Christmastime in Okinawa

In an attempt to update my blog better, here are some photos and an update on what we've been up to. The best Santa I've ever seen came our ward Christmas party. Not only did he look the part right down to the twinkling eyes, but he whispered the real reason for Christmas to each child who sat on his lap. Noah proclaimed to me the other day that Santa told him Christmas was really about Jesus and remembering him. He and Issy sat on his lap, but Ben watched from a distance.

The next day we had a dental families Christmas party. Mattel donated real nice toys for all the children to open. There was another Santa there and Ben decided he'd get next to him for a photo, but he'd pick the lint out of his belly button instead of telling Santa what he wanted.

The girls in Rob's office. This was the Dental Battalion Christmas party at the Habu Pit. We had a big ham/turkey buffet with lots of doorprizes and, of course, dancing.

Here all the guys are lined up to be judged "Best Dressed Male" which turned into a dancing contest. Rob tied and won $50!

This is Summer, another dentist, dressed in the kimono and Commander O'Rourke, Rob's boss (she's an orthodontist).

Rob's assistant is the girl dressed in black.

Noah started taking karate lessons last week. What better place than the birthplace of karate to take lessons? He is the youngest in the class (5-15 year olds) and it is soooooo cute. His teacher is a little old Japanese man...think Mr. Miagi from the Karate Kid movies. The best part is that it's 3 days a week for 1 1/2 hours each time and it's only $35/month. What a deal!

Ben fell asleep while Rob was reading to the boys the other night. My favorite part is that his hand is still in the bag with his snack in it.

The Harlem Globetrotters came and put on a free show last weekend. I'd never seen them so we went on down. It was fun!

Last night the Young Women in our ward and their moms went to a Japanese bath house. There was a mineral water pool that had bath temperature water in it, along with a bunch of other pools. Hmmmmm, so nice and relaxing. One of the pools was "Doctor Fish". These little carp fish come and suck off the dead skin from your feet. It felt just how it sounds. It was pretty ticklish and felt like mini vacuum cleaners on my feet. I must have had 100 of them munchin' away at my feet...they swarmed me. However, it worked and my feet are soft again. I had a really good time.