Happy Halloween

We all had a great Halloween. The kids got too much candy and I got plenty of exercise walking around the neighborhood carrying Colin and dreagging Ryan. Colin was Thomas the Train and Ryan was an Army guy. Ryan had one of the best costumes in the neighborhood so that was nice. Ryan also had a costume parade at school where his whole class made pumpkin costumes and walked through the school.

Matt and I have been enjoying watching some football together, which I am much more into this year. The Cowboys have a new starting quarterback so it has been exciting.

I will try to write more later, but I just really wanted to get these pictures up! We miss you all!

October

October has been a busy month for us so far. Matt was busy with a big project at work and then had an exercise to be a part of so he has been very busy. Ryan has tons of friends around the neighborhood that he is constantly playing outside with. Colin keeps himself busy with toys and the trampoline. I am going to sing in the church Christmas show with a choir and so I have that and volunteering at the hospital. It feels really nice to be busy though. I thought I would stick a couple of pictures up that we took recently since I haven't been too great about putting up pictures. Other than that there is nothing much to report. I hope everyone is doing well over your way and I hope to hear from you soon.

We Wish We Were Home

I am seriously lacking pictures! I guess that I haven't been taking too many because this one of Colin and one that Ryan took of us are the only ones I can really find. I will really have to do better.

It is October now and so begins one of my favorite times of the year. As I told Matt, these are the three months of the year that I count as one. It always seems to me that these last three months just fly by, so I am now considering it one month. This is good news to us, because we are really starting to feel the itch to leave here and get back to our "normal" lives.

Matt has been very busy working on a project that has to get done, so he has been working a lot of extra hours. He is finishing up this semester of school and then is looking forward to taking a couple of terms off. He also should recieve his Associates some time this month. We are still waiting to find out if he has to go anywhere this next year or not. We are keeping our fingers crossed, or at least I am.

Ryan is still doing tennis lessons and he is signed up for flag football, which doesn't start until next month, or should I say later "this" month! He is doing well at school and really likes his teacher and classmates. He spends his days running around outside which is a plus for me, but very hard for Colin because he wants to go too.

Colin has had quite a temper lately and is still stubborn about using the potty and other "big boy" things. I think I need to just commit myself to the potty training so that we can really get it done with. We have the trampoline set up now and Colin loves to jump on it. I have to stand right beside it though because we don't have the net yet.

I have recoved from my surgery after the miscaraige and I am starting to look for another job. I really want to get out of the house. I am starting piano lessons as a birthday present and I am looking forward to being able to teach Ryan some stuff as well. I haven't been to the hospital in about a month, but when Matt gets done with his project I will be heading back.

Anyway, as the title of this says, we are ready to go HOME! We miss the states, matt misses football, I miss school, and of course we miss all of our family. Only a little more than a year and we will be out of here! Pretty soon the countdown will begin and we can say "this is our last (fill in the month) here"  Choices.....here we come!

 

Not Again

Sorry again for the lack of pictures again! It seems that as soon as I announce something I have to un-announce it. I had to go tot the ER tonight and I found out that I had miscarried and the the baby's heart was no longer beating. It is late and so I will end it there. I promise I will write more when I feel better and there will be pictures too!

AGAIN!

Yes, I said again...as in we are pregnant Again! No we weren't planning on having three, but I am excited about it. Of course there are many things that I don't want to think about...such as being out numbered as parents, or not havign enough money, or even little things such as  not fitting in a regular sized booth at resturaunts anymore.

It looks like I got pregnant the weekend Matt cam home which puts me due on about April 15th...Colin's birthday. I figure since Colin was a week early maybe this baby will be too, that way they won't have to share a birthday.

I will update more later...but just wanted to let you all in on the news.

Matt's Home

Matt is home from his 2 1/2 months in Texas. He has leave these first two weeks so we have been doing a lot together as a family. One of the pictures above is of a robot that Ryan made and that Matt helped him finsh. His name is Robo.

Ryan finished swim lessons this summer and moved up from level 2 to level 3. He also passed his swim test (a test they make the kids take before they can go in the deep end at the pool here). He was the youngest kid on the list and we were very proud of him. Ryan choose not to participate in soccer this year so I put him in a tennis camp that is everyday for two weeks. He is still driving us crazy and we are really counting down the days until school starts.

