The Houseboat Top 10!

We have just returned from a fantastic week on a houseboat with all of Tom’s siblings and their families. With seven kids in his family, 6 of whom are married with children, we are a large group. 31 to be exact, outnumbered by the children, 16 to 15. We all met up on Saturday June 27th in Redding California, northern California, where we ate at In n Out (yumm!), then loaded up on food at Costco (more than we could possibly fit in the back of an Expedition even with the seats folded down!) and we headed out to nearby Lake Shasta and the adventure began! This is the boat required to house all of us- sleeping arrangements were creative with lots of people sleeping outside, in the dining room and even a baby in the bathroom. But it was a beautiful boat and the accommodations were as good as you could dream of while floating on a beautiful lake!


Top Ten Things About the Houseboat:

10. Together meal prep and clean-up (okay,maybe not really fun but it was great because we had a large chart with assignments and everyone worked together so we had great food everyday! It takes a lot to feed our crew!)
9. Game playing galore! Every night we tried something new while the kids wandered around, played Bionacles and eventually passed out and fell asleep!
8. Movies on the rocks! Papa set up a big projector and the kids enjoyed watching movies up on the nearby hill side! This is one of Hayden’s favorite traditions!
7. Hiking and running- we loaded the boat and dumped a group off on shore and we enjoyed some of the beautiful forests surrounding the lake.
6. Swimming and more swimming- Danica loved swimming out in the lake and in the hot tub on top of the boat.


5. Talent Show- a new tradition, we did this one without much advance prep but it was fun to see what everyone came up with, mostly skits. Alyssa stole the show with her awesome dancing to the theme song from Dora, she can seriously wiggle her hips!
4. Tubing and Kneeboarding- Hayden was a champion with his desire for while tube rides that made the older kids cry and he tried out the knee board and did a great job!
3. The Jetski- we had a blast learning to maneuver this old machine, it was so fun! Not so fun were the bruises we all got from the wild rides!
2. Waterskiing and Wakeboarding- Nearly everyone in the family at least tried wakeboarding and some are getting really good. I put in my time but in the end returned to my first love of slalom skiing, it’s like snowboarders verses skiers, I tried to join camp with the wakeboarder but I think I’m on the ski team to stay! Tom is a phenomenal wakeboarder- very hot!
1. Family, Family, Family! This is the first time Danica and Alyssa have really understood what cousins are and they love them! We had a great time and formed bonds and made memories that will last forever. The crazy stories and inside jokes that will keep coming from this trip will last us a long time, at the least they will last until the next time we all get together!

Stateside

We’re are in Washington, safe and sound and finally getting over the jet lag. It’s hard to tell now what is jet lag and what is result of vacation living with late bedtimes and sleeping in! We left Okinawa last Saturday and our flights went as smoothly as you can hope. We flew out of Okinawa at about noon, landed in Tokyo 2 1/2 hours later. The plane was really warm and the girls needed a nap but didn’t fall asleep so I was getting a little tense worrying about the 9 hour flight yet to come but over all they were fine. Our Tokyo layover was nice and short, just enough time to grab some McDonalds so the kids wouldn’t starve since they hadn’t had lunch and probably wouldn’t like the airplane food (which they didn’t.) That flight went well. We had TV’s in the seat backs with some random movies that were better than nothing. The kids were great and eventually they all slept for about 3 hours. Danica was the champion and let us lay her down on the floor at our feet to sleep. This allowed us to put Alyssa in her seat (we didn’t buy Alyssa a ticket so we were a seat short.) We arrived in Seattle at 9:30am...exactly the time we left our house in Okinawa. Hayden thought is was so cool it was like we had been in a time machine or something! Stepping out of the airport I was hit with crisp, cool dry air! It felt heavenly! Tom’s brother picked us up and we drove 3 hours down to Vancouver. All around it made for a long day but what can you expect when you are flying from Japan? The drive was tough for me since it was about 3am to us but once it was actually day time to us I started feeling better. We spent the day playing and sleeping. The kids had a tough time sleeping and staying asleep that night and the next few but it has been getting better each night so I am hoping they will be in good shape by the time we leave for the house boat on Friday! Friday morning we leave to spend a week on a houseboat at Lake Shasta near Redding California. We will have all of Tom’s siblings and kids on the boat, 31 people in all. It will make for lots of fun togetherness!

