A Little Defeated

I pride myself on being able to handle things and usually I can roll with it. BUT this Saturday I was pretty defeated. It was a day when I wanted Fletcher here or just to be home where I had family. I knew living so far away would be hard. I had done it before when I lived in Hawaii, but I have to say, not having a family support system is as hard on me as it is on the boys. They long for it too.

I had worked hard to plan a fun Halloween playdate with some of the boys' favorite friends. I cooked all day Friday in preparation, even baking 50 mini cupcakes (6 at a time in my tini convection oven) for a special treat. I decorated the house and yard with signs for a "pumpkin station" to decorate pumpkins and a "bobbin' for apples" station in an effort to make our own pumpkinfest since there are no pumpkin patches here. I woke excited and ready for the kids to have a blast. My boys had other plans.

Our friends arrived and as the kids began to play, it was obvious my sweet Beau was not on best behavior. Although smaller than most of the kids, I would definitely say he's the fiercest with the least amount of fear. I believe he took a swing at 6 out of the 10 kids by the end of the party and his grand finale occurred when he peed in the "bobbin' for apples" bucket. No kidding and no exaggeration. Not the party I had anticipated. If I had more time to stop that day, I think I would've cried, but thankfully there was no time for that. After our guests left and the party was cleaned up, I couldn't help but feel disappointed in the boys and myself. It's a point as a mom that you ask "What is it that I'm doing so wrong?"..... Needless to say, after the boys had dinner, bath, and bed, I had my dinner (a glass of wine and some starbursts) and was in bed by 8:30.

Sunday morning, I was the teacher in Beau's sunday school class. What a blessing that was. I got to spend time with the kids on the playground and had the chance to see what wonderful kids I really have. Yes, they're strong-willed and quirky. They're definitely not wallflowers or pushovers. They know what they want and have no problem expressing it. BUT they're smart and they're kind-hearted......and most importantly, they're healthy. Beau misses his daddy terribly as we all do, but it's easy to forget he's not even 3 yet. That precious little boy absorbs a lot. He asks daily for Fletcher to come home and I can't wait for that day to come. So while I'm busy trying to teach these boys lessons for life, they teach me a few things. I have recounted my blessings this weekend and I'm ready to take on another pumpkinfest (but glad I have a year before I'll need to worry about it).

Casper Has Yucky Shoes!

Sweet Friends

Ms. Katie & Mr. Sean have become very important friends to not only Fletcher and myself, but also to the boys. Bennett and Beau LOVE them and Halloween wouldn't be complete without a stop by their house to show off their costumes. Of course, Katie and Sean surpassed any ordinary Halloween treat with Mr. Donuts! Thanks to our sweet, sweet friends for being so loving to our boys.

Pumpkinfest at the Tidwell Nest

We hosted a little Halloween party at our house yesterday afternoon for a few of the boys' friends. We had a pumpkin decorating station, apple bobbing, and lots of bubbles and candy. It was a wild few hours, but the kids had a blast. As a mom, I'm happy to be turning the page on Halloween. :)

Halloween Festivities

We were invited to a Halloween party last night held at the USO theater room. I didn't even know that room existed, but what a great idea. The hostess played Halloween movies for the kids, fed them pizza, popcorn, and sent them home with a bucket of candy. The kids had a blast! As much as the boys love dressing up, this holiday brings as much excitement (almost) as their birthdays. They couldn't wait to put on their costumes which goes hand-in-hand with becoming that character. All night Bennett made deliveries....napkins, plates, pizza, cupcakes, etc. Beau carried around his letter to Santa. He's writing to persuade Santa to take him off the naughty list. His name seems to frequent that list, but we're working on getting him off it. :) Thanks Michelle for including us in your Halloween festivities!

Taguichi Park

What a beautiful day to spend at one of our favorite parks. Saturday = Family Fun Outside (otherwise, my house is destroyed and so am I). The boys love the roller slide, digging in the sand, and playing in the fort while I get to enjoy the view. Today we brought along our Tonka trucks for help "moving the sand" and it was fun watching the Japanese kids take in these two American boys.

Family Pictures at Cape Maeda

A few days before Fletcher deployed, we had a friend take a some family pictures. This is what he came up with....

Happy Bday Annette!

Fun Care Packages

We went to the post office today to find a wonderful surprise from CeCe.....Captain America costumes. Immediately the boys stripped down and changed into the muscle bearing suits ready to take on the bad guys. Lucky for us, while patroling on their bikes they found our neigborhood was safe. Thanks CeCe for the costumes and jammies!

Rocktoberfest 2011

We ventured out to Rocktoberfest held at Torii Beach. I was a bit hesitant imagining a bunch of drunken servicemen and music playing way too loudly in the background. Having said that, I realize how lame I must sound. There was a time when I would have been all about free-flowing booz and loud music, but that was before Bennett and Beau graced me with them early to rise and never to nap motto. :) SO we went early and left early, but it was well worth it. The bouncy houses alone made the kids' day. They bounced and bounced to the point I started wondering if kids ever get whiplash from those things. After working up a sweat, we checked out the stage. While snacking on snowcones, we caught the Japanese version of a Blink 182 song. On our way out, we came across our faves.....firemen! It was Christmas in October! I would say we came, we rocked/bounced, we left!

Shisa Park

As I'm sure you know if you read our blog, shisas are everywhere in Japan. They serve as a symbol of protection, not that we believe in them. The boys love looking at them and comparing all the different types of faces, etc. When we heard about the Shisa Park, we couldn't wait to check it out. With the weather cooling off here, we packed some snacks and headed south. The park is located just past Camp Foster and Futemna tucked back in a neighborhood, and we would have never stumbled across it had it not been recommended by friends. As you can see, the boys had a great time playing on the giant shisa. Fletcher, if you're reading this, not to worry, the boys did not wear these shirts to school. :)

A Lowkey Saturday Night

The Tree Park

I'm sure there is a better name for the new park we found, but since we can't read the sign, we're going with the "tree" park. It was terrific! We packed a lunch and brought some yen for apple tea and spent a good part of our Saturday playing. The boys had a blast and even made friends. A kind girl had stilts and let the boys each give it a shot. Definitely missing our 4th member, but doing our best to stay super busy and outside enjoying the weather.