The Breaux Family in Japan

To Jene

2011-12-13T12:00:00.003+09:00

I have put off writing this post until the very last possible minute. :( I truly can't believe that I am leaving Jene (okay Andre is cool too)!

I am excited to see our new house, new cars, friends and family - BUT Jene is truly a part of me. Our friendship holds a special place in my heart. You know that deep place where you trust someone, you can call them at any time and cry, laugh or just talk? Jene is it!

The past years have been wonderful because of our friendship!

These are the top 10 things I appreciate or love about Jene: (in no particular order)

10. My secrets are safe with her.

9. Our husbands get along wonderfully!

8. Her bathtub brew is to die for!

7. She listens and doesn't give unwarranted advice.

6. She is super thoughtful.

5. She listens really well......and you don't have to repeat anything that you told her (unlike Andre and me).

4. Great traveler companion - b/c she will totally make all the plans (though she says she is tired of it).

3. She is the only person I know that actually 'gives me a run for my money' in Scattergories.

2. She will share anything with me......EXCEPT her fried salmon - but I can't even blame her for that b/c I don't share my friend salmon with anyone either - that stuff is G.O.O.D!

1. I LOVE that we are as different as night and day! I really do - it makes me appreciate her, because if we were just alike I might have to unfriend her on FB! ha ha ha

Love you Jene! P.S. Stick with the plan!

I walked into Elijah's class to do some inclusion services for other students............

2011-12-11T16:51:00.003+09:00

....and found out that he was missing some assignments. I wasn't happy! We decided that it would be wise to talk about it after school. I had a staff meeting after school and wrote a message to Elijah on the white board before he got there. The message told him to sit down and complete the 3 assignments that he was missing while I was at the meeting. After the meeting, I walked into my classroom and saw this note:

That's Q.U.A.L.I.T.Y!! I would have commended him on his ability to express himself, but I was chuckling pretty hard. I had to invite passing teachers into my room to read it too! They enjoyed it as much as I did.

P.S. He completed ALL his missing work too....THAT night!

How do you.........

2011-12-07T16:13:00.000+09:00

go from this.....

Yes, he does help brush the snow off my car in the morning -- no one rides for free!

to this in a bit over a week??

Four Brothers

2011-12-05T18:09:00.000+09:00

Lord knows I don't do posts! But I can't leave Misawa without doing this one

To my family back home, let me introduce my Misawa loved ones. From left to right:

Andre, Terrance, Jamal, and yours truly ME!

These are the guys who got me through these 4 years here. I laughed, cried, celebrated, cooked and traveled with these guys. They are my TRUE brothers, we have so many memories, many of which I will never forget. Guys, I love you and will miss you all dearly!!!!! I could tell everyone how each of you affected me individually, but that would take too many pages. Remember fellas we are supposed to meet annually in Las Vegas.....when everyone returns to the states!

I'm excited about getting home to my AZ family, seeing my new house, and driving my G37 and most of all RETIRING!!. Just wanted give a final shout out! Here's a toast to the FOUR BROTHERS.

Monster Park at Komaki Hotel

2011-12-01T14:14:00.002+09:00

We drove to Monster Park ..... had to see it before we leave! It is a beautiful park inside of the nicest hotel here in Misawa.

I do like the reflection!

YES! It was as cold and windy as it looks in the pictures!

On top of the red bridge....can't come to Misawa and NOT take a picture here!

Now I have seen A LOT of Koi fish in the past 4 years, but these MONSTER-SIZED Koi fish took the prize for the largest Koi fish EVER! They were attacking the ducks that were swimming around them!!

I love my family!

Shipwreck Beach

2011-11-30T01:03:00.001+09:00

About 45 min away from the base is Shipwreck Beach. No one is sure what the correct Japanese name for the beach is......but we call it Shipwreck Beach for obvious reasons :)

When we first got here, you could find beautiful glass balls on the beach that washed ashore overnight, but recently the Japanese have caught onto the American market and figured out that we would pay top dollar for them.....so it's a race to find the glass balls........long story short...you have to get to the beach HECKA early to find them!

I mean 5am is a normal time to be AT the beach to find a good glass ball! Hmmmm so needless to say.......I just wait for my wonderful co-workers to go (they have been here forever - and they have hundreds of them) and I ask them for a ball.....they are happy to give me one or two or three!

WOOHOOOO I get to sleep in and still get glass balls! Come to our house and I can show you all of them!

Look what was at Shipwreck Beach!

2011-11-27T01:16:00.002+09:00

The world's smallest sand dollars!!

How cool is that!!

1000 Torii Gates Park

2011-11-25T00:57:00.005+09:00

So these are pictures of a park on the other side of Honshu island (the main island of Japan).

The word 'torii' means 'gate' in Japanese. I've never seen them any other color besides red.

They are simply BEAUTIFUL!!!

Fall in the beautiful Oirase Gorge

2011-11-06T15:03:00.007+09:00

Let me just start by going on record: I am going to miss this place!

Northern Japan is so incredibly beautiful during all seasons!

We took a short drive up north to the Oirase Gorge this weekend with some girlfriends of mine. We were gone all day and Elijah and I were T.I.R.E.D. when we got home. It was really pretty and we got to eat some tasty Ramen noodles!

Check out the fish on a stick - it's cooking right there! There are hot coals that a sweet, older lady fans to help smoke the fish.

The water in the lake is crystal clear - it's melted snow from the surrounding mountains. That water was about 18 inches deep!

This is called Temple Island.

No I didn't feel like doing my hair, hence the hat....let's just move one......

Elijah looks so grown in this pic!

That gigantic rock is supported by a single tree! There is a legend that an old lady used to live there.......

The Wheels on the Japanese Bus go 'Round and 'Round

2011-11-03T07:10:00.004+09:00

Our elementary school hosted a group of Japanese kindergarten students last week. Of course they were the super sweet and very polite visitors. They were able to practice the English they knew with our kindergarteners and participate in American specials (music, art, pe, etc.).

Anyway, I was so impressed by the cute buses they arrived in--- they are filled and covered with so much character!!

Here are the Pokemon bus and the Hello Kitty bus!

Japan Day 2011

2011-10-30T13:58:00.004+09:00

It's our last Japan Day........we are so sad:(

Every year the local community come on base and share their arts, talents and traditions with us! It is such a wonderful place to be for a few hours!

We got to write our names in traditional Japanese characters. My name in Japanese sounds like 'Ai'

Seriously, out of the 3 of us ..... Elijah wrote his name the best!

This one is my personal fav

This was Eddie's personal fav

Elijah didn't really care about the masks....because.....5o feet away this show was going on...

sword fighting

sword demonstration

I wasn't too interested in the sword stuff, but I stuck around for 15 min...and then I left them to go to the traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony

I came back to check on the guys and they were watching this now.......

music isn't really my thing (but they were really into it) so I left again, but this time I went to horticulture section! Check out the pics!

On our way out, Elijah wanted to play the Koto. He did so well that the instructor applauded him after he finished his song :)

You have to read the music going up and down the page from right to left!

Traditional Samurai armor....SUPER HEAVY!

Date Night .....without Eddie!

2011-10-09T10:31:00.004+09:00

Ha ha ha! So I went to the 2011 Navy Ball with my girls, Jene and Reisha! I love those ladies!!! It was a lot of fun ....... the hubbies decided not to go....well really it wasn't that they decided not to go, it's just that they weren't invited to go.....it was originally intended to be a girls night out!

Jene won BIG at the ball.....she won a Sony BluRay home theater system. I won ......NOTHING! I mean nothing at all, not a kokeshi doll, not a bottle of wine, not a 50 in LCD TV, not even a commemorative wine glass. This is the first time I went somewhere and I didn't win something....ANYTHING.....I usually win and Jene usually goes home empty-handed.....oh how the tables are turning now! I was genuinely happy for her too! She is the BEAUTIFUL one with the silver shoes on in the pic!

Per Elijah's Request

2011-09-18T18:56:00.003+09:00

Elijah asked me if he could take this picture and he asked if I could upload it to the blog. Literally...he asked me to do this.

He can spend HOURS playing in his room with these WWE wrestlers. He repositions them, reacts matches from the past that he has seen, and makes up his own.

In fact, he has 2 different wrestling rings!

Baseball.....Japanese style!

2011-09-11T11:58:00.006+09:00

We took a bus trip to Sendai (yep, that one you have heard so much about) to go see America's favorite game! Actually we prefer football (by far) but when you live overseas you get what you get! We saw the Rakuten Eagles play and the game was so much fun!

I am telling you --- Japanese really know how to hype up a baseball game! They have different chants for EVERY player and sing songs when their team is at bat. The cool thing about is they are so respectful to the other teams too. When the opposing team is at bat, the other side doesn't do their cheers. Geee, I really love Japan!

Instead of "Take me out to the Ballgame" This is what they do at the bottom of the 7th!

This poor lil man looks as excited as Elijah did. I don't understand....Elijah said he had a good time at the game.

Coca-Cola sponsors.....EVERYTHING all over the world!

Am I really that bad???

2011-09-07T21:58:00.001+09:00

This is Elijah's 1st spelling/vocabulary test from this year. He made a 101%!! WOOHOO!

