Closing in on Summer

I haven't posted anything since right after we returned from our trip to the states. Wow- another summer has come and gone, and school is right around the corner.

So begins the packing of lunches, early bedtimes, early wake ups, and homework! It is just so hard to believe that it is time again for another school year to begin. I am not sure where the time goes. It doesn't seem like that long ago that we watched Patrick go off to kindergarten. Now, Patrick is a big 3rd grader.

Matthew...our little preschooler. Ah- I love preschool. There is just something about the preschool days- so innocent, fun, and still so young! When I walk in to the school to pick up Matthew, I am still warmed by his huge smile and hug as he runs over to me and says, "MOMMY-your here." As if it is a surprise every day that I pick him up. I am secretly very happy that Matthew didn't make the cut off for kindergarten. I will cherish this last year. I know all too well that my little guy will go off to Kindergarten all too soon and will be starting 3rd grade like Patrick before we know it.

The start of this school year also marks the first time in 8 years that I don't have a little person with me at all throughout the day. Last year, Matthew only went to school two days a week. This year he will go five. I know I know, most moms are thinking- party!!! The kids are gone, and I finally have ME time. The truth is that I have enjoyed the time at home with my two boys. Playdates, pool days, beach days, backyard times, and cuddling up on the couch to read a book are some of the greatest moments! Sure, there are days when I wanted to pull my hair out. The Nowak boys can certainly have their moments- when all you hear about all day is Indiana Jones or Star Wars conversations, the day is a little long. Or, when the legos are covering my floors and they get stuck onto my feet when I walk. Or, when they both gang up on mom and say, "Your Mean" just because I won't let them have their 10th snack of the day. All in all though, I can't complain about these two little boys whose imaginations reach to the moon and back. They are so fun and creative and keep my days filled!

So, off to school it is. No more lazy mornings on the couch watching Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. For all of you with little ones at home or just starting out in Kindergarten or preschool, I wish you the best. Take kleenex with you, but don't stick around. They will be fine!

This one is for you Grandpa Nowak!

We had a layover in Dallas on the way back to Japan, so I took a few pictures to show Grandpa Nowak that we were really in Texas. The boys just had to put on the hats and pretended to be....yes, you guessed it.....INDIANA JONES!!

Fun with the Schaadts!

The weekend before leaving, the Schaadts (my dad's brother's family) came visiting for the day and night. It was so much fun to see everyone and catch up. Jane and Cory live in Chicago, Uncle Sam, Aunt Rita, Jessica, and Grandma are all in different parts of Ohio. I am glad everyone made it up to Michigan to visit while we were there because it would have been too hard for us to visit everyone in all of the different places. Anyway, the boys had fun with everyone, and it was a day of fun with everyone. My grandma is almost 92, but she amazes me with every time I see her. She is doing pretty well for a 92 year old!!

A Rare Moment captured on film!!

While visiting in Michigan, we found out quickly that the two oldest cousins (Claire 5 and Patrick 7) tended to have their share of arguments. We think it is due to the fact that both of them are the oldest child in each family, therefore each has a certain sense of independence and stubborness. We referred to it as the clashing of the two alpha dogs. :):) Anyway, even though most of the time, they were in some sort of battle, I managed to capture these cute pics on film.

What happens when you let two boys outside with a whole lot of dirt? They are putting in sidewalks in Nana and Papa's neighborhood, so Patrick and Matthew got a little carried away while we weren't looking. Unfortunately, the mess got cleaned up before I got outside with the camera. I did however capture some of the fun they had.

We're Home!

We made it back to Yokosuka last night after a very long day of traveling. The boys did great- Matthew slept for 7 hours on the plane and Patrick slept for 5. Brian was at the airport, and we all rode the shuttle back to the base. It is good to be home, but we had a fantastic time while we were in Michigan. I am going to be posting some pics of our last week there.

We'll try again tomorrow!!

Well, here we are - back at my parent's house in Richland, MI. We were suppose to be in the air right now, halfway to Japan, but our trip didn't go quite as planned today.

We woke up at 5:30 am to get to the Detroit airport by 8:30 for our 10:30 am flight. We said our goodbyes at about 9:45 and headed to our gate. They came on and announced that our flight had been delayed into Chicago due to strong thunderstorms (this was sounding way too familiar) and we would have to wait for the storm to pass and then we'd be on our way. Well, the second time they came on and announced that we were now going to be 2 hours delayed and that the Chicago airport had been shut down three times already this morning. He said there was no need to worry about connecting flights because all flights out of Chicago were delayed by at least two hours. At this point I called my parents who unfortunately were very close to home. I had a feeling that we were not going anywhere today. Finally, the ticket agent announced that it would be best to find alternate plans and rebook for tomorrow. I got to a phone (I don't have a US cellphone, so I had to use the old fashioned payphone) and called American because the ticket counter line was a mile long. A very nice lady rebooked us onto a flight tomorrow morning to Dallas and then on to Tokyo. I told her there was no way I was going to try to connect again in Chicago. Chicago is suppose to have strong storms again tomorrow.

So, my mom and dad drove all of the way back to Detroit and picked us up. Thank you Mom and Dad! We opted to come back here instead of pay for a hotel in the detroit area. After two hours in the car this morning, six hours in the airport, and another two hours in the car this afternoon, we feel like we have already traveled to Japan. We'll be getting up in less than six hours to start all over again.

Luckily, even though we had checked our luggage, we were able to retrieve it since the flight was cancelled and never went anywhere. So, we have fresh clothes for tomorrow!

Wish us well as we start all over and try again tomorrow!!