Channel Crevices

This is the last scuba post for a while since Charlie will be in the states for the next month and possibly recovering from knee surgery after that. He and his buddy went south to Channel Crevices for their final dive together. Josh leaves the island in a week. He will surely be missed by our family.

They went down to 118 feet, the deepest ever for them. Charlie's new dive computer helped them not to descend or come up too quickly.

This dive had more rock formations than previous dives. So they sought out more of the caves, tunnels, depths and crevices than fish. Here's a little video of what they experienced.

Go Fish

Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and it's starting to warm up. We took a little trip to Comprehensive Park. It's a huge park with lots of things to see and do and it's a quick drive from our house. Maya is holding Flat Stanley. Our friends mailed him to us as a classroom project. We had to take him around Okinawa, take pictures and mail him back.

We bought some fish food.

And fed the koi.

Aren't they crazy? Maya says they look like they are singing for their food. They are huge. And I think they've multiplied since we first visited this park. They have learned how to beg.

The Okinawans are celebrating Children's Day. They fly fish flags for the boys in their family. They wish to bring honor and prosperity to them.

Whirlwind of a Week

It's Sunday and things around the Starnes house are finally settling down. Charlie found out about a week ago that he would be training in the states for a month. The week was a whirlwind trying to get paperwork signed and his bags packed. He misplaced both his passports (blamed it on me, found them in his desk at work, then apologized), finally finished packing last night at about midnight, up at 5 am, taught me how to start his motorcycle and (I think) put the keys in HIS pocket (now they are on their way to the states too). Luckily I found the spare but it will be a couple of days before I can ask him what he did with the keys.

I've also acted as Mom's Taxis and Party Service this weekend. Maya and Kiera were invited to a sleepover party Friday to Saturday. Jas had a party to go to on Saturday. We had a going-away party at our house last night. All this was followed by two parties last weekend and now the girls have been invited to two more parties next weekend. Whew!

Maya and Kiera went to Cocok during their sleepover party and got their toenails designed. 8 girls at Cocok? I'm glad I didn't have to pick up the tab. I only go once a month as a treat for myself. Kiera got Stitch and Angel with stars and Maya got snowflakes. They enjoyed it.

Through all of that, emotions have been up and down with the girls. There have been some teary moments and some upset stomachs. We'll get through this time away too. I count my blessings that he's not on a remote for a year or longer. We've got it easy considering what other families have to go through.

He's a Big Softy, So am I

I've been working on some orginazational projects lately. Living in a small house with no closets has forced me to get creative. Today, while cleaning up, I came across our old video camera. I remembered some of the videos I had taken of the girls when they were tiny. So I hooked it up and hoped that it still worked. I popped in a video and I saw my three babies on the screan.

They were so cute and so small, just precious little girls. Jasmine was a big ham, dancing for me and wanting to see herself in the camera. She called Maya 'Me a' and she loved playing and looking after her sisters. Maya (oh the joys and the heartache I had with Maya) had big brown eyes that sank your heart. She could only say 'no' for years - jiber jaber - no. And Kiera was happy-go-lucky. She was always content. I sat back and watched them and remembered those times.

Charlie came home for lunch (something he never does because of the long drive). He had some errands he needed to do and wanted to change from the van to his Harley since it had been raining in the morning. He came in and saw the video on the tv. Tears rolled up in his eyes.

"What's this? You're crying?" I poked.

"I've never seen this video. The girls are so little. I was just listening to 'Stealing Cinderella' as I pulled up."

"OK, so stop, so I won't start crying too."

I think it just hit him as he's leaving for the next month. Plus he missed a lot of the girl's lives when they were small. I'm glad I took some video of them when they were little. I wish I had taken more pictures. I think that's why I always have the camera in their faces now. I want to remember the special moments as well as the mondane because it all tells a story. Watching the videos helps me see how precious life is and how quickly it passes by. They are a gift from God and mean everything to me.

It wouldn't be a week without SCUBA.

This week Charlie went scuba diving at Seragaki Reef. Last year we spent a lot of time there because there was never anyone around and it was an awesome place for the kids to snorkel and see lots of colorful fish. Charlie said it has changed since workers took out a retaining wall. He still had a fun time diving and snapped some amazing pictures.

A lionfish - extremely poisonous

A leopard spotted moray eel

A cute and very curious clown fish

A bigspotted triggerfish

Charlie took this video of some coral fish.

8 Giggly Girls

Kiera enjoyed her Sponge Bob sleep-over for her birthday. I think we are all still recovering from it. We hosted 8 girls for 24 hours...what was I thinking? The girls had a half day of school so I picked them all up at 11:30 am. We got lunch at Pizza Hut (I thought it'd be the easiest). We then loaded up and came home. All the girls had a good time playing games, watching movies and making crafts. Charlie grilled up hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner. And of course we had chocolate cake for dessert. Kiera opened up all her gifts. She was happy that she got everything she wanted. Thank you Paw and Granddad for the money and Grandma for the gift card. Thank you Michelle and Joe for the ID holder, pen and lip gloss. She also got a couple of DS games, a water gun, webkins and crafts.

The girls enjoyed working on a bead craft. I'm sure it's been out forever but it was the fist time we had tried it. You make a picture using rubber beads on a peg board and then heat it with an iron once you are finished. You can make whatever your creative mind desires. Once you heat it with the iron, the rubber beads fuse together and you can keep your design. I liked it too. It involved time and seemed to calm everyone down for the night.

