We made it. After three amazing years in Okinawa Japan we left on Saturday June 18th and flew back to the U.S. for the last time. Life was really busy and we packed in tons of last minute fun while dealing with all the packing and checking out. I tried not to think things like "oh, this is my last bike ride" or my last run, last time going here or there... but it happened anyway. It was really hard to say "see you later" to our friends there because they were so much more than friends. Moving away from family is tough, moving to a foreign country is even tougher and our friends truly became our family and support network. It was hard to leave when we don't know when we'll see them again. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Everything went fairly smoothly with the packing out and prepping. I'd have loved to go on one more dive and a few other things but we left with no regrets and tons of great memories. We were spoiled by our friends there who helped us out so much as we got ready to go. Our next door neighbors, who were some of our best friends, went so far as to even move at the same time as us so we could stay in the on base hotel together! It was awesome because Hayden could still walk to school with his best friend, they would just leave from the hotel together in the morning!! Other friends spoiled us with meals, child care, cars to use, game nights and a great last night at the beach with everyone together. One of our first nights in Okinawa 3 years ago was spent at Araha Beach, so that is where we went for our last night.
Our flights went well, the kids were good and aside from the crying baby and loud flight attendant who kept waking us up it was great. Once we arrived in the U.S. we have continued to be spoiled by our great friends the Ball's who picked us up at the airport. They are some great friends we were with in Okinawa until they moved a year ago. Happily, they picked us up in our very own new (to us) car!!! We knew we wanted an Odyssey like the one we sold before moving to Okinawa and found the one we wanted on Craigslist. So they went and test drove it for us and took the check and picked it up. For three years I was dreaming that when we moved back someone would pick me up at the airport in my new Odyssey, hand me my iphone and drive me to my new house. That almost came true as Saturday afternoon we went and picked out our new iphones. We are staying here, near Seattle, with the Ball's for a few days while Tom's does his final check out from the Navy. The Ball's are the best hosts ever, truly spoiling us with great food, good company and fun. But most of all they gave us the gift of sleep, the most precious thing you can give a jet-lagged traveler. The kids slept upstairs and we were downstairs with a loud fan on so we wouldn't hear the kids in the morning. Melanie said she'd grab the girls if they had to go potty and we figured they'd sleep all night because we kept them up all day. But jetlag doesn't always work that way and they woke up at midnight and couldn't go back to sleep until 4! I had no idea until the next morning because Melanie stayed up with them getting snacks and movies and such. WAY TOO NICE TO US!!
The kids stayed jet lagged the next night but finally last night they slept through the night. Hopefully tonight they'll do the same and we'll be back on schedule. We're having a blast here on vacation with them, it's a good transition into our new "real" life in Washington. A little taste of Okinawa right here. We were freezing for the first few days but have finally warmed up and enjoyed the sunshine today!
I'll post more as our adventure in the US continues and once I get the pictures!!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Typhoon Songda and Our Bucket List
Well, if we had put “experience a tropical typhoon” on our bucket list we would now be able to check it off. This past weekend we had yet another typhoon warning, we got the yard ready like usual and didn’t expect much since nothing usually happens. But this time, the storm actually hit and made for a crazy night! It started around 9pm and the wind kept picking up and was so loud! Things just kept blowing by and tree branches were going everywhere. We were having fun watching the shed shift around until it started actually lifting the roof off and we realized the shed was going to blow apart!! We had some friends over so they dashed out with us and just as we got to the shed the back wall pieces fell to the ground! We grabbed them and put them in the house and started unloading everything from the shed into the house. We were dragging the bikes, hoses, shovels and everything else as fast as we could because the wind was picking up and it was just crazy outside. We pulled all the pieces of the shed inside as well. Crazy.
Sunday morning church was cancelled because the base was still locked down with the typhoon mess and we went out to assess the damage. Trees and debris were everywhere. So many big trees just completely uprooted and large tree branches just hanging down everywhere from where they had been simply snapped off. We put our shed back together and only a few minor things were broken so it still works. Thankfully no one was hurt, we all live in cement bunkers that could survive anything and on that night, I was really thankful!The Bucket List:
**Ride the huge ferris wheel in American Village- complete with tiny cans of beloved Fanta Grape that came with the ride! Alyssa was nervous for everyone and kept telling Hayden to sit down so he wouldn’t die but we all survived and had a great time!
**Alyssa’s last day of ballet with Ms. Debra.
**Danica got a “real” haircut. I paid to take her to my hair lady, she loves it!
**Karaoke with the Kisers...we love Big Echo. The hit song of the night was “The Sweater Song.” Who knew we all loved it?
**We hosted our last “see you later” party for friends who are moving. We said a sad good-bye to the Kisers, friends we’ve known since dental school! Now we are the next move....
