Scrapbooking party

So I went to a scrapbooking party the other day. I made 2 cards. I tried to get pictures of them but it was really hard to get a clear shot. You can see the basic idea of them, though.

This says "The best things in life are hand picked....like your friends!"

This one says "So glad we're friends!"

Beauty in an unlikely place

We were at Donnie's warehouse so he could talk to his workers. From the car we could see these really pretty flowers over by an old, rusty road guard. So pretty and yet so out of place. As luck would have it, I had my camera in the car. I think they look like bells but I don't think they're bluebells. Anyone have any idea what they are??

What I saw from a distance.

The beauty up close.

Jacob's Pride Award

Well Jacob got a PRIDE award. Donnie and I were both kind of shocked. We went for his assembly and boy was it a super long one since it was the end of the school year. We got a few pics but they are not the best. I think we are all glad that the school year is over.

Jacob bored during the assembly.

Jacob with his award for Enthusiasm.

Science Center pics

As usual, I am a little late. Here are the pictures from our trip to the Science Center. It was a really fun day. We had a great time playing with all the cool things. I was really lucky because I had a great bunch of kids. Jacob was happy because his "crush" Rachelle was in our group. They were so good I even bought them all ice cream. I was wore out on the way home and fell asleep on the bus.

Jacob, Alex, Rachelle & Akane

Jacob playing with this wheel thing.

Jacob, Alex, Akane and Rachelle playing

in the building center.

Jacob and the cool block tower.

Alex and Jacob

Jacob using this space launcher

to hit targets.

Jacob feeling what space gravity

feels like.

Jacob exploring.

My friend is sick.

A friend of mine is really sick. Her insides were filled with cancerous tumors that had to be removed. She starts chemo on the 15Th. I am very sad for her and her family. I haven't seen her in about 12 years. We were actually out of touch for several years and I only knew her for about 10 months when I first got married. But she was one of those people that when you get to know her you can't help but feel this deep connection with her. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met and this just seems so unfair to me. She hasn't had the best luck when it comes to relationships. And she has never had children even though she wanted them. They had to give her a hysterectomy. Please say a prayer for my friend Stacey and her family.

I love the Bazaar!!!

Most of you know my love for antiques and good wooden furniture. I guess I get that from my parents. They always brought in old pieces that either my dad would refinish or have refurbished by a professional. My parents have a house filled with beautiful antiques. Whenever I have the opportunity to add unique pieces to my house I jump at the chance. Since I have been in Japan I have bought a few new pieces of Rosewood furniture that I love but I have also found an old antique tea cabinet. All pieces were found at the bazaar. Well I have now added 2 great new pieces. This antique vanity cabinet that you are supposed to sit at Japanese style while you put on your make up. So Geisha like. I was already looking for a full length mirror so it was perfect when I saw it. I also found some Geisha dress shoes and dress purse. It seemed like a perfect addition to the cabinet.

The next piece I found was this great Rosewood cabinet. It was on sale and it was too good of a bargain to pass up. Donnie saw it and when he showed me we both knew we were going to buy it. This is a picture of it we took in our hallway when we first got it home.

Vengesta's Science Center Trip

Thursday the 28Th Donnie was a chaperon for Vengesta's class trip to the Science Center in Yokohama. They had a great time. Well, Donnie was a little frazzled from the kids being so bad. Hahaha. The joy of parenting. I will be going as a chaperon for Jacob's class tomorrow. I am not really looking forward to it. I know how bad the kids in his class are. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from Vengesta's trip. Jacob's will be coming soon.

The 4 kids Donnie had to keep track of:

Lena, Xavier, Gage and Vengesta.

Vengesta and Xavier playing with an
electricity ball.

Vengesta enjoying the jet pack.

Vengesta

Vengesta and Lena as astronauts.

Xavier, Vengesta and Lena (she is just about 8

months older than Vengesta!!)

Vengesta

Vengesta building with blocks.

Freaky Flight

So my flight was uneventful until I arrived in the Tokyo airport. When we arrived they told us to remain seated and pull all the shades down. Then after a few minutes a team of doctors came in dressed in hazmat suits. It looked like something from the movies. There was one who had an infrared camera to see if anyone was running a fever. They checked anyone who was questionable. We all had to fill out questionnaires about our travels and if we had any symptoms of Swine Flu. The guy behind me pulled out his video camera and started filming. I wanted to take a picture but I chickened out. I was afraid to get into trouble. Finally we got the all clear and were able to leave the plane. When we started coming out the corridor there were film crews and news photographers filming us like we were some kind of side show freaks. It was such a surreal experience. Come to find out, the flight the day before had actually gotten quarantined. What a crazy experience.

Vegas Baby!!

Me and Angel

Tami, Jeremy and Me

Me making Donny feel me up. LOL.

Me and Kara

Me and my big brother Reggie

So the reunion in Vegas was a total blast. It was so great to see so many people I hadn't seen in years. And the weird thing is like we hadn't even been apart. We had our meet and greet on Friday evening and it was a load of fun. Everyone kind of went their own ways for dinner and then the majority of us went to the Voodoo Lounge. It was a lot of fun but the drinks were so expensive. We ended up getting a private area and ordering some bottles of alcohol (and they bring the mixers). Because we had a decent size group we were required to buy 4 bottles. First they tried to get us to pay $450 a bottle, then it was down to $300 in the end we paid $150 a bottle. I figure that since they also brought the mixers, it worked itself out price wise since drinks were $12 a piece.

