The Great Pumpkin & Other October Tales

October flew by. We had our big Disneyland trip with Jeff's parents which was an exhaustively good time (I know I owe everyone pictures, but I still need to transfer them to my computer) then it was a blur of Halloween festivities and clinging onto the little time we had left as a family before Jeff's deployment. 

 

We went to a little Halloween and chocolate party at a friend's house where the kids dressed up and Jeff was handed a "Mad Scientist" lab coat so that he could be festive, and I went as a pregnant military wife. I think my costume was the most realistic and convincing. It was bedtime by the time we took the photo (above) so Kailie was not cooperating.

Jeff got to be quite the pumpkin carver and definitely has options in the future if we decide we cannot take another deployment after this one! I am not sure what kind of money is in the pumpkin carving business, but we are sure happy with the way they both turned out.

It was nice to have sidewalks and a neighborhood for the kiddos to go trick or treating in and although it got a little cold and rainy, they were able to walk a good portion of our street. Jaron definitely got the hang of things and although he didn't say trick or treat Jeff says he always remembered to say thank you (obviously the more important part which I am sure was appreciated). 

Kailie was Rapunzel at our Disneyland Halloween festivities, but after going through three different costumes from her dress up bin that afternoon ended up as a black cat: again. This is the third year in a row. What can I say she has a mind of her own. The kids called it a night pretty early,  but there is no need to be greedy and I don't need too much candy around to tempt me!

Now we are gearing up for our big Japan trip in less than two weeks and I will see if I can survive an international trip with two kids (and a pregnant belly) while keeping my sanity. Luckily, it is a direct flight from Seattle which will make the trip much shorter than what we are used to typically living in the Midwest or east coast. It will be lovely to see my parents and to be able to spend some time in Japan before my parents move to the U.S. in March. It may be some time before we get to visit again.

The Takagi Reunion & Other Happenings

So our Takagi family reunion was a success and we survived family photos and a weekend together piled into two cars. It was great to see Koji again and the timing of our new minivan purchase worked out for carting eleven people around town (not all eleven people, it just meant we only had to take two cars around instead of three!). We ate lots of great food, celebrated my Dad's birthday, spent some time relaxing and doing a little bit of sightseeing downtown before everyone headed home.

I am looking forward to visiting my parents in Japan this winter as it may be my last trip to Japan for quite sometime-- my free lodging will be moving to the U.S. next spring! We are excited to have them on the same continent so we can see them more often though. I am nervous about how Jaron will do on the flight, but I plan to being as many activities and snacks as I can realistically carry while juggling two kids and I will have a big bag of mini marshmallows for any emergencies. It will definitely help the first little stretch of Jeff's deployment go quickly and although the holidays will be lonely without him, at least I will be with my parents for Thanksgiving.

Oh, and I realize that I did not make an official announcement, although many of you probably already know from Facebook or word of mouth. We are expecting our third baby in March 2012! What a surprise, let me tell you. We knew we wanted another baby, but with Jeff's deployment we had planned to wait until he got home. Well it seems we have a little spirit that just cannot wait any longer to join our family. Sadly, Jeff will not be home for the birth or the newborn stage, so I pray that God will have mercy on me and give me an easy baby! The newborn stage is so exhausting.

I think I covered most of the news around here...new minivan, family in town, another baby and an upcoming deployment. Oh and we found renters for our Missouri house! That is pretty exciting news after paying rent and a mortgage for the past few months we decided the market still stunk and renting was the best financial choice for us for now. The icing on the cake this past week was that I found an awesome Japanese grocery store-- it's a little bit of a drive, but it has almost anything I could ever dream of having from home. Not everything, but the closest I've ever seen in the U.S. Yum.

Finally, a Little Update

As you can imagine, life has been hectic. Between driving across the country, living in a hotel, unpacking boxes and learning a completely new neighborhood and area we have been going non-stop. We have been excited to explore local (yes, local!) shopping, farmers markets, summer activities and Kailie just started a part-day preschool program a couple of weeks ago.

Needless to say, over a month has gone by since we got the keys to our rental and I realized I had not updated everyone on all of the excitement. Below are some photos from the 4th of July celebration on post and we have also been able to attend a recent air show, Sesame Street Live show geared towards military children, and we also got more family photos taken (in honor of the lack of photos of Jaron we had in the house). This time we were able to get a few shots of him, unlike our last attempt. 

We got many good family and shots of the kids, although some shots captured the hectic reality of the photoshoot more than others. Kailie was loving all the positive reinforcement she was getting for her cooperation and posing, and put on her signature picture smile.

We are super excited for a out little Takagi reunion here in Washington next month, to show everyone our new stomping grounds and to all be together after many years!