Happy 4th of July!

Despite the rain ours turned out pretty good. It actually started on the 3rd with AmericaFest. AmericaFest is a little carnival the base has. They have it out on the flight line and have planes out for viewing. It's a lot like the fairs at home minus a few rides and plus some really cool planes. The carnival was only open to Americans on the 3rd and was opened up to everyone on the 4th. We thought we would be smart and go on the 3rd to avoid the huge crowds. It would have worked out much better minus the huge downpours. We got wet but we still managed to have fun.

The kids "flying" a C-130. According to Scott the pilot was very patient with the kids and explained to them what nearly every button did. My kids love asking questions.

Xander was beyond excitement in this picture.
This is cool!
Anton and Scott behind one of the Japanese planes on display.
Xander was excited to get on the rides. It's not often he gets to do things like this. Just wait until he finally gets to go to Holiday World. He will think he has died and gone to heaven.
Scott and I attempting to stay dry.

Following is my favorite part of all! We got to see Gary Sinise. He has a band called Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan band. They do USO tours and play free shows for the troops. (They are a cover band and they are very good!) We only watched the first half of the show on Friday. All of us were wet and when the sun went down we started to get chilly. I had wanted to stay for the whole show and try to get Gary's autograph after but didn't have the heart to make my kids sit outside and shiver so we went home early. For the next 24 hours all I could think about was how I should have stayed and got his autograph. We knew he was playing again on the 4th so of course I dragged everyone out there again. Here are some pictures from the show.

Gary coming on stage.

Gary does not sing; he plays bass.

And this is the coolest part yet! I did get his autograph!

I found out that Gary Sinise had been at the USO during the week signing autographs. Like always I was in complete oblivion and knew nothing about it. I was upset that I missed it and was hoping that I would he able to get something after the show. Last night we stayed until the end of the show and of course as always I really had to pee. While I was gone Scott went around back to where Gary Sinise was to see if he would be signing autographs. Gary's assistant came out with signed photos (according to Scott there were only a few given out) and Scott nabbed me one! I came back from the bathroom thinking I wasn't going to get anything after all and Scott surprised me. I was so excited that I almost didn't mind it taking an hour (literally) to even get out of the parking lot.

It's been a very busy summer so far.

Scott and I have been getting up at 5 am six mornings a week to go to the gym. I get back and get the housework done and then after lunch I have school at home with the kids. Anton fell a little behind in some things when we went to the States for a month so I am working with him every day in an attempt to get him caught up. Xander will be starting kindergarten in the fall (can you believe it??) so I thought this would be a good time to give him a taste of what school will be like. I set up little desks for them and we have rules about raising your hand when you have a question and not talking in class. I know it probably sounds a little silly but Xander is a huge talker and I'm trying to teach him how to behave in class so he won't be in trouble every single day. So far it's gone well. Xander loves the work and actually asks for more when he's finished. He already knows most of the stuff that's in the Kindergarten book we bought him but it doesn't hurt to go over it again.

Xander working at his "desk".

I've not had many problems getting Anton to do his work. Without the distractions of a class full of kids he does pretty well.
Xander's first completed paper. He now has an entire stack.

We are all looking forward to the long weekend. As long as the weather holds out we are planning to go to America Fest out on the flight line. As far as I know it will be a lot like last year with the planes out for all the kids to look at. Of course we are going to see Gary Senise's band and I think there is going to be someone from one of the American Idol's. Melinda somebody maybe? I've only watched one season so I don't have any idea who she is. Hopefully we have fun and its not as hot as last year!

We also need to work on getting Scott's car ready to sell. Our plan is to sell his ASAP and then send the money home to dad so he can be looking for a car for us to have when we get to the US. Thankfully Scott works nearby and it won't be a problem for us to share a car for a while. I hate not knowing where we are going but at least we can start so set things in motion for the move. It feels good to be doing something at least!

Happy Father's Day Dad!!!

My poor dad got the pleasure of living in a house full of girls and now he gets the satisfaction of watching me deal with a house full of boys. While little boys can be difficult I'm glad I won't have to deal with raising 3 teenage girls! I'll take rowdy boys over that any day of the week!

