Cherry Blossoms and More Cherry Blossoms

Spring has finally arrived in Misawa Japan and OH the Blossoms - in some ways I do feel like it is heaven! We went to Hirosauki where there is a really old part of a castle and the most cherry trees ever, then really close by we have at least 3 parks that were also just heavenly of cherry blossoms!

Me and my kiddos in the "snow of blossoms" I just loved it!!  Swan Park

 Swan park outlaw - it is a very big and beautiful park!

Rain or Shine Rhees's Play and Look still adorable!  She is my cutie!

Hirosaki's weeping cherry blossoms!  Adorable!!

 Hirosaki's Castle that was built 1600

Our own statue of Liberty in Japan!  Pretty Amazing

At the Statue of Liberty Park

 The Train Park in our Town - Preston saying this is fun!  The kids love the playground aspect of course

Kids playing with the Watson Family on the Teeter Tauter at the park

Janey and Dad on the Roller Slides they have - so fun - but for adults it does irratate the bum ;)

Janey with her Japan Grandpa!  We feel very blessed to be around the Japanese People who are so warm and welcoming.  This sweet couple while we were in line to the Hirosaki Castle, wanted to hold Janey, taught Preston a throwing rock game, and then washed all their hands after so they were nice and clean to go into the castle.  Very Very sweet people!

The boys at the trian park

It's a train park for a reason - here we all are in front of the train

Rhett and his Princess Janey in front of the row of lanterns and cherry trees!

Preston walking down the lane of Cherry Blossoms at Liberty Park

Japan beginnings

We here in Japan! Yes it is fun and snowy and another country - here is a little bit of what we have been doing so far. I have had requests for some pictures so here they are!!

Lots and lots of snow - sooo skiing will be a new sport for the Rhees family. Gunnar went skiing for the first time on the 9th! He did great!! Next time Preston wants to try it out too.

Random picture of our street - but just an idea of our town. Very little idea - but I'll take more when it gets nicer.

Here is our new home for the next three years with the boys playing in a mound of snow in front. We like it and it is quite roomy with 3 bathrooms - I'm excited. The toilets here have heat on them so you never sit down on a cold seat. It is very nice. They also have a cleansing part on the toilet which I boys loved trying out allthough it did leave Preston crying because he got his underwear and pants all wet.

We've visited the fish markets here and even have gone to a sushi bar that has a conveyer belt that rotates plates around and you just grab what you want. The kids loved it - Rhett loved it - and I loved the shrimp avocado - sushi not so much.

I'm pretending to be a puffer fish - I have not gained that much weight here - a little but not yet recognizable in my face ;)

Gunnar at the fish market holding a crab. The fish market is a live fish market with the crabs still walking and the octopus tentacles still moving. It was really fun to go to.

Visiting the Shrine!

Living here there are shrines everyone! They are really amazing to go and visit. Rhett is at the entry way where you go through and I am at the actual shrine.

Here the boys are cleansing themselves before they go into the shrine. They loved it. At the shrine they through in a penny did the Prayer with three claps and a prayer wish and then you ring the bells.

Here we are at the Church here in Misawa Japan. It's nice to have familiarity and an automatic church family. We have already eaten at 4 families home for dinner and feel so blessed everyone just takes you in and loves you. Allthough of course we still miss our Maryland family, we feel like we will be taken care of here and are meeting new people and trying to learn some Japanese too.

September Cool Stuff

Preston Goes to Preschool! Yes Preston is going to Preschool! He goes to the Liberty Highschool Program one day a week and was sooo excited to go to school like Gunnar. He carried his back pack around for a week! He has lots of friends at school from Allie his neighbor who is sitting by him below, James, Jo Jo, and Kyla from church! He made a Shark for the first day and thought that was the coolest thing!

Baugher's Apple Picking! We love to go to Baughers here we are at the apple ochard. Janey had a blast and of course Preston did too. They are both growing up!

Other Craziness!

Janey's Hair is getting long and we need to cut her bangs or tie her hands together so she stops pulling out her hair ties!

Finally Painted the Boys Room!! They helped out and thought it was so fun! Everyone had paint in their hair by the end :)

First ever crab feast! Yes that's right - we are true Marylanders! It was really fun though - and for someone who doesn't like fish that much it was pretty yummy too! Lewis helped us learn how to eat them - you pull off legs, crack open shells, and scoop out the guts and find the meat to eat. We had quite the crew with us, The Stacey Family, Lewis, Sister Missionaries, and some neighbors too Suzanne, and Amy and Creighton's Family.

Camping and Reptiland! The boys love camping and we went to Reptiland which was three hours away so on the way we camped! Lots of fun and didn't even rain on us while we set up camp and ate dinner! We had so much fun - wrestling in the tent, roasting hotdogs, and eating smores! Reptiland was a blast too - they had a dinosaur part which we had to convince Preston they weren't real, and they had lots and lots of reptiles! Everyone even got to pet a real Alligator!

August Fun!

The County Fair
It's tradition we always go to the Howard County Fair each year and the kids love it. We see all the animals, watch the tractor pull contest, see the petting zoo, the animal shows, the pig races, and the corn pit, and of course the yummy food my favorite is the fried oreos! Here's the fun pictures.

Pigs pigs, and then my own crazy animals!

Preston loved the corn pit and was buried by his Dad and then Rhett then had a line of kids that also wanted to be burried and so he became the popular fav of the kids.

Janey playing by the tractors and loving running around and trying to climb and step up to whatever she could. She too loved the corn pit!

Take me out to the Ball Game!
Mormon night at the ball park and we took full advantage of the fun night. The Orioles is Baltimore's team that we cheered for.

The boys trying to catch fly balls. I am pretty sure the biggest boy had the most fun!

Cupboard Fun

I heard lots of laughing and fun I come down and see this.

Where are the pots and pans

What fun kids have! Preston then wanted to climb in and Janey enjoyed shutting him in. Preston thought it was quite fun. Gunnar then wanted to go in too but as he got stuck decided he was now too big to climb in the cupboards anymore.

Grandma and Grandpa come to Visit us!
Grandma and Grandpa surprized us by coming to see us this summer. It was so fun to see them. The kids were so excited and everyone had fun. We got to take them to Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and the Farm Baughers. They stayed at the Bed and Breakfast here in Sykesville and loved it - it was great to have them so close! They picked the perfect week to come the weather was so nice, the next week we had an earthquake and a hurricane!

Here we are in Philadelphia

And Grandma's Favorite was Gettysburg! Lincoln is one of her favorites!

Gunnar's First Day of School!
He is a KINDERGARTEN!
Yes I have a kid going to school! It is crazy! I still remember him as my baby who wouldn't leave my hip and now he is off to school on the bus!

He survived the first week and now two! We are very proud of him. Gunnar's teacher is so sweet and Gunnar already has a new friend who he talks about every day "ETHAN". I am amazed at how life has changed for us - he knew only those I choose through neighbors or church and now he talks about people that I have never met! I guess I'll have to be extra nosy now. Gunnar has come home with stories and games and has only told me one time that I should of been there at school with him, the day he got lost on picture day, but he was found! We had a big first day of school celebration with a huge breakfast and cookies when he got him. And the whole fam was there at the bus stop! It has been lots of fun!