Crud tournament

The weather has been playing tricks on us over here. It was so nice and warm, now we are back to cold and windy. The problem is we are all getting cabin fever and can't stand being inside anymore. So, we play outside in the cold. Please warm up again soon!

Kyle has been busy with getting ready for or flying in his upgrade flights so the kids and I have had a lot of nights to just ourselves. We decided to have a Jammies/popcorn/movie night. They loved it so much, I think we are going to try to make it a weekly tradition. Maybe every Wednesday night will become popcorn night.

Abby has become quite the artist lately. She loves everything "artsy" like markers, crayons, paint, and play doh. The funny thing is right before she starts to color she says, "yucky pants" and starts to take them off. I kept thinking maybe she had an accident in them or something, but by the second or third time she kept doing his I knew she just didn't want to wear pants while her artistic juices were flowing. Apparently she creates her best master pieces when she wears no pants, who would have known.

We are starting to enter the barbie phase and I couldn't be more excited! Abby is turning into such a girly-girl I could cry tears of joy! She loves to paint her nails (which we do every weekend), loves to play with Disney princess dolls, and now is getting into barbies. She loves the color pink, enjoys shopping, and "helps" me put on make up in the morning. Heavenly Father knew I needed a super girly best friend, and I sure got one! Kyle is already cringing at the thought of Abby's and my shopping extravaganzas when she gets older.

Finally, our crud tournament took place! It was actually schedule a couple weeks ago, but was rescheduled do to a fatality that took place on the base. Out of respect for the family, we postponed the event. Our squadron split into two teams, A and B teams. Of course I was on the B team cause I just barely learned how to play a couple weeks ago. It's actually a lot of fun, my only problem is I am not that competitive in team sports, I'm just in it for the socializing and fun parts. Ballet was always an individual sport/art in which I would compete with myself... In that case I am VERY competitive, but teams and games, not so much. 

It was single elimination and our B team lost our first game, oh well. It was still a lot of fun, and I think i enjoyed being a cheerleader for our A team even more cause all the pressure was off me. Our A team made it all the way to the championship game and lost at the very end. They still did an amazing job at representing the 13th fighter squadron (CP!) but it was the fighter wing staff spouses that took home first place. 

It was just a night of all the pilots supporting their wives, and us spouses supporting other spouses. Kyle got roped into being the score keeper which he enjoyed cause he got to heckle the referee during the game :) I truly feel so blessed to be a part of such an amazing squadron and group of ladies. We all understand each others crazy life with our husbands gone ALL. THE. TIME! We sometimes joke that when our husbands are gone we become sister wives cause we all live on the same street and lean on each other to help watch our kids, pick up something from the store, or just be a listening ear. It's always nice to know that there are others out there (just a few of us) that know what it's like to practically be a single mom in a foreign country, miles and miles away from family. I think it's easy to get caught up in the glamorous side of being a "fighter pilot wife" traveling the world while our studly husbands blast through the sky in their jets. But let's face it, it's such a hard life. I worry about Kyle's safety every day, and my kids go days sometimes without seeing their dad, and that's even when he is home and not away on a TDY. I love this 13th family of mine, and am grateful for such a wonderful first assignment here in Misawa.

To round out the weekend we went to Japan day festivities at the club. There the kids got balloon animals and we watched taiko drum performances, ate delicious Japanese crepes, and learned about other Japanese culture stuff. It's a fun event that they hold every year. Maybe next year the kids will be old enough that we can dress up in kimonos for a family picture!