The end of the school year was an emotional one for us. We said goodbye to many close friends from May-July. I tried not to think about the fact that we should be leaving too, but at least had a trip back to the states to look forward to. Lincoln finished out his time at Fuji Yochien which was a challenging but unforgettable experience. He also said goodbye to his best friend and partner in crime, Saylor. Hayden said goodbye to 3 of his best buddies from the block, Levi, Hilton, and Eli, all of who's moms were my close friends too. We cried together at our first sake send off, and I vowed to not go to another. I will miss the friends that became family away from home. I am finding lots of things to be grateful for to have another year here, but I still secretly have a countdown to our exit. Here is our summer in pictures....
We had a 2nd annual School's Out for Summer party!
The crew
Callum, Brodie, Levi, Hilton, and Hayden
The little brothers joined later
Will miss this crew in the hood
My friend, neighbor, co-team mom and party planner Abby
Lincoln on his last field trip with Fuji Yochien
Pool days in July required this get up.
Last family lunch!
So proud of this boy
Last day!!
Last bus ride!
I wonder how much Japanese he learned and will remember but I caught him on video singing this song from school....
Goodbye's were hard but we had a lot of see you later's as we did plan to see some of our friends back in the states over the summer.
Best buds Saylor and Lincoln...this pic sits framed by Lincoln's bed
Hayden and Eli on field day...his first friend in Japan
The Garcia's sake send off that did us all in!
The Lyons and Vaillant boys at our last Lions baseball game together
Eric and his buddy Zeke saying goodbye with a beer tasting.
July started with Mommy turning 40 and our family celebration plans being rained out by a typhoon. Eric and I still went out to a nice dinner in Tokyo instead. On July 13th I flew out of Japan with the boys and headed to Virginia. We got a direct flight to Dulles where my parents picked us up. We were tired but excited to be home! It was also our first chance to see my parents new house in King George, VA.
My first request....crabs!
Our first few days we enjoyed hanging with the family. We spent time with my sister and her kids and were able to watch my nephew Ryan play in a baseball tournament. From there me and the boys visited my best friend in Richmond for a night. I was finally able to meet her new baby, Hudson, not a baby anymore at almost two years old. She also took me to see where Eric will be working next year and drove me around some neighborhoods we can look to rent next year when we move for fellowship.
I hardly recognize my nephew Ryan! He is taller than me now!
Hayden watching Ryan at pitcher
Lincoln trying to stay cool at the game
The kids at a really cool Richmond park. London, Hayden, and Lincoln
Lincoln and London connecting over pancakes
Hayden and his new buddy Hudson
We also got to go see a Richmond Flying squirrels game
Our future home team.
The next morning we had another busy day planned. I drove down to my hometown in St. Mary's County to meet up with our friends, the Wilds. The boys were best buddies during our 6 years in Maryland and were excited to see each other. We enjoyed a pool day before heading up to Blue Crabs stadium to meet up with our Japan friends, The Garcia's. Hayden was excited to see his best friend from Japan too! I was happy to see my friends Andrea, Kathryn, and Juan!
Pool fun with the Wilds
Landon and Hayden together again
Ang & Andrea
Wish the dad's could have been there!
Vaillant's and Garcia's together again at a Blue Crabs game. I loved how excited they were to see each other!
Hayden and Eli
My second weekend in the states I had planned a girls weekend in Virginia Beach. I was so grateful my three girlfriends traveled up to see me while I was home. We enjoyed 3 nights in the Virginia Beach area and had fun catching up. We had one good beach day and then one rainy day so we shopped and checked out a Top Golf.
Besties on the Beach
Out to dinner on our last night....Mere, Jess, Steph, and Ang
While mommy was away the boys enjoyed time with Grammy, Pops, Aunt Vicki and their cousins
Once back we spent the week going to the pool, relaxing, and took a trip to Kings Dominion. It was an overcast day with a chance of rain which worked out perfect because we pretty much had the park to ourselves and it wasn't too hot. The boys had a blast riding all the rides with no lines! After two weeks in Virginia we were also excited for daddy to finally arrive! Eric flew out of Japan on a Wednesday, took his oral boards in Chicago early Thursday morning, and then flew to us late that night. It was such a relief for him to have that done and then have 2 weeks off to look forward to! We of course treated him to crabs for dinner on Friday night.
Kings Dominion!!
Hayden, Lincoln, Sarah, and Emily
Daddy is here!!