**Took the girls to ride the monorail after telling them for over a year that we would do it. We did it for letter T day of home preschool: We learned all about transportation and then rode the train to the airport to watch the planes! They loved it and there were some tourists on the train who just couldn’t get enough of the little American girls and took a dozen pictures and gave them chocolate and candy. How said that it won’t be long before they aren’t celebrities anymore.
**Pedicure at Cocok’s. A wonderful island treat I will really miss. I got my toes painted with a scene of Okinawa in the color of the water here. A great souvenir complete with IE Island, a palm tree, flower, clouds, sand, etc.
I went with my great friend and neighbor Tatyana. We spend all our time dealing with kids and helping each other run our households and NEVER take time to just be together. It was great, we got lunch and then relaxed. I truly don’t know how I’ll survive without her as my left hand picking up the slack on everything I do. I rely on her for everything and the rare time she isn’t home I don’t know what to do! My kids practically live at her house. Any service or help I am able to give to others is the direct result of her serving and helping me. She is moving the day before us. At least we get to go together!
**Biking: I've enjoyed two great bike rides this week with my great friend Megan. I'm convinced I "prayed" her to the island. I was wishing I had a friend who liked to bike and run and had kids my kids could play with and "tada" here comes Megan. It's been so awesome and I wish she could move to Washington with me. I will continue to insist that today was not our last bike ride, it will simply be a while before we have another one. We rode out to Kurishihi Dam on Monday morning and had a peaceful, relaxing time. Today we rode out to the lighthouse at Cape Zampa. Nice. We even got my favorite Okinawa Salt Cookie Ice Cream!
**Beach Trip: Spent Memorial Day out an yet another new beach on the coast of one of the small islands connected by bridge. It was a great day!
The Move Prep
Speaking of the move... things are moving along well as we get ready. I've got a "to do" list clipped to my calendar and packing/sorting list stuck on the desk to keep track of what goes with the express shipment, what goes in the suitcases and then everything else. We've been selling all the outdoor equipment like sheds, playhouse, and swingset. We were going to sell the trampoline and the day before someone came to look at it the boys were out jumping and the pole broke. It simply rusted all the way through and snapped. Only Okinawa could have weather extreme enough to destroy a brand new trampoline in only 2 1/2 years!! So we dismantled the trampoline and threw it in the trash.
My thrift store pile keeps growing and I enjoy the purge of useless stuff. We have the movers coming next Friday the 10th to pack up our goods and we move into the hotel on the night of the 12th. We fly out on the 18th, landing in Seattle and staying with some of our Oki friends, the Balls for a few days while Tom does his check out from the Navy.... I hope I'm emotionally ready to leave by then because I'm not ready yet!!!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Home Ownership?
Some really big news... I don’t know if it’s bad luck to announce something like this before you have the key in hand...I guess we’ll find out...we put an offer on a house and it was accepted!!! We’ve been looking for months and can tell you about every single house that is for sale in the Washougal/Camas area. We’ve looked seriously into a few but they weren’t the one. Then we decided we’d keep looking but back off and wait to look more seriously once we arrived. But then it happened- we found The House. We’d seen the house and liked it but decided to just put it on the list to go see when we arrived. Then just as we decided to change our search to much cheaper houses than originally looking at we got an email saying they had dropped the price from lower, to really low. How could we not look again? The more we looked the more we loved. This house just felt different, better.
Then we realized the house was a short sale and that it could take months to buy. So our amazing team of Adina and our realtor went and took video of the house so we could decide whether to start the short sale process. They took awesome video and we just fell in love with the house even more. It’s on a cul-de-sac only a mile from D&A so it’s close to the cousins, school and the practice. It’s got everything we need, nearly 3,300 square feet, 4 bedrooms, a den, a bonus room, nice great room, beautiful kitchen, two walk in closets in the master, an awesome pantry, and more. After viewing the video we looked back through all other houses on our list and we just liked this one the most. When we had thought of buying other houses it just felt crazy and stressful. This house felt great.
On Monday night we went to bed and then I felt like I should get up and email our realtor right then to tell her our decision to make an offer on the house. Afterall, it was almost Monday morning in the states. So I got out of bed and sent the email. Then just before 5:00am I got up to go running and found an email labeled “Urgent.” Turns out there was already another offer in on the house but it was waiting for loan pre-approval and if we hurried they would consider our offer as well. So we hurried, our awesome realtor scrambled to get it all put together right away, we signed, scanned and submitted within a few hours. Then we waited... but the wait was short. We found out the next day they took our offer! We knew we really wanted the house so we were a little aggressive in our offer and are glad we were!!! Our realtor keeps reminding us that being a short sale things could still go wrong but the bank already said they’d do it, they said within two weeks we should have the official acceptance from the bank and can close 45 days after that. That puts us moving in around mid-July! Our furniture will still be on the boat coming from Japan but we’ll have a house!!! We can’t wait!! The pictures on the listing don’t do it justice but feel free to check them out anyway. http://www.estately.com/map#/listings/info/p5177-m-ct
Ballet, Soccer and Okuma!
