Another Christmas Past

This Christmas season seems like it has been one of the best that we have had. It is bittersweet since we are not able to be with family, but it was very quiet, relatively uneventful, and just nice. We had some friends over for dinner on Christmas Eve. It was a great group of people and it was nice to spend some time getting to know them better. We weren't able to partake of two of our family Christmas traditions however, we didn't open one gift (it was just too late once the folks left and we had a lot of wrapping to do!) and we didn't drive around and look at the lights...one of my favorites.

We were supposed to have a small Christmas, but it didn't turn out that way. I will be very afraid next time Kurt tells me he only got me a "few small things"...I guess he wasn't lying...diamonds are "small" after all! The girls got bicycles. Tyler got a light-up police helmet that has a microphone - he has issued several tickets already. He also got a really cool "remote control" helicopter (that just goes up and around in a circle but is held to the controller by a bar). Hannah got two Barbies and kimonos for each. Sarah got a Tamagotchi Color and two other tamagotchis...she is looking rather Japanese with all these things hanging off of her! I got two pairs of jeans and a skirt set in addition to my two pairs of diamond earrings and necklace (WHAT was he thinking? He said one was an "everyday pair of studs" and the other was for dressing up) That jeweler saw him coming a mile away and boy am I glad! They are truly beautiful. Kurt got an Ipod Nano (pales in comparison) and a gift certificate to download Itunes. All in all, we were treated very well this year.

We also went on Saturday to a Japanese/American party/potluck (there was no sushi there). It was funny to play the gift exchange where you can "steal" the gifts up to twice, considering the Japanese feel it is really rude to take things from people. We Americans showed them, and several of the bolder Japanese women got into it...I got mine stolen so I had to steal someone elses and came home with a "tea" tray...perfect for serving breakfast in bed! It was a riot playing Pictionary with people yelling in Engish and Japanese. It is funny how people's cultural concepts are different with some things and the same in others. All around it was great fun.

We are thinking of heading to the Emperial Palace on January 2nd, one of two days the Emperor makes an appearance (the other was Dec 23, his Birthday). He will give his people a blessing for the New Year from inside a glass porch attached to the palace. It should be very interesting. We hope that your new year brings you great happiness and many blessings.

The Man Who Came Back is Out!

Ok all, the movie "The Man Who Came Back," is out on DVD. You can get it from Netflix or even the shoppette here in Japan! Keep in mind that it is rated R (not the scenes I was in) for some violence (it is a revenge western after all) and some nudity (not me, you wouldn't want to see that!). It really is a good movie. I thought it was really well-made and very emotionally charged. It is fun to see Eric Braedon doing something other than The Young and the Restless after so many years. I was in one major scene and was there throughout most of it. :) My Dad said he was surprised at how much screen time I actually got. Keep in mind this was the pre-Weight Watchers/Slimfast me! You can also see Sarah clapping in front of the crowd when the new Mayor takes over and as "Reese Paxton" rides into town with the body on his horse, you can see Sarah and Hannah in a long shot in the top right. Anyway, Glen Pitre is a really good director and I have enjoyed watching some of his other work, check it out. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving at Tokyo Disney

Hello all! Despite getting our stuff the day before, we decided to take advantage of Kurt's day off and went to Tokyo Disney on Thanksgiving day. We drove using great directions from a place on base and had no trouble getting there. As we were driving, it started to rain and the temperature dropped. It was wet and really cold! It turns out that it was the best day to go...no one was there! People had told us that some of the lines were more than two hours long for one ride, but the longest we waited was 30 minutes (space mountain). We went on Dumbo, Small World, Haunted Mansion and all of the other traditional favorites. The only thing that we didn't get to do was meet Mickey...that line was about two hours even that day (mostly Japanese adults). I was so cold that I had to buy a hoodie Mickey sweatshirt and we got Disney umbrellas! We had curry chicken over rice for our Thanksgiving dinner...boy it was yummy! The funniest thing about the park was that the shows were all in Japanese. We went to the Lilo and Stitch show just to get out of the cold and it was really entertaining to see animatronic birds singing in Japanese. They also called Stitch "Stitchy" which Hannah thinks is hysterical. The other funny thing is how many adults were there. They really get into dressing up. Most people had some kind of crazy headgear with ears, some even had tails that hung down the side like a pony tail...men and women alike! One lady matched her leopard boots to her leopard Mickey Mouse hat with ears. I wish I had taken more pictures of other people! I have pictures on Kurt's and my phone, but he left Sunday for Oklahoma for two weeks and I don't know how to download them...all of the istructions are in Japanese! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! BTW, for those of you who feel bad that we didn't get a traditional dinner, we did the next day. Some friends invited us for a meal, that was really delicious and had everything traditional...thank you Joyners!

