Love, Bikes, and Red Bull

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

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!

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

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!

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

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.