Grandparents + Grandchildren asking for icecream + Chick-fil-a = two kids getting a handspun milkshake each to enjoy.  

Children, enjoy these days, cause when it's just us, it's back to sharing 30 cent cones!

Noah, preparing to launch his attack on the milkshake (or 'ice-screen' as he calls it)

Ella is excited!

It takes a lot of work to get that deliciousness from the cup to the mouth

Standing up helps

Much fun to enjoy these things with our kids

Easter over the years

We had a great Easter weekend.  On Saturday, we enjoyed some festivities at a community event hosted by my in-laws church.  An egg hunt, train rides and jumping castles.  The weather was bright and sunny, it was HOT, and I walked away with a nasty sunburn on my back.  The past few days have been freezing and it sure feels strange to have a sunburn while the temperatures are so low.

Egg Hunt #1

Love watching them hang out together

Noah was so funny.  Listened intently to the rules of the train ride and raised his arms high in the air when the guy says 'you may put your hands in the air'.  Ella approaches the ride with much more caution.

Easter Morning.  All dressed up.  Struggling to get a good pic together.

Haha...this time last year it was Noah who was struggling with the morning 'tude

Lil Miss with all her frills this year

And just for fun...this is her last Easter

And Noah last year.  Look at that cheeky little face!

Back to this year . . . the kids enjoyed their Sunday school class on Sunday morning.  Naturally their class centred around the Good News of the resurrection of Christ, and they were most excited about their craft/snack.  I mean, what kid wouldn't be thrilled to make a edible craft out of mini donuts, mini oreos, graham crackers and frosting?!

Noah went right up to centrestage when it was time for the children's giving.  They're giving money to care for children in Kenya.  I'm so proud of the way he takes on new things.  And thankful for these experiences that broaden their little minds and hearts.  It's never too early!

The Easter fun continued at home.  After lunch were Easter baskets . . .

They thoroughly enjoyed these little eggs you cracked open to find an animal inside

. . . and then a backyard egg hunt.  

With no competition, they both had a basket full of eggs!  Sugar overload!

Aww...I can't help myself, I keep looking at pics from our last furlough in 2011.  Here's Ella at the Treasure Patch Kids Easter party.  She was getting an egg full of confetti cracked over her head.  Bless her, she had no idea.

Babies!  I mean, of COURSE they grow over two years, but . . .   Both still in diapers/nappies.  Now that I don't miss :-)

Egg Hunt at GG and Ray's house.  Slowly getting the hang of this egg thing

2011: Yep...we the parents were definitely younger and slimmer back then!  The kid's aging process is much more fun to look at!

Thankful, for an empty tomb!

Getting There

How do you prepare two preschoolers for a long overseas trip?  Well, whether they're Aussie raised, or Aussie born, at least pack a jar of Vegemite in their suitcase.  I'm pretty sure that at some point over the next couple of months, (once the novelty of rich American food has worn off), that this little jar of black goodness will make me a hero (at least for a minute or two) and them 'happy little Vegemites' :-)

Then, let them pack something they love!  For my kids, that would a baby doll, a tiger, and two muslin wraps (that once upon a time were used to swaddle their tiny selves!)  It's a lovely thing to enjoy more than two months of minimal stuff (suitcases only), but it's also a good thing to enjoy a piece of comfort from home.

Packed for the journey (oh, and as a side note, check all zippered compartments before leaving the house in case children have stashed a few extra items there)

And before you go, capture a pic of a sweet friend to take on the journey.  Both of my kids have already talked about Zahli and Aanya before we hit 48 hours of being gone.  Noah opened his eyes yesterday and said 'Muuuuuum...I'm so excited....I'm so excited that Aanya can't (s)tand up!!!'  Me too, buddy.  Me, too.

Lastly, check the validity of each passport.  We carry seven for the time being. Thankfully, all were valid for this trip.  The picture on Ella's US passport is absolutely hilarious.  She was six weeks at the time the picture was taken and unimpressed with this whole picture taking thing.  And I think every airline employee or customs/immigration agent that handles her passport makes a comment on it.  

