Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Hudson rolled over on March 17! He hasn't done it since, but I figure he's done it once, so I know he'll (eventually) do it again! He goes for his 4 month check up tomorrow and everyone is trying to guess how much he weighs...the most is 20!! I'll keep you posted! I feel like I don't do a great job of pics with this little guy, but I really am SO busy! I didn't get a photo/video of him rolling, but here he is right after....

Smiling at his sister right after he rolled over!

Our little leprechauns doing tummy time together!

In other Smiley news Aiden made blue belt in Taekwon-do. He is very proud of himself!

A and Kristana tested togther!

Ummm...I think Aiden needs to take notes on his push up form from Kristana! What can I say...like father like son!!

He did it!

Tokyo or Bust

So, my girlfriend Noelle and I got a wild hair and decided we would take the kid's (sans Daddy's) to Tokyo. Crazy...we know!! But, now that it's all said and done I'm so glad we did it. The kid's complained a lot and Aiden kept saying "I wish we were in Guam", but it's one more stamp in the kid's passport, it's more cool stories to tell their friends and I know when they're older they'll think it's pretty awesome. It's an amazing city- such a great heartbeat. If you ever have the chance to go I highly recommend it!! We got home the day before the earthquake, so we are definitely counting our blessings. If I could only express to you just how close we were to going the "next week" which would have put us there the day the earthquake hit. It was a definite God moment!! I keep saying that it was our families "guardian dog", Reese. She always was our protector!

Here is the photo proof of our time in Tokyo.

At the airport about to board the plane with our crew. Did I mention we flew standby on the Patriot Express? Yes, that's right...there was a chance we weren't going to make it on the flight home, but it was free, so we had to give it a go!


Welcome to Japan...not even in country for 1 hour and already in a Security Forces (that's the Air Force police for all you civilians) van! Maybe we should have taken that as a sign!!

In Shinjuku Station...we were so exhausted. Tokyo is NOT a stroller/handicap friendly city. We had to carry all of our luggage and Hudson in the stroller up flight after flight of stairs. On the plus sign it definitely helped with my last 15 pounds I'm trying to work off!!

If we were lucky there was an escalator!!
Where did we go on our first day in Tokyo? Disney World of course. If you notice from the Guam blog we have upgraded our monorailing!!
The crew headed into Disney Sea. It's a theme park exclusive to Disney Tokyo.

Hudson's first character (and Mom's fave when I was a little girl)!!

We found Ariel...the trip was a success for Elaina!

The next day we went to the Mengji Shrine. These posts are made out of crazy old cypress.

Sake barrels...we asked if there was a place to buy these and they basically laughed at us..they are all hand painted and represent the Sakery (like winery?) where they are made.

While at the shrine we got to see an actual wedding going on. Aren't their kimonos just beautiful!


The shrine had the kid's feeling zen like...if only if that feeling had lasted the whole trip! :)

Aiden slurping down his miso soup at a restaurant we stopped at for lunch. Yum!

The kid's at the top of The Government Building enjoying a free view of Tokyo...it's building's as far as you can see and we could just barely see the outline of Mt. Fuji.

So much city!

Next stop was Harajaku...they say this is where style starts!

You know the Gwen Stefani song about Harajuku girls...there they are!!

We then went to Shibuya...it's the busiest intersection in the world. If you've seen the movie Lost in Translation I hear it's in there (I haven't seen it).

Have you ever seen so many people?? I am proud to report we went in with 5 children and left with 5 children!

We went there to see the Hachiko statue. It's a statue built in honor of this dog, Hachiko, who would go meet his owner there after work everyday. Well, his owner dies and the dog doesn't know, so everyday until Hachi died he went to the station to wait for his owner. The kid's loved the story and it made us so excited to get a new puppy (or 2) when we get back to America!

This is a pic of what we were shoving children, a stroller and ourselves onto...you should have seen their faces when we would start coming!!

In a traditional Japanese garden on our way to the boat to take us to Asakusa.

The kid's in front of some cherry blossoms. They were just starting to bloom. I think it's so cool that we got to see them in Japan!

Up close and personal with some cherry blossoms!

We're on a bo-at...to Asakusa!

On the deck...the view didn't come out that good because of the lighting.

On the boat eating shrimp chips...how they will eat these is beyond me, but it definitely impresses me! We would not have touched stuff like that when we were their age!

Aiden eating raw shrimp sushi at Sushi Go Round...I'm telling you...the kid's the best eater in the world! We are blessed!

You pay for the sushi based on the color plate you pick up. I thought that was pretty cool!

The entrance to Asakusa.

The Fan Man...I got fussed at for photographing his work!!

I LOVED all of the entrances to the restaurants and stores. They were all so cute and well taken care of. A drastic contrast to things here in Korea!

The kid's in Roppongi (where the embassy's, etc are). The orange and white building in the background is Tokyo Tower.

The kid's enjoying some traditional Japanese tepanyaki...SOO good!

The kid's in front of the moat going into the Imperial Palace.

Look at those doors...talk about a fortress!

Check out those walls...nobody is getting in here!

I like the contrast of the old and new here. You can't stop progress!

