Paul B Johnson State Park

 Justin had a down Friday (which  means he doesn't have to work that day) and we decided to go camping. We hadn't gone camping in so long and it did not disappoint. My family went camping all the time growing up and I've always wanted my kids to have the same experience. We didn't go with any friends, just our little family. There is something about being away from the computer, the TV, and all of the things that distract us at home and just spend time together. 

 When we made our reservation, we asked them if they had firewood that we could buy. They said they did, and how much it was and told us that check in is at 4pm. So we got there at 4 and Justin went into the campground office to check in. He asked about the firewood, and they said, "Oh, you have to order your firewood by 3pm. After that they stop bringing it." Ok, so why didn't the person tell us that on the phone?! We were having tin foil dinners that night so a fire was a necessity. So, we drove around the campground looking for any wood we could find. We ended up with enough wood, but Justin said he felt white trash scrounging up leftover wood from empty campsites. Then he said, "Oh well, we're making memories, right?!" It's true. We will remember that. Plus, it saved us $7!

 Anderson started to not feel good and got really tired. So, we put him to bed and we stayed up to make s'mores. What is it about marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers that is so addicting?? Justin and I decided it's the perfect combination. It's so perfect, we couldn't stop eating them. Our kids are so funny though. Jack had one and decided that was enough, and Anderson just wanted plain marshmallows. What little kids don't want to eat endless amounts of s'mores? Ours, I guess.

 We had a rough night's sleep. Anderson got really stuffed up and was waking up all night long and was up for good before the sun. Camping isn't really known for getting a good night's sleep, but ours was pretty bad. Luckily, he was doing a little better once we got out of bed and was able to enjoy the rest of our time there. After breakfast, we decided to try out our fishing skills, and found out we don't have any. Apparently we didn't get the memo that the fish really like hot dogs. We didn't catch anything but we had some casting lessons and enjoyed to view of the lake.

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Easter

We had a great Easter. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed going to church and remembering the real meaning for the holiday. I love that Easter is always on a Sunday. It helps us to keep our Savior in our thoughts and reflect on the resurrection and atonement. Hopefully my kids can one day see past the baskets and eggs. I have a friend who does Easter baskets and egg hunts on Saturday, and then focuses on the Savior on Sunday. I think I might try that next year.

I thought the boys looked really cute in their ties. 

(I'm not sure why my bracelet is up to my elbow!)

 Our lovely art work!

 We had a super yummy dinner with friends. The kids were dying to do the egg hunt. We had to prep Jack multiple times, letting him know that we would be eating dinner first, BEFORE the egg hunt. We were hoping we could eat in peace without him asking 100 times when we were doing the egg hunt. He lasted about ten minutes. I guess it's just too hard to focus on dinner when you have an egg hunt coming up. 

 Anderson, Henry, Lillie, Jack

Lillie quickly decorated herself with all the stickers and silly bands that were in the eggs. Anderson on the other hand, could have cared less about the stickers. He would shake his eggs and if it didn't sound like there was candy in it, he tossed it aside. He was after one thing and one thing only.

I'm thankful for good friends to make your holidays special, even with no family around.

T-Ball!

 Jack started T-ball a couple weeks ago. He has done really well for his first time. He has been really excited about starting and thinks it's super cool to have a team and a coach. For their first practice they had different stations set up for throwing, catching and batting. His team is made up of 3 and 4 yr olds, and it is so funny to see the difference between them. The 3 yr olds are looking around, playing with the grass and pretty much doing anything besides playing t-ball. Then the 4 yr olds are all excited to be there and play. It's crazy how much they change in a year. Anderson really wanted to be out there with Jack, but when he wasn't whining about that, he was cheering Jack on. "Go Gack! Run, run, run!! Good job Gack!"

I can't wait to see him in his little baseball pants.

Atlanta

 Justin had a dental conference in Atlanta, Georgia and we decided to tag along with him. We had never been to Atlanta, and it was about a 6 hour drive, which wasn't too bad. We stayed right down town, and loved it. Atlanta was such a great city. I wasn't sure what to expect, but we really enjoyed it. Justin had to be in classes most days, so the boys and I went exploring on our own. Luckily, Holly and Adam flew in from DC to attend the conference as well, so Holly and I spent our days together. 

We started out at the aquarium, which they say is the largest aquarium in the world. Jack and Anderson put their animals up to the penguins exhibit and the penguin would follow it when they would move it around. They thought it was so funny.

