Columbus Day brings Good Times!

So it has been a hot minute since I have blogged. Honestly, last week was pretty lax and it was nice to be able to stop moving long enough to enjoy myself. I went with the girls last Sunday to get our much anticipated pedis with our "Charlie"...George's Battalion Commander, Steve. He's Sheila's husband (God I miss her)!! He gave us all a treat and took us to Cocock's (they do mind boggling nail art on the tiniest of toes). It was nice to have all us chicas in one room without being related to an FRG event. Check us out...Thanks Steve!!

Moving forward, George had a four-day weekend for Columbus Day and so he decided to take Friday and play golf with some work buds while I went to a pre-planning lunch for our Halloween party coming up in the company. But the best part of that day was that afternoon...Saige came home with a smile like no other!!! The votes came in and Woot Woot.....Saige Isla is Lester Middle's new Vice President for the 08-09 school year. I am so proud of her and I know she will do wonders for the school and her peers. I knew she had it in her. Way to go baby girl!!

Saturday, the hubby had a softball tournament during the day and once he got done we decided to go off base to the "touristy" spot they call...

That's right...American Village! It's funny because I wonder if that's the equivalent of Chinatown in New York?? Either way, we've been there several times since we have lived here but not recently. That is where the Okinawa landmark Ferris Wheel is located. Saige loves taking pictures of it, so here she is posing with it instead.

There's a Japanese movie theater in the "village" that plays movies in English as well as Japanese but for a heftier price than on base. I was intrigued by the movie poster outside advertising one of their coming attractions. The star of the movie looks totally American right? She's not...she just LOOKS it. I'm not a fan of the movie industry assuming every actress needs to look white or something. Weird...

Anyway, we ventured into a store called "American Depot" that houses all kinds of American items (new or used) and let me tell you the prices are through the roof no matter what the condition. They do sell the everyday Japanese tshirts with my favorite American phrases translated. LOL. It cracks me up to see what they think we say...

Next we went into Jusco...it's like a mini mall with a department store, grocery store and several clothing stores all in one. When we walked in, JD ran up to stand next to the display...it had Spiderman on it what can I say!!

It was a nice night and there was some good family bonding happening there.

Sunday, we headed on down to the Oktoberfest Brunch and got to listen to a German band that had flown in to perform some traditional music. JD and Teage were swinging and twirling their napkins in the air screaming "Riya Riya Riya". It was a riot. After our tummies were full, we went to burn it off at Wago Land (see one of my first posts about this place). I had to take a pic of Teage though....he was having too much fun!!

With all the family time that was had, George and I decided to take the night and do something adult-like. There is a Deal or No Deal game show they put on here by the Air Force. They do their best to re-create the actual show...down to the "Lucky Cash Ladies" who happen to be just women that are part of the military community. Not a bad gig I guess...

They run three games and in between do prize giveaways and such. It was fun...of course we didn't get called up for the actual game, but I was asked to come up and do something for a prize giveaway (not knowing what the prize was). This is what I had to do....

That's right...I had to dance in front of about 250 people the YMCA song. George missed the actual photo-op of the famous letter formations, but he did manage to get the awkward part in the middle of the chorus where I had to ad-lib some moves in a hurry. It was quite humerous and the best part of it all...here was the prize!!

A tank top and a light-up USA hat. Awesome!!

Finally, Monday was spent splitting off and doing a girl's day with Saige and George hung out with the boys. When Saige and I came home, my little man was all cleaned up with a new haircut. He looks so big all over again....

Those lashes are still as long as can be though...I could just kiss him all over.

So there's the update...sorry it took so long. P.S. Here's the proof about the over abundance of vending machines I was talking about!!

Love ya!!!

Date Night & odds n ends!

Last night we had our "date night" which we try to do at least once a month. It was nice...we went out to dinner with some good friends and then off to see 'Ragtime' the musical put on by the local community theatrical group, Pacific Okinawa Players (POPs). We went last winter to see Aladdin, JR and that is where JD said he needed to be on stage asap!! We are still waiting for the next children's production so he can audition. They only do about 4 or 5 a year, so we are patiently waiting!! Anyway, here's a pic of us at dinner on the water...

And then this happened....what is the obsession with my husband lately. They just "can't seem to quit him". Damn that brokeback mountain in El Paso LOL!! It seems a little odd that George would let TJ be the man in this relationship (notice the hands and shifty hips on the hubby hee hee)!!!!

So it was off to Ragtime...where George's unit Chaplain played one of the leads, and my girl Amanda played in the ensemble (she sang in almost every song). She is a classically trained opera singer and does it like nobody's business. Here she is in costume with a couple of the other performers. She is on the right hand side...

It was quite enjoyable and the talent was exceptional. I wish to one day actually see a Broadway musical...somebody make that happen please!! :o)

So I have one piece of culture that is so commonly known if you live here, but one that I think the family and friends would be interested in knowing. The Japanese are straight up funny about their drinks in restaurants. If you order a tea or soda at any food establishment..they are miniature. I mean TINY!! And you would pay about 300 yen for one of these (about 3 bucks). No refills!!!! Anywhere!!!! So I took a pic of what a supersized drink looked like at the Japanese McDonald's...

Looks like plain old medium to me, right?!? OK...now you're really gonna trip out. So about every 5 feet on any given street off base there are soda vending machines. And I'm talking every 5 steps. And I also mean 3 vending machines grouped together. But anyway, for a mere 100 yen (or one dollar) you can get this.....

So this is the size of a Monster...way bigger than the 24 oz bottled drinks you can get at your local 7-eleven (oh how I miss 7-eleven and circle K). Weird right?? They have these sizes in any kind of drink you could want...sweet tea, fanta, water, this gatorade like drink called aquarius...the list goes on! Thought I'd share one of the easily forgotten facts about living in Okinawa.

And lastly, we went to brunch this morning and they had a pond out front with koi fish in it. Teage was impressed and wanted to get in I think. One of them even tried to jump out of the water to say hello. Had to take a pic of my biggest and littlest enjoying the scenery...

Once we got home...JD wanted to be the Joker. I told you, theater is in his blood. Saige was the makeup artist for him. Scare Me!!!!

Well, until we meet again...Love ya!!!