So it's been a while and yes I've been neglecting family and friends on the update of how life is going in Japan. Things are going well. You can see Matthew is still enjoying preschool and we've already signed him up for Kindergarten for next year....Wahoooooo!!!!!!!!!!! I know he is excited for that.

So to back up how life is.... I took a trip to the states with both boys (yes I'm NUTS) and we stayed there for 6 weeks and pretty much had a huge road trip driving and flying all over creation. However it was nice to see family since it had been almost 2 years. We were able to meet Greg in NC while he was out processing to go on yet another wonderful deployment. So he's in Afghanastan and will be there for a while. Gotta love the Marine Corp!!!!

My Auntie Linda came out to Japan for 3 weeks and we pretty much did a ton of stuff! Had a great time. She has made it home safely and did great on her plane rides.

I'm back to work again....still teaching English to Japanese students and going to school full time. Only taking 4 classes a semester but it's still a full load with two kids and a job. Lucas is now in daycare out in town, only part time, however he seems to enjoy the interaction with all the other children.

Speaking of Lucas......our little baby just turned 1 on May 7th. And he's making milestones since his birthday. No more bottles, now on sippy cups and drinking through a straw. Doing great. Has taken a few steps but no walking yet unless he's holding onto something. :)
We are missing daddy very much and had a daddy doll made for Matthew and do have a countdown calendar going also. We're planning a vacation for our family.....first time for us to have a vacation that doesn't consist of a road trip. So we're going to Hawaii when Greg returns!!! We are keeping our fingers crossed for orders to FL soon.....will keep you posted on that.

Greg is doing good though and pretty much past ready to come home. He's been working his tail off and all that fun jazz. We get to call him and vice versa so it's been nice to be able to dial him up whenever we want to talk.

Greg picked up Gunny in Feb and this was a huge event for him, as this was one of his biggest goals when he joined the USMC. For many of you that know Greg you will know that he's been striving for this day for a long time. So he is happily a Gunny Sargent now.
The boys and I are doing great in sunny Okinawa and of course we spend a lot of our time on the beach...... Here is a pic just for you...

We're contemplating a trip home in July...so there will be more news on that later as well.

Hope you are all doing well.

Miss you and Love you all.

Nichole,Greg, Matthew and Lucas Nolan

Well sorry it's been a while. School is kicking my tail at this point. However Greg just turned 29 a few days ago and his father was so kind to email us this picture of how fast time flies. Above is a picture of Greg at 15 years of age.

We have been exploring and did some more exploring this weekend...check out this huge frog...can you find matthew...ha ha ha.

This is what they call Tropical Dream Land. Love this pic!! Hope you will too!!

And yes I'm submitting this to statefarm as the next commercial against geico....ha ha ha...couldn't help but laugh my tail off at this one!!!

And here is our nosey old woman dog Seabee. She is still doing great but wow she is nosey. Check this out...she enjoys getting on the couch and looking out the window. Thus the reason we have moved the couch now :)

Well life has been crazy. Boys are good and growing fast. Lucas is now eatting baby foods and loving them. He is growing fast. Rolling over and trying to sit up but still needs assistance. He has the silliest laugh and giggles non stop. I have a feeling he will be low key like his daddy....he is usually really relaxed and goes with the flow :)

Japan is still hottttt!!! We are ready to go home. 149 days and counting!!!!!!!!!

This is a short one but I'm off to the dentist...wahooo!!

Talk later

The Nolan Clan

Fukushu-en Chinese Gardens & Yogurtland :)

So here is my new obsession or addiction or however you want to put it. OMG YOGURTLAND. WOW...

Who knew that creating your very own frozen treat could be so fun? This could be a very dangerous new obsession, especially if you have several people in your family. The concept is simple: Grab a cup, dispense yogurt, add toppings, weigh, pay and enjoy!!! I love the enjoy part and enjoy we did!

Remember, this isn't 31 Flavors, they only have 16 choices, unless you count the numerous combinations you can create when you pull down the mix lever. You will be more than satisfied with 16+ choices as each flavor is incredibly intense. Here were our choices today: Pistachio, Mango Tart, Green Tea, Tiramisu, Toasted Coconut, Vanilla Wafer, Fresh Strawberry, Vanilla Bean, Vanilla with Salt (I have no idea why), Dutch Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Double Cookie and Cream, Pineapple Tart and Pomegranate & Raspberry Tart.

Some of your fresh topping choices included kiwi, passion fruit, persimmons, mango, dragon fruit and nata de coco. Some of the dry topping choices included brownie bites, cheesecake bites, mocha cake, fig, Oreo cookies and assorted nuts. My favorites were the cheesecake bites and the Koala Yummies.