I especially love his teacher's comment ☺ It's all good....she is my friend!

Japanese Rice Field Art

2011-09-04T18:31:00.007+09:00

We took a road trip to see the rice art in Inakadate, Japan. All of these images are made from different colored rice. AMAZING!! Enjoy!

Really? Who Does That?

2011-09-02T21:34:00.005+09:00

So before you read this......let me tell you ....if you are the 'judging type' -- DO NOT continue! Just keepin' it real!

Wednesday morning Elijah woke up for school. I went into his bathroom to start his little timer (you can ask me about it another time). Anyway, as I walked in I was almost knocked out by the smell of urine. Ummmmm I have a strong nose and can smell a lot of things that others can't -- not always a good thing! TRUST ME!

I asked Elijah why it smelled like urine and this is what he said. "Well sometimes I get in the shower and when the water hits my body I have to pee." So I was like....okay, cool...."Do you pee in the shower and then wash your body?" REMEMBER: I said DON'T judge me -- he is 100% boy, so I have to choose my battles! He said, "Oh no Mom, I just stay in the shower, open the shower curtain and pee into the corner between the shower and the sink." VERY NONchalantly! Just to be clear.....there is nothing but floor between there!

Have you ever been so shocked and mad at the same time that you just start whispering the rest of the conversation? Well, I was that morning! So I reminded him that is not what we do and that he needed to pee before he got in or hold it until he gets out.

Question for mothers of boys: Is this normal???

Today was the 1st day of 4th grade!

2011-08-29T18:39:00.026+09:00

.....so let me just tell you that we have always sang the Veggie Tales "Jonah" song on the first day of every school year. We just change it to whatever grade Elijah is in at the time. I just LOVE doing it too!

Can you hear it now (Eddie and Elijah are in PERFECT pitch with me singing LOUDER than both of them waaaaaaaay off key) "It's the 1st day of the 4th grade, it's the 1st day of the 4th grade, it's the first day of the 4th grade clap, clap, clap, clap, etc" Raise your hand if you just sang it out loud and literally clapped your hands 13 times! ha ha ha

I was talking to Eddie about time going by so very fast. I honestly remember taking him to his kinder class in 2007. I told everyone that I was not going to cry. I felt brave that morning while we were getting dressed, but as soon as we got to school....it hit me.....Elijah is actually going to be in kindergarten. (whipping tears away) Now look at him....he is no longer in primary grades! He is a 4th grader!!!!

Well after school we talked and he said, "Mom, I really like 4th grade, I want to stay for a whole year!" Hmmmmmm I am pretty sure he doesn't have much of a choice :)

Sweltering Heat!

2011-08-18T16:10:00.006+09:00

August is a HOT, HOT month! It's not just hot here, we have humidity like nobody's business! I mean when the temp is 95 degrees and humidity is circa 90%.....it's uncomfortable BUT I find it even more difficult to count my many blessing when we live on the 5th floor of an apartment tower without any air conditioning in here. (just being honest)

So the good thing this year is that it is not as hot as it was last year. This is the first August that Eddie has had to experience the heat. I must admit .......... it kinda makes me giggle. He has always been someplace else when the August heat hits.

Long story short, this is what homemade A/C looks like here in Misawa.

To my lovely Phoenix friends: There is a MASSIVE difference between Phoenix heat and this heat. Neither is better than the other - but trying to sleep with 3 fans blowing in one room that is already hot and humid doesn't make me feel like Sleeping Beauty at all:) ha ha ha

I can't complain because we do have free heat in the winter!

Lake Festival AKA Beetle Festival

2011-08-02T14:19:00.006+09:00

Elijah and I gave Eddie some alone time (to mess around with his music) and we went out to another nearby festival with my Japanese friend and her two daughters. FUN TIMES! So this is a Lake Ogawara festival and there is a LARGE exhibit of beetles from all over the world. My Japanese friend told me that Japanese children/youth play with beetles during the summer time. Jr. high school boys often stay up late and go into the woods at 3:00am to find beetles to play with. As an American, I was taken back......"so you play with beetles?" Hey, whatever makes you happy :)

These aren't small beetles either! They are GI.NOR.MOUS! No joke! I mean their bodies were a good 4 inches to 6 inches!

Beetles EVERYWHERE!

Even girls played with them!

They have places set up where you can have your beetle fight another beetle!

I did learn that the reason the beetles don't fly away is because they rarely fly in the day time.

This is ALL the beetle touching Elijah did...ALL OF IT, which was more than I did! I don't play with bugs....NEVER have!

The Power Rangers showed up and performed a live show - this got Elijah's attention.....naturally!

The cutest (ever) Japanese band performed too! These kids were between the ages of 4-6!

They played so well! I really enjoyed them!

He was in the lake playing for 2 1/2 hours, got out to eat and played inside the water for 2 more hours. On the way home he said, "When we get home may I play outside with my other friends?" Ohhhh gee......to be a kid again!

Japan is still cleaning up after the 4th strongest earthquake in recorded history

2011-07-16T16:27:00.003+09:00

It seems like the March 11th earthquake was a long time ago. The media has stopped airing coverage of the devastation, but the recovery efforts are very much still underway. This past weekend we went to a beach that we have been to several times to walk around. This beach is roughly 8 minutes from our house. Elijah has picked seashells here before, climbed the tower over and over again, played in the sand, etc. We were surprised to see so it in the condition it was in ......

A beautiful landmark on our way through the woods to our beach.

This sign was not covered by sand like this prior to March 11th

This stand used to hold a replica plane of Miss Veedol. The first plane to take a trans-Pacific flight. It was washed away during the tsunami. Part of it was behind me (picture below) and the other part was about 200 feet away by the tree line.

This asphalt was lined up with a smooth decline of the sand, that gradually went down into the coastline. Now it's a 5ft drop!

Even the concrete barrier separated during the quake.

Please continue to pray for the recovery efforts of such a beautiful country!

How about some chips??

2011-07-10T15:46:00.013+09:00

So this morning we decided to get out the house and just drive around to see what we could find!! We thought these would be an interesting post --- these are the 'unique' Japanese chip-like things we found today. Some we bought .... some we didn't.

I'm a sucker for a store that has organized shelves! This was a GAS STATION guys! Way to go!

E.V.E.R.Y. single item is stocked and pulled to the front of the shelf! They are actually a very busy store too!

Check out the Gourmet Doritos......salad flavor

Mmmm these are sausage flavored Doritos

Curry flavored chips....on another note: CoCo's is a curry here in restaurant...very yummy too!

Eddie and I think this one is French Onion Soup flavored? Since we don't/can't read Kanji...I guess we will never know :(

spicy taco flavor....these were DELICIOUS to all 3 of us! Eddie polished off the bag the same night we bought them!

Fondue cheese flavored ....yummy also! These are so much better than American Cheetos...they have a softer cheese flavor.....like a cheese soup.

BBQ flavored Cheeto-like.......also great!

Hamburger flavored chips

Notice that these are actually shaped like a ham bone! ha ha ha Ham flavored

Geeee I am going to miss Japan!

End of the school year awards

2011-06-22T20:52:00.001+09:00

YEP! Elijah does it again! I really feel like I am showing off lately ----- let me be clear -- I AM!

Elijah won all 3 awards in his class this year!

Math Whiz w/ division war flash cards attached

Reading Champ w/ a new book attached

and the You are Awesome Award with a Snickers candy bar attached because his teacher said that every time he smiles or laughs it makes her snicker!!! I love his teacher!! I really do!

You just gotta love him!!

Next up: The base's summer reading challenge

Let's make Rock Candy....ohhh Epic F.A.I.L.

2011-06-19T20:31:00.000+09:00

So Elijah had his last project of the school year....edible book project. You have to make something that makes you think of the setting of the book!

I was jazzed, so I decided that Elijah was going to read the book How to Eat Fried Worms and we were going to make Dirt with gummy worms hanging out for the class. Then I thought - oh no that would be way too easy....someone else in the class might think of that idea, so I wanted something else. (Moment of honesty: Please remember this is ELIJAH'S project - not mine.......but I kinda got excited and took over).....ooooyee I've become one of those parents:(

So he read Rocky Road Trip (it was all about rocks and the Grand Canyon). So I decided that we were going to make rock candy for the entire class. GO LOVE!! No one is going to think of that idea!

So here we go and we made a family project out of it:

counting out the sticks for his class....getting ready to soak them to coat them with sugar.

pouring in sugar -- 8 cups to be exact!

All for NOT - a week later we had 4 mason jars with 12 sticks in them and NO crystals have formed. It was only supposed to take 24 hours to start forming crystals. What did I do wrong???

Well, just so you don't make the same mistake I did - and waste 8 cups of sugar and a lot of time: crystals won't form when you live in a place with 70% humidity during the summer time. I'm just sayin'!

We ended up mixing soft vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips, placing it into plastic dixie cups and having his class excavate the 'rocks' AKA chocolate chips out of the 'dirt' AKA vanilla ice cream.

P.S. In all fairness, someone DID bring in dirt with gummy worms hanging out!

That's RIGHT ........Elijah is like a math genius!

