Aunt Tracy visits!

When Aunt Tracy came to visit in May, we took a lot of pictures. It's just not that easy to upload pictures on Blogger, and I knew this post would be difficult, so I put it off. And sure enough, when I sat down to do it, I had problem after problem, and I put it off again. Finally, nine months later, I'm ready to post, though I chose fewer pictures to share.

Aunt Tracy came to visit us for a week in May. We were so excited to have our first visitor come. We had a lot of fun showing her around the island, and we discovered some new things. Here are some of the pictures from our week.

This is the bell at Shuri Castle. They still use it during some of their ceremonies, including New Years' Eve.

Aunt Tracy in front of Shuri Castle.

Tracy and the kids in front of the King's throne.

Tracy had done a little online research and read about a garden down near Shuri-jo Castle park. After finishing at the castle, we went to find it. I was so excited when we got there. Fukushen Garden had beautiful Japanese-style architecture and gardens. I wish I could post more of the pictures that I took.

Later in the week, we headed down to Zanpa point to see the light house and the ocean view. Zanpa is near our house. It still amazes me that I live by the ocean.

Tracy and the girls went up to the top of the lighthouse to see the view.

Zanpa point coastline.

Sunday after church we headed up to the "cabins" at Camp Schwab for a couple of nights. Camp Schwab is said to have one of the nicest beaches on the island. It is located in the northern area of Okinawa, and on the East side of the island. We live on the West side of the island, and while the island is really not that wide, traffic is so awful that we rarely travel to the other side. We were excited to go enjoy the beach and do some sightseeing up North. We arrived on Sunday, and the kids had just a few minutes to play...

(the play ground was right next to our cabin.) while Jason made dinner. And before he was done, it started to rain. And for two days, Tracy got to experience how wet it can get in Okinawa.

Our cabin had a beautiful view of the coast, but this was the closest we got to the beach. It was such a downpour, we didn't even want to go to the aquarium, because we knew we'd be soaked between the car and the aquarium. I felt really bad for the Marines that had to PT in it Monday morning. We mostly hung around the cabin. But that's when we discovered that there isn't really anywhere to eat on Camp Scwhab during the week- except Subway. Wish I'd known that, I would have brought more meals. Still, we had a good time relaxing and visiting.

On our way home from Schwab on Tuesday, we decided to drive around the tip of the island and see the views. Here are just a few of the tons of pictures that I took.

Hedo Point: (the Northern tip of the island)

Ocean Views from the highway on the way back:

Dragon Boat Races

Golden Week is a big holiday in Japan. It's the celebration of children, and specifically of boys. Okinawans hang fish flags from their houses and other buildings. The culmination of the celebration is on May 5th. In Okinawa, they celebrate with Dragon Boat Races. Teams are sponsored by businesses and groups. Each of the U.S. Military Branches has a men's and women's team competing at the Dragon Boat Races. In the picture above, you can see three boats lined up to start. The same three boats were used in each heat, but the rowers changed.

And they're off! In this heat, the green boat pulled away quickly. The rowers row down the harbor and turn around a flag and row back.

Obviously the teams that synchronize their rowing do the best. At the front of the boat is a drummer, who drums the beat to keep everyone together. There are also coaches in the middle who help to keep everyone on the same rhythm by crying out the beat. This team was really together.

Everyone watching the races.

The kids got bored quickly. I wanted to stay to watch one of my friends who was rowing for the Air Force Women's team. (They didn't do so well.) So, Jason took them off to find some cotton candy. They got a green, pink, and brown mix. It was lime, bubble-gum, and chocolate.

Jessica squishing the brown cotton candy.

After the women rowed, we wandered off to see some of the other parts of the festival. The kids wanted to jump in the jumpy house. It was 300 yen per child for four minutes. That comes to about $1.25 per minute at the current yen rate. I hope the enjoyed it.

This is my friend Tammy and I waiting for the kids to finish jumping. Notice how we end up carrying everything that the children collected at the festival?








