Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Despite being far from family, we had a nice second Christmas in Okinawa (yeah, only one more to go). We spent the day in our PJ's playing new Wii and DS games and eating way too much yummy food.

Brand and his new skateboard.

Max and his new Transformer gun.

Zoey in her new bed from Santa.

Max's preschool put on a small Christmas concert for all the parents. Max is as crazy as always making faces at the camera before the concert started.

USS Essex and the Philippines

During the month of October and some of November, Josh went on a 5 week deployment aboard the USS Essex and headed to the Philippines. The ship was at sea for 3 weeks and docked in the Philippines for 2 weeks. While on the ship he and another dentist treated the marines. Once the ship arrived in the Philippines he spent 2 weeks traveling to remote towns doing dentistry. While there he extracted over 300 teeth.

The USS Essex is the lead ship of the only Marine forward-deployed expeditionary strike group in the Pacific.

You can see the LCAC (landing craft air cushion) pulling into the well deck of the USS Essex. This is how Josh landed on the beach in the Philippines.

The USS Essex is a Harrier Carrier. Josh took this picture of the Harriers below deck.

This is where Josh and 5 other officers slept on the ship. It is hard to tell from the picture how tiny the room is. It was just big enough for 2 bunks, stacked 3 high, and a small desk.

Josh flew in a helicopter from the USS Essex to Harpers Ferry (another ship in the unit) just before arriving in the Philippines.

This is a view of the Essex from the helicopter.

The LCAC Josh rode on from the ship to the shore of the Philippines. The bottom of the LCAC inflates with air and can travel on water and land.

This is where Josh slept his first night in the Philippines, definitely not a 5 star hotel! Pieces of the ceiling fell on them all through the night.

They would set up make-shift clinics at schools and locals from the surrounding towns would travel miles to get dental work done (mostly have bad teeth pulled).

Notice the assistant holding a flashlight.

The local kids loved the Marines.

A traditional Filipino feast (rice and chicken). Everyone stands around and eats with their hands.

Josh's group flew to 3 different sights to work. A view of the beautiful countryside from the helicopter.

The winner of the "Ugliest Dog in the World" contest.

This is the ship's Wardroom, where the officers eat, have meetings, and watch sports and movies. Smaller than the enlisted's cafeteria, it is one of the only rooms aboard larger that a bedroom.

Josh's Parents Visit

Before we get to our trip to the States and Josh's deployment, Josh's parents came to visit the week of Thanksgiving. We miss them a ton and loved having them come see us. We had a great time showing them around the island, eating lots of yummy Japanese food, and of course playing Bridge and Hearts (our favorite thing to do together). Here are a few highlights from their visit:

Mormor and Far,

Thank you so much for coming to see us!

We love you!

Catch Up Time!!!

Wow, I can't believe it has been 2 months since our last post. We have a ton to catch up on. The last 2 months have flown by. September 18th was a big day for us. In the morning we found out I am expecting a baby. Very exciting for all of us! By lunch time I realized that if the boys and I didn't get to the States for a visit soon it wasn't going to happen during our time here. I can be crazy at times, but not crazy enough to travel halfway around the world with 2 kids and a baby all by myself. We needed to plan a trip home and quick. Later that same day Josh called from work with news that he was deploying for 5 weeks on the USS Essex sailing to the Philippines. So 2 weeks later after a whirlwind of planning and a lot of luck the boys and I made it standby on a military flight to the states for a quick visit. One week after we left Josh headed to the Philippines on the USS Essex. Now here we are home in Okinawa safe and sound with a ton to talk about. The boys and I had a great time visiting family and friends and enjoying all the luxuries of the States. Josh got to experience life on a ship and perform much needed dentistry for the people of the Philippines. Check back to find out more about our adventure to the States and to hear all about Josh's deployment.

Baseball

Brand is playing coach pitch baseball for the first time this year. His first game he got a hit all three times at bat, crossed home plate all three times, and fielded a ground ball and threw it to first base to get the batter out. It was really fun to watch. Here is a little action from his last game.

Brand up to bat.

Gets a hit and makes it to first base.

Ready to run to second.

Crossing home plate.
Brand's nice new smile. I think he is trying to scare the camera away, he hates when I take his picture.

Back to School

Whenever I think of back to school I think of one of my favorite commercials. The parents are dancing around "Staples" buying school supplies singing "It's the most wonderful time of the year" and the kids are dragging behind them depressed at the thought of summer ending. I think it is one of the funniest commercials I have ever seen.

Our most wonderful time of the year started last week for Brand. He is in a 2nd-3rd grade multi-age class at a school on-base. He was unsure of what he thought about school last week (I think he had friend withdrawal), but this week went much better. I am excited to see how the multi-age class goes.

Max's first day of preschool was today. He was so excited to wear his brand new backpack.

