Kurashiki Dam

We visited Kurashiki Dam today with our group of "adventure" friends. I love that we have a group of friends that likes to explore the island as much as we do! I feel so fortunate to have found people that we have so many common interests with. This move has been the easiest by far for me. I'm regressing....about Kurashiki Dam. It reminds me of a creek in upstate NY. There are green trees and plenty of shade all around. I love that it isn't higher than my shins which means watching the kids is MUCH easier. They love to explore, collect rocks and frolic in the small water falls. Today Noah got to go with his friends Max and Cayden and had a blast. Issy got to hang out with her friend Evelyn and Ben...well, Ben tried to keep up with the boys. We had so much fun. Rob actually biked out here one day, but didn't see the water falls part. I'll have to take him when he gets back (TOMORROW!)




These pictures are of the creek area. The waterfalls are to my back. Lots of area to explore!


PS-while I am typing this at 10pm on Saturday night yet another fireworks display just went off. I think that is the 5th one, that I've noticed, since moving in here. Since fireworks are one of my sweetest pleasures I have simply enjoyed being able to walk outside and have a clear view of some great fireworks. I have no idea what most of these displays are for, but I appreciate them.

So frustrating!

These are pictures of my car. I have already learned to live without many of the features of my beloved Odyssey. There are no standard functions like cruise control, automatic sliding doors or even the typical myriad of radio stations (there is ONE radio station for Americans and it plays everything from country to rap to classic rock...all within 10 minutes of each other). Anyway, that's not my point. I do miss my built in DVD player and keyless entry. I miss being able to get the kids out on both the left and right side (there is only ONE door for the backseat and it's not on the side I drive on so I have to walk all the way around to the other side of the car to let them in/out). I miss the way the seats nicely fold 1/3 and 2/3's down in the back. However, it does have a cool way of configuring the seats so that it's like limousine style in the back for the kids. It blows cold A/C and that's what matters most out here.




The part I miss the most tonight is my navigational system. I was supposed to be somewhere and I couldn't find the darn place. We drove around for an hour and finally came home. After I check my email I realized there were revised directions that had been sent out giving more details about how to get there. With those I may have found it. With my very missed navigational system I surely would have found it. Such is life. Fortunately I haven't gotten lost yet...I just can't seem to find things I want to. Aaahh!!!

On another side note I get in the wrong side of the car at least once every two days. I can drive just dandy on the left hand side, but for some reason I cannot get it into my brain that the driver sits on the right and the passenger on the left. I'm just constantly getting in the wrong side. I'm sure going back to the States will seem weird someday, but I'm certainly still adjusting to driving on the left side here.

Life on the farm

I found this great deal on japanupdate.com for a shed. I was so proud that I picked it up and put it together without Rob that I had Noah take this picture of me. Never mind that I'm dripping sweat because it's 90 degrees and 400% humidity at noon. I was just pleased as punch that I could do it all by myself. I'm such a big girl!

Every adult girl I know here has been to Cocok's at least once. I decided to try it out for myself with 5 girlfriends the other night. They give you a 1 1/2 hour pedicure for $39! It was heavenly. While being blissfully massaged (actually, I couldn't really think while I was being massaged...it was before and after) you look through a book full of nail art. I picked out one I liked and the nail technician replicated it on every tiny toe of mine. So fun! I can't wait to go back.



I just had to post these fun pics of the boys playing in the backyard. They spend half the day back there with the neighbors.

Dr. Bangladesh

I guess it's not as big a secret anymore where Rob's deployment is since he appeared in the Okinawa Marine today. Click on the link below to read the article and see the picture of Rob in action.
http://www.okinawa.usmc.mil/Public%20Affairs%20Info/Archive%20News%20Pages/2008/080822-medcare.html
We figured out there is a phone I can call in on today. I signed up for Skype and we talked earlier today and tonight. Yeah! It was so good to hear his voice. Way to go to all you wives who have dealt with longer deployments. This is hard!

Issy's first haircut

I took Isabella for her first haircut yesterday. She was so good...not moving a muscle the entire time. She had so many whispy ends and it was rather mullet looking. It's still whispy, but I hope it gets thicker as she gets older. The kids may have gotten my skin, but I hope they get Rob's wonderful, thick, curly hair.

Good times at Camp Lester

The kids and I have been having some fun lately. Our neighbors have a trampoline in their backyard. We were planning on getting one when we got here, but we don't need to now. Rob snapped a bunch of shots with me jumping with the kids. They love it anytime an adult get in with them.


Today we went to a water park that is literally 3 minutes from our house in American Village. It had a toddler pool and 2 water slides. It also had a very fast moving lazy river. Issy, Noah and I loved the water slides. Ben would just wait for us at the bottom. The lazy river was a blast, but would have been better if Isabella wasn't giving me a choker hold the entire time. She is so crazy in the water. She wants me to let go of her and loves to get her head dunked. If we are in a toddler pool, she spends the whole time trying to swim with her face under the water. I'm sure she'll be swimming on her own by next summer. It's been fun seeing Noah learn to swim by himself. He seems to get stronger and stronger every time we go to the pool. He only used his lifejacket once today...just so he could float in the lazy river for a second. Ben does fine, but is more timid than his siblings. He certainly doesn't like the waterslide, which I forced him to go on once. Sorry for all the details...I want Rob to be able to look online and read about what we are doing (if he gets to a computer by some miracle).

Everyone was supposed to take their shoes off before going into the locker room. People do this before going into a dressing room at a clothing store too.

A funny little fact about Ben...he loves folding the laundry lately. He's actually a big help too! Today on the way home from the water park he actually asked if we could fold laundry. So we did. I don't know where he gets it from because neither Rob nor I like to.

