But a perfect gift for our sweetheart cuddle bunny. : )

Noah's old tablet to the left, it was a Nexus 7 (7 inch) it's a good tablet and was a perfect one for him to start off with. It works and stuff and he'll still keep it and stuff. But, this other one, is bigger, and nicer. And newer. It's in a beautiful bronze brown color. The choice was white (no way) or bronze. And he loves it! Noah went goo goo gaga for this, when he saw his present! It's a pretty major big present to receive. He's one lucky kid! : )  He also loves his swimsuit and outfit as well. And he received money from all his grandparents. Branden loves this tablet and so he has already requested to get the same tablet for his birthday in October. Anyway, so that's how we spent Noah's 10th birthday this year! Happy Birthday to the sweetest, kindest kid, I know! We love you Noah! : )

Throwback Thursday...

The date and time stamp for this picture says April 25th, 2007 at 2:04pm. Noah and I were at the main park in our housing community waiting for the afternoon drop off, of Branden from the yochien bus. 

This picture unfortunately has no date and time stamp. However, Branden was feeding the deer, that's uncle Jun to the right of Bran. We were all enjoying a family day out, that day, with some of our extended family. It was a very nice day! And Branden loved feeding the deer! Oh, my Mr. Branny McBee, you were just a teeny tiny tot, weren't you, at the time. : )

Noah's observation day, The Fourth of July and a few other bits for good measure...

Alrighty, you guys, this is sort of a catch up, slash what we've been up to lately. Things I wanted to add here or there, but just didn't have the time to. So hopefully, I can get this up right here. A new mole has moved into the backyard. And Noboru's been trying to catch him this past week. If you remember Noboru has a mole trap and caught/killed the last mole that dared move into the backyard. Then you'll understand that this mole...for the sake of his safety, he really needs to skedaddle it... right out of our yard and take up residence elsewhere. Please mole...it is for your own good. : ) 

Every Monday there are sales at my cheap meat store. They also have cheap veggies too. Last Monday's specials were pictured here, melons from Ibaraki prefecture. Which, I took this picture in Ibaraki prefecture, since I live bordering Ibaraki and spend most of my day in Ibaraki unless of course, I am home. : ) These are cantaloupes and are 180 yen each. About $1.50 US right now with the exchange rate. Melons though are super cheap where we live anyways though, because melons are famous in Ibaraki and are quite plentiful for us. Usually the going rate for a big cantaloupe are 2 for 500 yen. That's the going rate, when not on sale. So, 180 yen for each whole big melon is quite the deal. I picked up 1 cantaloupe last Monday. 

Large size honey dew melons were also on sale, 298 yen. Usually these are 2 for 600 yen so not really a huge savings in my mind. But yep, where we live, groceries are super cheap. And vegetables and fruits super cheap as well. : )

I messed up here you guys and I'm sorry. I should have put the Costco pics *after* Noah's observation day pics. But, clearly I wasn't thinking when I put these pics up. I'm sorry. Noboru and I went to Costco last Friday. I wanted to pick up a rotisserie chicken for the boys and I, for the 4th of July. And ended up getting a few other things. Pasta sauce. Finally our Costco has pasta sauce. It's been out, for ages. Potatoes for mashed potatoes for the 4th of July. Frozen pizzas for an emergency meal or two. And Noboru wanted that Energizer electronic thing for his mini minivan. Some type of charging device. He loves it. : )

Special of the day at Costco. Dish soap.148 yen.

Decided, that was too good a deal to pass up. So picked one. 

White grape scented one.

After Costco, Noboru and I went to lunch at the Ohsho. It was pouring rain most of all last week and weekend.

