More Critters...

Braden the lover of all things alive. He has caught every moving thing he can get his hands on lately. He is currently begging for a pet beetle. Yes, they have pet beetles here, huge ones! I will try to take some pictures of them and find more info for a post later on. We hope to take a mini vacation after swimming lessons end, so maybe after that he can get one.
By the way, has anyone else here noticed an increase in critters this year. We have had more ants, horseflies, and bugs that ever before. And, I have only seen 1 gecko, which are usually everywhere.


Braden and his Snail. He names ever creature he finds, I wish I could remember the names.


The beetle he found at the pool, put it on a float and swam around with for an hour.


The crabs he found at Toguchi.

The BX was all out of Slip and Slides

So, being the creative (not) parents we are, we bought a roll of plastic and a nice sprayer thingy for the hose. I think our version is better anyhow. The first morning we rolled it out we ended up with 15 kids in the yard. That didn't last long though,a s the kids started piling up at the bottom and getting hurt.

A couple afternoons later we went outside right after a nice rain shower. I told Keegan I thought he could slide down the plastic with the rainwater on it. He told me he would give me 5 and a quarter if I went down it. So I did (sorry no pictures of that). He then proudly handed me a nickel and quarter. Silly kid. Then, of course, he and Braden had it, fully clothed of course.

This is my first time trying this marquee thing, if it doesn't work, hurts your eyes, or makes you fall off your chair, sorry.

Nago Pineapple Park

On our way back home from Okuma we made a stop by the Nago Pineapple Park. My camera battery died after 1 picture and the other camera we had with us took mostly blurry pics. So, with that being said there aren't many to post.

The first picture is a little teeny tiny pineapple, the second picture shows Dayton next to them so you can see how small they were. The were quite a few different types, but I couldn't hear well enough to get their names.


Friends meet the pineapple mobile. I have no idea how they do it, but the thing drives itself. There are no tracks or anything like that. Any ideas? This was the boys favorite part of it all. We took a 5 minute ride though the pineapple fields while a little MP3 player told us all about the pineapple. It was in English, but the voice wasn't quite loud enough to be heard over. Keegan "Wow, this is so cool! I'm not even driving it Mama. I bet its got GPS!" Braden "This is like a pineapple rocket, but not as fast Mama, not fast like a pineapple rocket." and Dayton "Mama! Maaamaaaaaaa!"

I took this video just after we started going. You thought I was joking...see no hands!


After the ride in the pineapple caddy we exited into a shell museum. It was really neat to see all the different sizes and shapes of some the same shells we find.
After that we entered pineapple heaven. If you like pineapple, this is the place to go. There was a huge gift store with anything and everything pineapple you could think of. Pineapple wine, pineapple juice, pineapple chocolate, pineapple bread, pineapple cookies, pineapple pastries (what I bought and it was delish!), you get the point. The best part was the free samples. You could taste all of it.

Then the final stop was these two teen guys at a booth selling Okinawan whistles. I wish I had recorded them. They were so funny. They kept telling the boys to sing "Mee-Kee Mas" (Mickey Mouse) and I don't think these boys have ever seen Mickey Mouse. So finally the other guy goes "Star Wars!" Oh man, he had their attention then! The guy did R2D2 and the boys loved it, so we bought the whistle.

Sleeping Bags, Diapers, and Insect Repellant

Those are the vital things I forgot to take on a five day camping trip. Nevertheless we had a great time. Turns out a sleeping bag isn't all that necessary Mid-June on a Tropical island. Dayton wore swimming trunks during all awake hours, and I had about 7 diapers in my diaperbag, just enough. Not to mention I am certain his favorite part about camping was the unrestricted 24/7 access to his man parts. So much that other families we had never met started affectionately calling him Al Bundy. Lets just say the sand toys didnt get played with nearly as much as I expected.... As for the bug spray. Yes, I will definitely remember that next time. I have 100+ mysterious bug bites on my legs. The boys, somehow remained unbitten.

I took the boys camping at Okuma, which is a nice little military resort up on the Northern end of the island. The area is on a small peninsula that sticks out from the main island. So lots of beach, and lots of water, and lots of beautiful views.

The ride up was nice, the boys were so well behaved and we only had to make one stop at a Family Mart to use the potty. There were some interesting signs on the way up that I couldn't get pictures of, because I was like, um, driving.

We got to Okuma around noon, and check in wasn't until 2. We were the only ones staying in the cabin there so we got to go ahead and unload.

The cabins were nice, just a small room with a bed and a/c unit, and a small fridge/microwave. We had to walk across the street to use the community shower/bathroom.


