It's Walter, not Walters

Love, Bikes, and Red Bull

2011-02-19T18:31:00.000-08:00

Seth will be taking a trip in March. To a little island, Yoron. It will be the adventure of a lifetime, or at least it better be. They will be doing lots of hiking. And very possibly get more than a little wet. I ordered him some new Keen shoes that will fit the hiking bill and are waterproof too. When they arrived, I was surprised when I opened the box. I got more than I paid for.

Free "Liquid Motivation!"

I don't recall seeing anywhere on their website that they would be including a free can of Red Bull. I have ordered from zappos.com many times and never received one before. Since outdoor activity shoes come with an energy drink, I'm tempted to order some new heels just to see what comes with them!

This is Garrett's Valentine's Day project from school.

Printed so carefully.

Brothers, bonding on bikes.

I bought Seth another bike. This one is not brand new, but looks like it is, and was a great deal. He really loves it, just like he did the other two. I'm looking into lo-jack for this one.

Hints

2011-02-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, Jeremy Roy, I get it. After the couple of hints about how you can view the blog this time, I'm thinking you want me to put some current pictures on here. I am so stinkin' smart sometimes!

Steven at the conclusion of Rumble on the the Rock.

Someone is still little enough to have a harder time understanding just how long it will take for Daddy to come home, so we made a chain. He wrote the numbers on all of them. And he even remembers to take one off each night. I'm just happy he doesn't still ask me every night if Daddy will be home soon.

Principal's Honor Roll. Flippin' Sweet.

Seth and his not girlfriend friend, Irene. Ready to get away from the camera and to the Friendship Dance.

A few of us moms went over later just make sure everything was, umm.....in order. The kids were having a lot of fun. I even got a picture or two.

And honey, don't worry, I will make sure to get some pictures of Thomas up next time so you can see him too!

Forest Adventure, More April Antics!

2010-10-04T02:16:00.000-07:00

While the boys were on spring break, Jerry, Steven, and Seth went to Forest Adventure. It is a zipline course above the jungle, criss-crossing back and forth over a valley. They loved it and plan to go again before we leave the island.

This picture will live in infamy around here. Whilst Steven is hoping the computer randomly loses it!

Nice view of the East China Sea.

April Part I

2010-10-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, looking back April 2010 was a busy month!

As you can see, soccer was still thumbs down with Garrett.

Seth went on a walking field trip to a local park. They were learning how to use landmarks to navigate. Seth was in charge of taking pictures to help trace their steps.
This traditional Japanese house and garden are right outside the gate of the base we live on.

Here is what the manhole covers look like where we live (out in town, not on base). There is a bull ring here, could you have guessed?

Seth with his group.

Manzamo Point.

Cave entrance. We went in there. I didn't want to, but it hard to stand there and get shown up by a five year old!

Standing in the cave looking out.

Inside the cave with the other way in/out that actually has stairs cut into the rock.

Little kids getting a head start for the Easter Egg Hunt.

Big kids in on the action!

This an example of a typical shrine that exist all over the island. This one was at the park we were playing at. Generation after generation of a family are buried in the shrine. Americans are never allowed in the shrines unless escorted by an Okinawan.

On the other side of the park, is the Agena Bull Ring, where we came across these guys. Luckily they didn't mind us sitting and watching them. They seemed to be taping a video for some kind of assignment or advertisement.

These last 3 photos are from the day at Manzamo Point. The boys were tired and sitting at a picnic table, and this is the graffiti they created. Naughty boys.

Seth in English, and Japanese.

"Steven was here", classic.

And not just Vaughn, but "Vaughn Walter" and in Japanese as well. Great. Someone needs a lesson is proper graffiti techniques.

Absolutely Yummy and Current!

2010-09-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

This was dinner. A Monte Cristo-ish sandwich. Yum! Vaughn didn't like the preserves, and Garrett wouldn't try it. But the rest of us give it a thumbs up.
I spent the morning making red velvet sandwich cookies for Seth's class. I hope he brings one home, I really wanted one, but those are the sacrifices you make for your kids. I still have to make an actual red velvet cake tomorrow.
And no cooking dinner tomorrow, sushi-go-round! Seth really has good taste.

March Madness, Well Our Kind

2010-09-28T00:54:00.000-07:00

The birthdays continued, Garrett L-O-V-E-D the cupcakes I took in to share with his class. They were pretty awesome.

More cake later in the day with friends, then we kicked them out, literally, so we could get to soccer practice on time.

Someone was pretty excited to finally get the Batcave.

A couple days later, we went on a field trip with the preschool. To the Okinawa Zoo.

This is like a "Where's Garrett". Can you find him?
Better click to get a better look. Good luck.

The starving carp. We were lucky enough to get some of the last boxes of food for them. Too bad my kid thinks dumping it in all at once is more fun than throwing it a little at a time. Then asking for more. Did I mention we got the last boxes?

I now refer to this field trip as the unhappiest field trip ever. Just before the group picture, some tears were starting. The kids were hot and getting hungry. Right after the picture it was a slippery slope. The tears were flowing, the caregivers were running to get the lunches, the parents were trying to stay upbeat. It was a mess. After lunch and sitting in the shade of a pavilion for awhile, they all returned to their happy little selves.

We found Seth under all the hair. Look he has eyes!

More birthday fun. We eat a lot of cake in the first 3 months of the year.

I think the tow truck needs a tow truck.

Seth got to experience his second Ryukyu Festival at school.

These performers......

were KIDS!

SUMO!

Seth's class with the sumo wrestlers.

Soccer games finally got underway. After the first one, Garrett was done. He thought that was what we had been working up to. He saw no point in continuing beyond this point. The rest of the season was a lot of fun. Can you feel my sarcasm?

Seth realized we had a lot of soccer left, and that the soccer field is pretty big.

February Follies

2010-09-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

Steven went to Korea for Far East wrestling. It is the equivalent of going to state. Only here we bring together all the DOD high schools in the Asian countries to compete against each other. Jer was lucky enough to be in Korea at the same time and watched Steven's matches. Steven took the silver in his weight class.

Later in the month we went to the wrestling banquet. Steven received the award for "Biggest Attitude"....apparently he throws frozen Hot Pockets at people.

Seth was showing off his smartypants. He had another quarter of straight A's.
I must say, Vaughn was getting straight A's too, but his school does not hold an award ceremony to recognize those students. :(

Someone got another year older! Happy Birthday Vaughn!

His mom made him a rockin' cake.

And rich as it was, when I asked for glass of milk, this is not what I was expecting.
I realize this is a "cup" of milk to the boys, to me it is a quart of milk!

The local community continued to amuse.

I FINALLY got a new hairstyle. Still have it, still love it.

Rough days being four, going to preschool, and having lunch before making it home at noon.

Then it was January....

2010-09-27T06:23:00.001-07:00

Monster's Kitchen. Monstrously tall.

Someone dresses well for mismatch day.

Fanta World USA Hip Hop. Huh?

Crazy hair day!

McLovin, where's the Superbad fans?
And don't say you haven't seen it, just go watch it.
And Super Troopers, and The Hangover while you are at it.