Once at the airport, let them help!  Our little troopers carried their own backpacks and insisted on pushing a suitcase all through the check in line (which I think took about 50 minutes)

Ella took care of each passport and departure card after I'd finished filling them out (this is one thing I really dislike about international travel...the whole filling out customs forms, entry forms and so on.  So tedious)

And then all that's left to do is settle in to our 'home' for the next 15 or so hours.  

Sure is a long flight, but the entertainment a delight!

We had to make a few adjustments with the earphones to make them stay on little heads.  But that's why you pack extra clothes, right?

Aahhhh...finally on the ground in Texas.  Waiting on our bags.

All bags accounted for.  Now ready for more lines.

Oh these little faces.  Much cuter than my jetlag face, that's for sure

And the key to jetlag recovery with small children?  Grandparents, an aunt and an uncle!

Homestay

Well, the tables turned and I feel like we're officially 'all grown up' now.  I know we do have two kids of our own and all, but there's something about taking on responsibility for someone else's child that makes me feel like a real adult.  

Shiori, our beautiful exchange student from Tokyo City University is hardly a child, but I did hear her referring to us as 'mama and papa', and I quite enjoyed taking her under my wing as another child.

Jason and I have both been exchange students as young adults.  Jason, during his college years, spent a month in Japan, and later some time here in Australia.  I spent a month in Japan when I was 16, and then an entire year in prairie Canada when I was 17.  Both my Japanese and Canadian host families took me in as their own; our relationships spanning FAR beyond the weeks and months spent under their roof.  

While living in Japan after graduating from university, I would receive phone calls from my host father who lived many prefectures away.  "Nicole, tomorrow it will snow, please don't wear high heels and take care!" "Nicole, are you eating well?"  They sent me boxes of seasonal fruit and other goodies during my years in Japan.  When it was time for me to leave, they journeyed by bullet train to Tokyo to say goodbye...this was ten years after we first connected with their family.

And Canada . . . well, I can't think back on that homestay experience without a lot of emotion.  I quickly fell in love with my host family.  My family sacrificed a lot for me to have that experience and my host family sacrificed also in keeping me as their own.  The goodbyes were gut wrenching (it still kind of hurts to think about it).  But little did I know this wasn't the end!  I ended up visiting them every summer during university, and after graduating, I lived in Japan with my host sister, Jenny.  We got to show her mom, Cheryl, around on a visit she made to Japan (including a very memorable trip to an onsen together!)  Jenny was my maid of honor in 2002 and I was hers a couple of years later!  NEVER would have dreamed these things!  I didn't know when I said goodbye to them in 1995, that 7 years later, we would both be living in the US, just a seven hour drive from each other.  Two years ago, in Oklahoma, I watched my kids hunt Easter eggs with Jenny's girls, and sit and read books with my host mom and dad.  Amazing!

All that reminiscing to say, we've had wonderful experiences as the student and were so excited about being the host family!

And a wonderful experience it has been.  We have been so blessed having Shiori in our home.  She is a 2nd year University student studying Early Childhood and our kids LOVE her.  Ella looked at me in disbelief when I told her Shiori would be returning to Japan tomorrow morning.  

Shiori has read books to them in English and Japanese and sung songs.  They have done origami.  She has come to ballet and swimming.  She has just fit right in . . . helping with dishes, made some sushi, and played games with us at night.  She has endured a bit of crying from the kids, been patient with our very lived in home and been exposed to some immodesty from my son :-)  

A sweet experience and tomorrow we'll say not 'goodbye' but 'Ja ne', because for all we know she'll be that boomerang exchange student like I was that just keeps on coming back!  So glad we could do this!

Our Sunday group that met at our house.  Dinner was sushi!

Just fitting right in

We got to know a few of the other students also through carpooling to and from the uni each day

Such a happy group of students.  This isn't all of them...I think there were 33 girls and ONE boy on this trip!