My new favorite place!

 One of the many, many wonderful things about living here is the  base pool.  They have a very fun one that is open in the summer, but it is no longer summer.  Fortunately, there is an Olympic size indoor pool that is open year round.  Best of all, it is free and the kids are allowed to come any time it is open.  Whoo hoo!   I decided it is time for me to get back to swimming laps, and on Saturday we all went as a family.  Dan and I swapped off lap-swimming and kid-watching, and the kids had a marvelous time playing.  Sadly, I waited till they got in the baby pool before grabbing the camera.  You can probably still tell how much fun they were having.

(The last picture is of the big pool in all its empty glory on a Saturday morning.)

Thems is some crazy kids

One Year Older and Wiser Too

 It is that time of year for lots of special days in our family! Most recently, it was Dan's birthday.  I think it does get more fun as the kids get older and really want to go shopping for fun gifts.  I love to see them getting excited about it.  Dan was also pleased with his special day.

Yummy Jello Poke Cake.

Funny Marian, caught in the act of being a stinker. 

Did I mention that the only jello left since Joshua  learned how to make it was BLUE?  So Blue Poke Cake it was!  And delicious as well. 

Spoon-lickin' tasty it was. 

 Callie is carefully scraping the pan for every last crumb.

Who doesn't love loot?! 

Joshua is a nerd.  Silly photobomber.

Lucky Dog

 This week was a monumental one for Levi! He finally finished his quarantine!  I don't know if we talked about that, but there is a 6 month quarantine to bring your dog to Japan.  Fortunately, it begins from the time you get the FAVN test done.  We got Levi into the vet as soon as we knew we were coming here and got that done, so his quarantine officially began back in April.  And if you live on base, you can quarantine in your home.  Thus, Levi was a very lucky dog and didn't have to spend that 180 days in a kennel!  Delightfully, as of Sept 29 he was cleared, vet-approved, considered rabies-free, and he's now permitted to roam freely.  Well, as freely as he can on a leash!  We celebrated with a walk on the Sea Wall and he was quite delighted.  It certainly is pretty.

A visit to the Craft Store!

 Rylee and I were feeling brave one morning as we drove back from the Daiso.  We decided to stop and check out this Craft Store.  You know, just in case I had spare time and found something on Pintrest I wanted to try.  I might lose motivation to be crafty by the time stuff ordered on Amazon arrived, so I wanted to know what my options might be if I needed something right away.  And it was just plain fun to explore something new.

This is the store.  You can see how I knew it was a Craft Store.  Cuz, you know, I don't actually read Japanese.

Look at these adorable towels! 

And I had to stare at these for a while.  They are super cute dresses, and then you realize they are actually super cute towels!  I totally want some in my bathroom! 

Oooooh!  Fabric!   I love fabric!  So many fun colors and patterns!

Just look at them!  There must be something I need to sew using this..... 

And, of course, there is Hello Kitty. 

Sorry, this just made me giggle.  When there is no "L" or "R" in your language and those 2 sounds always comes out as a "D", I can see how you could sell some craft "cray". 

The sale bin nearly got me.  Then I realized I had already spent all my Yen at the Daiso and most things here are cash only.  So I went home empty handed, but delighted to know there was lovely fabric and crafty stuff a short drive away.