2011-06-16T20:01:00.008+09:00

Elijah was in Soroban. Soroban is an ancient form of Japanese math using a Japanese abacus. The use and mastery of the Soroban instrument has been proven to help with mental calculations in math, recognizing number relationships and the understanding of the place value system. What's NOT to like?

So he went to practice everyday for 1 hour.....he got Japanese treats after, so he was more than happy to go!

Well, there was a competition with the 3 schools here in Misawa.

Elijah worked really hard ...........and...........he won 2nd place in the visual calculations division! WOOOHOOOOO! So this division shows positive and negative integers on a screen at a rapid pace --- 6 numbers in 4 seconds and students have to watch the numbers and write down the correct answer.

Director of all the Pacific DODDS schools....Japan, Korea and Guam

That's right! My boy represented for the math lovers out there (me)!! We are very proud of him!!

Now that's what I call REAL sushi!

2011-05-30T17:44:00.004+09:00

We have eaten sushi several times here in Japan...we ate it in America too. WE (yep, all three of us) love it! So we had to try a restaurant I heard about that has the BEST sushi in Misawa! We call it Fear Factor Sushi!

REAL wasabi -- YUM-O!

all different kinds of raw fish...DELISH!!
The course we have been waiting for -- LIVE fish!
Another large variety if fish...this time the shrimp in the middle was still alive! REALLY - it was moving its tentacles and all.......it dies about 8 min later and then the sushi chef pulled the tail off and I ATE IT!! It was sweet tasting :)

It's Rice Planting Time

2011-05-30T17:06:00.004+09:00

Here are the pics I promised....
This is what the rice plant looks like when we put it in the wet fields

I LOVE older Japanese ladies! Here is one walking between the rice fields
A rice field after it is all planted
the rice plants before we put them on the machine
Can you believe that MANY people still plant rice by hand! The farmers we went to visit had several rice fields so they had a machine. The machine automatically sticks a few rice plants in the mud
Elijah got the chance to drive the tractor...with a bit of help ...he couldn't reach the peddle
TRUE FOCUS!!

It's time to plant some rice and vegetables

2011-05-27T18:15:00.003+09:00

So we had the opportunity to plant rice and vegetables with some local, Japanese farmers. Elijah and I were good to go!! I mean how many times do you get the opportunity to help plant rice in Japanese rice fields??

Cleaning the trays afterwards

This is called an Umbrella Plant (just what Americans call it) Check out below to find out why!

Elijah helping out with transporting the rice from the greenhouse to the rice fields

One of many rice greenhouse - this is where they grow the rice to be planted in the rice fields

This is what we had for a our vegetable for dinner that night - FRESH asparagus!

planting corn

This was the end of the afternoon:)

ARGHH!! I can't stand when my blog limits my pictures I can upload....more rice planting pics tomorrow!

Sunday Brunch at the Organic All You Can Eat Restaurant

2011-05-16T07:00:00.006+09:00

YUM-O! This is one of my FAVORITE places to eat here in Misawa! It was a beautiful day here (translation: 60 degrees as the high) so we made an afternoon of it! This area has a farm, farmers market, store, rabbits you can feed, donkeys, goats, a foot onsen and 2 restaurants.

We stopped by the strawberry greenhouse. You can pick strawberries here...without breaking your back by bending down to the ground.....INGENIOUS!

YUMMY! YUMMY! YUMMY! Strawberry puree with our brunch. I am telling you .... you haven't tasted a strawberry until you've tasted a Japanese strawberry! Sweet and delicious!

Organic Strawberry salad and organic curry with nan bread

organic coffee jello with organic creamer you pour on top ..... after dinner delight!

apples chunks marinated with wine, cream puffs and cheesecake...yep all organic..and bite sized so you don't feel guilty afterwards! Oh I almost forgot the tiramisu back there!

I saved the BEST for last.....don't knock it until you have tried it! This is organic vegetarian pizza with thin slices of strawberry on top! Not sure what kind of cheese it was, but it was a strong, white cheese that paired well with the sweetness of the strawberry slice. Really not kidding...all 3 of us liked it A LOT!

There is also a grilled onion slice in the back of the picture with mushrooms on top and baked acorn squash chuck - topped with a cheesy mixture!

Rest assured: There are dishes with meat there, but the vegetables, soups and salads are so good and FRESH -- right from the garden in the back.....even Eddie and Elijah only had tuna on their plates!

I wish I knew the name of this festival??

2011-04-23T21:47:00.008+09:00

...but I don't ...sorry :( In the next town (Towada) there was a festival this weekend. We loaded up the truck, charged the batteries in the camera and rolled out!

Before we got there we saw these cool sculptures in the middle of town in front of the art museum. We just had to pull over and snap some pics!

Just so you are clear.....that is a DOG in that baby stroller! Such a pampered poodle :)

This is a puffy car that belongs to the house below...it was actually a real car!

Inside this puffy house there is a TV that plays Japanese and English. It says that this house is both a work of art and a house - so if you buy it you will be buying a house and a work of art!

Pretty, pretty flowery horse

ARGHHH a giant, scary FIRE ant!!

2 min later we were at the festival.....

The women horse riders setting up for the show

fresh fish on a stick ... it's being cooked over hot coals

chicken on a stick -- kind of taste like teriyaki chicken -- YUMMERS!

Elijah's first ride on a horse - he liked it!!!

Our little samurai!

This was the main show - pretty cool. They compete to get the arrow in/on a target WHILE on a quickly moving horse!!

Beijing, China Day 5

2011-04-16T14:13:00.003+09:00

We SHOPPED! Sorry no pics though :( They weren't allowed in the shopping centers. All the centers we went to had women that L.O.V.E.D. them some Elijah! They loved his large eyes, his smile, his skin. EVERYTHING! They touched his head (I CANNOT stand when people touch Elijah without asking) and rubbed his head. I then proceeded to pull Elijah closer to me and away from them.

As we walked by booths they would all yell at you "Hey pretty lady would you like to buy a coat or a silk scarf" "Oh look at the little boy - he is so cute" "How old are you?"

Elijah grew very tired of it and put his hoodie on and held my hand for the rest of the day. He said, "I really like China, but I don't like how pushy the sales ladies are here."

Beijing, China Day 4

2011-04-16T14:01:00.005+09:00

We decided on the Sesame Street theme for the day :)

Silk factory ..... the life cycle of a silk worm

threading silk

at the fresh water pearl factory.... Elijah picked out this oyster..it had a lot of pearls in it! He got to keep 4 of them!

PANDA bears! We stopped at the Beijing Zoo too!

Temple of Heaven

Yummy authentic Peking Duck!

Has NEVER found a camera he didn't like! Can you blame him??? He is as handsome as he can be!

We went to see a Kungfu show during the evening......excellent show!

Beijing, China Day 3

2011-04-16T13:35:00.005+09:00

Beijing had the LARGEST buildings I have ever seen in my life!!

Taking off on our hike up the Great Wall

climbing the Great Wall of China! It's over 600 miles long!! It goes from the sea to the desert!

at Ming's tomb

the Water Cube at the Olympic Park -- Go Michael Phelps!!

The Bird's Next...Did you know that the Chinese purposely designed one building to be square and the other round to symbolize ying and yang??? WOW! I learned so much on this trip!

No matter where you are in the world -- you are NEVER too far from a McDonald's!

Beijing, China - Day 2

2011-04-16T12:50:00.004+09:00

overlooking the Forbidden City at Jingjang Park
Inside the Forbidden City

On day 2 we started out tour with our English speaking tour guide.

Let's just start with some comedy.......let me just say that the American way of waiting in a single line for the next available stall is NOT the way they do it in China. (Not to say one way is better than the other) In China, you wait in front of a particular stall until that female is done and then you go in. Hmmmmm? The best part is ......... the is NO toilet paper in PUBLIC toilets...EVER! SO we had to carry around a roll of Charmin in a gallon sized Ziploc bag for a week :)
Overlooking the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square
A tea shop where we learned about Chinese tea and how to drink it properly
fried scorpions, water snakes and spiders...all on stick! I tried to eat one...but I couldn't take it -- you could still see the hair on the scorpions!
Chinese acrobatics show

Spring Break 2011 - Beijing, China - Day 1

2011-04-16T12:46:00.002+09:00

Traveling from home to Beijing, China. We saw this store in the Tokyo airport! I love the kimono on Hello Kitty! The guys didn't want to guy into the store at all????? Hmmmmm I wonder:)

We are all over ................

2011-04-08T21:12:00.001+09:00

...........the 900+ earthquakes in northern Japan since March 11th!

Check out what we have been feeling since March 11 at 2:46pm

2011-03-21T18:06:00.002+09:00

Check out this link.

It shows a time-lapse visualization on the 655+ earthquakes we have experienced. Everyone here is experiencing vertigo issues....we have to look around to see if other things are moving because we can't tell if we are moving or not. OH, PLEASE STOP THE EARTH FROM MOVING UNDER OUR FEET!! Misawa is almost due east of Aomori on the east coast.

Fire Marshal Elijah

2011-03-20T17:55:00.003+09:00

I was reminded that Elijah is still learning some valuable life lessons...so am I for that matter:

Eddie and I were sitting back watching TV when Elijah calmly comes in the front door from playing outside and says, (very calmly if I may say so myself) "Mom, there is something not good going on outside."

