Gold Stars

My oldest two boys are like chocolate and peanut butter. They always have been. Born 19 months apart...it's hard to remember Troy without Patrick. I wouldn't want to think of one without the other...they are thick as thieves, those two. Their personalities are so different. Troy is calm, introverted, reflective, go-with-the-flow, with a surprisingly subtle sense of humor. Patrick is a raging extrovert...and while he has always had a serious, thoughtful side...he's mostly dynamic, confident, "if you don't like me, your loss", wild-and-crazy.

When I think back on the years raising these beautiful boys, thousands of random moments flash through my mind: Blanket sleepers, two boys in a tub, road trips, camping trips, pushing them in the jogging stroller, sweet baby curls, chubby cheeks, arm rolls poking out of little tank tops, making cookies, matching outfits, swimming, snowsuits, bedtime stories, Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine, Buzz and Woody, Star Wars, Hobbits, Harry Potter, matching sandals that light up with each step as they run...squealing, "DADDY!!!" (Man, that's the good stuff!) And as they grow into men in these next couple of months and years, I still see them like this. I still want to hold them, still find them adorable, still delight in their friendship and swell with pride in their milestones. When they have families of their own...oh my goodness, I'm going to be a force to be reckoned with! (I just hope their wives like me.)

It wasn't until recently, that I thought of my sweet grandmother in this context. My Great-Grandma Nellie Parks ("Sugar Grandma") was an angel. I feel so blessed that I actually got to know her and have precious memories of her. But I just knew her as a very old woman (albeit an old woman who always seemed to just be delighted with my presence) without really relating to her life.

Even as a little girl I knew she was anxiously engaged in doing good. She was in her 80s and still doing volunteer work at the VA hospital with disabled vets. She continually gathered clothing and household donations for a nearby Indian reservation. She was actively involved in veterans organizations. She was the wife of a WWI navy veteran (an aviation rigger first class and pioneer in naval aviation)...and she earned a title none of us ever aspire to.....Gold Star Mother.

You see, Sugar Grandma also had two cherished, delightful, hand-and-glove little boys. Fishing, skinny dipping, ditching school, running around barefoot, little buds...who lived a life in San Diego, California that was straight out of a movie. (As my dad says it, they had a "Little Rascals" childhood.) My Grandpa Tom, born there at Balboa Naval Hospital, was the youngest and the quiet one...his older brother Jim was the outgoing one.



I think about how proud she must have been of her boys...the hopes she had for their future. Uncle Jim joined the Navy in 1937, following in his dad's footsteps... and his little brother Tom wasn't far behind, enlisting in 1939. They both served in the Pacific...Jim on the USS Langley (The Navy's first aircraft carrier) and my Grandpa Tom, after unsuccessful attempts to secure orders to the same ship, served as a submariner through the war.

On February 27, 1942...the Langley was hit by Japanese bombers and sunk. Only 16 perished...my Great Uncle Jim was one of them. My grandmother heard the news of the sinking over the radio...and received notice of his MIA status by telegram. After her death in 1980, I remember going through her cedar chest of mementos with my family. In a box of telegrams she saved was the telegram. I can't even imagine what that must have been like to receive it.

That loss left a huge hole in our family. How could it not? I think about what it must have been like for my grandmother through the years. Did she ever wonder what her son's life would have been like? Who he would have married? How many children he would have had? I remember right before I left for boot camp in 1989, my Grandma Corenne telling me that when my Grandpa Tom came back on his first leave after their marriage, he pleaded with her to have a baby. She was taken aback at the thought of having one so soon and initially protested, but my grandpa thought it would do much to heal the void in his parents' hearts.

In January of 1945, my dad was born, bringing much joy and healing to this family. But I still wonder, did Sugar Grandma only experience joy in her remaining son's family...or were there times she was reminded through them what she had lost? When she looked at her grown son, did she flashback (like I do) to her sweet Jimmy and Tommy playing in the back yard, reading them bedtime stories, drying them off after a bath? I don't know how you recover from a loss like that. But recover she did. And was she bitter or ruined? No. She was gracious and loving. Besides serving her family and friends, she recorded more than 10,000 hours volunteering at the VA hospital.