There was still more of this going on.

Those kids again, they follow me everywhere.

In the Banyan Tree. I would be afraid of spiders. Good thing I have boys.

See? They are everywhere I go.
Like strays, once you feed them, they never go away.

Finally. A half way decent picture with this shark display. I only have about 10 others that totally stink, because of one kid or another.

Watch out for the native wildlife;
Pumba will get you!

I'm missing a few pictures somewhere. Steven had a birthday and attended Winter Formal. I know there are pictures somewhere around here. I suppose this is way you should not wait until 8 months later to want to post them. They'll turn up. Steven will be so happy when they do!

When December Came Around

2010-09-25T19:36:00.001-07:00

I found the perfect box and tried to ship the littlest one back to Aunt Pam. The USPS has some really strict rules and wouldn't take him. This reminds me I need to write my congressman.

Steven was starting to do a lot of this....he does it a lot still. Living with two wrestlers can be very annoying. Wanna wrestle?? No, go away. Practice your half nelson on someone your own size!

The holiday spirit was getting into full swing.

Seth's hair was getting really long.
And, please, do not judge the holey socks.
I have four kids, be impressed they have clean socks, with or without holes.

Garrett was a very diligent ginger bread house builder.

More of the local culture.
This must have been "Talk Your Bull for a Walk Day".
Wait, that is any day around here.

There was even more gingerbread house building.

Some were ginger breaded out.

And still others thought there were better uses for their time.

Thomas was hoping the holidays would just go away.

Finally, Santa came to visit and the masses were happy. =)

Thinking back to November......

2010-09-25T19:06:00.001-07:00

The Marine Corps got another year older.

Jerry and Vaughn were about the same weight, but not quite.

Garrett looked like this.

And Steven like this.

Seth was starting to have long hair.

We were enjoying cool Okinawa playgrounds.

Roller slide!

Drop slide!

And we saw a little of the local culture.

Love those drums.

Happy Birthday!!!!

2010-09-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

Don't Forget the Chicken and Rice

2010-02-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

Garrett's class recently "traveled" to other countries to learn about the country and its culture. These have been hanging up since they started that unit and they never fail to amuse when I pause long enough to read them. Today, I finally remembered to take a picture. It is so funny to see what they find important enough to pack for their trips, and what "travel" can be defined as for them. Kind of like a glimpse of what life would be like if 4 year olds ran the world. Click on the picture to make it bigger, it may just save your eyes.

Have You Seen UP?

2010-01-18T00:43:00.000-08:00

It really is the "Cone of Shame"
Poor Thomas.
He is one pathetic looking puppy here.
He's all better now.
His Christmas picture will be coming in a few more posts.

An Update? No, Just Pictures!

2010-01-18T00:29:00.000-08:00

More pictures to follow...
I have been a tiny bit lax with the updates.
It will be a work in progress.

This is Garrett sitting in a time out by the blanket for throwing sand....not sure he was getting the message.
Seth's hand looks awkward and not attached to his body here, but at least he's happy!

Steven was cold, surprise, surprise.Poser.

For the Family.....

2009-11-23T18:30:00.000-08:00

Smile

2009-11-15T16:45:00.001-08:00

Seth is a creative, curious kid. He has the tendency to ask odd questions, often out of the blue. I'm used to it, I just answer and get on with life. I don't wonder where he gets any of it from anymore. It is just him. One of his out of nowhere questions was "Mom, have you ever heard of tomato soup?" Well, of course I told him. He then asked if it was sold over here. Again, yes, at the commissary. So, he asked me to buy some. I did. This is why he asked about it, and why he wanted some.

And he discovered he is a fan of tomato soup, so I have his approval to keep buying it.

Just a Little Different

2009-11-15T16:23:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest reasons I wanted the boys to live in a foreign country was to get the appreciation and understanding that people in different countries do things differently.

There's my little front yard with it's nicely rounded trimmed trees.

Well, this is how they got that way. A man, in a bag, attached to a crane.

See? Things get done differently. Not right, not wrong, just different. :)

Well, Duh!

2009-11-15T16:20:00.001-08:00

What is the Okinawan secret to a long life? The healing toilet seat cover, obviously!

Neglect and the First Star

2009-11-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

I am a blog neglecter. There. I said it. The truth shall set you free, or rather me. But, either way, I hope you are in the mood to bear with me. I have a month and a half to get caught up on. I am hoping to get several posts up in the next week, before more new noteworthy stuff happens. :)

This was Garrett's first star at school. He was very proud! (His mommy and daddy were too)

Y'all Better Enter

2009-10-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

I love A Year of Slow Cooking, and as of today, I love Stephanie O'Dea even more! Through her blog I learned about this giveaway of a $200 Best Buy giftcard. I have to say, those Samsung appliances look phenomenal too! That is one pretty refrigerator!

It's Like We Live on an Island

2009-10-04T02:08:00.000-07:00

The kids and I were at the beach again this weekend. Jer is in the field. And I have realized we have all gone soft. Just having him gone for the past few days has been really weird. The kids complain about missing him, Garrett keeps thinking it's daddy every time the door opens. Yeah, we've gone soft, and it's a nice place to be.

Garrett at the sprayground,
moving in...

getting closer....

and too close!

Garrett discovered dinosaur's teeth. Unfortunately, he's giving you a side view. My little anthropologist.

The tide was out, but not super low like last time we were at this beach. Too bad last time I had forgotten the camera. But we did see starfish and sea cucumbers.

There are 3 starfish in this picture, one is just flipped over in the moving water.

And we found the cutest hermit crab. We did not bring home any hermit crabs this time. We have proven ourselves to be hermit crab killers. :( Well, except the big one, he's still alive, guess he's extra hearty. :)

Happy 9th Birthday Seth!

2009-10-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

Geez, where does the time go?? I can't believe how big all the boys are. Seth just turned 9, unbelievable. Since his birthday was on a Wednesday, we had a little schedule conflict with cross country. So, much to Seth's dismay, he opened presents and had cake a day early. Poor kid. He was just heartbroken.

Vaughn made this picture for Seth. Awww, so sweet, I know somewhere deep down he does love his brother. It will just be years before we see it again.

See? I told you, heartbroken to open presents the day before his actual birthday!

What kid doesn't love money??

Feeling a little misty and missing Aunt Pam after reading her poem......

The Ben 10 birthday cake he really wanted.
Hey, Yee, I thought about you. Commissary cake will always remind me of you. Wish you had been here to have some.

Not yet Seth.....

Okay now!

Getting a little help....

and loving every minute of it!

One of the presents he picked out for himself. This side has Seth in English and Kanji, the other side has a dragon on it.

After cross country, we headed to Chili's for dinner,
and a little birthday serenade. I think he likes it.

And just because I am sure you are all wondering.........

YES, Seth's hair can be put into a ponytail. We are so proud.
He really would have been a cute girl.

May the Force Be With You

2009-09-28T00:11:00.000-07:00

Garrett attended his friend, Declan's, birthday party yesterday. It was Star Wars themed, and Declan's Mom and Dad did a great job. Lots of fun for a group of mostly 4 year old boys! They had to do a 'mission'. They followed clues to find their lightsabers, capes and masks, then had to defeat the big boys, and ultimately Darth Vader. Declan's mom made the capes, she is so creative. He was wearing it after school today, and I have a feeling I know what he is going to want to take to school for show and share this week.