Last Thursday July 2nd was Noah's observation day. This was the day before Costco. Noboru and I went in separate cars. Because #1 he's in the Father's Club and every summer observation day, the Father's Club dad's help all the 5th graders make scarecrows. They stuff the scarecrows, dress them. The kids love it and have so much fun and the Father's Club dad's love it too! Noboru has been doing this for years. So, Noboru had to be at the elementary school an hour before, I did, since he is a Father's Club dad and he had scarecrow duty that day. : ) Also, I know Noboru had to leave directly to work after observation day. So, that's reason 2, why we took separate cars. : ) Anyway, I arrived pretty early. Okay not too early, but about 10-15 minutes before I was supposed to be there. All kids in Noah's class are *really* big into arm wrestling right now and thumb wrestling right now. The teacher was arm wrestling a whole bunch of kids in the class, when I came into the class. And 2 little cutie patootie girls were arm wrestling one another. And so, as I entered, I saw that and so I joined in, right away, so I arm wrestled Noah. I knew beforehand I would let him win, but I did "try" to struggle a bit and stuff. He had 2 of his friends come to us and were cheering for Noah to gambatte! And defeat me on arm wrestling. Oh man...I had no one cheering for me. LOL. Hahaha. It's okay, I absolutely do not mind, it's all in fun. : )  So when he defeated me, they were cheering. I then arm wrestled 1 little boy and the girl who sat next to Noah, his desk partner. @_@ Yes, I let them both win. However...his desk mate beat me at thumb wrestling fair and square though! : ) Next thing you know, the class began and I stood up and stood at the back of the class as the other parents trickled in, one by one. : ) I really love the kids in Noah's class, all of them. I love how they always come and greet me and say hello. They're just very nice good kids! So many parents were there. Noboru arrived and came and stood next to me. It was nice to observe Noah's class with Noboru. What were the kids doing? The kids were deciding what their science experiment/project for this summer would be. Each child had to decide and put it in writing. 

Sorry, Noah, for taking such a bad picture. He has had the sniffles lately and so he was clearing his nose at the same time, I took this picture, he was sniffling, hahaha. Terrible picture, I know. But, I only snapped one. We took the boys for fresh new haircuts Monday after school so they'd both have nice clean haircuts. especially for Noah for observation day. : ) Just don't want either kiddo to look like a raggamuffin on observation day. : )

The Fourth of July! American Independence Day! Usually people BBQ. But it was raining buckets all Saturday and we knew by the weekly forecast it would be raining all weekend. Plus Noboru had work at 4pm anyway. So, while the kids and I still wanted to celebrate. We knew it would have to be inside the house given the weather. And plus...it's still a weekend and I'd like to relax on the weekends too. So, I thought a rotisserie chicken from Costco, bought the day before. Would be perfect, some mashed potatoes & gravy and some corn. Just a really easy simple meal. But really good. : )

Dessert for the Fourth of July. You know rocky road ice cream? We decided to make that except with pecans instead of walnuts (just what I had on hand). And we'd flavor ours with Nutella, so even yummier. The ice cream at Costco is 1900 yen. It's delicious and from America, but that's frankly too expensive. Then at Besia, there's a bigger container but it's not ice cream it's only 10% milk so it's called something else. But it's not called ice cream. And I was going to get that one. But, I really prefer actual real ice cream. Then I thought...duh! The grocery store in our town, sells super cheap real ice cream for 298 yen and it's delicious and it's real ice cream. How come this is so cheap? I don't know, because it's delicious and my store sells 3 different varieties/flavors of this brand, but we need the plain vanilla one, since we're making our own flavors. But it's perfect and the price is right up my alley. How did the ice cream come out? Amazeballs! And now the boys and I are planning to make peanut butter ice cream next. Maybe even peanut butter with grated chocolate, we'll see. And how much Nutella did we use, just a small spoonful was plenty for the amount of vanilla ice cream we had. That's why I bought the Nutella at Costco 2 weeks ago, we had been planning to make our own flavor of ice cream on the 4th of July. : )

We used 2 metal spoons to mix the Nutella in first then added the chopped nuts and marshmallows last and then we refroze the ice cream. The kids said...this was the best ice cream. We wondered...how come we haven't done this before? But now...all summer long we'll be making all sorts of cool new flavors of ice creams. Especially since we can get a little tub of vanilla near our house for such a great price. Three cheers for this ice cream, it rocks and the price superly rocks. : ) 

We purchased this at a local DIY the other day. This is a anti mosquito coil. There are a whole bunch of coils inside. And you take 1 out, light it with the lighter and then place it inside and it will burn slowly and they say the scent will keep mosquitoes away. We don't have heaps of mosquitoes. But the ones that we do, all seem to attack Noboru and not us. We heard something in Japan a few years back that mosquitoes prefer O blood. Again we're not sure if this is true or if this is just an old wives tale..the Japan version. But in any case, Noboru does have O blood, as does Noah. And they seem to prefer Noboru the most out of the entire family. Second choice would be Noah for the mosquitoes. However...Noboru hates mosquitoes. He's so nervous when it comes to mosquitoes. That if 1 should come into the house, he seriously can't relax unless the mosquito has been caught. Granted, I don't like mosquitoes either... but he's like...superly anti mosquito. So, this mosquito thing... every day in July through all of summer will burn on our front porch. Noboru lights them daily, and in the evening too. So, he's on high mosquito alert... for this season again. Hahaha. As for me, my thoughts? I actually enjoy the scent of the old school original mosquito coils. I have smelled the rose and lavender ones, but...I prefer the original scent. It really reminds me of Japan in summer time. 

