Boys and Valentines

This year Grahm asked to give a special Valentine to a classmate.  If he had asked me I would have vetoed that immediately without giving it any thought.  He is only in second grade.  I guess that is why kids have 2 parents.  When the question was asked they were grocery shopping and Jason allowed him to bring home a heart shaped box of chocolates.  I was not over joyed at the thought of my second grader giving special Valentines out or how I would feel if that was my daughter.  Then the questions silently came into my mind, what is the right age?  When should a boy start to learn the art of wooing a girl?
With my varied experiences in dating, I would answer the last one - that my second grader should have started years ago.  So, if you have a second grade daughter receiving special valentines please don't freak out or be upset.  Let the boys learn how to do it right.

After that, I set out to do what I could to encourage my 5th grader to give one out as well.  He warmed up to the idea and the next time we were at the store he wanted to pick out a heart shaped box of chocolates.  Now, that I was on board I decided that he need tips on how to pick the right chocolates and not end up giving yucky crap.  Hopefully, I will have boys that will know how to gift well!

Speaking of good gifters, Jason has recently purchased some great pieces of furniture for me.  However, he thought he still need to do something great for me.  He ordered pizza (the gift of no cooking with my tired back and legs!) and he gave me 12 Ichigo Daifuku.  This is my absolute new favorite.  It can make a bad day great.  And he brought home 007!  Awesome Valentine.

Ringing in the Year of the Snake

Charlotte and her friend are hanging out by a Japanese New Year decoration outside of Naritasan Temple.  Do you see the snake in the middle?

We decided to spend New Years day following a Japanese custom called Hatsumode.  Hatsumode is the first shrine or temple visit of the year.  We grabbed our friends and we headed to Naritasan Temple to enjoy the festival atmosphere.  There were people visiting wearing kimonos, buying charms.   I love the little girls in kimonos.

Naritasan is also supposed to be lucky for couples who are hoping for a bundle of joy (lucky for us!).

While we were there we ran into friends from church who shared their cotton candy with my vultures.  Oops, I mean children.  I also had fried mochi for the first time.  I am so in love, I will be making some soon.  Of course we had Taiyaki, the fish shaped cakes filled with sweet bean paste.

Happy New Year!

Christmas = Peace on Earth (at least at our house)

Christmas Eve we really slowed things down and spent time together and with the Christmas story.  It was amazing.  We talked about giving Christ a gift and had everyone write down what "sin" they wanted to give up this year and give it to Christ.  The story that inspired this is found in the Book of Mormon, Alma 22:18.  The gospel is being taught to the King of the Lamanites and he believes and wishes to give up all his sins to know Christ.  After we wrote them down we put them in the tree.  We enjoyed a quiet evening together.

(We tried for a family pictures, but it was windy and chilly so this was my favorite.  We will try again in a few weeks)

However, the best part came the next day.  It was the most peaceful day I think we have had in years at our house.  There was no arguing, raised voices, unkind comments, disrespectful attitudes or words, etc...  We had a perfect Christmas (except we miss family).  The children showed gratitude for their gifts and of course their excitement for receiving.  I hope we will be able to enjoy more days like this again.

As usual Jason can only run one camera at a time, so all pictures are later in the day when we are just enjoying Christmas.

Jason purchased a few shotguns for himself for Christmas.  I think he is getting ready for all the hunting opportunities next year.

It was a Good Day!

Merry Christmas!

Since its almost Thanksgiving, a Halloween Post

I just seem to be getting further behind with blogging.  I wanted to get the Halloween pictures posted before Thanksgiving, but have been trying to get 2 of my kids to dress up again.  Jayce and Grahm went Trick-or-Treating with friends and I missed getting a picture of them in the middle of the rush.

Jayce and Grahm were dressed as pirates.  Jason even took the boys to the thrift store to get some clothes that he helped turn into pirate clothes.  The boys added their own blood and their own costumes this year (yay!!).

