Going to the movies to see Jurassic World...

Going to the movies in Japan are expensive. Regular ticket prices are 1,800 yen (think around US $18 each person, at our nearest movie theater) students in elementary school and JHS and high school are just 1,000 yen, any day of the week though (which is still double the price of a Guam movie ticket, however this is Japan and so it is to be expected). However "members day" is every Tuesday and if you have a members card, which yes I do, you can get in for 1,100 yen (about $11 US) And on Wednesdays, it's ladies day, so it's just 1,100 yen for ladies that day too. So, you can go to the movies on cheaper days, but yes you really have to be smart in Japan which day you go, if you would like, to take your family to the movies. Noboru's work schedule was such that, he could not go with us. So, the kids and I decided to go Tuesday. And so Monday, the day beforehand. We went and bought our movie tickets, picked out which seat we'd like. And we went home. Comfortable knowing, we had the first showing of the next days... movie tickets purchased already and yes, the boys and I, were definitely hitting the movie the next day! Monday after supper, I popped some homemade popcorn on the stove, let it cool down some and then I packed it up, in this ziplock, pictured here. And I pulled out some chocolate bars, from the pantry. Put this stuff, in my big roomy Prada tote bag. And the next morning, we all got up nice and early and dressed and I drove us to the nearest movie theater, in the little city nearest us. : ) Jurassic World, here we come! : ) 

I have mentioned this once or twice before but, our specific nearest movie theater sells the worlds worst popcorn ever! As in...so bad.. it could legit win a contest for world's worst popcorn. It's always so stale. As in days old. It's not even the slightest buttery in flavor or even lightly salted. Think along the lines of chewing on, "packing popcorn", something you'd pack a package with...and you'll know exactly what I mean. And the tiniest size is outrageously priced. I have been to other movie theaters in Japan...Ikspiari (popcorn is fine) Narita (again their popcorn is fine) would buy it from those places no problemo. But this specific place....do not buy it. You'll be so upset about the taste. It's truly stale and tasteless. But again...we're not bad guys either and I do make sure to buy/purchase 2 large sodas and I also bought the boys a small caramel corn. So again, we are trying to buy something, I do understand they're trying to make a living too. But geeze louise, sell better popcorn, like the other places in Japan do. 

Oh funny thing! My fellow yakuin/PTA member from last year, who I called Mrs. Nice, because she is just honestly, so truly nice! She and her husband were in the movie theater that morning with us and we greeted each other and stuff. Her and her husband are both a pretty tall Japanese couple, they're both about 5 feet 10 inches tall easy, but again they're so genuinely nice, they always have really warm smiles on their faces. They have 2 very tall daughters, as well (7th grade and 9th grade). Anyway the boys and I went and found our seats and we sat down, for about 10 minutes waiting for the movie to start however.....just before they dimmed the lights, guess who walks into the English sound/audio with Japanese subtitles of Jurassic World, the same movie the kids and I were in...but Mrs. Nice and her husband. She waved at me again and I her.... and they sat in the row in front of us, but to the right. Not directly in front of us at all, but about 3 seats to the right of us but in the 1 row in front of us. How funny that we all must have had, the same exact idea about going to enjoy a movie on cheap movie day! : )  Anyway, Bran, Noah and myself all really enjoyed the movie Jurassic World, it was a really good movie, so glad we went and saw it! What a wonderful way, to spend one of our summer break days, by going to the movies! : )

Hitting the beach for a day of fun, with a packed picnic lunch and heading to Jolly Pasta for dinner later that night...

