Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Winter is Almost Over
Kurt is currently in Arkansas for the next two months. He is doing an instructor upgrade for the C-130 so he will be able to teach people how to fly it (like he did in Del Rio for the T-1 airplane). We are looking to the future and trying to decide if we stay in the Air Force or get out. We are also unsure of where to go, or what job to take next. I am sure God will provide the way for us, whatever the next step may be.
I am just about to give up the Mrs. Yokota crown...the next pageant is on May 1st, so we are all busy planning that. Sarah and Hannah are in their first musical production put on by "Vivace" children's theater. They have a great director and I am living vicariously through them while supervising rehearsals.
We have done quite a few modeling jobs recently and will be putting that on hold for a while, partly because of Vivace and partly because of school. We had two jobs this week, today's required us to be on the train at 6:23 to Tokyo and we didn't get back till 5:30. Although it is gruelling, Hannah loves it and continues to enamour all of the Japanese directors/photographers.
Hopefully I can get some pictures up really soon. Thanks for keeping up with us.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sunshine
Monday, September 7, 2009
Great Summer
I guess I should blog a bit about what we did this summer. One thing I didn't do was take pictures, I am terrible. I will scrounge up some from friends/family and post what I can when I can.
Kurt got home at the end of June from his deployment, but turned right around and went back to the States on a two-week assignment. It is sure nice to have him back and it looks like he will be around for a while! Also in June, Hannah had a sleepover to mark the end of her Yochien experience and they had a great time. She ate Japanese food, played games and slept on a futon. When school ended, Sarah went off to her first Girl Scout camp. She went for a week to Tama Recreation area...a military facility about 16 miles away (takes 45 minutes or more by car). She got to ride a horse, hike, learn to build a campfire and got to sing some of the same songs I did when I went to camp. She had a great time too.
In July, we went to NY to visit the family. I was able to attend my sister Laurie's baby shower which was great, and got to see my new little nephew that my brother and his wife had back in February...Reilly is the cutest kid ever! We got to spend the fourth with the Robert family at their beautiful lakehouse and got to hike and go to the park with my parents and the kids. It was a nice vacation.
When we got back, Kurt had an exercise to prepare for a big inspection coming up. He was working over 12-hour days so my girlfriend and I took our six kids and went to the Yokohama area. We stayed at Yokosuka Naval Base with our hotel overlooking the water. Tyler was ecstatic watching the "Destroyers" drive by in the morning. All navy ships to him are "destroyers." We got to tour the Battleship Mikasa, went to Haijiima Sea Paradise - aquarium/amusement park, went to Chinatown and had dim sum, shopped for school clothes at the BX, spent a day at the base pool and then took a ferry to Sarushima ("monkey island") where we picnicked and played on the beach. All in all it was a great time.
Mrs. Yokota only had one appearance this summer at the Friendship Festival, an airshow open to the Japanese public. Two days in a row, for 12 hours each I stood on the flightline in heels, dress, sash and crown waving and having pictures taken with the Japanese. I think I had a thousand pictures taken of me! We raised a ton of money for the Mrs. Yokota Organization by selling cakes and lemonade, and we are going to be able to give a decent-sized scholarship out in the next few months.
We have also made some day trips this summer. The kids and I went one day to the "train park." They have numerous old static displays of steam engines. They have some kiddie rides and they have a giant train set that has about 15 different trains running on about six different tracks. The kids had a great time, it was a fun way to spend the day. We also went as a family to "Summerland" amusement and water park. They had a lazy river, hot tub pool, gigantic gondola ferris wheel, roller coaster, free-fall and several waterslides. They have an indoor wave pool (that we skipped this time) and a large indoor kid play area. It was one of the last Saturday's this season that the outside will be open, but there weren't that many people. OK, there weren't that many people for Tokyo!
Last night, Labor Day, the next door neighbor and I put together a last minute block party. We got a bounce castle for the kids and just threw together some food. It was a great time and we talked a lot about how we should have been doing these get-togethers long ago. Maybe we will close off the block, pool our candy, and have a Halloween block party!
