Help with groceries

In case you are wondering, this is what it looks like when Emma makes our grocery list:

I had her abbreviate some things to save space/time. Some things I helped her spell, some things she did herself. She was a good helper. She went with me and crossed things off as we went. She likes to be helpful and loves to have a job. 

Japanese Tex Mex

Our neighbors moved out this week, which means their apartment got painted today. Our house smelled so bad from the paint fumes that we went out for dinner. Steven found a TexMex place not far from base. 😁 We drove around the place like 3 or 4 time looking for parking. (We found out later where to park.) But we finally found a spot and went in. He said he heard that it wasn’t great, but for Japan it is good Mexican food. I heard the portions were small. They were, probably more appropriate than what we were used to in West Texas. Anyway, I loved it. I got a sour cream enchilada..which is an enchilada filled with shredded chicken....and sour cream inside, not the sauce on there outside! Not what I was expecting, but the closest thing I have had in a year to Tex Mex. 

They had lots of Toy Story toys....however I doubt 

they have ever been washed.  See on the sign on our table, you can get banana taquitos! With ice cream and almond butter. 🤔 we did not have any of that. 

New hair cuts

Yesterday Emma and I got new haircuts. There was so much hair on the floor when we got done. It was crazy. But we love them, it is much easier to do in the mornings! 

Also, Emma know how to make pigs in a blanket, so the other day when she was hungry she made some.

Look what we don’t have to deal with anymore!

We made brownie in a mug! Yum!

Do nothing weekend

This weekend we were all exhausted. We needed a ‘do nothing’ weekend. I really think we need a ‘do nothing’ month, but I doubt we will get one.

Friday Emma went to gymnastics again, and seriously I think she could go every day. She loves it. 

A picture from Emma’s teacher from the science museum.

I got Twister from the library. Paris and Emma loves it.

Really? You want me to do cartwheels? 

Emma was Elsa. She always beats me. I had no chance.

She was spelling things. 

Spring Retreat

This weekend I went on PWOC’s Spring Retreat. It was up in the mountains by the Tea House, about 45 minutes away. It was fun, but I’m always exhausted after these things...I think that’s backwards. This was the longest I have ever been away from Emma...48 hours! I did get to sleep until 6:53 Sunday morning...which may not be sleeping in to most people, but it was for me. 

Also...Steven had been getting up with Emma a couple times earlier in the week. ..and apparently she no longer wakes up at night. 🤷‍♀️ For 3 years she has been waking up an hour after she goes to bed, crying, inconsolable. She never remembered anything. But I couldn’t go to bed until she did it. Some nights she wasn’t so bad, I would take her potty and she would go back to sleep. But some night she would jump on her bed, run around the living room crying and jumping...and many nights she did it more than once. She wasn’t coherent. I had a friend tell me to wake her up to shake her out of her sleep cycle and it should go away. But I couldn’t wake her up! I talked loud, clapped in her face, etc. But she Steven could wake her up apparently. She has taken breaks from this before, but hopefully we are done with this!!! I am just glad I can go to bed earlier. Maybe one day she will learn to sleep in. 

I didn’t take this, but this is a picture from our retreat.

I hit the mother load! It must be strawberry season here. Also these were on the verge of going bad so I bought them half off. Emma has been devouring them.

A tiny Japanese truck. It said ‘midget’ on the back.

I sat with Emma a few minutes before the field trip. They were on their computers.

She wanted a picture of us before I left.

They had a sock hop at school last week.

Gymnastics

Emma has been signed up for gymnastics since last June, and she finally got in! However the teacher is quitting after this month, so pray they find a new one! 

But lashttps://youtu.be/pO6gzDXCzAk Friday was her first class...and Daddy took her since I was on my women’s retreat. He sent me a video so I could see how she did . Please don’t ask me why the link posted in the middle of a paragraph, I don’t know. 

She had a great time! 

They also went bowling.

A strike! They had a great weekend! 

Japanese school field trip

Last Friday I went on a field trip with the first graders to a Japanese elementary school. It was fun and exhausting. Some new things we discovered: Japanese school have a pool as they teach swimming. The kids do their own cleaning and seem to be entrusted to do a lot. They prepared songs for us, and then a pair of students took a group of our students upstairs where their classrooms were. They had ‘booths’. Where the kids played games and then picked a prize. Some were like stores.  At the end they played Rock Paper Scissor.... Except that it is was different and they made trains
Playing a song.

Each Japanese kid had a pair of Americans....an a random adult chaperone. 

I couldn’t tell you what it was in English. The flower is Hana...we wished Daddy was here for this part. 

The kids did all the work. The adult just stayed in the hallway, if they were there at all.

Bowling

The Japanese students hurried the kids along. Reminded me of a train station. So many people! 

The stairs

Emma lost the rock, paper, scissors game, so she had to be on the back. 

Eventually they make one giant train

They made a tunnel for the kids as we left.