Spring Break

This week is spring break for us. We toyed with the idea of going to China a couple months ago but decided it was a spur of the moment decision and we should wait. Maybe next spring break. Anyway, Charlie took a week of leave so he could do the bike rally and spend time with us. We have most kicked around here, but have really enjoyed our time together. The next few posts illustrate the highlights of the past few days. A few pictures from yesterday are in this post.

First, we took a day trip into Hiroshima yesterday to go to Alpark Mall. I've been meaning to take a picture of these traffic bunnies for some time. You see these, or equally cute guys anywhere there is road construction.
These next pictures are of the kids playing at the playground by the chapel, which is pretty close to our tower. We are fortunate to have quite a few playgrounds nearby.





I'll just have to tell you about Zach and his climbing. It is really getting out of hand. Yesterday I was folding laundry at the couch while Zach was riding his little battery-powered four-wheeler around the apartment. We keep the kitchen and utility blocked off with gates. I was facing the kitchen while folding the clothes. Charlie was sitting on the couch watching TV. He told me to look at something and I just turned my head to see what was on the TV. When I glanced back, Zach had ridden his "bike" up to the bar, stood on top of it to use as a stool and CLIMBED ONTO THE COUNTER. We are talking seconds here. He was sitting flat on his bottom, with a big grin, facing me. He was soooo proud of himself. He is super fast. You should have seen him on the playground in the pictures above.

Clara Grace has had a really good time during the break. She helped me make muffins this morning, or as she described it...I helped her make muffins. We had a family movie night and watched Voyage of the Dawn Treader last night. Tammy, if you read this, Eustace reminded us a lot of Michael. She was a bit put out with me as we picked out her Easter dress. She wanted the one that made her look "more like a princess" while I preferred the more practical one that she will continue to wear throughout the spring and summer. It is too bad the princess dress didn't fit quite right...

Also, she has a super loose tooth right now. As soon as it falls out she will be missing both of her top front teeth. There were several little tales I wanted to share about her that I just cannot recall right now. She is such a little hoot! There we go, I have a little hoot and a little brute! Just kidding, they are both sweethearts.

Anyway, Charlie goes back to work tomorrow and I have a 7:30 AM appointment for the final installment of my permanent replacement crown. And just a week after I finally feel normal after the last appointment. It will be nice to be done with it though. After that I will go in to work in my classroom for a bit and to get prepared for Monday. We are considering going to Miyajima Island on Saturday but we'll see. There are still a few things I wanted to do around the apartment and classroom I've not done yet.

Cherry Blossoms

On Monday we decided to go to the Kintai and enjoy the Cherry Blossom Festival. As you can see, they are absolutely beautiful. We took a ton of pictures so I had trouble narrowing down the selection. There were lots of vendors set up selling yummy foods and tons of people. We ended up having ice cream since we had stopped at McDonald's for lunch.


We decided to walk to the castle. This picture was taken at the bottom. The castle is the structure on the far right of the picture below.

The last time we went, we hiked up a trail. This time we decided to walk the paved path. This portion was rather bumpy and Zach had a blast. Poor Charlie! It was a steep climb to be pushing such a heavy load.
Once we made it to the top, we saw the original site. You can read about it below.

Original Site of Castle

The Castle

Zach missed his first nap in a really long time. He was quite a pistol once we were inside the castle. I am sure all the Japanese people definitely knew our son's name was Zach. If you are familiar with Bill Cosby's stand up, just remember his bit about Jeffrey. Then replace the name with Zach. After several minutes I have up and waited until Charlie was done, then we switched and he sat with him while I viewed the rest. This picture shows one of his escape attempts, hiding behind the pillar. He was having a good time. Me, not so much. I did remember to bring his puppy leash thing on our next day trip to Hiroshima though.

Pirate Playground

After returning from Oshima Island (see post below) we decided to visit the pirate playground which is on the base. It is on Monzen side, which is the other side of the base, but still close enough to ride bikes or walk to if we were so inclined...which we were not. We drove. It is a nice playground and fenced in. The kids had a good time. We are considering having Clara Grace's birthday party at this playground. Although he made me very nervous, Zach navigated the structure rather well. We would not let him on the highest tower which has two very long and spooky looking slides.

These next three pictures show Zach's climb. He showed us he can handle this and the ladder.


Here are the two slides. I went down them once and it was rather intense for a slide on a playground. As you can see, Clara Grace loved them though.

GiddyUp!

Argh!

She's Electric!

