Homecoming

Chad came home today!!!! He had bought the girls flight suits when he was in Korea. They have patches and name tags and everything. I gave them to the girls this morning in anticipation of his arrival late this afternoon. They were thrilled.


Here the plane is right after landing.

It is loud and the girls were getting so excited.


We were up at the squadron in plenty of time to see the planes fly over and then land. We made chili with all the toppings for the guys (and gals) and I made the American Flag Cake. Allie was very proud of her blueberry stars.



Do you think we have a future pilot??? (I don't think so) Chad is going to be home for a while which is really nice. Pictures will be coming of our trip to China next week. I will also try and catch up from late summer and this fall.

Singapore Shots

Pictures from our Singapore Trip

In an effort to catch up on our family blogging, I am just posting the pictures from our trip late summer to visit Chad while on deployment. We had such a great time eating our way through this melting pot of a country.

Tama Hills

About 1 1/2 hours away there are cabins and camping for military called Tama Hills. It is owned and run by Yokota Air Force Base. We rented a cabin for the night with some gals from the squadron.

At Tama Hills there is horseback riding, put-put golf, hiking, and many more activities to do.


We had a great time drinking mojitos and grilling out.

Here is Heather and Amy manning the grill.

Awaodori

My Japanese friend Mayumi invited the girls and I to Yamato (the next town over to us) to their Awaodori festival. I dressed the girls in their yukatas (summer kimonos) for the festival. As soon as we lined up to watch the "parade" a woman who owned the kimono shop in town came out of her shop to help re-tie the girls yukatas. I guess this American mom didn't quite get the job done. I was greatful that she fixed them.







The girls enjoyed the part where they were invited onto the street to dance with them. What a fun night...Thanks Mayumi!

MOMAT

Some girlfriends and I went to the Paul Gauguin exhibit at the Modern Museum of Art Tokyo (MOMAT). This the the same group that on occasion we do one-day cultural trips in to Tokyo for tea, lunch or a museum. I feel so grown-up on these excursions. My favorite of his paintings was the one titled "Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?" on loan from the Museum of Fine Art in Boston.

Here is my friend Lee and I. We ate lunch at the cafe on the top floor of the museum before we left.

Concert in the Park

Before flying out back to Japan we had one last Concert in the Park at Spreckles Park.

Joe and Condra Mullins

Carrie Gould

Anne Fitzgerald

Allie and Katie

The Gang!

Boating in Coronado

We spent one day while visiting San Diego boating around Coronado. Mark's boss let us borrow his boat and tubing accessories. We made a trip to Costco to get all of the food and then made several trips from the boat ramp to take people, food and supplies to the beach on the other side of the golf course.




Everyone had a great time riding the tube and boating, swimming and eating. What a blast!

Hiking Torrey Pines

What better way t0 spend the day than with two amazing friends hiking in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I know there was some great food involved too, but I can't remember what. Oh yes, now I remember The Cottage in La Jolla for brunch. Just to make the day a little more sweet.