Two days after getting back from Guam, Thursday, August 13th, the kids and I cruised to Costco Chiba New Town to pick up a rotisserie chicken and some provolone cheese and dinner rolls, so we would have lunch stuff for the next day, when our family would be hitting the waterpark! Because it was during Obon, Costco was so extremely packed, it was near impossible to get around with your cart. It was like, we all were all packed like sardines in there! Also, it was 10:30am, the store just opened 30 minutes earlier and the roasted chickens were sold out! And new ones would not be ready for an hour, so we had to wait. So, I went and checked out at the register with this stuff. Yay, they finally restocked the pasta sauce, as you know, and I bought a pack a week or two earlier, but just in case...to be safe, I bought another 3 pack. I threw all this in my car, since we had the time and then we had lunch to kill a bit more time. After we all had lunch, the kids and I then walked sans cart, through Costco again and we made a line to get a rotisserie chicken. We picked up our chicken and went and paid and went home. Next story.... I am fair and burn, so I am always very paranoid/worried about running out of sunscreen, If you've ever had a very painful sunburn, you'll understand why I am really worried about running out of sunscreen. Hahaha. : ) 

Since, I ever stepped foot in Japan, my mother in law and sister in law K, have always recommended me to use Shiseido Anessa. And I have always used it. However, back in February of this year, Costco Japan had a 2 pack of Allie by Kanebo for sale, a huge 2 pack at $10 bucks cheaper. And me being frugal and loving a good deal, I bought that. Because, they are the rival for Shiseido Anessa. Must be the same, right? Wrong! Since February, since I have used Allie, my face coloring has changed 1 shade darker and I have never switched foundations shades ever, but as you know, I had to, for the first time in July, while in Hawaii. And Noah's face also got a shade darker with using Allie, I noticed. Again, I have no scientific facts or anything, but the eyeballs don't lie and the fact I had to switch foundation shades is a huge sign. But considering we both got actually darker while using the Allie sunscreen. I think it doesn't work! Like, doesn't work at all, at all! Would never rec anyone to buy the Allie. I regret buying the Allie by Kanebo and for saving $10 bucks, it wasn't worth it! I am back to Anessa by Shisedo, for our family's faces. And, I buy a cheap one always for our bodies. Pictured to the right. 

August 14th, Friday, we are now at the beach. I had rubbed every one's face down with Anessa at the house before we left (both the kids and mine). Noboru doesn't want to use anything on his face still. Which is fine, I guess. And I brought 4 with us, to the beach for reapplication every couple hours. Branden won't burn, he's lucky, but I still have him wear it, at least once (he usually won't let me reapply it to him twice though). But Noah and I, are not so lucky, and will and can burn right up to a crisp. So we both really need sunscreen to be reapplied throughout the day. And for what it's worth, I still have about 1/4 of the last Allie tube of sunscreen but I didn't bring it to the beach because frankly...I highly doubt it would protect us from anything at all. A real useless sunscreen, that Allie one! The 2 on the left are for our bodies. The 2 on the right are for our faces. 

This picture was taken at 10:17am, Friday, August 14th. Our original plan was to head to the water park. We get free tickets from Noboru's work. However, when we arrived it was *so* full. Like mind blowing full! Definitely Obon crowds! Like we could see through the fence, there was no place to even pitch your tent. We were like...this is the inaka...this looks more like a waterpark in Tokyo though, with all the hoards of people! We decided...you know what, if we go to the waterpark, we'll probably have a miserable time, because there's no space. So we said...the beach is 2 minutes away, let's hit the beach instead. So, we went to the beach and it was dead! Not many people at all. 

Considering this was during Obon. This beach was dead. Barely any people and it was awesome! We made the right choice coming here. Versus being in a pool with so many folks, we'd be crammed like sardines. 

A wider picture. Yes, barely any people at all. How was the weather? It was hot! But it was gray overcast all day long. But didn't rain at all. 

This was my first time ever swimming at a Japanese beach before. First time for the kids too. Noboru hadn't been to a Japanese beach, since he was 14 years old, somewhere around there. It smells different then the beaches in Guam and Hawaii. Smells sort of like seaweed and the water is like way saltier. The sand is dark gray and not beautiful and white and fluffy like we see in Guam and Hawaii. But you know what? Who cares! We loved being at the beach in Japan! It was so fun! And we swam and played our hearts out! We chatted with folks near us! And at lunch we talked among ourselves and wondered...why on earth have we waited this long to go and play at a Japanese beach? Japanese beaches may not be gorgeous like Guam or Hawaiian beaches are...but they're just as fun! We will be going much more next year! Yeah...weird how sometimes...a full waterpark...means you discover something new...and really cool too! : ) 

The boys jumped and frolicked in the waves!

