Zach's 2nd birthday

Wow.  Has it really already been 2 years since I was first holding my big boy?  I cannot believe how fast time flies by.  He has truly made our lives special.  Constantly giving us something to laugh about, and him and his brother are without a doubt our world.  

We began our morning by opening some much awaited presents.  Zach came down to find his very own kitchen from mommy and daddy.  It was even stocked up with pots and pans, and his wonderful Oba send fruits and veggies to cook.  We even got him sushi to cook, since after all, we do live in Japan! 

Checking out all the knobs and burners

Opening his pots and pans from Mommy and Daddy

Sushi from Mom and Dad

During the day I spoiled Zach.  We played inside a bit with his new kitchen, and played on his tricycle outside a bit too.  Because so many of our friends have moved already, we decided to keep Zach's birthday low key this year.  Instead of a big mustache bash, we made a few cupcakes and invited some friends over to play and eat.  Zach loved his homemade birthday pizza and the cupcakes Mommy made.  He's a fan of this birthday thing!

All in all, it was a successful birthday.  I still cannot believe how fast these 2 years have gone by.  We both love him so much and cannot wait to see what he will make of his life.  For now, we're enjoying every minute of toddlerhood.  

Happy Birthday to my favorite firstborn son!  We love you!

Moldy air

For the 3+ years we've been living in this house, we have had these horrible and huge AC units in our houses.  They worked for awhile, but eventually they finally installed new ones that were better and didn't take up half the room.  They have been slowly removing the old ones from homes, and like always, we were one of the last ones to get ours taken out.  I was quite happy that they finally came, as it cleared a lot of space out of our rooms.  These were in all 3 of our bedrooms and in our living room.  The real kicker of getting these removed was seeing just how disgusting they were to begin with.  Moldy, rusted, and gross don't even begin to describe what was inside these units.  I am disgusted that i've been breathing this air in for so long.  And my children too!  Totally gross.  I cannot believe the military allows such a thing to happen after the water issues they've had in North Carolina.  It took them 3 1/2 hours to remove them, and they then finally came back and installed the fans I ordered over 3 years ago.  It was a busy day of maintenance in our house, but boy was it worth it!!

Before

The inside!

look at all that rust!

There were spider webs in there too

This was the grossest part I think

The wall is totally gross under it

The nice guys taking another one out

Eli's room

Yep- this is my infant's bedroom

Zach's bedroom. 

Zach's room again.  My poor boy

The worst part?  After getting rid of them all there was mold.  What did they do to get rid of it?  Nothing.  They simply painted over it.  No bleach, no cleaning whatsoever.  They just painted it over.  I look forward to moving out of this moldy home someday!

Weekend "Stay-cation"

We've been busy lately.  Very busy.  With two little ones and busy schedules, we've been exhausted beyond belief.  Dima's been working crazy hours- as always and has recently begun his EWS school along with the every day responsibilities he carries.  I have been very busy with both kids.  Eli is still waking up in the night a few times, and I think the lack of sleep is catching up to me.  It's been exhausting.  

When we heard that White beach was offering cheap deals in the month of January we knew we had to jump on it.  It's a beautiful place that neither of us had actually spent the night at.  There are campsites right on the beach and even campers there.  Then there are cabins up on the top of the hill above the beach.  With two little ones, we knew it was best to go with the cabin, and the biggest one they had at that.  We could only book one night, but got there early enough that we were able to enjoy the day there.  It was beautiful but quite windy.  In any case, they had great playgrounds for Zach (and Daddy) to play on.  

Eventually it was time to check into our cabin for the night.  The cabin was really nice.  Big enough to sleep at least 5, and with a ocean view.  Though there were currently two American ships deployed there that we had a view of.  It was perfect for us, and we hope to return with friends before we move someday.  

Our cabin

What's sad is that this is a better kitchen then we have in our house!

The view from our bedroom

We decided to lay low for a bit before heading out again to visit the beach once more.  After looking at the waves and sand, we headed in for dinner at one of the local restaurants.  Zach might have stuffed his face with the salad bar.  The kid loves salad!  That's my boy!  Next time we will come with friends and just grill outside.  In the evening, we put Eli to bed, and let Zach stay up an extra 15 minutes to watch Despicable Me.  

Daddy and I stayed up a little later and drank a bottle of wine and ate chocolate.  I never drink so the wine made me exhausted and we passed out very early!  We are definitely parents. The morning brought us a beautiful sunset- and we sat outside on the porch and watched it while eating the oatmeal we brought.  

 Breakfast brought us beautiful lighting and I ended up bringing Zach outside to get some photos.  It was not easy to get him to stay still, but I was excited to get these few anyway! 

What a great weekend getaway.  We can't wait to return again soon!