We were unloaded just in time to get to the beach around 2pm and stay until sunset. Which is what we did all 4 nights.


Most of our days consisted of Breakfast, Beach, Lunch, Nap Time for Dayton, Snack, Beach, Dinner, Baths, Bed

One morning everyone was awake at 6am, so we went out walking, there was a nature trail that went to a lookout point. SO up we went. Man was it a hike. Maybe not so bad if you don't ahve a 4 year old that walks slower than slow, and has to stop and touch everything and an almost 30lb baby on your hip the entire time. Once we got to the other side and saw the beautiful views, it was all worth it.


There is a small restaurant there, and I know others have had better experiences, but ours was not so great. Frankly I thought the food was nasty. Maybe I was expecting too much, but Lester Hospital had better food..yuck.. We wouldn't have even eaten there, as I had enough food. But someone sucks at cooking on a grill, and that would be me.


Two afternoons we rented this dandy little bicycle, that would have been so much more enjoyable with another adult pedaling. The kids loved it though, as you can see. There was a cute, but annoying little bell on the front, and after Keegan had rang it about a dozen times I mentioned it might be time to quit. Then Keegan said "Mama, ringing the bell makes me happy!" Ok, if that bell ringing makes you happy, go ahead, ring it all you want.


And lastly here are a few of the critters we encountered while there.
The first one is a cicada, see the 'shell' under it, the boys watched it shed its skin. The second picture was a teeny tiny too cute crab. Those are Bradens hands. Then Keegan with his fuzzy caterpillar. Keegan found it, tehn Braden adopted it. He carried it everywhere for 2 days. Then he dropped it (in the cabin). We searched and searched to no avail. I was certain I would wake up with it crawling across my face.. Well a few hours later, at the restaurant, guess what Braden finds hanging on to his black shorts...the caterpillar! It had stuck to his shorts and been there all that time!


Click on the picture below to see the rest of the pictures I took.

Okinawan Play Group

Tuesday morning we were able to attend an Okinawan playgroup. It was on the second floor of a preschool/daycare center. The Okinawans, as usual were so welcoming of us Americans with our loud, rambunctious children (wait, maybe that was just mine). The kids played for about a half hour, and we did our best to communicate with the other moms, using limited language on both sides, and lots of hand gestures. Later the sensei's (teachers) sang songs, and we were able to read a few books to them. I had brought a few to read, but by now it was too far into Daytons naptime and he was in meltdown mode. We did have a great time though, and I am so glad they were willing to have us join their group.
Babys gotta have the name tag. It was so cute to hear them say his name "Dei-Tahn"

Legos, our favorite toy.

Singing and Dancing

Too Cute! Taiko drums with the ever so popular Anpanman


Head, shoulders, knees and toes...knees and toes, knees and toes..

The library.

Cute little guy blowing bubbles outside.

Lifes Happening

Busy, Busy. Thats what we have been since we returned back to Okinawa.
Keegan is finishing up the last few days of school, in fact tomorrow is his last day :( Braden has been enjoying his time at playgroups and running errands with me in between. Dayton has acquired 2 new teeth, bringing the total count to 8 (and I think 2 more will be debuting soon. I have been unpacking and cleaning and now repacking for a trip to Okuma next week, creating a DVD (using the glorious iMovie) of pictures and video for Keegans class, planning an end of school year picnic at the beach, mowing the lawn, feeding kids, weaning a 14 month old, having Retin-A nightmares....shall I go on?
Dayton, I feel the same way...

Alaska, can I have my husband back NOW?

This Video made me laugh last night at 11pm when I should have been sleeping. Hope you find it as funny, although sleep deprivation may have played a role in the number of giggles I produced :)

Absentminded Mother seeks camping advice...

When Daddy left I promised the boys a trip to Okuma in his absence. Okuma is a military resort up in the northern part of the island with beautiful beaches and a few other kid friendly activities.
Silly me thought a trip half way around the world might be a sweeter deal and supersede any aforementioned camping trip.
What camping? I said we would go camping!? I don't remember that?
Yeah right, my kid that even likes to remind me when he is suppose to be grounded and I tell him to go outside and play. I am not a good mother and I throw out punishments that never stick. Keegan hits Braden..KEEGAN YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR THE REST OF THE DAY!!!! DO NOT GET OFF THE COUCH!!! 15 minutes later, when scatter brained Mom has totaly forgotten the assult, I tell him to go play with his friends outside,
and the kid reminds me he is grounded.
What kid does that? I guess the same one who just yesterday reminded me we only have about 3 weeks left to go camping.
So, here we go.
From you I need advice, tips, lists, someone help me. I have never been camping without Daddy, the camping master who magically makes camping trips happen.