I think one of my favorite memories of dad is going for drives with him in his 1964 Impala. Dad fixed it up and took it to car shows and everyone in town knew whose car it was. I think I was the only kid in school who thought going for drives with their dad was cool. He used to play cassette tapes of the Hollies and CCR and to this day those are two of my favorite bands. I have my dad to thank for my good taste in music!

Nissan Cube and Gary Sinise.

I know, strange combination, right?

I was watching tv the other day and saw an advertisement for Nissan Cube in the States. IN THE STATES!!!!!!!! It's only my very favorite car ever! Have they been available in the US or is it a new thing? I am so oblivious to things outside of Asia! I have a Cube now but it's an older version. I would have liked a newer one but when we went to look for a car the only newer Cube they had on the lot was one in snot green. Um..no. Anyway, I got online today and designed my own Cube.

This 2003 model is the one I really want. In red of course.

And now on to Gary Sinise. He is in a band called The Lieutenant Dan Band. I've never heard a thing they sing (they're an oldies cover band from what I gather) but they are coming here for the 4th of July on a USO tour. Of course I have to go see him. I'm pretty sure Scott thinks I'm a dork but it's Gary Sinise! He could get up there and do somersaults and it would be cool.

New pictures!

We got these pictures taken during our trip to the States and just recently got them back. We got quite a few poses but the one of Anton, Xander and Brayleigh (my niece) and the one of Scott and I were the only ones that came out very well. The family one was absolutely awful. I guess we'll just have to try again.

Mom also mailed me a picture of grandma, mom, Anton and I that was taken when Anton was a baby. Don't mom and I look like sisters instead of mother and daughter?


If you've emailed me and I haven't replied yet I promise I will soon. Our power was out for two days and our cable and internet were out for 3. It might take me another day to get caught up.

Another weekend begins!

Today is give parents a break day on base! Yay! 5 pm to 10 pm with no kids. I can't wait. Xander has been on my last nerve for the past couple of days and I can use the break. We usually try to get out and do something on these days but it's rainy and nasty here. I think we'll just go out to eat and spend the rest of the time at home enjoying the quiet.

On Monday we have a 10 hour scheduled power outage so the base can fix something or other. It's the rainy season which means we would be stuck in the house minus any power for the entire day. Instead of having to deal with that Scott asked for a day off work so we can go to the aquarium again. (After we register the kids for the next school year, that is. Xander is super excited!) It will only be our 3rd trip there. Luckily we really like it. I'm happy we are leaving here soon though. I can't imagine making these same trips over and over again for 3 more years. It's definitely time to move on.

In case you were wondering, the picture above is from the Okinawa Churami Aquarium. I'm sure Cheryl remembers it!

Grandma

The death of a grandmother

is the end of a time in life.

Sometimes one never finds

another confidante

so trustworthy or another judge

so fair.

Life without that ancestress

is little reduced:

At her funeral

the flowers may look pale

alongside her memory.

I have a lot of funny memories of my grandma. I remember when we were kids and during the summers mom, grandma, and my sisters would all go shopping together every week or two. Grandma loved perfume and would use the testers in the store. It wasn't unusual for her to spray one type of perfume on herself and then test others out on us girls. I think the car rides home nearly killed mom!

There was also one Christmas that she embarrased me half to death. I was in high school and everyone went to grandma's for Christmas. Grandma was notorious for reusing boxes for gifts. That year she had bought me a pair of earrings and I tore off the wrapping paper to see that my gift was in an Ex-Lax box. Of course the family got a really big kick out of that.

One of my funniest memories happened when I was in either junior high school or early high school. I always mowed grandma's yard for her and she would sit out in her lawn chair and watch. I was mowing under one of the trees on the side of the yard when I looked up to see a giant black snake on a branch right over my head. I jumped off the mower and ran, leaving grandma to chase down the mower that was making its way across the yard.

I really miss grandma. She was a funny person and you could talk to her about anything. She never had to raise her voice to get us to listen to her even though we were around her nearly every day. I remember one summer when I was a kid I did something that really aggravated her (most likely fighting with my sister). Grandma went outside and got a "switch" off the tree and told us if we weren't good she would have to use it. That's all it took. She never did use it and I don't remember her so much as smacking any of us on the hand.

There are still mornings that I wake up thinking I will call her and remember I can't. I'm not sure I will ever get used to her being gone.