Time is going way too fast. We’re having a blast, here are some of the pictures from the recent fun:
We had planned a great trip to the Kerammas (nearby small tropical island with great beaches, snorkeling and diving) but then a typhoon decided to hit so we couldn’t go. Instead we went out to Round One and played all day. Alyssa was really good at the tennis, Dani tried her talent and skating and Hayden...I didn’t see much of Hayden he was so busy running around having fun! Check out this “claw game”, the prize is cans of Pringles. Japanese games are so awesome.
The next day we went to Okuma with all the friends who had planned to go to the Keramas. It was still rainy but to get to the Keramas you have to take a ferry which is awful in bad whether and it’s a really expensive trip so not worth the money in bad weather. Okuma is the Air Force resort and it’s cheap and fun. We rented a condo that had 7 bedrooms and we filled it with 7 families. 21 kids total... shortly after arriving on Thursday we loaded in our cars to go hike to a waterfall when the rain started to pour down. And when it pours here I really mean pour, like buckets of water. So we had lots of fun game and movie time inside all day. The weather was better the next day and we got out to ride the bikes, play on the playground and hit the beach.
Tom and I went on our first boat dive. The boat took us out about 15 minutes to a big coral reef. However, the weather still wasn’t great and the boat was rocking like crazy. As we got ready to dive I turned on my air tank that came with the boat and found the tank was only half full. Ugh. So the boat driver had to radio in for them to bring out a new one and I had to sit around on the rocking boat trying not to throw up. Even Tom got sick. Luckily we got the new tank, fell over backward off the side of the boat and headed down. It was different than other dives because we were really all alone and far away from shore. My mask was foggy and I had to flood it and clear it while down at 40 feet but it all worked out and I feel like a better diver now that I have the confidence that I can handle stuff like that when I need to. Not our favorite dive because we were both so worried about losing the boat and not being able to find out way back but Tom was awesome and kept us going the right way and things worked out well.
Saturday we had the kids last soccer games. Hayden did well but is glad it’s over and probably won’t play for a while. He’s going to focus on running and other things. Danica agreed to play in her game after having refused for the last several. She did okay and even kicked the ball twice! In the end, she got bumped in the nose and came out crying but went back when it was her turn again. This time she got tired and started to cry but at least she tried. I don’t see soccer in our future for a while...
Saturday afternoon was Alyssa’s first dance recital. She is in love with ballet and has been so excited for her recital. After getting over her nerves at the beginning she skipped out there with her class and had a blast. Through out her dancing she just kept flashing us her big cheesy smile and was clearly loving it! She did a ballet number and then later a tap dance. She has so much enthusiasm, concentration and skill. She’s one of the youngest in the class but does really well. At the end each girl in the show got to go out on stage alone to curtsy. Most of the girls walked out slowly and did a small curtsy. Alyssa was unsure of what to do but when it was her turn she used her newly acquired and much loved skipping skills to skip out, curtsy and blow a kiss. It was way too cute! She has so much personality! I tried to upload video but it took two days and still didn’t load so I gave up. You’ll have to take my word for it that she was fantastic!
We had planned a great trip to the Kerammas (nearby small tropical island with great beaches, snorkeling and diving) but then a typhoon decided to hit so we couldn’t go. Instead we went out to Round One and played all day. Alyssa was really good at the tennis, Dani tried her talent and skating and Hayden...I didn’t see much of Hayden he was so busy running around having fun! Check out this “claw game”, the prize is cans of Pringles. Japanese games are so awesome.
The next day we went to Okuma with all the friends who had planned to go to the Keramas. It was still rainy but to get to the Keramas you have to take a ferry which is awful in bad whether and it’s a really expensive trip so not worth the money in bad weather. Okuma is the Air Force resort and it’s cheap and fun. We rented a condo that had 7 bedrooms and we filled it with 7 families. 21 kids total... shortly after arriving on Thursday we loaded in our cars to go hike to a waterfall when the rain started to pour down. And when it pours here I really mean pour, like buckets of water. So we had lots of fun game and movie time inside all day. The weather was better the next day and we got out to ride the bikes, play on the playground and hit the beach.