 They had a moving sidewalk through the huge tunnel, and the boys loved it. The tunnel was awesome. My camera doesn't do it justice.

 We spent lots of time in Centennial Park, which was made for the summer Olympics that were held in Atlanta in 1996. The park was so beautiful! And it was nice to have somewhere for the kids to run around, even though you were right down town.

 We spent a day at the zoo. The carousel and the train were by far the highlights for the boys. They loved the animals, but I think the rides took the cake.

 Gotta love that face! Ha!

 We went to the Museum of Natural History.

 Spent some more time at the park.

 Elder Tarver was a friend of the guys from when we lived in Cleveland. He is serving his mission there, so we looked him up and dropped by to say hi.

The Mecham's drove up from Florida for the weekend. It was so great to all be together! It's nice to have friends that you can be away from, and when you get back together, it's like you were never apart. The Mecham's and the Hurst's are those kind of friends. We had a great time together. 

It was funny because we spent a lot of time talking about location assignments for the Air Force (Adam is in the AF as well), and we kept saying how we wish we could just end up at the same base so we could live by each other for the next three years. Little did we know that we would find out shortly after that we were both going to Japan! I have no idea how that happened, but we are sure glad it did.

 These two are partners in crime. :)

Bellingrath Gardens

 On our way to the dental conference in Atlanta, we stopped in Mobile, Alabama to see the Bellingrath Gardens. It was such a pretty day and the gardens were beautiful. The boys loved just running around, which was good so they could get some energy out before making the rest of the drive to Atlanta. An old man asked us if we wanted him to take a picture of all of us. Anderson was sitting in the back seat of the stroller and after the picture he says, "Oh, I didn't even see HER in the back!" Then his wife goes, "Did you get the little girl in the back?" It was so funny. This wouldn't be the first time that someone has thought Anderson was a girl. But that was when he was a baby. Maybe they forgot their glasses at home?

 Jack thought these were really pretty and wanted a picture by them. :)

I want my back yard to look like this someday. Is that too much to ask?

WE didn't take a tour of the house, but plan on doing it before we move.

Okinawa, Japan

We went to a dental conference in Atlanta (pictures to come!) where Justin attended a meeting about our next assignment. They announced at the meeting that we would be finding out where we were going by April 16th, if not, sooner. But with the Air Force, I don't really hold my breath for them being early on anything. Well on April 2nd, Justin called me from Florida (another dental conference) and said we would be finding out by the end of the day. This was at noon. I started getting really nervous. I told him not to call me again, unless he knew. I knew if I saw him calling, I would start to freak out and I didn't want to freak out unless he really knew. Well he called by 1:00! I answered and he asked where I thought we were going. I said, "I don't know! Just tell me!" Well when he said Okinawa, I instantly started crying. We talked about us going to Japan all the time, but as soon I knew it was real, I was scared. I didn't actually think it would happen, and it did. I had a slight panic attack. I tried to catch my breath and think about all the positives about going to Japan. This was going to be good, right? We were at the beach with our friends when I found out, and I just started calling all my family and spent the entire afternoon on the phone. I got a little more excited as the day went on. 

Lucky for us, we already have friends that live there. We also found out that our other friends got the same assignment! So we will be able to go through this experience with all of them, which I feel extremely blessed for. If I have to live in Japan, at least I don't have to be alone!

Okinawa is a small island south of mainland Japan. It is a tropical island with BEAUTIFUL beaches. I'm excited to have another three years of warm winters and no snow. It is one of the best places in the world to go snorkeling and there are tons of places to go hiking and exploring. we have heard the Japanese people are very nice and that it is very safe.

Never in my life did I imagine that I would live in Japan, but for some reason we feel like this is where we need to be. It was never our intention to even put it on our ranking list. After a lot of discussion, fasting and prayer, it ended up being number 2. How did that happen?! We are still nervous for the unknown, but feel lucky for an opportunity that not everyone gets to have. Our kids are really excited. Of course they have no idea how far away it really is, but they talk about going to Japan and how fun it will be. The one big downfall is being so far from family. We have lived away for the past five years, but not that far away. It will be hard, but we will be begging for them to come and visit!!! We know that it is temporary though, and before we know it, we will be back in the states. So we are going to live it up!!

I mean, who wouldn't want to spend three years in a place like this???