RJ the doctor

There are two things in RJ's world that can fix problems. Lotion fixes booboos and tape fixes everything else. These beliefs come from putting neosporin or calendula on cuts and scrapes--RJ thinks that it is all lotion. The tape belief comes from a Maisy book in which she puts tape on a blow up pool to fix a hole--RJ now thinks that tape can fix anything. Today, RJ's cousin had an accident and hit her front teeth and gum when she fell. She had some dried blood and didn't feel very good. The following transpired between her and our little doctor.
RJ: "What's wrong, Maggie?"
Maggie: "I hurt my mouth."
RJ: "Let me see." He peered into mouth while standing on his tiptoes. "Wait. I'll be right back." He then ran off to the bathroom and came back with the lotion. "Here you go."
Super cute! Maybe we have a future doctor in our midst. To make it even funnier, about an hour later, he looked in her mouth for a rediagnosis and just said, "Close your mouth."

Earlier in the day, after getting out of bed--another late morning following a stint in the middle of the night where the kiddos were awake--we went to support their older cousin play soccer. The problem was that the weather did a Colorado classic and went from beautiful to cold and nasty in about 10 minutes. After a yummy lunch, we went for a drive while RJ and Ryleigh both slept. We drove up behind Horsetooth to Masonville and then North to Highway 14 and then back to Ft. Collins. The kids slept the whole way and missed some great scenery, including a herd of elk (photo below). The rest of the afternoon was occupied with some exercise for me and some more time with family.

Here's RJ's cool look while sleeping in the car.

Have a great day!
-Jip

The little things.

Oh the little things...

The little things we want, like a full nights' sleep (last night was worse than the night before--let's keep our fingers crossed that tonight is better).

The little things we need, like a new straw cup for RJ since he chewed off the straw on his existing one.

The little things we don't need, like the train whistles at all times of the day and night.

The little things we enjoy, like the ability to go to Sonic and get a cherry limeade.

But it's the little things we're rediscovering that are making us smile, like...
...automatic headlights.
...doors on a car that you can lock prior to all the doors being shut.
...dry Colorado air.
...being able to turn right on a red light.
...hearing English conversations around us while out.
...street names.
...refills for our drinks when we go out.
...high chairs with straps.
...free wifi that I can figure out how to connect to.
...wheelchair ramps you can use with a stroller.
...elevators that can hold two adults, two kids, and a stroller with room to spare.
...restrooms without a hundred buttons for RJ to push.
...paper towels and/or hand dryers in the restrooms.
...speed limits faster than 50 mph.

For those of you who have not been to Japan, you probably don't understand the list above, but believe me, after sixteen months without these things, rediscovering them is a real pleasure!

Enjoy your day.
-Jip

Why can't I get up?

Our second day of trying to adjust our clocks didn't start off very well. RJ went to sleep last night around 9 p.m. and I followed at around 11 p.m. He and I are sharing a king sized bed upstairs where I've built him a "pillow fort" area so he could have a segregated section to himself and so that I would not have a little hot body sleeping against me all night. Well, at about 12:22, he woke up and was ready to do something, anything, other than sleep. I tried talking to him for a while, but I could not convince him that the darkness outside meant it was time to sleep (12:22 a.m. here in Colorado correlates to 3:22 p.m. in Japan). So what could I do to entertain him and keep him quiet just in case his sister was sleeping downstairs? I broke out the iPad and let home watch "Chuck and Friends" on it in hopes that a video would lull him back to sleep. Two and a half hours later, I'd had enough Chuck so I took the iPad away and went back to talking to him. Finally, around 4 a.m. he went to sleep and so did I. I woke up around 9 a.m. and got him up around 9:30.

Amy and Ryleigh, both downstairs, had a rougher night than we did upstairs. Ryleigh had some tummy pains and could not stay asleep. She'd sleep for a few minutes and then wake up again. Poor Amy did not get to go to sleep until about 4 a.m. as well when Ryleigh finally passed out for a good hard sleep. She, too , got up a little after 9 a.m.

After getting up, we were visited by Amy's sister and her husband and by Amy's dad. Amy made a trip to King Soopers and after nearly having tears of joy, came back with a few necessities--i.e. apple juice. Amy said that the supermarket made our podunk commissary in Japan seem pathetic. She stated that if she'd had a camera, she'd have taken photos. One more reason we are looking forward to coming back to the States mid-to-late next year!

After school got out, Maggie, RJ's and Ryleigh's cousin who is the youngest of our nieces, came over to play so we all went to the playground. RJ had a blast and played HARD! Below are some picture of Maggie and RJ playing.

And the obligatory photo of Ryleigh "watching" RJ play...

Have a great day!
-Jip

Made It!

Colorado!! We are here and adjusting to the time zone.

