Aloha Spirit

I thought it would be fun for us to all wear matching "Aloha" clothes for our Christmas picture for 2005. We took the pixs on July 4, 2005 since Ed was leaving for Iraq the following day and would be gone for 9 months. My friend Leilani had gone to Hawaii a few weeks earlier and i had asked her to pick something out for us and bring back. I loved what she had picked, i would have picked the same thing! However, the guys were NOT thrilled to say the least! Ed said it looked like we were all wearing table cloths. Ha! Leilani took a picture of us on her front yard and than we did more with friends over at Taguchi Beach. Every time i see this picture it always makes me laugh, i loved our outfits and everyone else wanted to cry. LOL!

Tank, The Cool Cat Papa

Our cat Tank is just the coolest cat ever! He's had his bad moments, like knocking up every female cat in the neighborhood before we got him in to be neutered.....but he took full responsibility of his off spring. He knew who his kitties were, the three that stayed in the neighborhood and he taught them everything they needed to know to grow up to be self sufficient Oki Cats! Since both mama cats in the neighborhood had their kittens a few weeks apart, he was a busy daddy. Vicki next door had one kitten who Mama Kat kept, the other died at birth and Leilani took two of the kittens from Maria's house. It was so fun to watch Tank with his kids! When they were babies he was constantly trying to break into the mama cats houses. Finally the kittens were old enough to venture outside. Tank knew they were his and he immediately went up to them and licked them and proceeded to teach them everything they needed to know! He taught them how to stalk birds and shrews. It was hilarious as the kittens would be behind him copying his every move and than of course they were kittens and they would easily get distracted and pounce on his tail and the bird would fly away. Tank would than slap their little faces or roll on the ground with them. We felt like we were watching Lion King at times. He also taught them how to climb trees and the tricky concrete walls. Tank would run up to the walls, jump, cling to the concrete and climb up. The kittens would take turns running to the wall and smacking into the wall and bouncing off. They eventually learned how to dig their claws into the cement and than would proceed to fall backwards, but eventually they climbed the walls successfully! This was important because CJ, the neighborhood dog that belonged to the Perkins loved to chase cats! One time CJ had one of Tanks kids in his mouth. Tank came running and jumped onto CJ's back, dug his claws in and the kitty was free to run for her life! I wish i had more pictures of Tank and his kids. Smores, Vicki & Tanks daughter who lived on the other side of our wall got orders to 29 Palms California and the brother and sister that Leilani had both ened up dying of Luikemia. Leilani tried to save them and even did blood transfusions but it was just going to be too expensive and each died seperately at thier home. We were heartbroken and Tank grieved and meowed for a long period of time at Leilani's house. He knew something was wrong. But i love this picture of his daughter, Mitz. Tank sleeps during the mornings on the couch and Mitz would come over and jump on the couch and snuggle up to her Daddy! He would give a grumble meow, but would give her a quick lick on the head and go back to sleep. Now he roams solo and i wonder if he remembers his kids.....

Nervous Energy?

I have all this nervous energy and have no clue as to why and it is driving me crazy!!! My hands are shaking and i feel a little sick but still somewhat happy and functioning!!! UUHHGG! I'm not sure if this is going to be something bad coming or something good....? I've felt this way on different occassions from going to Nationals to try to get a spot on the 84 Olympic team to knowing my marriage was done....sooooo, i am quite frustrated as i am clueless as to what i would feel this way for! I'm hoping that maybe it is just slow realization to hitting 40 or something!! LOL! Anyways, off to cut the grass and weed wack! Finally have a day off from work! Yay!!!

I DON'T Miss These Days!

I don’t miss these days at all!!! Ty and Ryan were forever always wanting to get into the game closet! I don’t know how many ways I tried to put the games away to keep Thing One & Thing Two outta them! It never failed, they found a way or climbed to great heights! They were fascinated with all the boxes and insisted on dumping them ALL out! Sooo glad these are days of the past!

House Decor Insanity!