Charlotte of course changed her mind on Halloween.  I have learned that I need to be prepared for her to change.  Originally she wanted to be a fairy, witch, sugar skull, etc... I had her convinced to use an old dance costume of mine because next year it will be too cold to wear it.  Well it was too cold and rainy here this year, so last minute she decided to be a Sugar Skull.

Tennyson was debating between a bunny and Tinker Bell.  We decided on Tinker Bell and then there was no changing her mind after that, even if it was too cold.  We had to layer her up.  I also painted an old pair of pink shoes green and make big pompoms for her toes.  She wore them until it was time to go and then they had to come off, oh well.

You can tell Tennyson was still getting over the flu.

This year we celebrated a little differently, instead of trying to do it all on Halloween we spread it out.  On Monday we had our ghoulish dinner were we name everything something disgusting.  Tuesday we carved pumpkins.  Wednesday they had a Halloween lunch and we Trick-or-Treated that night.

 
Mummies with blood, fingers and Dracula carrots, ghost cheese, monster mouth apples.

Sugared Cranberries, a tutorial

I know I haven't done a tutorial for awhile.  It is not easy to make lots of great things with 4 little ones and living in Okinawa.

Sugared Cranberries have become a fall tradition since I was introduced to them about 8 years ago by a friend of mine.  I love them and usually can eat a few bags of them each fall.  If I was living in the lower 48, I generally make these after Thanksgiving and into December.  However, living in Okinawa demands that it be done much earlier.  The cranberries just don't seem to last as long.

First you will need to gather:
1 bag of fresh cranberries
Colander
Sauce pan
Slotted spoon
Sugar
Water
Bowl
Cookie Sheet

1.  First you need to wash your cranberries and sort out any bad ones.  They are usually bad if they have soft spots/completely soft or have black/dark spots on them.

2.  Bring to a boil in your sauce pan 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar.  As soon as it boils turn if off and let it cool down.

3.  Once the syrup you made has cooled enough you will add the cranberries.  To check to see if the syrup has cooled enough toss in one cranberry.  If it splits or pops then it is too hot.  You want the syrup as warm as the cranberries can stand without them popping.  It is okay if a few of them pop, but you are not making cranberry sauce.

4.  Let the cranberries steep in the syrup for a few hours or over night (I usually put mine in the refrigerator after awhile and leave it until morning).

5.  Place some sugar in a bowl, 1/4 cup or less at a time.  I usually use regular granulated sugar.  You can use finer sugar or courser sugar depending on the look you like.  Use your slotted spoon and spoon a few cranberries at a time into the bowl and gently shake them around to coat them with sugar.

6.  Place the cranberries on a cookie sheet to dry (I usually leave mine for most of the day or over night) in the refrigerator.

7.  Place in a container to share with friends and family.  Keep refrigerated and enjoy!

The Fourth on Zamami

We celebrated our Fourth of July by island hopping.  Some of our friends were getting ready to leave the island and a group of people were headed to the Keramas for a day of snorkeling and hanging on the beach.  The Kerama Islands are a group of 22 islands located 20 miles southwest of Okinawa.  Only 4 of the islands are inhabited.  We spent 2 days on Zamami island.  Traffic was a little crazier than expected that morning so our usual 30 minute drive took 55 minutes and we missed the early ferry (the fast ferry, an hour ride).  As we pulled in all of our friends were running (lugging beach bags, kids, strollers and more).  They all made and we didn't.  So we took the slow ferry (hauls cars and takes two hours) an hour later.

We were a little worried about how the kids would do on the boat.  No one ended up sick (Charlotte did come and lay down and ate some snacks which she is convinced was her saving grace).  Tennyson had her paparazzi crowd who liked to take pictures.  So lots of Japanese girls have pictures of Tennyson and her double chinned momma.

This is one of the uninhabited islands we passed.  I think Jason and I need to do a weekend escape.

We didn't end up meeting up with our friends because of miscommunication.  We ended up on the wrong beach and we weren't going to haul kids and gear a couple of miles.  So we stayed and snorkeled, swam, and explored.  We were mostly alone on the beach for the day.