Look at that smile on Bran! 

We 4 played as a family all day long! We stayed until 3:30pm. Because we wanted to go home and shower before heading out to dinner. 

A happy family enjoying our summer! When life gives you lemons! When the water parks full, never fear...have a plan B and head to the beach and carry on, with the fun! It works for us, because we all have really super laid back attitudes and we can roll with pretty much anything! : )

The lifeguards called everyone to get out of the ocean for an hour, because they wanted to make sure nobody had drowned, so they did a check, this was at 12 noon. Which was fine, a perfect time for our picnic lunch! The lifeguards though had very interesting swim caps. To us, they looked more like the "Hot Dog on a Stick" hats, the girls wear, they were red and yellow stiped. And it was all tied under his neck area. The 4 of us were all checking out his interesting swimming cap. : ) 

Our cooler, with lunch inside. 

These are perfect size because sometimes while playing, you just might want a tiny snack, maybe not a full blown sandwich. So, you can eat as many as you need. And we had chips and custard cakes too. And I packed a good amount of drinks, as well. And tissues for anyone needing to wipe their hands or blow their nose.

And, of course, I know.... don't laugh but, I am a really... think ahead type of girl. And so I made sure I brought a clip for the chips, in case we needed one. Always be prepared, I say! : )

We ate and we chatted and we wondered how everyone at the waterpark was doing with.... about a billion people all crammed into the same waterpark. Meanwhile...we were all nicely spread out. And had tons of space and room here! : ) 

Area pic! Truly as you can see, this particular beach was so dead. This was a bit further down the road from the water park, the beach directly behind the waterpark had more people than this, but not too much...but we know this beach here...is owned by the city and it's nice and very uncrowded. 

I'd say there were probably...if I were to take a guess...maybe 20 different families at the beach at the most! But we were, all so nicely spread out...the feeling was just really nice and we all had our own space. 

And after lunch and when everyone was allowed back in the ocean once again. Look at Noah and his very big happy smile! After lunch..every one's feeling all nice and full. And we're just wanting to have fun! 

Hi Bran...he was having a blast!

They would ride the waves in, on their inner tubes things. 

Look at those nice sized waves. Not too small, not too big. We didn't bring our boogie boards because we had no idea we would be hitting the beach! Hahaha. 

Bran, just riding the waves...and you can see 1 is about to carry him towards the beach.

You know you're loved... when a big wave hits you and your big brother catches your inner tube and stops/protects you from flipping upside down and taking a tumble! Aww. : )

Have a happy and amazing summer boys! That's my summer wish for you, every year!

After a full day at the beach, we all rinsed off the salt water off at the beach and we headed home. We unpacked our stuff. And I jumped in the shower first, because I take longest getting ready. And then the rest all took turns showering. I blow dried my hair and we hopped in the car and drove to our nearest Jolly Pasta, I didn't have a dot of makeup on and that's okay, I didn't need it and I was freshly showered and didn't want to put anything on my face. It's far-ish from where we live...but you know what...it's summer and we had no place to go or to be. So we went for it! The drive was nice (about an hour). We arrived and we quickly ordered! We ordered 2 jalapeno pizzas, for us all to share. We all like spicy, in our family and they're not too overly hot anyways. And we all ordered pasta and a drink bar! 

Bran about to grab a slice of that delicious pizza. 

We all ordered the pasta with mozzarella cheese. It is so good. This was my meal.

Noah eating and enjoying his meal, listening to his brother talking! We just really enjoyed our meal. We talked all, about the fun we just had at the beach that day! About what a great summer it's been. Just light dinner conversation, nothing major. 

Noboru and Bran on that side of the table. Dinner was so delicious and the conversation was great. And the whole day at the beach and our picnic lunch! Friday, August 14th, was an amazing day! Such a fun day at the beach! : ) 

Our fantastic summer trip to Guam and all the fun, we had while there...

