Date night

Rob and I got to go on another date night last night. We tried a place called Crocodile's. Rob wanted to go there because of this cool waterfall and crab that is on the outside. Sadly, we thought it was over priced and the food was only so so. The abiance was wonderful, though. We had these lovely birds in a glass cage right by our table that bickered like an old couple the whole time. We probably won't go back again but since we took a bunch of pics I thought I should blog about it.


No spoons for soup here.

No forks, either. Okay so I understand that they use chopsticks. I'm getting much better at them. However, I thought it was funny that they gave me a steak knife to cut my chicken, but no fork. I had to stab the chicken with a chopstick and then slice. Weird.

Saturday morning

Rob went biking with the other LDS guys from our cul de sac on Saturday morning. 32 miles to some beaches and points and pretty spots I'm sure. I'm glad he's getting out and finding some hobbies. He worked too much in California.

I went to a Japanese farmer's market when he got home. Fruits and veggies are outrageously priced at the commissary (the grocery store on base). They had peppers and cherries and potatoes and tomatoes and lots more...all for 100 yen per bag (about $1.00). They also had a meat market with some gross things (like these pig feet). When I brought the fruits and veggies home Ben ate the whole box of cherry tomatoes and Issy ate the whole box of cherries. Guess I better buy more next time!

Old friends become new friends

It's been super fun getting to know the Peterson's all over again. Our kids are constantly playing together. They run back and forth between each other's houses and have the best time imagining together. I had to snap a quick shot of all the munchkins.

My quirky little Ben

Ben is such a cool kid. He is so unlike me that I have a hard time relating to him sometimes. He is cool nonetheless. He can go from pajamas, rainboots and swim goggles with a toy knife in the boots happily stabbing all things in his path to a complete meltdown the next (as happened in this picture while I was on the phone with my mom). His highs are high and his lows are low, but the spectrum is lessening as he gets older.

The real reason for this post is to share his quirky little habit with you. Ben loves money. He knows which coin is which and what presidents are on them. He has a fondness for Washington (who wouldn't...he's worth $.25!) He is found to have a coin in his hand most hours of the day. Sometimes his hand is green from holding it all day. He sleeps with money in his hand. Yesterday at the playground he wanted to do the monkey bars. Fine. So I help his onto the first rung and he starts struggling. It seems he doesn't even want to put the money in his pocket to do the monkey bars. Crazy kid. Maybe we have a future investment banker or accountant or Wall Street broker on our hands.

Deployment

We've been here for less than a month and Rob received news today that he will be deploying to Bangladesh.

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We wanted to come to Okinawa because we knew there would be awesome opportunities for Rob to deploy on humanitarian missions. I just didn't think it would happen so soon. I'm excited for him and jealous I can't go with him. What an experience! As I was trying to find out more about the country I discovered it is the most densely populated country in the world. It's also extremely poor and the government is in the process of being reorganized. It's also 89% Islamic and the rest is Hindu. I'm assuming it's safer than Iraq. Stay posted.

New favorite restaurant

Our first night out when we got here, the Petersons took us to a soba restaurant. I think that means noodles with soup. It was a little place tucked inside a shopping plaza in American Village. We returned again tonight since I think it is my new favorite restaurant. It's pretty cheap too. When you first come in there is a vending machine where you put yen in and make your dinner selection. It spits out tickets with our order on it which I give to the waiters. A few minutes later, voila....yummy soba in front of my taste buds. The kids love it to and it's close to our house so I'm sure it is something we will frequent often.

I got a new haircut and color today. It was too long to handle in this heat. Now it's off my neck and I'm much happier.

Pirate ship park-Araha Beach

There is a fun beach/park close to our house. It has a giant pirate ship that doubles as a playground. There's a zipline and it's right on the water so of course it's beautiful. The beach has an area that is netted off so that the jellyfish can't swim in and it's a calm pool so the waves don't knock the kids down. Super fun!





A funny little note about Japan. There are vending machines for cigarettes and drinks every 100 meters. Seriously. Maybe because it's so hot people need not be stuck without a drink to quench the thrist.