June 30, 2010

Torii Beach with the Amelia's

For our June out with the Amelia's (a Spouse's Travel Group), we had an outing to Torii Beach.  The weather was great- meaning not unbearably hot and muggy!  We did a potluck lunch which worked out well-  BBQ hot dogs, fresh sushi, delicious brownies (thanks Margy!) as well as other goodies.  This outing was for the family (since the the kids are on summer break) and we were encouraged to bring along friends as well.  Louise, Steve and kids attended, with Steve manning the grill (thank you Steve!)

David at lunch in the water after playing water football with Steve.

Louise and Emmy cooling off at water's edge. 

Margy, Queen of the Amelias, just floating around!

We tried to do some snorkeling, but there was not much to see.  I stayed our for a bit and did find a few fun things.....

This looked like a baby sea snake...not sure if it was since the sea snake are black and white as adults.  He was only about 10 inches long...just a little guy!

This thing (hint: looking in the middle, going down and to the right) looked like a cross between a sea horse (especially the head) and a fish.  

From what I looked up, this is a Synaptid Sea Cucumber.  The lumps on it are called "bobbles".  It looked like a chenille bedspread to me!  When I went to lightly touch it, it shrunk down to just a few inches long in a split second.

June 18, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear David...Happy Birthday to you!

Our "baby" is already 12...where has the time gone?

You came into the world June 18, 1997 at 10:00 PM at the Bremerton Naval Hospital, Washington. 7 lbs, 11 oz and 20 inches long....hard to believe now that you were EVER that small! At 5 feet 2 inches, you will probably be taller then me before long.

You have always been so kind, caring helpful. Now at 12 years old you like skateboarding, paintball, reading historical books and tormenting your big brother (some things haven't changed!).

We love ya, kiddo!

(picture of Matt and David was taken on David's first Easter- Easter 1998)

Happy Mother's Day 2009

I had a great Mother's Day!

Actually got to sleep in a bit and then had breakfast in bed prepared and served by David (a fantastic Breakfast Burrito- David is turning into quite a good cook). Willie and Ty stayed close by....just in case some of the breakfast fell (or was slipped to them while Mike wasn't looking!)

After breakfast we loaded up the Delica, stopped for coffee at the shoppette and hit the road headed North. The boys are not thrilled with my love for road trips (heading to "Chipmonk Rapids" as they call it), but having a DVD player in the van certainly eases their pain.

The weather was glorious and the roads clear so we made good time. Our destination- Hiji Falls towards the north end of the Island.

We tried a shortcut through Nago, taking Highway 71 instead of staying on 58. Seemed to save a bit of time, and was a nice change of scenery.
On the way up Highway 58 we saw lots of locals out on the beach and in the water. Not sure what they were collection off the beach- crabs, shell fish??

I had seen this Veggie/Fruit Stand on the way to Okuma last time we were up in this area. I jumped up and down in my seat until Mike agreed to stop (of course we had passed it by then, but he was able to back up- there was actually parking along the road)These are Daikons, or Asian Radishes. The look lovely all piled up. We tried one a while back and I wasn't too thrilled, even though I like radishes. We will have to try one again. They are very popular here.
The pineapples looked too good to pass up so we bought one (only 250 Y) and carved it up right there on the side of the road. Simply delicious!

The Watermelons they had looked good too, but not willing to shell out 1200 Y ($12) for one...

This sign for "Crab Crossing" cracks me up every time I see it.
At the junction of 58 and the turnoffs for Okuma and Hiji Falls is this sunflower field.


It was in full bloom last weekend, but still enough blooms this week to beg to stop. I had fun wandering along taking a few photos (of course, the boys opted to stay in the van and watch the movie- flowers is not exactly their cup of tea!).










Part 2- Hiji Falls

Boy Scout Summer Camp

Motor Boating Merit Badge

This week is Boy Scout "Summer" Camp at Torii Station. David is attending all week, Mike is staff all week, and Matt is part time staff.
One of the merit badges David is working on is "Motor Boating". Every day the scouts get to go out in the Zodiac boats with the Marines- lucky boys!! Not only do the boys get to go out, they get to drive too! David, being the way David is, had to ask the first day- "Can I get thrown in??" The Marines didn't have to think twice- they picked him up and tossed him overboard. After that, all the scouts wanted to be tossed overboard!