Shibuya!!!

So our very enthusiastic sponsors were kind enough to take us to get cell phones on Saturday. Then, Saturday night, we all got on the train and headed to Tokyo. It was a really long ride, but really interesting. Kids in Japan go to school on Saturdays too, so we saw a ton of kids wearing their school uniforms around the stations at around 6pm. We got off at a station called Shibuya in the downtown area. It is also called Shibuya Crossing because it is an intersection where five streets intersect. It is amazing. It was really reminiscent of Times Square. There are so many people, but it is strange because it doesn’t feel crowded. Even when there was standing room only on the trains, you had plenty of personal space. We walked around and did a lot of people watching…there are some crazy styles out there, even more so than NY if you can believe that! So we decided to find a place to eat. We just walked around until we found a restaurant building. What they do, is have a giant display case that has really intricate plastic replicas of their dishes. Each section of the case designates a different restaurant and the floor of the building that it is on. We went to the 7th floor of this one and basically decided by looking at the plastic food what we would order. I got some egg battered chicken served with a salad with ginger dressing which came as a combination with crab fried rice with crab croquets on top. Everything was really delicious and I am realizing that I love all kinds of Japanese food! I already bought my Slimfast so I can have my food and stay on top of things too! Jessica (sponsor) took some great pictures that I will post as soon as I get them.

We have arrived!

Ok, so our trip started in Little Rock going to Dallas. We were lucky enough to get on an earlier flight because the weather was bad and we had no leeway if we missed our flight to Seattle. The kids were really good because they got to dig into their backpacks full of dollar store goodies. We got to Seattle and into our hotel about 7:30 their time which was 4:30 Little Rock time and ordered room service. After that, we pretty much just went to bed since we had to be up early. In his typical fashion, Tyler was up at 5:30...half hour before we needed to be. We got to the airport and all checked in and then did breakfast. The plane left a full hour early so we didn't have to wait very long at all. We left about 9:00 am Seattle time. Kurt had arranged seating, the guy told him that even though we wouldn't be sitting in the same row, we would like the seats he was giving us. Not sure who he was, but he deserves the greatest blessings God has to offer...he upgraded us to "business class" which, on this plane was first class! We had the first two rows so Tyler had the bulkead to play in when the weather was clear. Each of us had our own pull-out video monitor where we could access on-demand movies and play video games. I played a lot of "Bejeweled." So all-in-all the flight was good. The food was good (we ate twice) and besides just being needy constantly, the kids were as good as can be expected...with one major exception. Except for a twenty minute nap for Tyler and a short nap for Hannah, none of the kids slept on the plane. That meant only a short nap for me since I was sitting next to Ty. When I did sleep however, it was awesome because the seats reclined fully into bed position! When we got to Yokota, it didn't take us very long to pass customs and we were deposited into the terminal with all of our luggage (six bags, three carseats, five backpacks and a stroller). We immediately noticed all of the crazy drinks in the vending machines...all in Japanese. The other really weird thing was the hand dryers in the bathrooms, they were like industrial blowers and really effective and kind of fun! Our sponsors (Phillip and Jessica Newman) were there to pick us up with their two cars thank goodness and they showed us right to our hotel room, having picked up our keys for us too (and left a goodie bag of snacks and drinks which were so helpful since we had no food!). As we were getting out of he car, in the breezeway parking area at the front doors, Tyler had a coughing fit that started him gagging on phlegm and made him throw up. Hannah saw the throwup and threw up too - what a joy. We got them upstairs and cleaned up and headed out with the Newmans. I am really sorry to say that it didn't dawn on me to take my camera (by that time I had already been awake 17 long hours) but it was still light enough to see Mt. Fuji. We also got here in perfect time for Fall, the leaves are gorgeous and we have a great view from the TLF 4th floor. Anyway, we headed out to this really great traditional Japanese restaurant. As we pulled up, poor Hannah had just had it and threw up in Kurt's cupped hands (I am so proud of him for keeping it together!). The great thing about Japanese restaurants is that they have a hand-washing station between two sets of entry doors in the front lobby of the restaruant! So they put us in a little room and closed us in with sliding privacy doors...so Japanese, just like you would imagine. They seat you at a little square table (yes, you had to take your shoes off first) and it recessed into the floor so the seats were at floor level. There was a little metal grill in the center of the table with hot coals under it. They served you really thin slices of the raw meat of your choice and vegetables that you cooked right there. It was very similar to a Korean Barbecue. Some of the meat was really fatty, almost like bacon, but was really tasty! I guess it was a wake up call even though we had been told, but it was $100.00 for two plates of meat and some veggies for four people! So all three kids fell asleep in the booth and had to be carried up to bed. Oddly, it was Sarah that was up at 4:30 and Kurt too. Tyler was up about five and Hannah (mini me) and I were up at 6:30. We took the base bus over to the BX complex had lunch and came back. We looked at (and bought) a Mitsubishi mini-van and all I have to say is that we are really spoiled with options in the states like sliding side doors and cargo space. This car is really nice and is about like the sienna with features (no dvd) and milage, but only cost us $3,800.00 US. That is crazy to us! So Kurt is out right now looking at cell phones off base with Phillip Newman, the kids are napping (I will join them momentarily as I feel about hung over right now) and then we are going to Tokyo. Train tickets for our family one-way are $34 US! Wow, it is really a good thing for "cost of living allowance!" Great news is that this is the first overseas base to set up a US calling plan. You can pick the area code you want and anyone from home can call you as often as you want and vice versa. Supposedly the rates are in a package deal with your internet and cable for about $100.00 per month, but we will see. Since my parents don't have cell phones, we will likely get a NY area code and number...that will be funny. Also our cell phones will only be Japan-Japan phones and won't be used to call long-distance. We may look into video phone-by-computer, but we need to pick out a house first. There are three distinct areas of this base (which is huge!) and they have houses available in two of the three...now we have to pick which area. We have talked to a lot of people and usually they like the area they live in the best! So that is our last twenty-four hours. I will try to keep updating and will get pictures uploaded as soon as I have the patience to figure out why my Iphone won't sync with my laptop! Sayonara for now! (Oh, the cleaning lady already had to hug Tyler, she just loved him and the fact that he knew some Japanese words).

