Library Fun

Something that we try to go to every Thursday is the Reading Program at the library. They are focusing on sport this summer, and one Thursday, we were learning about gymnastics. The kids played bingo, decorated their own ribbons to use for gymnastics and listened to stories.

Fun times out of the heat is needed here and there!!

Playtime At Araha Beach

Last weekend, we went to Araha beach for a few hours of play. We didn't even bring swim wear, as the rain was lingering in the air, but to get out of the house, we wanted to do something. The kids have been wanting to go back to this beach/playground for awhile, as there is a big ship there to play in and a zip line, which both of the kids enjoyed!

Isabella high up on the ship!

Both of them needed some help getting on the zipline!

Ohoy!

"On August 14th 1840, The Indian Oak, an English ship owned by the East India Company, ran aground at the reef of Chatan because of typhoon. At that time, stealing hte remains of a wreck was common in Asia and Europe. However, the Chatan villagers rescued all 67 members of the crew, who lost their ship, and cared them with great hospitality for 15 days until they left the island. Besides, the villagers made an estimated 180-ton junk ship for the crew. The story above is recorded in Nautical Bulletin and Naval record that is in a possession of the British Museum. 
The investigation proved that the stranding point to be 250 meter down the reef that is located 1,050 meter west from the mouth of the Shirahi River. 
In this park, we established the playground equipment just like The Indian Oak, based on historical facts. 2000/07/21"

My beautiful girl on a beautiful beach!

American Village with the Ferris Wheel in the background.

 

It was hot and humid, even if it was cloudy, and the kids were hot and needed a lot of drink breaks!

Didn't want to be in the picture!

Soon it started to rain, and we rushed off to not get drenched. Driving away from the beach, it was lots and lots of traffic, and it took forever to reach the closest base Foster, to cut across to make it faster to go home. When we stood in line to get on base, I was going to get my ID card out of my phone case, and realized that my military ID was gone! It's a big deal, as one can't get on base without! Big drama, having to turn around and drive back in the terrible slow traffic, back to the park at the beach to try to find it. Not just my ID, but also my yearly pass to the Zoo. As it was still raining, Cassie stayed with the kids in the car and me and Chris rushed out to try to find them.

Luckily, we did! They were laying under the tree where we took shelter before running to the car. I was so relieved as it would have been pretty difficult to get on the base down south, so we would have had to drive around for a longer route to get to our base, where Chris could have gotten me signed in on base as his Marines would be working there. Still, it would have been troublesome to get a new one, and not being able to get on and off base, not being able to go shopping at the Commissary or the PX. Plus, I wouldn't want my ID out there, not knowing who would find it, who would maybe "use" it..

Good Morning Okinawa 5:44 AM

Some mornings when I wake up when Chris goes to work, instead of rolling over and fall back to sleep, I just get up instead to enjoy my morning coffee in peace and quiet before the rest of the house wakes up. This morning, I was up before sunrise and saw this view when I was putting on my coffee in the kitchen. I opened up the balcony and went outside to snap these pictures of the sun rising over the horizon. 

Good morning Okinawa, at sunrise 5:44am.

Happy Birthday & Good Bye Dinner

A couple of weeks ago, my dear Australian friend Rheo had her birthday. We decided to make it a girls night out and another friend of hers came along aswell. It was also a bitter sweet dinner, as she is leaving. For the time being, she is back in Australia visiting family and friends before they make the big move back to the US in August. It will be sad to see her leave, as I don't have many friends here, making her leaving even more obvious.

We got along right away, she always says it's because we are not like the Americans, we are special and have a different mindset to things. I think I can agree on that! So this night out, wasn't just a birthday dinner, but also a good bye dinner as we don't know if we will be able to have time for another evening when she comes back in August, before the whole family is leaving.

As the restrictions were still intact on the island for the Americans, due to all the political incidents over the Spring, we were only allowed to order non-alcoholic drinks. But, I must say, the Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri that we ordered were delicious!

Seafood paella and 1/2 lobster. Not worth the money unfortunately..

Lazy Pool Afternoons

Not always, but sometimes, Cassandra joins me and the kids at the local pool for a few hours in the late afternoon. That's when we normally go, as it's not as hot outside, and it's not very crowded.

These pictures are from about 2 weeks ago, when we went a lot and I mainly had to stay in the kid pool, as I wasn't able to take them into the deep pool yet. The kids didn't mind, they were playing around, diving for things, practicing swimming and having a good time with some toys and playing with friends.

The light in the pictures doesn't shine very bright, and the reason is because it's just an hour before sunset. Most of these days, we also had cloudy skies, but even if it doesn't look like it's that hot outside, don't let the sunlight fool you. We still have most days an heat index of around 120 Fahrenheit/48 Celsius. The humidity isn't fun, but something that you just have to deal with.

Practicing floating!