First Day of School

Today the girls finally went back to school!! Yea, peace and quiet at home .

Meet and Greet the Teachers

We started off the morning by going to Jasmine's school. After waiting FOREVER in the hot, hot sun, they let us into the cafeteria to wait FOREVER some more (along with the rest of the students from that school, their parents and their siblings - I'm not a fan of crowds!). Finally, she got her schedule. A quick glance and WHAT? She's in Algebra 1...she's only in 7th grade. I took that in 9th grade. Wow, OK (I guess she took a math placement test at the end of last year and that's what she placed in. You go girl!). We toured the school, finding all of her classes. And yes, they are all in the 7th grade hall like I told her they'd probably be.

We were done by 11 am, just in time to catch Charlie for lunch. We went to one of our faves, Naps Southern Grill. Yum Yum! We had an hour to waste before the next school's orientation so we got some ice cream from Baskin Robbins. It was such a hot day so it helped cool off the girls (I don't eat ice cream. One thought of milk products makes my stomach turn.).

Finally, 1:00 rolled around. We checked out Maya and Kiera's class lists. They were both happy with the teacher they received. I had suggested Maya's teacher since he worked with her all last year in special ed. He has a teacher's spot this year so it worked out really well since she won't be getting services this year. He's going to watch out for her and he said he doesn't think she'll have any problems starting off the school year (obviously he doesn't remember, the first couple of months Maya really struggles.)

It's our last year of school in Okinawa. We love DoDDS schools and hope to still be going to DoDDS schools until the girls finish high school. It's our plan anyway. Let's see what God's plan is for us.

Last Day of Summer Vacation

Well, it's finally here...the last day of summer. No more staying up late, sleeping in late, wearing pjs all day, going to the pool or playing games all day. Today is the last for all of that. Tomorrow we will be getting up early...err... I mean by 8 am for a full day of school stuff. Jasmine's schedule comes out at 10 am. I asked her if we could just pick up the schedule and leave bc she already knows where to go. Well, my blondie doesn't know where to go. Our conversation went like this:

Me: "How do you not know where to go? All of your classes are in the 7th grade hall?"

Jas: "We have a 7th grade hall?"

Me: "You had a 6th grade hall, right?"

Jas: "We did?"

Me: "You don't remember? Don't you know anyone that was in 7th grade last year? (I knew everyone and where all the classes where when I went to school)"

Jas: "No. "

Me: "Come on! We have to go through the little class tour? All of your classes are on the same hall and they have numbers on the door."

Jas: "Gym and lunch aren't on my hall."

Me: "You don't know where gym and lunch are?"

I blame Charlie for Jas' sarcasm. It's only the beginning.

So after we tour the 7th grade hall with the other 100 kids, their parents and little siblings (it's going to be so crowded and I don't do crowds), there will be a free hot dog lunch. Maybe the girls will see some of their friends from school so we're not sitting in that hot, hot sun just to pass some time. We will be just passing time though. Maya and Kiera's class list doesn't come out until 1 pm. An hour of that (really? do we need an hour?) and then there will be a popsicle social and visit the classrooms time. I usually skip out on this too. Maybe I can encourage the girls that we really don't need to stay. If you've seen one classroom, you've seen them all. And it's not like they are starting kindergarten or a new school. (I'm such a mean mom.)

The Night

Last night I looked out our kitchen window and I saw the moon. It was a perfect crescent. Usually we can't see the moon for all the buildings or clouds (I'm so ready to get out of the city). But last night it was out in all it's glory.

The moon over Okinawa City:

Fireworks!

The Obon Fest is still going on. Tonight we were able to see fireworks from our bedroom window. We had the best view.

Obon Fest

Tonight we heard the sounds of beating taiko drums and fireworks outside our home. It could have only meant one thing...Obon!

Obon, the honoring of ancestral spirits.The three-day holiday on Okinawa is a time for locals to pay homage to their ancestors with visits to the family’s Buddhist altars and tombs.

The first day of Obon, Unkeh, is a time for families to gather at the primary family residence to purify the home and its altar. Family members will place fruit, water, sake, tea and a pair of sugar cane stalks on the altar in preparation for the visiting spirits. In the evening, the family lights candles both at the altar and the gateway to the house to invite the spirits inside. Eisa, is performed in streets everywhere. Eisa is a traditional dance to entertain the visiting spirits. Obon is also a time of gift-giving, and a time for sharing. Children and grandchildren return from mainland Japan to Okinawa to pay homage to the ancestors.