Tom and I went on our first boat dive. The boat took us out about 15 minutes to a big coral reef. However, the weather still wasn’t great and the boat was rocking like crazy. As we got ready to dive I turned on my air tank that came with the boat and found the tank was only half full. Ugh. So the boat driver had to radio in for them to bring out a new one and I had to sit around on the rocking boat trying not to throw up. Even Tom got sick. Luckily we got the new tank, fell over backward off the side of the boat and headed down. It was different than other dives because we were really all alone and far away from shore. My mask was foggy and I had to flood it and clear it while down at 40 feet but it all worked out and I feel like a better diver now that I have the confidence that I can handle stuff like that when I need to. Not our favorite dive because we were both so worried about losing the boat and not being able to find out way back but Tom was awesome and kept us going the right way and things worked out well.Saturday we had the kids last soccer games. Hayden did well but is glad it’s over and probably won’t play for a while. He’s going to focus on running and other things. Danica agreed to play in her game after having refused for the last several. She did okay and even kicked the ball twice! In the end, she got bumped in the nose and came out crying but went back when it was her turn again. This time she got tired and started to cry but at least she tried. I don’t see soccer in our future for a while...
Saturday afternoon was Alyssa’s first dance recital. She is in love with ballet and has been so excited for her recital. After getting over her nerves at the beginning she skipped out there with her class and had a blast. Through out her dancing she just kept flashing us her big cheesy smile and was clearly loving it! She did a ballet number and then later a tap dance. She has so much enthusiasm, concentration and skill. She’s one of the youngest in the class but does really well. At the end each girl in the show got to go out on stage alone to curtsy. Most of the girls walked out slowly and did a small curtsy. Alyssa was unsure of what to do but when it was her turn she used her newly acquired and much loved skipping skills to skip out, curtsy and blow a kiss. It was way too cute! She has so much personality! I tried to upload video but it took two days and still didn’t load so I gave up. You’ll have to take my word for it that she was fantastic!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
The Excitement Never Ends!
Today was the last Parent’s Day Out, the free once of month thing at the daycare. We dropped the kids off (they are so happy it was their last time but we’ll certainly miss it!), anyway, we dropped the kids off and headed out to a great dive spot called “toilet bowl.” Lame name, awesome place where you walk about in about 2 feet of water for a few steps and then step off the ledge into a deep bowl that leads around to a long coral reef. You can only dive it when the wind is down and today was perfect. It was finally hot and that was nice, the other dives I’ve been on have been really cold where I am shivering and couldn't feel my toes. Today was perfect. We swam out until almost the time to turn around (half way through our air supply) when Tom spotted a small cave. He peered in and motioned for me to come check it out. I approached thinking I could see a sea snake on the wall, which we see all the time so it was no big deal. But as my eyes adjusted to the dim light of the cave I realized that right on the bottom, less than 10 feet away was a SHARK!!!! I couldn’t believe my eyes, if I were a cartoon character my eyes would have shot out of my head. It was about 8 feet long and just laying there. It was either a Reef Shark or a Nurse Shark, we didn't have a camera but it looked like this.
For a second I thought I’d be okay and that I wanted to stay and check it out. But then I started picturing us accidentally waking it up and it deciding to swim out of the cave. That I couldn’t handle so when Tom asked if I was okay (using the basic “ok” hand single since you can’t talk while scuba diving) I motioned no and started to swim away. I wasn’t freaking out and needing to race to the surface but I didn’t really want to stay by the shark. So, being the good husband and dive buddy he took my hand (he told me later that was because he was afraid I would freak out and surface to quickly) and we swam away... checking behind us a few times. Just a few minutes later I spotted a huge sea turtle swimming our way. It came right in front of us and started swimming the direction we were going so we got to follow it for a long time. It was great to see it flying through the water. As we swam over another deep crevice I reluctantly looked in and saw another large form in the shadow. I was nervous thinking it was a small shark and wanted to swim away but it turns out it was just a 2 foot long fish. All around it was a great dive.
I wish I had stayed longer to let Tom check out the shark, he wishes he’d had his flashlight with him so he could see it better but I could see it plenty well. We were less than 10 feet from it... that’s enough for me. He’s actually off on another dive right now. A night dive with some buddies from work. Lucky for him I have no desire whatsoever to dive at night, it sounds like a real life nightmare to me to be out there in the pitch black looking for scary creatures with a flashlight. It terrifies me to think about it. Not to mention, sea snakes, the poisonous snakes we see on the bottom all the time, are nocturnal. No thanks. So he’s gone out several times for these night dives and is loving it. He’s definitely making the most of the last of his dive time here. I think for our 15 year anniversary we’ll have to finally do something to celebrate and take a diving cruise or something!
I had a fantastic birthday on the 29th. It started with an early run and then I sent Hayden off to school and Tom left for work. As I was coming back inside from seeing Hayden off when Tom pulled in the drive way. He jumped out and said “Oh, I forgot I don’t have to go to work today!” It was all a ploy. He’d arranged for a friend to watch the girls and we went and played tennis (which I am still terrible at), went out to brunch and then went shopping for souvenirs and furniture. It was awesome. When we got home that afternoon I took a nice nap, actually in my bed, it was great. I woke up and we all went out to dinner and had a nice time. We stopped by to get an apple pie because that is what I really wanted for dessert. Tom rented a movie so we could put the kids to bed and just relax. We got home and when I walked in the living room I heard a baby cry. I was so confused I just stood there in the dark for a second and then suddenly all my friends jumped up and yelled surprise! It was awesome, I had no idea. Tom had been setting me up all day. So he put the kids to bed and we hung out and played rock band with our friends all night. It was a fabulous birthday! The next morning we got up early, dropped the kids off with a friend and went out scuba diving. It was great!
