Weekly Happenings - 5/18 - 5/25

1.  Unfortunately when I was on my way home from Japan I found out I was going to be leaving again on Monday to go to San Carlos for the week, again for work.  So, at 5:50 in the morning on Monday, I was taking off again for a crazy week of work.  The time went by fast and I was able to take an early flight home on Thursday to surprise the kids!  (they thought I was going to get home after they were in bed)

2.  Saturday was a great day!!  We spent our morning at Deanna Rose and it was awesome!  We covered the entire park and the kids had so much fun.  We took the obligatory picture on the cow and of course they both had to take pony rides.  Garrison was also enthralled with the blacksmith so we spent some time there.  Overall, it was a great morning!!

3.  On Sunday we had rain off and on but we spent the day around home working on projects and playing a lot!  The kids did get to take the car out for a few drives.  Luckily, we have a few more years before Garrison drives for real as he was a crazy driver!!

4.  On Monday, the weather finally warmed up enough for us to kick-off summer with a trip to the pool.  We spent almost 2 hours at the pool on Monday afternoon and we all had a blast.  We even stopped by the Little Library near the pool on our way home to pick-up a couple new books - what a fun addition to the neighborhood!

Weekly Happenings - 5/11 - 5/17

1.  On Monday, Grammy came up to help a little with logistics while I was still gone on my work trip by taking Peyton to piano lessons.  The kids had a fun time with Grammy coming up for the evening to visit!

2.  On Thursday, Peyton had her last day of school!  It has been an amazing year and she has learned so very much.  Looking at this picture it makes me realize how much she has grown-up and matured during this school year - absolutely amazing! 

3.  I got home on Thursday night and Chad and the kids surprised me by picking me up at the airport with awesome signs, beautiful flowers and most importantly their amazing smiles - I was so excited to see them and it was a great "welcome home!"

4.  On Saturday, Peyton & I snuck away for a little girl time and had our nails done and then stopped for a Starbucks treat! :)  

5.  On Saturday we also were busy getting a few things done around the house.  Peyton used the time to practice climbing the rope in the basement and doing pull-ups on the bar - I am so proud of how strong she is!!

5.  Peyton wanted to get out her sewing machine to do a couple of projects over the weekend.  She is getting the hang of it doing it on her own.  Of course, Garrison wanted to get in on the fun so Peyton let him make a slice of pizza stuffed project - he was quite proud of himself!!

6.  On Sunday, Grammy & Grandpa came up to visit and we got to go out to lunch to celebrate a belated Mother's Day!  We tried a new place for dinner - Ted's - and it was really yummy!!

Weekly Happenings - Amanda's Work Trip to Japan

On fairly short notice, I was asked to go to Tokyo, Japan for 9 days for a project I needed to help on.  It was a whirlwind trip and although I missed my family terribly the trip went by pretty fast, mostly because the work days were long and continued even over the weekend.  Needless to say, it was a crazy trip but it was an amazing opportunity both career wise and personally to travel to another country.  I was lucky enough to get the chance to travel business case, which for a 14 hour flight is near necessary!  It was my first experience with the United business lounge in Chicago as well as flying business class.  The food was excellent, the service was great and the seats went completely flat which would have been nice for someone who was able to sleep (I was not so lucky).  But, I arrived safely in Japan and started into the craziness.  

Our team stayed at The Conrad, which was an amazing hotel that occupied the top floors of the building we were working in as well.  For the first 3 days we never left the hotel / office building other than to exit one lobby and enter the other.  Those days flew by.  The next couple of days weren't quite as long and allowed a few of us to go out to dinner.  One night we went to Shimbashi station where we found tons of little places to eat, all which did not speak English nor have English menus and only sat about 20 people.  We found two that were excellent and truly enjoyed some yummy local cuisine!  One night we also went to a restaurant where we cooked the food on a small grill at the table.  That was an interesting meal with steak-tar-tar, beef tongue, Kobe beef and mango ice cream made table side with dry ice.  Yummy!

The rest of the trip was pretty much work based until the last night when we were able to go out to a few bars, one in the Rappongi district and then on to the New York Bar on the 52nd floor of the Hyatt where they filmed part of Lost in Translation - so fun!!  The next morning brought a few hours before our flight home to where we could walk around the Daiba district for a little shopping and a ride on the world's largest ferris wheel.  

The trip home was uneventful thankfully and I was welcomed home by Chad and the kids at the airport - it was so amazing to see them as soon as I walked off the plane - I will remember it always!!

The Conrad:

Shimbashi Station:

SoftBank office building - The Conrad floors are at the top.  >10K people come to work in just this building daily - insanity!

