I'm Back - Much To Say!

I still exist - really I do! More pictures for you from the last - jeez, almost 10 days? Sorry.

We went to Kurashiki Dam the weekend before last, which was very cool. It was WINDY (as you will notice from our kid's wild hair in the pictures. The signs have pictures so that they're universally understood. We realized they were also very funny, and our witty child with the sharp sense of humor was posing up a storm when we said, "Do something funny".


Don't you dare leave your doggie poop here!
Ok - so she didn't pose like she was holding a fishing pole...
Having some fun in the middle of the street. Yes, I did have to move from my lying down position in the center of the road several times during these shots.


This was my fav - TOTALLY Mia's idea. (the "no swimming" sign in the background)

Holding back her hair because of the wind:

The bridge out to the mystery building in the middle of the water next to the dam (you can see the dam on the right):

Some pretty water lilies on a pond next to a croquet course (they call it lawn golf or gate ball!):
Headed back across the dam/bridge:

I like this one - just some lone interesting tree on a green green lawn.

Ok, so some stuff has happened since then, but nothing I've photographically documented. Mia's parent/teacher conference was this week. Not surprisingly, she's thriving in kindergarten and is a real leader in her class. She has a strong personality, but avoids conflict with other strong personalities - so that's encouraging. We are very happy with her progress and her development. We were talking, and even in the past 5 months we've been here we've seen a real change in her. She's growing up - she's oh so smart - she is just a great kid. We're very happy and VERY lucky.

On that note, I want to mention that not everyone is as lucky - my friend-by-blogging, Edith, and her husband Trinity are now in Hawaii after only a brief time in Okinawa. Their son, Diego, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia this week, and they immediately left to begin treatment at Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu. We are praying for all of you, you are at an amazing care facility and I'm so very glad that you found out when you did.

Edith is so incredibly brave, honest, and helpful to others - she is blogging the experience on her site: http://senoritamommy.blogspot.com. I was in tears reading her post today...any parent probably would be, but I'm so very happy that he's getting such great care and so much overflowing love. And that his mommy & daddy are there to be with him and hold his hand, sweet baby boy. Edith, I am here to do or send anything - ANYTHING you need. Just say the word. Please let me know what would make things easier for your family. Craig, Mia and I wish you all the best and hope this story continues in every positive way it can.

Last but not least - the 7th Communications Battalion USMC Birthday Ball was last night. We got ourselves all dolled up and schlepped up to Camp Hansen for a 650-person party!


Thanks for taking a couple of pictures, Anne. I don't have any from the ball itself because I brought my small camera and it took pathetically blurry pictures. Suffice it to say we had fun enjoying the company of friends/coworkers, and decent food. Not great, decent. The ceremony was mercifully short. The drinks at the cash bar were mercifully cheap. And not so merciful was the amount of people that someone saw fit to put into this ROOM! We were packed like sardines in there. Craig said they're the biggest battalion on the island - and it showed. I had full body contact with the people on either side of me at my table. I had to squish my arms together to cut my meat. It was rather crazy. We left at about 9:30, got back and had a drink with the Neatherys who were watching Mia, and then came home to crash. Very very fun.

Bzzzzz....

That's the sound a busy bee makes. I'm busier than that. But I wanted to post a few things, so here we go.

Everything is going great, just crazy - WELCOME HOME, JAKE! First order of business is to welcome home our dear bro-in-law/uncle from Iraq after 15 long hard months. Have a fabulous reunion with Courtney, Jake - we can't wait to talk to you and maybe one day plan a visit.

Another week has passed me by, and it was filled with a couple of lunches out, preparing for the kid's birthday and party, soccer practice, rain rain rain, wind wind wind, and lots of taking pictures! I'm so happy to have found my new job and new team - it's all so fresh and fun. It's still hard to imagine I only got here 3 months ago - so much has happened, and I was just thinking how hard and sad it will be when some of these people I've met, who maybe only have another year here or less, leave to go back to the states. That's probably the thing I dread most (besides hours and hours on a plane + jet lag when we visit home), and that says a lot about the caliber of people I've met so far. But enough about that for now.

I find that I not only do I love so many of the funky cars here, but I love the variety of them. A guy who owns a club in American Village here has this classic (shipped here from the states, no doubt) -
And it's funny how many Minis you see out here - I'm quite surprised Craig didn't buy one - I think he might eventually sell his to get one since it's pretty worth it here with his commute.