Saturday, August 8th, the kids and I flew to Guam. We caught an early morning flight and arrived in Guam around 11:45am. We dropped off our 2 big empty suitcases at my dad's condo and our small carry-ons with our toothbrush kits and my cosmetic bag and our clothes etc). And we hopped in my dad's SUV and we headed to Pizza Hut for some lunch. We enjoyed a large pepperoni and mushroom pan crust pizza. We had sodas and just relaxed. Noah's swimming competition was over. And we were now just like, phew! Time to relax and enjoy the rest of our summer.  

This was AWESOME! Now we were eating and talking and catching up.Noah told grandpa, all about the swimming meet. And Branden told grandpa/my dad all about a 100 things that he wanted to tell grandpa about. Hahaha. : ) My dad and I talk on Skype about twice a week and we Skype instant message about 5 times a day, LOL. And plus he reads my blog, so he and I are always caught up, with each other's news. But, I told him about the flight. And he told me all his news. Lunch was nice. After lunch, we went to 2 Cost u Less stores (they carry totally different things, so a trip to both is a good idea). Think a smaller version of Costco, that you do not need a membership and you'll get the idea. : )  After that, we went to Kmart. There's no Target or Walmart on Guam, so Kmart's your only option, so, I shop there quite happily, while on Guam.  After that, we called it a day. We dropped all our things at my dad's condo and relaxed until we all started to feel a tad hungry. 

We were hungry, but not starving. So we went to Taco Bell. I had a bean and cheese burrito. And we all shared a pack of the Cap'N Crunch Berry donut-y things. They were interesting. I'd never buy them again, but I'm glad I tried them, because we all were curious. We also tried the Cinnabon ones too. But, I think regular Cinnabon are better from the actual store. But again, I'm glad we at least tried them. 

Bran, had 3 taco supremes. Noah had 3 crunchy tacos. And my dad had a taco salad.  We all went back to my dad's and we all watched TV and the boys jumped in the shower in our bedroom and meanwhile my dad jumped in his other shower in his bedroom. We all took turns showering basically. And watched a little bit more TV and then went to bed around 9:30pm-ish. 

We caught the first showing of the movie Vacation! We had no breakfast this morning and didn't need any. Because we were going straight to the movies and considering the chocolate bars, I had hidden in my purse (shhh, you know it's just cheaper to buy chocolate bars from the grocery store the day before, like we did for 59 cents a chocolate bar, versus $3.50 for the same exact chocolate bar, the movie theaters have always sold superly expensive movie theater candy, ever since I was a child) Perhaps if their prices were $1 US each, more folks would be honest and buy them at the movies. It just doesn't make CENTS/sense to buy candy at the movies. And I know lots feel the way I do.  I would gladly buy a chocolate bar at the movies if it wasn't 3-4 times the price of a chocolate bar at the grocery store. We are all human and we are all about saving some cash. We do however always buy popcorn and drinks at the movies in the US, at least that can go towards the concession stand profit. So we're not completely bad guys. Hahaha. : ) 

Cheaper than Hawaii. And I always show the tickets. If you go to the movie before 4pm, at the GPO movie theater, in Guam your movie is only $5. No matter if you are 5 years old, or 50 years old. And that is quite fair. 

We bought a large popcorn and 2 large sodas, and you can get a free refill on the popcorn and they give you these boxes, because they know families split the popcorn, this way. So everyone got popcorn, we all shared sodas and we all had our own chocolate bar. Vacation was so hilarious. One man... 2 rows in front of us laughed from beginning to end. He was with 2 of his friends, maybe early 50's. And this man laughed the entire length of the movie. I loved that he laughed! My kids always mention...Americans show such emotion during the movies, and yes we do. We laugh or we jump... during a scary movie or we cry during something sad. You can hear something though.... from Americans during the movies..or hear that you are indeed in a movie with other folks, in the movies. It doesn't bother other people...but it's nice knowing others are also laughing with you too. But, in Japan, it's always so dead silent. It's just a very interesting observation. We're usually the only ones in the Japanese countryside where we live...laughing in the movie. If it's funny, that is. : )  Vacation was so funny, that I have to own this DVD. In fact, as soon as it's available, I am ordering it. : ) 

After the movie, we were mildly hungry. Not super hungry though. We were now at the main mall, Micronesia Mall. GPO, is the outlet mall, Micronesia is a regular mall. : ) 

Hello there, Panda Express we meet again, you and I! Hahaha. : ) 

Again, while we had no breakfast, we were still partly full from movie theater snackies. So, we both had children's portions, Bran and I. Noah opted not to have lunch at all. And that's only because he requested we hit Yogurtland and we were headed there, right afterwards and considering his tummy tank is so tiny anyways, he didn't want to chance missing out on Yogurtland. 