Oshima Island

While we were back in Iwakuni, Charlie went to his first bike rally on Oshima Island. He and a couple friends rented a cabin for the night. He went up Saturday afternoon and we went up to join him Sunday. It was a little over an hour to get there and we followed a wife of one of the guys since we had never been there. As soon as I pulled into the parking space at their cabin, Zach vomited. Luckily I had packed extra clothes for him and was able to clean him and the car up fairly easily. We are talking about maybe coming camping out here this summer, although it is rather cushy here. This is the view from the cabin they stayed in. It slept six, but the smaller cabins were already booked when they made the arrangements. There are campsites where you can put up a tent down below too. Definitely different than camping back in the states. You cannot see it in these pictures, but there is a very pretty beach and a resort just down the street as well as several shops and restaurants.
This is the cabin they rented.

There was a small kitchen, restroom and then bunk beds with the privacy curtains lining the walls. There was a sliding door and deck facing the water. Small, but very nice!
This was a group shot of some of the volunteers and attendees that were left at this time. Charlie and his buddies are the ones on the bottom left.

Military Appreciation Day

April is Month of the Military Child. Last Saturday, MCCS had a big day where there were bounce houses, entertainment, raffles, face painting, crafts and treats. We caught the tail end of it since we waited on Zach to finish his nap before walking down there. My pictures are loaded in reverse order. Since we showed up so late they were pretty much out of treats so I decided to stop at the food court for ice cream before going home.
Here we are watching the awesome live entertainment. Zach loved it and would clap after each performance. Although everyone in this picture looks stoic, I assure you it was enjoyed by all.

ROAR! I think she looks like a tiger, but she is supposed to be the wolf from Alpha and Omega.

A shot of the show!

It was a nice day!

Play Ball!

This picture is from last weekend. Clara Grace had a friend over and they were gearing up for some Barbie sing-a-long when her friend's time was up and had to go home. Gracie is not one to be defeated, so she continued on with the plan. Please excuse the jumble of cords in the background. She is such a hoot to watch though. And of course, those songs get in your head. I had a song from Barbie and the Musketeers rolling through my mind as I took my students to Spanish the other day. This is a picture from Saturday. My girl is serious on her bike! Sometimes snapping her picture is tough as she is always in motion.

The Zachster, out for a ride! He is finally coming around to the idea of having to wear the helmet. He actually tried to put it on himself this time. Whew! What a relief. At his parent/teacher conference a couple weeks ago they said he was right on with all his skills but pedaling is the next thing. How exciting! We'll see when he picks it up. He moved up to the two-year-old class this week and is loving it. He seems like such a big boy now.

I just cannot get over how big Zach looks sitting on Charlie's lap in this picture! It was right at bedtime. They were watching Allison Krauss on the computer and enjoying some bluegrass tunes. I'm pretty sure Gracie was using the toothbrush as a microphone by this point.

First off, we are super excited as it seems as though the weather is taking a turn and is seeming more like spring. I just placed several orders for the kids for spring/summer clothing and shoes. Saturday it hit the low 60s and we all sported shorts and capris! Very nice. Today (Sunday) was a bit cooler but still pretty.

Although my beloved Red Sox have lost their first two games, we are enjoying ball season and it looks like Zach is going to be a fan of the game, or at least a player. We went to the PX and bought the finest little glove they sold plus a little foam bat for him, then pulled out our own gear. Granted, he has a lot to learn, but he appears to have a little natural talent. We snapped a few shots of him practicing inside. Today we went outside and had a little fun. Gracie even wanted to play! Of course, she ventured to the playground equipment as soon as a little girl showed up. Charlie and I ended up throwing the ball with a second grade boy that lives nearby while Zach alternated with playing with us and Gracie.

I'm fairly excited as spring break is approaching. Gracie has no swim lessons this week so it should be much more relaxed. I have a lot of work to do but plan to enjoy my time off as well.

Charlie and I both had papers due so today while Zach napped, Clara Grace and I went grocery shopping followed by a stop by Baskin Robbins to share a sundae and then we took a bike ride. Poor Charlie was working on his paper. I was very proud of how well she did on the bike ride. I decided we would make it a productive ride so we rode to the video store to return a couple movies we had rented. She was a little nervous at times, but we walked our bikes across the main road of the base when we came to it.

All in all, it was a nice weekend. A lot was accomplished and we had some fun. I'm just astonished how quickly the kids are growing up though. Gracie is just amazing and it is so hard to believe that Zach is already two. Gracie wants to help out so much and is just a sweatheart. I'm really looking forward to spening some one-on-one time with her over spring break. I plan to take Zach in to daycare for lunch and napping a few times during spring break so she and I can do some stuff together.