We had 2 flights to get here--one on Singapore Airlines and one on United. We LOVE flying Singapore Air! When we checked in, they told us to get to the gate 15 minutes early, as they were going to let us pre-board. When we arrived, two different staff members walked over and let us know they were ready for us to board--we weren't ready the first time they asked. When we finally headed to the gate, a staff member carried the carry-on that had the kids' changes of clothes, food, and toys--no small fete, as the bag was super heavy. She then escorted us all the way down the jetway and handed our bag to the flight attendant, who carried it to our seats. When we got to our seats, another flight attendant was already waiting to assist in installing RJ's carseat. Then, yet another flight attendant brought toys for both kids. Ryleigh's toy was even age appropriate (as was RJ's). After take-off, they broke out a bassinet for Ryleigh. I cannot express how great it was to not buy a seat for Ryleigh (we still had to pay some fees and such, though) and still have a place for her to sleep and hang out when there wasn't turbulence!

RJ had a great time watching movies on demand--they even had kid-sized headphones for him. He would have stayed up all night watching movies if we would have let him.

The kids slept pretty well. Mom and Dad did not. I got about 45 minutes total sleep. Jip thinks he was closer to 90 minutes. But, at 5 and 10 minutes at a time, the sleep is far from quality. Still, the food was great, being in a bulkhead with the bassinet was amazing, and our first A380 experience was overall wonderful.

We landed without incident. Immigration and customs were a breeze. Then it was on to our United flight. Flying on a US airline in a 757 after flying Singapore on an A380 was like driving a Pinto after driving a Ferrari--disappointing. The first thing RJ asked was where the tv's were. No tv's, paying for a snack box, and sitting in seats that kept sliding forward because, as the flight attendant put it, "the Velcro wasn't strong enough," made us gush all the more about the first leg of our trip.

My sister picked us up and put up with an impromptu feeding of Ryleigh in the parking garage, a potty stop at the gas station just outside the airport, a stop at Sonic for provisions more substantial than a snack box, and another potty stop at yet another gas station. Thanks, Amb!!

After getting in the condo in Fort Collins, we gave the kids baths and tried for some sleep. Ryleigh and I were in bed by 1 am and Jip and RJ were in bed around 2. Not bad for 4 pm/5 pm Japan Time.

We were all up around 9. Jip's brother Peter picked Jip up so Jip could fetch our car from storage. Amber came over and we went to the park for awhile. Here's Amber talking tonRJ after she dried the slides for him.

After afternoon naps, we picked up Cousin Mackenzie, got our cell phone activated for US use, got RJ a hair cut, and ate at Red Robin. Yummmm!

It was a good first day--low key, but just about perfect for getting used to being here. We look forward to seeing what tomorrow brings. It is good to be Home (and I do mean Home--Colorado is where the hearts are and always will be)!!

Last Minute Madness?

Our day was a typical Monday.  Jip worked late to make sure things wouldn't fall apart within the first few days of him being gone.  After that, it's anyone's guess whether SRF will survive without him! 

The kids and I ran a couple errands this morning--one successful one, one not so successful.  I learned that the passport office couldn't put the multiple entry stamp in Ryleigh's passport that all of us here on orders get in our passports.  Ryleigh only has a tourist passport--we haven't yet applied for her "no-fee passport" that is supposed to be used for official travel.  Without the no-fee passport, the multiple entry stamp cannot be given.  We've been waiting to get Ryleigh's no fee passport because we thought we had to surrender her tourist passport like we did in the States (both get returned to you) while the State Department processes the application. But, I learned that was not the case when you obtain a no-fee passport while already overseas.  So, when we get back, we need to go ahead and get Ryleigh's no-fee passport rolling.  No stamp=unsuccessful, but I did learn something.  We have to travel with some extra paperwork now to prove we aren't smuggling a baby across international borders, but no big deal. 

The successful errand was finishing the road tax payment process.  The base issued the sticker for our car that proves we have paid our taxes.  At least that is over with.

The thing that didn't happen today was packing.  So, tomorrow, there will be a flurry of activity to get everything packed.  When I say flurry, I mean me taking 10 minutes or so per person to pack everything up.  The real challenge will be loading up the van with two strollers (one is going back to the States permanently to find a new home with our future new niece), 3 rolling duffle bags, 2 carry-ons, and my purse.  Then when we get to the airport, we'll have all of that stuff, plus 2 car seats.  Yikes!  Amber's Pilot will be stuffed to the gills with us and our stuff after she picks us up from the airport.

In addition to packing, I need to give Jip a haircut, Jip needs to mow the lawn, and I'll probably do at least one more load of laundry.  We'll make sure the fridge is clean of anything that will go bad, take the trash out, and shut the heat off.  We won't leave here until 2:30ish, so I hope it isn't last minute craziness in the house--but I still have to plan like it will be complete madness.

No blog post tomorrow night since we'll be somewhere over the Pacific 24 hours from now. 

We look forward to seeing our Colorado peeps and getting out of Dodge!!

Catch ya later from the States!!