Not only have we been able to relax some this summer, we have also been able to get some spiritual regeneration. Kurt and I went to the temple in Tokyo again, which is always a great experience (the Korean BBQ we had for dinner on the way was great too). I got released from Young Women's as a teacher and got called to Relief Society...as a teacher. I am a little nervous since I have never even been TO Relief Society because of my extensive time in Primary. I am excited to be involved in several enrichment groups coming up for the year...I am the POC for the book club and lunch bunch and will be attending the cooking club. That along with Mrs. Yokota duties, volunteering at the elementary school, and YOSC activities should keep me gainfully employed while the kids are in school.
Kurt has been busy with work. He was working as the Assistant Director of Operations for the 36 Airlift Squadron. Now, he got moved and is now Chief of the "Command Post, " the base's central nerve center. Everything gets filtered through there to the proper chains...if something bad happens on or off base, they know about it first. It is a very high profile job and demands a lot of attention to detail and regulation. Anyone who knows Kurt, knows that is his forte, so I know he will do an excellent job. He won't be flying as much which means he will be home more often and not off on "trips." He will miss the flying, but we won't have to miss him!
So that is the great, long blog about our summer. I hope that all of your families are well and safe. We love to get your family's updates too...helps us feel close even when we are far away!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Uniquely Japanese
Another thing I have noticed, there are no old cars here. I inquired as to why that was and was told by my Japanese friend that the inspection process and road tax requirements are so stringent, that once a car is older than four years, because of the increasing price to keep it on the road, it is cheaper for people to just buy new ones. Crazy!
The Japanese are either really high tech or really low tech with their toilets. Sometimes you go in and the seat is heated, there is a bidet and there is either music or running water noises automatically to hide the sounds of your nature calling. Either that or there are what look like mens urinals laying flat on the ground. These are called squatters. These usually have no toilet paper so always carry that with you when you go out. Also very few bathrooms, especially in the city or in rural areas, have paper towels, so always carry a cloth towel with you. I bought several handkerchiefs from the dollar store and carry those with me.
I will be sure to write more as I notice things uniquely Japanese.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Sarah's Cable TV Commercial
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
I am an Aunt again, and again, and
Sunday, February 15, 2009
So the rumors about kids modeling in Japan are true. We had known that several modeling agencies from Tokyo came to base, about every six months, to recruit American children for television, commercial and print work. What we didn't realize was that the modeling fair weekend was going to be the week we got here. We went to "see what it was all about" and hit the ground running...we got seven calls in the first week. That was really crazy since I didn't even know how to get to the other side of base! Since then, I have mastered the train and subway systems and have been quite busy with the jobs that Tyler, Sarah and Hannah have gotten so far. Here are a few examples of their work: Hannah did the video spot, Tyler did a "combi mini" catalog, and Sarah did a magazine shoot for "Oceans" and an advertizing deal for "Rubies" Halloween costumes among others...
It has also been interesting to learn how weird and bad the lives of the "real" models is. The Dutch gal who was supposed to be Hannah's "Mom" gave me a behind-the-scenes low-down. Most of the models live together...sometimes eight girls to an apartment. They are only allowed to come to Japan if they are sponsored by a particular agency. The contracts are for six to eight weeks long...only. The girls get their rent provided up-front by the agency, but they have to pay it back when they get a paying job. This gal was twenty and was old. She lives with four girls who are all 15, three from Poland, one from Holland. These girls go out drinking every night and come home at wee hours. I guess there is a bar that lets models in free and provides food vouchers and free drinks. They save up the food vouchers for parties...they will get together and spend their vouchers all at once to have a Birthday or some other celebration. They rarely make enough to go out otherwise. This leaves them prey to obviously unsavory characters, one of whom hangs out at the "model bars" and sells drugs...or gives them out at first. The "Dad" was Russian and looked like he had a rough night. No, my kids will never become "real" models...it is just for fun now!