One of my favorite things about my birthday was the constant birthday hugs and kisses the girls kept giving me. And Alyssa was the cutest, she said, “Mom, when I turn 4 I want a ballet cake. What kind of cake do you want?” Me, “umm...” Alyssa, “Do you want a watcher cake because you like to watch me do ballet?” What a great idea. I do like to watch her do ballet!
When I was tucking Hayden into bed he said to me “I wish you could just stretch forever so part of you could stay in here and I could hug it all night and the rest of you could go do the laundry.” Boy did I ever wish I could do that too!! He’s currently got this idea that he can get anything he wants if he gives me a hug... it sort of works. He wanted me to come with him on his school field trip so he was all hugs and smiles and then later told me “I knew you couldn’t resist if I did that!” We had a nice time on the field trip learning all about transportation and taking the bus and monorail down to the airport.
Danica is the sweetest, nicest, mostly loving girl ever I sometimes need to just remember that is a good thing I don’t want her to change. She is still so shy and sensitive and I just don’t know how to give her confidence. She is refusing to play in her soccer games because it just stresses her out to much, it’s too much pressure or something. Being fairly competitive athletic people it is hard for Tom and I to handle the fact that she is the only child standing out on the field crying for her mommy. But alas, like I said, she is such a sweetheart and competitive sports aren’t for everyone. Maybe when she’s a little older it will go better. In the meantime, she is continuing to excel at her gymnastics. She is the oldest and best in her class so that gives her confidence. Hopefully eventually it will sink in deeper and she will be able to handle being in a class where she isn't always the best... if anyone has ideas on how to help build her confidence levels I would love to hear them. I see other parents just saying “stop crying and get out there and play” but that doesn’t work on Danica. I don’t know what does.
Well, we are busy as ever getting ready to move, having way too much fun. Our week of spring followed by a week of rain left things officially hot the last few days. Even at 5am I am going to have to run in tank tops I am dripping so much sweat. So summer has started and I suppose that is good because it will help make me happy to leave. It is so hot!
They had the Hail and Farewell last night for Tom and everyone from the Dental Command got together and said some nice words over dinner. He’s really going to miss a lot of the great things about being here and some of the good people he’s learned from. It’s been great. I've been released from the Relief Society Presidency and asked to teach Alyssa's sunbeam class for our last 6 weeks here. Everything is winding down. We're playing hard and enjoying every minute of it!!
For a second I thought I’d be okay and that I wanted to stay and check it out. But then I started picturing us accidentally waking it up and it deciding to swim out of the cave. That I couldn’t handle so when Tom asked if I was okay (using the basic “ok” hand single since you can’t talk while scuba diving) I motioned no and started to swim away. I wasn’t freaking out and needing to race to the surface but I didn’t really want to stay by the shark. So, being the good husband and dive buddy he took my hand (he told me later that was because he was afraid I would freak out and surface to quickly) and we swam away... checking behind us a few times. Just a few minutes later I spotted a huge sea turtle swimming our way. It came right in front of us and started swimming the direction we were going so we got to follow it for a long time. It was great to see it flying through the water. As we swam over another deep crevice I reluctantly looked in and saw another large form in the shadow. I was nervous thinking it was a small shark and wanted to swim away but it turns out it was just a 2 foot long fish. All around it was a great dive. I wish I had stayed longer to let Tom check out the shark, he wishes he’d had his flashlight with him so he could see it better but I could see it plenty well. We were less than 10 feet from it... that’s enough for me. He’s actually off on another dive right now. A night dive with some buddies from work. Lucky for him I have no desire whatsoever to dive at night, it sounds like a real life nightmare to me to be out there in the pitch black looking for scary creatures with a flashlight. It terrifies me to think about it. Not to mention, sea snakes, the poisonous snakes we see on the bottom all the time, are nocturnal. No thanks. So he’s gone out several times for these night dives and is loving it. He’s definitely making the most of the last of his dive time here. I think for our 15 year anniversary we’ll have to finally do something to celebrate and take a diving cruise or something!