This is the time of year that drives me crazy with keeping up on the décor for our house! As soon as school starts it’s out with all the Fall decorations. October first all the Halloween stuff comes out and some Fall stuff gets temporarily packed away to make room for the scary stuff and than November 1st the Halloween is packed away and all Fall is out! I feel like I am non stop decorating the house at this time of year! Before I know it Fall will be getting packed away and Christmas will invade the house!

Are We Flying Thru A Cloud?

We decided to go visit family one Christmas holiday. We started watching the tv to see the list of military planes departing Kadena in route to Travis AFB. We had gone to a couple of roll calls without any luck. It was also Christmas so I was burning the candle at both ends with everything involved in the holidays. We finally got a flight out to Travis. I was exhausted by the time we actually got on the plane and ascended up to the sky! I had never flown in a C-5 before, or atleast not that I remembered……Everyone was asleep and I looked up and saw smoke coming out of the ceiling part of the plane. I woke up Ed and asked him if the plane was on fire. He shook his head, laughed, and said of course not and than just closed his eyes to go back to sleep. I looked at the smoke for a little longer and than woke him up again and asked him if we were flying thru a cloud………….i must have been really tired. He just did his normal aaaarrrggghhhhh and went back to sleep. It seemed perfectly logical to me at the time to ask him that, now I just think, oh my, I am soooo lost in the sauce!

Is The Chicken Cooked?

Ed and I went out to dinner with friends at a fun little Okinawa hole in the wall place. I was looking over the menu trying to decide what to order. When the cute little mamasan came over to take our order, I asked her if the chicken was cooked. Now, I know that somewhere in the back of my head I should have known that chicken is always cooked, but with all the raw fish that was listed along with all the pictures of raw everything, and it is Okinawa with sushi in abundance!, I just completely forgot that one little piece of common sense that I actually did know!  Soooo, once again i asked a “Julia” question!!! UUHHG! I want to somehow, someway go thru an entire day without asking a dumb question!

You Don't Talk Girl Dad!

We were at the dinner table having our normal evening conversations just a talkin’ back and forth. Ed leans over to Vicki and I and says, “What are you guys saying?” Ryan is drinking his milkshake and nonchalantly says, “you don’t talk girl Dad, but Mom does.” We started just rolling with laughter! Apparently if you speak “girl” you talk really fast and talk about a whole bunch of things at the same time. You also never finish the conversation because the other girl already knows how it ends. You must also use lots of adjectives to explain everything and go on and on with other things.

Banana Boat Rides

Banana Boat Rides
We experienced these for the first time Memorial Day Weekend in 2004. We had joined a bunch of our friends to camp at Okuma for this holiday weekend. Everyone kept telling us we had to ride the banana boats, sooooo, we did! There was an age requirement, so Ty & Ry had to stay on shore. It was great ‘cause we just tag teamed with friends watching each others little rug rats while we took turns riding these boats. A banana boat is just like a long cylinder raft. You straddle it and hang on to the rope and another faster boat takes you out in the ocean. Oh, you are also required to wear a life jacket and a helmet! Now, this is what happens. The driver of the boat takes you out to the ocean and than goes really fast and creates all kinds of waves. Your job is to hang on to your rope so you are NOT thrown off! The driver of the boat is determined to have all the screaming occupants on his banana boat OFF! I was doing really good until Ed leaned over and started tickling me. JERK!!! Of course, I let go and went flying, literally FLYING! I now understood why you had to wear a helmet! Vicki was in the air right after me. We were laughing soo hard while waiting for the driver to come back around and let us climb back on our banana boat. It was totally fun, however, I didn’t like that feeling of treading water deep in the ocean and not knowing what might be below me! LOL!

Hiji Falls

Hiji Falls
Hiji Falls is located just a few miles from Okuma where we have camped several times. We hiked this for the first time in October 2004. It wasn’t too bad of a hike, just hot, muggy, and as always, BUGGY!!! We were with a big group of friends. The YW were having a camping/hiking expedition and somehow Ed had been roped into helping with setting up tents, fires for cooking, and going on the hike the following day…..so, we all went to Okuma as a family. Ty was 4 and Ryan was 3 and they actually hiked the whole thing by themselves! I was impressed but not surprised. When we got to the water fall most of the group got in the water and had some fun. There was a nice big slippery rock that Ty and Ry had fun sliding down into the water. It felt great to relax in the shade and cool down before we hiked back. A few years later, AFN, Armed Forces Networking, starting showing TV commercials about not getting into the water at Hiji Falls and all the yucky parasites and such that would attack your bodies. UUHHG! I guess we were pretty lucky or there just wasn’t a problem with contamination back in 2004…..