Hello, Branny McB!

Hello, Noah Noah!Enjoying your fro-yo, I see! : )  We went back to my dad's and we all watched TV, the kids napped some. And hours and hours later, around 7:30pm, we went to have dinner, at our favorite Italian restaurant, Vitale's. 

It's sort of funny because my dad and Mr. Vitale look so similar, so much alike, well duh, hahaha. And of course, they know each other, super well. And Mr. Vitale came right over and talked to my dad. So, you now have 2 older guys going..."hey paisano" and so they chit chatted. And of course, I also talked with Mr. Vitale, and I asked him how his daughter was (she's in the mainland, Mr. Vitale is from the mainland too). And he said, wow, the boys (Bran and Noah) are getting so big. And so yes...we chit chatted with Mr. Vitale. I ordered my dinner, pictured here the lasagna.

Bran ordered the pizza, their pizza here is so good. My pizza, that I make also is good, it's an old family recipe... but Mr. Vitales pizza is so good too. I can live on Mr. Vitales pizza forever and ever. Seriously it's so good. 

My dad ordered the Italian trio.

Noah had the kids spaghetti and meat sauce it's only $5. And we all had unsweetened tea. Free refills on the tea. Mr. Vitale is about 5 years older than my dad. But, I hope Mr. Vitale never dies, because he's such a wonderful man and I want him to always be at the restaurant with his lovely warm smile. : ) He's such a lovely man. Please live forever and ever, Mr. Vitale. : )  We went home and my dad and I watched Dateline or 20/20 or something. It was a murder mystery. And we were enjoying watching that together and talking about it. We all showered. And, then went to sleep. What an awesome day, going to the movies to see Vacation, getting some fro-yo and going to the best Italian restaurant on Guam for dinner. What an amazing fun filled day! We love you Summer break! : )

August 10th, we all went and had 1 breakfast sammich each. I had the crispy bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, the rest of us had the same exact thing. Clearly, I love biscuits, hahaha. : ) 

Yep, Guam has Egg N Things (originally from Hawaii) and they also have 2 L&L Hawaiian Barbecue restaurants, also originating from Hawaii too. Guam has a lot. Guam has so much to offer. It's a wonderful place to go and visit. : )  We did not go to this restaurant though... we were actually at the mall to catch the morning movie! : ) 

Oops, we did it again! LOL! Yes, we were at our second and final movie of our Guam trip. We went to see the first movie of the day, at the Micronesia Mall. We had our chocolate bars in my bag. We did buy sodas and a small popcorn this time and a large nachos.

Hello large nachos. Hello jalapenos... which set us all on fire! Hahaha. : ) 

We went and saw Pixels. Again, the morning matinee is just $5 bucks each person regardless of age. Guam really has the very best prices for new movies. Pixels was such a funny movie. I wouldn't buy the DVD. But it was so funny! If you enjoyed the 80's, you'll love this movie! The music in this was fantastic. Just a great movie. Not as hilarious as Vacation, but still....an excellent movie. 

I want to see this so bad! It was not released when I was in Guam! I loved N.W.A. when they first came out. And omg... Dr. Dre, his songs are so good! In fact...on my android right this second, I have the track F the Police, on there right now, from NWA. And I have at least 6 different tracks from Dr. Dre on my phone right now too. I think, I'll end up ordering this on DVD, when it comes out via Amazon.com.

After, the movie we went and had some lunch. Our plan was to head to the museum after lunch. 

A raspberry lemonade and a Monterrey ranch chicken sandwich. 

Forever 21 pic....

Ross...this is at the outlet mall, the GPO.