I had a fantastic birthday on the 29th. It started with an early run and then I sent Hayden off to school and Tom left for work. As I was coming back inside from seeing Hayden off when Tom pulled in the drive way. He jumped out and said “Oh, I forgot I don’t have to go to work today!” It was all a ploy. He’d arranged for a friend to watch the girls and we went and played tennis (which I am still terrible at), went out to brunch and then went shopping for souvenirs and furniture. It was awesome. When we got home that afternoon I took a nice nap, actually in my bed, it was great. I woke up and we all went out to dinner and had a nice time. We stopped by to get an apple pie because that is what I really wanted for dessert. Tom rented a movie so we could put the kids to bed and just relax. We got home and when I walked in the living room I heard a baby cry. I was so confused I just stood there in the dark for a second and then suddenly all my friends jumped up and yelled surprise! It was awesome, I had no idea. Tom had been setting me up all day. So he put the kids to bed and we hung out and played rock band with our friends all night. It was a fabulous birthday! The next morning we got up early, dropped the kids off with a friend and went out scuba diving. It was great!
One of my favorite things about my birthday was the constant birthday hugs and kisses the girls kept giving me. And Alyssa was the cutest, she said, “Mom, when I turn 4 I want a ballet cake. What kind of cake do you want?” Me, “umm...” Alyssa, “Do you want a watcher cake because you like to watch me do ballet?” What a great idea. I do like to watch her do ballet!
When I was tucking Hayden into bed he said to me “I wish you could just stretch forever so part of you could stay in here and I could hug it all night and the rest of you could go do the laundry.” Boy did I ever wish I could do that too!! He’s currently got this idea that he can get anything he wants if he gives me a hug... it sort of works. He wanted me to come with him on his school field trip so he was all hugs and smiles and then later told me “I knew you couldn’t resist if I did that!” We had a nice time on the field trip learning all about transportation and taking the bus and monorail down to the airport.
Danica is the sweetest, nicest, mostly loving girl ever I sometimes need to just remember that is a good thing I don’t want her to change. She is still so shy and sensitive and I just don’t know how to give her confidence. She is refusing to play in her soccer games because it just stresses her out to much, it’s too much pressure or something. Being fairly competitive athletic people it is hard for Tom and I to handle the fact that she is the only child standing out on the field crying for her mommy. But alas, like I said, she is such a sweetheart and competitive sports aren’t for everyone. Maybe when she’s a little older it will go better. In the meantime, she is continuing to excel at her gymnastics. She is the oldest and best in her class so that gives her confidence. Hopefully eventually it will sink in deeper and she will be able to handle being in a class where she isn't always the best... if anyone has ideas on how to help build her confidence levels I would love to hear them. I see other parents just saying “stop crying and get out there and play” but that doesn’t work on Danica. I don’t know what does.
Well, we are busy as ever getting ready to move, having way too much fun. Our week of spring followed by a week of rain left things officially hot the last few days. Even at 5am I am going to have to run in tank tops I am dripping so much sweat. So summer has started and I suppose that is good because it will help make me happy to leave. It is so hot!
They had the Hail and Farewell last night for Tom and everyone from the Dental Command got together and said some nice words over dinner. He’s really going to miss a lot of the great things about being here and some of the good people he’s learned from. It’s been great. I've been released from the Relief Society Presidency and asked to teach Alyssa's sunbeam class for our last 6 weeks here. Everything is winding down. We're playing hard and enjoying every minute of it!!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The REAL Tour de Okinawa
DAY ONE: 90 miles DAY TWO: 68 miles DAY THREE: 72 miles
Last weekend we were fortunate enough to have one of the greatest experiences ever! Thanks to the great idea of one of our friends we took our own bike trip around the entire island!! Words cannot convey the amazing experience it was. You had to be there to experience the views, feel the wind rushing past, and sense the thrill from making it up yet another huge hill. Tom is making a DVD of the experience and we’ll share that once it’s done. For now, I’ll try to do it justice, but just know, that most of what we saw and did we couldn’t take pictures of!! I wish you could have just come with us!!!
Before I start I must give a special thanks to my amazing friends who made this possible for me. I wish that my friends could have come and biked with me but only one of them is a biker and she has a small baby. I had to leave the kids for three days in order to go on this epic ride so all of my friends (the wives of the other bikers) took over in my absence. One friend watched the girls, another took Hayden so he could still go to school, yet another watched them all on Saturday!! It was awesome to know I didn’t have to worry about them. And the ride would not have been possible without our support driver, another wife who brought all our gear and food for us. She met us each night, cooked us dinner and then cooked us breakfast again in the morning. The food was fantastic and I was so happy to have some female company!! What awesome friends!!!
Here's the team:
Tracey
Tom
Erin
Rob
John
Derek
Day One:
We left from Camp Lester, 6 riders all fresh and eager to get the 90 miles underway.
As with all good activities we started with a prayer and then headed off!! 
The excitement was so tangible as we started. Within a mile we had our first, and just about only, near accident when Erin's iphone fell off his bike. I was riding behind him and saw it happen. Acting fast I stashed my bike quick, ran out in front of a big truck and snagged it before it got run over. That would not have been a good way to start the trip. Luckily, it was fine and we were on our way again.