I wish there was some way that as an eight or a ten year old girl, while she was still alive, I could have expressed my gratitude to her, that I could have acknowledged the sacrifice she made for our country...but of course that's not possible. In order to truly appreciate what she lost, I would have to have some idea what she had to lose...which only comes with age and experience.

So I will just say it now, where hopefully in heaven she can hear. Thank you, Sugar Grandma...not only for your sacrifice, but for your legacy. I will never forget.

Patrick Plunders Korea

In his most. epic. week. ever, Patrick had the opportunity to attend:

in Seoul, Korea!

We missed him terribly, and were a little nervous at the headlines coming out of that area, but he returned to us safe and sound, with a story to tell.

Actually, I guess that would be a lie. He came back swearing he had the best time ever, but with very few specifics, even with pics to prompt him. I don't know whether he really doesn't remember which activities took place when, or what he was doing...or if he was just being stingy with the details. Either way, this post will be light on the text.



This is Patrick at the Naha airport with a couple of Kubasaki peeps, ready to take off for Fukuoka airport on the mainland, before heading on to Seoul.



Here he is after taking off from Fukuoka to Seoul, with Katie, also from Kubasaki.



Katie took this picture of their landing in Seoul.



I asked Patrick what was happening in this picture. He said that while they were deplaning in Seoul, someone asked how many people were still ahead of them? Patrick responded by taking this picture (over his head), showing him and saying, "This many."



This is the hotel where they stayed and where the festival was held. The boys stayed on the 6th floor of 19. This was actually built for the Olympics, and Patrick thought it was pretty cool he was sleeping in a room where Olympians had stayed.



Here they are on the first day, acting crazy (which is what they are supposed to be doing, technically).



I'm glad I'm not the only one who takes pictures of random things. Patrick said there were a bunch of these pink, girl parking places. Funny!



Patrick found Katie in the elevator again. I tried to prompt him by asking, "Where were you headed?" He said, "Mom, we used the elevator more than we used the bathroom. I have no idea."



This is Patrick's improv class "minus a couple of chicks"...



And here is Patrick Emceeing the talent show Tuesday night...



And it turns out that his improv instructor, Mr. Dickinson, was some sort of Japanese sword master. When he heard Patrick brought his Nerf swords (leave it to Patrick!) he offered to teach Patrick some of his moves, which they then performed for the others. He even let Patrick keep the costume!



This was the view from Patrick's floor.

On Wednesday night they had a dance, but I didn't include any of those pics or video here, because there were none of Patrick and I didn't think you cared about watching random kids dance (even though some of them were pretty good).



On Thursday after class, the kids went out to this square near the hotel, and were encircled by this group of screaming, Korean school girls.



Good thing Patrick thought to get some of it on film to share with us.



And here he is having fun with some Kubi peeps, relaxing before the big show.



This is my favorite picture! Aren't they adorable?


Patrick didn't get any pictures during their final performance, but I am glad he got this one:


This is what the room looked like before he started packing to head home the next day (Friday). Why am I not surprised?

This video pretty much says it all. I'm sure they were exhausted having to get up so early after an action-packed week.

Hopefully this will be the first of many experiences like this Patrick gets to have over the next couple of years...although I'm sure the next one will have just as few details. At least he takes pictures!

Our Country Tis of Thee

Admittedly, this is probably more of a grandparents post than anything...unless you are a real American history buff...otherwise, you can probably just skip this post altogether.


Jake's class put on a fabulous production celebrating American history called, "Our Country Tis of Thee". Jake was not only the student director, but he had some speaking parts as well. They performed the play at night for the parents, but it was the same time as the Sr. dinner last night, so we had to send him alone. Luckily, they performed it for the school yesterday morning, so we were still able to catch it.



He came out to say hello while the classes were getting seated. I should have snapped the picture a few seconds earlier to catch Coree's real expression when I asked her to put her arm around her brother. She looks way too innocent and compliant here.