"Oh really, what is it Elijah?" I admit I was 1/2 way paying attention -- they were about to catch the fugitive on U.S. Marshals and I was into it.

Again calmly taking off his shoes and coat, "Well this boy was playing with a lighter and we told him to stop , but he kept playing with it (FULL attention is now given to Elijah). Well he was playing and playing and we just kept riding bikes and then he started a fire and the fire got bigger and bigger. I mean it is really big, Mom........like from here all the way to the other side of our kitchen!"

"Is the fire still going on right now, Elijah?"

"Yes, it is!"

These 2 shots are NOT duplicates of the same spots -- the entire damaged spot would not fit into one frame.
After 90 minutes of the fire department, police interviews, first sergeant briefings......Eddie and Elijah returned. Elijah did NOT start the fire, but he was aware that the boy was playing with the lighter and chose to continue to ride his bike around it.

Here are the lessons we discussed afterwards:

1. Elijah has been on a kick of lying about things. I have told him that when he lies it causes people not to believe him when he is actually telling the truth on big things. This was a BIG thing!

2. Choose your friends wisely! You will be grouped with the people you choose to hang out with - even if you may not be guilty.

3. If you KNOW something is not right or unsafe - don't passively comment about it - DO something about it. It wasn't enough to say that the action was unsafe - he needed to say it with authority or get an adult.

Magnitude 9.0

2011-03-17T17:25:00.007+09:00

Here is the Reader's Digest version:

At 2:46 pm on Friday, March 11, 2011 - a 9.0 magnitude earthquake had us shaking, rattling and rolling! There had been SEVERAL smaller earthquakes in the days prior. Check out the map of where we live and the current earthquake total (it was over 500 at time of posting) Please understand that we are used to having several earthquakes here in Japan. There are 100's each year. Friday's was INCREDIBLY strong. This is how far away we live from the epicenter. We live on Misawa Air Base.

Elijah and I were at school (thankfully students were dismissed 11 min before the earthquake). Elijah was shaken - he actually held my hand, We were evacuated from the school building and we went home - where Eddie had been. Thankfully we had no major damage.

The electricity went out during the earthquake to 5 million people in Japan. We had no idea that there were tsunamis happening and the enormous loss of life. We were reunited and thankful to be alive. We drove to check on our friends that live off base, The Rice's. There have been after shocks about every 35-45 min since Friday.

We came home about 6:00 pm, took cold showers, read a book to Elijah and tried to go to sleep. It took about an hour to fall asleep. About 8:00 we had another 7. something quake. This time I was freaked out! Eddie grabbed Elijah and we went to the living room. Eddie put our shoes and coats by the front door and I made soft pallets for us on the living room floor. Elijah didn't want to sleep alone now. He held my hand all night long - every 40 min we were shaken awake and he would squeeze my hand tighter. We talked through the night about what he was scared of we reassured him we were safe.

PRAISE GOD FOR DAYLIGHT! I think that was the longest night of my entire life. We had friends come over on Saturday - our house was warmer than there's because we live higher than they do. Having them around was great as well - it allowed us to fellowship.

We still hadn't watched the news - Saturday the water went out too. We left to go to a family support place to use the Internet to let everyone know we were safe. When I talked to my Dad he started telling me about some of the things that were going on. Again, I am thankful - we are all safe and I am glad we hadn't watched the news actually!

Power was restored late Sunday night and Internet was restored Tuesday night.

In all this I KNOW that I have been blessed with:

1. family and friends that pray! I mean P.R.A.Y.E.D without ceasing - not only for us but for our host nation!

2. God ordained our steps that week:

- Eddie switched shifts just for that week - HE was home during the earthquake - so we didn't have to wait to see if each other was okay

- we had meat, bread, water in the house before an HOUR before the earthquake. Eddie went to the commissary to buy bread at 1:00 - the quake was at 2:43!

3. Elijah is such a strong, young man! He was ready to sleep in his own bed on Saturday night :)

4. The Japanese people are incredible! They are polite, rule-abiding, peaceful people. There is no looting, no fights, no vandalism AT ALL! NOT like Hurricane Katrina......something to think about

More info to come.......I'll keep you all updated!

African American Living Wax Museum performance

2011-02-23T16:40:00.002+09:00

Elijah was Jesse Owens :) I am not going to lie...I have been looking forward to Elijah performing in this wax museum since kindergarten, but he had to wait until this year.

I know he looks less than enthused.......but honestly he was REALLY excited about it all weekend long, we reviewed his speech a few dozen times and he said he wasn't nervous. I think as soon as the camera went on all the personality he practiced left his brain :) I love this kid!

10 Things You May Not Know About Me.....

2011-02-05T07:25:00.000+09:00

....I know I am all kinds of late (Kim, Katie, Jene and Jaime)

1. I am 99.9% sure I wouldn't get a tattoo -- ever! It's not that I am against them on other people, it's just that I can't imagine something that I feel THAT strongly about that I want on my body permanently!

2. I was a 'chubster' as a kid and teenager. Honestly - I was the biggest sister out of 6 girls and I HATED it! I have always loved to eat...that hasn't changed. I started to lose weight when I HAD to in order to get into the military.

3. I don't eat pork or beef. The reason is because when I was a high school senior my Dad's doctor told him to give up red meat, so my Mom stopped buying it and cooking it for the whole family. This hurt my heart (please refer to the fact that I LOVE to eat) I tried to be 'independent' and buy my own pork and beef for a few months. That desire died and I succumbed to ground turkey and such. I haven't had it since '95 - I KNOW it will hurt my stomach if I eat it - so I don't. Eddie and Elijah eat it when we go out - but I don't cook it at home. It doesn't gross me out at all.

4. I am afraid of failure. Literally! I think I don't attempt things unless I am pretty darn sure that I am going to be successful.

5. I am also afraid to watch America's Most Wanted. Don't laugh! Even hearing the theme song makes my heart start beating fast! Eddie said that it is because I know that person is still out there.

6. I really like colorful socks :) I love to wear them and I don't care if they match my outfit....they just have sooooo much character!

7. I've wanted to be a teacher since I was in 5th grade. Funny - that's what grade I teach now! Anyway, my Mom and Dad recently sent me my 5th grade report card and I pretty much SUCKED as a 5th grade student! Really.....I wasn't a stellar performer and I really struggled in math in 5th grade. The cool thing is that I think math is WONDERFUL!! I didn't struggle in ANY other grade -- not sure what was up in 5th grade?

8. While I am on the scholarly tip, I pretty much bombed my S.A.T.S. also in high school. Now the interesting thing is that I finished in the top 10% of my graduating class! HUH? (Kim, I can hear you laughing) Wait, to add to the confusion I maintained a 3.98 GPA in college and grad school (I made one 'B' in college)? So I am dismissing that STUPID S.A.T. score and will not label myself according to it!

9. I am freakishly afraid of roaches -- I will let the roach have the whole room. I start sweating and will start hysterically crying over a roach! I am not brave enough to kill it either! P.S. Please don't leave a comment about how much bigger they are then I am - I've heard it a million times!

10. I would like to go on Wipeout! I think I could rock that obstacle course!!

Throwback Party

2011-01-30T14:28:00.004+09:00

Eddie and I attended a retirement 60's, 70's and 80's party this weekend. It was so much FUN! Seriously! We went back to the 70's as Foxy Brown and a Pimp Daddy and Jene and Andre threw it back to the 80's.

Check out the pics!

Friends forever!

Andre and Jene.....it's not fun unless they are around!

Thanks to my Mommy ... she mailed 1/2 the outfit to me - love you Mommy!

Eddie won the Best Dressed Male contest!

Watch Out for Falling.........

2011-01-16T09:28:00.005+09:00

ICICLES!!! With over 40 inches of snow in 7 days (very normal for the winter time here) we have some special concerns that we have to look out for now. Here are some pictures of what we see everyday during the winter :)

Imagine the extra weight on that poor tree.

After a snowplow comes and clears the parking lot ... only to have to do it again in 2 hours

Certain walkways are plowed for you to 'safely' walk on

Snow bends too!

P.S. I did not take these pics, one of my friends took them, but to be fair when she was taking them I did tell her that I was going to 'steal' them from here and use them for the blog, because there was no reason for BOTH of us to be out in the cold with our cameras.

P.S. to my Phoenix friends: Cold is 19 degrees...21 degrees is the high for the week!

Happy 9th Birthday Elijah!!

2011-01-10T06:08:00.003+09:00

Elijah's football cupcake cake that went to school on Jan 10th to share with his classmates. I managed to get 21 cupcakes in there. Pretty good because he only has 16 students in his class! He was happy and I was happy that he was happy :) He is getting so big, so very fast! It was much easier to make then I thought it would be --- and incredibly easier than LAST year's creation!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

2011-01-08T14:54:00.004+09:00

We will miss the snow when we PCS!! It is so peaceful as it falls and makes everything look so white and clean :)

On a mound of snow the snow plows made when they plowed the parking lot for the 4th time in 20 hours! I am thankful that I don't have that job!

Looking pretty cold on his way to school :) Yep, they still have recess in this weather, too! Snow pants, winter coat, hat, gloves and snow boots are required!