Tennyson was super excited about this starfish.  I was worried she was going to hurt it (she was trying to help it do the splits, so I had to rescue it).

Just before this trip we decided to invest in some good life vests so the kids could snorkel on their own with out Mom and Dad having to be right there.  That was such a good choice.  Charlotte is a snorkeling girl.  She loves it and snorkels for an hour or so at a time if there is lots to see.  Jason and Charlotte saw a sea snake (their venom is 10x more poisonous than a rattler - at least that is what we have been told.  They are poisonous though).

Now here is the picture that made staying on this beach until after dark all worth it.

It is hard to see how big this guy was.  Its shell was over 2 feet long.  It surfaced a few times while Jason was watching it.  When I had my turn he seemed more interested in swimming away from me.  It was so cool to see a sea turtle in the wild.  We were told that the eggs had hatched the day before and now the turtles spend their days at sea and return to the beaches in the evening.  So the best time to see them is around 6 am and 6 pm.  We saw this guy at about 7 pm.  

We stayed at this place called the Beach Combah (or Beach Comber).  We had lunch next door earlier that day before heading to the beach and we enjoyed pizza, which was really yummy.  For dinner we ate at the Lava Rock.  We ordered lots of different kinds of meat and you get to cook them on a large round piece of lava rock.  There just isn't enough food to fill up any of my boys.  Between rice, edamame, french fries (some of the best I have ever had) and the veggies for grilling we ordered I was stuffed.  They need to learn to eat some fillers.

This is the hotel we stayed in, Japanese style.  When you come in you are standing in the kitchen, washing machine, entry way area (pic on the right).  The bathroom was to the left and then straight ahead is the living room/bedroom.  You can see the dining table behind the kids (Charlotte is sitting on it).  Yes, we slept on futon mattresses.  We pulled a bunch out of the closet and everyone crashed quickly.  The pillows were very interesting, they were stuffed with what I can only describe as cut up straws.  Small round plastic tubes (the diameter of a straw and about an half an inch long) - noisy.  I slept on beach towels rolled up.

The next day we headed to the other beach Furuzamami beach.  The snorkeling there is awesome.  Lots to see only a few feet out in the water.

This is the view from a balcony overlooking the beach.  It was gorgeous.

For the ride home we hopped on the fast ferry (which we almost missed because we didn't know it docked in a different spot - Jason has a funny story about trying to talk to the ticket person).  The fast ferry was nice because it was fast, but the trip was a lot more up and down, the slow ferry you didn't feel much at all.

It was a great two days away and every one but Tennyson ended up a little pink.  Hopefully we can do more exploring around the Kerama Islands.

The Easter Egg Hunt!

Like everyone, I have visions of beautiful Easter Egg Hunt pictures.  Then, there is reality - we are just lucky to get it done with everything else that day.  This year it seemed harder that usual to focus on the true meaning of Easter.  We are so grateful for the sacrifice of our Savior.  I am so grateful for my boys who remember the special Easter Egg Hunt (with messages about the true meaning of Easter) and made sure we did it on Monday night.

   He missed one, so Charlotte quickly found it after Grahm moved on.

 I love this picture, she spotted an egg!

 Their adopted Aunt and Uncle brought over little basket for each of the kids.  The boys got these hilarious sets of glasses and noses.  The girls got bunny ears (I didn't get a picture).

More Valentines

For Jason, I had 14 gifts delivered to work for him to open every hour.  It included snacks, miscellaneous randomness from the 100 Yen Plaza.

This was my favorite!  The directions tell you to exhale, hold your nose and inhale, and finally make sounds.  Nothing says romance like a funny voice!

 Grahm is starting to single out his favorite gal.  His hints are very subtle.  I love it.

This was my attempt at a fun Valentine lunch for the boys.  The heart shaped egg - I held the egg the wrong direction - so I will have to try that again.  They get excited when I make their lunch special.  I wonder if the Japanese children appreciate it or if it becomes the norm and meaningless?  Hmmm.