Ryan Is Tall Enough....

Okinawa does not have any REAL roller coasters. We have to settle for the 3-D one at Dragon Palace in Mihama. They change the rides pretty frequently and it actually is really fun. We’ve been waiting to go as a family for 5 years now since there is a height requirement! We’ve been watching Ryan grow and figured he was probably finally tall enough to ride it! Ed told Ryan to put on his hike boots, as those would make him taller than the flip flops he always wears and we headed out to Dragon Palace. This isn’t very far from our house, pretty much across the street from Camp Lester where Vicki takes the bus to her Middle School. Ryan ran up to the red line marker and sure enough, he was tall enough, actually a little taller!!! He always seems so little to us, so it was amazing to see that he has actually been growing!!! We pulled out our yen and paid for our tickets and than waited for our turn. Ty was a little apprehensive. We have tried to take him on this before since he was tall enough, but he always said no. Ryan was thrilled that he was finally tall enough and was just a swinging those boots while he sat on the bench waiting. We had the video briefs first and Ryan asked why it was in Japanese. Ha! He also kept asking me what they were saying and than asking me how I knew what they were saying since it wasn’t in English. He is just too funny! We were given our 3-D glasses and the doors opened. It was finally time to go into the theatre and buckle up. We saw Escape From Dino Mountain. The interesting part about this is that this was the first 3-D movie thing I had taken Jorden to in the States back in the late 1990’s, maybe 1998. We had gone to Marine World/6Flags by G&G Miks house with the Haws & Mikolajcik crews as well as Grandma. We had had to wait in a long line to see this! So it was rather funny that our oldest and youngest both saw this same one as their first experience with 3-D movies! They completely loved it and they were entertaining to watch, especially as they got wet from the water sprayed out at them, we hadn’t told them about that, so they hadn’t seen that coming! Afterwards Ty informed us that it wasn’t scary and he didn’t even blink and Ryan asked if we could ride it again! The cost for our family to ride that 5 minute attraction is almost $50, so we told him, not today….but another day…………..

Ryan Takes It Like A Man!

The weather has been getting cold, we are in the 70’s now so it is time to break out the hot chocolate! Ty and Ry were each drinking from there mugs when Ryan informed me that he takes his hot cocoa like a man ‘cause he puts his lips to the mug while Ty drinks his like a sissy since he uses his spoon. I found that really funny!

More Movies To Come!

Okay....looks like it is official!!! Summit Entertainment has aquired the rights to the next three Twilight Books! Wow! There will be more movies from the Twilight Series to come! Yippee!!!

Stop Singing!

This is what happens when Ed says stop......and ya don't.....

Vicki and I were in the kitchen singing and dancing. Ed was getting annoyed, easily done, and we weren’t a stopping! Soooo, Vicki took the brunt of it as I was still in a Japanese dress I had had made for me. So Ed didn’t dare get me! Hee Hee! Thanks for taking the hit Vicki!! What should we sing next?

