Kickin' It!

Blythe and I had a great reunion in Tokyo. The ambiance at the Park Hyatt doesn't hurt either.

The Kitty Hawk is saying....

Kitty Hawk

Before the Kitty Hawks final departure from Japan, I toured the ship with the JAW ladies. It was great!

The enormity of this ship is tangible once inside the belly. This is a floating city of 5000 people.
This ship is 47 years old. It's time for it to retire...

The Post

Alexis took a field trip to the post office today. These field trips are cute. They remind me of the Mr. Roger's show segments where you learned about something new. A visit to the Crayola factory comes to mind.

The entire class mailed off cards to Dad. For most of these children, Dad is a novelty. Our move to HI should correct this absence.

Hawaii?

Every time Liam and Alexis walk by this palm tree, they stop and pay homage to our impending move to Hawaii.

Liam pretends to surf while he sings "we're in hawaiiiii." Alexis sings along and does her own version of the hula.

Old Friends

I've been staying up later than usual the last couple of nights catching up with Blythe. We have two years worth of stories tell.





It dawned on me that we are 10 years removed from our Hood days. How did that happen?

Hasedera

Yes T-, on my hundredth visit to Hasedera I finally agreed to this pose.

Spring Farewell

The Japanese ladies hosted the JAW farewell this year. The food was incredible. They performed a Bon Dance in their summer Yukatas.

Several admitted that dressing into a kimono takes a least 45 minutes. It's amazing that such simplicity can be so complex.

It was sad saying good bye to so many wonderful ladies. I'm grateful to have been part of this group.

Kung Fu?

This is Alexis, VERY UPSET over the deterioration of the "Kung Fu Fighting" music card. Not a good way to end the day...

ET, they know every word to this song now.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there! My day is ending and I can say, with all honesty, it was the best Mother's Day! Why? Because, Liam and Alexis, of their own volition, made me breakfast in bed, showered me with gifts and sang "Happy Mother's Day to you" all day long! Their overwhelming sense of love and joy almost brought me to tears. Since T- is gone, this is especially meaningful.

This Mother's Day was also a new experience for me. Ironically, previous mother's days have consisted of breakfast together and my gift is a child-free day. For the most part, today was a usual Sunday with the added conscious appreciation of motherhood.

I can honestly say, even on the hardest days, I wouldn't trade this in for anything else.

Field Day

Liam had his first field day. The entire school walked down to the ball fields for soccer, baseball, races and the field day favorite, tug of war! Liam and a few of his friends had practice from his birthday party.

I went down to watch and help out with lunch.

As Liam put it, it was a day-long recess!

Cowboy

Liam put 2 and 2 together last night. After bath time he scurried off, grabbed his cowboy hat, jean jacket, guitar and sang "western" tunes....there were a lot of yipeee, kayays involved!

Yes, his jacket is over his robe.

Mother's Day Tea

Alexis hosted me at her school for a Mother's Day Tea. She gave me flower seedlings she started. Gifts like this are hard to accept from her. In a few weeks we'll have to find a new home for them.

We had a great time ruining our lunch appetite. I guess cookies as a meal is O.K. once in a while.

Music Man

Liam entertained me while I made dinner tonight. It was the best! This is his first time toodling around with the guitar but I do have to say, he made joyful noise.

He took great care with the guitar. He warmed it up for a bit and then "played" his own songs.

Alexis insisted they sing the alphabet song together. Afterwards they broke out into "Jesus Loves Me" and the "The Star Spangled Banner"

Who needs to pay for concerts anymore? I have them in my own kitchen!

The Great War

This is the largest toy soldier battle I've ever witnessed! We had a great time playing...Yes, I got into it. I forget how much fun it is to just play!