So this weekend it's Yom Kippur (yes, Jewish High Holidays have been upon us) and it does always render me somewhat reflective. I'm so thankful for all the blessings I've had in the last year - my family's health, my husband returning home in one piece, the opportunity to travel and experience these incredible things, and so much more. Going forward, I hope to enjoy the time we have here in Okinawa and do some traveling in the area. I love taking pictures, and hope that can grow into something fun and fulfilling for me. And I wish happiness, success, and health (not necessarily in that order) to all my loved ones - thank you for your wonderful warm wishes and thoughts!

In the coming weeks - Mia has her 6-year checkup, I finish the training part of things and THE Studio will launch and we'll have REAL clients! YAY! Craig has a very long hump on Mia's actual birthday, so hopefully we can celebrate after that. My dive buddy Scott just made Chief (CONGRATS!) and we can finally make a date to DIVE next week! How I've been jonesing for that. I hope to try more restaurants, make a few more friends, and of course, take more pictures of this fabulous place we get to enjoy for a few more years. Oh - and of course, we'll be watching lots of new fall TV! So far, I'm excited for a few shows, but I'll let you know what's really worth your while. Right now I'm loving Damages, Madmen, and the new episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm (Welcome back, Larry!!).

For winter break we're considering a trip to Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand or Cambodia. (any votes for one or another? Bear in mind, there IS a kid involved here....) I think mainland Japan will have to wait for summertime because we don't have winter clothes for it! And you know the kid will want to do Tokyo Disneyland - must save up for that one.

Ok - off to sleep. Hugs & loveys.

Great weekend!

Wheeeeee!!!! This is Mia descending the water slide on Foster, where she takes swim lessons. Yep, definitely sucks to be her.

As for the rest of us, it's festival season (or as Mia and Leah put it "festible"). Eisa/Obon is at the full moon in August (which falls on the last weekend) and it's one huge party until then! We hit the summer carnival at nearby Sunset Beach in Chatan with Hector, Kristina, Lars & Leah (Hector works with Craig, he actually did at Miramar too, so we met them while we were still in San Diego.) Leah's 5, so instant friend for Mia, and Lars will be 2 in February. He's adorable. We had a fantastic time, left at around 6:30 after gorging on some of the best food ever, and made it home to sit for a while and chat until the fireworks started with a great view right out on our balcony. It's good here.

So basically.... you have not had good food at a carnival unless you've done so in Japan:

This was one of OH so many wonderful food stands - I wished it wasn't so hot and I was a bit more hungry. Mia & Leah (and even Lars) won all kinds of tchotchkies at the booths and had a ball. All the pictures here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=d0hm29f.2fvcow5r&x=0&y=-fy9tyj
Great music, great company, and great fun.

Oh - and by the way - no fiberoptic cable until September because they're so backed up. -sigh- And so we wait!

Happenings Around Town

Koza Music Town will be opening on July 27th. Here is the article describing what it is, and I'm pretty sure there will be some cool opening day events too!

http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=7691

By the way, Japan Update is a great site to keep up with what's going on over here (if you are interested in more information that what I provide in this blog). Weather, local news, events, and restaurant reviews make it the San Diego Reader (or City Paper, for my DC area peeps) of my area!

Additionally, I just found out I was stuck in a traffic jam due to this on Tuesday (Hwy 58 is the main route through our part of town):

Flash flooding traps cars in Okinawa thunderstorm

Date Posted: 2007-07-18

Several cars traveling Highway 58 Tuesday suddenly found themselves trapped in meter-deep water as a thunderstorm pummeled the island.

The thunderstorm blanketed Okinawa beginning about 7 am, dropping 35 millimeters (1.38 inches) of rain per hour, for more than two hours. The heavy downpour caused the Okinawa Prefecture Weather Bureau to issue a severe thunderstorm and excessive rain warning in mid-morning.

Cars traveling Highway 58 in the Kadena, Chatan Town and Sunabe areas met the gushing wall of water about 9:30 a.m., storm drains and sewers unable to handle the runoff. Cars trying to reach Camp Lester in Chatan Town were quickly stranded, water rising more than three feet, reaching to automobile hood levels. Rescue crews were sent to remove seven drivers from the semi-submerged cars.

The storm and flash flooding triggered a massive traffic jam stretching more than two kilometers on Highway 58. Traffic did not begin moving for more than an hour, when water began receding from the roadways.