Smarty Pants

Jasmine loves middle school. Her grades show how well she likes it too. She is a wolverine at Kadena Middle School.

Her school had an honor roll ceremony for their semester grades. They do things a little differently here. You get a certificate for every A you get or if you teacher sees that you are making progress. The names are not in any order so only the child and their parents know what the certificate is for. Jasmine got all A's!

The lady in red is Mrs. Neilson. She was the counselor at Sembach Elem. School in Germany while Jas was a kindergartner there. She was also Jas' 4th grade teacher at Amelia Earhart Int. a couple of years ago. What a small world!

Former Japanese Underground Navy H.Q.

Since Charlie has had so much time off from work we decided get out and do a little sight seeing. Okinawa has a lot of World War II history and there are many places close by to check out. So we made a trip to the former Japanese Underground Navy H.Q. south of Naha.

The Japanese navy built the underground headquarters on the Oroku hill to defend the Oroku airfield, the present Naha International Airport. On June 2, 1945 the battle with the US forces and the Japanese navy was started around the headquarters in Oroku.

Stepping down the 105 stairs, there is the staff officer’s room, the office of battle plans, the secret code room, the commander room, the medical room, the radio room, and the generator room, etc.

The rooms were so tiny, it was hard to imagine how many people fit in this cave.

On June 13, 1945 Commander Minoru Ota, and staff officers committed suicide in the headquarters, and 4,000 sailors were killed in the battle or committed suicide. About 200,000 people died in the war with 160,000 being civilians.

The city was destroyed to complete ruins but you can hardly tell anything ever happened here with how the city looks now.

A Trip to Wendy's

I've been sick this week with a head cold. All I wanted was some comfort food to sooth my sore throat and make me feel better. Charlie and I went to the famous Gate 2 street to see what we could find.

We had remembered that a Wendy's had opened up about a year ago but we had never been there. Usually the food doesn't taste the same in a different country. They put a taste of their own liking in their food; a shrimp burger anyone? A frosty sounded really good for my sore throat so we decided to try it. We ordered a bowl of chili, a burger, frosty and drink. And this is what I got for my 487 Yen ($5.25):

Could my portions be any smaller? Is this a joke? (Actually I was thinking I needed about 5 more bowls of chili.) It was gone in about three bites. But it was good and the food tasted as yummy as back home so we'll be making another trip here someday.

Bedtime Stories

Friday night is movie and game night in the Starnes house. This time we went to the theater and saw Bedtime Stories.

I know it's been out in the states for about three months now but we just got it out here. We hadn't seen any advertisements for it so we didn't know what to expect. It was really good and the whole family enjoyed it. Once we got home we played board games with the girls. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed our night with them.

There She Blows!

On Monday we took a trip to the Keramas to go whale watching! First off, we were very happy with ourselves because we planned the trip on our own and not by the usual military tour guides. It saved us a ton of money. We've only used the military tour guides once and never again after we found out the price of what things actually cost.

So early in the morning we headed down to the port in Naha. We gave ourselves more time than needed because the traffic here can be unpredictable and we were going to a port that was unfamiliar to us. We arrived early and with no problems. We joined the rest of the Americans on the boat whom we chuckled at because we know how much they had paid for the same trip. As soon as we loaded on the boat it took off...fast!

In the back of my mind I knew how badly I get seasick but I was planning on fighting it with everything I had. Soon into our race to see the whales I felt it coming on. It was not going to be a pleasant trip for me. I tried holding it back and not letting on how badly I really felt. I thought to myself, "How long is this trip?"

The captain called everyone forward on the boat because the first whale had been sighted. It was exciting! I pushed my seasickness aside for a moment and we all rushed forward to get a glimpse.

And there she blew! A humpback was in front of us clearing her blowhole. And soon after she lifted her tail out of the water to show everyone she was there. Soon we saw her baby with her. It was a pint size whale with attitude. It shot like a missile out of the water and came down with a huge splash! I wished I had caught it on film but it was just too fast. Over and over the mom and baby cleared their blowholes and showed us their tails. It was nice to be away from life for a while.

But a reminder of my sea sickness came back after the excitement was gone. Oh how badly I felt. I went to the back of the boat to sit for a while and push through but I couldn't hold back any longer. I caused a chain reaction of hurling on the boat. Sorry! I guess I wasn't the only one feeling seasick. Soon we were back at the port and thankful to be off the boat. It took the rest of the day to feel better but every time I closed my eyes I felt the boat swaying back and forth. I wonder if I have learned my lesson this time?

Christmas in February

Who says you can't have Christmas in February? That's exactly what we did since Charlie wasn't home for Christmas.

The girls got up on Friday ready for school. They went down stairs and saw presents under the tree and their stockings were filled with candy and toys. They were so confused.

"What's this? What's happening?", they asked.

"It's Christmastime and you aren't going to school! You are going to stay home and open presents, watch movies and play games!" we told them.

They were so excited. "You are THE BEST PARENTS IN THE WORLD."

That was worth it all. So we opened gifts, watched movies, played games and had a great day together.

A Sweet Surprise

Friday, Maya was honored at her school awards ceremony for making the honor roll. Yea, Maya!! Kiera and Jasmine also made the honor roll but didn't have a ceremony. Yea, Jas and Kiera!! Way to go! Good job to all my girls!

And this guy showed up to congratulate her...

She wouldn't let go of him. All weekend she was where he was, hugging him and holding on for life.

Ha Ha... Not Funny

Today I was cleaning up after the kids came home from school. I saw Kiera's lunch box still on the floor knowing that Sandi would soon have her head stuck in it pulling out whatever food was left. Usually I make the girls clean up their own mess but it was a special day. Charlie had surprised them by coming home early and picking them up from school. I should have known better than to stick my hand in that lunchbox. Usually I just shake whatever that's in it into the trash can. But this time I dove right in. And what did I find? A sticky, icky chewed up piece of gum that was now entwined in my fingers and not letting go.

"KIERA", I yelled. "What is this?"

I wasn't really ready for the answer. She always has a reason for everything.

"It's my gum." she answered nonchalantly .

"Obviously, what is it doing at the bottom of your lunchbox?"

She looked up at me so sweetly and said, "I wanted my lunchbox to be minty fresh."

What's This I See?

Things are starting to pop up around our house...

I haven't seen these things in a while...

A fresh, clean uniform...

And a footlocker with boots and gear.

It must mean one thing... someone is on his way home!

Zipping and Rolling

One thing that Okinawa kids love are their zip lines and roller slides. We discovered some new parks today. We came across this one while we were actually looking for another one. We stopped to check it out.


The girls wanted to race to see who made it to the other side first.

I got in on the action too. It's a lot of fun! The kids had to pull me off.

Then it was time for the roller slide!

You must scream coming down!

And the three of them went together.

One block up the road we saw this:

Whoa, what a big roller slide!

Here's a view from the top:

Get your cardboard ready, you don't want to burn your butt (believe me)!

It's a hard climb all the way to the top but a fast ride coming down!

Let's go again, and again, and again!