The final day of Obon, is Uukui, a time when the family gathers and celebrates with a lavish dinner before preparing to send the ancestral spirits back to the other world. A variety of foods are offered and special paper money, Uchikabi, is burned as an offer to the spirits for use in the other world. About midnight, family members will remove the offerings from the altar and move them to the family gate in front of the home. Incense will be lit, the uchikabi burned, and the families say goodbye to the ancestral spirits for another year. Okinawa tradition is that spirits will carry the uchikabi money with them, and use the sugar cane stalks as walking sticks.

Braceface

Maya went to the orthodontist today for an evaluation. She has lots of space in between her teeth and that's exactly what he wanted to see. Four more baby teeth will be coming out within the next year and it will push everything together. He said she'll have a great smile and will not need braces! Yea!

Kiera on the other hand is a different story. From the first look at her smile you'd think she was perfect. Well....it's another story with the back molars.

Here's the story:

When she was four, she had a cavity. The dentist said it wasn't a cavity. I told him to take another look. He insisted it wasn't a cavity. I took her back a few months later to have it looked at again. He still said it wasn't a cavity. (this is what happens when you live on a small base overseas and can't get a 2nd opinion.) A few months later, I had a friend who happens to be a dentist take a look at it. He said it was a really bad cavity. We changed her dentist to another base. They picked it and filled it. I asked them why they didn't drill it and they said it was a new thing they do to not scare the kids. (You're the dentist, right?) A couple of months later, it all broke. She got a crown. It became abscessed. They pulled it. They put a spacer on. A year later it broke. They put another spacer on....a new one every year for the next 5 years. Every time she got a new one a different dentist had something different to say (oh the joys of not getting the same dentist every time bc they move or get deployed or whatever). Now...

Now, she was finally seen by a spacer specialist. I didn't know they had one of those and why hasn't she been seen by one all along? Grrrr. None of the spacers from the past 5 years did their job. One tooth is taking up two spots. She's getting a new spacer put in. And in about a year, once she looses some of her baby teeth, she'll be getting braces. All because of this one dentist who didn't do their job right the first time.

5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

No one fell off, thank goodness! But last night the girls came into our room before bedtime and jumped around. It reminded me of when they were much smaller. I'm so glad they still want to come in our room and snuggle up with us.

We were all in our pj's ready for bed. The girls beat us to our room and climbed up in our bed all snuggled up like they were staying. It was great sharing stories about things remembered, tickle times, dog pile hugs. I'm holding on as long as I can.

Happy Girls

To reward the girls for having an awesome summer with happy attitudes and helpful hearts, we took them out for a little shopping and dinner.

They all got to pick out whatever they wanted from the store. Maya and Kiera picked Littlest Petshop (surprised?) and Jasmine opted to go watch a movie as family at a later time (awww, she's so sweet). Then we went out to Four Seasons. It's your typical teppenyaki, cook in front of you, Japanese restaurant. We were surprised to see that the kid's portion was for 8 yrs. and under so they all had to get an adult portion. Woah! That's a lot of food! The chef was great. He did a few tricks with the salt and pepper shakers and cooked everything really well. The food was yummy! Thankfully we were able to take the left overs home and have them for lunch the next day. We all loved it.

Reason 472 why I'm ready to move....

This is outside my bedroom window:

The start of last school year, I spent four months from 8 am to 5 pm hearing construction crews tearing down six apartment buildings like the one you see in the background. Now I have the opportunity to hear construction crews building new ones in it's place. There's nothing like hearing a huge "ka-thunck" every 15 seconds and having the house shake with every "ka-thunck" they make.

Okinawa Wonder Museum

Kiera and I went to the Okinawa Wonder Museum. For a couple of dollars to get in, the price couldn't be beat.

We learned about magnets,

mirrors,
funnels,
visual perception,

and had fun playing around with these beads.

I loved going to science museums when I was little (and still do). It was a little difficult learning with the language barrier and because everything was written in kanji, but I tried my best to explain everything to Kiera from what I know and remember from school. Play doesn't require language and it was fun anyway. It was a good day (and a great break from the blazing sun).