This was before the show started...so I'm not sure why the girls have their mouths open. Maybe they were talking to friends?



Maybe I'm just sappy...or maybe it's just because I've been away from home for too long...but I actually started to get weepy here. I tend to tear up at the National Anthem, so I guess it's not too out of character for me.



I vaguely remember Jake saying he was going to portray Patrick Henry...but he never asked for any help memorizing any lines...never said anything about it...so I was surprised at this part.



Hey...at least I didn't make you sit through all Thirteen Colonies...just the cutest one!



Careful...this one will get stuck in your head...and when was the last time you heard "Cumberland Gap"? Fifth grade? Me too.



My favorite thing about this number? Dudes from the Revolution doing "Turkey in the Straw" with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
LOVE the composite costumes!



The number representing the Civil War was kind of long and boring (how photogenic is a long, still scene of Taps being played in a graveyard?) but I wanted to capture the special effects here. (Ooooohhhh! Aaaaahhhh!)

(I also spared you from the number on "The New Deal". See...don't you appreciate me now?)



"Don't forget to dot the i...for the inventor...don't forget to dot the i." LOVE it!



Jake's facial expressions are priceless...and how about that choir of prepubescent voices? This is the good stuff!



Yea! Dad got to come, too! I know Jake felt very special that Dad was able to sneak away from work for an hour for him.

And this is Mr. Johnson...Jake's teacher and the man behind the magic. I can't imagine how much work that took to teach these kids the musical numbers, the DANCING, and their speaking parts. We were so impressed...and you know these kids are going to remember every detail of these numbers, because they were history lessons set to music, and music just works like that.

Bravo, Mr. Johnson's class...great job!

Flashback Friday...God Bless America!

As we head into this Memorial Day weekend...just thought I'd share this darling little patriot with all of you. It's funny...Cliff was a Marine when this was taken...and was not the most thrilled with his son wearing a sailor-suit. Probably the only reason he didn't veto it was that this little boy's MOM was a Sailor.

Hahaha....guess now the joke's on him, huh?

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend...and that you don't just enjoy the extra day off...but take some time to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us.

We will never forget.

Senior Parent Appreciation Dinner

Remember the sarcastic remarks I was making about having to shell out $20 a pop for the Senior Parent Appreciation Dinner? Well...I take all that back. What a special night tonight was! And if the way I felt tonight watching this slide show is any indication of what's to come with graduation...I am in trouble:






Luckily, (because maybe people figure Mormons only like to hang with other Mormons?) we were assigned to sit with the fabulous Joneses...who ALWAYS make us laugh, so I didn't shed too many tears. Although when it came time for "open mic" and the Sr.'s had the opportunity (only if they wanted) to read aloud their prepared letters for their parents...Pa Jones offered Troy $10 to go up and read his because he wanted to see me cry:






Josh making good on his dad's offer.

He actually said, "$10 if you read it, $20 if you rap it"...which would NOT have made me cry...but I guess he figured seeing Troy rap would be just as entertaining...so he won either way.

Throughout the evening, there was this cute deal where they would ring a bell, and whenever it rang, the kids would have to hug a parent. Pretty soon, kids were running around hugging parents who were not their own. It was very sweet...and although my favorite hugs were from Troy, I enjoyed my bonus hugs, too.

Then they had the Sr.'s bring each of their parents this lovely gift:


And made them hug us and say they appreciated us. (It didn't sound forced at all.)


I LOVE these! I'm going to try to get on the committee for Patrick's graduation in 2012 just so I can get two more and have a full set.


In other news, the school yearbook came out today. After school, Troy and I sat on my bed and looked through the whole thing. His pics were great. They do formal, casual, and baby sections just for the Sr.'s...and then there's all the sports and activities he was in, too. We turned to the Sophomore section to find Patrick's last name spelled Stewart. FAIL! Two problems with this: First of all...it's a small school and everyone knows they are brothers...HELLO! Second of all, they spelled it correctly each and every other place Patrick was pictured in the yearbook...but on his official picture...the one most people will be looking at...no. What gives?