Colin has had little bit of trouble adjusting to Matt being home, but he is getting better. He loves riding his tricycle right now even though he doesn't use the peddles. He wants to do whatever Ryan is doing most of the time and has really increased his vocabulary as well as his physical abilities. He is a dare devil at the pool and wants to "swim" on his own. He is doing pretty well, but it is scary.

Matt has been spending time with us and with his friends. He hurt his ankle pretty bad playing basketball and has been on crutches for a few days now. We had to postpone our trip to go camping at the beach, but we are hoping he will be well enough to go towards the end of the week. He has moved to a new shop now and will start there on the 7th. He is not excited about it, but it will be good experience.

I am enjoying having Matt home to help with the kids again and I am reallly looking forward to going back to work at the hospital. I can't wait fo school to start so that we can get back into a normal routine.

Well, I hope everyone is well and that people are actually still reading this thing! We love you all.

Finally a Sunny Day

It has rained over here in Okinawa for about 17 day straight. This might sound like it is okay to those of you in Florida, but it has been raining nonstop for that long, no afternoon showers for us. Today is the first day the sun has been out and it feels so nice. I can almost hear all the people running to the beach!

Matt has been gone for just over a month now and he must have taken the nice weather with him. He is in Texas in the 100 degree weather. He is doing okay with his class, but says that it is difficult at times. He is really ready to come home. I know he gets really bored on the weekends especially because he doesn't have a car or tons of extra money to be running around doing stuff. He has about 5 weeks left and then he will be headed back to Okinawa.

Colin is sick right now so we are taking it easy today. I finally got his hair cut and it looks good but he looks a whole year older. He talks so much now and usually uses his words to tell us what he wants. He loves playing outside and jumping on the trampoline. Hopefully we will be able to get back to the beach soon so that he can practice swimming as well.

Ryan is happy that school is out, but he is already driving me crazy. I am going to get him in swim lessons soon. I also signed him up to take a periodic art class and I need to look into the golf lessons. They have a beginning drawing class for 5-10 year olds, but I think that maybe he should wait until next year for that one. I just wan tot keep him busy so that he doesn't drive me too crazy.

Today is the las tday that I am going to watch Aidan until the summer is over. I also stopped cleaning the house that I was cleaning. Starting next week I am going to watch our friends baby for a little while because there are no slots in the daycare center for him. He is only one month old so it should be interesting. I have only volunteered once since Matt has been gone, but I am hoping to go again soon. I am also watching my other friend's dog for a month while she is in the states, I have only had hime for 2 nights so far and it is already quite challenging. Having him here I can really see how good our dog is.

I better go and run my errands while it is not raining so I will post some pictures later today. We love you and miss you all!

Colin's Birthday and More

Okay, so it has been forever since I have updated this thing, so I figured I better get busy. I will start with Colin's birthday which was on April 15th. He turned two and we just had family here since Murhl and Lew were visiting during that time. We made some cupcakes and just had some balloons and presents. I think he had a good time. We got him a Thomas the Train take along toy that he loves; he plays with it everyday and takes the trains with him to bed. It looks like we are going to have another train lover on our hands which works out nicely for our budget since we can just pass everything down.

Murhl and Lew (Matt's parents) were here for almost two weeks. We had a great visit and it was so nice for the kids to have some time with their grandparents. Thry came during spring break so Ryan didn't miss very much school and I didn't have to watch the baby that I normally have everyday because his mom is a teacher and had off as well. We went to Okuma for one night while they were here. It rained a lot though so we didn't get to do as much outside as we might have liked. We did go to Kokosai Street, to the Castle, to the seawall, the aquarium, the butterfly garden, and of course did some shopping.

Matt found out right after his parents left that he was chosen to go to an advanced training school in Texas for his job in the Air Force. He left on May 15th and will be in Wichita Falls for about 2 1/2 months. It is a great school for him to take and will help him a lot in his career field and also in civilian job should he decide to get out. So if you feel like going to Texas you can stop on by! Matt had to drop one of the classes that he was taking since he was going to miss the end of it, but he still had a pretty productive term and was able to finish two other classes.

Ryan has been playing basketball and has games every weekend with a practice two times a week. He does really well during the games, but sometimes acts up during practice. Matt was the assistant coach for the basketball team as well, but he had to let someone else take over when he left. Ryan has also been swimming pretty well. We have been going to the beach at least a couple times a week, so he is getting lots of practice.

Colin loves the water too. I just ordered him one of the floaties that Ryan had when he was that age. He doesn't want me to hold on to him and is always squirming to get away in the water so hopefully the floatie will help. Colin thinks that he is such a big boy. If Ryan lays on his belly to watch TV, so does he, if Ryan laughs at something then Colin cracks up too. I love watching them together and they have even started playing a little more.

