The other week we were approached by our squadron commander telling us that they have chosen Kyle for the next round to complete the instructor pilot upgrade (IPUG). That was the good news, and we were beyond excited! We didn't think it was going to happen with our PCS right around the corner, so we were grateful. But then he hit us with the bad news. Our trip that we have had planned for 10 months now and have had approved for leave to Bali would have to be canceled because the new upgrade program they are starting makes it so no one going through the upgrade can take leave. So we had to ponder very hard to decided if we wanted to go on our trip to Bali or if we wanted Kyle to complete the IPUG. After praying about it we felt that it was best for Kyle to go through the upgrade to help his career, and instead of canceling our trip we just moved it over Christmas... even though the change in our trip dates cost us over $1500 extra OUCH! It was one of those moments where short term it stings, but in the long term having Kyle go through the upgrade, especially in his first assignment (which is practically unheard of, bravo Kyle!) would be better in the long run.
So now that Kyle has started his upgrade he is literally working 12+ hour days. He wakes up and leaves before the kids even do some days and comes home after they have gone to bed. This past week the kid didn't see him at all for three days straight. That's the problem with how they treat the pilots and the families in the Air Force, and that is the main reason why they are having such difficulties keeping pilots in the military past their commitment. It all boils down to quality of life. Right now I would say our quality of life sucks pretty bad. Kyle is home, but he isn't really home. He is stressed out, and I am trying to keep everyone happy. I like to call myself the "neutralizer." when the kids are upset, I have to settle the problem. When Kyle has had a rough day and a rough couple flights where he has hooked or failed them, I am there to listen to him vent. I keep the house clean so that doesn't become a problem for anyone, and make sure everyone is fed. I run errands and complete additional tasks such as make and deliver cookies to Kyle's families he home teaches. I know I am not the one going through the IPUG, but man I am just as exhausted and feel like I am going through the ringer trying to be a "one man band" around here. I may be the neutralizer for everyone in the family, but who is my neutralizer or helper when I need it?
Thankfully Columbus day weekend came and the Air Force granted everyone a PACAF family day. meaning all military personel assigned and serving in the Pacific Air Force are allotted a 4 day weekend. We decided to take advantage of the time together as a family and go down to Tokyo as our last time to our beloved city. O course we decided we had to take the kids to Disneyland and DisneySea. We love the Disney parks here in Japan and are really going to miss them. We have been so spoiled and have attend Disneyland numerous times in our three years here (Even in Shanghai we attended Disneyland).
We decided to take the Shinkansen bullet trains down to Tokyo since it was the fast route. The kids were beyond excited and completely hyped up on energy. It made for a very long train ride for Kyle and myself trying to tag team it with handling the kids. We decided to stop in Sendai which is about half way to Tokyo, about 2.5 hours into our train ride. There we decided to get some food for lunch and had to make a stop at the Adnpanman Children's Museum. The kids loved it! They got to see Anpanman, make Anpanman crafts, play in Anpanman land, and even got to sing and dance along with the characters. This Japanese animated show sure is a huge hit with my kids, and Kyle and I love it because it helps the kids with speaking and understanding Japanese. I much rather have them watch Anpanman and be learning a different language at the same time, than any other random cartoon.
Kyle and I were loving watching the excitement from the kids that we were suckers and got each of them a character stuffed doll. Abby got Doikinchan, Connor got Baikiman, and Brayden got Anpanman. They all have loved their little stuffed character dolls and each kid sleep with thiers every night. We also got cute little sweaters for Abby and Connor which they insist on wearing everyday. What can we say, we are complete suckers for getting things for our kids, especially in the moment of excitement and hype.
The fun thing about this time to the Disney parks was that Connor was tall enough for the smaller roller coasters. So Kyle and myself would take turns taking Abby and Connor on rides, while the other stayed back to watch with Brayden. Speaking of Brayden, he still got to do plenty. His favorite ride was hands down the carousel. He was grinning from ear to ear during the entire ride and would scream and have huge crocodile tears once it ended. We ended up doing the carousel ride several times since it was such a hit with all our kids...especsially Brayden and we just got a kick of how happy he was, followed by his complete meltdown at the end of the ride.
The next day we repeated our early wake up, but this time went to Disneyland. Abby wore her Snow-white dress, and Connor wore his Lightning McQueen shirt. We were pumped, energized, and ready for another day. Again, it was crowded like crazy, but this time we were able to stop and get flavored popcorn (we have the seasonal popcorn holders that cost only 300 yen, or $3 for refills around the whole park) which was a complete lifesaver while waiting in lines. We had tons of popcorn that day, and the kids never really complained about being hungry, hooray! Disneyland is always our favorite because there are more rides for smaller kids to do, and more character oriented things such as the parade, Toon Town, and Fantasy Land.
The highlight to this time was taking the kids on splash mountain for their first time. Kyle took Connor and I took Abby. They both were excited and nervous to go on a "bigger bigger ride" as they called it. After the ride was over and they survived the big plunge at the end, the kids were all smiles and wanted to go again. Kyle and I got a hoot out of the faces they made in the pictures they snap of you on the ride, so we decided that we needed to buy them as our souvenirs for the trip. Besides, we had to document their first "bigger bigger ride" and the priceless faces they had :)
We stayed all day and into the night before we decided it was time to call it and head back to our hotel. We said our goodbyes to Tokyo Disneyland knowing that would be our last time attending. It is starting to feel weird knowing that we will be leaving Japan soon. I think it still feels weird since we don't know where we are going to next. All I know is that I am getting sentimental these days. From our first Disneyland trip when the kids were tiny, to now where they are big enough to go on the roller coasters. It's hard to believe my babies have grown so much during our time here in Japan these past three years.
To finish off our trip we decided to play a little in the pool at the hotel, and walk a little downtown in Shibuya and Harajuku before loading back up on the train to take us back to cold Misawa. We made sure to hit up Krispy Kreme doughnuts in Shibuya, and I was able to find the coveted starbucks Japan collectors coffee mug! Starbucks came out with awesome country mugs but they can only be bought in that particular country, not online. So everyone in Japan has been buying them out and they have been so difficult to come by, but I finally found one and got it as a momento for us to remember our time we spent in Japan.
Now it's back to life. Back to the IPUG, back to long busy days, and back to colder temperatures. We just need to keep our heads down and push forward through these next couple weeks. Here's to hoping we find out our next assignment soon, and that it is good news in which gives us something to look forward to and to work towards.
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