Thursday, June 30, 2011

Blogging

Today we will be moving out of TLF and into the house. Our internet will take a few weeks to be installed. I am able to blog from my phone, but only 1 picture at a time. I will try to blog when I am on base at the library.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Kadena Marina & Beach

Today we had lunch at the Kadena Marina. It was a great lunch and the place was right on the water. It was so pretty!! After lunch we decided to go home, get our swimsuits, and go back to play at the beach. The kids chased fish and looked for hermit crabs. It was a great day, until Parker threw a rock at Emma's head. Then, it was time to go.

 Feeding the fish after lunch
 The View from Lunch
 Kadena Marina Beach
 Determined to catch one of the little fishies swimming around
 Our first little creature find- an itty bitty hermit crab

Monday, June 27, 2011

1st Visit to Araha Beach

Today we visited Araha Beach for the first time. It's about 10 minutes from the base. It was beautiful and so perfect for the kids! The water was warm, clear and calm. There are nets to protect from the bad jellyfish. The kids could walk all the way out just fine. We all had so much fun and can't wait to go again!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

We Found a House!

After a lot of searching, Josh finally found a house that will work for us. We have decided on a traditional Japanese style house in Okinawa City. They were in the process of cleaning the house, so here are just a few pictures. We hope to move in July 1st!

Traditional Japanese room- don't know how to spell it
Looking out at our patio- we are on the top floor, owners live below
The boys' room
The boys' room
Desk area in our room
Skylight in our room
Walk in closet in our room
Front entry way with shoe storage, because we don't wear shoes in the house

Friday, June 24, 2011

More pictures from this Week

Our nightly visit for ice cream.
Got our new car- Josh driving on the opposite side, so crazy and hard to get used to
The kids were very excited to get out of the hotel room and go for a drive!
The hardest part of driving on the other side, the blinker is on the opposite side too.
Our first tropical storm is passing over us this morning!

Week 1- Okinawa

Saturday, June 18th: Today was our first full day here. The kids woke up at 4am. They all had a ton of energy and were not tired really. Josh and I were exhausted.  The BX opened at 9am so we sat around until then. We walked to the BX, the boys got haircuts and then we got some groceries. Later in the afternoon we took taxis off base to the American Village. While it is called the American Village, we only saw 2 or 3 Americans. The kids dipped their toes in the ocean and then we headed back. We were all asleep by 7.

Sunday, June 19th: Today the kids were up again early at 4:45. We spent the day walking back and forth from the BX. The BX is really the only thing in walking distance. It was not a very exciting Father's Day, but we tried to make it special.

Monday, June 20th: Today the kids slept in until 5:15. Josh started his in-processing today so he was gone from 7-2. We should find out about a house in 3-5 days, not that we have one, but how long it will be until we can get one on base. The kids and I walked to the BX a few times. When Josh got home we walked to the base movie theater and saw Kung Fu Panda 2. The kids really enjoyed that! As we were walking home we got stuck in a major rain storm. It only lasted 5 minutes but it poured. We were soaked!!! The water was so warm, it felt like taking a shower!

Tuesday, June 21st: Today the kids finally slept in until 5:45. Josh and Parker took a taxi to Dunkin Donuts and brought back a yummy breakfast treat. Later Josh and Carson took a taxi off base to look at cars. Looks like we will be driving a mini-van- yuck! Oh well, at least we will all fit in one car. We are trying to decide on the white mazda van or the green honda van. While they looked at cars the rest of us went to the grocery store. After lunch we all went to the pool for 2 hours. We had so much fun. The kids loved getting all that energy out and being loud! After the pool we went to the BX and got our new white iPhones.

Wednesday, June 22nd: Today Josh had a Newcomer's Briefing all day. The kids and I walked over for the driving portion. We took our driving test, which was only a 20 question test. It was easy but the whole driving thing here is crazy. We had hoped to get our car today but it will be a few more days. We have picked it out though so the process has started. We are all getting tired of not being able to get around.

Thursday, June 23rd: Today we went grocery shopping and stopped by the post office to check our mail. We were offered housing on base. Josh went and looked at it. He said it was horrible, worse than Beale and Little Rock. Also, we could only live there until Feb 2013 due to renovations. We have decided to live off base. Tomorrow we will be able to start looking off base for a house. Josh went to his work and saw his office. I think he is not too sure about the whole thing. He never has had an office and I think he prefers to be in the tower. But, that was just first impressions, he may end up loving it. We did not get our car today or the loaner car. Hopefully tomorrow everything will be done and we can get it. Right now our days are filled with yahtzee, go fish, uno, playing on the iPhones and iPad, coloring and walking to the BX.

Friday, June 24th: Today Josh went to housing right when they opened to start the living off-base process. Today he went and looked at 3 different houses. All were very old, run down and not very safe. It was frustrating. Tomorrow we have 3 more appointments at different places. It looks like if we want something more modern we are going to have to pay extra. It was a discouraging day. However, we did get to pick up our new car this afternoon! We drove around the base and went off base for a little bit. It was so nice getting out of the hotel room! Josh picked out a great car. Now we just need a house!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Cooling Off

Yesterday afternoon we went to the pool for the first time. The kids are going crazy stuck in the hotel room so it was great to get out and have some fun. The kids played in the splash pad the first hour. The second hour we all got in the pool. Only Carson can touch the bottom. Cooper can hold on the side. Emma and Parker took turns being held. They all took turns jumping in. We all had a great time!

Happy Father's Day Handsome!


Happy Father's Day! You are an amazing Daddy! I love you so much!

Our Day


Every day we walk to the BX 2-3 times. We don't have a car yet and cannot get one until this afternoon or tomorrow morning. So, we have been keeping busy by walking to the BX, looking around, getting a snack, pretty much anything to get out of the hotel room for a little bit.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Dipping Our Toes

We stopped at this little beach just for a minute. We were not prepared for the beach but the kids really wanted to dip their toes in, well, not Parker. The water was crystal clear and warm!

Walking around Jusco store