I'm Getting the Hang of This!

So I'm starting to get the hang of this, I've played with the colors and figured out how to change the background but haven't decided if I want to or not. I've added some music, some of the kids favorite songs. Kyle loves to go around singing "Had a Bad Day" but didn't want to put that on, because I didn't want everyone to think he goes around having a bad day all the time he just loves the song. He also loves "You're Beautiful" but when he's mad at me or Megan he likes to sing it "You're NOT Beautiful", so I decided to leave those two songs off of my selection.

So people have been asking about the toilets. They absolutely FREAK Megan out but then again she has a problem with toilets that date back to Virginia. A few times she had been "Flooded" on a few times by automatic flushing toilets. Once in the NEX bathroom, where it auto flushed and it kept flushing and flooded the floor and we had to run out of the family bathroom and another time at daycare. No, Japan has come along way in the last 10 years since Don and I visited. The majority of the cities are "Westernized" and do have American style toilets, granted the they have all of these fancy flushing gadgets on them and bidets on them, but they work the same. You will find these in the malls and train stations, however they still have traditional Japanese toilets. However, if you do go to parks or smaller remote towns they are still traditional Japanese style toilets. So I always remind Megan to go to the bathroom before we leave the house. So here is the picture. By the way, sorry for all the "potty" talk. I try not to do this, but for those of you that asked here it is.........It's like a urinal but in the ground!

A few weeks ago I went along with Megan on a field trip with her second grade class to Yokohama. They toured a Chocolate factory and went to Chinatown. The chocolate factory was very secretive kind of like Willy Wonka. The Japanese Chocolate is different, not as sweet. Some of it is good. They have a sweet chewy candy similar to starburst but more airy called Hi Chew that the kids really love. That was a "Top Secret" process that we weren't allowed to see. All we were allowed to see was the packages coming off the belt and into the boxes. No cameras were allowed inside the factory. Here is a picture of Megan outside the factory and in Chinatown (in Yokohama).

So on to current events, school is almost out we only have 1 more week and then we are off for the summer. Hard to believe since we are into rainy season here. I need to figure out what we are going to do if it rains all month. The kids are really into swimming and the outdoor pools are open but freezing cold. Megan is now in Level 5 and can now join the competitive swim team. I want to see how she likes Level 5 first and see if that is something she wants to do. Kyle needs one more time at Level 2 and will then be able to move to Level 3. They are like little fish in the water.

Some friends and I went exploring off base on Tuesday and we found a wonderful bagel shop, they are so yummy and fresh. We also found a yummy Thai place. So I (Mrs. Picky) have found some places to eat off base. There was a street fair Memorial weekend that we walked through here on Blue street in Yokosuka. They were cooking octopus on a stick and Megan said "Ok, I'm never eating Japanese food", about that time I said the same thing. As most of you know, I'm not a huge seafood fan and a lot of the Japanese food is seafood. They even put seafood in their spaghetti or eggs on top. Whole other story.

Anyways, here is the last thing. Kyle had to learn a Hawaiian dance called the Hukelau and there's another one I forget the name. You might have to fast forward a little on the Hukelau to get to the actual singing. He loved learning them and would sing them at the bus stops (before we got a car). It was so cute. He loves to sing and dance and he tells us he wants to grow up and perform. We'll see.