Kimono to the Ball

It has been fun attending the Marine Corps Balls here on Okinawa. I had barely been on island when my new friends gave me the phone number of their tailor. They let me know that he would custom make my ball gown! I was excited and quickly gave him a call. He came over a few days later, took my measurements and we picked out my fabrics. Next I gave him pictures of how I wanted my gown to look, a picture of a bow from one dress, waistline from another, sleeves, neckline, etc. At our first Ball on Camp Kinser I was fascinated by the kimonos worn by the Okinawan dates of some of the Marines. I told Ed I wanted to wear one at our last Ball. Ed was in Iraq for our last Ball, so I didn’t end up wearing a kimono. Thank goodness we had the fantastic opportunity to do another tour here on Oki! I had decided I was going to wear a Japanese style dress for our Ball in 2007 and a kimono for our last Ball, 2008. The date quickly approached and I was in somewhat of a panic as I had been pricing kimonos for a few years, very expensive! I finally asked one of my Okinawan friends if she knew of someone I could pay to borrow their kimono as well as pay them to get me dressed. It is quite a complicated process as there are many layers, ties, and padding! I had also learned in dressing Vicki in one that you need to make sure you have it wrapped left side over right, as the other way around is for the burial of the dead! Well, my dear friend Zuzumi gave me the phone number to this little hole in the wall place out in town that would take care of everything for me. I called and after a few questions I was actually able to speak to someone in English! She explained to me that I would need to come down ahead of time and choose my kimono, obi, etc so it would be ready for me on the day I came in to be dressed. It turned out to be the same place I had had the kid’s kimono pictures done! Awesome, I knew right where this little itty bitty place was! Ed went with me and we looked at several kimonos. I told the fabulous little Okinawan lady that I wanted a red kimono in the style that matched my age and status. There are different kimonos for different occasions and status, married, single, age, etc. I wanted to wear a kimono that reflected who I am and where I am in life right now, as well as the event I was attending. She helped me pick everything out to match the look I was going for. Here is just a little about the kimono and everything I would be wearing a few days later……The kimono is the national costume of Japan. I love seeing the Okinawan and Japanese people wear these! I saw this style of dress more often while in Tokyo than I see here on our little island. They always look beautiful, very unique and different. It isn’t often you will see someone wearing matching kimonos. Originally the word “kimono” literally meant – thing to wear, ki, meaning wearing and mono, meaning thing. Now it is basically just a specific kind of a traditional full-length garment. Kimono’s today are primarily worn by women and on special occasions. Some older people still wear a kimono daily. Most often though you will see people dressed in kimono for weddings, tea ceremonies, and other formal and special occasions. Professional sumo wrestlers are often seen in Kimono because they are required to wear traditional Japanese dress whenever appearing in public.
I made my appointment for 5 pm the evening of our Ball. I was also having them do my hair and make-up. She did my make up first, and nooooo, I did not go with the white face! I did color my hair beforehand as I thought my natural darker color would look more authentic than my summer blonde shade. ;) Next, I was able to look thru several hair style books and I chose how I wanted her to do my hair. She didn’t put the Kanzahi, hair ornaments, in until after I was completely dressed. The dressing is what took the longest. One hour to get all wrapped up! A typical woman’s kimono consists of 12 or more separate pieces! What I found interesting was that many Japanese women do not have the skill to put on a kimono by themselves and hire a professional kimono dresser. I wasn’t feeling so lame after all! Especially since I had put Vicki in one all by myself and following the directions in Kongi! (I did have a Mamasan check Vicki before I let anyone else see her to make sure I had everything going the right direction!) So, I had 2 wonderful Okinawan ladies dress me. I began with putting on a hadajuban, it was like a thin undershirt, and this was followed by the susoyoke, which was kinda like a petticoat. You do not wear a bra under your kimono. I was wrapped rather tightly with strips of cloth that I would use as mummy wrappings for Halloween. Following this I had all kinds of other padding put over me and around me. I found this part rather funny. I did not really feel that I needed extra padding as I am round enough, but she said I was going traditionally dressed, soooo, I became rounder. It was also kinda like the Verizon commercial where he keeps asking “Can you hear me now?” Except these two cute little ladies kept asking if I could breathe? They continued to wrap and pull until it was time to put on the hiyoku. This was a full kimono, rather thick with a white collar and small dainty pink flowers. It even had the full floor length sleeves. Next they put on my actual kimono that had the added collar, a eri sugata, you can see the gold layer. The summers are very hot here, so this collar is just that, a collar with the appearance of another layer of a kimono. They tucked in my sleeves from the other kimono into this kimono and pinned them so they would stay in place. It is important to see the layers of kimonos worn, but they must always stay in place. Now it was time for the obi, this is the sash worn across your middle. It is very long and a very thick material. It is the length of my stair case. As they wrapped the obi around me they also inserted a obi-ita which is a thin board placed in the obi to keep its shape. Next came the datejime, it is a thin sash worn around the obi, for formal occasions. I had many koshi himo’s which are this sashes that keep all your pieces place while getting dressed! Now it was time to put on my tabi, the white ankle high divided toe socks. I have bought lots of these socks here in all colors and styles! They are great to wear with flip flops on cooler evenings or hot muggy nights outside when you do not want bug bites on your toes! My shoes were extremely comfortable, even while dancing! Once I was completely dressed my kimono dressers helped me pick out a purse and than they finished up my hair with my kanzashi. I was dressed and completely ready one hour and forty minutes after arriving. Ed came and picked me up and took me home so he could finish getting ready. When I went inside, Jorden reminded me that Halloween had been on Friday, it was now Monday and Ty and Ryan asked if I wanted to borrow any of their swords and Ryan offered to hide weapons in my hair. Vicki did the typical “why mom why?” and our dog went crazy smelling me! My new friends had taught me how to use the restroom in all my many layers, so I went before we left. I was very relieved that I didn’t manage to flush one of my sleeves down the toilet! I rode in the back seat of our van when it came time to leave. Ed got a crash course in hooking up my tabi’s, socks, as the hooks had come undone on the car ride over and it was quite difficult to bend once fully dressed! I was the only American in a kimono and received a ton of compliments on my ball gown! I think every Okinawan there came over and talked to me and had the nicest things to say about me wearing their traditional formal dress to the Marine Corps Ball. I was actually very comfortable and for once was not cold! I also had perfect posture for the night as it was impossible to slouch with how tightly wrapped up I was! When we got home that night, it took Ed quite awhile to get me all unwrapped! I could never have gotten outta that thing by myself! The next day Ed came home and said I was the talk of the Academy where he works. He said everyone kept saying how cool it was that Gunny K’s wife had worn a kimono. That was also the most expensive I have ever been dressed! Tallying up everything I was wearing would have come to approximately $20,000 if I were to buy everything! Wow!