Finally I settled everyone down around 11 pm and I went to bed. I didn't figure anyone would really sleep and I was right. But we were upstairs and they were downstairs so we didn't hear much. To my surprise, everyone was up by 6 am....WHAT?? One girl had to leave early so breakfast had to be fixed. I made Kiera's favorite chocolate chip pancakes. Yummy! The girls ate and played and before I knew it, it was time for everyone to be picked up.

Everyone had fun...I was exhausted. I might think twice before I host 8 girls for 24 hours again.

Kiera is 9!

My how she's growing quickly. Seems like yesterday she was a baby wrapped in my arms. Kiera was born a month early on April 18, 2000 at 7:45 am at Landstuhl Regional Army Medical Center in Germany. She weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz and was 19 in. She was a good size for a preemie. Kiera was happy from the first day of life. She hardly cried. Even when she woke in the night she wouldn't cry. No telling what time or how long she had been awake before I knew she was up. We nicknamed her 'Kare Bare' early on. Once she started walking it was a different story. We then named her 'The Traveler, The Destroyer'. She got into everything. But still, she was always happy, always had a smile on her face. Everything was cute and funny to her. Kiera has traveled the world in the past 9 years. She has been to 12 countries on 3 continents. She loves to travel, speaks phrases in 4 languages and likes to explore new areas. She loves playing with her friends, making crafts, playing on her DS and Wii and Littlest Pet Shop. Kiera has grown up to be a sweet and caring young lady. She's very curious and likes to find out about everything. She always wants to help and wants to makes others happy. She an excellent student and friend. Happy Birthday Kiera! We love you!

Way to Go!

Once again all three of my girls made the honor roll! Yahoo! They work hard and strive to do their best. Maya's grade had an honor roll ceremony today. She had her picture taken with her principal.

Leaving Again

I knew it wouldn't last long. Charlie came home from a 5 month deployment just 2 months ago. Now he's leaving again... not for as long though. He will be attending a class for a month in Mississippi and also take a trip up to NC to see family. Lucky Dog! He keeps rubbing in how much he's going to enjoy Chick-fil-a, Arby's, Papa Johns and not to forget Krispy Kreme. I haven't had any of that in 3 years! My mouth waters for it. It's so not fair sometimes. I just want to do some shopping and eat some good food. Is that too much to ask? I know how lucky I am to live on a tropical island, enjoy the sand in my toes at any moment, dive in the 5th best spot in the world and learn about new cultures, but you try going without good food and good shopping for 4 years. I just want a taste.

Ouchy, that hurt!

It was bound to happen to one of us sooner or later. The nice large shower room turned into a slippery monster. The girls were out on a beautiful afternoon playing with water balloons. Maya came in to dry off and warm up with a hot shower. Before I knew it, she was screaming. I rushed down thinking she had turned the water up too hot and may had burned herself. Once I got into the room I learned that she had slipped on the wet tile and hit chest first on the tub. She was sore but ok. She just had the wind knocked out of her. We monitored her though the night. An ER visit wasn't really necessary but I made an x-ray appt. for the morning (that's another story I really don't want to get into). Nothing was broken but she had bruised her sternum. Rest was in order. She didn't mind skipping a day of school and she's now feeling much better. The next day I went out and got this lovely slipper pad.

Finding Nemo

Charlie went scuba diving Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day to take advantage of. So he loaded up his gear, met with his buddy and diving partner and took a quick dive at Sunabe Seawall. He came home with the cutest video of a father clown fish protecting his baby from the evil scuba man. I thought I'd share:

Happy Easter

Now this is where you have your Easter sunrise service. Charlie and I found this great spot to have a church service. It's just off the beach and up a hill. We had to take a little hike to get up there. It has the most beautiful view of the East China Sea.

Our church had service there with a BBQ lunch afterwards.

The kids had an egg hunt with lots of candy and surprises. Four of the eggs had "winner" tickets inside. Jasmine got one and Maya got another. Kiera found the largest egg that was filled with candy. It was hidden the deepest in the trees. She decided to share the candy with the other kids.

It was a perfect day. The sky was clear, it was warm and there was plenty of fun and food.

Earlier in the week we dyed eggs.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Easter. Charlie is scuba diving as I'm posting this. He is loving the warm weather!

Bios on the Hill

Today we took a little trip to Bios on the Hill. It's basically a large park. There are walking trails, grassy fields, wooden jungle gyms, swings and tree houses for the kids to play on. There are also goats and pigs to feed and take for walks. You can also feed the water buffalo for a small fee or take a ride on the carriage around the park pulled by a water buffalo. There is an orchid greenhouse to walk through. The kids enjoyed themselves as did Charlie and I. It was a nice way to relax during their spring break.

The girls walking though the jungle.

Taking the goats for a walk and feeding them.

Maya swinging on a very long swing.

Jasmine feeding the water buffalo.

Charlie and Jasmine trying the luck in walking on stilts.

The kids loved the goats and I believe the goats loved the kids.

Camping at Okuma

This week we camped at Okuma for a few days. We love camping there because it's beautiful and we can feel that we are away from the rest of the world. The weather was awesome. It was warm but not hot so we were able to tollerate being outside longer.

The water was crystal clear for Maya and Kiera to cool off in from the sun.

The girls enjoyed going on jet ski rides with daddy.

Charlie took a scuba trip with his buddy. Here's a video of what they saw:

And we loved making smores and telling silly stories by the campfire every night.