So many things have changed
I've come to the conclusion that I'm not very good at this whole blogging thing. I'm going to try it out again now that both kids are in school full time.
Since the last blog post a lot has happened. I mean it has been 3 1/2 years. I'll try to narrow some of the big highlights down to just each person and lump the family stuff together.
First things first, WE LIVE IN JAPAN! Well technically we live in Okinawa, but it is part of Japan. The change from England to Japan was fun. The culture is very different and of course there is the language barrier. We have been fortunate enough that most of the Okinawans speak enough english to communicate with us. When that doesn't work, pointing and hand gesturing works great, too. We have picked up a few words here and there to make sure we are not total "Americans" just visiting. The island is warm, beaches plenty, food delicious and people are very kind. We do miss England very much and hope to one day go back, but Okinawa has definitely been good to us. We have just 7months left here on this island and are trying to get in as much traveling (on island, mostly) as we can. You think you have all the time in the world to visit things near by and then all of a sudden you are looking down a small hallway to your last few months. The last 2 1/2years sure went by fast. Since living here we have been to Kyoto, Bali, Australia and New Zealand. Those were all done within 2015, to include a small trip back to the states. Our next trip is hopefully going to be China.
M:
Since moving to Japan, M has grown up so much and will soon be a 6yo. She is currently enrolled in Kindergarten at the school here on base. These schools are american and only available to the military dependents living here on island. This is her 2nd year of full time school, as we had her enrolled in pre-school last year. She LOVES school and is one of the smartest kids in her class. Her current teacher, Ms. C, is having fun reigning in her rockstar personality. M is quite the little princess who loves to play in the dirt and wrestle with her brother. Turtle is still her little companion but we've had to limit her to bedtime only in fear of M leaving her somewhere, again. We have also recently chopped off her hair and she loves it. It really compliments her spunky/feisty personality. When she is not wrestling and playing outside, she is signing and dancing her heart out. She told her pre-school teacher, Ms. M, that she wanted to be a rockstar when she grew up and I'd be surprised the day that changes.
TK:
Where to begin with this kid. My cute tiny little man is now a 9yo and entering the puberty stage. He is also enrolled on base and exceeding all expectations put in front of him. When we first arrived here, we had to battle for him to be placed in a higher grade then what his age determined. We knew with his educational background from being in British schools, he was prepared for the grade above. After a few weeks, we won the battle and TK was moved to where he belonged. He has since been accepted in to the Gifted program and excelling at that as well. He really is just one smart kid and I couldn't be more proud. I know he didn't inherit those genes from me and is all his father's creation. When TK isn't being awesome at school, he is playing for the base football league or riding his bike around the neighborhood with school friends. He still watches all the education filled shows and has decided that when he grows up, he wants to be a Veterinarian. I know whatever he chooses to do, he will be great at it.
Mr. S:
Since the last post, Mr. S has been deployed again. This time was an easy deployment, with it being in a safe location in the UAE. We were happy about that, given that his deployment back in 2012 left him with minor TBI. With the war in Afghanistan no longer using AF EOD, combat deployments are nonexistent. For the time being. While he was on the 2012 deployment, we got orders to Okinawa Japan. He was beyond thrilled with this new duty station because it's been on his bucket list since I've known him. I say this guy is pretty lucky when it comes to travel. He has currently visited all but 1 of the seven continents, leaving Antartica. The AF has been good to him in that regard. :) Career wise, he has moved up a rank and recently went on a JPAC mission to Vietnam to help look for remains of MIA american military members. His trip was unsuccessful in finding anything, but they were able to close down the site so that the next team to replace them could look in other areas. Oh and the old man has since turned 30! He is still the most gorgeous man I know and love, just getting better with age. Don't tell him I said this, I don't want him thinking I like him or his head getting any bigger then it is ;)
Me, Mrs. S:
Well not much has been going on here with dear 'ol me. I make sure the house is kept, the food stocked and people make it to where they need to go. My cooking ability has also not changed, but I am still trying. I have been branching out a bit and joined a cake club! It's a fun little thing to do every 8wks. I have started to dabble more into the photography world and I love it. Some of my best work are of the animals we have seen during our trips around the world. I don't think I'll make a career out of the family photography part of the business, but it has been fun snapping shots for a few friends. You can check out my favorite photos here. I did not continue in the Key Spouse program when arriving here and kind of wish I would have been more involved. You live and you learn. We are gearing up to move here in 7mo so that has me busy trying to get rid of as much stuff, that we won't need, as possible. We are not sure yet where we are going, but anywhere will be amazing with the trio... 4 I have by my side.
4 you ask? We have since added a member of the four legged kind to our family, Oki. She is a terrier mix, Okinawan dog. She is a wonderful addition to the family and the kids love her to pieces. She is 15!!!years old (in dog years that's 105) and you wouldn't know it. The vet makes that remark every time we go in. Shane and I both agree she reminds us of Bradley, our old German Shepard lab mix from Wichita. We are hoping to take her with us to our next location, which would be her first time ever off this island. Fingers crossed everything works out!
So, there is obviously a lot that has happened in the last few years, but this is pretty much the jist of it. We are all alive, healthy (apart from a few broken toes and twisted ankles) and loving each other. Some days are awesome and some days are just plain, dull, boring everyday days. I'll try to keep this blog updated more as we get ready to move onto our next adventure and maybe even do a few blogs about my photography. We shall see. In the meantime, enjoy your days, say I love you to everyone who means something to you and don't forget to smile. Until next time.....