Calvin Klein, Famous Footwear, Payless Shoes, and a fantastic bookstore there. And a whole bunch of other stores.

A quick pic of the beach, as we were on our way to the museum. 

So far this summer, the kids have seen World War 2, through the eyes of Hawaii. And now they were learning more about WW2 through the eyes of Guam. I must point out, this museum is totally free!

About to watch a short little 10 minute movie. 

Considering there was only, 1 other family at the museum besides us. And we were the only ones interested in the movie, so she played the movie especially for us. : ) 

I hope you can read those words. 

Poor Guam. : ( Attacked from the Japanese planes from Saipan. We learned that the native people of Guam were forced into camps by the Japanese. That the natives of Guam, the Chamorros did not care for the Japanese, during WW2. That they snuck notes and messages in religious Catholic statues. That they were forced to sing songs in Japanese and they switched the words to make fun of the Japanese. It was very educational for the kids to hear...again a different islands interpretation of World War 2.  That the natives of Guam, wanted America to come back to Guam and they even had a song asking for "uncle Sam to come back" Again, it was just very educational. 

Noah reading some interesting facts.

Bran and grandpa checking out something else over there. See the headsets to the right, the songs were on there to listen to. 

This said, please feel free to touch and hold and try on, but please put the items back when you're done.

Hello, Noah-chan!

An old comic book where captain America battles German and Japanese villains. 

Funny...when I think of Dr. Seuss, I think fun! I think. The Grinch. I think, The Cat in the Hat. I think...that's how I learned how to read, because of the lovely Dr. Seuss...and he also helped my 2 boys learn to read too, thanks to his many many books. I never knew, until this day that he made political cartoons during the war. Can you see that question...it's the last sentence. Reading that...it made me terribly sad. Again..different time...different era...but still don't agree with the cartoons or the anti-Japanese-American sentiment at all. 

Big brother helping out little brother...

Hi gorgeous!

August 10th, what an amazing day, we started with a movie, Pixels, we then had some Wendy's and then we hit the museum. And we finished up the day with a swim at grandpa's pool for a couple of hours. Summer rocks!

Noah and grandpa chit chatting.

Branden, just relaxing.

The weather was perfect! 

We all had drinks, poolside, in case someone came down with a serious thirst! Hahaha. 

Grandpa asking Noah to race..

Noah beat grandpa...

You get an A for effort dad! : ) 

The kids just had an absolute blast!

Bran and Noah raced. This race was a very close race, but B won! 

Noah's happy little face...

The boys swam so long, it was near dusk, but look at that amazing and big smile on Bran! Yes, the boys had an amazing summer! And when this picture was taken... it was hardly even remotely over! We still had many fun summer adventures ahead of us, the beach in Japan, the water park in Japan, the day I took the boys to see Jurassic World in Japan. Plus all the little smaller fun things, we did as well, like had movie nights, weekly at home. Etc etc. And the boys are on summer break even now as I type this, they both don't go back to school until next week, Sept 1st. 

Our last dinner while on Guam. KFC and look at the new fleet of delivery scooters.

We all ordered the chicken strips combo with a biscuit and mashed potatoes and gravy. There, I go with the biscuits again. hahaha. : ) 

Noah knows how to do it, you gotta dunk that strip into the gravy, yum! : ) The next day, Tuesday August 11th the boys and I flew back to Japan.  We landed around 11:10am, Japan time. 

Table shot of everything brought back from Guam

6 pounds total of ricotta stuffed cheese ravioli. This brand is my favorite.Again with Fall temperatures in mind, this is so necessary. For some baked ravioli all Fall, as the weather grows colder. This is now hiding in my freezer.

14 packs of frozen mac and cheese. Again, I pack the boys school lunches now and this is perfect! 

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and chocolate Oreos, yum. Again have to stock the pantry for Fall.

Once school starts Monday through Friday, breakfast need to be fast! Especially since I'm packing 2 lunches at the same time. These will come in handy.

Chocolate chip cookie dough Pop Tarts, 6 boxes of those, plus 1 box of blueberry jam ones. Again school morning, breakfast needs to be quick!