About 8 miles down the road we stopped for our first picture at a nice bridge.
We were riding toward the city through rush hour traffic so it was a lot of stop and go. 
The far left lane, where bikes go, is also the bus lane so that was complicated and we continually got stuck behind and next to the big busses. But we maneuvered our way through the city okay and eventually came out on the other side. We crossed some great bridges on the way and then stopped at a memorial for some of the students in the Battle of Okinawa because it caught our eye. It was great not to be on any schedule and to just stop and look and take pictures whenever we wanted. We enjoyed the view as we rode high above the coast for a long time.
By mid afternoon we were all starving, the day had started early with getting the kids all on their way before we even started riding. We really wanted to go to Coco’s for lunch for curry but couldn’t find one. We kept riding and riding and hoping we’d see one and finally we just had to give up. Instead we settled on a Jusco food court (a mall). All the other guys went for Chinese food but I was so hungry I needed some “real” food so Tom and I went to McDonalds. Let me tell you, french fries have never tasted so good! I also got an ice cream cone of new favorite flavor at Blue Seal, it’s called Okinawa Salt Cookie and it’s heavenly. I loved that I didn’t care one bit how many calories I consumed because I knew I still had another 40 miles of riding ahead of me!
We’d been going at an easy pace enjoying what a pretty day it was. We kind of pushed it a little toward the end of the ride when we had some hills. They weren’t huge but big enough to challenge us and make us feel tired.
I smiled when I saw Tom with the camera as I came up one of the final hills but I really felt like this:
By the time we reached Camp Schwab, our destination for the evening, I was definitely ready to get off my bike. But I felt great knowing that I had kept up all day and really enjoyed the ride.
Ali met us with our suit cases and a fantastic dinner. Then we all headed off to bed to get ready for the big ride the next day!
A few more shots from day one!
DAY TWO:
I think it’s safe to say we were all a little bit nervous for day two. The northern end of the island is beautiful, but very hilly. I knew I could do it beceause we rode it during the big Tour in November but that wasn’t the day after a 90 mile bike ride. We got a start late in the morning, around 10:00, hoping to find somewhere in the hills to stop for lunch. Here we are, ready to start!
The scenery is breathtaking, the hills and tunnels were so much fun. The uphills were killer but everyone was awesome and just kept chugging along. From mile 20 to mile 30 in the ride it’s all uphill...it was insane but such an adrenaline rush to know we did it! Check out this shot of the elevation climbs on this ride. Killer.
The down hills were great but had me white knuckled and praying to survive. The views were beautiful, the scenery so peaceful. We saw very few cars and never found anywhere to eat lunch. The last cafe we had hoped for was closed so we never got lunch that day. Nonetheless, it was an amazing 68 mile ride. My favorite bike ride ever. I imagine it will keep that title for a long time to come. Tough day, but really satisfying. The pictures don’t do it justice but they try!
At last we arrived at Okuma, our stop for the night and again met Ali and some great food we were dying for!
DAY THREE:
We slept in the cabins at Okuma and heard the rain pouring down all night. After two beautiful days we knew we were due for some traditional Oki rain and we got it. It couldn’t be a true Tour de Okinawa without at least one rain day. After a filling bowl of oatmeal we reluctantly, yet eagerly, set off for the final adventure. Here we are, the final day. 
It was cold and wet but we rode strong and had no accidents. As we rode along the coast I kept reminding myself to look through my rain covered glasses and check out the view. When we stopped to refuel we all cooled off and ended up shivering like crazy until we got going again. 
Thankfully the sun came out about 40 miles into the ride and brought us home warm and dry. 
We stopped at a beautiful look out point and then at last, nearly 230 miles into our ride we finally got our Coco’s curry. Just a few miles up the road from home, we stopped for a late lunch. 
It was fantastic. Then off again, we finished up the last few miles, with an additional rider who joined in for the last day, and ended up back at the start. 
What an amazing experience.... something I’ll never forget!
Last weekend we were fortunate enough to have one of the greatest experiences ever! Thanks to the great idea of one of our friends we took our own bike trip around the entire island!! Words cannot convey the amazing experience it was. You had to be there to experience the views, feel the wind rushing past, and sense the thrill from making it up yet another huge hill. Tom is making a DVD of the experience and we’ll share that once it’s done. For now, I’ll try to do it justice, but just know, that most of what we saw and did we couldn’t take pictures of!! I wish you could have just come with us!!!
