New Homeowners!

We FINALLY own a house!!

No more base housing during this tour!!!

It has been a long time in coming!!

We're a little excited, can you tell!?!

Michael in front of our first new home:

Right before we unlocked the door for the first time:

Looking out through the plantation shutters at our view from the family room:

another view of the family room:

The entry area and the dining room:

Just outside the deck door looking out:

The golf course/mountain view:

I LOVE this garden tub!!

Michael's half of the walk-in closet:

A huge kitchen to cook in!! We don't have to shimmy past one another any more!!

the golf cart:

The view from the second floor deck:

Michael looking out the window in the soon-to-be media room!

Looking over the balcony from the media room down to the lower level:

It is really ours!!!!

WHOOP!!!!!!!!

Back Stateside!

We have been traveling fools the past month!! We flew into Sea-Tac where my parents picked us up - we were able to get my car all fixed up after spending 3+ years in storage at my brother's house! Here are some pics from our stay up in WA:

Bailey adjusted better then ever expected - she really loved the windows:

Michael grilled out a few times for my parents:

Piglet found Bridget's (my parent's old dog) former look-out spot in the front windows:

We got to see some fierce Hungry Hippos being played between my parent's and Taylor. Piglet found another best friend:

Piggy LOVED the vast expanse of yard to run in!

We got to see Taylor's amazing acrobatics off the diving board:

... and his contemplation skills at work:

Michael before we got in the water:

Everyone cooling off!

Piglet made herself queen of the pillow pile:

After WA we drove down to Vegas so Michael could see the Mustang and so we could buy a second vehicle from Michael's dad!

Here is Michael assisting in the kitchen:

Jan and Steve took us out on Lake Mead in their new boat! Steve, our skipper for the afternoon:

Michael drew the short straw and got the cool lifejacket :P

Michael skiing!

Jan slalom skiing!!

Jan's dog, Tipsy, getting her treat that we brought for her!

Pigdog and her treat ... she really liked the frosting!

chomp ... chomp ... chomp!!

Bailey stayed hidden most of the time ... beneath the comforter:

Piggy playing with the stuffed tiger:

Us on the boat with the new arch bridge behind us at Hoover Dam!

During dinner at Pierros!

... new best friends! Jan and Steve kept our kids while we drove to San Diego to close on our house - Thank you!! We came back and these two were inseparable!

Things I WILL Miss About Oki

*Knowing Michael will come home every night

*Our island friends

*The beach

*The sunsets

*COLA (Cost of Living Allowance)

*Amazing sushi, yakitori, edamame, curry, teppanyaki, gyoza and Asahi beer

*The CrossFit box at Torii Station!

*Beautiful water

*Snorkeling

*Traveling to close, exotic places ... and seeing the different cultures at those places

*Free UFC fights

*Wet towel wipes before meals out in town

*Corn on pizza and salads

***Quite frankly, no matter how short this list is ... the first bullet will ALWAYS trump the long list of things I don't like***


Things I Will NOT Miss About Oki

• Asian drivers (traffic)!!!!!!! This includes: JCI and road tax, stopping in the middle of the road to talk on your cell phone, parking on a two-way road that is wide enough for one car, not going (at all) when the light turns green, the shades covering the driver's window b/c you don't want the sun to hit you, the kids climbing all around the vehicle with no seat belts, the babies asleep in the driver's arms, driving 20 kph slower than the speed limit ... continuously, yellow plates, green/yellow and red/yellow stickers giving inexperienced and/or old drivers a free pass, MOTORCYCLES.
• Living in a multiplex
• Allergies. Too many to list ... for me AND Piglet.
• Ugly architecture (but safe - so I take the ugly here b/c it kept us from crumbling in earthquakes and typhoons!)
• Earthquakes
• Typhoons - and the thought of having to go to the commissary in TC2
• Tsunamis
• Expensive plane tickets no matter where you go b/c it is expensive just to get off the island
• Feeling like the fat American whenever we go to a restaurant - or buying clothes
• Not understanding the language
• Waiting for items in the commissary for months on end (i.e. lemon juice, artichoke hearts, turkey pepperoni, sealable ziplock bags, etc), then having staples for holiday meals sell out before you get a chance to pick them up
• Pumpkins rotting within 1 day of carving
• Carrying two wallets - one for dollars and one for yen
• The exchange rate
• Walking to the wrong side of the car to drive
• No street names
• Superbowl MONDAY
• Shiny napkins
• Watching the Morning Show ... from yesterday
• Waiting for weeks for the newly released movies to make their appearance
• Not being able to buy items we normally would in the states (diet Sunkist coke, GNC everyday vitamins, new items released in the states)
• AFN - delays on shows, sporadic access during storms
• One radio station
• The rainy season
• Grass that hurts your feet (sleepy grass that has stickers)
• Box jellyfish/semi/mosquito season
• Not being able to have things shipped to our house b/c they won't ship overseas (i.e. electronics)
• Cell phones in which Softbank sends messages in Kanji that I can't read ... and are important
• The time difference when calling family
• Expensive fruit - even at the commissary
• Our crappy cars
• Not being able to let the dog out by herself b/c a) we don't have a yard and b) it is so hot/humid outside that it could kill her if we accidently forgot about her
• The humidity
• The cold winters with no heat in our house
• The HOT summers with air conditioners that can barely keep up
• Crap internet service (Mediatti)
• Blogger showing up in Kanji until I change it to English

Sayonara Oki!!

We board the plane in about 7 hours for the trek back to the states ... but up until now we have been insanely busy!!

I had my farewell from the Army Garrison:

Bailey got a new wool blanket for her crate:

We stripped our house down to nothing for the packers:

Michael said good-bye to his grill - the only one we've had since we've been married ... it made the move from Lejeune with us!

Waving good-bye :*(

Aaahhhhh!!! More packing!!

... still packing ...

wait for it ... more packing:

Express shipment on the kitchen table:

TMO loading everything into the crates:

Living at the Hamagawa with the bebes out in town:

... and a final Cocok's pedicure :)

I can't believe the time has finally come!! Sayonara Okinawa!