Creamer for my morning Fall coffee. Irish cream. I do not mind store brand at all. You know me already. : ) 

Chili concarne, Texas style chili beans. And with Thanksgiving on my mind, a big honkin' poultry gravy. Thank you Cost u less. : ) 

This is for salad now, until November. Notice this says Family size on the cap.

This is specifically for Thanksgiving. Two homemade pumpkin pies will be happening. Notice this Thousand Island dressing, is indeed different (no Family size, on the cap) and Cheese and garlic Italian dressing and cheese and garlic croutons and a can of cranberries. This is nicely all tucked away in the pantry. This just helps me get a running head start, with Thanksgiving. Again when you live overseas...sometimes you must think Thanksgiving, regardless if it's August or not. hahaha. 

This Italian salad dressing is my most favorite...like ever ever. I think, I even squealed when I saw it at the store, because I haven't seen this in years. It tastes so good. It's definitely the cheese and garlic. I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner. : ) 

The 3 boxes of fudge brownies. Again thinking about Fall. And 3 chocolate frostings, for the 3 yellow cake mixes, I have here at the house waiting for some frosting. hahaha. Again...it's just a start and it helps knowing my pantry is getting Fall and winter ready. 

Three boxes, so 6 noodle soup envelops to add to my stock pile of these. Again...I am now packing the boys lunches Mon-Fri and so a nice thermos full of some hot steamy noodle soup and perhaps a grilled cheese or bologna and cheese sammy, on the side and some fruit. Perfect! 

Again, sorry to sound like a broken record here, but with me, packing school lunches now. A thermos full of ravioli and some garlic bread on the side. Definitely will fill up their tummy's. And Japanese thermoses keep food super hot. They have bowl thermoses for donburi (I own 2 for the boys already) and short stocky thermoses that are perfect for soups (I own 2 of those, types too and they're perfect for ravioli). 

6 more pounds of beans. I have that Texas style chili beans... powder up above. And so the beans will come in handy. Also, 1 can of already made enchilada sauce, this tastes authentic. I tell ya, my pantry gets so packed in Fall and winter. Major disaster could strike (hope it never does) and we'd be cruising right along with food and toilet paper to last us. And the electric car would mean we'd still be driving around. So we'd be mobile, especially since we power ourselves by our solar panels from our house.: )

Miracle whip, I have a lot of bologna and cheese sammys to pack, once school starts up again and I am packing lunches again. : ) 

House freshener/spray and toilet tabs.

Tampons. If you're a girl, you probably need them too. 

Two big sizes of cinnamon toothpaste. Talk about superly fresh breath in the AM. And a travel size of toothpaste. 

Again, I stock pile children's liquid ibuprofen. If Noah comes down with a fever or headache. We're totally fine. And...heart burn got ya down? Never fear, I have 2 brand new bottles of store brand antacids. : ) This one and the unopened one I bought the last time. 

We love American character Band-Aids. They're so cool! 6 months ago, I had a girl/character from Little Einsteins on my finger and while at observation day... the kids were pointing at my wicked Band-Aid! They knew who it was, lol! So we always buy them, when we get the chance. It's funny that people light up, when they see our boo-boos, hahaha! This time, they had Star Wars ones! We had to buy them, especially since the new Star Wars movie is coming out in December! I love this facial scrub, from Neutrogena! I love it! I love the way it smells and I love the way it makes my face feel. And considering I am so picky with any fragrance that goes on my face, I can tolerate almost nothing on my face, if it has a strong fragrance. I have used it for ages, this scrub brand/type has been on my blog before many times. Onto the moisturizer, in Fall and Winter my face gets so dry! I am normal to combo in summer. But I am, as dry as the Sahara desert face-wise in the winter. And that CeraVe facial moisturizer that Hot and Flash rec'd on her vlog, I disliked that CeraVe moisturizer a lot. For starters, it does make my face tingle sometimes when I put it on (like others mentioned on Drugstore.com), and also I find it's not moisturizing enough for my face in winter at all. This Olay Fragrance free one though, I tried it out last winter for the first time and I loved it. And before that... I was a hardcore Kiehl's ultra facial moisturizer user for 10 plus years. But..I was talked into trying the CeraVe because of how much Hot and flashy loved it and it was a product I regret buying. Granted we are not all the same, some like different things and that's fine. But, I prefer Olay Total effects fragrance free. It is so moisturizing, it feels...and I am going to feel like a dork if I tell you... the first word that comes to my mind after I put this on...but in all honesty...when I put this Olay on...it feels thick and luxurious. It feels 100% rich and luxurious. The CeraVe felt thin and like..."is that it?" The CeraVe felt more like moisturizing milk.. how we sell in Japan, just thinner in consistency. If you live in Japan, you'll already...know how thin moisturizing milk is. Yep that's CeraVe in a nutshell. Hahaha. I will be sticking with this Olay moisturizer and so I have this hiding in my closet upstairs now, because my face is too combo-y for it right now...but once October rolls out, I will break this bad boy open and use it! : ) 

