So long May, hello June.

It's hard to believe that May is already over with. For some reason it doesn't feel like summer. I know the weather is much nicer now but I still feel like it's mid February and we just got here. I am seriously in some kind of time warp over here in Japan, and having Kyle gone doesn't help. Days seem to blend, mornings and afternoons are all the same... I'm all over the place! I almost forgot today was Sunday, but looked on the calendar and realized I should probably get me and the kids ready for church! Since Kyle has been gone we don't have a weekend, I don't have an evening for him to come home and relieve me for an hour or 2 with the kids. Therefore I feel as if I am floating through time and through days that seem to be the same sunrise to sunset.

Well I think we have officially made library Tuesdays a tradition. Abby loves going to pick out new books and a couple new movies each week. I have never been much of a reader and feel like I read books because I HAVE to, not because I WANT to. I wish I loved books more, so if I can brainwash my kids to love reading I will think of my mothering days as being a sucess.

For this weeks play group we went to the train park. The weather was a bit chilly and overcast so there was not nuch turn out from the 13th sq, so we played with the local Japanese kids. Even though it was kind of cold, I am glad we got out of the house and Abby was too. She loved the giant train in the middle of the park and playing with this little pink ball with some Japanese girls. I am hoping to get Abby more exposed to the culture by putting her in the local Japanese preschool here in Misawa. Between her preschool that she will go to 3 times a week for half a day, and Yoko San who comes on Thursdays and speaks to the kids in Japanese I am hoping she will pick up on the language. I will probably put Connor in the preschool our last year here as well since he will be 3. I want to give my kids the best opportunity to experience different cultures, learn different languages, and have amazing memories!

The jumperoo is still working its magic with Connor. He is getting smart now and knows when I put him in there I expect him to fall asleep. So he typically whines for a couple minutes, but then it's over powering force takes over and he falls asleep. He is such a cute little boy and is just on the cusp of crawling. I can't wait for him to hit that mile stone.... But then again maybe I can wait. Having 2 mobile babies will be quite the adventure!

Abby is so funny. The trunk behind the couch, where I store all my crafting stuff, is her new favorite "spot." She likes to put her blankies up there, line up toys, or just sit and lounge even. I'm just waiting for the day she decides to jump off of it and breaks her arm! Oh boy Abby, please stay cautious for as long as possible.

So Connor has started to out grow his car seat, and since he is a big boy and can sit up now I thought I would try grocery shopping wth him sitting in the cart rather than placing his whole car seat in the cart. The result=sucess!!!! In fact, grocery shopping was fun and enjoyable with these two instead of pulling teeth like it usually is. They loved this car shopping cart and were going to town "driving" up and down the ailes. Everyone in the store was cracking up at how into it they both were, and before I knew it I had all my groceries without any screaming and crying. Oh that car cart is a lifesaver! I am not going grocery shopping without it anymore.

On Saturday I helped out with the dance recital. It gave me a chance to see how things are ran, and to meet a lot of students that will hopefully be my students when I start teaching more in the fall. It made for a long and stressful Saturday, but coming back home to these 2 kids was so wonderful. It's as if they knew I was tired and on my last leg, so they were extra sweet and good that night. They ate all their dinner, went to bed on time, and even gave me some snuggles. That good feeling ended when I found the giant hole in the back yard that Sandy had dug!!!!! I worked so hard on growing new grass so our backyard could be a fun grassy place for the kids to play and Sandy just ruined that. I love that dog, but she is walking on very thin ice lately. Between her digging, howling whenever the kids cry, and whining all day long to go on a walk I am just about at the end of my rope with her. My patience tank gets drained even day just from the kiddos that there is none left over for Sandy. I need her to be extra good and "mans best friend" while Kyle is gone. 

This weekend Nate and Brooke got married back in the states, but we had to miss it. We knew of Kyle's training dates in Alaska ahead of time and informed them that we would not be able to make it during this time frame. We are sad that we had to miss such a big family event, but to our defense we did give them almost a 6 months notice that we wouldn't be able to attend a wedding event till July. I hope it was a wonderful day and we couldn't be more happy for them! Welcome to the family Brooke, another daughter/sister in law to add to the Benham clan. It's also looking like another one will be added to the Macdonald clan soon too! Hopefully we will make that wedding if and when it happens as they are trying to plan it for when we can attend and when Doug gets back from his mission. Here's to expanding eternal families :)