He really does enjoy playing in it (for about 30 min) - he has a sled and goes downhills near the house with his friends.

This is what my truck looks like --- every morning it snows. I end up brushing the snow off at least 4 times a day. In the AM before the gym, after the gym, before I go to work and after work.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T19:43:00.006+09:00

Our last Christmas in Misawa. Here are A FEW pics of Elijah's gifts....he had a great Christmas!

Karate Kid collection (yep the originals) 1, 2 and 3!

Lego World Racer set....he loves putting these together

WWE wrestling ring

WWE wrestler action figures (not dolls -- he corrected me earlier)

Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2 and 3

Computer to hook up to his keyboard....please notice me on the right hand said of the pic. By this time, Elijah had been opening gifts for at least an hour (I am not exaggerating). He hasn't caught onto the 'RIP OPEN YOUR GIFTS AS FAST AS POSSIBLE" thing yet.

Happy EARLY Birthday to Elijah!!!!

2010-12-29T19:15:00.005+09:00

No, no , no you didn't miss his 9th birthday :) We celebrated early (Dec 28) because friends that he has celebrated his birthday with for 3 years are PCSing next week, so Elijah wanted to celebrate with them before they left. After gathering the gang, this is what we did:

Took or met all the kiddos at the Weasel's Den

I 'think' I got everyone in this shot????

Each child had a specific request about where they wanted pictures taken....hmmm those were the ones that made the final cut :)

Pizza making at home --the kids LOVED this part! I did too....SUPER cute!

Enjoyed their creations:)

He was a bit apprehensive about the sparkly, relighting candles. Yummy, Yummy Baskin Robins ice cream cake!

So my plan for his actual birthday is to make a football shaped cupcake cake for him to bring to his classroom.....cross your fingers that it works out well :) It's going to be hard to top last year's classroom birthday cake.

Christmas Cookie Factory

2010-12-23T13:51:00.004+09:00

As noted before, Elijah enjoys cooking with me. Since we are officially on Christmas Break (woohooo) we rolled up our sleeves and started baking for our family and the neighbors.

This year we made cashew brittle and sugar cookies with sugar sprinkles, hazelnut and cinnamon sprinkles and decorations. We put each of the desserts in Christmas ziplock bags and placed them in Christmas canisters for our neighbors. My little elf, Elijah, always delivers them to everyone.

rolling out the sugar cookies.........also known as making a great, big, gigantic mess :)
taste testing the first batch.....he gave it one thumb up!
Sidenote: I think parchment paper was one of the BEST inventions ever! Sprinkles up front and hazelnut-cinnamon in the back.
Elijah took all the leftover sugar cookie dough, rolled it out, formed himself the largest cookie he could make and threw a ton of sugar AND sprinkles on top. He waited an extra long time (in kid time) for it to be done (8 whole minutes). He gave this one 2 thumbs up!

Hmmm what shall we bake next??? Any suggestions?

Elijah in school

2010-12-16T18:31:00.002+09:00

Can you spot Elijah? He has on a Pokemon shirt and red pants (disclaimer: he picks out his clothes himself).

Click here!

We really like Sollars Elementary School!!!

TOO much of a good thing

2010-12-13T17:01:00.000+09:00

Elijah L.O.V.E.S. boiled eggs! So tonight as I was cooking dinner he let me know that he was REALLY hungry and asked if he could have some boiled eggs to hold him over (sure....no problem I said)

He got the boiled eggs out of the fridge (I have to keep them on hand), peeled them and then proceeded to season them according to his 'liking'!

I was facing the stove and all I heard was, "Ooops". The poor kid grabbed the GARLIC SALT instead of the regular salt and POURED it on top. I told him that he used way too much and that he needed to rinse the eggs off under the faucet and start again........fearing that his beloved boiled eggs would go to waste his response was, "No Mom, it is okay..I like my eggs that way." After one bite this was his expression.........
Lesson Learned Today By Elijah: read the packaging very carefully and SPRINKLE not pour.

Making a Snoopy Gingerbread Doghouse

2010-12-11T16:49:00.003+09:00

Elijah had a friend spend the night last night and they made a gingerbread doghouse. They ate more candy than they put on the doghouse......isn't that what it's all about anyway? :)

white icing came with the kit, but Elijah asked if we could use chocolatenbecause it kinda looks like dog poop.......oh boy!
I am pretty sure the gummy worms were holding the roof together....

Our trip to the Big Buddha

2010-12-01T18:19:00.000+09:00

What an amazing site to see! We decided to go on a day road trip to Aomori, Japan to see the Big Buddha! NO --- we are NOT converting to Buddhism - we just wanted to see it for Pete's Sake! We still believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior!

Elijah decided to skip the raod trip to go to his friend's birthday party/sleepover. Oh, such tough decisions to make as an 8 year old!

That's a lot of arms!
Before you go into the Buddha, you are supposed to get those ladles, dip it in water and wash your hands. After you washed you hands, you are supposed to pour a bit of water into your hands, sip it and clean out your mouth.

I ♥ that this one was bundled up for the cold weather

The main attraction......(drum roll please)......The Big Buddha! Notice how high it is above the tree line. We went inside of it too.

Japanese Pagoda House

When the cat's away......

2010-11-28T11:01:00.003+09:00

The Friday after Thanksgiving gave the ladies a chance to have a surprise birthday party/crab boil together and the guys could get together to play PS3. Eddie volunteered our house for the guys.

Before leaving the house I took a few walk throughs and made sure there was nothing (ummm how should I say it) EXPLOSIVE, FLAMMABLE or SHARP hanging around. With 5 years as a safety monitor under my belt, I felt like I had done a pretty, darn good job clearing things. We grabbed our purses and the ladies were on our way to adult solitude!

There were a total of 4 different families at our house. ALL the kids were B.O.Y.S. -- every single one of them! All of them are 100% boys too! 8 years old, 7 years old, 5 years old, 4 years old, 17 months and 15 months.

A few hours later I walked into (I'll try to help you make a mental picture of this):

-- PS3 Black Ops was still on (no surprise there)

-- the boys cleaned up Elijah's room - there was a mixed pile of toys and clothes pushed to the corner of his room? huh?

-- the bottom 24 inches of the Christmas tree was ornamentless........I guess the lights and shiny ornaments were too much for the younger two. On a good note - all the ornaments were sitting on top of the kitchen table -- unbroken ☺

-- a bowl of glass balls (usually sits in the bookcase) high on some furniture

-- laughter from the older boys in the backroom (my FAV part)

-- aaaaaand this 36 inch vase.... the absolute best part! Sitting on kitchen table also. Eddie said that it was all like the "quickest, slow motion he had ever seen". Take a second....please reread that description -- that is directly from Eddie! He saw it about to happen, but he just couldn't get to the kids on time.

These families are TRULY like family to us! We do MOST things together - I am 100% positive that Elijah has broken things at their house too! NO HARM, NO FOUL! Just great memories of our extended family here in Misawa!

Salmon Catching 2010

2010-11-13T18:56:00.000+09:00

So we went to this festival 2 years ago. It was so much fun that we had to go again. Last year we planned to go, but the salmon catching was cancelled because there was a jelly fish invasion and the jelly fish were killing off too many salmon.

Eddie was successful in catching a large female fish.....I wasn't so lucky :) I was too busy socializing with the Japanese locals to really pay attention to what was going on around me. It didn't help that someone (that shall remain nameless) lost her balance and fell into the salmon pool. There is a 3 minute time limit on catching a salmon, so when you spend 1 1/2 min laughing at someone......one's time gets a bit limited. (excuses, excuses)

Elijah couldn't catch one either. Though in his defense, those suckers (female salmon) are STRONG! Elijah swears that his dad stole his fish from him....that wasn't the case at all....but we allowed him to believe his fabrication as long as it made him feel better about being unsuccessful in his attempt.

Salmon Roe - this is what the sac of eggs look like inside the salmon

Waiting to get into the pool of salmon

English/Japanese rules of salmon catching signs

Halloween 2010

2010-11-07T10:41:00.000+09:00

Rainy and cold.......Elijah only wanted to trick or treat for about 40 min. (he got cold, wet and uncomfortable) When he got back he took over the front door duty at our house....until we ran out of all 80 giant Pixie Stixs. There is a window of time to trick or treat on base (5pm-8pm) We ran out at 630! There were a TON of kids out this year!

He got more candy in 40 min then he could possibly eat in a year! Thanks to Andre for the regulation helmet! Elijah said he was going to carry it all night because it was too big for his head (he looked like a bobblehead when he wore it) as soon as he realized that it was still raining outside he decided to put that helmet on to protect his head from the rain.

The Entertainer

2010-10-31T17:36:00.002+09:00

Our little pianist! This is the first song he learned.

Only in Japan...

2010-10-24T10:45:00.002+09:00

....do you see a Japanese Robot Pop Star. Go ahead and watch....it's pretty cool actually!

