Tokyo Subway?!

We are getting ready for our trip to Tokyo on Thursday and thought it would be nice to familiarize ourselves with the subway system since that is what we will use to get around. Here is a map of the Tokyo subway.



AAAHHHHHH!!!!!

If you hear of an american family that got lost for a week in the Tokyo subway..........it was probably us.

WISH US LUCK!!!!

Janna's Visit!!!!

Our first visitor!!!!!!! So this was Janna's first time flying. I don't know who was more nervous the day she flew here, Rick and I, Janna, or Houston and Martha. Let's just say when Janna got here safe we could all finally relax.

We are having so much fun with Aunt Janna! The kids love her. They think she is too much fun. Here are a few of the highlights of her visit so far.

Forest Adventure Park


Pedicures at Cocoks!!


Shuri Castle

We will be sooooo sad when she leaves. It's been neat being able to share our "world" here with someone from back home :)

Summertime Adventures

It's summer time! Some pics for your viewing pleasure. Will turned 2 this month. At his 24 month check up we were told he's in the 90th percentile for his height, the kid is a beanstalk! Summertime means Rick wears his white Navy Uniform now, the white's look nice, but they're hard to keep clean.
Will got quite a sunburn earlier this week. He and Evelyn were being watched by our neighbors while Wendy went to a dental appointment...they played in the kiddy pool for about an hour. The picture shows you the end result, oops! The kid burns easy and we didn't give our neighbor fair warning. The picture makes it look worse than it really was. Will never complained of any discomfort, and he didn't blister or peel (lucky for us).
Also included are some pictures from Rick's last SCUBA dive, we live in such a beautiful place. The first pic is a crown of thorns starfish (very poisonous, try to avoid stepping on them!), second are a pair of lionfish (also very poisonous...a sting from one of its spines is supposed to induce extreme pain, lucky for Rick the fish is non-aggressive. The other pic is just of a cool starfish (not sure of the name??).
Lastly, we've included a couple pics of Nakagusuku castle ruins. There are several castle ruins that you can visit here in Oki, but this has been are favorite thus far. Come and see us, we promise to take you there.

Bios on the Hill Nature Park

Bios on the Hill is a natural botanical garden themed after Okinawa's forests and orchids. The dragons and houses that are designed into the gardens are beautiful.

The kiddos had a blast running around and playing on everything. We took a guided boat tour through the park. It would have been extra special but we couldn't understand one word that the tour guide was saying, hehehe :)

Kuwae Preschool Graduation

Evelyn's last day at Kuwae Preschool was wonderful. Her class sang all of their favorite songs, received "graduation" certificates, and had a cookie party. It was neat to hear her sing a few of the songs in Japanese. She is going to teach them to me so we will never forget them.




Mrs. Blodgett and Ryoko-San were wonderful teachers and Evelyn loves them. She will miss them very much.

Ie Island Trip

This last weekend we made a trip out to Ie Island (a small island just off the coast of Okinawa). The motivation behind our trip was so Rick and a few friends could participate in the Annual Ie Island Half Marathon. Ie is only accessible by ferry, and it takes about a half hour to ride over. The Island was absolutely beautiful. We have attached several pictures showing where we stayed and some of the sites.

Ready for Summer!

Evelyn got her cast off! She was such a great sport through it all. She loved putting on the goggles and having her cast sawed off. Right after having her cast removed she said, "Mommy, my arm is floating". Her arm felt so light she thought it was floating :)

I change my hair every couple of months. I ventured out and got my hair cut in town by a guy named Miyagi. Short again for the summer. Good job Miyagi San!

We went with some friends up north and camped at Okuma. We stayed in a cute little cabin that was a short walk to the beach. We got to take a tour of the area in a cool buggy. Fun Fun Fun.