Mom and Michelle's Visit!

Let the good times roll! Nothing but laughs when my mom and I get together!

I was lucky enough to have my mom and sister come out while Nick and I headed up north to have Baby Noah! They were here for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! She thinks they were here too long but honestly, they weren't here long enough!

Of course the day they arrive it has to be raining! That didn't stop us, my mom walked Dezmarie to the bus stop every morning rain or shine!! Look at their big bright smiles!

At the bowling alley!

Nick and I missed out on all the fun, we were in Yokosuka waiting for Noah to make his grand appearance and Michelle and my mom got to go on a field trip to Miyajima Island with Dezmarie and her class!

Michelle is such a good aunt! Dezmarie looks so happy, I wish I was able to go with them. 

Hmmm, I think my mom gets sea sick :-) I'm glad she was able to enjoy the little boat ride across the water to Miyajima Island. 

Not only did I miss out on the trip to Miyajima Island but I missed out on Halloween! My mom dressed up with Dezmarie and took her out for trick or treating! I was still here for a Halloween Party at the Library here on base so it wasn't a total loss :-) wish I had seen my mom dressed up though!

Now the fun really begins because Nick and I came back from Yokosuka with baby Noah!

We ventured out on a cold day, to go see the famous Kintai Bridge and Iwakuni Castle. My mother is a trooper, she was in pain and her muscle simulator thingy in her back kept shocking her so she looked like she was having a seizure sometimes lol but she kept going and made it all the way up to the top of the Castle! 

Can you see her all itty-bitty down by that dead tree? This was her bracing herself for the rest of the climb up to the top of that Castle!

We fought our way through this dense green Jungle with machete in hand! Running from monkeys and wild cats just to get to that small white spec there on the top of the mountain!..JUST KIDDING, we took a cable car up there :-) the hike from the cable car to the castle wasn't that bad. 

I think my mom deserves a nice relaxing dinner after the adventure we took her on. So we took Michelle and my mom to THE CHICKEN SHACK! YAY, that's our favorite place to eat. 

CHEERS MOTHER!

We were lucky and it wasn't packed when we went this particular day, we were able to sit inside but even indoors it was FREEEZZZING!

I remember Nick being his grumpy old self this day, can you tell? I don't remember what was wrong with him but I am glad he came!

Mmm, my mom snapped a picture of the food! It was sooo good. You see that bowl of rice there in the lower left corner?.. you see how my mom has her chopsticks stuck in there.. well that is a big NO NO here in Japan, it is very disrespectful and only done in the event of a death. Leave it to my mom to do this multiple times AND take a picture :-) I found it so funny, I kept laughing because she was so paranoid and kept checking to make sure her chopsticks were on the table.

Aw, look at my mom being a good grandma and keeping her baby boy warm!

My mom and sister were here for two months, I know they missed being home and I'm sure time went by slowly for them but for me the time flew. I miss them and hope that we get to see them again soon! We ended their visit with some family pictures. It was absolutely freezing this day, but I bet you would have never guessed! I think we played it off pretty well and managed to get some good pictures.

I sure do love my family, no matter what. I wouldn't trade them for anything! I cherished every moment we spent together here in Japan.

Let's go on an adventure!

Nick came to Japan first in May, then the following month in June Dezmarie and I came out to join him. When we came out here I was just over 3 months pregnant! I hadn't really gotten a chance to familiarize myself with Japan and our surrounding area before medical informed me I had to go up north by Tokyo to a base in Yokosuka to have an ultrasound done. CRAZZZZYYY!

I was excited and worried but did my best to be positive. Nick wasn't able to go with me and to make things just a little more complicated he couldn't get time off of work to take care of Dezmarie while I made the long trip on the Shinkansen aka Shin (bullet train) up north! So me and little Desiree packed our bags and prepared ourselves for our 13 hour train ride up north.

The Shin is no joke, you better brace yourself when that bad boy comes by! If it isn't making a stop at the station you are waiting at you get to see it go by in FULL SPEED! It caught Dezmarie and me off guard and when it came by she panicked and thought that it was the end of the world!

HEY! It's the middle of summer, almost in the hundreds with 100% humidity, I'm pregnant I have a 5 year old who isn't use to doing any real physical activities...I know! Let's go on a hike in the mountains to go see the Iwakuni Castle! That sounds like a wonderful idea lol, worst thing I think I could have ever thought of. Who encouraged the terrible idea and took us to the Kintai bridge and the Castle? Miss Elena and Mister Dustin :-) 

 Let's get this adventure started! Here we go, heading to the Kintai bridge then to the Iwakuni Castle.