Check it out!

http://video.yahoo.com/network/101149635?v=8416665&l=5144210

Bike Ride Through the Oirase Gorge

2010-10-02T16:23:00.005+09:00

Last weekend, Eddie and I joined a group of avid cyclers (both American and Japanese), rode about 45 minutes up the rode, passed Towada City to the entrance of the Oirase Gorge. In order to appreciate the love I have for my husband, please understand that cycling is HIS thing .... not so much mine! I would MUCH rather put on a pair of Adidas running shoes (I prefer those b/c they have high arch supports) and go jogging.

So like I was saying, he LOVES cycling, has a world-class bike (not Lance Armstrong, but pretty close - we don't have Lance Armstrong money!!) and mine.....uh.....well...mine is probably 2 steps up from a 1980's ten speed. Whatever! So basically the ride is easier and smoother for better bikes......hmmm.... I have better running shoes than him! HA take that, Eddie!

So we found out about this annual bike ride through the gorge and afterwards some Japanese people were going to cook us lunch! The lunch won me over! I was GAME! I am one gal that truly appreciates F-O-O-D.

For the record, we were biking for 2 1/2 hours up and down hills with cars within 24 inches of us...that is the reason Elijah did not come.

It really was a beautiful ride with a ferry, waterfalls, lakes and rivers. Here are some pics from the ride:

This was 1/4 of the people that went on the ride

Doesn't it look difficult to write those characters?

YES! We made it and all I had to do now is sit back and wait for lunch to be cooked for me :) He is making vegetable yakisoba! Yummers! I had 2 helpings....which pretty much equates to 1/2 an American-sized helping! After almost 3 years here - it is clear to me, in general, why the ladies here are smaller than American ladies.

She is grilling up some teriyaki chicken skewers.

So here I have some vegetable soup. All freshly cut veggies (mushrooms, carrots, cabbage and the other 3 veggies were some Japanese veggies -- couldn't tell you what they were but they were tasty) Oh yeah....it also included some cooked eggs too. Notice the chopsticks....would have been totally out of luck if you didn't know how to use them - there was not a fork or spoon in site! Even the cooks were using chopsticks when they were cooking the food :)

Chef in training.....

2010-09-12T18:14:00.000+09:00

Elijah still likes to help me cook. Yesterday's dinner was honey-mustard chicken wings! YUM-O!!

After dawning the apron and all (he told me that he did not want to take a picture with my apron b/c it had flowers on the front .... after some convincing I assured him that if I take a picture from the side/back no one will see any flowers) We were ready to begin: 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 mustard and chicken!! That's it!! No need for salt or pepper or fancy parsley and paprika (as some recipes call for)

Mix those two lovely ingredients together:

and dunk the chicken in (we like chicken wings....use whatever piece of the bird you prefer)

Transfer those to a pan......Elijah is so good at this stuff!!

Bake! We baked our chicken at 425 for 50 min (turning chicken once)......we like the gooey sauce it produces over some brown rice!

Now I know if I was as good as The Pioneer Woman I would have step by step pictures and a finished picture, however; I work and .......... well actually I just forgot to take the darn picture! I promise it's really tasty though!!

My SUPERB reader!!!

2010-09-07T17:58:00.003+09:00

So school started here last week. Elijah was enrolled in the base's summer reading challenge. Elijah read ALL chapter books....he read 96 books in 9 weeks! WOOHOO! I am so happy he has a joy for reading and he tells me about the things he learns. He loves to laugh out loud while he is reading and then he comes and tells me about the funny parts. It gives me such pleasure to hear him tell me about what he thinks is so funny and what is going on with the characters in the book.

My little man was so excited to see his friends, get a certificate AND have pizza for dinner that he knocked over his Tang. Bummer.....guess who had to clean it up?

What do YOU see when you go to the grocery store where you live?????

2010-08-30T21:33:00.000+09:00

Japanese fruit and vegetable market - Those green things (don't know what they are called) were as big as my leg!

Outside the KFC.... What does Colonel Sanders wear in America?? The white suit you say? Not here --- he wears a cool looking Samurai shirt here!

I told you all in an earlier post that watermelons were SUPER expensive here! Yep, that price is 1,980 yen = $23.24 (as of today's exchange rate) Just a regular circular watermelon...Geeee whiz!

It's festival time.....again

2010-08-25T19:34:00.003+09:00

Summertime = many festivals. This one was right outside the gate and had great, big floats with lights and each one had to be HAND-CARRIED through the entire parade route.

This festival was the Misawa City Festival. The floats they carry around usually have large barrels of sake inside. The sake is later blessed and used in ceremonies like weddings and promotions.

The people that volunteered (both Japanese and Americans) looked like they were having a GREAT time.....I am sure the free Asahi Beer they were given to 'hydrate' them had a lot to do with it. They were given as many beers as they wanted too!

Hey, it looked like fun, the floats were beautiful and it helps build Japanese/American relations :) Americans have participated in this festival for over 2 decades.

Check out a few floats: (there were MANY,MANY more...with dancers, samurai performers, taiko drummers, etc.)

not a float....Elijah hanging out in front of the base's American and Japanese signs.

America's Next Top 'Back to School' Model

2010-08-21T19:19:00.003+09:00

Back to School Fashion Show

Ummmm I wonder where he gets it?

Japanese Paper Craft Class

2010-08-17T20:56:00.006+09:00

As you can tell, Elijah and I beef up on 'things to do' when Eddie is gone. I think it helps the time go by quicker and keeps BOTH of us sane (just being honest)!

I love when signs are in English...such a rarity! Ohhhh it's the small things you miss when you are overseas!

Making our crafts: Step 1: Elijah attaching the heads to the sticks (aka the bodies)

step 2: wrapping paper around the stick bodies to resemble kimonos. Please understand this was a HARD task for everyone in the room! The kimonos have to be wrapped left side over right because of Japanese tradition, there has to be a certain fold on the top near the necks, the Obis(belts) had to be wrapped a certain way too. OH WAIT...all this paper was really small....I mean less than 1 1/2 inches wide!

Elijah said his male and female pieces were going to marry each other

Our finished art work. I know I look dewy....I WAS HOT! Yes, there is A/C in this building, but I was really focusing on getting my folds done correctly...moment of truth...Elijah had NO problem getting his folds correct! NONE AT ALL! I think small fingers really helped him -- or at least that is what I am going to believe ...because it was really hard to believe an 8 year old could 'out-craft' me!!!

Done with project #1! This is what "Ohhhh he has such cute eyes...I will do his project for him" looks like! The lovely, older Japanese women that were teaching the class were impressed by his eyes, so they couldn't stand to see him struggle. He struggled with the second project; but I didn't struggle with this one....the papers were larger!

We made chopstick holders and kimono people pictures

This summer has been a scorcher......

2010-08-13T18:57:00.004+09:00

...SERIOUSLY! Just know that the housing on base does NOT have A/C. The powers that be say that it does not get hot enough for long enough AND the power needs can't be met if everyone has A/C.

Really? So for the past 2 summers it wasn't really a big deal for us. THIS SUMMER WAS DIFFERENT! Last week it got to 100 degrees -- 3 times last week....with 84% humidity AND we live on the 5th floor of a 9 floor tower. 7 fans in the house......all the windows open and it was still deadly!

Thankfully, the Lord provided and we were allowed to house sit for dear friends that were out of town for the summer (fellow teachers) and they keep their A/C on because of their caged pets. (you all that know me -- REALLY know that I don't get down with animals AT ALL)

We (Elijah and I) spent EVERY free moment over there (Eddie is still in Okinawa for training)!

This is how Elijah spent MOST days this summer............... on a trampoline!

Now let's kick it up a notch with the addition of water balloons and water hose!

We call it "Avoid the Water Balloons" game. Hey, it's FREE fun, he loved it and he stayed cool!

Elijah after he came inside...soaking wet and H.A.P.P.Y!!!

Our 24 hour Korean trip

2010-08-03T17:38:00.016+09:00

Every Monday, the base has a military hop to Korea. The hop

comes back to our base the next morning. So I was thinking:

1. Eddie is gone for 6 weeks

2. I haven't done ANYTHING this summer, except teach summer

school

3. I wanted my hair braided

4. The hop is FREE <---- important factor!!

So I figured...LET'S DO IT!!

Here is a run down of how our last 36 hours went!

0645 - Report to the Passenger terminal with Elijah to check in for roll call...waiting, waiting, waiting to see if there were any open seats for us...

0745 - YES! We are 'in like Flynn; checked in again to get our tickets

0830 - boarded the plane and off we flew to our destination

1045 - arrived in Korea (on base) and processed through immigration

1130 - out the door - we didn't bring any luggage with us besides our carry on bags - in a taxi to the front gate of the base to do a little shopping

1150 - found the Dr. Fish pedi, manicure place.......awwww this is what I have been waiting for so badly.......fish that feast on the dead skin of my feet. YES! It tickles and no it doesn't hurt at all. Elijah and I had the feast nibbling away on our feet for 25 min!!!

After my pedi and mani (Elijah said that only girls do that kind of stuff - so he decided to p

lay his video game on the couch) We were hungry.

1530 - took the taxi back to base to see if there was any space available room in in lodging - really wanted to stay on base because I felt a lot safer on base -- no rooms:( So I made a reservation off base. It's not a bad neighborhood by any means -- it's just that when you live and work in a secure. military environment you get comfortable within that environment ..... especially in a foreign land when the emergency evacuation system is an escape rope! In case of emergency we were to tie this to the leg of the bed, throw it out the window and scale down the from the 5th floor. Needless to say...I didn't sleep very well that night!