Beach!

2009-09-27T23:49:00.000-07:00

We finally ventured north to Camp Schwab. Camp Schwab is where Jerry was when Vaughn was born. He showed us the barracks he lived in, and most of the base remains the same as it was almost 13 years ago. The beach there, Oura Wan, is very pretty. Unfortunately the weather was not. We had cautions for entering the water due to a super typhoon off the coast. So there was not a lot of playing the water. Jer and the boys were body surfing since some of waves coming in were pretty good. Garrett was very cautious, I tried holding him in the water, but he wasn't even having that. We explored the rocks at the end of the beach, saw lots of crabs, found a cave, and of course, had an injury. Poor Boo slipped and cut his hand, then he was out for the rest of the time we were there. Once he feels wronged, he's done. We found the T-Rex statue, in the previous post, on our drive up to Schwab. We are planning to go stay at one of the cabins there soon. Seems very nice and relaxing, like a piece of heaven to me!

My husband and my boys. Love.

This is what G thought of the rough surf.

Rocks at the end of the beach where we spent some time exploring.

Seth with the world's smallest octopus. Oh, okay, it is just a plant of some sort.

The cave underneath the rocks.

Daddy and two butts, hehehe.

Recent Stuff

2009-09-26T23:39:00.000-07:00

We have had a lot going on recently. Back to school was a very crazy couple of weeks. Every year it is hard to get back into the routine. I am not a morning person, neither is Garrett. He has settled pretty well into getting ready and out the door to get to school on time, I still struggle! He is, thankfully, still loving preschool. The only problem we have had is trying to get him to talk, not yell, while at school. His poor teacher! He is the youngest of 4 boys, he yells, that's how he gets heard. We are working on it, and she said he is getting much better. I'm more surprised she doesn't comment on his OCD tendencies. That kid is going to be doing everything in multiples of 5.

Speaking of Mr. OCD, here is asking me to out more butter on his toast. I declined his request.

Steven in in cross country. He is getting better each week. Last week he actually dropped 2 minutes off his time. Go Ste!

Not a bad view for their run at one of the other schools in Yomitan.

Finish strong!

We discovered this on the side of the road. No, there is no sign, no amusement park nearby, no apparent reason for it to be there. It. Is. Just. There. So very Okinawa. Although Garrett thought it was really cool, he was still kind of unsure about getting close to it, even with Daddy.

Steven in his JROTC uniform. He looks so grown up. But, what is with that cover, dude? Can you even see where you are going? We'll work on it.

Who you callin' Laputa???

2009-09-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

Dragon fruit, readily available here and inexpensive. Not overly tasty though. Kind of like a bland kiwi, and without the tartness of kiwi. Looks pretty though.

My new mission in life is to take pictures of all the funny names for cars here. This is the Friendee.

The Laputa. Good stuff.

A sign for the "International Festival Okinawa for Young Audience 2009", but the truly fun part of this is the little red guy with the toilet paper issue.

Another Year, Another First Day of School

2009-09-07T04:42:00.000-07:00

Off to school the boys went one week ago. All bright and shiny and ready for a new school year. Yeah right, they were still groggy, but who isn't at 6:30 in the morning?

Seth was excited, but with all that hair he probably had idea where he was going.

My little freshman and 7th grader.

And Garrett. Hmmmm. He actually started the 31st of August too, but it took me until the 3rd to remember to take a picture. Poor little bugger. He is loving going and happy to stay. No tears or whining. Score one for Mommy. One little problem though, there was only one other child enrolled in the afternoon class. After one week of spending 2 of the 5 days without any other kids, he is switching to the morning class. Thank goodness kindergarten is starting and slots opened up in the morning.

Oh, and just so you don't think we are stranger than we really are, I took the picture on water play day, hence the swimsuit and water shoes. Although I am one to let the kids dress themselves, I would generally veto the choice of a swimsuit as school attire.

Go, Enter, Win

2009-09-01T00:33:00.000-07:00

I just recently started following Skip to my Lou. Lucky me, and thereby you, there is a giveaway just starting. You could win a gallery wrapped print from Red Letter Words. So, skip on over there and enter! Even if you aren't entering the giveaway, check out Red Letter Words, very cool prints. Lots of gift potential.

Family Fun Day at Torii Beach

2009-08-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

We went to the battalion family fun day. It was a lot of fun, although I missed getting pictures of pretty much all the organized fun. If you take the kids to the beach, they want to get in the water. Smart kids. After all it feels like 100 degrees here everyday lately.

The kids loved the water slide. 200 feet of slipping, sliding fun.

Oh, please, for the love of God, click the picture. Just do it, do it now.
Steven's face is so worth your click!

I tried so hard to get a good picture of one of the kids in the spray ground, but was not successful. I'm surprised I didn't get a picture of Garrett one of the multiple times he slipped and fell. Ummm, hello, it is wet and slippery as has been stated to you several times now.

Jerry in the dunk tank. Lucky him. This is the CO trying to get him; he didn't.

But SSgt looks like he's doing pretty well......

and he was!

Jer and the boys are some of the people WAY far out there.
Mommy was not happy with this.....

Steven and Vaughn were so proud of the sea cucumber they found
and dug off the ocean floor. Ewwwwww!

Who Cares if it Rains?

2009-08-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

Seth and Garrett played out back in the pool, in the rain.

Tons of Fun at Round 1

2009-08-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

We went to Round 1 this week, an indoor sports/amusement facility. It was great. Three floors of pure kid (and parent) fun. I am sure we will be back there several more times during our time here. There was so much to do. We didn't even come close to trying everything.

Here are few things we did try:

Mini golf, Garrett is right in the middle of the picture.

Tennis anyone?

How about a little mechanical bull riding?

Steven liked this one, note the smile.

HA! Could you pay an American teenager enough to have this job?

Mini bike racing-we didn't get to try this. The mini bikes are only brought out at specific times, since we don't understand the announcements, it is hard to catch it at the right time. Looks fun though. Maybe next time.

The view from the window. Pretty.

Video games, lots and lots of free play video games. Kudos to the boys for not staying in this section the entire time.

Garrett driving a Mack truck. Look how hard he is concentrating. So funny.

If you lived here, you'd get why this is so funny. Driving a bus on Oki is a feat in and of itself, I can only imagine in the largest city in the world!! I played this game several times. I apparently really suck at it. It kept taking off 5 or 10 points, and I am sure the kanjii that came up with it told me how not to suck. Too bad I couldn't read it!

Skating! Rollerblading, or good old-fashioned four-wheeled roller skating. This is why the mini bikes are only a set times, the rink is used mostly for skating.

Ah, yes, the massage chairs. Plenty of these around the facility for the parents to relax in while the kids run and play.

The biggest hit of the day. The ball pit with blasters. This was so much fun. Especially since we could all play together.

And I didn't get any pictures of the ping pong, archery, regular golf, and batting cages that we did try out!