On Saturday we had our dinner at Il Fornaio. It was a really good restaurant and the only good food I had the whole time I was in Vegas. The buffets sucked and were overpriced and the restaurant we ate at Friday night was absolutely so disgusting I didn't eat it. Anyways, the dinner was great and we had a fun time. We had awards for various things and class of 91 got all of them. Granted we also had the biggest turn out of any class. I even won for having travelled the farthest for the reunion. That night we went to the Nine Irishmen Pub. That was a lot less expensive and I think we may have had an even better time than we did at the Voodoo Lounge. They had a live band that was playing a kick ass selection of songs. We partied all night until it closed.

Sunday we had brunch and walked around. We passed Chris Daughtery, which I didn't even notice until my friends started freaking out. I got to meet up with my friend Angelica in the afternoon and spent the evening with her. Then I had to get back to my room and left on Monday morning. It was a pretty uneventful trip....until I got into Tokyo.

Ok, Ok, I confess

Stevee, Journee and Skyee watching TV before bed

Journee, Dante, Stevee and Skyee acting crazy

My little Mario

Sweet Mario

Me and Mario

I've been so lazy since my return from my trip. I have lots of things I will be writing about over the next few days to catch you up on everything. Today I am just going to talk about my trip to Utah to see my brother and his family. I got to the airport early and had some time to kill so I walked around looking at all the shops. I ended up buying a geisha t-shirt for my sister. For lunch I had sushi at a little restaurant and it was quite expensive but since it was fresh and good I was okay with that. Until I left and went around the corner and found another sushi place that was a fraction of the cost. Oh well. Flight was uneventful. I finally arrived in Utah after a long flight and 2 smaller ones. I got to spend 9 days getting to know my nieces and nephews. The girls took a bit to get used to me but once they did, they were so much fun to play with. Baby Mario seemed to recognize me almost. I think he must have thought I looked like my mom. (Since she had spent a lot of time with him when he first came home from the hospital.) Had a great time bonding with the kids and my sister in law. Shopped...A LOT!!! It was a great visit. Here are a few pics from my trip.

Stressing

I have so much to do between now and Wednesday when I leave for my trip. I have 2 PC parties this weekend. One on Saturday and one on Sunday. I am meeting CC for sushi after Saturday's PC party. I need to pack. I have no idea where to start. I also need to do the laundry so it is all done before I leave. I am really anal about how I like it done so I prefer to do it myself. And I am still working on Monday and Tuesday. No wonder I keep waking up earlier than I have to. I think I just have a lot on my mind. I think I am going to turn in early tonight!!

I think therefore I am

Talked to the gym director today. I have to do a contract with the contracting office. I had a lot of decisions to make. Did I want to be paid by the class or by the number of participants?! I have complete confidence in my ability to teach a high energy, enjoyable step class. I know I can get a regular following once I start. And I know to change it up to keep it from getting boring. So since you make more if you end up with big classes, I opted for the option to be paid by the number of participants. I may not make as much at first but I am sure that once word get out, I will make more in the long run. So, I am a little nervous right now. I also need to go and get insurance. Which I think is kind of silly being as I am on a military base. I mean, military bases have a "no/can't sue" mentality so...but I will do it. This process has been wild but I am following my dream. I have wanted to do this for a while and this time I took the plunge and it paid off. Yay me!!

Woo hoo....

For those of you who haven't heard yet, I passed my Group Exercise Certification through AFAA. I took the exam back on February 20th and just got the letter in the mail the middle of last week. So today I got to go in and give my notice for my job. That was hard because I am friends with my boss but I have to do what is right for me. I will start teaching aerobics in May when I get back from my trip to the states to see my brother and go to my high school reunion in VEGAS. (Yeah, I graduated from Italy but who is going to go back to Italy for a reunion??) Anyways, now that I have overloaded you with blogs, later gators!

Cherry Blossom Festival

I had to work during the Cherry Blossom Festival so Donnie took the kids. I had the pleasure of maning the booths that sold chips, cookies, cakes, candies, salsa, nuts and drinks. The Japanese love the American foods and there was a super long line for them to buy this stuff. At one point we were almost out and then they had to get more. As I was trying to open boxes to price and put it out people were all trying to grab it from me. I had to close the box and tell them to back up. They got the message loud and clear and left me alone after that. Phew!

The kids at the Cherry Blossom Festival

The Japanese love meat on a stick

Vengesta eating some ice cream

This cool dragon shaped slide

Vengesta riding the carousel

A few pics from Easter

We had a great Easter. We went to brunch with some friends and then had an Easter egg hunt at home for the kiddos. Fun times!

Vengesta and the bunny

The kids

Showa Park

So on our spring break we took the kids to a park that is about an hour and a half away. This place was AWESOME. It was only $4 for adults and .80 for kids to get in and you could stay as long as you'd like. There were restaurants and vending machines inside or you could bring your own picnic lunch. There were a ton of things for the kids to do. Even paddle boats on a little lake. You could ride your bike on the paths or just walk around and take it all in. We didn't even see the whole park because it was so huge. Here are some of our pictures from that wonderful day. Enjoy!

Hubby and kids in a "cave"

Me and the kids as "flowers"

Some of the pretty flowers

A beautiful view of the park

Kids by the flowers

Vengesta in a cherry blossom tree

Donnie

Vengesta

Me not wanting my picture taken

Us on a dragon

Jacob sliding down the "jumping clouds"

The kids in the "misty forest"

My boys

Us girls

Help, we're being eaten by a snake!

Vengesta by the flowers