Anyway, we got to the Sr. superlatives section (you know...voting for who is "best dressed", "most likely to succeed", etc.) and imagine my surprise when I see this:


I asked Troy if he knew about this and he said he'd known for a couple of months (since they announced the results), but wanted it to be a surprise. The funny thing is, I had never thought about any of these categories (I mean, come on...the best he'd gotten so far was "sweatiest athlete" at the wrestling banquet) but after I saw this and thought about it...there is not one title I'd be more proud of him being voted into. I have always seen what a gentle, calming presence Troy has...but it was pretty sweet to see his peers recognize what a kind soul he is, too. He's a pretty amazing person.

Now I'm just plain bragging, so I'm going to stop and hit the hay.

Nighty night!

Milk Cracker Memories

Do you have a food that you associate with a particular childhood memory...like a certain candy or a holiday dish? I have a few. Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, frozen peas and green salad with homemade buttermilk dressing remind me of Sunday dinners at Grandma Cramer's house. Huge, crumbly, lard-laden cookies {whose yumminess can only come from a real Mexican bakery} remind me of trips to the desert with Grandma and Grandpa Parks.

Two of my earliest childhood food memories come from my sweet "Sugar Grandma" {my Great-grandma Parks...who earned her name from the way she would stand out on her Spring Valley, CA porch (on Troy Street) and wave to us as we left, saying, "Bye, Sugar"}. The first were butter mints...which she kept in a little white dish with a cat on the lid. The other was Nabisco Royal Lunch Milk Crackers.

I should back up, though...because until about a month ago, I just knew them as "milk crackers". I remember each and every time I visited, (and I'm talking preschool age here) Sugar Grandma would ask if I wanted a milk cracker. Of course I did. They were large, tender, flaky and had a very distinctive, mildly-sweet flavor. My favorite thing about them was the way you could use your teeth to break them open and they'd split evenly through the middle and you'd have TWO crackers. How cool is that?

No one else but Sugar Grandma ever had those crackers, so I only associated them with her. She died in 1980 (when I was ten) and I don't remember ever having another milk cracker...although I do remember looking for them in the store from time to time as a teen and young adult. I never found anything remotely close. Butter crackers...no. Water crackers...not even close. Digestive biscuits...nope. Since I was so young when I last had one...I had no other info about them...I just knew they were milk crackers and they didn't taste like anything else.

Well, a few weeks ago, it occurred to me to Google it. {What did we ever do before the WWW? Honestly!} Anyway, I put "milk crackers" into the search, and it didn't take many hits to see a picture of the Royal Lunch Milk Cracker box that took me RIGHT back to Grandma's house. I recognized it instantly and was SO excited...until I read that they were discontinued about four years ago...and apparently, I was not their only fan.*

I couldn't help myself...I spent a couple of hours reading blog posts and comments calling for Nabisco's boycott, letter writing campaigns, etc...to bring back the beloved Royal Lunch crackers. How did I miss out on all the fervor? Well, from what I read, these crackers were no longer available in California around the 80's (about the time I left) and then were only available in the New England area up until their demise in 2006. So my great Google idea came too little, too late.

One thing I learned through some of the comments was that there was a close second...Heritage Mills brand milk crackers.


They are only available in Canada. Before I knew it, I was spending $17 for 2 boxes to be shipped here to me in Japan. They arrived inside of a week. I opened them as soon as I got to the car and was amazed that the flavor took me back 30+ years. The secret ingredient....malt! (No wonder I loved them so much...I LOVE malt.)



These crackers have the same basic look as Royal Lunch, only smaller.



Except that these are flat on one side...Royal lunch was rounded on both sides...



Kind of like this. Not quite as satisfying as jimmying them apart with your teeth...but close.


Anyway, my husband and kids were not as enthusiastic. They didn't get the hype. To them I say, "GOOD...more for me!"

