Our Urban Picnic!

People constantly stop the girls to take pictures with them...so I took a picture this time as well. Ash was being a good sport and throwing their infamous peace sign, but I missed it...

Ash wanted to take one of us.

Little cuties!

Pictures of the urban picnic...

Alright, so this weekend we decided to go have a family picnic; and we figured that the best place for this was one of the parks we've been going to, to play at. Besides, the girls wanted to show it to their dad so he can see one of the places we frequent while he is at work. This place is amazing. It is built on the old British Garrison and has been completely converted for the public. The play area has five different levels of playgrounds, there's an avairy, a pond, a museum and a resturant along with miles of walkways, tons of benches and beautiful landscape. What it doesn't have is grass. There are a couple patches of it, but they are completely fenced off and you are not allowed to touch it. So we threw our blanket down in a benched cement alcove and had a fabulous picnic. Unfortunately, it was interrupted by some rude, non-English speaking guards who insisted we get up before we were finished (they wouldn't leave until we got up and left). From what we could gather...you are allowed to sit on the benches and eat, but you are not allowed to eat on the ground in front of them...I don't know. But we did have a great day of exploring and I have included some of the pictures of our adventure.

Rain boots!

Boy were the girls excited to get rain boots this weekend! They've been begging for them since we got to this soggy island. You know, the rain never really affected us much in Okinawa because we had a car, but when you take public transportation or walk everywhere it really does make a difference in your quality of life. Anyhow, I just thought I'd take this picture of their first time out in them. They were so excited to see the rain that day and know they were going to get to use not only the boots but the umbrellas as well. Miss you all!

Also, just wanted to say thanks to Shauna for the cute little red outfit...Can you believe it is the one you bought for Ashlynn so long ago? Those were good days and too much time has passed!

Funny Roach Story!

OK, so I got used to spiders in Okinawa and ants in Tunis, but I absolutely refuse to get used to the roach situation we moved into. You see from the moment we walked into the new flat we were greeted by a welcoming committee of bugs. There were flying bugs, crawling bugs, striped bugs, all different colored bugs and of course roaches of every size and shape. They were so prevalent that we even got rid of the dishwasher because we opened it up and found a gang of them and figured with the problem we were having we'd have to run it every meal to make sure it didn't attract anymore. Anyhow, last week they FINALLY decided to come spray and that's where the adventure began. Every morning since, the girls and I (or dad) wake up with the flashlight and go dead bug hunting. We find them on their backs (sometimes still flailing)...can I take this moment to question why they have to come out to die?????...and then we scoop them up so no one comes upon them unexpectedly (they blend into the wood floors) or (like Bri) finds them interesting to look at and/or touch. Well, the second morning after the spraying we woke up to the most. They were everywhere, and yes, at this point we wash every dish and pot before we use it......At any rate Hoss was in the kitchen cooking one of his tasty egg breakfasts when we heard a crunch and he made a face of disgust. It was at this moment that he was scared to lift up his foot and proceeded to tell me the crunch had given way to a wet sensation...so we both looked as he lifted it up and we discovered that one of the girls had dropped a grape...How funny...see there's humor even in the tragedy of this dirty (but being cleaned up) house.

The Park and Playgroup

Just thought it was cool to have another different flag picture.

This are the mascots for the East Asian Games that are coming soon. They are everywhere.


It was nice to get away from the city and see the bay for a bit.




The park and playgroup, the girls have managed to find a few friends they enjoy, yeah!

Popsicle time! It was hot...

This is a strange action shot...

Boy does she look like her daddy!

So these are pics from when we went to playgroup. It runs every week and is the one sponsored by his work so the girls are finally starting to feel comfortable and make a few friends. I'm very glad. The wives are nice too and it is something we look forward to during the week. Then we went out to one of the bays around here that evening. One of his coworker's mom flew in for his birhday so we went with them to see that side of the island. It was very enjoyable. Well, Ash is calling for attention. I'll write more later.

Random Pics

Here's some random pics I thought were cute...enjoy!

Goofy girls, this was Brielle's pic of clothes for the day and boy was she proud of it. As you can see this was the view from the first flat.

Hoss all dressed up in his work clothes...so cute! You can tell he's thrilled to be the center of my attention:)

We're here!

On the train again

She loves horses...can I just take this moment to say Bri. never even touched them;)

Feeding Coco!

Snack time!

Little sweethearts!

Taking a green taxi to the stable (our on the other side are red...so it's big deal for the girls)

The train ride there...

Hello everyone!

We're here and FINALLY starting to get settled. Life was a challenge of ups and downs for a bit there...Anyhow, when we first arrived they put us in an adorable flat on the 25th floor. We had an amazing view and the amenities there were fabulous. The kids had a kiddie pool and an indoor tunnel, slide, gym play area that was incredible! It was close to the tram stops and there was a store within walking distance so it was a nice place to get the feel of the city while they painted and fixed our new flat. We were there for three weeks and woke up every morning to watch the sun rise over the city. Then they moved us to a place that is five minutes walk from his work. This is definitely the biggest perk along with the four bedrooms and automatic AFN (The American military channels). Unfortunately we lost our view and amenities, but you can't have everything:) At any rate, this place is also close to two great parks and I've figured out the whole grocery shopping online thing so we're set.

Last week they brought our household goods and with pictures on the wall we are only missing our faithful four legged friend Max; who will come as soon as quarantine has an open spot for him. Ash is in Karate and Ballet and Bri is in Ballet so we are trying to integrate and get used to living here.

This weekend was the Autumn festival thing. The girls received lanterns from the building manager and we took them out to see the fireworks over the water an make their wishes on the full moon. Apparently, you just hold up the lantern and make your wish and supposedly it will come true. I wish I had, had my camera, but I'm not as prepared here as I was before. I definitely missed some good pics and firework moments. Ash wished for a princess barbie, another sister, a poodle and oodles of other things...Brielle wished to be a "marine on duty"that's it. The fireworks were incredible! I've never seen anything like it and promise to bring my camera for the Chinese new year fireworks. They had them exploding in every flower and shape imaginable and they went on for 25 minutes. Wow, is all I can say.

I am going to attach some pics below they are of us at some stables with a playgroup his work hosts. Well, that's it from me for now. Sorry to have not posted sooner or updated all the quirky stories we have been experiencing, but those I will try to post another day. For now I am just trying to find a place to start again...sorry, they attached above this, but you get the point...

Bulla Regia and Dougga and Kelly!

Yesterday we went on a tour of Dougga and Bulla Regia. Dougga is a very well-preserved Roman town with a lot of great history and stories to be told through out. Bulla Regia is an underground town that is only partially exavated, but very cool. The mosiacs found on the floors here were awesome. Anyhow, we all had a great time. The way up Ash mixed juice, cheetos and chocolate pastry (another of my mother of the year moments:))....it came out about an hour later in a fabulous milkshake on her and I in the backseat. And poor Max got a bit hot and decided to hang his big, fat tongue over the headrest and onto Ash and I where his amazing breath and thick drool made the trip most enjoyable. Lets just say...my patience was tested and the limit was reached and passed a few times:) But honestly we did have a good time. It's great to have Kels (my brother)here and we even got brave and tried Boar for lunch. I had a hard time getting past the looks of it, but he seemed to enjoy it. Oh and we loved his DJ skills...the girls were getting quite the indocrination to all music. They're favorite of the trip was Beastie Boys song "Girls"!

It is what it looks like...toilets!

These are snails!

The flowers were gorgeous!