We're saying goodbye to Tokyo. This is our hotel, the New Sanno. If you're wondering where Hudson is...he's out on the curb waiting for the bus!!

This was our parting view of Tokyo outside the plane. Pretty phenomenal, huh?! The kid's refer to it as "Mountain Fuji"!

Guam

We got home 2 weeks ago from a wonderful, relaxing vacation on a tiny little island in Micronesia, called Guam. It's a great island. It was exactly what the doctor ordered...warm weather and very relaxing. We couldn't have asked for more. It's a U.S. territory, so it was so so so WONDERFUL to have American things....American cars, American restaurants, American stores...it was a fantastic change from Korea. Also, I will segway a bit here...we are extending in Korea. A great job opportunity came up that Patrick felt like he couldn't pass up. So, we'll be here 6 months longer than originally planned for a total of 13 more months left in country (yes, I'm counting!) I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I'm happy that Patrick has gotten this opportunity, but I had started my less than 1 year countdown and was looking forward to getting an assignment, but on the plus side Patrick promised us a trip to Australia and New Zealand if he got the job, so in the fall we will be going on our second vacation of a lifetime...there's always a silver lining, right?

I digress...back to the vacation!

Hudson's first plane ride...he did great!!

I forgot to mention that the Super Bowl was on our first day in Guam. So, here's the crew ready to watch! What a great way to start off our vacation...a Packer Victory!! Go Pack Go!

Hudson's got his toes in the water! His first time in the ocean. It was the Philippine Sea! If someone had said to me when I was 15 that in 15 years I would have 3 kid's and we'd be playing in the Philippine Sea I would have NEVER believed it!

My boy's soaking up some sun first thing in the morning!

I also didn't mention that we went with our closest friends here, the Ferguson's. This is E and Chloe building a sandcastle!

Elaina wanted to go in a 'boat' and of course she picked the swan...gotta love that girl! What a guy!!! He took ALL the kid's on a boat BY HIMSELF!
Momma and Hud playing in the pool!

The Smiley's and the Ferguson's out for a real Japanese meal...it was delicious!
Daddy making Hudson smile. Also, that is one of Aiden's old outfits. It's funny how much he looks like Aiden ecsecially when he's in his clothes! We call him Aiden all the time!
On the bridge up to some waterfalls...check out our little poser!

The fam in front of the falls...the noise put Hud right to sleep!

Still posing on another bridge!

Check out the "monorail"!! Just like Disneyworld, right? Notice that it's got a lawn mower engine for a motor! Nothing but the best for these families! Notice Lenny is doleing out drinks...we needed them for this ride!

Momma and Hudson ready for a ride...hold on tight!
Noelle's ready...the track was roller coaster tracks!

What you ask, did we take the monorail ride for? For this...a cave that a Japanese soldier hid in for 30 years. They tried to tell him several times that the war was over, but he didn't believe it. He thought as soon as he came out he would be killed. It took them 30 years to convince him otherwise. We all decided that he must have just been crazy....why else would you live in a cave for 30 years!!

Here is an explanation if you're interested. The kid's were completely fascinated by this story, so it was a great teaching opportunity. They asked a lot of really good questions and the guy's ended up telling them the whole story about World War II.
A, Kristana, Chloe and Jeff in front of a drawing of what the inside of his cave looked like. It was only 3 feet high!

A group shot on our way back from the cave on the monorail!

Pigs, roosters and dogs oh my!
We went to a really neat night market that the locals put on...this is the kid's in front of one of the booth's!

Here they are with a 65 year old coconut crab. Please notice the looks on our children's faces...they are not all that into this!
Aiden came around...I think he just wanted to look cool, but Elaina never did!
Water buffalo....we must be in Asia!
The fam with a water buffalo!

The next night was family picture night. Here are some of our faves...yes, she's still posing!
Aiden climbing a palm tree...such a handsome boy, huh?!

Our sweet Hudson rolling around in the grass...with spit up running down his shirt...he's such a Smiley baby!
Our babies...could they be sweeter, cuter, or more precious?? I think not!
The fam with the sun setting. Such fun and so beautiful!
Are those colors amazing or what? Wish we could go back!!
P and I got a date night after photos and Jeff and Noelle took the kid's. Here they are in the aquarium gift shop.
AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!
Now doing some hot tubbing!

The next night was Jeff and Noelle's turn for a date and we took the kid's to Chuck E Cheese!! Yep...just like America!
The fam on our last morning on the beach!
On our way to the airport we stopped at Two Lover's Point. We were so glad we did. Check out that view. Just wish we'd had our good camera. We had to use our 'little' one since the nice one was packed.

Check out that water...AMAZING!!

Here are a few fun shots I wanted to throw in...

We took Elaina to get her hair trimmed and the lady curled it for her. She was so proud of these curls! She kept telling us how beautiful she looked!

You know you have kid's when you're all dressed up for a formal and you forget to get a pic of yourselves all dressed up, but take one of your sweet hubby and cute daughter 'dancing' since 'Daddy looks like a Prince!"

This is what happens when Hudson does tummy time...he lays on the floor and sucks on his fist...we are completely positive he'll be rolling by college :)

Me and my loves!