1600 - Oh yeah - I forgot that we were hungry and we ate at Chili's on base - this may be no big treat to you all, but we have NO American commercial restaurants where we live -- so to see a Chili's is quite a BIG deal.

1700 - Off to check in to our hotel and relax for 20 min

1730 - walked around the shopping area again....Elijah wanted a toy

1830 - off to get my hair braided by the sweetest, Christian lady. She is from Camroon.

1900-midnight - getting my hair braided at her house...she had kids that Elijah played with and a college aged brother that taught Elijah about apartheid (kid-friendly version), since they lived in Africa before they moved to Korea 2 years ago. Elijah was really asking questions and into it too.

midnight to 0100 - walked back to the hotel, showered changed and fell asleep.

0400 - awake again (that's right 3 hours) and off to the passenger terminal for some hurry up and wait time!

0500 - checked in, waited for available seats, got tickets and waited, waited, waited and waited until the plane was ready to board at 0900!!

1145 - back in Japan!!!

Elijah slept for 4 hours once we got home, woke up and said he really liked his trip and wants to do it again.......my response you ask??? "Sweetie, let's just unpack from this trip first!"

Elijah 'deploys' to an undisclosed location

2010-07-25T16:33:00.006+09:00

The base held a mock deployment for the children this past weekend so that the kids could understand what their parents go through when they get deployed. It was called Operation C.O.D.E. (children on deployment exercise). Elijah was recalled (called in the a.m.) by his military training instructor at 0700 and had to report to the outprocessing section by 0800.

Checking out the weapons.....really closely!

Getting ready to be 'Fit to Fight'.....push-ups on the exercise balls

Out of 18 kids, Elijah was chosen to get dressed up in the fire fighter's suit....of course he entertained others while he did it!

...with his I.D. card and outprocessing checklist. He had to wait in line for over an hour at various stations to get outprocessed

Elijah signing a Power of Attorney.....to place Daddy in charge of:

-- taking care of his toys while he was gone

-- giving people hugs while he was gone

-- to clean his room and watch over his piggy bank (but don't spend any of the money)

-- to wash my bicycle while he was gone

Camo paint and all! Does he look F.I.E.R.C.E. or what!

Raising his right hand to take an oath to get DIRTY today! I am not joking...that was the oath!

The campsite...Camp Defender

The 'troops' listening to the briefing from the base commander.

loading the troops on the bus to their undisclosed location......psssst Camp Defender!

eating lunch.....TEARING up that hotdog! He really worked up an appetite by lunch!

Taking down the bad guys!

Successfully completing the obstacle course!

Eddie said that Elijah's group reminded him of Major Payne's group in the movie!

Cherry Picking Road Trip

2010-07-13T18:52:00.000+09:00

It's fruit picking time again. This time we picked cherries and Elijah LOVED it (unlike the blueberries last year) We went with friends, Chris and Chiaki. They are both teachers and speak Japanese and English fluently....which really helped us out in knowing what kind of cherries we were eating.

Elijah and Hannah (Chiaki's daughter) Yep, she is bilingual too!

Eddie THOUGHT he was a professional sweet cherry picker by the end of the 60 min we spent in the cherry picking area!

Goof!

The yellow cherries were my FAVORITE! Super sweet - they were a Japanese variety!

Yep, we let our son climb a ladder in FLIP-FLOPS to pick the cherries that were at the top of the tree!

Ever tried this?

2010-07-10T18:47:00.000+09:00

So unlike many people, I will taste things at least once. I don't want to leave Japan and say that I ate at McDonald's and didn't try any of the ethnic foods. Elijah will try anything too! YEAH!!
Here are a few 'treats' we picked this weekend.

GARLIC CANDY! So the only reason I bought this is because I figured "why not-you are only in Japan once" So I tried a piece and it was REALLY garlic-like. GROSS! I could not finish it ..... but of course Elijah chomped down on it, like it was cherry flavored life saver! Huh? Really he likes it and ate about 4 more pieces.

Notice the slight grammatical error.......corn versus cone. You know when you say it out loud it kind of sounds similar??

Just a quick snack of mini soft shell crabs. You just pop the WHOLE thing in your mouth! They were yummy a bit fishy....Elijah could NOT stop eating them!

..b/c we don't have access to 2 liter soda bottles here...

2010-07-06T18:15:00.005+09:00

....we can not make Diet Coke and Mentos explosions....bummer:(

So we decided to have Elijah create 'rockets' with 35 mm film containers, bak

ing soda and vinegar. He was overly excited and turned them into grenades.

1st try

2nd try

Learning NEVER stops!

2010-07-02T17:49:00.003+09:00

I am SUCH a teacher......I am a strong believer that learning shouldn't stop in the summer time. So a few families got together and went to tour the base recycling center. We viewed a PowerPoint about recycling facts....America produces the most trash out of ALL nations and recycles the least!

Here are some pics:

Trying to lift a cube of crushed aluminum cans.....it was 5 large garbage bags full of cans before it was crushed

We've all seen these metal drums (they collect liquids). It was placed in the crusher and....

...here it is! The kids thought this was cool!

Elijah and his friend, Maxx! A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.

Viewing the results of the cardboard crusher...each child threw a box in, they turned on the machine and got to view how small the boxes were afterwards

Trip to the Igawaro Iris Garden

2010-06-18T20:05:00.006+09:00

To celebrate the last day of school (it was a 1/2 day), Elijah and I (along with some of the school staff) took a trip to a local flower garden. Eddie did not go --- I guess admiring beautiful flowers is not his thing.....it isn't Elijah's thing either...but when he heard his little buddies were being drug along too he changed his mind very quickly? Hmmm?

traditional Japanese footwear called 'Geta'

traditional Japanese baby basket....the little, old Japanese lady (sweet as could be) said that parents placed their babies in there and would rock the basket until the baby fell asleep.

The entrance to the garden

The signs were posted at every flower to tell you what they were......since I don't read Kanji and am not smart enough to every be able to read it.....we relied on our art teacher that showed us around.

wild strawberries - they were in random places around the garden - and they were Y.U.M.M.Y.!

I like poppies - reminds me of Memorial Day!

The eatery - had traditional Japanese dining. The tables were in chabudai style - low and round. There are no chairs - you sit on the floor and the middle of the table spins easily. The food is set in the middle of each table and it's buffet style for your table. So you spin the middle of the table around and serve yourself.

I was entertained by the little Japanese workers tending the garden. If I was bent down like that all day - my back would hurt like nobody's business for a week! She had to have been like 60+ years old though?!?

American Day 2010

2010-06-13T11:22:00.004+09:00

The base puts on an American Day to show the Japanese culture some American customs, food, etc. There was this Japanese band that was setting up on the street. What do YOU think they starting singing? ........probably a Japanese tune? NOPE! Eddie and I were BLOWN away when they starting singing Earth, Wind and Fire's - September! Better than that.....they sounded really, really good! No accents at all!

So other than that - the demonstrations were pretty....ummm "American-like" so they weren't anything worthy of posting in my opinion. I am sure it entertained the Japanese though.

Here are some pics of Elijah playing at one of his favorite play spots around Misawa. This park is right outside the base.

The monkey bars!! He L.O.V.E.S. that Raw wrestling shirt! We see him wear it every single week!

One of the Japanese vendors entrees. For just 400 yen (about $4.40) you can get your very own Tornado Wiener! It looked like a rolled up steamed hotdog??

One of ingenious Japanese inventions. So as we were stopped at the crosswalk, I spotted this hat and snagged a pic! It's a solar-powered fan hat! OMGosh! Does it get any more brilliant?

Square Watermelon Anyone?

2010-05-31T11:00:00.004+09:00

I was talking to my mom about these on the phone and she said I should blog about it.

Here are pictures of SQUARE watermelons! Japanese people are very 'space conscience'. Since this is an island nation, space is very limited. Everything is smaller here....backyards, houses, sidewalks, cars and refrigerators. So naturally, Japanese would find a way to take an oval fruit and make it square. They grow the watermelons in square glass cases so that they fit into the refrigerators better. INGENIOUS!

I haven't tasted the square watermelons.....they are grown in another prefecture and are only in select high-end supermarkets. Each melon sells for 10,000 yen = over $100. Really? Honestly I just can not see spending over a $100 on some fruit!

The fruit here in Japan is BEYOND delicious - the rich, volcanic soil makes it that way -- but $100 for a watermelon is r.i.d.i.c.u.l.o.u.s!

An eye for an eye

2010-05-19T07:17:00.006+09:00

This past Thursday, I was washing clothes and found one of MY classroom Lego men in the dryer. Huh? How did that get in there? I asked a little 8 year old boy (a.k.a. Elijah) that plays with them almost everyday after school if he knew anything about the little Lego man.

He said, "Yes, I put it in my pocket and took it to my classroom so that I could show my friends that I had a Lego man too."

I told him that was stealing because he did not ask me and that he did not return it either.

He looked at me for a minute, scrunched up his eyebrows and said "Can I go outside to play now?"