Okinawa City Zoo

Kiera and I took a little trip to the Okinawa City Zoo. I think it was one of the hottest days of the summer at 97 degrees (we were going to go last week when the typhoon was coming in because it was cooler and cloudy but the rain came too quickly). It was really hot but we did it anyway.

The zoo is small and there aren't many animals. The cages are WAY too small for them and it's actually sad seeing them in that condition. It's one of the reasons Maya and Jas didn't come too. You feel sorry for the animals for the way they are kept in such confined areas.

We saw elephants,

giraffes,

a lion,

a tiger,

a chimp,

and monkeys.

We also took a little boat ride and a black goose followed us around the lake. Kiera rode some of the little rides they have while I sat in the shade. And we ate corn dogs and shaved ice for lunch. It was a fun trip for the two of us. It's nice to have some one-on-one time with each girl.

Birthday Bash

Our friends joined us at Charlie's favorite resturant, Sauce, for the best ribs on the island and to celebrate his birthday. We all had a good time. Charlie received some loot, a complimentary bottle of rib marinade and a FREE dinner from the manager. That's one reason why he loves this place.


I made my first, from scratch, chocolate cake topped with homemade frosting. These girls were happy with it. It must have been good.

Thanks to our friends who joined us:

Happy Birthday Charlie

19 years and three angels later

I'm still in love with you.

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Just Keep Swimming

We had another fun day at the pool. Charlie wanted to come so badly. He hasn't been to the pool at all this summer. With a few calls to his physical therapist and to his doctor he was advised not to swim. He's still healing and they want to make sure everything is working properly before he tries anything new. Sorry Charlie.

But the girls had fun. They have been working on diving down deep as far as they can go.

We always have a blast at the pool. It's great exercise and fun family time.

The Chinooks came in and landed right beside the pool while we were taking a break. We see them all the time and they are cool to watch.

Boredom Takes Over

What do you do when you've been sitting on the couch for three weeks and can't move? You find new ways to entertain yourself. Charlie and I had a match of Crutch Wars.

You know it's getting bad when this is how you spend your night without the kids.

(Looks like the kids are putting up "tent city" behind us. And, hehe, looks like Charlie is wearing a toga.)

Summer is Winding Down

Not much going on here.

- Charlie's van was towed to the shop :( Seeing oil dripping off the spark plug was not a good sight. Plus, the last time he drove it, it overheated. We'll find out later this week what's going on with it and if it's worth fixing. 10 months left here, I'm sure he'll be fine riding his Harley.

- I realized there's only 3 weeks left until the girls start school. Jasmine has grown out of everything so I had to go shopping online. I wish I could find everything I'm looking for at the bx and after 12 years of living overseas, I'm still surprised that I can't. Why can't they carry "normal" clothes? I'm just hoping now that the box makes it here before the begining of school. I can't believe she's in a 16 slim (skinny!) and junior's shirts (well, she finally passed her little mama). Maya and Kiera got all her clothes and some new stuff too.

- Charlie found out that he will be going to the States next month for a class. Lucky Dog! This is the 3rd time THIS YEAR that he has traveled to the States (not that I'm jealous...well...I guess I was feeling pretty upset this weekend. Maybe I'm homesick. Maybe I'm going insane from living in a 10 mile radius for 3 years and haven't left).

That was the just of our weekend. Charlie is home for two more weeks. He's able to drive himself to PT now...YES! He really feels great and wants to put that foot down but he's got to obey the doctor's orders.

The Calm After the Storm

Last night we had a beautiful sunset. It only lasted a couple of minutes and then darkness took over. But it really put in perspective how small we are and how grand God is.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Typhoons can bring destruction and devastation. They can also bring clearing. I couldn't see the new growth our trees had made because of the dead leaves and branches that had covered them up. It had made them unsightly and dreaded to clean. I kept saying to myself, "I don't have time for that today." or "I'll get to it later when it's cooler or when I don't have plans." The typhoon we had this week wasn't even close to being destructive but it cleared out all the dead leaves in our yard. It showed the goodness under the filth.

God does the same in our lives. He shows us His power and strength every day. He clears out the dirt and the mess we have created and brings us a canvas with endless options. He knows what we need and what we desire. He doesn't wait for us to get ready but does it when it's time. He has plans. Maybe they're not the same as our plans but He gives us a future that we can never give ourselves. He has already painted that picture.