Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011 Year in Review- January to June

January: Playing outside, watching AJ, lots of jumping on the bed, watching the Ducks play in the Rose Bowl, last minute decision to apply for an assignment in Okinawa, Japan, lots of Wii playing
February: Parker started speech therapy, huge family trip to Disneyland (16 of us in all), Cooper turned 6 with a Pirate Party, fan appreciation day at the Giants stadium, found out we got the assignment to Okinawa, Japan
March: whirlwind of paperwork, doctor appointments, dentist appointments and scheduling, Carson and Cooper started baseball, T-ball for Cooper and machine pitched for Carson, Carson and Cooper both got awards at school
April: Josh went to Florida for training before the big move, the kids and I went up to Portland for Spring Break, we had so much fun at Grandma & Grandpa's house, fishing, trip to the zoo, lots of Easter fun, and visiting the tulip fields, Back to school night for the boys, 2 baseball per boy each week plus practice
May: Josh came back from Florida and we surprised him at the airport with signs, lots of pool time, more baseball games, my friend Erin visited us, my Mom visited and we went to Napa for the first time and it was amazing, last trip to San Francisco, the house was packed up and the boys worked on finishing up school
June: Cooper graduated from kindergarten, Carson finished 1st grade, we had a big going away party with our friends, we spent 2 weeks in Portland spending time with family before the move, Josh and I went on our first trip alone to Vegas and it was fantastic, headed up to Seattle and flew across the Pacific ocean to Okinawa, Japan- 16 hours of traveling, lived in TLF for almost 2 weeks


2011 Year in Review- July to December

July: we moved into our new house off base, we set up the house and started to explore the new country we are living in, numerous trips to many different beaches, explored castle ruins, the aquarium and Japanese navy ships, lots of searching for crabs and lots of swimming practice, one typhoon and one earthquake, Emma turned 5 with a Hello Kitty birthday
August: Josh went on his first TDY, the kids and I continued to explore Okinawa with adventures to Naha, the fish market, Okinawa World, and the water park, Parker turned 3 with a Toy Story party, Carson started 2nd grade and Cooper started 1st grade
September: Emma, Parker and I had special days at the beach while the boys were in school, Josh went on his second TDY, we went to the zoo, played at the beach and searched for crabs, stayed busy playing in the bathtub on rainy days
October: we explored a lot more since the weather cooled down some, boys kept very busy with lots of homework, I turned 30 and we celebrated at a flower garden, lots of pineapple eating, lots of painting, had our first Halloween in Okinawa and trick-or-treated on base
November: Josh went on his 3rd TDY and missed his 29th birthday, the boys had a lot of school off, all 4 kids got really sick while Josh was gone, it was horrible, we had a large earthquake and it was crazy, Josh got home in time for Thanksgiving
December: Josh went on his 4th TDY, kids and I kept busy everyday with our fun 25 days of Christmas countdown, lots of present wrapping, played at the park and beach a lot, had an amazing Christmas, Carson turned 8 with a birthday on the beach

Carson's 8th Birthday at the Beach

Luckily, the rain held out and we were able to have Carson's birthday party at Araha Beach, or as the kids call it, Pirate Beach. We invited the McMillian and Guilmain families. The kids had so much fun playing in the sand and on the playground. They played for 2 1/2 hours. Carson said this wasn't the best birthday ever, but it was the "greatest birthday in the whole world, the bestest!" I'm so happy he had such a fun time. All the kids were so happy and just loved every minute of it.




Happy 8th Birthday Carson!

Today Carson turned 8 years old. How in the world is he already 8???? Time goes by so fast. I just can't believe 8 years ago I was having my first c-section. Joshua and I were so excited to meet our first little man. Carson is becoming an amazing little boy. He is so smart and funny. He loves adventure and he loves to learn. This morning he woke up to his torn all decorated. He thought that was pretty cool. He requested french toast for breakfast and he ate 6 whole pieces. For lunch he wanted to eat at the BX. So we went there, had lunch, went upstairs and let him pick out a new Lego, picked up his balloons and then headed to his party at the beach.


After his party we stopped and picked up pizza. We came home and ate. The house was decorated in a Star Wars theme. He opened his presents and was so excited with everything he got. He loved his new jeans and shirts and really loved his new Oregon sweatshirt. Carson was very excited of course for new Lego's also. He said that this was the best birthday ever!



Happy 8th Birthday Carson! I love you so much!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A Gorgeous Day at White Beach

Today was a beautiful, sunny, and blue sky day. We headed out to White Beach mid morning to go for a walk on the beach and look for shells and crabs. The water was up really high but we all had a lot of fun combing the beach. Josh found a huge dead fish with really big teeth. Cooper played with a big dead crab and was so excited about it. Emma filled her bucket with shells and sea glass. Parker found the best and biggest shell. Carson played along the shore, jumping in the waves. After walking on the beach for awhile the kids played on the playground. Nothing better than playing on the playground, on the beach, in shorts at the end of December.