It was very satisfying to have this 30+ year mystery solved. I said I'd only buy them once, just for old time's sake. After all, $17 is a bit much for 2 boxes of crackers. However, now that I only have six crackers left, $17 isn't seeming so steep. {My, how the human mind has an infinite capacity for rationalization!}


*The source of the first image above.

Like a Japanese Santa...

Some of you might remember, the winner of my 400th post trivia contest was Gina Baynham from Australia! Gina found my blog from a comment I left on another, about a year ago. She left a lovely comment here and we've been keeping tabs on each other's blogs ever since.

Gina's family emigrated from Ireland to Australia several years ago, and (much like we did while preparing to move to Japan) started a blog to document their adventures and keep in touch with family back home in Ireland. I have loved learning about her family and I'm certain if we lived in the same town and had met that way, we'd be friends "for real".

Well, sweet Gina did this blog post to document the big "reveal" when the package arrived. It was even more fun to see them opening the package than it was to shop for the contents (and I already knew what was inside).

Just thought I'd share it with you here.

That's all.

*HUGS*

(photo courtesy of Flickr Japan images)

Hardcore Parkour

Well, we are guessing Patrick was allowed into Korea. He didn't show up back at the house last night...and I saw some of his Facebook activity on my newsfeed...so I'm guessing he got settled into the hotel.

While looking through his pics, I found these photos his friend Lia took of some of his parkour moves, and remembered I'd not shared them yet. Some of you may remember his broken collarbone last Summer. I have to hand it to Patrick...this is not an easy sport and it certainly comes with risks...but he really seems to have a knack for it. (Well, you know...other than the broken collarbone.)

I stole these photos and descriptions straight from his Facebook:
(Patrick's words in red)


The Wallclimb is literally running right up a wall. Two or even three steps can be easily achieved, combined with a Muscle-Up to give a climb distance of over 10 feet. (Editorial note: This is the side of our house.)



Spotting the landing: The second a Traceur moves over his obstacle, he must "spot" his landing. As quickly as possible, he must ascertain the angle and composition of the surface, how far away it is, what part of his body he will land on it with, at what speed, etc. This takes fractions of a second, or else the landing will injure the Traceur. (Editorial note: I think he learned that first-hand)

This is a Vault I haven't yet found a name for, although I doubt I discovered it first. I call it a "Kick Vault", because I kick off the wall in order to climb over it.



Although featured frequently in movies and video games, the "Parkour Slide" is a technique that many Traceurs rarely get to use. Empty pools are PERFECT for practice. (Editorial note: Wasn't he terribly lucky they just built a new pool in our neighborhood and had drained the old one? Just another little military family perk.)



This is how to get back out of the empty pool. Great Wallclimb practice.



Wallrunning, also known as a "Tic-Tac" or "Tac-ing", is used to get over an obstacle too large to simply vault or jump over. It can also be used to quickly change direction while running.



The Monkey Vault, also known as the "Cat Pass" or slightly altered by a long jump into the "Kong Vault", is used to pass over obstacles symmetrically, especially ones slightly taller or longer than the average wall, at the expense of speed.

A few months ago, on the WWW...Patrick found a parkour camp in Geneva, Switzerland. He desperately wants to go. This would be the parkour pinnacle. It would cost him about $4000, between airfare and tuition. Not wanting to be killjoys, we encouraged him to save the money and assured him we supported him going 100%. He then informed us he hated to use some of his savings...but feared he might have to. I said, "I didn't know you had savings...how much do you have?" Then he indicated he was speaking of his college/mission savings (the "hands off" savings we have in our names jointly) and he looked astonished as I nearly fell over laughing. (It was just so cute the way he tried to slip that in there nonchalant-like....as if he thought that was really ever going to happen.)

Anyway, I do hope that Patrick is able to save the money to attend his camp. It would be such a wonderful experience for him...but I know that he will only TRULY appreciate it if it's something he earns. He plans to take the training and start life-guarding as soon as school is out. How sweet that will be if all those hours of work pay off and he's on his way to parkour paradise!