That's David (blue and white shorts) hanging off the side of the boat in the photo below- Matt is sitting next to him.

Today Matt went out with the other scouts. I went out to- but just to the Rescue boat so I could stay dry while taking pictures (the boys in the Zodiacs got SOAKED immediately).

Today they worked on the skill of passing other boats. When they were done with that they spent some time swerving the boats around trying to dump off the scouts. At one point, the boat Matt and David were on stopped and EVERYONE jumped off- Marines and all!


Mike ended up teaching the book portion of the class.

Ice Skating

Another Free Trip!

Today, December 30, we went Ice Skating at Southern Hills Skating Rink (this is the only ice skating rink on Okinawa). This was yet another trip we won through the Schilling Center (gotta love it!).

We meet at the Schilling Center at 10:15 and by 10:30AM we were on the road comfortably ensconced in a full sized bus. We all took advantage of the very relaxing 30 minute drive to do a bit reading.

Although we were a bit worried, they DID have skates to fit Matt's feet (whew!).

Opening the doors into the rink itself, we were hit with a blast of frigid air- ahhh! Pure heaven! It was actually COLD...and it felt oh, so very good! Even before hitting the ice, we decided it was worth the trip just to sit in the blessedly cold air. Oh, the simple delights when you live in a tropical paradise.

You are required to wear gloves while on the ice- and we didn't mind since it was cold. We even kept our jackets on for most of the time.

Even though Matt had never ice skated before, he picked it right up.


David took a bit longer, but he was the one we had to drag out- he didn't want to leave.



They had one break while we were there- a short time out while they ran the Zamboni over the ice. It was neat to watch the ice go from all cut up, to smooth and shiny!







I had not ice skated since...oh, I think I was about 7 years old. I went with my sister and the family across the street (Kim and Nina- Lauri's best friend)...and all I really remember about the trip was that my fingers got slammed in the door as we were leaving to go skate. Ouch!
This time went much better! Although my guys spent a lot of time laughing at me. I decided to teach myself to skate backwards...every time Matt skated by me he would just shake his head "Mom, just give it up!". However, by the time we left, I did manage to skate all the way around the rink backwards...it wasn't fast and it certainly wasn't pretty....but I did it! (and had a few good laughs at myself along the way)

The boys discovered "Green Fanta" in the soda machines- they loved that! The soda machines in the rink were a bit different than the other machines here. They dispense the cup, dump in ice, then fill with soda. Small cup for 100 Yen- but fun to watch the process!

This building (church?) sits across the street and above the skating rink. I liked the look of it- especially the retaining wall, which looks like it has melted and buckled.


Not sure what to think of this cigarette "butt can"...."Good smoking?"- what is THAT supposed to mean? There were three of four of these right outside the doors to go in.

Come June or July, when the heat has become just too much for us, we plan on escaping back to the ice skating rink- even if we just pay the 200 Yen spectator fee and sit in the cold. Humm...wonder if you can buy a season pass???

"Santas" of Christmas Past....

How Time Flys By...

Every year we take pictures with Santa...our own personal Santa that is.
Mike and I found Santa our first Christmas together after we were married...which means he is now 20 years old (can that really be right? Yikes)! One look at him and we knew we had to get him. Even then we shopped at Costco (although it was Price Club back then) and this is were we found him- the flagship store in San Diego.
We have taken pictures of Santa with the boys every year... all the way back to when Matt was just 4 months old and about the same size as Santa. Since all of those print photos are in storage back in the states, I can't share them with you. I do, however, have some more recent photos...some with Santa, and some not, but all a trip back through time.
Check them out....

Here is last year, 2007. Boys don't look too different other than Matt's braces.







Back to 2006....a definite difference here.
All the way back to 2005....Was this only three short years ago? My sweet adorable elves.And back still further to 2004- only four years ago and they look like such babies!
Time surely does fly by, even when we think we're looking, it just passes us by in the blink of an eye. I know the boys cringe when I pull out the camera (and they're begging me to pull these photos off here!), but I wouldn't give up a single photo of my little angels for anything! So grab your cameras and snap away- you'll be glad you did! :)