Toothless Grin

Brand lost both his front teeth this past weekend. He banished his "eager to help out dentist dad" from the room and pulled them out himself.

This photo was taken after the first tooth came and out. Brand was trying to convince us the second tooth wasn't ready to come out. Within hours it had been pulled and a great toothless grin was left behind :)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to everyone! We were able to have a relatively normal Halloween in Okinawa. Of course the Japanese don't offically celebrate Halloween, but with all the Americans on the island the tradition lives on here in Japan. Aunt Michelle was great and sent costumes since the selection here is pretty slim. The commissary has pumpkins shipped in (the tricky part is finding one without mold already growing on it). Josh took the boys trick-or-treating around our neighborhood and the boys filled their buckets to the brim with sweet treats. Only a few things were missing from our holiday; beautiful autumn leaves falling to the ground, a brisk cool temperature (it is still a very humid 80 degrees here), and trick-or-treating with our beloved cousins.

Max was obviously Spiderman (check out the cool muscles) and Brand was Captain Jack Sparrow (doesn't he look great with long brown hair).

Brand carved with own pumpkin for the first time.

Josh's new look...

I have had many requests for pics of Josh in his uniform. It has taken me 2 months to talk Josh into letting me do this post (apparently he doesn't like posts that are all about him). Since his dental battalion is attached to the Marines he wears their uniform to and from the clinic everyday. His cool cover (military word for hat) is the only thing missing from the pic. You can't wear it indoors.
Josh in his Navy "Whites" uniform.

Southeast Botanical Gardens

Brand's class went on a field trip to the Southeast Botanical Gardens and I got to tag along as a chaprone. It was about a 20 minutes bus ride from his school. The beauty of the gardens was incredible. Living in the Midwest for the last 7 years I am accustomed to indoor greenhouse gardens that protect the beautiful plants and trees from the harsh winters. It was amazing wandering around the enormous outdoor gardens and learning the names of the vegetation that surrounds us here in Okinawa.

Bottle Palms

Brand climbing a coconut tree (ok, he actually climbed a very safe 10 foot ladder that was attached to the coconut tree).

Polynesian Lake


Anniverary Tree Avenue

The funniest part of the whole trip was feeding the carp. The students could bring 100 yen (a little less than a $1) to buy a box of food to feed the fish. The fish turned out to be huge carp and a ton of them. They were so loud as they swam around fighting each other for food. I couldn't stop laughing at their wide open mouths as they flopped all over each other battling for food. You would think they hadn't eaten for weeks.

Josh's Car

We are officially a TWO car family.

Rainy Days

It rains quite a bit here on the island of Okinawa. Some weeks we see more rain than sun. A few weeks ago it rained on and off (mostly on) for 10 days straight. A new favorite activity of the boys is playing in the warm rain. It is such a different experience splashing in "bath water warm" puddles I can't resist joining in on the fun.

Sesoko Island

Here are some pictures from our Labor Day trip to Sesoko Island, about an hour and a half north of where we live.


We went snorkeling for the first time and had a blast. Brand figured out how to use his snorkeling gear instantly and loved it. We saw a ton of cool fish including a blue starfish, a puffer fish, and a black and yellow angel fish just like in Nemo. At one point Josh and Brand found themselves swimming through a huge school of brown fish. We are still trying to figure out what kind of fish they were.

After the beach we went to a Japanese pizza place called "Pie in the Sky" for dinner. The pizza was so good. The only thing that made it different from in the states was the corn on top with the ham and green peppers. This is the view from outside the pizza place.

Pie in the Sky
Brand trying to eat salad with chopsticks. We need to remember to keep forks in our bags for the kids until they master chopsticks.

The sunset as we drove home. Sometimes we still can't believe we live on such a beautiful island.