AND they have Yogurtland in the States, but it's mostly in the western/southwestern states (CA, NV, TX, HI, AZ).

So here ya go: saddly to say we've had dinner, yes dinner here more than once. Poor Matthew isn't going to know what a regular meal is anymore. Ha ha ha....just kidding...don't worry I'll feed him well, just me "NOT SO MUCH!!"

And then adventuring to the wonderful Fukushu-en Chinese Gardens....

This place was AMAZING!!! Such an adventure for our son Matthew... the narrow rock paths up to pavillions and around the waterfall are fabulous!! He loved going up the pathways, over the bridges, up the stairs to different things. Oh he loved it. And it was blazing hot as if you can't tell from the coloring in the pictures. OMG gotta love Oki Heat...urgh....

However this was so very nice. Definitley a lot of history in this place.

And of course you know we couldn't have gone if we didn't drag our good buddy Chris along. This poor man......he is the definition of a true friend. We love ya Chris!!

So that is what our adventures held this weekend, our adventures will definitely be slowing down as we are saving up for our trip home to the states. Which we only have 165 days!!!!!!!! Seems like forever but I know once we get passed the wonderful holidays, we are going to be really close :) Think we might die flying into CT in Feb. however we'll have warm welcoming arms there so we'll just fall into those. I have to say I do love my inlaws. Def. got lucky in that factor of life!!!!!

Alright well back to school work and the joys of motherhood.

Ps. Congrats to my friend Deanna whom had her baby boy on her birthday!!! WAHOOO...what an amazing birthday gift. Her birthday will never be the same however she'll be the perfect Mommy.....

Pss....my brother and sis in law are home with their new baby ...will post pics as soon as I get some more. Can't wait to see my new neice!!

Alright alright ALRIGHT...

Talk later

Nolanz Clan :)

My babies are growing up too fast....

I must say...I don't want my boys to grow up...
However it's happening daily in front of my eyes.
I once had a co-worker ask me .....why are you working if you seriously don't need the money???
That question has never left my mind as I just hit my one year mark at being a Stay at home mom.
Sure it has it's days...just like any job.
I feel I work harder now than I have ever in my life.

So Matthew started up his 2nd year of preschool this school year. Next year he'll be headed to Kindergarden!! Here is a pic of him from his first day of school :)

He has been very happy with being back in school and definitely loves interacting with other children. He also is becoming a big fan of the fish keeping hobby that Greg has.








Lucas on the other hand just turned 4 mnths and to me, looks just like his big bro. He is a ham. Doing well since he had his surgery. Chunking up quite nicely as you can tell from the pics.
He is still in physical therapy for the erbs paulsey he's been diagnoised with in his left arm. Doing well though but definitely doesn't like physical anything. Ha ha ha ha.

Where does time go??? I feel like I blinked and Matthew went from baby to little boy in a day.

I am blessed to have such great boys, even though they definitely out do me in the energy dept.
:)


Hope you all enjoy the new pics!!!
Have a great day...

PS....only 167 DAYS till we return to the US of A!!!!

Labor Day Crazy Day: Okinawa, Japan

Well Well

We have decided to start blogging our adventures for our family and friends to see :)

Kinda like scrappin online. Ha ha ha.

So this Labor Day weekend we had ups, downs, in's, out's and much exploring.

One of our closest family members known as Gpa Grape passed away at the ripe age of 94.
He'll be missed!!

And my brother and his wife had their first baby girl.
Kyra Sue Morano 8lbs. Gorgeous neice.......Kyra has a slight cleft lip and will undergo a surgery in Peoria, IL for this. We'll be keeping my brother, sister in law and Kyra in our prayers as they endure this new life with a baby. There seems to always be good with the bad.

However in efforts to keep our minds off of things back home....

We went exploring...

Japan has some of the craziest things ..........

Like this rabbit. ha ha ha.....

And then our friend Chris who we've known for a coon's age and gets drug along with us for some of the adventuring. We don't bore him with all of it.

So this weekend, we visited many things.
An Underwater Ocean Observatory, A castle of sweets, A new "international" pancake house, the wonderful monorail and many stops that came with that.

Pics from the underwater observatory. It was very windy on the peir that day. They also offer glass bottom boat rides, however with the way the current was we decided to come back and do that a different day :)

These are pics from the sweets castle.

Matthew had a blast filling up his basket with different treats to take home. And also we could test out some of them via samples. Very nice time. Also there is an area where you can watch how the treats are made and that seemed to very high speed!!

Menu from the actual "International" House of Pancakes called Jakkepoes. Very yummy!!!

Stay tuned for the next blog...as I try to figure this bloggin thing out!!

Hugs from Asia!!