Air Force Ball

Continuing with my sentimental top ten countdown of things I'll miss in Japan with #9: vending machines. I love that there are so many vending machines ALL. OVER. JAPAN. Literally in driveways, on the sides of streets, in stores, they are everywhere! And the best part is there are so many random vending machines selling random things from drinks, to rice, to even eggs, there is never a reason to go without. One of my favorite vending machines dispenses fresh farm egg for only 200 yen. It's just right outside the base and on the way to school, so it has been very convenient! Japan is so quirky, I love it!

The Air Force Ball finally arrived. I begged, and pleaded, and even bargained with Kyle to go with me. Basically I wanted an excuse to dress up all fancy, do my hair, and put on some makeup and feel pretty for a night out with my husband. This probably doesn't come as a shock, but these Air Force Ball things are NOT Kyle's thing. We have never attended one, but since it is our last one here in Misawa, he caved...as long as I didn't make him attend another one ever again. DEAL! I just need one ball to say I have done it :)

We ended up sitting next to a bunch of friends form our squadron and while all the guys got together to talk "shop talk" us ladies talked about more normal things other than our jobs that we do 24/7. Come on guys, try to not talk about planes for one night. The food was as good as it was going to get coming from the club on base here in Misawa, and the dancing wasn't really our thing, but socializing with all our friends was a blast and we ended up enjoying ourselves that might without kids. As much as we love our kiddos we are really learning to relish those moments when we get to escape just the two of us.

Soccer season has finally arrived! The kids have been so excited for soccer practices to begin that on the first day of practice they could hardly control their excitement... and energy. I got permission to sign Connor up since he was turning 3 during the season. So he was the youngest on the team, while Abby was one of the older kids on the team. I loved that they get to play together, and they of course did all the drills side by side. If Connor grew just a couple more inches I wouldn't be surprised if people started thinking they were twin cause they sure do love doing everything together. 

I was kind of designated the soccer mom of our team since no one else was willing to step forward and help. Since I know the coach (Terri who is so wonderful and a friend in our ward) I decided to step up to the plate (or should I say goal since it's soccer?) and help out. So now I am on the hunt to get volunteers for bringing snacks, setting up team pictures, and organizing a team party at the end. What did I get myself into?!

This week Abby had another open house at school. I enjoyed watching her in her Sumire classroom, even though I had to bring Connor and Brayden along. We were all entertained by the songs the kids sang,  watching them practice their Kanji flash cards, and then make a craft that would be on display in the upcoming Daiichi bazaar. I couldn't believe how well Abby did with the Japanese flash cards, and she knew every word to all the songs they sang. To top it all off, Abby blew me away with her scissor skills while doing her craft. I didn't even know she knew how to use scissors, let alone cut straight lines and circles!!! Thank you Daiichi, you are making me love you even more for teaching my kid all these amazing skills.

Perhaps my favorite part to the open house was watching Abby look over at us and give us smiles through out the event. She was so proud to show off her mom and brothers to her classmates and sensei, and was so excited to show us all that she has been working on. She is such a cutie, and so social. All the kids in her class love her, she is quite the little miss popular.