Grandma B. Comes Back!

We were so excited that Grandma B. was able to come visit us again. The kids were eagerly anticipating her arrival... and unfortunately got hand, foot, and mouth disease just days before her arrival. Shawn's case was more mild, with sores on his feet, hands, and bum, but Syd had it way worse, even getting sores on her face. The first night she cried and thrashed in bed all night because her feet were so itchy! When she was still having a hard time the night that Barbara was flying in, I asked Spencer to give her a blessing. Within 45 minutes she was calm and asleep, and she didn't have a problem with her feet again after that. Whew! What a blessing that was, because it also freed me up to do some cleaning before Barbara got here.

Her first real day here we ditched church since our kids were diseased, and Grandma B. kept them entertained all morning with crafts and new toys. Spencer and I were both like, "Hey, this is pretty sweet to not have to entertain our kids all the time!"

After dinner we went for a walk on the sea wall.

My kids are so photogenic :)

Someone (ahem, Sydney) had to pee mid walk, and I couldn't find a bathroom, so we walked down the stairs toward the ocean and she peed in the corner. We like to keep things classy like that.

Feeling much better.

 Everyone came down to join us. While I searched for shells and sea glass, Spencer and the kids were entertained by skipping/throwing rocks and coral in the water.

Grandma B. & Sydney

Ahh, I love how the beach offers fun for everyone!

Preschool Graduation

Sydney's last day of preschool was May 22, and we got to go watch the afternoon classes perform songs as part of their graduation ceremony. Several weeks beforehand, Syd would come home singing "The rules, the rules, the rules of the classroom..." and every week she'd learn a new line. Needless to say our whole family had the song memorized and performed it regularly in our house before graduation day. She was really excited that they would get to wear (and keep!) "cool sunglasses" for that particular performance. On the day of she also told me they would all get "cool black hats with a yellow thing that hangs down," which I somehow didn't put together that she was describing a graduation cap until I saw her walk in with it on her head. Too cute.

Sydney & Amelia

Addy & Sydney

Singing "Kira Kira Hikaru," the Japanese version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

"Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. A circle's round, and has no end. That's how long I want to be your friend."

"The rules, the rules, the rules of the classroom."

One of the rules: "Work together, don't fight, or you'll get in trouble."

Our favorite part- when hands went in the air and they spun around for the last chorus. 

Giving Miss Malia and Saya-san a hug.

Picking up her diploma and culture book.

Her class had Japanese culture day twice a month, and those were some of Sydney's favorite school days. Her culture book was a compilation of crafts and things she learned on culture days throughout the year. 

We're excited for her to start another great year at Kuwae in the fall!

22 Degree Halo

On May 1, Shawn and I dropped Sydney off at preschool and then headed home to put him down for a nap. As I was getting him out of the car, my neighbor Meredith yelled to me, "Suzy, look at the sun!" I looked up and was totally amazed at the sky. 

I wouldn't have even noticed if Meredith hadn't told me to look up! She informed me that it was called a 22 degree halo, and the Internet said it could be seen up to 100 days per year. Of course it looked way cooler in person since the picture can't do justice to how big the halo really was. I immediately called Spencer and asked him if he could easily get outside to look at the sun. He was on his lunch break at Subway, so he ran out and checked out the sky. Then I could hear him telling random people out there, "Hey, look at the sun." Pretty random, but cool.

Bye Bye Coach Lynn!

For the past year, Sydney has been taking gymnastics at the Youth Center on base. Her coach, Lynn, was so positive, fun, and encouraging. I saw such a huge difference in Sydney's confidence on playgrounds and stuff after having been in the class for only a few months.

About a month ago, Coach Lynn told us that her husband's orders were being changed and he was going on a remote assignment in Saudi Arabia for a year. Since they couldn't be on his orders, she and her daughter had to move back to the states. We were so bummed that she had to go, but so grateful to have had a wonderful year with her!

Shortly after Coach Lynn left, Sydney decided she didn't like the bar because it hurt her hips. This turned into lots of whining on her part and coaxing on mine to get her to go to gymnastics, and she finally said she wanted to be done. Now she is totally excited to be on the waiting list for ballet!

Photo Op with Daddy

After Spencer did his PRT (fitness test), he came home to clean up and had some time to spare before having to head into work in uniform. He loves these Superman pj's Grandma B. gave Shawn and thought they would make for a cute photo shoot.

This boy is soooooo attached to his Daddy.

And we can't forget a cute picture with our fancy little Syd. Notice her headband "belt," which I think was inspired by my wearing skinny belts with some of my outfits :)

Watching Conference

Every six months when General Conference rolls around, we relish in the fact that we get to spend Sunday morning (ok, let's be honest... all day Sunday) hanging out in our pj's while we listen to messages from our church leaders on TV. Granted, the kids were being crazy and it was a little difficult to pay attention. Sydney got the brilliant idea of making us a special bed for watching Conference, and I think he helped them be a little more quiet for a solid 10 minutes. 

Not sure what it is about Shawn, but he loves to just chill in his diaper. Sydney never really did that, so it kind of cracks me up.

When it was all over I asked Spencer what percent of Conference he actually got to listen to, and he said something along the lines of, "I think a good 25%."

Easter 2013

Our Easter celebrating started a few days beforehand with coloring eggs with friends. Aside from the usual crayons and stinky vinegar coloring method, we also attempted a marbled effect using shaving cream that I found on Pinterest. That was a total fail. But my kids sure seemed to enjoy decorating their eggs!

Shawn was completely enthralled in this process. I was a nervous wreck hovering over him so he wouldn't spill all over the floor (and my favorite rug). Luckily my friend Kathy was there to snap photos! I love these pictures she captured of him:

The day before Easter, I told Sydney she and I could go on a mommy-daughter date and get our toes done. Although I had planned on doing it a week before, I naively thought we could easily walk in to one of the places on base without an appointment. Boy was I wrong! After getting turned down at Kadena, we went over to Foster and were told by two more places that they were totally booked. We finally tried a place off base and I asked if they could just squeeze in Sydney. By that point I was desperate and didn't want to totally disappoint her for not delivering on my promise. Thank goodness they said yes, and I sat and flipped through nail art pictures for like an hour while my 4 year old was pampered.

The final product was super cute Hello Kitty toes and flowers on her fingers. She loved it!

On Easter morning we woke to a major downpour. All the drains and ditches on Lester were almost full, and there were even spots on the road that were flooded. Luckily I chose to wear my rain boots and carry my dress shoes, cause we there was a good 6 inches of standing water in the parking spot we pulled into at church. It was all dried up by the time we were done.

 

When we got home, the kids went through their Easter baskets and immediately cracked open every glow stick they got. So much for thinking the Easter bunny gave them a solid three day supply...

Showing off her fancy nails again.

In the afternoon, we joined in the annual Lester Heights Easter egg hunt. Shawn was sleeping and missed out on the fun.

Back: Ben, Maddy, Rain
Middle: Sydney, Hazel, Ford, Hailey
Front: Owen, Larkin, Seth

Sydney loves acting like she's Hazel Mae's big sister.

When Ashley gave the go ahead for the kids to start searching, Sydney was the only kid that went to this section of the yard. Let's just say she made out like a bandit, and I let her collect extra eggs since Shawn wasn't out there to get his due.

Afterwards I saw her snitching lots of candy at the top of the stairs, and grabbed my camera to catch her in the act. I told her to say "cheese" and about died laughing when her smile revealed chocolate covered teeth. Looks like I married a man in the right profession!