Beetles and Spiders, Oh My!

2009-08-08T04:58:00.000-07:00

Beetles are a common pet here in Japan. These ones are for sale at the Makeman (closest thing you get to Home Depot here). I think these are a rhino and a hercules beetle. The rhino beetle was stuck on his side, but we couldn't get him flipped over. Poor guy. It's hard to be a bug.

You can't really tell from this picture, but this hercules beetle was as long as my pointer finger. I do not have small hands people. This is one seriously big bug. Garrett wants to bring him home. Yikes! I have a scary premonition that at some point before we leave Japan we will have one of these as a 'pet'. Calgon, take me away! Although it is better than a tarantula.

After we got home from Makeman, we were working outside. Garrett and his friends start squealing about a big spider. Sure enough, a good sized banana spider had decided to take up residence right in front of my patio wall. I think not. I am not a fan of spiders.

I mean, for pete's sake, he has a symbol on him that looks like a skull. Nasty.

You have to click the picture to see the spider on the bat. This is after Jer got him off the web and everyone came around and looked at him, and before he got squished. Sorry spider, you can't live here. This banana spider was small, I am totally good never seeing a bigger one.

Morakot, well the edges of it at least....

2009-08-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

We had our first experience with typhoon preparation here. Although, we ended up with no typhoon. Morakot rolled by south of us hitting Taiwan. We got wind and rain but only from the edge of the storm. It was a good trial run, at least we could get all of our stuff* put away. It looks like we just moved in now, there is nothing outside that isn't rooted in the ground. I kind of like the clean look. It won't last. ;)

Today we went down to the beach to see what might have washed ashore. The wind was still pretty wicked on the beach itself. The sand was a little painful on the legs.

This picture of the boys makes me laugh. For one, Seth's hair. Vaughn's super cheesy grin. Steven actually has a half grin. And Garrett looks v-e-r-y worried! Poor baby, he's still unsure about the ocean with its waves and all.

We were thinking maybe some shells or more sea glass might have been thrown up on the beach, not the case at all. There was trash though. A whole lot of trash. Sad, terribly sad. And you know some Privates and PFC's are going to really happy to be part of this working party.

Last night we tried to get some pictures of the sky. It was crazy reds and purples as the sun was setting. Hard to capture with the camera, these pictures hardly do it justice.

*read 'shit'

I Sure Hope that Vasectomy Works

2009-07-31T02:38:00.000-07:00

And this is just one reason why.
I am going to burn in hell for posting this, but it will be worth it.

(Seth, I am sorry. It was just too good not to share.
I hope you forgive me someday. I love you, Mom.)

Foster Parents Again?

2009-07-31T01:51:00.000-07:00

Garrett and I walked the dog this scorching afternoon, and what did we find, but another baby bird! The last one was a lot cuter. Poor thing is one of those faces only a mother could love. Or maybe he's so ugly he's cute. Not sure. I think he may be a baby pigeon.
The workers were mowing and trimming so we made sure to show them where the little bird was so they wouldn't hurt him. You can communicate quite a bit through gestures! :)
Garrett did this funny walk all the way back home. And Morgan, do those 'flippers' look familiar? They should, and they are about 1/8 inch from being too small. :(

Rough Day at the Office

2009-07-31T01:47:00.001-07:00

Apparently it is very tiring to be four. I went looking for Garrett when he was being too quiet the other day, this is what I found....

Bicadas!

2009-07-31T01:24:00.001-07:00

For all my non-Facebook family and friends, although I do recommend joining (especially talking to you here, YEE), I wanted to share the joyous sounds of the cicadas! Oh, how noisy they are every morning. And fantastically ugly. The picture below was taken the day we had the solar eclipse, so it looks like early evening, but it was actually about 10:30 in the morning. Oh, and lucky us, the eclipse 'reset' the cicadas and they got super loud all over again after the eclipse.

I took this video so one of my oldest friends, Becky could here them. She thought she missed hearing cicadas, but admitted they were not as "charming" as she had remembered. Charming they are not. Although they are a good child monitor, every time Garrett tries to sneak out the door, he gets caught! Aren't these things supposed to go live in the ground or something??

Togas Are Out!

2009-07-31T00:26:00.001-07:00

Seth and Vaughn took part in a Summer Enrichment program. Basically that means I tortured them with more school once school was out. And in turn, I was tortured by the drive every morning and afternoon to pick them up. I suppose that is called karma. On the last day Seth's class had an open house and Vaughn's class put on a play for us.

This is one of Seth's works of art. If we ever need his fingerprints we're all set.

This isn't Seth's work, but I had to take a picture of it. What were they doing in these classes?

Seth (the one eyed kid). Seth's squid (the one in the middle).

Ah, brotherly love.

Again, not Seth's work, but we liked it.

Onto Vaughn's class play.

Vaughn was Heracles. When we got there I asked him why he was wearing a skirt, his reply, "Togas are out, skirts are in."
And sorry, there are no more still pictures. I was taping the play so Jerry could see it.

Tiny Eggs and Ham? No, Thank You.

2009-07-31T00:07:00.000-07:00

We found these tiny little eggs on the side of our jogging (ha ha) stroller. We weren't really sure what may have laid them there. The best guess was the geckos or water dragons that live all over. Either way, since I wasn't sure what was going to come out of them, they got squished. Better safe than sorry. Especially since Garrett wants to adopt every live thing he comes across.

One More Reason to Love Okinawa

2009-07-30T23:36:00.000-07:00

I have never lived anywhere else that I would be on a four lane road and encounter a man pushing a wheelbarrow across the road.

Ying and Yang

2009-07-30T23:27:00.001-07:00

Garrett R-E-A-L-L-Y loves the dog. The dog is V-E-R-Y patient.

Can't see me, mom!

Here I am!

Hey, who's at the door?

Seffer and Goo

2009-07-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

Foster Parents

2009-06-19T18:17:00.001-07:00

Seth and Garrett were outside chasing butterflies. They are not very good butterfly hunters since we ended up with this little baby bird. We thought he had fallen out of the nest, but the next day he could fly several feet at once, so I think it may have just been time for him to leave the nest. We let him go the next night, hope we are better foster parents than butterfly hunters.

Better Follow the Rules

2009-06-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

No dogs in the park, or there will be serious consequences.

Summer Days

2009-06-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

Vaughn was teaching Dad to play four square.

Seth and a neighbor kid were raking another neighbor's leaves.

Garrett wanted to take pictures of my pretty flowers.

It appears the raking of the leaves for was not for completely altruistic reasons....

Oh, brotherly love.

Gifted and Talented?

2009-06-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

We are so proud....

Went for a Haircut, Came Home with a Turtle

2009-06-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

I went to get my haircut, which I did, but I also came home with this

He was the hit of the neighborhood.

But, we couldn't keep him, he's a wild turtle. Even Garrett agreed we had the perfect place to re-home him.

Off he goes, down the hill, toward the water.

Sorry the picture is so dark, but this is his new home! I hope he is very happy there.

Ah, Japan

2009-06-07T05:41:00.001-07:00

Just when I thought my dreams of owning a Pikachu car would never come true.....

