Asher turns 4!

Could my title be right? Is my baby 4 years old!  We have enjoyed these last 4 years so much.  He has made this family whole.  With his silly faces and off-the-wall jokes he keeps us laughing through-out the day.  I won't lie, he does drive us up the wall at times but I wouldn't change him in any way.  Happy Birthday to my sweet Asher James.  

Enjoying presents from Mommy and Daddy.  He got two nerf guns to play with his sister (these were so cheap and awful they went right into the trash), an Angry Birds game, and the best gift - a snorkel set with flippers.  These made one boy very happy!

Having a virtual cake with Grandma and Papa Mullen.  It is sad my kids thinks this is normal.  But he loved it.  

Excited for more presents from them.  He got cars and a more fancier nerf gun (a much nicer one than the one mom gave him).  

Took him to Macaroni Grill for dinner.  These kids love pasta!

Asher the tiger :)

Big sister showing how a tiger smiles. 

Happy Birthday in Italian.  He really enjoyed it.  

Blowing out his candle.  Glad he got a small cake because I didn't have one for him :/

HAPPY BOY!!!

Even though we are in a hotel we made the best of the day.  So excited to see what the next year will bring this sweet face.  

Zumami Island tour!

I am back!!! It has be almost an entire year since I have written on this blog.  I wish I was saying I was off touring the world, oh wait...I was :).  We have been keeping ourselves busy by seeing a lot of the Japan islands.  As most of you know we have now moved to the smaller island of Okinawa. This last weekend we took our first ITT tour to the Zamami island.  We had the best time and came home with the sunburn to show it.  

Before we boarded the boat to head to the island we stopped at the International Cemetery in Naha.  This is where 100+ foreigners are buried.  Most dating back to 1718-1785. 

It was a small cemetery but was kept up nice.  Sadly a lot of the stones showed babies that only lived a day or two.  

Here is one for a solider.  His dog-tags were nailed to the cross for identification.  

 Finally we made it to the island of Zamami!  With the white sand and fish filled reefs we had a blast.  

This was the first time for the family to go snorkeling.  These kids have been begging us to get snorkel gear and finally we caved.  Look at how stinkin cute Alyssa looks.  She is one happy girl.  

And her brother was just as happy and adorable in his gear.  

Getting ready for the snorkel lesson from Daddy :)

 Looking good!

 This is Alyssa and Daddy going out a little further.  After this we couldn't keep her out of the water.  Every time we came up to the beach for a break she was dragging us back to go out again.  She LOVED it!!!

Now it is Asher's turn.  He liked it a little at first but was not excited that he couldn't touch the bottom.  We ended up getting an inner-tube for him to hold onto and this made a big difference.  After that we were able to go out as a family of 4, exploring the entire reef.  

Alyssa is so excited about the BIG fish she saw.  

Mommy with her little fish enjoying the ocean.  

These two pictures just crack me up.  

He is ready for the ocean now!

Run little man!

We had a great time and really look forward to going back.  Here is Alyssa with her Daddy working on Sudoku on the boat return.  I just love looking at bonding time with Dad.    

I hope to keep up my blog following our adventures on Okinawa.  Hopefully the next post will be pictures of our new house with an AMAZING view (I am tired of hotel living)!!

Asher turns 3!!

Is my baby boy really 3 years old?!  The time has gone by too fast but we have loved every (well almost every) minute of it.  My dear Asher, you have challenged my parenting skills every step of the way but I wouldn't change you one bit.  This weekend we celebrated Asher's birthday and had a blast doing so.  Hope you enjoy my pics...

  

Grandma and Papa Mullen spoiled our big boy with lots of gifts.  He was so excited to open them all up. 

 He is turning into ALL boy!  I knew that he would love his sport equipment.  For starters his basketball. 

And of course coming from Grandma he got a baseball glove and ball.  He is still trying to figure out the glove but loves the ball. Thank you Grandma and Papa!

Saturday evening we got together with some of our Japan friends to celebrate this wonderful boy.  We met up at the base beach for some pizza, cake, and fun! (The weather was great too!)

Just in case you didn't know.....he is 3!!!

We had a mixture of Cars and dinosaurs.  This was his cake made by his mom with LOVE.  

He needed no help blowing out the candles this year :( 

(He is growing up too fast)

Lots of wonderful presents, which included a book and cars.  He was a happy boy!

 We stayed the night in the cabin on the base beach.  In the morning the weather was beautiful so we had breakfast on the porch.  And I definitely love the view from the front porch looking in :)

Couldn't miss the family photo opportunity. 

While waiting for the boat rental place to open we walked along the shore.  It was a really nice day. 

Paddle boats here we come!  Aren't these two just too cute for words. 

Ok Dad get paddling!! 

Alyssa's turn to sit next to Dad.  

Now the little munchkins are in the front.  They had a great time. 

When we got home Asher had one last surprise.  A NEW BIKE!!!  He loved it! 

We quickly got ready for a bike ride around the neighborhood.  He did really well and could ride it ALL day.  

Look at that stud!

Alyssa's first (and probably last) dance recital!

Although Alyssa loved dancing with her friends it is not her true passion (take a wild guess what that is).  So after this great recital she will no longer be dancing.  But I am so glad she had this experience.  She says she doesn't want to dance anymore she just wants to do recitals.  I wonder if that has anything to do with all the attention and flowers she was getting.  But mommy wants her to do it because she looks so darn cute!  Take a look....

The reason Alyssa got into dance.  Her friend Marielle was taking lessons and told Alyssa about it, and I am glad she did.  Aren't they the cutest!

Goofing off before the big performance. 

Sorry for the horrible pictures but had to get a couple shots in.  Their teacher was standing behind the curtain off stage showing them the moves.  Most girls watched her the entire time.  It was really cute. 

This was her routine for ballet. 

Here was her tap class. 

Her Daddy bought her flowers :)

Alyssa and Marielle with all their loot. 

I was so proud of my little girl!

And so was her Daddy. 

I had to get this shot because it was held at the Misawa International Center.  One day I can remind her that she had her first dance recital in JAPAN.  Very cool. 

Now that dance is over Mommy is on the hunt for horse riding lessons.  If you hadn't guessed, that is her true passion.