Udon noodles with my Girls

Dan and Joshua went to Hong Kong for 5 days and left it an all girls party at home.  We spent the Monday before Christmas hanging out and doing shopping.  And we went to lunch at their favorite noodle joint.  It was a really fun day and they all got along really well and it was so pleasant!  I love these girls!

All the girls got the giant tub-o-noodles, even Rylee!

It does look giant, doesn't it!  (It is not really that huge, the bottom is raised.)

They have the best tempura and rice balls.  Even Marian liked it.

Look at my little noodle-eating pros!

Callie did not want her picture taken, but I managed to get this special shot. 

Literacy Night

The elementary school held a "Literacy Night" and I thought it sounded like a fun event. Actually, they had me at "Cocoa and Cookies".  So I took the 3 girls who are still in elementary school, luring them with the same promise of cocoa and cookies.  I was a little disappointed.  Mostly because I didn't get my cocoa and cookies right off.

It started with a dramatic reading of The Grinch, and it was well done, but the cafeteria was jam packed with people and I hate crowds.  Next we broke off to visit different classrooms.  They had 6 or so different rooms set up with a story reader and you could choose which 2 rooms to visit based on which story you wanted to hear.  That probably would have been fun, but all the rooms were packed to capacity, and we weren't even late.  And I hate crowds.  The whole thing was too crowded for me.

We did get to listen to a fabulous "Pirates Night Before Christmas" which is now on my Christmas list.  I was less enthusiastic about the Gingerbread Man story.  And then when we all went back to the cafeteria for the promised cocoa and cookies, they had not anticipated such a crowd and lacked sufficient cookies.  I wasn't too sad because they were not great cookies and I didn't mind giving mine up.  The cocoa was yummy though and I enjoyed it.  The kids got a free book and they got a bookmark from Santa on the way out.  So I guess it wasn't a bad activity, just much too crowded for me.

Callie found herself the only remaining seat in the classroom!

Rylee was thrilled that her friends were there and she got to hang out with them for this story.

Rylee was willing to pose with Santa and Mrs. Clause.

Rylee's best friend Milly, photobombing her.

Delaney was the only kid of mine who wore pajamas to the event, although a lot of other kids did. And check out her choice of free book!

Pretty Miyajima

It is so pretty, and I have been working on my artsy photos!

Chaperoning Miyajima

 On December 15, I got to chaperone Callie on her field trip to the Miyajima Aquarium.  It WAS raining this time, but we went anyway.  I was prepared with umbrellas and ponchos, but the rain kept to a decent drizzle, so it wasn't too bad. I had 3 girls to supervise and the only one who could not
behave was my own.  Sigh.

It is about a mile walk from the ferry port to the Aquarium, and that left us with just over 2 hours to explore the Aquarium.  We did not have much time, after the sea lion show and the penguins, so we didn't explore all the aquarium.  It was more fun than I had anticipated.

 At the iconic Torii.  Callie is avoiding the school group photo.

Now she is trying to avoid me. 

She did NOT want her picture taken! 

 So I snuck this on on zoom.

And then I took Selfies, because I needed SOME photos!

5 Story Pagoda.... never gets old!

The sea lions were very cool. 

And quite talented. 

Did I already say talented? 

Callie loved the tide pools the best. 

And the dolphins were cool, and depressing to see. 

We timed it to make the penguin petting schedule.  Nice canned shot, hmmm? 

And they got to pet this one.

Breakfast with Santa

 The PTO put on a delightful activity called Breakfast with Santa.  For a mere $5 per family, you got a pancake and sausage breakfast, and Santa was there for photos.  None of the kids wanted anything to do with Santa, but they were more than happy to chow down on delicious pancakes.  I thought it quite the successful event.

Rylee's best friend Milly wanted Rylee to sit with her and Santa, so Rylee did go up.  This would be the only Santa photo this year.

Ryle proclaimed it a tasty breakfast.

The kids spent the next hour playing at the playground. 

And shouting "Take my picture!" 

Chaperoning at the Zoo

 Now that everyone is in school, I can do one of the things I always wanted to do- chaperone their field trips.  And let me tell you, it is a lot more fun for the kids than it is for me!  I was so hoping it would be cancelled for rain, but the day dawned lovely and clear.  And it was a lovely day.

I was given charge of 5 third graders, and after an hour long bus ride to the Asa Zoo, we were set loose. It was a lot of fun for the kids, and not horrible for me.  Except the very noisy, rowdy bus ride back to school afterwards.

So silly with the rhino figure.

 These guys were cute, especially the baby.

Half my charges, in front of the lion. 

That's a black bear behind me. 

Delaney and Beau and the cheetah. 

Yeah, most of the animals paced back and forth in their tiny, depressing enclosures.   

At the petting area, they let the kids hold and pet guinea pigs.  The kids had to sit down, and the little Japanese ladies placed a cloth protective shield on their laps, then put a guinea pig down for petting.  The kids LOVED it! 

Silly fun with the hippo statue. 

Selfie with my girl and the flamingos.

Be still my heart!

We were getting ready to start Relief Society at church.  The men had already begun, in the room next to us.  I was getting the ladies settled so we could start, when one of the sister missionaries told me I just HAD to come over and "see this!"  I knew that Joshua conducted the hymns in Priesthood, so I thought she was just excited about that.  I wandered over and peered through the window and saw this:

Oh my gosh!  My heart melted!  That's my boy.  My 14 year old, cranky teenager of a son, holding a baby in one arm and directing the song with the other.

All the RS crowded around, peering through the window and we frantically pulled out our cell phones, hoping the song wouldn't end before we got a picture!

The man playing the piano is the father of the (4 week old) boy being held by the guy in the background with the blue tie. Josh is holding the (2 month old) daughter of the man in the blue tie.

Random Photos

 It is always an adventure when I download the pictures form my phone.  I never know what I'm going to find on it!  These lovely gems are the most recent fun ones.

Rylee and Delaney playing in the leaves.  They are so cute!

 We were surprised to learn that Rylee is extremely farsighted in her right eye.  Lucky girl now gets to wear these!  And has needed them to go in for repairs no less than THREE times already!

A little couple selfie on the beach after a baptism.  Someone commented that we were twinsies in our matching blue shirts! 

 At the big tree lighting ceremony they has Santa's sleigh. Delaney and Rylee really wanted a picture in it.  But it was dark and I have no flash.

Marian loved this Monkey mask.  I find it just a little creepy!

And it is always fun to find stuff like THIS on my camera.

Marine Corps Ball 2015

 This year our Ball was on Nov 20th.  Dan had a work event before it, where they promoted one of the people in his office.  For the promotion, they went down to the gym, where the Balls are held (Since it is the only facility large enough to hold the Balls and they split them into 3 separate ones!), and where Tun Tavern was set up.

I had my hair done by one of our lovely sister missionaries who had been a hair dresser prior to her mission and she did a marvelous job.  I was really hoping for pictures this year, but sadly, it did not happen.  Fortunately, between the pre-mingling and the dinner, one of my friends took a fabulous photo of us and that made me very happy.  I waited too long and the lights went out before I got a chance to get any pictures with my friends, so that didn't happen.  Sigh.

The cool Tun Tavern facade set up in front of the gym.

At the promotion, looking super-cool in their Dress Blues. 

Dan and his shop. 

My selfie of me, all dressed up and ready to go. 

Sorry, I wanted a picture of my hair, but this was the best I could get, with kids taking the picture!! 

 I did snap this shot during the guest speaker's speech.

 And this was the photo my friend took of the 2 of us.