Who Says Size Doesn't Matter?

2009-06-07T05:14:00.000-07:00

For many a year now, I have managed to stave off my husband's computer buying desires. God love the man, he wants it all; our wallet (me) says no. He builds computer after computer, dreams about all it will do, just how wonderful it will be. I work hard to delay him and wait until his attention gets distracted and he moves on. I wonder where Seth gets that 'Oh, I saw something shiny' trait from?!?
This year, I failed in my attempts. There was some ranting about years of waiting, deployments, Coach purses....blah, blah blah, but, he won. My, oh my, I did not know what I was in for, then this arrived in the mail........
It is almost the size of a small country. I know he said 'full tower', but somehow that did not equate to monstrous in my head. It is super quiet though. And it keeps him entertained. Although sometimes this involves him swearing because he changed some setting or other and it isn't doing what he thinks it should. :-)

The Beach

2009-05-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

Garrett and I went to the beach with some friends a little while ago. I forgot my camera, oops.

Thanks to Camilla, I have a couple pictures to share with you.

Gonna Be a Politician

2009-05-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight Steven came running into the house and up to his room. Then we heard a noise that sounded like glass breaking. He came back down the steps and started to head back outside, Jerry called him over and the conversation went like this.....
Jerry "What was that upstairs?"
Steven "What?"
J "What was that upstairs?"
S "Oh, I was changing my clothes."
J "What was that noise upstairs?'
S "I dropped something."
J "What is something?"
S "A mug."
J "What mug?"
S "What?"
J "What mug?"
S "Oh, that glass Batman one."
J "Did it break?"
S "Did what break?"
J "The mug."
S "Yes."
J "Did you clean it up?"
S "It's in a pile."

I mean, seriously, I could not make this up.

Kodomo no hi

2009-04-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

Driving to the skate park yesterday, we saw these streamers. They are so pretty. I wasn't sure what they were for, but with a little investigation found out they are in preparation for Kodomo no hi, Children's Day [originally known as Boys' Day :)]. Children's Day is the day parents to pray for their children and their futures. I think that is a great way to spend a day.

I love the little handprints on these ones.

Skater Dudes

2009-04-26T22:08:00.001-07:00

A little over a week ago, Jerry took the boys to a skate park near our house. Of course, every time kids skate, bike, heck, go outside, moms worry that they might get hurt. I suppose broken bones are part of growing up. Well, the kids are fine. They had lots of fun.
It was the husband that came home with a hurt wrist and hand and needed x-rays!
I am certain he will never grow up.

Easter, yeah, I KNOW!

2009-04-24T18:08:00.001-07:00

Remember, it is the thought that counts. I often THOUGHT, I needed to get some pictures posted. Time is my enemy!

The boys started the morning with an egg hunt. Since our backyard is the size of a postage stamp it did not take long.
Steven is now too cool for baskets or bags. Geez, teenagers.

We also created a treasure hunt for the boys. It think they had 17 clues total they had to find.
Here's one picture of them discussing where the next clue is hidden.

Garrett knew just where to go when the clue involved poop bags. Garrett's current goal in life, well, besides giving me gray hair, is to get big enough to walk the dog by himself.

Ah, the loot is found!

Later in the day there was a neighborhood egg hunt. It ran a little behind schedule, it was on "island time". So once the go was given they were off.

Man, that was fun!

Only Vaughn and Garrett took part in the second egg hunt. Seth had gone to the beach with a friend, and Steven was not interested.

Under the Sea

2009-04-08T01:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Churaumi Aquarium! These botanical creations are the first things you see when you get there. Actually, even before, they have smaller ones in a few spots along the road on the drive up. At least that way you know you are not totally lost!

Of course, we could not get past this play area without playing for awhile. Last time Garrett was here with the school he couldn't play, so there was no way he was passing it up again. As he was running away he was yelling "Oh, we are sooooo going here!"

This picture is to try to show you how soft these blue areas are. Walking on them is like walking on marshmallows. Very cool, and safe. :)

I've got nothing to say here.....

So, we walk in and see this.....

Weird exhibits they have here.

The touch pool, very busy area. We moved on pretty fast.

The whale shark tank. This is one of the coolest parts of the aquarium. I could sit here and just watch for a long time. There are three whale sharks in the tank. Huge rays and skates.

This ray was sitting on the top of the viewing room glass, he was getting a lot of laughs as people rounded the corner and walked underneath him.

We ate lunch in the Cafe Ocean Blue. It is situated next to the whale shark tank and looks into it. This was the view from our seats.

Just a short video from lunch. The view was really rough.

Let's hope the only time we are seeing these guys is from behind the aquarium glass and not while swimming this summer.

This is one of my favorite exhibits. The Garden Eels. They stick up out of the sand and eat passing plankton. They are just so funny. Some are spotted and some are striped. I feel like they should be in a Dr. Seuss book.

Waiting for the dolphin show to start. The boys, except Steven, are in the front row. They were hoping they would get wet. Steven didn't want his hair to get wet, hahahahaha.

Man, they can jump so high.

And, so gracefully.

We had a really fun day.
And, you know, when in Japan....

Now, come visit us so we can take you to the aquarium too!

Urasoe Dai Park

2009-04-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day, woah! This is part two of our day. The beach was before lunch, this was after. No fun pictures of lunch, we didn't have a lot of yennage on us, so we opted for on base, Macaroni Grill, yum.

Getting to this park was not nearly as easy. Directions like "turn at the second light" can be so subjective.

There's the park down there, and lucky us, while we were out looking at it, a parking spot opened up. So, down the hill we go.

Them's my boys.

Here's the park from below instead of above. The really cool slide was closed. Not sure why. I'm sure the sign explained, but oh, the language barrier.

And the even cooler slide on the other side of the playground that was also closed. All the more reason to go back later when it is warmer. Both of these slides have rollers on the bottom, so no getting stuck. I am sure they are very fun to go down. We'll update you once we get a chance to try.

Kids are such monkeys.

Oh, a normal smile, so cute too.

The corkscrew thing-a-ma-jig at this playground was really cool. Seth is at the top and Vaughn is on the side.

Is that Steven playing, having fun, and wait, wait, even SMILING! Holy cow, maybe acting perpetually bored got tiring.

There is a rhino head sculpture. Don't ask me why, go ask your mother.

Such a photogenic child. And his front teeth are finally coming back in! He can eat an apple again, hooray!

Garrett going up the loop de loop and Steven coming down.

Boo Boo, are you stuck?

We got ice cream from a vending machine. Even though the day was not sunny and a little chilly they were still tasty. Except for the green one Garrett picked, it was not so tasty. He threw it away and we got him another. Sorry,I didn't think to take a picture of those, too busy with my own ice cream.

Since we had come down the hill, we had to go back up. Coming down was much easier....as it generally is.

On the way home, Jerry saw this crazy little drive and just had to go down it. We were trying to get to the road at the other end, but jeez.

Yeah, we ended up having to back out and find another way. I am kind of partial to the top of the van as it is.

Even though the weather was not very beautiful, we had fun. We saw more of Okinawa and that is always fun. Tomorrow, the aquarium.