So my Oki friends are probably wondering what things we have done stateside so far. I have to admit we haven’t done anything too exciting. We haven’t even been to Red Robin yet!!! We’ve been so off schedule that the kids are sleeping till 11:00 so our meals are all crazy. But we have been to the mall, including Old Navy and last night we went to Target!!! That was nice. I plan to go back today and to go to Wal-mart and REI as well. I’ve been really enjoying running here. It’s actually cold here, compared to Okinawa. The air is so crisp and cool. This morning Tom and I got up early and went on the most gorgeous run!!! I was freezing because I only brought tank tops and shorts, my hands turned blue, but the scenery made up for it! We just headed out from his parents house and past fields and meadows, beautiful country homes, cow pastures, horses and even had a rabbit run across our path. It was so pretty I felt silly because I just kept smiling with enjoyment. Despite the 6 miles we covered my limbs were still freezing when we got home, but not to worry, we jumped in the hot tub and it felt great!

Today Tom is at his brother’s dental office working on his sisters teeth. On Monday we met with the contractor who is doing the work up for the new practice that we hope to have built and running by the time we move here in two years. It’s was surreal to see the plans really taking shape and to realize we will be partners in a gorgeous busy practice. The money and all is overwhelming but that is just life. His brother had hired a great company to do the financial planning of adding a second dentist into his practice that he is quickly out growing. It will be all business, handled by this specialized mediator so we can continue to enjoy being family and not worry about stepping on important relationships. I am really excited about it and Tom and Dave can’t wait to get to work together. While Tom is gone I am running some errands, although they are happy errands since the prospect of walking into Walmart is so exciting! Then I am meeting down at my sister-in-law's to take the kids to their primary activity. The kids are having a blast with their cousins. Last night Danica said “Mom, I have so many cousins!” She’s right!

So one last comment. The other day we were driving and I overheard the kids talking in the back. Danica was saying something about wanting to go back to grandma’s house and Hayden said very seriously “Danica, we have to go back to the island!” It’s like a line out of Lost but so true. We are having a great time but I still miss home and hope that everyone in Okinawa is finding a way to survive the rainy season! Go jump on our trampoline in your swimsuits or something if you need to get out in the rain!

Take care!

What I Miss Most

What have I missed the most about the United States? Well, I would say it is family or friends, signs that I can read, easy to navigate streets, less humid weather, Gap, Target or a dozen other things. But apparently, according to the dream I had I miss Costco the most! I dreamed that we got off the plane and went straight to Costco and were running around the aisles and couldn’t decide what to buy!

We have officially chickened out on trying to go Space A, they have cut back on flights and there are so many people PCSing (that means have a permanent change of station, in other words moving so they have priority on the flight) that it's just too risky. Even if we could manage to get ourselves somewhere in the U.S. we'd still have to get to Vancouver and between that airfare, hotels along the way, eating out and the uncertainty it just isn't worth it! We can't wait to get there so we are coming this Saturday. We leave here Saturday at noon, fly to Tokyo, a 2 1/2 hour flight, layover for a few hours and then begin the long flight. It doesn't sound too bad because it's only supposed to be 8 hours 40 minutes, a few hours shorter than coming this way. We arrive on Saturday morning at 9:30am, in Seattle. I am guessing we'll need a nap that afternoon since we arrive at 2:00am our time...bring on the jet-lag, it will be worth it!

