Molars

Ben went through the horrible ordeal of having his molars pulled on Monday. Doesn't he look great with his head gear on. He is doing really well and managed to get through it pretty well, at least quickly the operation was over with in about 45 mins. I personally think he had never looked better.

Moving Back To California

Okay, so we recently found out that we will be moving back to California. WE are all so totally excited, Ben was accepted at Sac State so he will be able to live with us until he leaves on his mission which makes even happier, I was so not ready to let go of that kid yet.

The Drive Home

After a night of little sleep (the girls where up all night playing sardines, painting toe nails etc). After breakfast the children where presented with their awards and then we started the long drive back to Misawa. It was a beautiful day and we where making good time, we had stopped fro lunch about 20 minutes outside of Tokyo and where heading into out second stop when we saw the van Ben was driving pulled over at the side of the road. As we slowed down to pull over we noticed that the wheel on the rear drivers side had fallen off. Talk about scary. Ben said that the van had started to shake so they pulled over to check it out and saw no problem and so continued to drive about 15 yards further along they felt the van's back drop so pulled back onto the hard shoulder. Soon a police car pulled over and made sure everything was alright. We where able to get to the next rest area where the van was left to be picked up a few days later. Fortunately we were able to get all the children into the 2 vans we still had and get back to Misawa before midnight. I am so glad that this is my last youth trip in Japan, our time hear has been a real blast but I am ready to just supervise my own children for a while.

Yakota Swim Meet

It seemed like I had just got back from one long trip and it was time to spend another weekend away. This time was with the swim team. So, I was able to spend sometime with my own children and looking after about nine others. The drive to Yakota was great except for about the last hour when we managed to get lost. I have driven through Tokyo about a dozen times so I cannot figure out how we managed to get mixed around but thanks to the Germain's and their GPS we where able to get back on track and arrive in time for the pool party. The swim meet was great. All the children swam so well. My kid's did extremely well with Ben receiving 4 best in heats , 2 gold and 2 silver medals. Jonah received 3 best in heats with 1 gold, 1 silver and one bronze. Abbey was very competitive and received 2 bronze medals. The team brought home about 30 medals altogether and all the children where able to make improvements on their personal bests.

Spring Break

Spring Break was spent with a group of about 50 teenagers at Camp Fuji. Both Joe and I where able to go with Ben and Jonah this year. Abbey spent the week with The Christensen's. We love the Christensen family and are so thankful for everything they do for out family. So after a 12 hour drive we spent a very wet, sleepless week hanging out with a group of kid that had too much energy, but where still fun to be around.

Abbey"s First Middle School Dance

Abbey went to her first school dance, can you believe how big she is getting. Joe managed to insert himself as a chaperone and Mary-Lou was there keeping a eye on her all night so I was pretty sure that everything was alright. Abbey had a great time hanging out with her swim team friends.