I have been busy, especially this week with Matt gone. I am still volunteering at the hospital and I think the people there are really starting to trust me to do things. I also think they really appreciate me and that makes it even better. I am still trying to fit exercise in wherever I can as well as time for Pampered Chef. The Pampered Chef thing is not picking up as fast as I would like it to, but I have already gotten tons of free stuff out of it, so if I end up not making it then I guess it is okay. Summer break starts in about three weeks so I will not be watching any kids other than my own. I am hiping to spend a lot of time at the beach and around Okinawa.

Well, I guess that was good enough to catch all of you up. I hope all is well and we miss you all!

Ryan's Birthday and More

Well, I have taken longer than I should have to update after Ryan's birthday so I thought I had better get to work. Ryan's birthday went great. We had about ten or twelve kids here and the weather was nice so we were able to have it outside. Matt painted a football field in the grass and we had everything else all decked out in football stuff. Ryan got tons of toys and has been enjoying most of them. We got him a new bike and he is just loving that.

Colin is trying to be such a big boy now. He copies everything that Ryan does and wants to do more big boy stuff like play with playdoh. He an dI take the dog for walks in the afternoon after lunch if we haven't gotten outside much, just for a little change in pace. He doesn't like to be in the strolller, so I let him walk and explore the things that he finds in the grass.

Matt has a break from school right now. He got another A in the last class he took. Now he is signed up to take three classes this next term and he is signed up to CLEP an additional two. We will see. I hope he does well on the CLEPs that way he can knock out two classes very quickly. We just want to make sure that he is done with his bachelors before we leave here. He has been working of course and it has been much of the same as far as that goes.

This month was my first month selling Pampered Chef. So far it is going pretty well. I had my first show and I was very nervous, but I think I did good. I also started volunteering at the hospital this las week and I have now been there two times. I like it so much! I have fun, I get to see a lot of things, and I get to practice some of my skills. Last night one of the people who work there let me practice an IV on them. I got it on my second try and was very excited. They are also going to let me take part in all the training that they offer the corpsman (the Navy people). So I guess that I won't get to go to nursing school, but I am still going to get to learn so much.

We are moving right along into the year and in a couple of weeks Murhl and Lew, Matt's parents, will be here. We are so excited to show them around and spend some time with them. While they are here Colin will have his second birthday, so I will probably update some more after that. Hope everyone is well and that I get to hear from you soon!

Rainy Season is Here

Well, it is time for the rainy season here. So far it is not as bad as it was last year. It rains for days at a time, but then we get a day where it will be 80 degrees and sunny. Yesterday was that day, so you could see the whole neighborhood flocking outside to enjoy it. Then when we woke up today the sun was gone and it was back to rain. We have all been keeping busy though so I guess it is not too bad.

Colin is definately getting to be less like a baby and more like a two year old. He is talking a lot more now but still has a cute little baby face. He likes to do whatever Ryan is doing and gets frustrated when he is not able. He doesn't really play with other kids though and so you can usually find him doing his own thing, like following the dogs around the playground.

Ryan is doing Karate, but says he doesn't like it. We are going to make him keep doing it for awhile longer though. He might play basketball this summer, but we will have to see because I don't want to overload him at such a young age. He is doing well at school and getting very excited about his birthday. Right now he thinks five is the greatest age to be and often tells me that he can do something (like cross the street) because "that is what five year olds do!" Right now the forecast for his birthday is sunny. I hope it stays that way because I do not want to have 20 kids in my house.

Matt is taking part in another exercise rigth now and so he is having a long week. He is also a little more than halfway through this term. He can't wait to just be done with school all together. We got offered a three bedroom house the other day and so we went to look at it, but it was horrible. It was probably the same size as the one we have now but with an extra room carved out. It was dirty, old, and much worse than the place we have now. We turned it down and have decided that we will not reapply and we will just make it work where we are.

I have started selling Pampered Chef. I am really excited and I have my first show next week. Mom and Murhl are also having catalog shows to help get me started. I am also going to start volunteering at the hospital on March 13th. I plan on working there one night a week from 6pm-12am. I am excited to get started and start learning anything I can. I might even choose to volunteer in other areas to help me get an idea of where I might want to work when I finally finish school.