I feel sad to be leaving behind so many great friends and fantastic snorkeling but I’m too excited for the trip to dwell on it much! To make things easier, we have recently learned the meaning of “rainy season.” I can’t believe there is that much rain in the sky, no wonder it feels like you’re walking through water even when it isn’t raining! It’s been raining non-stop for days and we are going crazy. And when I say rain, I mean RAIN! I finally saw a short break in the rain for this morning from 4-6am so I got up early and went out for a run. It had clearly just stopped raining and I was three miles from home when it started to pour on me... I might as well have gone swimming I was so wet! I’ve had dozens of errands and such to do so I have been dragging the kids around in the rain. Today we finally took a break from the errands and went to the Discovery Museum at the zoo and got out some energy. Then this afternoon I met up with a lady I visit teach and let the kids run wild at the food court play area. Well, Hayden ran wild, the girls were glued to me. I have been feeling so crowded lately. They fight to sit on me, near me, under my feet when I walk... so we sat at the playgound and they sat on me at the table while I tried to talk. I just keep telling myself to enjoy the phase while they like me...yeah... enjoy it...

One last thing- I will be arriving in Utah on July 16th and heading down south to Antimony where I plan to run the Bryce Canyon 1/2 marathon (I decided the Deseret News marathon wasn’t for me this year, between Tom being gone, the rain and our fun travel plans including a week on a houseboat, training for a marathon just wasn’t going to work for me!) Anyway, I’ll be back from Antimony on the 19th and then have until August 15th to spend with family and friends! So anyone that is in Utah or going to be visiting there during that time please let me know when you are available to get together! Email me at traceystinch@gmail.com

Well, I am off to do some packing and laundry and such... I don’t know how to plan for 8 weeks of living and still leave enough room in the suitcase for all the shopping I plan to do!

It's June!

So it’s been a while since I posted... where have I been... let’s start at the beginning:

Tom got home from Cambodia on May 24th and brought great experiences, pictures and souvenirs with him. He had a great time serving the people of Cambodia and helping them with their teeth. Due to the reign of Pol Pot, a totalitarian tyrant, there are very few doctors or dentists in Cambodia so many people came from hours away to wait to be treated for severe tooth pain. From 1975-1979 the Khmer Rouge regime arrested and eventually executed almost everyone suspected of connections with the former government or with foreign governments, as well as professionals and intellectuals. Tom was given a few liberty days before and after his time working on teeth and was able to tour some memorials, visit some markets and feed the monkeys in the park. He is grateful for the time he spent there and we are grateful to be together again.



While Tom was gone things were okay here, although we missed him a lot and the kids fought me every night at bedtime. Tom is often gone in the evening and I put the kids to bed by myself but they knew this was different and Hayden liked to argue and make things hard. Toward the end I learned that if I promised Hayden extra snuggle time in bed he wouldn’t fight me so much. I know he just missed having Tom there to put him to bed while I put the girls in bed. My friend Joy and I decided to take advantage of her husband being really busy with a new trial starting at work and Tom being gone and we went up to stay at some beach cottages. The weather was rainy so instead of the beach we enjoyed going to the NeoPark, the weird zoo/aquarium/aviary place. Hayden’s favorite part was walking the dogs, Danica liked seeing the monkeys and meerkats who are not in cages and were walking all around us while they were being fed, Alyssa liked the peacocks who were huge and plentiful and my favorite was watching them feed all the water birds small fish and seeing the pelican fill his mouth with tons of fish. We spent a day at the Ocean Expo Park, the HUGE aquarium and were delighted to see the feeding of the whale sharks where they dumped tons of squid in the huge tank and we saw them gobbled up by the manta rays. The third day was nice enough and we just lounged and swam at the beach. It was great.



Since Tom has been back we’ve been enjoying ourselves. We did a total makeover in our bedroom. I really wish we had done some before and after pictures because the before was so sad and pathetic. We would avoid our room unless we were sleeping. We aren’t quite done so no pictures yet but I am loving the results and actually enjoy spending time in there! We’ve also filled our time with more parks and beach fun. We went snorkeling on Memorial Day and Tom saw a sea snake. The next Saturday Tom took the kids to a park that we thought was kind of far away and I ran to meet them there. Turns out it only takes so long to get there because of traffic, it was only 4 miles away! I was shocked and saddened to arrive so quickly because I wanted a longer run but mentally was done because I’d reached my goal! Here are some cute shots of the kids at the park. The girls both have pig tails and look sooo much alike!