Halloween

Well folks, you can see that I am relatively new to this blog thing and either can't or don't know how to put a blog in where it belongs chronologically after the fact. If you know how to do this, I would be grateful for info on how! This year Halloween was interesting. Even though I had been planning it for months (I remembered to bring Halloween decorations and trick-or-treat pumpkins from Del Rio) it somehow snuck up on me. It was the first time that we didn't do some theme as a family, and for that matter, the first time I didn't dress up. Last year we were Scooby Doo and friends, and the years before that, we stuck to the Wizard of Oz theme. It was also weird because for months Hannah had talked about being a Mermaid and I turned the town upside down to find the perfect costume. About twenty minutes before we were leaving the room, she decided that she wanted to be Dora because she had "Dora hair." This turned into a major deal and so I scraped up a quick Dora outfit. This year we only went trick-or-treating at about ten houses because it started raining a very cold rain. We had gotten tons of candy before hand at the Church's trunk-or-treat the weekend before and at the Fall Festival Halloween night. We didn't really have anywhere to display our pumpkins in the hotel here, so they just kind of sat on the counter. I had Japan on the brain as you can see from the design of my pumpkin.

Uni Maki - Won't be making that mistake again!

OK, so at this point we are of the mindset that "American" food is over-rated. We had our "Outback" and then had our favorite, Indian food. In the meantime, Kurt and I have been touring the sushi places here in North Little Rock. So one night, we went to one of our favorite places and sat at the sushi bar. Keep in mind that the kids eat sushi rolls too, Sarah eats a whole roll of "Spicy tuna" by herself and Ty and Hannah always have "California roll" or "Crunchy Shrimp" (tempura battered). So we ordered a ton of different rolls and some regular sushi (which is just the fish layed on top of a rice ball) like white tuna and yellowfin (both awesome). We have had eel and octopus before, but were considering something new in our adventurous state of mind. We asked the chef about Sea Urchin or "Uni." He said it tasted "like the sea," not a plus for me! Then he said "It also tastes like French pate' - yet another strike for sea urchin so we obviously didn't order it. Towards the end of dinner, the chef (who was Korean and thought it was funny that I could say some things in Korean), presented us with two rolls of sea urchin on the house. Uh, ok, what do you say when you are presented with a gift that is also considered a delicacy. So Kurt, with absolutely no shame said, "you first." I fixed his wagon...I promtly stuffed the whole thing in my mouth. He looked at me expectantly and my eyes went wide and I nodded profusely, so he stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. HA to him! As he was attempting to choke it down without throwing up, I got mine finished. Well, all I have to say is that those of you who won't eat sushi because of the experience you think it will be...if you eat sea urchin, it will be that experience! For those of you who trust that I only like "good" food, try a piece of white tuna sushi some day, you will be pleasantly surprised! Lets also say that I will not be making friends with Japanese sushi chefs who want to feed me delicacies!

Sad Farewell..the Adventure Begins

