Weekend = ADVENTURE TIME

I love the weekend because that means I can convince Jon that we should go do crazy things that we are not exactly sure how they will turn out and still get back in time for bed.  After a week with heavy winds and a potential typhoon when it cleared we went on TWO (that's right people two) adventures.  Our trampoline flew out of our yard one day during the week so we flipped it over and put sand bags on it to make sure that didn't happen again and it made playing in our back yard a new adventure. They wrote on the trampoline with chalk and on the ground and then played in a bucket of water. 

Friday night we saw someone in our neighbors car who is out of town so I ran outside to stop whoever it was.  It happened to be some other neighbors who are driving it around the block weekly to help the battery.  Since I ran out to stop them we started to talk and they invited us to go to a some falls in town and we took them up on it.  We would never have been able to find this place on our own.  It was so fun to go with our neighbors and their parents - Molly might have suckered a piggy back from the grandpa in the group.  The falls were amazing and we had a fun time playing in the water and throwing rocks and then a picnic. 

Today we tried to snorkel again and that was a bust.  Molly did not enjoy it, Jon fell and busted his leg, Riley sat crying and Kelly just looked at us like we were crazy.  So we loaded up the car and went a little farther down the shoreline to a netted off beach area.  The girls loved playing in the ocean and I saw some jellyfish caught on the outside of our net so I was glad we were in the net!!  We now have sand everywhere but we had a fun 4 hours at the beach. 

 

 

Bucket of water and chalk - FUN TIME

Laying on the trampline

Following our neighbors to some hidden falls

Ready to hike

Made it to the falls

The girls enjoyed having grandparents who were willing
to share some love with neighbor girls

Picnic at the falls

Climbing the rocks

Ready for church

Getting ready to snorkel - didn't happen

Right before dad fell and busted his leg

Beach bum
Only had a group of 10 people surround her and talk to her for 30 minutes

Riley wanted to wear her swim cap since so the locals had it

Tried the bean shave ice - heard it was good
I am going to go with different and not a reorder

Hawaiian blue and Mango always good

Ai International Preschool

Today the big 2 started preschool here.  I am excited to see all that they learn (and maybe teach me).  It is a local preschool but they speak English and Japanese in school and teach both to the kids.  They were excited this morning especially since for drop off everyone is together and then you split into your classes so they get to go in together each day.  We walked up the stairs and they were taking their shoes off throwing their backpacks off and running into the class.  I thought since it was just baby K and me we could run to the gym and get a short workout in.  Short was the key word as she screamed the entire time from her kiddie area - we might have scared off one family and been highly irritating to another but I did get 1 mile in on the elliptical before calling it quits.   Now we are going to clean the house and enjoy an hour before pick up time!!

 

This describes life post VBS - catching up on some rest

Our semi-annual growth chart update!!

Where I have spent a lot of time since Saturday and hurting my back

Woke up and the trampoline was gone - oh just down a few houses

Molly excited for school

Riley excited for school

A hug to give each other courage

Going to class

No shoes in school

Kelly doesn't think the kid area is all that great - hoping she will change her mind!

Busy and Fun Week

This past week was VBS at our chapel and that meant waking up each morning by 6:45 so we could get everyone up, fed and dressed before leaving and getting things ready.  We were on the go most of the day so our meals this week were leftovers or super easy 15 minute prep meals followed by some family fun each night.  Some nights we jumped on the trampoline others learned how to climb walls and one night was movie night.  We learned how to Strand Strong with God and as the week progressed and many volunteers had emergencies come up and miss and we got to see God help the leaders stand strong!  So thankful for friends on the island I could call up to help serve - Abby and Grace came and helped in crews and stations and loved on the kids!  On Thursday we presented the gospel and 3 kids accepted Jesus which was pretty awesome!!!  The kids were begging to go back to chapel on Saturday and were disappointed when they found we won't be going back everyday next week.

Saturday for fun we went to the Japanese pool - one of the favorite places for the girls.

 

Molly loved being in the big kid class

Running around in high heels - what every girls does, right??

Something I am more comfortable with -
Climbing walls without high heels!

Family de-stress time

McNinja.
Maybe 6:45 5 days in a row was a little much for some!

Saturday fun - Japanese pool

Rockin the swim caps

Daddy throwing the water toys

Birthday Fun

For my birthday this year I got to celebrate with over 50 kids from our chapel.  Knowing that Jon and I planned on a low key afternoon and night since he had the day off.  Let me just saying directing and being an active volunteer are a little different but still a lot of fun.  So glad Jon had the day off so he could help me on the first day.  The girls love it and Molly already has some of the songs memorized.  Her favorite being Soon and Very Soon - she gets excited and screams the words.  For dinner we went to Chili's and then came home for cake.  Jon and the girls picked out Smurf decorations with blue icing to celebrate.  Riley told her first joke at dinner - she pointed to me said you are daddy and started laughing.  I asked why she laughed and she said joke then kept repeating it and laughing.  All in all it was a fun day.

 

Kindgom Rock - VBS!!

 

Good Day

Fun times

Birthday Fun

More Birthday Fun

Facebook vs. the Blog

While I love the blog I am battling facebook and its instant gratification.   I click a picture write a note about it and family get to see part of our life.  The only problem is I can't print a book form of that out at the end of the year.  So I am trying to be more on top of the blog - that being said naptime which is also dinner prep, workout time, clean up and my free time is really the only time I get to sit down at the computer and write so it has been pushed off for a bit.  The girls and I continue to see the island with friends and drag Jon around.  How do I know we get out - one day where we needed to stay home the first thing Molly tells Jon when he gets home is that we haven't left the house the entire day. I love day trip adventures especially when we get to go with friends.  Today we ventured to the aquarium with our neighbor who invited a friend she met working out who also invited a friend and it was actually some of our friends - BONUS! 

Life with 3 small kids is a lot the same anywhere with the added bonus we can run to the beach for a few hours and get back for naptime.

I have enrolled the girls in a Christian Japanese school where the big 2 will go 2 days a week.  Riley's class is on the second floor and the fire escape is a slide to the playground which they practice daily for safety reasons - how awesome is that???

 

Here is photos of the past month - ordinary life in the McP house.

On a side note Riley got her first black eye - must be something about being 2 in this family that was a rough year for Molly's head!

 

 

Playtime most mornings finding all the toys that we cleaned up before bed time

Where I earned my SCUBA certification.
Dive buddy day 1 was Bones from Sweden
Dive buddy day 2 was Malta from Wiesbaden Germany

Art time

The loudest by far, wakes up crying, goes down crying and cries sympathy tears if anyone else is crying.

Popcorn after church

Standing in the ice cream freezer - coldest place on the island

Swinging

Beach bible study days

Art wall with all our artwork

birthday party and everyone needed a big kid seat

This was before the panda took her head off
showed herself to be a man inside and was held back from beating another man.
Ahh family friendly entertainment

Because who doesn't want their food shaped like a panda?

Black eye - don't head dive off the couch into the basket.

Modeling new PJ

Pirate ship beach park next to the new preschool

My little ladybug

Aquarium with friends!!