...when in Rome.....

So we have 1 high school on base and this weekend was their homecoming game (they play other American schools around Japan). So since we are not in America they had to 'hype' up homecoming in a way that was very unique to our location.

The high school has a homecoming parade around the base. They have pick up truck that are decorated like floats, fire trucks, Elmo (not sure how he fit in to the mix?), golf carts and such, but the best thing was there was a super LARGE snow plow truck in the parade???? No it's not snowing just yet?

So the parade route is set and we were 'asked' to bring our students out to cheer on the parade. Please imagine this with me.......a LARGE amount of elementary school students hanging on to the gate cheering, jumping, yelling as high schoolers throw out candy from the passing floats! OHHHH I can see all the teachers shaking their heads as they read this!

It was I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E!!! Our students were soooo excited about candy and were running around like wild animals to collect it! The teachers were standing behind them, eyes wide open and shaking our heads in amazement.

The great thing is once the parade was over.....all the kids lined back up....came inside to finish the math lesson and went through the rest of the day like normal.

I thought it was great that the high school tries so hard to make their students have memorable experiences in high school overseas.

a delicate moment of truth

One of our neighbors' mother is currently deployed. We were talking about her being gone away from her family with Elijah during lunch today. Here is our conversation.

"She is a solider and she is fighting bad guys. She might die" said Elijah.

"Really? Where did you get that information from Elijah?" replied Mom.

"The TV" Elijah responded.

"Oh.. okay... then is Daddy a soldier?" asked Mom.

"No, he is just a man that goes to work and makes money for our family" he said while eating his soup.

"Hmmm....well why does he wear a uniform to work everyday?" Mom asked.

"So he doesn't look differently then other people who are going to work" he simply states.

"Elijah, Daddy is in the Air Force right?" Mom ask.

"Well...yes he is, but he......." pausing he turns to his Dad, "Daddy, are the bad guys going to kill you?"

"Oh no Elijah God will protect me while I am away from you guys" Eddie responded.

"That's because God is strong and he will help you fight the bad guys Daddy" Elijah responded with a smile on his face.

This was a very unexpected conversation during lunch today. It turned out just fine though. With Eddie's upcoming deployment, we are trying to get Elijah ready and we decided that we need to get him talking about what is going on in the world -- at a 6 year old level of course.

Helping Mommy make breakfast

Elijah really enjoys cooking meals with me. He asks almost everyday to help with dinner or breakfast. Today we had waffles. This is Elijah's first time making waffles from scratch. We read the ingredients and measured everything all out.

His job was to watch the batter rise and tell me when the light on top went off. That way it wouldn't burn our breakfast. He took his job VERY seriously!
Here is his very first waffle. You can see the pride in his sparkly eyes.

Hmmmm...maybe I can train him to take over a day's worth of cooking for the whole family!

Picture Day!!

Elijah's picture day was today.

You know I found it super strange that I work in a school with 886 students and the picture time period for the school is 3 DAYS LONG! Huh? I wondered why it spanned over such an extended period of time....I saw the reason today.....there was 1 photographer! HUH? Well, I guess I don't live in America anymore. (Kim, I think the plane ticket would be so worth it-you would rake up the $$$$)

I decided that Elijah was going to rock a white shirt and vest for pictures. I know, I know...I sent another outfit with him to change into afterwards. He is just so handsome. I have to show him off!

So the tree pose may have worked for Kim Logan Photography...but I just couldn't get him to look natural.

Yes my first touch of sephia!

Oh my lil ham! He has never met a camera he didn't like!

So flippin' handsome!

I am so very thankful for him. He makes me laugh and smile everyday!

P.S. He really took the pictures so his Nana could see him in his outfit!

Well needed time off!

I am so jazzed to tell you all that Eddie got a day off. Okay you may not understand the hugeness of this fact!

I work until 4 pm Mon-Fri. Eddie goes to work at 2pm and gets off when I am fast asleep. Ohh ...sadness....we usually don't see each other until the weekend. Hmmm this weekend he had weekend duty for 13 hours each day...ARGHHH! So in order for us to see him we had to go to his job to see him. It's all good though. He called me at work and told me he had the day off!

YEPEE! It was so nice! We all went to the park and watched Elijah play with other children for awhile and went for (what else?) sushi! Okay so this was the coolest sushi place I have ever been to here! All the sushi was 105 yen, which doesn't mean much to you all, but was a really good price. It's brand new and they have a sushi carousel. It's pretty cool because you can order what you want and then it comes in this train to your table...oh wait..I digress!

The much needed family time was great! Elijah sat SUPER close to Eddie at dinner...yes he LOOOVES sushi too -- even the raw kind!

Finger Lickin' Good!

This is proof that we really feed Elijah!

We know our lil guy is skinny....he honestly still weighs 45 lbs....(hospital scale). He weighed 45 lbs at his 5 year old check up.....he is 6 years and 8 months old now.

Anyway he loooooooves Popeye's Fried Chicken. We have one here on base. He can eat about 3 pieces.....a breast, leg and a thigh! So today we had leftovers for dinner, hence the 2 pieces of quiche, biscuit and chicken on his plate.

He tore it up! Look at the pure skill he has in holding the chicken bones and manuevering his lips/teeth around the bones and grissle! Really? He finally finished and here is a pic of the finished bone....

$19.99 for a 10 piece meal is money well spent!

A 'virtual' workout

Yep another Wii story:

Eddie picked up a new Wii game this week....Summer Athletics. He was sooooo excited he called my classroom to tell me about it! We played Saturday night together. I just don't get it? I was really struggling to run the 100 meter and hurdles. I finally decided to throw in the towel (perhaps it's a virtual towel huh?). Eddie continued to play.

He was REALLY into it. I decided to snap a few pics for you to see. Yes, he is literally holding his breath while 'swimming' the breast stroke. I told him, "I am pretty sure it is safe to breath.....you aren't underwater."

Then he played the indoor cycling competition:

Literally sweating! Goodness....I just love this man!

I love my career!!!

So I had my second open house this week and we (the teachers) introduced ourselves to the parents. You know we have to mention the regular stuff (educaton, years of experience and hobbies) I also mentioned that I spent 12 years in the AF - 6 years active duty/6 years Reserves. A parent asked why I got out after 12 years and I could have retired in 8 more. Honestly, when I was in 5th grade I knew I wanted to become a teacher.



Funny huh?



I have known since I was 10 years old that I wanted to teach....I LOVE WHAT I DO! I truly love it. Yes, it tires me out daily, my feet hurt, there is a lot of pressure to perform, A LOT of paperwork and the pay isn't the best....but it makes me so happy to enjoy what I do daily.



There is always a new story to share with Eddie when he comes home or friends/family. I just wanted to tell you all that I really enjoy being able to do something I love!