Ok, so I feel like a big dork that I left my phone in the car and didn't get any pictures of any of you guys at our farewell. I am glad that most of you blog and I can see your smiling, happy faces with just a click of a button. It has been great re-visiting our Cabot Ward family...seeing some of you again and meeting some of you for the first time. This Ward is so inviting and way fun (that's why we "forgot" to go back to the Jacksonville Ward where we were supposed to be)! Thank you to the Hazeslips for hosting yet another shindig at their gorgeous house of art! Thank you to all of the people who came out to say goodbye, it meant a lot to us. As you have all heard at least once from me, "All C-130 roads lead to Little Rock Air Force Base" so there is a really good chance you will see us again. In the meantime, you will all take a trip around the world with us, as I make every attempt to continue this blog in real-blog fashion (and not as an after-thought every three or four months) keeping you up-to-date on our adventures. Stay tuned for the horrifying next issue "Traveling from Little Rock to Seattle with three small children" and the terrifying sequal "Flying from Seattle to Tokyo with those same three small children who are already tired of sitting in an airplane seat from the day before."

Tyler the Texan's Birthday Party

Well the third year has come! Tyler celebrated his Birthday on Saturday with lots of friends. We went to the indoor playroom/partyroom at the on-base activity center where the kids got cowboy hats, paper vests to decorate and shiny sheriff badges. We ate barbecue and had cake...an all 'round fun time was had by all. Tyler is grateful for his gifts, two dinosaurs, cars and Play-doh! He loves his tonka garbage truck from Grammy and Grandad (he picked it out). He also loves his transformer that came from Grandpa Bill, and the soccer ball, football helmets and airplane launcher from the Fifes. Thanks to Laurie for getting a portable airplane gift...Hot Wheels "Snake Escape" - which has made as many trips to preschool as Tyler. Thanks to you all.

My Stint on Youtube

OK, so it was kind of fun thinking that if I got enough of my friends to "pity vote" for me, I might be able to win some credit towards "Liken" products by entering LIken Star 2 contest. (They really are amazing videos awesome for the whole family, check them out at: http://www.likenthebible.com/affiliates//idevaffiliate.php?id=133). So after hemming and hawing, I finally got the nerve on Friday night and the submission deadline was on Saturday. Tyler's Birthday party was that day so I couldn't do any videoing, so I made Kurt stand on the bed with our ancient digital camera at 11pm as I sang just loud enough to be heard by the camera and not by the other people in the TLF (military hotel). That was a blast...NOT. So it came out well enough or so I thought until I got blasted on YouTube by a 43 year-old computer junkie who has nothing better to do than sit around writing nasty things about people. Have to say that didn't do anything for the confidence level! Guess I will stick to acting and leave the singing to the professionals!

Fall in Arkansas

Well, so far we have survived the TLF (two-bedroom hotel) that we have been in since August. We took advantage of the base pool and the local "Splash Zone" as well as Chuck-E-Cheese and the indoor and outdoor playgrounds on base. Recently we took a trip to the Longeway's "Farm" where the kids got to see the community garden. Hannah and Tyler have started morning pre-school programs to keep them busy now. They are at the Jacksonville Christian Academy which has the ABEKA curriculum that worked so well for Sarah. Both kids are so smart and are doing well.

Sarah is attending Arnold Drive Elementary School on base and is doing really well. She was the top scorer in her class in reading and very high for her age on Math! Hannah and Sarah are both in Soccer and are doing really well.

