A Break

So I guess I've taken a break from blogging for a while. I haven't been feeling it lately...mostly because of a lack of time mamagement on my part, but also because of a great trip resulting in jet lag and time zone adjustments.
But...I'm back and hope to get things caught up soon! So stay with me friends!
Thanks!

Linda

Birthday's According to Paige

Birthdays ROCK! I've gotten a LOT of practice this year. I got to celebrate my birthday at home in Okinawa before my daddy got on a ship. Here is a picture of my first attempt at birthday cake. My mommy brought me all the way to the states for my birthday so that I could have lots of family around. We went to Myrtle Beach S.C. for a week and thats where I had my real birthday. We had cupcakes, and they were YUMMY! This is me in S.C.
Lastly, I got to have cupcakes at Grandma and Grandpa's house so some of my cousins could be there. I think we should celebrate my birthday a few more times...I'm getting pretty good with the cupcakes! I really liked the gree frosting!

In addition of lots of cake I also had two restaurant celebrations where they brought me ice cream and sang to me. And I got some great presents. It's sure great to know that so many people love me!

Mommy keeps telling me not to get used to this, because it probably won't happen next year, but I can't figure out why she says that. Oh well, Happy Birthday to ME!

1 Year Old

My sweet girl - it was love at first sight! I have to say that you have been the best addition to my life, and you have brought so much happiness to me each and every day! I can't believe its been a year!
We just can't possibly tell you how much we love you!

You have certainly given us one of our favorite adventures in life! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAIGE!!!

Front Door Service...

What a treat tonight! The festival of Bon starts tonight. This is a yearly thing where families honor their dead. We always know when there is a holiday or festival because we can hear the drums. Well tonight I could hear the drums, and looked out our balcony door to see the drummers and dancers right there! Thanks to a telephoto lens I got some great pics of the festivities. Some of the performers were even nice enough to smile for the camera!

The Library

We were awaiting a typhoon and needed to be out of the house for a while, so what better place to go than the Library? Paige thought it was pretty cool...a huge room filled with books, puzzles, and a big open floor and no one else in sight. She could crawl around and investigate and not worry about me pulling her back or away from things that looked interesting.
She really enjoyed the puzzles, but we also brought home a big stack of books and some DVDs!

We had a good time, and then we waited out the typhoon...we were stuck inside for 3 days! Oh well, at least we had some new things to look at.

Bouncy House Fun

We went to a birthday party and they had bouncy houses set up. We threw Paige in to see what she would do. She was unsure at first, but loved it in the end! Then she showed us how strong she is by hanging on the supports for the tent.

Night Swimming

We had a night time pool party for church, so Paige had to model her new swim suit before we left. She looked at the camera briefly and then went back to talking to the baby in the mirror.

Paige had a blast playing in the water with daddy! She really likes walking around the pool.
I'm not sure she was very fond of falling, but it was too cute not to post the picture!

Pineapple World

We decided to head up to the north end of the island and hit up a place called Pineapple World last. Traffic wasn't too great, but we made it! It's a hard place to miss :)
Paige got a quick picture with one of the mascots.
Then we got to ride through the park in style!
Pineapples as far as the eye can see!

It was a fun place to visit. We got to taste lots of different ways they prepare pineapples like cookies, juice, pickles (not my fav!), cake.

On the way home we got to see a few more beautiful places on the island. I love the tunnels!

And one of the many beautiful views on the island.

9 Months Old!

Paige is 9 months old! She is growing up so fast! In the past few months she has learned quite a bit!

Here's our sweet girl!

She wanted to get up close and personal with her toys.

She slept through a typhoon in our bed.

She found out she like's the pool!Trying to climb on the TV...she's such a monkey! She discovered that if she stands in the bouncer it's like a trampoline!

She thinks that she's enjoying a nice can of A&W...lucky for me it wasn't open.

She got her first sunburn :(

Not my proudest parenting moment!

Paige climbs on EVERYTHING! She'll use anything as a ladder.
Didn't you know that was what a bumpo seat was for...to get on top of the ottoman of course!

She was NOT thrilled with the prospect of putting her feet in the ocean on the 4th of July.

Who doesn't love the baby in the mirror? She loves to talk and play with her best friend!
We have lots of fun with her, and she brings us lots of joy. She also makes us laugh everyday! Here are some fun facts about Paige at 9 months:

She crawls everywhere...and man is she speedy!

She says mamama and dadada.

She still wakes up during the night...we are working on this!

She has 4 teeth and 2 more about to come through.

She walks with assistance, but it won't be long before she's running I think.

She still doesn't like baby food, but she'll eat anying off of our plates...she's a total mooch.

She smiles all the time.

Change in Plans

So Mike had a slight change in plans...This is us 4 days after he left port in Okinawa.

This is their ship, back in port 4 days after they left...

...yup, that's their big BROKEN ship.

So for now Mike gets to stay home for the summer and their ship had to go to dry dock and get fixed (they really broke the ship!). It's good for us!

Mike's New Adventure

Mike left on a new adventure. He has a new assignment with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). What this means is that his new unit is attached to a group of ships and he will be out at sea off and on for the next year. Mike is stationed on the USS Essex and they are traveling with the USS Germantown.

The MEU participates in different exercises around the Pacific, but they also provide relief efforts when needed. Just before Mike joined them they were in main-land Japan working on earthquake relief.

This is a great opportunity for Mike to see some new places and experience life on a ship. (I guess if he thought he had island fever before it's going to be worse after being on a ship for a while!)

The day the ship left we were able to go onto the ship for a bit. Paige had a good time, but all the excitement wore her out! It was hot and there isn't a lot of places to sit on the flight deck, but we were glad to spend a few more hours with our favorite guy! We sure love him, and we are going to miss him for the next few months!

You can follow the MEU's movements at www.facebook.com/31stMEU

Here are some pictures from our day!

One Year Down

A year ago Mike and I got on a plane with 4 very over-stuffed suitcases and headed off to Japan. The military was sending us on the adventure of a lifetime! We chose to come to Japan..it was the first place on our wish list.

Although the adventures haven't been quite what we had planned we have really enjoyed being here. We have made good friends. We get to see beautiful things every day. And we have really enjoyed the last year.

Below are some images of things we get to see here in Okinawa.
Now we are ready to start a new adventure as we begin our second year here in Japan...stay tuned for details about that!

Family Pictures

We took family pictures before Mike goes out on ship. I think they turned out great!