Halloween 2008

It was another fun Halloween here on Okinawa! Ty decided to be a Pirate, Ryan a Ninja, Vicki was a "Gangsta, White Girl Style for one party and than a Cheerleader on Halloween night. Ed and Jorden did not dress up and I was Tracy from Hair Spray. I was actually supposed to be her last year for Halloween, i had ordered the costume in early September and like so many other things ordered in the past, it convienently arrived in November. I had to work VERY hard to NOT loose any weight this whole year so i could wear this costume for this Halloween! LOL! I was successful and it fit perfectly! Ha! We did the traditional Haunted House tour the night before Halloween. The Marines do an awesome job turning a warehouse into a complete Fright Night experiance! It was also the first year i didn't have Thing One and Thing Two clinging to my leg! They were actually brave enough to cling to each other as we went thru the haunted house. I still happened to have a little one gripped to me as i had one of thier friends with me. Ed can't go thru these with me as he can not guarentee that he will not punch someone who happens to jump out at him, so i am always on my own with these things! LOL! The kids had fun trick or treating, Ed took them out and about, but it was kinda sad for me.....there were only 3 of us handing out candy out of our 18 families......made me miss all my friends that have left and remember the fun Halloween's of past when we all sat out together handing out candy and just talking and laughing. But, there was NO RAIN!!! So, that always makes for a great Halloween!

Instructor of the Year

Ed found out that he won for Instructor of the Year for 2008. He won Instructor of the Quarter twice this year, and now took it overall. He'd kill me if he knew i had posted it, but he never reads any of the things i write, so don't congratulate him if you see him!! SSSHHHHHHHH!!!! Mums the word! Ha! ;) I actually don't have a very recent pix of him in uniform...this is from July 2008....maintanence was painting our building in the one where he is standing....he liked having his own pull up bar right out front our door that summer!

Rain Rain Go Away!

I am soooo tired of the rain! We had a perfect day planned for an early morning dive and than off to Forest Adventure Park to fly atop the treetops on zip lines! Instead......the movies! UUHHHGGGG!!!!!!