Jumpy Girl

Look at the pig tails on Grace.

She could probably bounce all day long

Go cart boy

Uncle Danny teaches the boy how to take the tight turns on the go cart track on the farm.

Brock is thinking, "I wonder if I can convince my dad to get me one of these things???"

New Hair Do

Grandma Shirley puts the finishing touches on Grace's hair for the recital.

That is one happy customer. Look, there is our patio furniture in the background...hope it shows up from storage.

Gracie V

Dont ya just love this one? This was prior to the dance recital in May 05. Ms G sure has grown alot in the last 2 years.

Motorcycle Mama

This one must have been taken when Mike was deployed in Summer 05. MB looks like she was enjoying tearing up the wheat fields of Kansas in her biker babe flip flops.

35th Comptroller Squadron Photo

My folks wanted to get a group photo before I left out at the golf course with the lake in the background. It was the typical rainy day in May but it cleared up long enough for a shot. There are 26 military personnel and 13 civilians in the Comptroller Squadron but not all could make it out due to 3 deployments and some at training or on leave.

Kite weather

Grace made a kite in school and wanted to fly it. The string was only about 5 feet long but she ran around the house and it actually took off every once in a while above her head.

Happy Mudder's Day

Grace refers to MB as Mudder so that is not a misspelling in the title. Grace and Brock made some gifts for their Mom and bought her some books to read. In the Kindergarten class the teacher had them plant some seeds to grow some flowers as you can see above where Grace is handing the pot to MB. The flowers actually did not grow so Mrs H had her husband put some magic miracle grow on them and they grew overnight (He actually bought these off base at the store). Brock was pleased to get MB a Soduko book. He made her a picture too. We took Mom out to brunch at the club with eveyone else on base. Later, I took the kids to a movie and gave MB some peace and quiet.

MBs Golf Outing

MB wanted to go out and play some golf with me before we left to see what its all about. She had a good time and picked the perfect day for weather. She got to drive the cart and for those of you that know her would be surprised that she drove like a granny with a truck load of china. She enjoyed her caddy duties of pulling the pin for me and really liked feeling the putting green grass on her toes which I told her is actually not good golf etiquette.

Here I am on the 18th hole as we were waiting for a Japanese foursome. I did not play that good but had my moments of brilliance so I will keep on trying. I will miss the Misawa course as they take very good care of it and it is fun to play on.

Goalies

Brock got to play goalie in his second team because his team was beating the other one so bad. He was disappointed because the ball actually never made it on his side of the field.

Here is Ms G doing a soccer save pose. She is really actually not that tall in the picture but the goal is kinder-size.

Wolverines

Here is Brock in action on the Wolverines under 12 soccer team. His coach plays him in middle fullback due to his size and determination to clear the ball out of harms way. He takes his mission very seriously and will legally knock any kid down if they get close to the goal with the ball. Let me tell you that is real fun when the other parents glare at you on the sidelines.

His team played very well for their first game. They have a balanced team with good ball skills in goal, defense and offense. One boy plays on a Japanese team and you could tell he has played before at a higher level the way he kicked the ball and made some saves in goal.

Goalie girl

The coach asked right before the game who wanted to play goalie and Grace raised her hand. So she put on the shirt and gloves and jumped right in. While she was in the ball was on the other side of the field most of the time but she did stop one kick on the goal.

Warm ups

Here she is getting warmed up with the Blue Stars team. There are many good first time players on the team and there are mostly girls too.

Grace stretches her long legs in preparation for some kicks.

Make my day

This is Grace V at her first pre soccer pose. She was very excited to play. As you can tell she ate her Wheaties this morning and was ready to rumble with the boys and girls. Stay tuned to see how she did with these long legs of hers.

Misawa Cherry Blossoms

Today was probably one of the perfect days for cherry blossoms on base. Most of the trees are in bloom and they look great. The two previous days were in the low 60s (for the first time this year!), but now we are back in the low fifties. The forecast calls for rain and high winds later in the week, so I had to get out and take pictures before the blossoms are all waterlogged and blown away!

The blooms are really pretty and cheer us all with hopes that Spring is here- work with me Texas folks.....

There is another type of cherry tree on base with dark pink blooms. These aren't blooming just yet, but I will get pictures when it happens!

Happy May 1st!

Love,

4Vs

Cherry Blossoms at Night

Last night we walked out to Train Park in Misawa off base. (Check out the Brock and Grace pictures from a couple of days ago). They light this park at night so you can admire the blossoms at night. We enjoyed the lighted paths and the round latern lights hung among the trees. It was very pretty and our pictures don't do it justice!

We were surprised not to see more locals out during the evening. There were a couple of picnic parties going on, but not too much. Maybe the cool night weather kept them at home.

More soon!

Love,

4Vs