 I ABSOLUTELY love how thick and green Japan is, it is b-e-a-utiful! The forests are a must see.

Poor thing, can you tell she is hot and sweaty? She is still smiling and enjoying the hike though!

These are the stairs that lead up to the castle. 

WE DID IT!! Yay, we just about died but we made it to the very top of the Castle. 

This is the view from inside the Iwakuni Castle, inside is a museum. 

Now, that we got that crazy itch out of our system and are thinking clearly we planned a better outing! :-)
This time around we went to Hiroshima to go check out Hondori Street, it's almost like a shopping mall.

It was perfect weather this time, it wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze. We were able to really enjoy this trip out into Japan. Wish we had enough time to go see Peace Park, maybe we will do that when the weather starts to warm up again!

I love how Desiree has no fear, and she is just so adventurous! She was so excited when we got off the train and started walking around Hiroshima. She did her own thing!

Hey look! It's Miss Elena, the bestest person in the whole world! Thanks to this amazing woman we were able to actually explore Japan and see some beautiful things!

....ok, so she isn't the BEST tour guide :-) we got lost a few times...and jumped on the wrong cable car but we found all the places we were trying to get to and made it home safely!

Sanzoku aka The Chicken Shack!

This amazing restaurant is up in the mountains not far from base, its such an amazing and beautiful place that we enjoy going to! They bring us little grills to cook yakiniku (raw meat) on, they have these amazing chicken legs on a stick! mmm, the food here is so good and the scenery is magical. There is a pond with big koy fish that you can feed, there are also little shops where you can by some nick-nacks and the seating is all outside!

When you pull up you would think there is some crazy festival of some sort going on, but nope! This is how it always looks, and at night it is lit up with tons of lights!

There is running water throughout this entire place. little makeshift waterfalls, bridges, ponds you name it! It is always green and lush and the vibes this place gives off is just indescribable! I love it here.

HELLO JAPAN!

We came to start our new life in Japan in May of 2013 and ever since we have stepped foot here it has been an adventure! I am so happy and excited to start this new chapter in our lives, and I can't wait to see what new things we will see and experience here!

TA-DA!! Our big girl started Kindergarten in Iwakuni-shi Japan! Desiree was nervous and cried for the first few days but now she absolutely LOVES school! She has an amazing teacher who has an amazingly friendly, caring and helpful aide who Desiree loves.

Kindergarten is no joke here, by the end of the school year she will be reading! She is doing fantastic with her math and reading skills and she is already able to read me stories, I am so proud of our big girl. She is always getting all kind of rewards and is always so excited to tell me about her day and what she learned that day! I hope she stays this motivated thought all her school years! 

Anyone who knows Desiree can tell you that she has a big heart, a sweet caring personality but she is EXTREMELY shy. I will admit I had a lot of concerns and I was afraid that she was going to have a hard time adjusting to a new home that was on the complete opposite side of the world! She BLEW me away with how outgoing she is, she has made tons of new friends and has tried new things....so maybe she didn't like everything she tried and didn't stick to some of the activities she tried but the important thing is, she is TRYING and has a good ATTITUDE about it!

She wanted to be a ballerina, she did great but then outgrew her leotard and, unfortunately, I couldn't get new ones fast enough for her and she decided she was done with that idea.

Then there was GIRL SCOUTS! Yay, she was SUPER excited to be in girl scouts because dad was in boy scouts and she wanted to be just like him! OH NO! Mcgruff the crime dog is at ALL of the events....yeah, that didn't go will with Desiree...so no more girl scouts for her. 

Oh well, we will find something that fits her eventually! At least she has made some friends, best friends to be exact! 

Desiree (Dezmarie) age 5, Aurora age 6 and Cambria (Cama) age 4.

GUESS WHAT?!

We welcomed our newest addition to the family shortly after moving to Japan! We left the states pregnant and gave birth in Yokosuka Japan, which is up near Tokyo, to our baby boy. 

Noah Christopher Georgi.

NOV. 11, 2013 7 lbs 13 oz 18.5 inches long, born at 5:38 pm.

OUR FAMILY IS COMPLETE!....for now :-)