He loved that his name was on the back of his chair.
He is in the Super Star class, isn't his classroom so cute! He did really well for his first day, no tears. I think sitting with his two neighbor friends helped. When I picked him up he was so excited to see me. He says he LOVES school and wants to go back again.I celebrated my new found freedom by going to the gym and later strolling through Jusco (a store as close to Target as I can get) all by myself! What a great day!!!

To top off an already great day, Josh's parents called and they are coming to visit us over Thanksgiving!!! We are so excited! Let the count down begin, 77 days until they arrive!

So sad....

I can't believe the University of Michigan lost to the University of Utah. It was bad enough that we woke up at 4:30 am on Sunday morning to watch the game live, but then Michigan lost to my long time rival school. Josh was so sad, it totally wreaked our day. Hopefully they continue to show Michigan games over here. After missing every game last season, at least it was fun to see our favorite team play!

Beaches, beaches, and more beaches

The best part about living on an island is being surrounded by beaches. 2 weeks ago we spent the weekend at Okuma, a military resort an hour and a half drive north of us. Mind you the island is only around 60 miles from tip to tip, so an hour and a half seems really far from home :)

We had such a fun time, by far the best weekend since we got here a year ago. Our 2 favorite things were riding jet skis and going for a ride on a banana boat that was pulled by a ski boat. They were both so much fun. I am so bummed because I don't have any good action shots thanks to a dead camera battery. We also went on a glass bottom boat ride and saw some cool fish but got totally seasick! The kids loved the miniature golf, Brand was really excited about getting another hole in one.

The cottage we stayed in.

Yesterday we went to another of our favorite beaches. We love it because it is never crowded and not too far from home. The whole day I kept thinking to myself "It is so beautiful, I can't believe we actually live here".

After a number of previous attempts, Josh speared his first fish free diving. He was so excited!Brand and our friend Lauren were totally excited to dissect the fish head.

The boys and I spent the day playing in the waves and hanging out with our friends on the beach.

Brand and Lauren found some really cool starfish.

My new look, a mouth full of metal.

Happy 8th Birthday Brand!

The amazing Brand turned 8 this week. From the time Brand was a little baby Josh and I thought we were the greatest parents ever because we had the most well behaved child ever. He always listened, never caused trouble, and was just an all around fun kid. Around the time Max (child #2) turned into a difficult 18 month old we realized our parenting skills have nothing to do with how great Brand is. We hit the jackpot with Brand, he is just an amazing kid. We have loved every minute of the last 8 years with him! Here are his current favorites:
-Playing with his friends.

-Playing the Wii, his current favorites are Rock Band, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Brothers.

-Japanese curry and rice, he requested this for his birthday dinner.

-Building cool things with Legos.

-Playing basketball and baseball.

-Snorkeling with his dad.

-Swimming

Brand's birthday party was at Torii beach (an on-base beach). It is one of our favorite beaches because it has a super fun water slide as well as swimming in the ocean. We had a great time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAND!

What a great year!

Wow, I can't believe we have been here a year! It is funny how time can seem to stand still and fly by at the same time. As we reflect on our last year, here are some of the things we love about Okinawa and miss about the United States.

OKINAWA
being surrounded by beautiful beaches
sushi, Japanese curry, and soba noodles
snorkeling
fun friends
learning about the Japanese culture
fun (and slightly dangerous) parks
our new dog Zoey
no snow
Tokyo Disney this September

THE U.S.
family and friends (we miss you)
family and friends (we really really miss you!!!)
Mexican restaurants
Target, Joann's, Bestbuy, & Home Depot
Michigan football games
streets with names
normal television
crisp apples
fresh berries, watermelon, cherries, & plums
finding what you need at the store
nice movie theaters

I would call this the year of learning for us. Learning to rely on each other. Learning to drive on the left side of the street. Learning about life in the military. Learning about Japan. Learning a bit of Japanese (and I do mean just a bit). Learning we really can do anything as long as we are together.

White Beach

We went camping at White Beach for the first time last weekend. The beach is on-base on the Pacific side of the island. You can sleep in a tent, trailer, or cabin for totally cheap. We were very excited to have a sleepover at the beach. The beach was beautiful. It is jellyfish season so we didn't go too far into the water. Here is a picture of a brown jellyfish that had washed up on the beach.

We saw a TON of HUGE hermit crabs.
Here is the old, smelly trailer we slept in. The cabins were booked and it was too hot to sleep in a tent so we stayed in a trailer. I thought it would be fun for the kids (which it totally was), but one night was enough for Josh and I.The boys had fun playing hide and seek in the trailer.
They loved the bunk beds too.We played miniature golf. Brand and I got a hole-in-one.
It was so nice to get away as a family, even if it was only 30 minutes from home.