Easter!

Complete with Easter party at friends house, it was really bright and we had to ask the kids to look up at us... Carter looked a little far.










hunting....









hunting...














pushing the baby around in the powerless 4 wheeler. The baby belongs to the friends who threw the party.











I believe this is the candy dance...thank you Easter bunny :)

Dear Jane

An Ode to Jane


We've had a lot of fun, in two different countries no less.
Had meals in Japan, and home cooking (the best).
Got our toes done in lots of places, you always know where to go.
Even went to see Broadway... well, from Broadway shows.
The kids will always remember your transportation toys,
And the big kids glasses you let them enjoy.

































Carter is trying to grab the cup that is under the table (reflection)

Argh, Matey!

Thats right, we went to a Real Pirates show! well, not a show so much as a National Geographic display of piracy and specifically the Whydah which was sunk in a storm on its way to Cape Cod.









We were lucky to be there on a day when they had... reenactors?
People that have studied and practiced the ways of the pirates, including this troupe of bards.







Of course we couldn't take pictures inside, but we also went to the Nauticus itself and saw the exhibits there, including this big boat.









The kids loved the exhibits, like this robotic arm, and the experiment in currents.

boxes...

Most of the rest of February consisted of emptying boxes, which made for quite a lot of fun for Coryn and his new friends because for quite a while we had a room fairly well devoted to empty boxes and paper...

#2 is 2!

Totoro! All he asked for for his birthday was cake and the birthday song... I elaborated a little.













He chose the 'cake' that Totoro was holding, and proceeded to tear the bottom half off (too much cake, so little frosting) and pick the sprinkles off to eat one by one.





Presents!




Loves dinosaurs, thanks to Dinosaur Train on PBS, carries them around all the time.

Snow part 2

Here's our house... its pretty cute. Most of Virginia has screened in back porches, no garages, and columns... ok the columns are on all the baptist churches and the really old houses, but its still a crazy amount.

The neighbors are fantastic, they all somehow knew we were moving in, and the day after they didn't see a moving truck, they started asking what we needed, and ended up letting us borrow old snowsuits and shoes among other things... I can't believe we spent two weeks without anything but our suitcases and a few borrowed things.

The neighbors also have kids slightly older than Coryn which is why we were able to borrow the clothing. They also had fun things like sleds, and snow shovels to make a smooth surface on the driveway...
Baby's first sled :)








And of course, we wouldn't be able to finish the day without making a snowman.

Snow Snow Snow

After living in the subtropics for three years, this is Carter's first snow :) We couldn't stay out too long, no snow suits, no snow shoes, only knit gloves... but they did enjoy it.

Change

Our last night in Okinawa... had to get some good sushi and use those chopstick skills again.











A sad goodbye to the surrogate grandmother... love ya Judy!

Met with friends at the USO halfway across the world, only halfway through the trip.












Coryn was lucky enough to get to see the cockpit, and I thought they didn't do that anymore :)





At the end of the trip, now in typical winter garb, and dead asleep at 9 am. Welcome to Virginia!