Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters came to Yokosuka!  I had seen posters around base advertising their game but I really didn't have time to look at my calendar and plan out if we were going to go.  Then one day after swimming lessons we saw people starting to line up outside of the gym door and after realizing why we decided to line up to.  I wasn't sure if we should or not but they kids really wanted to.  We waited in line for about an hour and a half before they let us into the gym.  Our spot on line was on the stairwell so it was a rough hour and a half.  I wasn't feeling well either and we totally had to miss dinner.   It worked out though because we were like the 20th in line and the kids got to sit right in the very front.  I'm sure lots of people who came earlier couldn't see at all.

It definitly felt more like a show than a basketball game, which was fine with me.  It was so fun!  The kids absolutely loved it.  I think everyone's favorite part was either this guy (see pic below), or when they did an entire play in reverse and then in slow motion.  I did not take this picture and you can tell it is in a different gym.

I really didn't take any pictures until the end.  Like I said, I wasn't feeling well and we skipped dinner so I was just holding on.  The kids thought the waiting was hard but worth it.  Here they are doing some sort of dance break.

At the end they were signing things and Penelope happend to have a paper with her that she got signed.  I snapped a picture.

It is neat the the base sets up these types of things for us and I love how it was free.

First Day of School

We are pretty late getting started on school this year.  It took me a couple of weeks after we got to Japan to get mentally and physically ready.

This will be my first time homeschooling more than one child.  I hope it goes well but I know it will be difficult.  Right now we are staying in the Navy Lodge hotel so I think that will make things even harder until we are able to get a house.

We went right outside our room to take pictures.  The kids are all in their new school clothes we bought in the mall here in Japan.

The first day was a little rough.  Tucker did pretty well because he's done it before, he knew what to expect and how to act.  Penelope only had one meltdown, but she also listened and did her work.  Scarlett pretty much refused to do anything and the whole day was like one long tantrum.  Leon even participated some of the time and built a fort on his own the rest of the time.  Calista cried a lot, which made everything harder.

Lake Lenore Caves Hike

On the way to the reunion we stopped a little hike.  I think it was about a mile each way, perfect for stretching our legs after a few hours driving.  

It was hot and sunny with little shade cover.  When I read cave hike I was hoping for more like Ape Caves, which is one long tunnel type cave.

Instead it was a hike with a few small shallow cutout type caves in the wall.  Non of them went very far.

We had fun exploring.  Tucker found what he thought looked like a rock nest and wanted to pose for a picture in it.

The landscape around us was pretty!  Not at all what I'm used to, and I honestly prefer much more trees.  But it was different and nice.

The highlight of the hike was on the way back when Scarlett found money.  She was in the lead and all the sudden bent down and excitedly said she found a dollar.  I took a look at that was excited too because what she found wasn't exactly a dollar.

There was no one around so we let her keep it.  She was so nice and used it to buy us all ice cream!

Point no Point

We went to the beach again on Bob's day off.  The kids love it there!

 I had my jacket on at the beginning but took it off before we were done.

 Running accross the logs is one of the kids favorite parts about this beach.

Two Wheels!

Leon and Scarlett can now both ride two wheeler bikes without training wheels!  We taught Scarlett about a month ago and she was pretty resistant.  She liked using the training wheels but she was really getting too big for her bike and I thought she was old enough to take the plunge.  We made her learn without the training wheels.  She did get the hang of it pretty quickly but for a couple weeks after she knew how to ride the bike she still kept trying to ride her training wheels bike.  I think she just thought it was easier.

Leon on the other hand was a whole different story.  The kids called me into the backyard randomly the other day telling me that Leon could ride a bike.  I stepped out and sure enough Leon was riding a two wheeler around the yard.  Tucker was helping him get started and off he went.  I was pretty surprised and I told them to stop so Bob could "teach" him how to ride a bike.  A couple days later when we had time we went out for Bob to teach Leon how to ride.  Bob didn't know about the earlier rides so he was pretty surprised when Leon got it just fine after Bob holding the back for about a second.

Since that first day Leon has been wanting to ride every day.  Even on that very first day he learned to start all by himself, a skill which has been difficult for my other children.  And on the next day he showed me that he could stand up and ride.  I really think he is probably better than both the girls.  He really took to riding the bike!

Bob stayed home with Calista the other day and I went on a bike ride with the kids.  It was pretty cool just watching all of them ride.  Scarlett seemed to get tired really fast though, I think she needs a bigger bike.

Green Mountain Hike

We've been on a roll with hiking lately.  It is just such a good outdoor activity that we are trying to go on as many as possible.  The green mountain hike is one of our favorites that we make sure to do at least once every summer.  This year my parents came along.

We did have one hiccup.  When we got to this spot we split up.  The kids wanted to climb up and I thought they were just skipping a switchback and we would catch them in about 30 seconds.  But no. It took them on a completely different path straight to the top.  They missed about half mile to a mile of the hike.  Luckily Bob went with them so they weren't alone.  I didn't like that we were separated though.

After they were at the top for a while and realized that we weren't coming they came back down and met us at this little bench.

The view from the top is great!  IT was a little too cloudy for us to see Seattle this time.

Our lunch wasn't as big as we would have liked.  We were out of a few things at home and didn't have time to run to the store before the hike.  My parents were nice enough to share with us.  I didn't get a picture of it but the kids had a lot of fun feeding their cracker crumbs to the birds.

On the way back down I asked each of the kids to find a spot they wanted me to take their picture.  Here is Leon's.

Scarlett's

Penelope's (I think she liked that little stump.)

And Tucker's.

They really cut down a lot of trees for a small portion of the hike.  On the way up I didn't love walking the path where all the trees were cut.  But on the way back down we had a great view that we wouldn't otherwise have had.

This hike was really a great level for our kids this year.  I think it was a little over 5 miles half going up the mountain and half going back down.  The kids were getting tired but not so bad that they complained a bunch.