We have hit our one year mark here and are very excited to begin our next. We miss everyone so much. Even though we will probably never live next door to everyone, we would love to feel that we could get in the car and drive to visit you all. That is one of the worst things about being on an island, you can only go so far!

Recent Activities

Well, now that the holidays are over and this month is almost over, we are all back in the swing of things. Due to deployments, Matt is now the crew chief of his group and is now slightly busier. I think he enjoys it and even though he is not the higghest ranking left, he got the job because he is the most knowledgeable. Matt has also started back to school this week and is taking two classes. Another history and a philosophy class.

Ryan is back at school and is riding the bus everyday. It is so nice to be able to put him on the bus instead of having to take him and fight the crazy parents in the parking lot. He is getting very excited about turning 5 and says that he wants to have a football party. We went online and picked out the stuff for it the other day.

Colin is doing well, but is getting some more teeth and so he has been waking up in the night again. We went to a birthday party the other day and he all of a sudden started being a bully and pushing all the younger kids down. I guess he was just happy to finally be the bigger one in a group. He also has a new favorite pastime of turning off the television. He is so hard to get mad at though because he is so cute!

We had a couple over for dinner on sunday night that had just moved in. They are our age and are ver nice, but very hard to cook for. They don't eat any pork, any ground meat, they like organic foods, and they try not to eat dairy. I almost said, "Well, maybe you should cook for us!" It turned out okay though. I made something with chicken and they seemed to like it. Matt jocked after they left that maybe they went home and threw it up. I hope not, because I worked hard on the food.

I have been still watching Aidan in the mornings and I have started cleaning my neighbors house every wednesday afternoon. I also called the red cross and I am going to see them on Friday about voluteering at the hospital. I have my CNA from nursing school, so I figure it would be nice to put some of my skills to use. Also this way I can keep my certification up and when I get back to the states I can use it to get a paying job if I want. I am excited, because she told me that I can probably work in whatever section of the hospital that I want. I am going to tell he ER or Labor & Delivery. Idon't think I have ever been so excited to work for free, but it will get me back in the hospital and that is what I want.

Well, I better go. Aidan is crying and I am sure I have other stuff I need to do.

December Pictures

I just thought I would post some pictures from our holiday activities. Hope you enjoy!

Christmas and the New Year

Well, Christmas is over and it is back to the daily grind, or whatever you want to call it. We had a very good holiday season. We went to a friend's house for Christmas Eve and had a wonderful meal and also got to know some knew people. We came home and read the Night Before Christmas and then put out Cookies and Milk for Santa. The kids went to bed pretty quickly and Matt and I had a pretty laid back evening. Matt was the first one up on Christmas morning since he couldn't wait to see if the Cowboys had won or not. Christmas morning flew by as usual and the kids were very happy it had finally come. Colin didn't even want to open his presents after the first one. Everytime we tried to get him to open something he hit it away and went back to playing with his truck. Ryan opened his own presents and then the ones that Colin didn't want to open. We invited our friends and neighbors over for a Christmas brunch and that was really enjoyable as well. The food was great. Our family took a nap in the afternoon and then we went to another friend's house for Christams dinner. Again we stuffed ourselves and the food was great.

Ryan was a real brat on Christmas day and was very unappreciative of his toys and the things people do for him. So we went through his toys the other day and he picked out toys to go to the orphanage in town. Ryan is also still riding his bike with no training wheels and seems to have that skill pretty well down now. Of all the toys he got for Christmas his favorite seems to be his Spiderman games and the Army guys that I got him for a dollar. He also is really enjoying some swimming bath toys that he got. Colin is scared of them though so he has to use them when they are not taking a bath together.

Colin loves one of the trucks that he got and pulls it out everyday to play. He is saying a few more words now like "go" and "help". He is really enjoying having a dog and is even a little protective of her. Whenever we go outside our dog and the neighbors dog play and whenever Colin sees them rolling around and barking he comes over and yells no at the neighbors dog and tries to hit their dog to keep her away from Tasha.

Matt went back to work yesterday after having 11days off. He enjoyed his vacation, but was happy to get back in the swing of things. I started a workout plan with my neighbor on Monday and have been trying to put some efftort into that. Matt and I got a baby sitter on New Year's Eve and went to a party. We had a lot of fun eating, drinking, and dancing. New Year's Day ended up being a really warm day so I took the kids out to the park for several hours and then I took Ryan to the beach for awhile.

Well, I will be posting pictures up here soon, but for now I am just going to post this up. I will try to have the pictures up by the end of the week. Happy New Year everyone!