Hannah is getting more agressive on the field, and stopped making eyes at the boys (no, really) and Sarah has gotten a piece of the ball numerous times during her games. Tyler loves to help his sisters "practice." Team Mom keeps me plenty busy as does the party I am planning for Tyler's Birthday...pictures to come soon.

We all have taken every opportunity to have sushi in preparation for Japan. Our sponsors sent us each our own set of chopsticks too and some Japanese candy and snacks. This has made each of us that much more excited to go, although it is nice catching up with our friends here in Arkansas.

Kurt is doing very well in his school, although he is his typical modest self when asked. He starts flying the C-130 again next week and can't wait - simulators just aren't the same. He only has six flights until he is finished so depending on weather and scheduling, we could be gone right at the beginning of November...will keep you all posted!

Homeless

Right now we are officially homeless. We moved out of our Del Rio house, which we were blessed to have sold in this terrible market, on June 28th. We drove to Arkansas and then got on a plane two days later for New York. We had a nice visit with the Campbells; the whole family was there and we had a lot of activities: Saratoga County fair, Hoffman's playland, Clifton Park Library (where Sarah got to learn a dance from High School Musical from two girls who were dancers in the movie), day at Sacandaga Lake, rainy day at indoor bouncy castle/land, date night with Laurie and Billy, and of course time at Grammy and Grandads.

We then got on a plane and made it to Charlotte, NC where we got laid over for 24 hours because of weather. We spend the day at the Concord Mills Mall and ate, saw "Space Chimps," walked, shopped, ate, played on indoor playground, walked, napped in car, and then went to the airport. It was exciting when someone had broken through security and the entire airport locked down including departing flights. They got the guy so business resumed shortly thereafter and we got to Little Rock at about 1 am. We turned around the next morning and drove to Utah. It was really cool driving through Kansas...there was a double rainbow, didn't see what was "over" it as we were going pretty fast, but it was neat nonetheless. We stopped in Stratton, Colorado at the Best Western, a really nice little place, newly renovated and very reasonably priced. We did get the last room and at one point there were four of us in the King bed and one on the rollaway. After hot buffet breakfast (was included) we hit the road and made it to Brigham City about 8pm, where we were greeted by Great Grandpa Gunther and "George the Weiner Dog" whom we had saved from the streets about a year ago, and who was hand-delivered by us to Utah as an early Christmas present for Great Grandpa last year. Anyway, we had a big family dinner for Aunt Jennifer's belated Birthday and it was great to see the cousins...who knows what other adventures await us here in Utah.

Javelina Movie

I was really lucky to have gotten involved in another movie here in Del Rio. "Javelina" turned out to be better than I expected. I didn't know anything about the movie when I answered the extras casting call, by the end, I had made some great new friends and worked with some very talented people. Barry Tubb ("Wolfman" in Top Gun..."Where'd who go?") is the director and is quite a character on and off the set. I also got to meet and observe Kate, a very talented actress from Ireland. We got to chatting and the subject of the Oscars came up. She finds going a terrible bore and more like work than anything else. Three hours of traffic for three blocks, then you get there and sit for seven more hours. When you get up to use the bathroom, your seat is taken by a designated seat filler so the audience is always at top capacity for the cameras. When anyone performs, the television cameras completely surround the stage and it is impossible to see anything from the audience. So how does Kate get invited to the Oscars? She goes with her Father, Peter O'Toole! You never know who you will meet in the most unlikely of places. Lets just say, my six degrees of separation has gotten quite a bit more star-studded! Anyway, I am grateful to have had the opportunity and for Mr. Tubb to have had us back for multiple scenes. Will have to wait at least a year...am still awaiting fruits of last May's labors and "The Man Who Came Back."

Easter in Del Rio

So I know I am going back in time a bit, but it was the last major holiday and a time for great pictures too. The kids dressed in their Easter clothes for church were so adorable. Tyler looks like such a big little man. Afterwards, we went to some friends' house for a dinner and egg hunt. The kids had a blast with their cascarones...Tyler even cracked one on his own head...not sure he gets the point, but he had fun. We also played a really fun game called the Great Dalmudi. It gets pretty funny since the winner ends up the "President" and the loser ends up, well...embarrassed (sitting on a bucket wearing a wig)! This guy is the President of our Church branch - and F-15 pilot!