Araha Beach Park

2009-04-06T01:25:00.000-07:00

The kids are on spring break this week so we are going to do some exploring. We haven't really done a lot of that recently. Okinawa has a lot of great parks for kids. The harder part is finding them. Araha beach was way easy, with directions.

"Prease concerne" to click the picture so you can read the "condition". Arigato!

We parked by a shisa dog, all the better to guard the van. I mean, seriously, who doesn't want that sweet ride?

The fun zip line, well once it got working. Things tend to rust around here.

Very cool pirate ship to play on.

Climb little monkey, climb!

Silly Garrett. This is his favorite face to make about everything. It is so much better when paired with his growling. We are so proud.....

Run, jump, fly, well until your butt hits the sand at least.

Ah, they look almost sweet here, except the little one. It is always the little one you've got to watch out for.

Who Doesn't Love a Giveaway...

2009-04-04T20:34:00.001-07:00

for a pair of Crocs! You can win a pair through simplemom. Check it out!

100 Yen

2009-03-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

Garrett and I had a very successful trip to the 100 yen store today. I went with the sole intention of getting Seth more socks. He loves the toe socks. That child really does embrace everything. It is a good quality to have.

Anyway, we bought this drink, which turns out to be like a cream soda. Really tasty.

This is the toy Garrett chose that mommy just finished building. How neat for a buck, huh?

Oh, and I did get the toe socks. For those of you who know me well enough to wonder if I got what I went for, or just got distracted by the shiny things. :)

That's a Good Idea

2009-03-24T20:42:00.001-07:00

The mind of a child is quite fascinating and amusing. I was running errands today and of course Garrett was with me. From the back he says "Mommy, there was upside down steps back there!"
Now, I did not see whatever it was he describes as upside down steps, but I reply "Really? How would you walk on those?"
To which I get it "Well, you could put gum on the bottom of your shoes, then you would stick to those upside down steps. Yeah, that's a good idea."
So, I smile and say "You're right Garrett, that is a good idea."
And now I wait, for the gum to start appearing on the bottom of his shoes as he tries to stick to things....

Two Week Update

2009-03-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Ah, the neglected blog. I fancy myself a busy girl. Blame it on Facebook. Honestly, there hasn't been much going on with our family. I can sum up the last two weeks with just five photos.

Seth's school held "Read Across America" week. Ironic, since we are not in America and no school we have been to there (which is a good number) has ever had a RAA week. One of the days, the kids were to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grow up. Seth dressed as a Marine Corps pilot. I wish I had taken a picture of Jerry's ridiculous grin as Seth walked off to school.

We went to the RAA night at school where we had some green eggs and ham, made some bookmarks, listened to some stories, and of course visited the book fair.

Then it was Garrett's birthday. My baby is four, *sigh*.

While driving we spotted Spider-Man hanging around. Good to know we have both the Marines and Spider-Man to protect us here on Okinawa.

And because I am such a good parent and influence. I dared Steven to drink some lemon juice packets while we were at the food court. He's 14, so he's pretty much game for any dare.

If I Were in Charge of the World

2009-03-05T03:23:00.000-08:00

Vaughn had to write some poems for language arts. Some were in the style of those they had read. I really liked this one.

If I Were in Charge of the World
by Vaughn Walter

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel soccer,
Baseball,
Asparagus, and also,
War

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be more animal shelters,
Smaller footballs, and also,
Bigger shoes

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have allergies
Pneumonia,
Global warming,
Country music,
And the apocalypse

If I were in charge of the world
A gecko would be 5 foot long, you'd also have
Man-eating cauliflower,
Vegetables would taste like chicken,
There would be such a thing as a Mommmotiposs,
Birds would live under water and eat sharks,
Superman would have blonde hair
And Britney Spears would be a rapper

If I were in charge of the world
It would rain cats and dogs
Garden gnomes could walk and talk
And volcanoes would erupt hot fudge

Lil' Photog

2009-02-24T05:10:00.000-08:00

Garrett has become very interested in taking pictures. So now we have the perfect use for one of the old digital cameras. It is so interesting to see the world from his point of view.
Garrett's first exhibition.
Prints are available for purchase. Hey, college will be here before we know it!

Things that make you go hmmmm. I still haven't figured out what this is.

Steven's feet. In case you wondered.

This one is so funny; he was taking a picture of his dad. Doesn't work quite right when the camera is backward.

Mmmmmmm, C.C. Lemon. One of the things we will miss when we leave Okinawa.

For Aunt Beth

2009-02-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

First, Happy 2nd Birthday Zerik!!!!

Now, here's the picture I said I would take for you. See, he's not a big dog. Small to medium. He is such a good little dog though. I guess lucky us that someone abandoned him.

You Better Not.....

2009-02-19T16:23:00.001-08:00

On Vaughn's birthday, Jerry took the pictures. When I looked at them on the computer I was laughing so hard at these three. This was when Jer asked Seth to move closer to Steven so he could get a picture.

Steven looking at Seth like you better not touch me. Man, if looks could kill. You may have to click the picture to really see it well.

Ah, feel the love. Steven's face kills me.

Now, happy Steven, Seth is no longer too close.

I'm sure someday they will love and appreciate each other. Right? Yeah, I'm sure that's right.

Gimme a Kiss

2009-02-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

Garrett tells me on a daily basis,
"mommy, i happy we buy a dog. i love him."
It helps me not mind sweeping up dog hair twice a day.

Before and After

2009-02-19T16:14:00.001-08:00

Oh, that face. Doesn't he look traumatized?

Wait, What's Your Name?

2009-02-19T06:01:00.000-08:00

So, we bought a bookcase from someone on OYS. Her name was Jessica. Guess what her husband's name was? Go ahead, guess. Yeah, Jeremy. I know. Freaky. So then she looks at Garrett and says "what's his name?".

Happy Birthday Vaughn!

2009-02-12T16:09:00.001-08:00

The birthday train is still rolling along here. Vaughn is twelve now! Geez. I am starting to feel a little old. He had a good day; he had a field trip at school (mom and Garrett came too), Valentine's Day party at school, the dinner he picked, then presents and cake too.

You have to lick the candles.

Happy Birthday Boo Boo, we love you.

Liz, Carly, and Bree's V-Day E-Party 2009

2009-02-12T03:46:00.000-08:00

So Liz (the fischpond and two cars) is this creative young woman I got to know after she moved away from me in California. She is funny,opinionated, sometimes odd, and creative to boot. Too bad I didn't know her better when she lived 3 houses away. Anyway, she and her beautiful little girls are hosting a Valentine's Day E-Party for all the blog friends. See, I told you she was creative, I would have never thought of that. So, I gave the boys some recipes and told them to get busy; Liz, Carly, and Bree are waiting.
Here are the fruits of their labor. Please disregard the fact that I uploaded the pictures in the complete opposite order of what they should be. Mistakes happen.

First, Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies, courtesy of Bakerella.

Mmmmmmm.....tasty.

Vaughn were you frosting the cookies, or your fingers??

Seth did a great job, look at those neat little rows.

Second, they made a Cherry Blackberry Cobbler.