The vendors along the street at the festival. They had a lot of the normal festival fare-

yakisobe, yaki-tori, fried rice, corn dogs, etc. Carston loved the yaki-tori. It was fun, but the weather, as you can see, was awful. Whenever it started raining, we'd all dawn our rain jackets, but then we were really warm, and they would stick to us. We probably would have wandered around a little more, but we were ready to get dry. Next year, I think I will try again, but this time, leave the kids at school and take my good camera.

Stinky Legs?

Do you suffer from stinky legs? Well, Carston has a solution for you. That's right folks, turn your sister's deodorant into a lotion paste, and just rub it into your legs. Nothing could be easier, and you will be smelling oh, so fresh, in no time. Just remember to be prepared for your sister's wrath if you are discovered.

Ahh, my boy, what am I going to do with you? We are not prepared for such a busy child.

Honor Roll- 3rd Quarter

Cassie made Honor Roll again third quarter. She worked really hard- Mom did too. She received four A-'s and just one B+. Cassie's teacher is tough, so we are very proud of her accomplishment. Jason was able to leave work this time to come to the awards ceremony.

Incidentally, this is what Jason and Carston did while waiting for the ceremony to start. This is a sticker Jason has stuck under Carston's nose. They are such goofballs.

Easter 2011

Easter morning the girls woke up very early (6 A.M.) to find that the Easter Bunny had been very naughty. He took some yarn that I hadn't put away, and strung it from the kids' bed posts to their Easter baskets, which were each hidden in a different location. Each of the kids had a different color, and they had to each follow the string, winding it up as they went, to locate their basket. The girls got started right away, and Jason and I heard them in the hallway.
This is what the stairs looked like.

And the downstairs hallway.

And the living room.

Here they are working on their strings.

Cassie found hers in a cupboard.

Jessica found hers in the dryer.

Carston did not wake up so early, and though the girls wanted to wake him up so he could find his basket, we made them let him sleep.

Carston following his string with Jessica's help. I didn't get his picture, but eventually, his was found in another cupboard.

The other reason the girls were anxious to wake Carston up, is that the Easter Bunny also hid chocolate eggs around the living room, and they weren't allowed to touch them until Carston could participate. So, as soon as Carston found his basket, the hunt began.

This year in their Easter Baskets, the kids got books and Lego sets. They've been very interested in building Legos, lately. Of course, this is one of Jason's favorite things to do. So, while the kids looked for chocolate eggs, Jason built Legos. After, the egg hunt, Carston started stuffing chocolate in his mouth about as fast as he could. We had to make him stop to eat some breakfast. Now, he associates the word eggs with those little chocolates, and when he hears Jason and I talk about making some eggs for breakfast, he gets all excited. The rest of the day was spent pretty much like any Sunday- we hung out for a while, got ready and went to church, then we had ham and yummy potatoes for dinner. It was a nice day.

Island Newcomers

Meet the Pittmans: Michelle, Jaime, and Wesley, who is in Cassie's 5th grade class. Also, Felicity, who is in 4th grade, and who was immediately beloved by my girls. They also have another daughter, Sara, who is four, and who Carston adores. I forgot to get her in a picture.

One of the men in the Civil Engineering group that Jason dives with, was sponsoring this family onto the island in April. He asked Jason if he would help him pick them and their luggage up at the airport. Since this co worker's children are all grown, we thought that we might be of more assistance to them in getting settled than he would, and asked how we could help. One of the things we wanted to do was take them to Kitakaisen. It's our favorite restaurant. Our friends brought us here our first week on the island. It's a family style restaurant- so you order a variety of things, and everyone can share. The menu has pictures and English translations, which is wonderful. The prices are great- much less than we pay at most other restaurants for our entire family- and best of all, everyone in our family can find something delicious to eat.

This is Carston's yakitori- pan fried chicken with a teriyaki sauce on a shishkabob stick. The girls always order the beef version of the same thing. Also, you can see the sweet potato tenpura and the salmon sushi rolls that Jason and I shared. I love these sushi rolls. They have some cream cheese in them, and are so creamy and delicious. Plus, we always have to get a couple of orders of edamame- soy beans. The kids love them. Actually, we all love them. I love having an excuse to go to Kitakaisen.