Gap was having a huge sale a few weeks back. And with Noah's birthday in mind. And given the price of this swimsuit. Noah's rashguard on the top in this pic, size 10, because he's 10 today. And his swim trunks in size medium, because Noah's so skinny. Again, I checked the size chart online and Noah's weight, would put Noah in the size small, 6-7 size. If you just considered how much he weighs. However his height is of a 9/10 year old. Again according to the Gap size chart, the average American little boy who is 10 is, 80-90 pounds. @_@ Is that right? My kids like half that. He's 26kg, like 56 freaking pounds (I'll have to weigh him again today, to double make sure). He is light as a feather. But he's average height. Not overly tall granted, but average height. There's no way Noah can fit in a pair of shorts for an 80-90 pound kid. They'd fall to the floor those swim shorts. So that's why I made sure he got a size medium. Actually Branden is only 110-115 pounds and he's an 8th grader. Again, I'll have to weigh the both of them again. But yeah, when I saw the weight measurements for a 10 year old on the Gap chart, I was like...what? @_@  I wish Gap started making swimwear in slim sizes, because not everybody has an overweight kid. They do make slim shorts in some styles, but not all and I would love it if they made slim swimwear too. 

Anyway, liked this Heather pink shirt for Noah. And the 30% off was perfect timing.

I thought this was cool. Like a cute little outfit for his birthday. Matching shorts and shoes. And navy top. I bought the shorts size 10 because with swim shorts he's moving around a lot, but not with regular shorts as much, hopefully. Also some mother left a review on the website and said..these ran small for her child. So, I hope these are a slimmer fit. 

When you get almost $35 in savings and free shipping. It's a good day!

He will love unwrapping this Gap swimsuit, this evening. 

The matching cool outfit. I hope the shorts fit, waist wise, since they're size 10 or hope they have that adjustable waistband. 

I also picked up the following day, while the sale was still going on... 3 shirts for myself and a pair of comfy house shorts. 

Noah's shirt. This plus a pair of jean shorts and his floral hibiscus type shoes. 

I've been seeing a lot of tops for the past few months with lace on them. I have resisted for quite a while. And then, I saw this one...a bit more conservative with lace just on the arm in a thin line. 

This one was my most favorite though called a shark bite tee. I love this. 

And this one too, I received. It's a bit unusual, if you see it. The fits really cool. I liked the sleeves.

Anything else to add? I have a movie date this Thursday with 2 of my really good mama friends, We're going to see the Avengers. The movie starts before 10am. So that's a nice early movie. Also, today is Noah's birthday, 7/7... July 7th. And if you know Japanese years, you'll know the year 2005 is actually the year 17 in Japan, so he's actually a 7/7/7 baby. Noah was a very good luck baby and is a very good luck kiddo! He has really good luck. I'll be blogging about his actual birthday later so, I won't say anymore. Except his birthday cake arrived Sunday. And we're taking him out to dinner tonight, his choice. He said he's been deciding all weekend. Yakiniku, Capricciosa or Jolly Pasta. Those are his choices, he gave to himself and he's still deciding. : ) So where will we go to dinner tonight? We're not sure...Noah will let us know when he gets out of school today. Noah gets out at 2pm today. : )  Both boys are set to swim today. Noah was supposed to swim yesterday, but it rained yesterday, so it was postponed to today. And Bran is scheduled to swim today anyways. It's not raining here now. And says only 20% chance of rain for our town today, so I sort of think they'll both be swimming today. : )  Alrighty, you guys... have a wonderful day! And I'll catch up with you all soon. : ) EDITED TO ADD: I did weigh Noah and although I was a little off on his weight, I'm human and I said I wasn't 100% anyways...anyway I must say, I wasn't off by much! He weighs as of this morning before school 25-26kg and that's 56 pounds, which is quite slim compared to what GAP and Old Navy says the typical American kid weighs at age 10.