Far East Korea (or...Nothing's ever easy with this kid!)

Normally, there would be a pic of the child pulling a suitcase or getting on the bus here. But...considering the urgency involved...AND the fact that the camera lens fogged up the instant Cliff removed the cover...you'll just have to settle for this artsy shot that Patrick did for a girl before he left.

So Patrick has this awesome opportunity to go to "Far East: Film and Entertainment Arts" in Seoul, Korea. Far East is a program within the Department of Defense schools in the Pacific where kids get to compete against students from other high schools in different sports, arts, etc. Kind of like Regionals, State or what-have-you back in the States. Schools take turns hosting the festivities for the week...so if it's your school's turn to host that year, it's a total bummer...but most times...you get a week long trip to someplace else (not to mention missing school). We have to pay for the billeting and meals, but the school picks up the tab for the airfare. Sweet!

Anyway...all of these trips leave on a Sunday morning and come back on a Friday afternoon. The bus was scheduled to leave the high school at 6 AM for the airport, so we planned on getting him there about 5:45, which means leaving the house about 5:30. Last night Cliff gave Patrick a blessing...and as he and I headed to bed, Patrick was headed to the shower and was going to pack afterward. Evidently he lost his freaking mind in the process and decided to just pack in the morning. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience trying to get him out the door.

Did he have a carry-on bag packed smartly with items like...a book to read? His passport and ID? Some snacks? No. But by golly, his suitcase sure had a full arsenal of Nerf darts! Who knows if he even had a toothbrush or underwear in there. Anyway, Cliff left the house with Patrick in tow at about...ohhh...5:48. He was one of the last to get on the bus and it took off.

The phone rang as Cliff walked back in the door. It was Patrick on a chaperon's phone. Apparently, he was supposed to have a re-entry stamp in his passport in order to get back in the country. Was this in the packet of information from the school? NO! Come to find out (from talking to another mom today) the info was passed to the kids ONLY in their in-class informational meeting. Am I the only one that thinks only giving this info verbally to a kid and trusting said info to get to a parent is as good as not doing it at all? I'm sure he mentally discarded the info as soon as it registered that he didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

Evidently, Patrick wasn't the only one, because about 1/3 of the kids didn't have the necessary stamp. We didn't even know if they would be allowed on the plane without it (heck, we still don't know...he could still be thumbing it home from the airport for all we know) but someone had a "hook-up" at the office where they do the stamping and he was hoping to run the rogue passports over there to solve the problem. If he was unable to...we're going to have to fax a copy of Cliff's orders and dependent clearance to Korea in order for Patrick to be allowed back on the flight home. We're still thinking it over.

In other news, we had a lovely dinner with our friends, the Neal's, in part to celebrate Patrick's advancement in Young Men at church...Bro. Neal is our Young Men's President. (We just didn't tell them Patrick wouldn't be there because we really wanted good food we didn't have to cook. A family of six doesn't get a lot of invites...and it wasn't our fault he went to Korea, was it?)

They have two adorable kids. Seriously. Adorable. I think we make pretty cute kids, but even I have to admit we were outdone. Anyway, Jake was having a fun time playing with them. Their little boy was throwing a rubber frog around the room while we were talking about places they've traveled (and we'd like to travel). Suddenly, we heard this huge "splat"...


Hummus score!

And no, other than the hummus, I didn't get any pics of the fabulous food. I was too entranced by the spread in front of me to think about such things. Think Gyros...only with grilled chicken instead of lamb, homemade flatbread (which I had to get the recipe for. To DIE for!) yummy veggies like cucumber, tomato, avocado, lettuce, etc...fresh fruit and dip...and we supplied the brownies.

So, that was our Sunday. Oh, and Cliff gave a really awesome talk about marriage in church. Other than the part where he told everyone my nickname was Carrie-Oki...and made it sound like I actually had to deliberate between going to the O Club to karaoke on Friday, or going out on a date with him. Like there is even a contest!

White Hot...