This past weekend we went to Okuma, the Air Force beach resort about 2 hours away. We stayed in a beach condo and had a fantastic time! We went with our friends Joy and Scott enjoyed the sand, had a campfire, and played games when the kids were in bed. The next day we hiked, explored tide pools and then enjoyed the beach all day. Hayden learned to boogie board and actual swam in the ocean something he is usually terrified of. Alyssa came down with a fever and was tired, but being terrible parents we simply laid her on towel under an umbrella to take a nap and we went on with the day. We rented kayaks and took turns taking the kids out on a ride (my arms are still sore). Then we hired the boat for 30 minutes and we all enjoyed a boat ride and took turns being pulled behind it on the tube. Everything is so affordable, it’s a fantastic military perk to have an amazing weekend for hardly any money! It was a lot of fun! Sadly, Alyssa is still sick and I think it may be strep throat (it’s going around) and I will take her to the doctor in the morning. In the meantime, here are some pics of the trip:




The school year is winding down for Hayden and he has only a few days left this week. Here he is getting his kindergarten participation award!
He is very excited for summer vacation and so am I! We have only 2 weeks until we leave to head back to the states for a long visit!!! We will be arriving in Washington sometime the week of June 22nd (we are trying the free military flights...keep your fingers crossed for us.) Then from the 27th to July 4th we will be at Lake Shasta on a houseboat with all of Tom’s siblings. It’s going to be a wild crazy fun time, 15 adults, 15 kids. We can’t wait! Then we will spend a few more weeks with his family, take in a Coldplay concert and plenty of game nights I am sure. We get to meet some nieces and nephews for the first time and our kids get to have cousin time. Then Tom has to fly back here and I head to Utah on July 16th. With my parents we are heading to southern Utah the day after we arrive to stay in Antimony for 4-wheeling, hiking, a rodea and for me to run in the Bryce Canyon 1/2 marathon. After making a million excuses I decided it’s not the right time for me to run a marathon, maybe next year. In the meantime, the Bryce Canyon 1/2 looks beautiful and I am really excited. Then I will spend a few more weeks with my family, meet a new niece, spend time with siblings including my brother’s wife who lives in Wisconsin, she’s coming to stay at my parents for two of the weeks I am there! I’m excited for the time we have to be with family and be in the states with shopping, eating and playing so different what we have on our little island. Then right at the end I get to go to my mom’s graduation from BYU!!!!! I am so proud of her and can’t wait to be there! She graduates on August 14th and I have to leave on the 15th to fly back before Alyssa turns 2 on the 17th. I bought tickets for the return flight because it would be to hard to get a free military flight at that time and I didn’t want to pay for one for Alyssa! Needless to say, I am sure I will come and need to just sleep for a week and then we’ll have about a week until Hayden starts school and Danica starts preschool! It’s crazy how time just flies by!

Well, that is all our big excitement! I am busy now working on getting all the paperwork in order, thinking through lodging options during our flights, deciding what to pack for a 7 week trip and what bring on the long flights, and what to do get the house ready in case a typhoon hits while we are gone! This may be my last blog before we leave... I guess we’ll see!

Remember Your Family

This video is probably only cute to me and Tom but I decided to share it anyway. Last Monday we were having Family Home Evening and decided to make a video to email to Tom...

Summer fun is here!

It’s already getting too hot and there are way to many spiders, I’ve killed three “baby” banana spiders and 4 large ugly brown ones...but we are doing our best to enjoy it before the heat is unbearable! The kids had a blast in the backyard on Friday. It was like a real water park with the water slide and sprinklers on the trampoline!
Saturday morning Hayden participated in the Armed Forces Kids Run, his age did the 1/2 mile. He warmed up, stretched and was awesome, next time he’ll have to do the full mile! Afterward he had his last soccer game and got a trophy so he was sooo happy! Good times!




Oh, one more funny thing: Alyssa and Danica look a lot alike and apparently Alyssa thinks so to because when she sees herself in the mirror she points and declares "Danica!"