Before I start I must give a special thanks to my amazing friends who made this possible for me. I wish that my friends could have come and biked with me but only one of them is a biker and she has a small baby. I had to leave the kids for three days in order to go on this epic ride so all of my friends (the wives of the other bikers) took over in my absence. One friend watched the girls, another took Hayden so he could still go to school, yet another watched them all on Saturday!! It was awesome to know I didn’t have to worry about them. And the ride would not have been possible without our support driver, another wife who brought all our gear and food for us. She met us each night, cooked us dinner and then cooked us breakfast again in the morning. The food was fantastic and I was so happy to have some female company!! What awesome friends!!!
Here's the team:
Tracey
Tom
Erin
Rob
John
Derek
Day One:
We left from Camp Lester, 6 riders all fresh and eager to get the 90 miles underway.
As with all good activities we started with a prayer and then headed off!! 
The excitement was so tangible as we started. Within a mile we had our first, and just about only, near accident when Erin's iphone fell off his bike. I was riding behind him and saw it happen. Acting fast I stashed my bike quick, ran out in front of a big truck and snagged it before it got run over. That would not have been a good way to start the trip. Luckily, it was fine and we were on our way again.
About 8 miles down the road we stopped for our first picture at a nice bridge.
We were riding toward the city through rush hour traffic so it was a lot of stop and go. 
The far left lane, where bikes go, is also the bus lane so that was complicated and we continually got stuck behind and next to the big busses. But we maneuvered our way through the city okay and eventually came out on the other side. We crossed some great bridges on the way and then stopped at a memorial for some of the students in the Battle of Okinawa because it caught our eye. It was great not to be on any schedule and to just stop and look and take pictures whenever we wanted. We enjoyed the view as we rode high above the coast for a long time.
By mid afternoon we were all starving, the day had started early with getting the kids all on their way before we even started riding. We really wanted to go to Coco’s for lunch for curry but couldn’t find one. We kept riding and riding and hoping we’d see one and finally we just had to give up. Instead we settled on a Jusco food court (a mall). All the other guys went for Chinese food but I was so hungry I needed some “real” food so Tom and I went to McDonalds. Let me tell you, french fries have never tasted so good! I also got an ice cream cone of new favorite flavor at Blue Seal, it’s called Okinawa Salt Cookie and it’s heavenly. I loved that I didn’t care one bit how many calories I consumed because I knew I still had another 40 miles of riding ahead of me!
We’d been going at an easy pace enjoying what a pretty day it was. We kind of pushed it a little toward the end of the ride when we had some hills. They weren’t huge but big enough to challenge us and make us feel tired.
I smiled when I saw Tom with the camera as I came up one of the final hills but I really felt like this:
By the time we reached Camp Schwab, our destination for the evening, I was definitely ready to get off my bike. But I felt great knowing that I had kept up all day and really enjoyed the ride.
Ali met us with our suit cases and a fantastic dinner. Then we all headed off to bed to get ready for the big ride the next day!A few more shots from day one!
DAY TWO:
I think it’s safe to say we were all a little bit nervous for day two. The northern end of the island is beautiful, but very hilly. I knew I could do it beceause we rode it during the big Tour in November but that wasn’t the day after a 90 mile bike ride. We got a start late in the morning, around 10:00, hoping to find somewhere in the hills to stop for lunch. Here we are, ready to start!
The scenery is breathtaking, the hills and tunnels were so much fun. The uphills were killer but everyone was awesome and just kept chugging along. From mile 20 to mile 30 in the ride it’s all uphill...it was insane but such an adrenaline rush to know we did it! Check out this shot of the elevation climbs on this ride. Killer.
The down hills were great but had me white knuckled and praying to survive. The views were beautiful, the scenery so peaceful. We saw very few cars and never found anywhere to eat lunch. The last cafe we had hoped for was closed so we never got lunch that day. Nonetheless, it was an amazing 68 mile ride. My favorite bike ride ever. I imagine it will keep that title for a long time to come. Tough day, but really satisfying. The pictures don’t do it justice but they try!
At last we arrived at Okuma, our stop for the night and again met Ali and some great food we were dying for!
DAY THREE:
We slept in the cabins at Okuma and heard the rain pouring down all night. After two beautiful days we knew we were due for some traditional Oki rain and we got it. It couldn’t be a true Tour de Okinawa without at least one rain day. After a filling bowl of oatmeal we reluctantly, yet eagerly, set off for the final adventure. Here we are, the final day. 
It was cold and wet but we rode strong and had no accidents. As we rode along the coast I kept reminding myself to look through my rain covered glasses and check out the view. When we stopped to refuel we all cooled off and ended up shivering like crazy until we got going again. 
Thankfully the sun came out about 40 miles into the ride and brought us home warm and dry. 
We stopped at a beautiful look out point and then at last, nearly 230 miles into our ride we finally got our Coco’s curry. Just a few miles up the road from home, we stopped for a late lunch. 
It was fantastic. Then off again, we finished up the last few miles, with an additional rider who joined in for the last day, and ended up back at the start. 
What an amazing experience.... something I’ll never forget!
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