waiting it out....

I'm sitting here - alone- waiting for Phanfone to hit!  Kent is in Tokyo for his pediatric boards.  and I'll be mighty mad if he doesn't get to take them!  tomorrow is a 'typhoon day" so if he were here- he'd have the day off to spend with us!!!  and if the testing center has to close- we aren't sure what they'll do.  it's a nationally certified medical board exam and there are very specific  rules about the day it can be taken!!

I can't believe the timing of this huge storm.  It's the equivalent of a category 4 hurricane.  which is huge. and It's set to hit Tokyo between 6-8 AM.  literally the exact time he'll be trying to get to his test and get started.  As soon as it's over- it will be a great story.  the time he had to take the biggest test of his life in a giant typhoon!!  for now- it's a little stressful. 

 Luckily - he's with another pediatrician friend from Dayton and they are checked into the New Sanno hotel and all hunkered down for the night.  Send some prayers their way that everything will work out.  

my job is to not have a typhoon baby.  I'd have to give it some outrageous name like 'stormy' or 'phanfone'- and I don't really want to do that.

So- I'm blogging to keep me distracted and pass the time!

I've had these pictures on my computer for a few weeks now and just haven't gotten around to getting them posted.  We had some great adventures yesterday and maybe I'll get those posted during our mandatory stay inside day tomorrow.

A few weeks ago- the base had their annual friendship festival where they invite the Japanese community to come on base and see our planes and eat american food!  the line for the steak and corn on the cob meal was INSANE!  an we were there at 9 in the morning!  It was such a hot and muggy day.  and there were so so so many people.  we didn't stay long!  heat, humidity, and long lines are NOT my thing. 

 the kiddos got to sit in a few helicopters and were happy.

 metta loves to give thumbs up and peace signs- but it still requires a lot of concentration and effort on her part.  it's adorable.

 later that day- things cooled off and we finally checked out Showa Park- an amazing gigantic park nearby.

 the only unfortunate aspect of Showa is how LARGE it is.  we WALKED and WALKEd and WALKED.  next time we'll rent bikes!  the kids got pretty irritated and exhausted until we found the playgrounds.  and then suddenly they had plenty of energy and their legs were functioning perfectly.  I don't blame them.  It was awesome.

the Japanese have figured out so many ways to make slides.  They use every material imaginable.  It makes every park pretty exciting and new.  

and these giant bouncy nets?!   it's like a giant game of spiderman.  so so cool.

 I LOVE this picture.  they had a lot of fun playing with the Japanese kids. look at their faces!! Laughter is a universal language.

this park had some spots that were reminiscent of mayan temples.  never fail- every single place we go- has  ZILLIONS of stairs.  I love it.

look how tropical it is!

 after the nets - we stumbled upon the dragon playground. can you see metta??  these things are HUMONGOUS.

and probably pretty dangerous!  but- super fun.  I'm a very non helicopter type parent so I just think all of these places are pretty neato.

and yet another amazing slide.  we passed this one after we'd already been there for several hours and were finally headed back to the car.  the kids begged to stop and play more!  at this point Kent and I were exhausted.  I can't believe how much energy they have when the fun stuff shows up.

these last pictures are of miss metta early this week. she's done this about 3 times in her life- but this week was the worst. I try to wake her up in the morning and I CAN'T! She will not open her eyes for anything.  she slept until noon this day.

 she does this creepy half eye open sleep.  she's done it since she was born.

 we took the boys to school and she slept in the stroller.  I even went on an hour run!!

I dressed her.  and tried to feed her and get her to use the toilet.

kent came home at lunch to check on her just to make sure nothing was really wrong!  I wasn't terribly concerned- but it was time for her to get up!

he finally got her up and she was just a little groggy.

I think she's going through a growth spurt.  she's been eating like CRAZY, too.