The kids are still doing okay with Tom being gone but the fight for my attention, it's getting comical. Hayden and Danica constantly tell each other to stop talking because they want to talk to me! Isn't it great to be loved?

Tom's in Cambodia!

Tom had the amazing opportunity to go to Cambodia with a Navy medical humanitarian team and is currently there doing dental work for anyone that is willing to make the trek to see them. They are set up in some sort of temple, about three hours from the capitol city by bus. He’s been there since last Friday and so far it’s going well for him except for the food, he said he thinks he’ll just be hungry until he gets home! His first night there they had frog legs for dinner but they were given massages while sitting at the table so it’s not all bad! He missed sharing Mother’s Day with us but I was well taken care of. Hayden made me lots of things at school and spent the afternoon making me cards. The Wilson’s were so thoughtful and generous and had us over for dinner, Scott did all the cooking so Joy and I just relaxed and enjoyed our special day. He’s a master on the grill and dinner was delicious. We’ve definitely been missing Tom a lot but being here makes it easier because I feel very safe in my house, I have amazing friends who are watching the kids while I run and do other stuff and I am surrounded by women who are without their husbands for months and months so I know I can certainly handle 2 weeks! Danica misses him a lot and wakes up crying for him in the night and early morning but overall she seems okay. Hayden is extra huggy and cuddly but I don’t mind! I’ve discovered I rely on him way too much for my IT support. For instance, the internet was down today and after spending all day waiting for it to come back up I called the company, they said the line was fine, I unplugged the router for 15 seconds, plugged it back in and it was fixed... way too easy, I felt silly for calling and spending all day with out the internet! Two days ago the channel button on the remote control quit working. It’s been very annoying and finally tonight I sat down to look up some solutions online. While sitting here I decided to look at all the little buttons and I discovered that the button had been moved from TV to SAT... I switched it back and it works fine... embarrassing, I shouldn’t even be telling you this but I have been laughing at myself all night! I guess I need to quit saying “Tom fix it” and actually try to do it myself once in a while!
I had a fun experience this week with a cultural exchange through church. We had an activity a few weeks ago with the local Japanese women who are also members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. They meet together in Japanese speaking meetings so we don’t see them very often. However, on this night it was really cool because we opened with a hymn about sisterhood and they sang it in Japanese while we sang it in English, it was so neat to hear. Then we all offered things we could do to involve each other in our respective cultures. My friend Joy and I offered to teach a music class (the one we do weekly for our neighbors.) There was only one woman there who had small children and was interested but we had a fabulous time with her. She came this week and it was fun to get to know her and her son. They taught us some Japanese and we played with our instruments and had a blast. Then we had an American lunch of PB&J, fruit salad, chips and juice, followed by chocolate chip cookies. I think we’ve started a fabulous new friendship and Aiko has invited us to come to her house sometime soon.
The first week in May is known as Golden Week in Japan and is a week of huge celebrations in honor of all sorts of things! May 5th was Children’s Day and I decided to keep Hayden out of school and attend the Dragon Boat races down at the wharf. My friend was racing on the Navy team. She’s been practicing paddling the Dragon boat for a long time and they won their heat! The races were cool and they had a big festival with lots of fun for the kids. Their favorite part was a booth with colored chicks. They loved it!





Well that’s about all I can think of right now...the kids bought me a foot massage spa for Mother’s day and it’s calling my name so I better go before it gets too late! I was up way too late last night doing laundry... I underestimated how efficiently Tom folds laundry! I usually spend all day washing one day a week and then we fold it when the kids are in bed- it took me soooooo long to do it by myself! On the flip side, I’ve gotten really good at multi-tasking the bedtime routine: we get back late from soccer practice but they need a bath so while they are in the tub they eat their bedtime snack (Otter pops worked well...tonight they tried fudgecicles and it was a disaster because Alyssa kept dipping hers in the warm water causing them to take a fudge bath until I drained the water and started over...) anyway, they have their snack, listen to the scriptures, get washed, and brush their teeth all at once. Hooray for multi-tasking!