Mmmmmm, butter.

Garrett was very careful.

Vaughn was very precise.

This recipe was super easy, and everyone loved it.

Liz, thanks for the invite. Happy Valentine's day.

You Should Have Been a Comedian...

2009-02-07T04:32:00.000-08:00

****Edited to add****I do not have a cat, this is from this website. I unfortunately, do not have the patience to have such a cat. Kudos to the comedian that does. This is really all Liz's fault, do not click on her links they are evil and will suck up your day before you realize what has happened. Off to check failblog now....

Quoted from "One Sentence"

wildpen

My cat challenged me to a game of "Guess Where I Pooped Before You Step In It" and I lost.

I am STILL laughing.

Say Hello to....

2009-01-31T03:43:00.000-08:00

Thomas (aka Tom Tom)
We adopted a dog today.
Seth has been begging.
We felt bad.
He's high energy, but so is Seth.
We are hoping they are a good match.
So far, so good, let's hope Jer's allergies hold out.

Happy Birthday Steven!

2009-01-31T03:25:00.000-08:00

Steven turned 14, fourteen, juushi.
We will have a high schooler (yikes!) this fall, I think that means we are getting old.

Everyday Okinawa

2009-01-20T03:35:00.000-08:00

Back in December I had taken some photos of just stuff around Okinawa to share with all of you, but they kind of got lost in the holiday shuffle.

I took this picture because there is someone in the sidecar on that scooter! See the helmet? It had Jer and I cracking up. Sometimes we are not good ambassadors.

This is one of the roads I travel down often. It is my chosen way to get to the Air Force base. It is not a big road. I really have to get pictures of the mirrored curve on this road that is only wide enough for one car at a time.

Jerry took this photo. This tree in on Kadena AFB. We just think it is really cool.

Around Christmas we were out shopping at Makeman (read Home Depot) and these orchids amazed me. They were so gorgeous. Some of them were HUGE. When I think I have read enough about their care not to kill it, I may get one.

Herding Cats

2009-01-16T17:44:00.001-08:00

Garrett had his first preschool field trip. They have been learning about the ocean and its creatures in class so we went to the aquarium. Wow, what an interesting experience with thirteen 3-5 year olds.

This is the whale shark. This tank was huge. You can kind of tell by the size of the people at the bottom of the picture. There were also rays in here that were unbelievably big.

The sharks,

thankfully not this big in the tank,

Holy lobster, Batman!

Garrett with his "buddy" for the day, David.

Mommy: Hey Garrett, what is this?
Garrett: An oxsanapuss!

Another cool botanical creation.

There is soooo much we didn't get to see and do. The aquarium is located in what is called the Ocean Expo Park, there are a lot of things to do. Garrett was dying to go to the huge play area, unfortunately it has to wait for next time. But we will definitely be back!

Take Me Out to the Playground

2009-01-15T01:04:00.000-08:00

Garrett wanted to go to the playground on his day off from school. It was actually sunny so off we went. Parking is an issue here, so I had to keep driving around trying to find somewhere to park. Every time we passed the park, Garrett would yell "There it is Mommy". Every time.

The Japanese are very efficient people. Even the playground equipment is efficient.

Concentrate, concentrate.

The see saw, teeter totter, whatever you like to call it, was fun. I love this picture, it is just so Garrett.

Buried treasure, part of a tangerine! Funny, someone's mom thought they ate their snack, little did she know it was at the bottom of the big hole they were digging!

Silly little boy. I love this picture too.

Tuesday Night, Time to Get Down

2009-01-13T02:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday.
The kids were bored, let's all enjoy.
Sorry, parts are sideways; I don't know how to flip the videos. Hopefully, you are watching from a laptop, turn it sideways ;).

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmm

2009-01-13T01:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I had to go to the Naha airport today. This was the first time I have driven there or been back since arriving on island. It was actually not hard at all, lucky for me. I have this innate ability to get really turned around. It is not like I couldn't find my way out of the paper sack, but still my directional ability is not the best. My husband will attest I am sure.
While I was good with the getting there and back, I am still a little freaked out. My car talked to me. In Japanese. More than once. I wonder what it said. I mean how do you figure that out? Ask Okinawan to take a ride with me and tell me what the car wants?

For Liz......

2009-01-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

Weren't expecting this were you? This picture is a scanned photo of Jerry's grandfather on Guam during World War II. His grandfather is standing, sixth from the left. Make sure you click the picture and make it bigger. I wouldn't want you to miss seeing the guy with the bra on his head. Once Marine, always a Marine......

Flickr Meme

2009-01-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

Thought it was fun. Go to Flickr. Type the answer to each question in the search box. You can only use pictures from the first page that comes up. Have fun!
1. What’s your name?

2. What’s your favorite food?

3. Where did you go to school?

4. And then?

5. And then?

6. Who’s your celebrity crush?

7. Who’s your favorite Disney princess?

8. Favorite drink?

Everyday (except in Okinawa, where it is NOT SOLD, OMG)

Special Times

9. Dream vacation?

10. Favorite dessert?

11. What do you want to be when you grow up?

12. What do you love most in life?

13. One word to describe you?

14. What do you dream about?

For Scotty

2009-01-08T22:57:00.001-08:00

Welcome 2009!

2008-12-31T07:55:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!
It is about 1AM on January 1, 2009; I am going to bed.
Morgan and Lynn, it was just not the same without you.
And no sausage balls.......
Yes, I am slightly drunk. Thank you for asking.

Growing up

2008-12-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

My baby has started school. I am happy and sad all at the same time. Morgie, can you believe Garrett can go to school?? I know Morgan gets it. She still sees that little baby that moved in next door. I wasn't actually looking to put him in preschool right now, but this kind of happened into my lap, so I decided it must be a sign.

This is the day we visited the school. The teacher, Ms. Jana (she's the only big person), is really great. We arrived just in time for good mornings and calendar. Then story time.

Sorry for the blur, Ms. Jana is very busy. One thing that I really like, morning snack is fruit salad. Everybody brings a fruit to school each day, and that makes the fruit salad for snack. I love that idea. Isn't Garrett so sweet sitting waiting for his bowl? I'm not too sure about the little girl with her face in the bowl, but it makes me laugh.

So after spending time there, Garrett went for a trial day to see how he (and mommy) did.
As you will see from the picture I took when I went to pick him up, he seems pretty comfortable........

Nuff said.

Garrett will be going twice a week for now. I think it will be weird having him gone, but nice to have time to myself. Jerry is convinced I will be bored. Only time will tell.

Christmas Morning Part II

2008-12-30T18:25:00.001-08:00

We got laser tag for the boys. This was getting ready for round one. It didn't last long. Everyone kept "cheating", new rules kept popping up, receivers were being turned off during the game; I'm sure you get the idea.

Garrett was very excited to get Spike. He was a little scared at first, but Spike doesn't move too fast, so he realized it is not going to get him. As you can see, Spike is a fairly large dinosaur.

And that is pretty much all the still pictures I have. I know, sad.

Christmas Morning Part I

2008-12-30T18:06:00.001-08:00

I didn't take may still pictures, I was using the video camera most of the time.

