Hi!

Sorry I haven't been blogging much! The four of us have had the Misawa crud and it hasn't been pleasant. The kids got it first then Dan and I did and it has done a number on the adults! I ended up getting a sinus infection from it and finally got on antibiotics and I am still trying to convince Dan to go to the doc for the same. Men.... Hopefully he will soon.

The snow is still covering everything here but we are getting some warmer days so its melting a bit. However, it is currently sunny and snowing outside. So funny to me. I never thought I'd get tired of the snow but it is starting to wear me down a bit - I am really looking forward to the early spring when the snow has melted and we get the amazing cherry blossoms everyone talks about.

While we have free heat - and free everything - in our on base home, we don't have a/c.... and the months of August and September have been described as TORTUROUS! Like, you have to have dehumidifiers in every room because of the stifiling humidity and heat. Not a fan of the heat when it is that bad. Thankfully, that only tends to last about 2 months here.

The kids are doing great. LOVE their new school. Noah goes off base to a great pre-school five days a week and Ellyotte goes to the same place 3 days a week, sometimes more if she cries hard enough for it.

We haven't been snowboarding/skiing in a couple of weeks because of all we have had going on on the weekends. I had a baby shower here at our home for a great girlfriend of ours - we had 30 women come! Everyone loves Kara. And this weekend, we have the annual spouses' dining in. Our theme is Hee Haw - so I am in charge of decorations, etc and it has been stressful planning. But will truly be a fun night for the women on base - I can't wait to see how our OSS table and gals do this weekend! Hopefully we will win something for originality ;)

I am finishing up a term and will jump right into teaching another. That has also kept me busy. Despite the busyness though, I am starting to get homesick. Maybe it is the gray, dreary snow days getting to me; I don't know. But I do miss my family and home terribly. Some days are so easy, others are not. Today has been so-so but there is always so much to be thankful for.

My friend back home, Alithia, sent her little man's Flat Stanley to us so that was fun taking him around and taking pictures of him and "teaching him" all about Japan. It is currently back in the mail with lots of pictures and info for Houston to show to his little class. Noah liked helping out with his friend's project all the way here in Japan.

Dan's job is definitely keeping him busy and gone a lot. But it is awesome having his office literally 3 minutes away. And so far, he's not slated to deploy or go on any long trips so we are thankful for that.

This is just a short update as I have to wake up Elly from her nap to go get Bubba (Noah) from school. But I wanted to let you all know we are alive and well here in the Land of the Rising Sun!