Have to show the other side of the Band Aids, R2-D2. : ) Yes, cool character Band-Aids excite us! We're easy to amuse! : ) 

Deodorant for B on the right and deo for me on the left. It doesn't smell manly, it just smells clean. And I am so sick of smelling like a sugar cube or cotton candy or vanilla or baby powder. I do not want my underarms to smell like a babies bottom. @_@ Just clean and soapy type a smell. Nothing too over the top. 

I have a CK1 bottle here at home. But it's glass, but I use it daily, at home before, I leave somewhere. I  also often spritz myself in the car, before I am meeting friends for lunch or right before I head into observation day, with a knock off. I usually always keep a tiny one, in my bag and refresh in the restroom. Right now for example, I am keeping one of these CK One knock offs, in my glove box in my car. I like to make sure, I have a couple. And I prefer CK One. Have used that since it first came out and so the knock offs are a help, for a during the day refresh. It is in the hall closet upstairs and 1 is in my glove box. The others are a Juicy Couture knock off and a DKNY Delicious knock off, the DKNY one is in my bag right now and the other is in the hall closet, I switch them depending my mood. 

I have imparted my...you *must* always smell nice. To my teenager. I make sure.... he deodorants himself every single morning without fail. He also has a bunch of body sprays and whatnot, as well, we bought him one in Hawaii in July too. And he keeps, 1 of these mini ones pictured here, in his school bag. School starts next week, but it's in his book bag already. 

Bran likes the Acqua Di Gio. : ) 

I picked a new mascara. This one is so so. I won't repurchase this one. But it does the job. 

Big Hero Six lunch box for Noah. 

Popcorn...

Peanut butter Snickers bar, Peanut butter M&M's, and all other chocolate bars are either peanut butter flavored or have peanuts inside hahaha. Clearly we Americans, love our peanut butter.: )

Reese's Peanut Butter cups 6 full size packs, and Almond Joy pieces and nearly 2 pounds of sour gummy worms because the boys love sour gummy worms and they were $5 on sale at Cost u less. So movie night is happening all Fall for sures! 

And some peppermints. When I was pregnant in Hawaii with Branden and I had horrible morning sickness. My ob/gyn rec'd me to drink peppermint tea and to also, suck on these and she was right. They stopped any feelings of my wanting to vomit all over town. And I had horrible morning sickness. I vomited right on the street once. I was mortified and embarrassed, but I had horrible morning sickness. Mine was all day long sickness. Anyways...I never forgot that. And so whenever the kids get a tummy ache, sucking on 1 of these...clears said tummy ache, right away! I'll tell ya, to each their own...but my doctor was right and my son is now 13 and our family has been using these for fresh breath and also, for tummy trouble, if we should ever have any tummy trouble that is. They REALLY work though.  We always keep these on hand. : ) Anyway...sorry my Guam post is like 2 miles long you guys. It's just, so much happened, we did a lot and had such a blast, while there. And we also brought a lot back to Japan also...to help our family stock up and prepare for the colder weather, Fall and Winter. : ) I will be popping back to Guam, late October or early November, more than likely, it will be early November.  Anyway, that's enough for now. : )