A bedtime story about Okuma.

Who needs Disneyland when you have Okuma just up the road, right? At least, that is what we tell our boys and for now it is enough.

A week ago, our family enjoyed 2 days up at Okuma. The weather was PERFECT! Cool on the first night, and warm the next day. In fact, I had kids in jackets and hats the evening before and swimsuits the next afternoon. Who can complain about playing in the ocean the week before Thanksgiving?

I know that most here on the island won't be too interested in a timeline of events, but for my family, let me tell you a story about a day in paradise:


The car wasn't even unloaded yet before Andrew and Dad took off to go play a round of golf. It wasn't long before Logan joined them.



After golf, we sat and enjoyed this:



Then, our good friends arrived and all the kids grouped together yelling "take our picture!!" Well, who am I to disagree on that one?



The next morning started out with bikes! See that big one? It was a doozey. ALL of us had sore legs from peddling that monster. (Oh, and see that ocean in the background? It really is that color.)



The the kids ran through a tree/bush maze and found this lurking in the branches. That was one brave momma bird because I was right next to her and she didn't fly off (because I have yet to aquire a nice lense for my camera...hint hint)



Then we did race cars:



Some of our group were VERY excited!



After lunch it was an afternoon of lounging on the beach and soaking in the rays (except for mom who hid under her umbrella...the sun hates me!).



And last but not least, we enjoyed one more sunset before driving back home (though a couple of us went kicking and screaming...not the kids).



The end.

Andrew at Zampa

So here is my sweet little "clone" or I mean, my first born. I say clone because emotionally he is just like me (quirks included!). As far as what his interests are, it is pretty much his dad all over again. He is also the only one of my boys that has "chocolate eyes" like myself and he is quite proud of that.

Andrew has always been the perfect poser for the camera. :)

Facts about Andrew:
*He LOVES to cook with mom!
*He LOVES Science anything (just like Mom and Dad) but most especially Anatomy and Astronomy. He is the only kid I know that likes to go to the Dr. so that he can ask him/her questions about "how things work."
*He LOVES Transformers.
*He LOVES sports of any kind but most especially baseball, tennis and golf.
*He LOVES his family and is wonderfully kind and sensitive to everyone.
*He LOVES to play the Gamecube and the Wii.
*HE LOVES to wear his PJs and is ready to change into them right after school.
*He LOVES popcorn, PB&honey sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies and STEAK (tenderloin to be specific).


We LOVE him!

Logan at Zampa

Logan is one tricky little boy when trying to take his picture. For some unexplainable reason, he just cannot look at the camera, smile and keep his eyes open all at once. It is almost as if it physically hurts him to have that shutter snap because GOODNESS can he come up with all sorts of crazy faces.

Nevertheless (is that all one word?), if I take enough pictures fast enough I am bound to get one of him when he least expects it.

Logan Facts:
*He LOVES chocolate milk (thanks Grandma!)
*He LOVES school and is sad when he doesn't have homework.
*He LOVES to sing and be crazy.
*He LOVES costumes and dress-up. I have a feeling he is really going to like drama class when he gets older.
*He LOVES pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
*He LOVES animals and is my most brave in picking up creatures (ie: sea cucumbers). I been begged countless times to "please let me take my cucumber home and keep him in the bathtub!"
*He LOVES his brothers and has two very best friends in each of them.
*He LOVES to keep us on task in reading the BOM every night and WILL NOT (I emphasize this) go to bed until he has had his spiritual enlightenment for the night.

We LOVE Logan!





Trying out some "camera therapy;" I think he likes it!




Oh, and look...TWINS!

Josh at Zampa

Ok, so I don't have a running commentary on all of these pictures of Josh but I just have to say one thing; can you see why he gets away with everything?! He is just so darn cute! He is 3 going on 10 as well as a lover and a fighter all rolled into one. When this "baby" of mine grows up, I will be heartbroken.

Some facts about Josh:
*He LOVES Transformers and wearing costumes with Logan.
*He LOVES to dip his food in any sauce available: ketchup, Ranch, Salsa etc.
*He LOVES pre-school.
*He LOVES his silky blanket that Grandma Green made for him.
*He LOVES Logan. :)
*He LOVES to say the before school prayer in the van and gives mommy a very mean look when I say it is one of his brothers' turn.
*He LOVES sucking his thumb and mommy is hoping he won't still do that when he goes on his first date.
*He LOVES puzzles.
*We LOVE him!