RPS Society

I have this little hometown newspaper that publishes anything that anyone in this little town has done with any significance whatsoever. Found a lost dog..it'll be in the East Aurora Advertiser. Got arrested on a DWI...it'll be there. Proposed on Main Street...it's there. My favorite this week was a girl who was traveling to Vegas to compete in the Rock, Paper Scissors Championship. Hello....there is an RPS competition? Where have I been all my life? The best part is when the article refers to her unique strategy "propelling her past some of the finest athletes in Central NY." Maybe we'll see her in London 2012. After googling the subject, we found this video. Let it speak for itself.

Kakazu Ridge

My Uncle Ron fought in the Battle of Okinawa where over 200,000 Americans, Japanese and Okinawans died. He was field artillery pounding this ridge during he battle which was one of the bloodiest battles of the whole war. We went there to see if the town still existed and to find out about an airfield he remembered there. Unfortunately everything there was entirely in Japanese so we'll have to take an English tour later on. To read more about this battle, check out this link:

http://www.jahitchcock.com/kakazu.html

Here are some pictures.  Thanks for your service, Uncle Ron (and everyone who fought in WWII).

Darling Japanese dress

I bought this darling Japanese dress for Issy and she wore it to church today. Just thought I'd share. Also, she is getting so girly. She let me paint her fingernails yesterday and holds still when I do her hair (most of the time). It's so fun having a girl!

96th Dental Corp Birthday Ball

Last night was the Dental Corps Birthday Ball. I love the balls. I love getting dressed up, mingling, eating and dancing. I got a new dress in Cali before we came out and I loved it. Here is a backside picture for my mom to show her the lacing up the back.


Rob was part of the cake cutting ceremony.

Two of Rob's friends from dental school, Tom Stinchfield and Nick Peterson.

Rob and the 3 Star General (Gen Zilmer, I think). He was the guest of honor.

After the formal part of the evening was over, the CO set up a Wii and everyone had a boxing tournament with the winner playing the General for the prize...taking home the Wii. Rob lost out in the first round to Tom. I took some pretty funny pictures of the two of them duking it out, though.

Best husband/Daddy ever!

I just had to write about how cool my husband is. The other day I was in the PX gazing at the Godiva chocolates while in the checkout line, but having no time with 3 crazy kids to actually see if they had the kind I like. That night, without having told Rob anything about my encounter at the PX, he brought me this box of my favorite chocolates home. It was wonderful and so unexpected. Rob repeatedly reads my mind like this. I don't know how he does it, but he does.

I asked the kids to draw a picture for Rob for when he leaves. I said to draw something that reminds them of their dad. Noah said this is a picture of Rob praying because he likes to pray. There are also a gazillion hearts because he wants him to know how much he loves him while he's gone. The big guy in the middle is Super Daddy (like the "S" in Superman, but a "D" for Daddy instead). He's the best dad!

Did I mention he's also a super athlete? He loves being active and loves running. There are a couple of guys who are into cycling and have roped him in. He already had a nice bike from his "commute" in Cleveland and Pendleton, but now he's road racing. Saturday they rode almost 60 miles! Can you believe it? He was hurting pretty bad as evidenced in this photo. It was pouring rain the whole trip, but he is a trooper. I love that he takes care of his body and likes to work out. I also like that he has an outlet for all his extra energy and is finding a hobby. I love you, Babe!

Dog tags, scissors and our tree

Rob doesn't want me to say anything about the specifics of his deployment, but something hit me the other day. He had to get dog tags. He doesn't normally wear them. Okay, so you may say "so what?"...he's in the military. That's not a big deal. But, why do you wear dog tags? So they can identify a wounded or dead body! That kinda freaked me out. Does that mean there is a chance of that where he is going? Just thought I'd share a thought on my mind today. I'm sure he'll be perfectly fine. (The scratched out part is his SS#).

The kids have been asking me to buy them some scissors so I finally did. So what does Noah do straight up? He decides it would be a good idea to try out the sharpness of them by cutting his tongue. What was he thinking? Of course he was bleeding all over. His tongue is kinda split like a snake now.

We have a wonderful tree in our backyard that the kids love to climb on. Ben and Issy can't get up there on their own and Noah is perfectly capable once he is up there. Noah and our neighbor Max spend many an afternoon playing Tarzan in that tree. We put Issy and Ben up there for this shot and they are happy as clams to be up in their world for a minute. I'm glad Noah has a place to climb because he is a little monkey.

My day off

At our orientation when we got to the island I received a voucher for 10 hours of babysitting at the childcare center on base. That means I get a day off! So I took my day off today.

I did some family history work in the morning and then got my nails done (mostly for a ball we have this weekend).

I headed down to the Peace Prayer Park about an hour away. This is a park dedicated to the Battle of Okinawa where 200,000 lives were lost in this battle alone (and some people think the death count is high with the current war). It was really nice...kind of a cross between the Vietnam Memorial and the Holocaust Museum. However, most things were in Japanese and the stuff that was translated into English wasn't that interesting to me. I wish more stuff had been translated. These pics are atop a tower overlooking the ocean where a lot of the fighting took place.




After skipping lunch and driving 2 hours for something that turned out to be a disappointment to me, I returned back to base where I met up with Rob and we tried to kill time looking at a furniture store until we picked the kids up. After we ate dinner I stepped on a rusty nail outside and so our evening walk was down to the hospital to get a tetnus shot. My day ended up being not as fun as I wanted (although I did get a little bit of shopping in), but I still liked my day off. What would you do with a day off (w/o husbands or kids?)


This pic is for my mom. This is the new sewing table I was telling you about. It is from India and I bought it from a furniture store on base.