Do you think Steven is excited? Yeah, we can't tell either.

Wait, now we know how excited Steven is! Or he is just tired. Steven and Vaughn were the ones who woke us up! It was 6am when they came to get us! Geez, teenagers are supposed to sleep half the day.

Catching up to Christmas

2008-12-30T17:51:00.000-08:00

This a picture from Seth's school's holiday performance. Wish I had known that only the 4th and 5th grade actually do the performance.....next year will be much better for actually seeing Seth. It is quite the production, very cute. Click the picture, I wouldn't want you to miss seeing Elvis......

Out shopping and having lunch, Garrett and I found some reindeer. I think this one has to pee, but that is probably the mom in me.

And we made cookies for Santa, each of the boys decorated their own. Like the mug with Iraq on it? For Santa, no less. It was a hint, maybe Santa can keep Jerry home. Santa is magical you know, and magic is what it would take for that to happen.

Santa travels by fire truck in Japan.....escorted by MP's

2008-12-30T17:26:00.000-08:00

Santa visited Camp McTureous Christmas Eve day and handed out bags with goodies. He was escorted by the military police and had a few elves with him.

Cake Wrecks

2008-12-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

Check this out, so funny. The last cake.....OMG.

Merry Christmas Eve/Christmas!

2008-12-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

I know it is Christmas Eve for most of you, but it is Christmas morning for us. We have opened all our presents, created mounds of paper and boxes, ran out of batteries. Right as rain around here!
We hope all of you have a fantastic Christmas Eve, and a great Christmas morning. Merry Christmas :)

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-14T03:59:00.001-08:00

First, I had completely forgotten about this picture. These trees are all over the island, well, the parts I have seen. Aren't they funny? The needles grow upward. I think they are fantastic. I want these in my yard in Michigan. Wonder if they need the semi tropical climate. I am going to look into that.

Now, onto another tree. I know this picture is a little blurry, but it was the best I could do. I wish the pictures were better. The tree is much prettier in person.

Please ignore the speaker on the wall near the top of the tree. If I thought I could get Jerry to take it down, I would. However, I live in the real world.

Exciting Times

2008-12-13T02:29:00.000-08:00

There are several exciting things happening around here. Well, exciting for me, maybe not for you, but I am positive you are dying to know what is going on. I will indulge you.

First, we finally got a car for Jerry. Hugely exciting for me; I am no longer trapped at home on weekdays!! Okinawa is much more appealing when you can go places. There is a small downside, he got a Subaru Impreza WRX STI (if I don't include those six letters I get corrected and several nasty looks), which will at some point garner my I-think-I-am-a-racecar-driver husband a ticket. Oh, and it is white, just like my van. I KNOW you are loving that Yee.

Second, Christmas shopping is done. Whew. Now, if you would, please cross your fingers that my last few boxes get here before Christmas Day. Being that we are now at the mercy of the postal service, I feel a screwing in our future.

Third, and most importantly, I snagged a panini maker really cheap at the PX today. Mmmmmm. If any of you have some good panini recipes, throw them my way. I am so excited!

I know, I know, I told you it was exciting around here! And our Christmas tree turned out so pretty! I really love it this year. It is the first artificial tree we have had, but it is nice all the same. I will take some pictures soon. I need to have a cup of tea and relax for pete's sake. Go, do the same, after sending me panini ideas of course.

Awesomeness

2008-12-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

One of my college friends, Brent, is now a teacher, an amazing one. He sent me an email with a link to the music video his class made. It is great. Take a look.
Boom De Yada Video.

Progress

2008-12-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

As your kids get older, they become so much more self sufficient, in good and bad ways. Garrett dresses himself pretty much all the time, even for bed. It is nice; I love it. Lately he has come up with his own unique style. Here is a little video to illustrate what I mean.

And, yes, this is everyday, for now. I love kids.

The Cutest Pizza Ever

2008-12-03T04:27:00.001-08:00

Hunting for Christmas gifts, I found this site Mahar Drygoods. They have some of the cutest things. This is one of my favorites, the pizza set. I do think it is kind of pricey, but G has a birthday not too far away.

Black Friday Hunting of a Different Sort

2008-11-28T00:23:00.000-08:00

We needed to get out of the house today, so we went to a beach. I was so excited, we found a lot of sea glass. I am hoping to collect much more over our time here.

Here's Boo sitting on the sea wall.

Like the tongue sticking out me? He's such a nice boy.

I think the sea glass is so pretty. As you can tell, some started life as a beer bottle. We got some nice shells too.

Collecting shells, and sea glass after mommy mandated we all look for it. Luckily the boys were happy to help me out. Garrett is not in this picture because he just could not move on down the beach. There were shells everywhere. He would start to head toward us, stop pick up something else and run back to the pile he had started. It was really funny, he just could not walk past anything.

Stuffing recipe

2008-11-27T19:04:00.000-08:00

This is the recipe I used. I did not use it to stuff my turkey, so I used more stock than the recipe called for since I was baking it in a dish. And I used 1/2 wheat, 1/2 white for the bread cubes. Since we do not have Golden Delicious apples I used a Wojin apple. That is one of only about 3 kinds here. And apples are crazy expensive here, as are potatoes. Gotta love the produce embargoes. Oh, and I added the apples and cranberries to the skillet to warm them through a little before adding to the bread cubes. I am going to get a picture of the green onions sold at the Japanese grocery here. They are huge. You'll see. Someday. I promise. Someday.

1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
3 3/4 cups cubed white bread
1 pound ground turkey sausage
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 Golden Delicious apple, cored and chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
3/4 cup turkey stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.
In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, and parsley. Drizzle with turkey stock. Spoon into turkey to loosely fill.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

2008-11-26T23:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! We just got done eating Thanksgiving dinner, hence why I am on the computer; I am too full to move! For the first time ever I made dressing from scratch. I appreciate the dressing, this may be a sign I am growing up.

Critter watch 2008 continues!

2008-11-23T21:46:00.000-08:00

I took this picture at a friend's house over the weekend. This plant is literally right next to their sidewalk. I know it is hard to see, but there is a big spider right in the center. I don't think so. She and I could not co-exist.

Garrett and I found something interesting in the house today, a little lizard. We think he came in to get out of the rain today.
Loading these pictures today made me realize my camera has the wrong date now. I guess if you cross the international date line it would require you to reset the date on various electronics.

The Toothless Wonder

2008-11-23T21:40:00.001-08:00

Seth lost his other front baby tooth. We like to call him "toothless wonder".
In true Seth fashion, there was a lot of drama that last day when it was barely holding on. Thank god it finally came out. Now he won't starve to death or exist on a soft foods only diet.
*Edited* I forgot to tell you, because I am sure you were wondering, the tooth fairly left yen, not dollars! Seth got 200 yen, he was really excited. Since the dollar has only gotten weaker since we got here, that is a good deal for him.

A Feast

2008-11-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

Seth's class had a Thanksgiving feast last Friday. The dish Seth asked me to make was Warm Winter Lemon Cake. Jer, Garrett, and I were there with Seth. They had a great spread, yum!