I love you Joshy!

So, we went to the beach...

To take a few pictures. It was an overcast day and we had nothing to do. We loaded the boys up and took off for Zampa.

I can't say that I have ever seen a bull being bathed in the ocean, so I thought it was picture worthy. At first, I thought it was a water buffalo but my hopes were dashed as we walked closer. Drat, I really really want to see a water buffalo in action while we are here. Oh well, for now I will have to stick with a very large bull.


Me'n'My Boys: Love them.


Dana and the boys.


As we were walking along the beach we found this old building that had a bit of a "stage" to sit on and then a nice rock wall with greenery in the back. Yay! A backdrop!


Of course, it is hard to pass up the ocean as a backdrop even if the sun is somehow overly bright and my boys all have squinty eyes (when it is totally overcast and about to rain).


All in all, it was another fun adventure playing around on the white sands of an empty beach (except for the bull and a farmer) here in Okinawa.


I have LOTS more pictures of the boys to share and will in the next few days. :)

Best Friends

Pictures taken by Megan and Ray Gamero (our good friends and neighbors)

25 Words

Ok, so this is kind of a "touchy-feely" post and I hesitated posting it. But, it was thought provoking and important as well so I will just go ahead and throw this out for the world to see. :)

Last Sunday, one of the speakers in Church was relating a story about a POW who had been imprisoned for quite some time. Finally his captors allowed him to get a 25 word message out to whomever he wanted. He of course was not guaranteed his release to freedom and this was likely his last opportunity to say anything. He chose to write his last message to his family.

If you could give your family a message but only had 25 words to do so, what would you say?

So, Dana and I had both been independantly thinking about this topic and after talking about it, decided we would write our 25 words. We did give ourselves one little "cheat," we didn't count the greeting or the closing salutation. Here goes:

From Dana:
Dear Cathryn,
You are and always have been the love of my life. My only hope is to see you and the boys again. Love you forever. Dana

From Cathryn:
My Loves,
Love you all more than anything. Be faithful. Persevere. Find Happiness. Eternity will come. I am with you always. My family gave me joy. Forever, Cathryn/Mommy

Maybe this story struck Dana and I a little closer to the heart as we are an Air Force family and see a lot of families being seperated in the name of "peace."

Think about it.

(I will post something much more light-hearted soon!)

Baby Gecko

I was determined to come up with some good pictures this weekend, but between the poor weather of either extreme humidity or downpours of rain I came up a little short.

We did go overnight to Oura Wan (beach cottages on the north end of the island) which in and of itself was nice and relaxing, until I found this little critter on the bathroom sink. Now, he is cute and all but where babies are lurking parents are sure to be around. I almost was brave enough to hold the litle guy (because he IS cute) but when he wiggled off Logan's hand and tried to make a mad dash for his sleeve I had seen enough.

So, please don't look at the dirty fingernails and hand on my sweet Logan. We had just come in from playing in the mud pit, err I mean playground outside and were on our way to washing up when we found the little reptile.

Cute right? :)

Fieldtrips

I gotta tell ya, for the first time since we moved to this fantastic little island I have run out of pictures to blog about and sound exciting. What is worse, I can't think of too many other random shots to take that you all may find exciting. The only exception to that would be our mailgirl that rides her cute bike everyday with the basket at the handlebars overflowing with mail. Oh, and her UV ray shield that makes her look like Darth Vader (no, I am not kidding).

So, this is it folks; field trip pictures. I know, super exciting stuff here...so hold on to your computer chair and let me take you on a little journey into a dirt field somewhere here on the island.

Logan had his first fieldtrip to go dig local sweet potatoes!

Here he is all ready to go. He looks fresh, cool and excited.

Ok, he is digging just as fast as his little hands can go...but its hard...and hot...and those potatoes are deep.

Whew, he found one! Congratulations Logan! You found yourself a 8oz tuber. Now, where is that ocean to go collapse into?!

Here is Josh on his first fieldtrip. A walk outside to see the fire engine and Mr. McGruff! He was happy, excited and just a little bit scared of the enormous talking dog.