So needless to say, I didn't think he got the fullness of the lesson I was trying to explain to him. I told him that stealing is wrong and that he wouldn't like it if I stole something of his.

Again he said, "You are right, may I go now?"

He went outside to play and I am ABSOLUTELY sure that as he exhaled he let the memory of "stealing is wrong" out with the wind.

Sidenote: Do you remember being a kid and racing your siblings to the 'good' cereal....(the one with the most sugar) to be the one that gets the cool toy inside? Yeah, Elijah has never experienced that!

So on Monday evening (after Elijah went to bed) I dug in his Lucky Charms cereal box, pulled out the racecar he had been waiting to fall inside of his cereal bowl, neatly cut the plastic bag it was in, 'stole' the car, put the EMPTY plastic bag back inside of the cereal box, shook the box and put the box right back in the cabinet.

Tuesday morning Elijah said, "Yes, Mom! I am almost at the bottom of the box and I know the racecar is going to fall out today!" He has been eating on this box waiting for the car to fall out for 4 days now.

--- the empty plastic bag fell out on top of his cereal

--- he picked it up, looked at it inquisitively and said, "Mom, the car must have fallen out of the plastic.....I am going to pour more cereal until the car falls out. (What a great problem solver!)

--- He emptied the box and said, "I don't know what happened to the car."

--- As he looked at me and held the empty plastic bag, I told him that I stole his car because he stole my Lego man a few days ago. I asked him how he felt about it.

--- He looked at me, wrinkled up his eyebrows, tightened up his lips and with one finger at a time clinched his hand together and balled up the empty plastic bag.

So again I told him that stealing was wrong and that I felt the same way when he stole my Lego man last week.

He then said, "I know that stealing is wrong and I am sorry."

Now before you comment on this post:

1. Don't judge me.....it worked!

Armed Forces Run

2010-05-15T16:45:00.003+09:00

Armed Forces Day is May 15th. Did you know that? Anyway, Elijah and I participated in the Armed Forces Day Run this year. Elijah ran the American Armed Forces Kids Run and I ran the 10K.

Ready for the race to begin

My boy is FOCUSED at the starting line!

Elijah's run was first. He was signed up for the 1 mile run, but he followed the bike that was the 3K run = 1.86 miles. He ran the WHOLE way! YEAH!! It took him about 11 minutes.

Here he is crossing the finish line

Here I am about to cross the finish line of the 10K = 6.21 miles. Not a personal best time, 55 minutes, but I finished in the middle of the pack and a good chunk of it was hills!

Eddie did not participate - he was the photographer. Last week he injured himself on his road bike. He was approaching a sharp turn and going too fast. He tried to brake, flipped off his bike, into the air and landed on his back (ouch), and skidded across the road on his left side.

Thank the Lord for bike helmets and no cars coming!! After a family trip to the emergency room we found out that he has a herniated disk AND it is pinching his sciatic nerve. So he has been out of commission for a week now. The doctor said it will take a few weeks. He is doing MUCH better now. He is walking with a slight limp, the road rash is scabbing over (sorry T.M.I.?) and bruises are healing. His road biking outfit is all torn up though.....small price to pay for a life!

Elijah's Hawaii Pics

2010-05-01T11:37:00.010+09:00

Thanks to Elijah's Grandpa and Grandma you now get to see pics of what he did in Hawaii. He had such a GREAT time and was kept so busy! Thank you guys so much for keeping him while we cruised!

"Surfing" with his Uncle Mike. I use the term surfing VERY lightly!

Enjoying the sea turtles.....they are H.U.G.E! He was actually feeding them. He saw dolphins, sea lions, sting rays, sharks, penguins, etc.

At the falls in Hilo, Hawaii

Getting ready to snorkel at Turtle Cove

I just love this picture! My lil guy looks PRECIOUS!

Spiderman swimming trunks (check) Spiderman life vest (check)..... in the water for less than 10 minutes because he said the water was too cold....CHECK!

Checking out the scenery from the submarine

In the submarine Atlantis with Grandpa and Grandma...150 feet below the surface of the ocean!

Elijah enjoyed playing with Pen Pen - their pet - big ole guinea pig ......probably because he doesn't have one at home

Elijah's BIG catch with Grandpa .... he caught a few of them actually!

Music runs in Elijah's blood! You'd never guess what he was singing...Michael Jackson, what else!

Grandpa was so impressed with Elijah's natural music ability that he purchased him a keyboard and shipped it out here to him.!! Elijah has promised to practice at least 20 minutes a day. He has kept his end of the bargain so far ......without having to be reminded at all!

Elijah is so blessed to have the opportunity to experience so many different cultures and see so many things at such a young age. He just told me that he wishes we stayed on the cruise for 3 weeks and he stayed with Grandpa and Grandma for 3 weeks. Hmmmmm ...... I replied..."I missed you too son."

The Island of Kauai

2010-04-19T20:57:00.005+09:00

Our last island was Kauai....we went to a Luau and ....shopped!

Check out my plate at the Luau.......purple mashed potatoes....to die for!

Hey, do you remember that Sesame Street Song, "One of these kids is doing his own thing, one of these kids is not the same"....take a guess?

Just hanging out with the locals

My lil penguin towels

On the beach in Kauai

Amazing performance!

The Big Island of Hawai'i

2010-04-19T20:32:00.006+09:00

We met back up with Elijah for this day. When asked if he missed us, his exact words were "I just saw you 2 days ago!" Hmmmmmm??

Posing in front of the steam in the volcanic crater

Headed into the lava tube

Eddie said his 'Super Lava Power' made this picture like this!?

Elijah is standing on hardened lava that is less than 6 months old

YES! A new towel animal -- a dog!

A night out on the ship with my man!

Our ship - Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America

Mojito making on the deck of the ship! Yummers! I made a cucumber and strawberry mojito!

The Island of Maui

2010-04-19T20:22:00.003+09:00

Elijah stayed with Grandpa...we cruised ALONE! On Maui, we snorkeled (saw sea turtles and a ton of colorful fish), saw whales and dolphins in the water and went shopping.

Beautiful waters of Maui

Pre-snorkeling pic

Shopping in Maui

Eating at the Teppenyaki Restaurant on the cruise ship

Okay, so I really liked the towel animals that greeted us every night. Here is an elephant!

The Island of Oahu

2010-04-19T20:03:00.004+09:00

As you will see, we went on a Hawaiian cruise 10-17 April. We visited 4 different islands. It was amazing, beautiful, peaceful and WONDERFUL! Enjoy the pics!

The Vacation Crew! Breaux's and Rice's

At the Koi Fish Pond in the International Market Place on Waikiki

Showcasing the Banyan Tree

Pearl Harbor Memorial

U.S.S. Bowfin Memorial

Diamond Head

Easter pics...sorry so late

2010-04-19T19:23:00.004+09:00

So here are our Easter pics....well Elijah's Easter pics actually. I know I am late...way late. No excuses.

Elijah 'found' his Easter basket. It was hidden in the living room. He enjoyed searching for it!

Daddy helps Elijah get dressed for church.

All dressed up!

Lost in Translation

2010-03-21T18:29:00.005+09:00

Elijah spent a Saturday and Sunday morning with our friends Andre and Jene Rice for our anniversary last night (Thanks guys). Before Elijah left our house Eddie gave him a briefing...it went a little something like this:

- If you go to the store with them, you don't need anything and you don't want anything!

- Behave as if we were with you

- And most importantly: Do NOT talk Mr. and Mrs. Rice to death (Elijah loooooves to talk...I mean about anything that pops into his mind and to anyone that will lend 1/2 of a listening ear - asking questions he knows the answer to already is a BIG one for him also)

Andre took Elijah to a local Japanese grocery store. While walking around Elijah asked Andre, "What are Begetables?"

Andre replied, "Elijah, you know what vegetables are."

Elijah then said, "No, I know what vegetables are, but what are begetables?"

Check out the picture!!

Kim L. - This one was especially for you!

He knows what I like

2010-03-06T22:26:00.003+09:00

I came home on Thursday and Eddie had a 'Thinking of You' gift for me on the counter. He told me I couldn't open it until Friday after work.

I just love my man. He is super thoughtful! I loved all the different Kit Kat flavors - they are from all over Japan!! How cool was this gift!!!

What's inside a coconut?

2010-03-01T18:54:00.000+09:00

A few months ago, Elijah and I went grocery shopping (hmmm I was the one shopping - he was the one asking questions up and down each aisle!) While we were in the produce aisle I grabbed a coconut and told Elijah to shake it and listen carefully. He was amazed that there was milk inside a piece of fruit.

So this weekend we bought one so that he could see what was inside and taste the coconut milk....here you go!

Elijah isn't a fan of loud noises.......hence closing his ears while Eddie opens the coconut
Elijah tasting the coconut milk - he said, "It looks like water, not milk" He did not like it at all.

Eddie said Elijah's head looked just like a coconut to him!

"It's a Jungle Out There"

2010-02-24T18:09:00.007+09:00

Elijah had his 2nd grade play today. He even tried out and got a solo speaking part - since he is such a great and confident reader! I brought my class down and Eddie was able to get out of work to attend as well. Enjoy!

Hand motions and all~
Elijah's staring solo roll!

My guys!