september 09<3

hi everyone! so, i know im like 5 days late, but its better late then never, right? its monday and we had a super busy weekend. im squeezing this in between catching up with cleaning and laundry.

anyway, september was a big, busy month for us..!

it was justin and i's anniversary on the 16th. its been 4 amazing years being married.<3 hubby was sweet by letting me choose how we were gonna spend the day. he took me to yunessan hot springs spa resort in hokone. it was so much fun!
first, it was a little crazy getting there, the trains took a lot longer then expected (4 hours?), did switchbacks a lot since the resort was up away in these grassy mountains and since it was really far (near mt fuji) a lot of the trains stopped at certain points that we had to switch to other trains. but in the midst of all that crazieness, it ended up being a fun little adventure on its own. :)
once we finally found it, after walking the wrong way up these big mountains a few times, lol, we got to relax!
fist thing we did was hit the massages! both of us had never had one before, so it was kinda cool. we were a little unsure about it, but it was great. i ended up getting the creepy guy though. haha.
after that, we had lunch at the buffet. it was pretty yummy.
then we finally got to see all the cool stuff! the place is huge, with big water slides outside with private caves, kids areas inside and out, swimming pools and just awesome spas all around. they also had the bath where you put your feet in the water with fishes and they eat the dead skin off your feet. haha. i wanted to do that one, but hubby wasnt down and the line was super long. they also had a whole seperate half of the spa where you could go naked. lol, we stayed in the bathing suits required area.
we tried almost everything. they had green tea spas, coffee spas, wine spas, sake spas, charcole spas and lots more that i know im forgetting. it was a really romantic place with waterfalls all around. the perfect little getaway.
i didnt even realize that there was much more to do in that area, but its a huge touristy town. i wish we could have got a room there and enjoyed everything much more, but we can always go back. :)

we were super late picking up the kids from the CDC, but luckily i had a friend who picked them up for us. once we came back to yokosuka, we had dinner and then picked up the kids. we got them in bed and then we got to give our gifts. i got the messaging kit for xbox that i had been wanting with the full keyboard and everything. :D and i got him a nice collared shirt with a halo ODST magazine. :p

the day was perfect, but by the end of the day my legs and feet were KILLING me. i felt like i kinda ruined the night, which i was sad about, but justin was super sweet and went out and got me icey hot to help with the pain. i was just not used to walking that much, not to mention it was up huge hills and the fact that i was in flip flops. i never where real shoes and i know thats killing me with no arch support. anyways, it was an awesome anniversary though. the best one yet and i love him so incredibly much.<3

2 days after that, we had a photoshoot for our family portraits for 2009. i was so excited. :) i found a photgrapher on base and we got to do them outdoors at mikasa park. i was super excited to get to have them done outside at a park, since in the states we have always used places like sears and of course, they are always inside using just a colored backdrop. this made it a lot more fun for the kids to be able to run around and be themselves. :) they were super expensive though, but worth it.
we've gotten family portraits done every year since tayla was born and im so happy about that. since we're in japan, i already know where i want our family portraits to be taken the next 2 years. haha. next summer, since we wont be living right on the beach once we leave, i want a shoot on the beach. then the next year after that, i want them done somewhere during cherry blossom season! am i the only one who thinks of these things in advance? lol. anyway, these pictures turned out great this year. :)

after the shoot, it also got me thinking more about photography and the fact that i would love to be a photographer. i think its something that would be smart for me to take classes for, because no matter where i go or what i do, its something i can always do on the side for extra money, if its not my main carer. plus, everyone knows how much i love pictures. it would be fun to learn everything about shooting great pictures and being able to make my own hours would be awesome. not to mention, pictures are freakin expensive nowadays, they've gotta make decent money.
justin and i both want to start collage classes, so we're gonna be talking to the navy collage people on base soon and find out how i can afford it. luckily, hubbys is all free! i just cant wait to get started on something, since he will probably get out of the military in only 2 ish years.

on another note, this month i got my xbox live account hacked online. yeah, i was sooo angry. i use a lot of gaming forums online and they got my email and password. after about 3 weeks and a few calls to micrsoft, they investigating the account and found out who did it and they recovered it for me. thank gosh. thats years of achievments and things ive done that i did not just want to make a new account and play from scratch. plus, halo 3 ODST just came out!! i absolutely love it. april is also in love with a new thing called FiREFiGHT. ohmygosh!<3 so ive been super happy playing lately :)

the tokyo game show was that weekend! we went last year too. this year we got to go without the kids so that was a lot better. man, was it crowded! they had every new game coming out. ODST released 2 days later here, so that was there. i really wanted to play left 4 dead 2, since its not out yet and of course it was there, but the wait was like 4 HOURS!! ugh, so we didnt get to play anything, cuz it was just crazy crazy lines and long waits, but it was still cool. they had people playing xboxs project natal that will be out next year. i cant wait, its gonna be so awesome!

flo rida came on base on the 28th and had a free concert for us! it was pretty fun. it seemed kinda short and not enough music, maybe cuz he talked a lot up there with his "Crew" and we we're all drinking, lol, but it was still lots of fun. im mad at myself that i didnt bring our good camera though. i brought my small cheap one, but oh well. MWR had booths set up everywhere with snacks, beer and alcohol. so much fun! i love the concerts on base. i cant wait to see who comes next!

we just put up all our fall and halloween decorations. its so much fun even if we dont have a holiday party. it makes things fun for the kids. :) im super excited for fall this year and winter as always, i cant wait to go shopping for some new clothes!

we also just ordered a 73" mitsubishi tv from the NEX!! they dont sell anything here that big, but they had it on the AFFES website, so we're having them order it!! :D it might not be the clearest, but its still great for the size and its mainly our gaming tv. and come on, split screen halo on a 73" tv is gonna be like playing on your own tv!! lol, we're still waiting to make sure it goes through, but we're so excited :)

thats pretty much it for the month. the kids are doing great. jayden has a new love for robots and spiderman. ever since he saw spiderman on tv and ever since we went and saw that giant gundam robot. lol. so i wanted jayden to be stitch for halloween, but i asked him what he wanted to be and he said spider man. :) he's such a cutie!! he also has been peeing in the potty before bath time and anytime he wets his diaper, he takes it off, so ive decided that right when he turns 2 in november, im gonna start potty training him. he so smart, he could probably get it now, but i dont wanna rush him.
he can also count to 10! sometimes he forgets numbers, but he goes in order for the most part.
taylas a pro with the potty now! shes been using the potty for a long time now, but has absolutely no accidents like she used to! super happy about that :) shes learning how to write her letters and numbers and her name. shes such a little mommy and she always wants to help me cook and stuff and help with jayden. its adorable. they both try to play video games with us, its so funny! lol. they would totally play halo, but we decided were gonna get some kid games for the wii for them. though, jayden has fun bowling with daddy alone on the wii! lol, but they will love it.

thats all for this month! i love october, so theres some fun stuff planned. :) make sure to comment and come back for next months update!

l<3ve, aprilbunny.



P.S. i made a new photobucket account just to share with family and friends that will be easier then facebook or myspace, since not everyone has those. i havnt added a lot yet, but just keep checking and ill be adding lots more.
just go here: www.photobucket.com
username: thehockfamily
password: AprilandJustin
(its a GUEST password, so noone worry :) also, make sure in the password you capitalize the A and J! enjoy! :)