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!