Hot Summer...

Well, as usual it has been awhile since I have updated. I am off work today, so I guess I better do something useful! We had a typhoon hit about two weeks ago. It was our first of the season and the strongest one to hit us in our 2 1/2 years on the island. Everything here is made out of concrete though and took the storm well. The trees didn't fair as well, but no major damage in Okinawa to speak of. I guess it did quite a bit more on the mainland, but they are not as ready for storms as we are here in Typhoon Alley. 

Matt just finished up his anatomy class yesterday and was very happy to have that over with. He has gotten more and more busy over the summer at work and is often stressed out about that. He will find out in about two weeks if he made the next rank or not. We are keeping our fingers crossed, but I don't think he is that confident about it. Matt also reenlisted for another term so we won't be done with the Air Force for at least another five years...2012...that seems so far away.

Ryan has been spending his summers at the school age program here on base. It is nice for him that he gets to go on lots of field trips, but he is picking up several "less than desirable" things being around all those older kids. I am ready for school to start again so that he is not there for 9 hours a day. Ryan took the summer off where sports are concerned, but he is getting ready to play soccer this fall. Matt was going to take a season off from coaching so he could concentrate on work and school, but we have just been informed that they have less than 1/4 of the coaches needed, so we will see. We don't want to see kids not get to play. Ryan is getting skinnier and skinnier. I guess he is just so active it is hard to keep any weight on. Who knows...I guess that happens to a lot of kids.

Colin is still going to the daycare center where I work. He likes it there, but also picks up some bad habits. He is all the way potty trained now (even at night). We are really happy that he is becoming such a big boy (well, I might be a little sad). He is still pretty easy going most of the time and seems pretty happy more often than not. He is learning his colors, shapes, and numbers well and often surprises us with all that he knows. He is also signed up for soccer and this will be his first "official" sport.

I have been busy at work and, like Matt, I have been having to bring work home many nights just to get everything done. I definatelywill not be working in daycare when we get back to the states. Between the parents, the kids, and the management it is a lot. I am also getting ready to take another class. University of Maryland is finally offering some more science classes here, so I am going to take physics. I have also been trying to work on my scrapbooking a little bit as I have fallen way behind.

We are counting down to the beginning of October when our list of bases comes out, but in the meantime we are trying to enjoy the island in between all of our other happenings. We can't wait to see everyone and are so excited that we are almost down to six months! I hope all is well with everyone and that you enjoyed this little update!

Let Summer Begin

Wow! I can't believe it is June already! Ryan has one more week of school and then ten weeks of summer break. We have all been keeping busy as usual and still counting the days...I mean months until we return!

Matt has been taking Anatomy and Physiology this term and last term. He is doing well in the class and trying to study for his Staff Sergeant test as well. He tests next Monday, so hopefully all goes well. He has been working hard still and trying to take in as much as possible at work. He was also coaching Ryan's basketball team which just wrapped up the season last week. He will be taking a break from coaching for the summer so that we can have a few more free weekends. He is still taking guitar lessons and has really gotten a new passion for learning songs to play. He is contantly on the internet looking up how to play different songs. Luckily he is talented enough to do it that way.

Ryan had a good season playing basketball. He was certainly not the star of the league, but I would say he falls in the top ten players and some of those we already seven! He had one week left of school and although he is finishing up strong in his academics he is not doing so well with his behavior. He has been having a lot of anger problems so he has started seeing the school counselor who has recommended that he see someone else as well. So he will start seeing someone over the summer and we will hopefully see some changes. He will be taking the summer off as far as sports are concerned and will start off again in the fall with soccer.

Colin has moved from his toddler classroom to one of the preschool rooms at the daycare. He cried for the first few days, but now he is doing well. He is doing well at potty training, but he still won't poop in the potty. He is still a good buy, but really knows how to bother Ryan now and takes full advantage of it. He is starting to take more of an inerest in coloring and now also has a huge interest in basketball and football....I wonder where that comes from!....

I am still working at the daycare center. I work in one of the preschool rooms and although it is very challenging at times, I don't mind the work. I could't do it for years, but for know it works. I took a couple of classes this last term to try and get myself back into the swing of things. I am still waiting for my grade in Calculus, but I am hoping for a B. I am also still taking piano lessons, but I am not as motivated or as talented as Matt. I'll be working on it for awhile.