Eric had a day of rest and then we were off to the Outer Banks to spend a week with my family. Once we confirmed our dates we would be home we decided to go back to our favorite vacation spot when we lived in Maryland. It was a great week hanging at the beach, pool, fishing holes, and our rental house in Corolla.
Good boogie boarding waves!
Lots of sand paddle ball and baseball
Muscle man Lincoln
Hayden up to bat
Out for a bike in the neighborhood
Fishing and crabbing with cousins
Grammy & Pops on the beach
A & E
Hammerhead shark!
Fun at the community pool
Family game night! My Uncle Timmy and Aunt Sylvia came to stay for a couple nights too.
Beautiful sunset on the beach
Cousin photo 2018
Bros on a beach
Linc in his happy place
Vaillant Fam
Lifeguard chair photo
Followed by jumping
Sand crab hunting is always a must!
We drove back to Virginia on a Saturday morning and quickly turned around Sunday to leave for Florida to spend a week with Eric's family. We were excited to see Mel and George's new house in Freeport, FL and visit with family over the week. Our first night we were able to have dinner with Tammy, Wayne, and Emma and Sean, Andrea, and Emory. Eric's Aunt Dee was also in town for the week!
Sean, Tammy, and Eric
E, Wayne, and Sean
Beach time with Emory!
And Emma was able to stay for a couple days!
Fun at the community park
Lincoln was probably the most excited to see our dog Georgia! She didn't seem too excited to see us though. She is happy living the retirement life with Nana & Papu! :)
Out to dinner at The Crab Trap in Destin...Hayden was sick all day so I stayed home with him to recover.
Vaillant fam at the community pool. Hayden is starting to feel better!
Next we were off to visit Shipwreck Island waterpark in Panama City Beach with Nana, Papu, and Aunt Dee. We surprised the boys with a visit from their Japan friends who just happened to be visiting Florida at the same time us. We had talked about meeting up with the Lyons when they were moving so they were excited to see Levi, Saylor, and Ms. Abby. Lincoln gave Ms. Abby the longest hug which made me cry. The boys enjoyed swimming, sliding, and hanging all day. We were so grateful they made the trip to see us!
Ready for some fun
Tube fun with daddy
Hayden on the zip-line
Hayden and Levi
The 4529 crew together again in Florida!
Lunchin
That evening we headed to Panama City to take a sunset dolphin cruise on the Sea Screamer. It was a perfect night and we saw so many dolphins! The sunset was beautiful and it was a great way to end the day!
Vaillant's at the front of the boat
Vaillant fam
All of us cruisin'
Dolphins jumping our waves
The boys watching the sunset
Nana & Papu
Hayden helping Lincoln hold a crab
The next day we drove to Fort Walton Beach to meet back up with the Lyons. Our friend Zeke had a work conference but was able to meet up with us later in the day. We all had dinner together at The Crab Trap, Fort Walton Beach. It was hard to say goodbye, again, but we were so grateful for the time we were able to see them while in Florida.
Saylor and Lincoln playing on the beach
The big boys floating away
Best buds
Lyons and Vaillant Fam
Will miss these people living 4 doors down
See you later
Eric's brothers Aaron and George and their families were able to come in late in the week to see us too! The boys were excited to see more cousins and play at the beach together. Hayden and Aaden are so close in age and love hanging out together. It was so great to see all the family we had not seen in two years! We are hoping some might make a visit to see us in Japan our last year!
Out to boogie board at Blue Mountain Beach
Cousins catching waves
Linc caught some waves with daddy's help
Bros! Sean made it back for a quick visit too!
Eric, George, George Michael, Aaron & Sean
Linc, Alyse, and Ashton playing in the sand
Beach football
Hayden & Aaden
Beach Baby!
Finished the day with ice cream at Blue Mountain Beach Creamery
That night all the family went out for our last dinner at a cute spot on the water in Destin called Lulu's. It was such a nice way to end our time with the Vaillant family.
Our last day in Florida the boys went fishing while I packed us up for our flight home. We had to fly back to Virginia late to catch an early flight out of Dulles the next day. The 12-13 hour flights are hard but totally worth all the time we were able to spend with family. Coming back to Japan was bittersweet but we were ready to prepare for the new school year and plan some adventures for our last year overseas!
A big thank you to our parents who hosted us, cooked us meals, watched the kids, drove us around, let us borrow cars, and totally spoiled the grandkids I know they miss so much!
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