View from The Conrad bar:

Rappongi:

View from The New York Bar:

Pictures from the Ferris Wheel tour:

Weekly Happenings - 5/4 - 5/10

1.  On Wednesday, I had to leave for a long work trip to Japan so on Tuesday I picked the kids up early and treated them to sno cones from Tad's!  They got Rainbow sno cones but were more excited about the concept of getting them than eating them.  That's ok - it was a fun special treat!!

2.  On Wednesday, Peyton had her school program which I was really sad to miss.  But Daddy was there supporting her and took lots of great videos!  Peyton did so great and was so proud of all of the songs she had learned!  She also got to show Daddy the baby chicks that had recently hatched in their room.  So fun!!!

3.  On Friday, since I was away, Grammy came up to have Muffins with Mom (Grammy in this case) at the kids' daycare.  They were excited to have a special visitor for their fun event!

4.  Daddy kept really busy while I was away - the kids were in EXCELLENT hands!  Check-out Peyton's hairstyle on Saturday - so fun!

5.  Later on Saturday, Daddy & the kids went to Lexington to visit with Grandma & Grandpa Todd!  They had a great time playing outside in the nice weather, going out to dinner, going to church on Sunday and celebrating Mother's Day with Grandma, Nana and the rest of the Sanders family.  Peyton was quite the little helper with the babies at church and during lunch.  And both kids were extra excited to see Wyatt & Whitney on Sunday!  Before long, it was time to head home and get ready for the week.

6.  Before I left on my trip, the kids gave me a Mother's Day card which included this awesome "Best Mom Ever" button.  I wore it proudly while in Japan on Mother's Day.  I missed the kids and my mom dearly on this special day but was excited to talk to everyone on my Mother's Day in Japan (Saturday in the US) and again on Sunday.

Weekly Happenings - 4/27 - 5/3

1.  This week Peyton was named to the Principal's Pride Squad for exhibiting the school district's virtues - the 2nd time this year so she was very pumped!  She got to have lunch with her principal and earned a free breakfast at The Egg & I!

2.  Peyton also earned "Purple Day Lunch" with her teacher for the month of April.  At the beginning of the year she didn't miss a month of earning this honor for exceptional behavior but since the first of the year she has only earned it twice so it means even more now. :)

3.  On Friday, our neighborhood had our Spring party and this year Allison, Lindsay and I planned a flower planting and pot painting event for the kids.  It was a big hit!!  The kids loved planting their flowers and did a great job painting their pots - they turned out great!  We always have such a great time with our neighbors!  Also on Friday, Grammy & Grandpa needed to run to our house to pick-up a bed frame so they joined us for a yummy pizza dinner and the kick-off of the party before they had to head home.  It was a short but fun visit!

4.  On Saturday, we ran a few errands and then stopped by our local comic book store for "Free Comic Book Day".  It was NUTTY there but a lot of fun.  We waited in line and people watched for about 30 minutes to get our free comic books.  Plus there was a funnel cake truck there so the kids were patient line waiters while they enjoyed their funnel cake - yum!  By the end of it, Garrison had powdered sugar up to his elbows and Peyton had it on her eyebrows.  It was a mess but fun!

5.  Later on Saturday, Daddy went to play golf with a friend while the kids and I settled in for quiet time and then went to Monkey Bizness for Kylie's birthday party!  After the party, we treated ourselves to Orange Leaf (yum!) before coming home to plant our flower pots for the year.  Both kids are such great helpers and have a lot of fun planting & watering our flowers!

6.  Our neighborhood built a "Little Library" and installed it down at the pool.  People can drop off books and pick up a new one to share the love of reading.  I already love our neighborhood but this has been awesome.  The kids haven't yet read a book from there but we have exchanged books a few times! :)

7.  On Sunday, our nephew Wyatt was confirmed at the Lutheran Church in Concordia so we joined the family for the service during church and lunch afterwards to celebrate.  The service was long (almost 2 hours!) but the kids did really well and had fun playing with their cousins.  It is still hard to believe Wyatt will be in high school next year!

8.  Later on Sunday, Peyton decided she wanted to go for a bike ride so we got out the kids bikes and went to the cul-de-sac just down the road for some practice.  Peyton is a pro with her training wheels so we are starting to practice without them a bit (we still have some work to do!).  The first pic here cracks me up - both kids were getting their bikes ready which included putting "their" phones (aka our old phones) into the bike bags for the trip.  Peyton even pulled up some music to jam to during her bike ride.  Cracked me up!

9.  On Thursday (backing up), I found out that I was going to be going to Japan for 10 days the following Wednesday - nothing like 6 days notice - for work.  On Monday, Peyton made this sign for me.  Although it made me sad that she was writing about how much she was going to miss me and didn't want me to go to Japan, it was pretty special that she took the time to make such a great project for me which is now hanging in the house while I am gone.