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.  

Our first camping trip!!!

I have been begging AJ to go camping for as long as I can remember.  And I've finally learned to just make the plans and listen to him complain about it later :)  I decided the best way to introduce my family to this wonderful experience was to start with a cabin.  Our good friends/neighbors invited us on one of their last adventures in Japan :( to a little area outside of Nanbu Town.  And we ALL had the best time and will be returning soon...

This is where we stayed.  Aren't they the cutest cabin/tree houses you have ever seen.  I felt like we were staying in a little gnome village.

This was lucky number 7 and our cabin for the night.  The kids thought this was the coolest place.  

Alyssa and Caid!  They are two peas in a pod.  He is our neighbor but is leaving Japan in a couple weeks.  Alyssa is heart broken but knows to live each moment with FUN.

I think the kids had more fun playing in the cabins than they did running around and exploring.  This face just sums it up.  

LOOK!  A tree full of little monkeys :)

The Japanese were smart and brought sleds with them but we brought something better - two engineers.  Our neighbor came up with a homemade sled out of wood.  It was great fun. 

Our first family campfire.  The kids loved fishing for fire (something I did, more times than I can count, as a kid). 

I like how this picture came out.  The kids enjoying the big bonfire. 

There was a great shot of AJ standing by the fire but I wasn't quick enough with the camera so I made him go back to take it.  All he could say was "HURRY UP!!"  I guess it was a little hot. 

The kids loved the sleeping bags so much.  Alyssa was great with hers and stayed in one place but...

Asher kept rolling out of his.  It was a chilly night so I kept pushing him back in through the night.  I know he will eventually get the hang of it.  

Near the campgrounds there was this huge dragon tower.  The view from the top was amazing.  

You could either climb through the mouth and go up these tunnels or walk up the stairs.  The kids and dads went up the mouth, while the moms went up the stairs and took pictures.  

Caid and Alyssa took no time at all going up the tunnels.  I was very impressed because they were steep and high off the ground.  Alyssa said she was a little scared but wanted to do it.  I was proud. 

Asher on the other had did not want to climb the entire way by himself so he brought a sucker with him.  He was able to ride the rest of the way to the top on his Daddy's tummy while Daddy slid up the tunnel on his back.  It was very funny to watch.  

After the dragon tower our neighbors took us to a nearby pool with a water slide.  Cameras were not aloud in but we had a great time.  We look forward to going back to it really soon.  

Overall we had a great time.  AJ's biggest complaint was the hard floor to sleep on but I think that is fair enough.  He will be suffering through it again knowing 3 of the 4 of us LOVE TO CAMP!!!  

Lake Towada Snow Festival

This holiday weekend we decided to head up to Lake Towada for their annual snow festival.  We knew that it would be very cold so we all wore multiple layers (and it was well worth it).  The amount of snow was crazy but what I didn't realize is how unbelievably beautiful it was.  Unfortunately my pictures don't begin to show the beauty but I hope you can enjoy anyway....  

This was the road up the mountain.  It was maintained really well, better than most roads in the town.  There were parts of the road where there were 4ft high snow walls.   It was really cool to drive through.  

We made a pit stop to Oirase Gorge to take a look at the waterfalls half frozen.  Once again it was breathtaking.  I wanted to stay and just enjoy the snow falling and the quiet of the trees.  And surprisingly it wasn't very cold.  

Half flowing / half frozen - too cool!

 What a ham :)  Loved wearing Daddy's goggles. 

I loved this shot of the clouds coming over the mountains.  Once again it looks cold but really was very nice out.  We stayed in this area for about 5 hours.  I look forward to returning next year.  

The main stage where a band plays at night.  

The carvings are crazy.  

The kids enjoyed sledding down the hill.  The best part for them was crashing into a snow bank.  KIDS?!

As we walked through the village the kids spotted Totoro.  They were so excited to see this because he is one of their favorite Japanese characters (thanks to Uncle Kent).

Here AJ and I were bad Americans.  This shrine was blocked off for some reason.  "What barriers?" we said and went up to take a look.  Shhhh, just our little secret (and anyone reading my post). 

This is Lake Towada.  Those trees to the right is a little island.  A really beautiful place to be.  

We arrived at the festival around 1pm but it didn't open until 5pm.  Once it got closer to opening time we got to see workers cleaning off their displays from that days snow (which was a lot).  Alyssa really enjoyed watching them work.  

My loves :)