Only four more months and we should have a good idea of where we are headed. We can't wait to at least know what is in store for us. I am sorry for taking so long between posts and I promise I will try to do better!

Ryan's Birthday and Rainy Season

I can see that once again it has been a long time since I have written anything. I guess it is better late than never! As you can see from the title we are now into the rainy season here and the nice days are wonderful, but don't come as often as I would like. We also just had Ryan's birthday party, and luckily it was nice outside that day. He had an Army party. We sent out Draft Notices as invitations and painted everyone's face with camo paint. It was a lot of fun, and Ryan got way too many presents.

Colin is doing well. He is going to daycare now and seems to like it. I check on him several times during the day and he is always playing and having fun. He is still working on potty training and I think we are slowly making progress, but we are no where that I would like to be. Colin loves to play outside and as you can see from the picture above, we have put him on Ryan's old bike. He wanted to ride it at first, but now he hardly uses it. I think the trampoline is still his favorite toy.

Ryan is doing well in school and football season is now over. He is taking a break from tennis right now because it is really hard for us to get him there. He is playing basketball though and is really enjoying that so far. He gets mad though because a lot of the kids aren't that great so he tries to be a ball hog. He has started going to the school age program that they have here and he really likes it. They get to do a lot of fun activities and he can keep really busy.

Matt and Ryan went back to the states for a funeral, as most of you already know. They had quite an adventure coming back though. They traveled for almost ten days because they got stuck in several airports trying to take space-a travel through the military. It was certainly a long trip and it is nice to have them home. Ryan didn't even want to leave and has asked to go back several times already.

Matt is going to start taking classes again this term and is also busy studying for his staff sergeant test. He will proabably test sometime in May and then find out sometime around June or so if he made it or not. He is also coaching Ryan's basketball, which is always rewarding and challenging all at the same time. He is working on settling abck into work right now and getting used to being back home.

I have started working at the child developement center here on base where Colin goes to daycare. It is nice because I am able to check in on Colin whenever I want. It is also pretty challenging because some of the kids as well as the parents are very difficult to deal with. I am still taking two classes online and I am doing okay in them. It has really been a struggle to take my math class online, but I am making it through.

We are really looking forward to coming back home...only about 91/2 more months. I can't believe we are under a year now and I know a year can fly by like nothing! I can't wait to see all of you!

Christmas and More

Well, I guess the title just goes to show you that I have really been slacking when it comes to keeping this updated. I can't believe my last update was a Halloween one! I will try to get all the important things in since then....

Ryan has been playing flag football. He is really good as far as athletics goes, but has a bad attitude sometimes and we have to make him sit out. He is probably our best passer on the team though and may be the best reciever as well. He is reading like a champ now and his teacher says he is doing very well at wirting sentences. He also has a real interest in math so we try to keep up with that at home since the kindergarten math is a bit too easy. He really enjoyed his Christmas this year and probably got a little too much stuff.

Colin had a good Christmas as well, even though he wasn't too happy in the beginning. He had been up several times during the night so he was still very tired when it was time to open gifts. He is working on potty training right now and is doing okay. He pees in the potty about 50% of the time, but hasn't done much else. It continues to be a challenge as he would much rather go in a diaper. He really wants to "go to school" though so we are trying to use that as incentive.

Matt has been busy coaching Ryan's football. He is the only coach and it is very stressful sometimes having to deal with so many kids. He continues to wish that his job allowed him a little more to do than sit at a desk while he studies for his rank test. The Cowboys got knocked out of the playoffs in a very disappointing early game, so now there is only the draft to look forward to where football is concerned.

I have started taking some classes to get me ready to re-enter college when we get back to the states. I am taking Calculus and Biology online. I am really nervous about them so I have been spending a lot of time working on those. I haven't volunteered in quite awhile, but I am hoping to get back to that sometime. We have also gotten addicted to the show "Lost" but have to try and save it for the weekends so we don't try to watch the whole season in one night!

We also had a visit from my Mom at the beginning of the month. It was so nice to have her help with the kids and the house for a week. Also just to have someone we love so much be here, was really nice. Her visit went too fast, but I know it will only be one more year and we will get to come and see everyone that we miss so much!

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!