Photo by: SariahB and Image created by: SariahB
Since the last blog post a lot has happened. I mean it has been 3 1/2 years. I'll try to narrow some of the big highlights down to just each person and lump the family stuff together.
First things first, WE LIVE IN JAPAN! Well technically we live in Okinawa, but it is part of Japan. The change from England to Japan was fun. The culture is very different and of course there is the language barrier. We have been fortunate enough that most of the Okinawans speak enough english to communicate with us. When that doesn't work, pointing and hand gesturing works great, too. We have picked up a few words here and there to make sure we are not total "Americans" just visiting. The island is warm, beaches plenty, food delicious and people are very kind. We do miss England very much and hope to one day go back, but Okinawa has definitely been good to us. We have just 7months left here on this island and are trying to get in as much traveling (on island, mostly) as we can. You think you have all the time in the world to visit things near by and then all of a sudden you are looking down a small hallway to your last few months. The last 2 1/2years sure went by fast. Since living here we have been to Kyoto, Bali, Australia and New Zealand. Those were all done within 2015, to include a small trip back to the states. Our next trip is hopefully going to be China.
M:
Since moving to Japan, M has grown up so much and will soon be a 6yo. She is currently enrolled in Kindergarten at the school here on base. These schools are american and only available to the military dependents living here on island. This is her 2nd year of full time school, as we had her enrolled in pre-school last year. She LOVES school and is one of the smartest kids in her class. Her current teacher, Ms. C, is having fun reigning in her rockstar personality. M is quite the little princess who loves to play in the dirt and wrestle with her brother. Turtle is still her little companion but we've had to limit her to bedtime only in fear of M leaving her somewhere, again. We have also recently chopped off her hair and she loves it. It really compliments her spunky/feisty personality. When she is not wrestling and playing outside, she is signing and dancing her heart out. She told her pre-school teacher, Ms. M, that she wanted to be a rockstar when she grew up and I'd be surprised the day that changes.
TK:
Where to begin with this kid. My cute tiny little man is now a 9yo and entering the puberty stage. He is also enrolled on base and exceeding all expectations put in front of him. When we first arrived here, we had to battle for him to be placed in a higher grade then what his age determined. We knew with his educational background from being in British schools, he was prepared for the grade above. After a few weeks, we won the battle and TK was moved to where he belonged. He has since been accepted in to the Gifted program and excelling at that as well. He really is just one smart kid and I couldn't be more proud. I know he didn't inherit those genes from me and is all his father's creation. When TK isn't being awesome at school, he is playing for the base football league or riding his bike around the neighborhood with school friends. He still watches all the education filled shows and has decided that when he grows up, he wants to be a Veterinarian. I know whatever he chooses to do, he will be great at it.
Mr. S:
Since the last post, Mr. S has been deployed again. This time was an easy deployment, with it being in a safe location in the UAE. We were happy about that, given that his deployment back in 2012 left him with minor TBI. With the war in Afghanistan no longer using AF EOD, combat deployments are nonexistent. For the time being. While he was on the 2012 deployment, we got orders to Okinawa Japan. He was beyond thrilled with this new duty station because it's been on his bucket list since I've known him. I say this guy is pretty lucky when it comes to travel. He has currently visited all but 1 of the seven continents, leaving Antartica. The AF has been good to him in that regard. :) Career wise, he has moved up a rank and recently went on a JPAC mission to Vietnam to help look for remains of MIA american military members. His trip was unsuccessful in finding anything, but they were able to close down the site so that the next team to replace them could look in other areas. Oh and the old man has since turned 30! He is still the most gorgeous man I know and love, just getting better with age. Don't tell him I said this, I don't want him thinking I like him or his head getting any bigger then it is ;)
Me, Mrs. S:
Well not much has been going on here with dear 'ol me. I make sure the house is kept, the food stocked and people make it to where they need to go. My cooking ability has also not changed, but I am still trying. I have been branching out a bit and joined a cake club! It's a fun little thing to do every 8wks. I have started to dabble more into the photography world and I love it. Some of my best work are of the animals we have seen during our trips around the world. I don't think I'll make a career out of the family photography part of the business, but it has been fun snapping shots for a few friends. You can check out my favorite photos here. I did not continue in the Key Spouse program when arriving here and kind of wish I would have been more involved. You live and you learn. We are gearing up to move here in 7mo so that has me busy trying to get rid of as much stuff, that we won't need, as possible. We are not sure yet where we are going, but anywhere will be amazing with the trio... 4 I have by my side.
4 you ask? We have since added a member of the four legged kind to our family, Oki. She is a terrier mix, Okinawan dog. She is a wonderful addition to the family and the kids love her to pieces. She is 15!!!years old (in dog years that's 105) and you wouldn't know it. The vet makes that remark every time we go in. Shane and I both agree she reminds us of Bradley, our old German Shepard lab mix from Wichita. We are hoping to take her with us to our next location, which would be her first time ever off this island. Fingers crossed everything works out!
So, there is obviously a lot that has happened in the last few years, but this is pretty much the jist of it. We are all alive, healthy (apart from a few broken toes and twisted ankles) and loving each other. Some days are awesome and some days are just plain, dull, boring everyday days. I'll try to keep this blog updated more as we get ready to move onto our next adventure and maybe even do a few blogs about my photography. We shall see. In the meantime, enjoy your days, say I love you to everyone who means something to you and don't forget to smile. Until next time.....
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