Yesterday was a busy, busy day...but "good busy". It started out at a brunch in honor of "Military Spouse Appreciation Day", which is actually the Friday before Mother's Day...but because of some other scheduling conflicts, was being held later. It was a very nice meeting, and I shared a reading with everyone called "Military Wife" that Cliff sent to me last year while on deployment. Lots of tears in the room...but I was able to get through it while only cracking once! That's huge for me.

From there, I drove over to the high school and lightened my wallet a LOT, with payments for Patrick's "Far East Film and Performing Arts" trip to Korea and tickets to Troy's Sr. Parent's Appreciation Dinner. ("We appreciate you...that'll be $20 each or your kid will think you're a total loser.") While I was there, I also remembered to register Patrick for school next year, then took the paperwork over to the Bus Barn to renew his bus pass. Since it is right down the street from Cliff's office, I decided to call him and see if he was back from Naha. (He had gone down there to pray for a "National Maritime Day" ceremony and luncheon.) He was almost there, so I stuck around...and boy was I glad I did. Talk about eye candy...


I LOVE this uniform!



And look at all that fruit salad! (Yummy, Yummy!)*

I wanted to lock the door and make-out on the couch, actually...but the smoking area is right outside his window, and that's not the reputation the Chaplain wants to get. (Dang it!)

Instead, we had a nice little chat. He said the ceremony was great...he got to rub shoulders with some cool people (American and Japanese) and he collected some business cards. He met a Marine Colonel (the guest speaker) who was also a former Marine Staff NCO like Cliff (he recognized Cliff's Marine Good Conduct Ribbon in the rack) and they had a nice talk.

On a side note, remember how I've said everything has animated characters in Japan...not just kid stuff? Here's an example:




Can you imagine military business cards with cartoons on them? Not that there's anything wrong with that...I think it's pretty cool, actually...but that would just not happen in the US.

I headed home to upload a bunch of music to my iTunes for a project I'd been putting off, and to help Coree make lemon bars. Neither of us had ever made them before, but she did a GREAT job. I only showed her briefly how to zest a lemon on the microplane, use the juicer, etc., and she did all the rest with great results. Best lemon bars I'd ever tasted. Too bad she was taking most of them to a sleepover farewell party for a friend from church.

Cliff came home, changed (dang it!), ate a lemon bar and we headed out to drop off Coree and Sarah at the party, pick up Troy from lifeguarding, swing through the Taco Bell drive-thru for the boys, slow down to about 10 while driving by the house, shove Troy out...and head out on a HOT date!

We weren't sure where we were going, but decided to see if the restaurant at Kadena Marina had opened back up. I was just hoping for a yummy salad. We were in luck, it had reopened...and I had the best seafood salad I have ever eaten...right out on the water where we could feel the breeze and smell the saltwater. It was a beautiful night.

I wish I had a picture to share with you (but I had left my camera with Patrick who was working on a project...for a girl, of course). Anyway, the salad had asst. greens, tomato, cucumber, kalamata olives, crab meat, fish, 4 large scallops, 4 big shrimp and 4 mussels, topped with a light balsamic dressing. YUM! Now I'll have to go back, if for nothing else to be able to share a picture with you. I'm a giver like that.

On the way home we tried to guess what we'd find the boys doing. I said there'd be two on the computer and one watching a movie. I was wrong. We came in to find Patrick on the computer, Jake passed out on the couch and Troy on the Wii. I'm sure they were as glad for the down-time as I was for some time with only my honey.

I wish he would have kept that uniform on, though. ;^D


*Hehehe...gotta love the Wiggles!

Flashback Friday...Lookin' Cool by the Pool!

When we lived on Camp Pendleton in the late 90s, the older two boys started swimming lessons...but I think we only did about 3 sessions total. It was hard with a toddler and a baby in tow. But when the kids were a little older (ages 3-8) we started doing every.single.session of swim lessons the Miramar pool had to offer each Summer (I think that was 5 or 6 sessions) and most days we'd stay for "free swim" afterward. The program was pretty awesome, but always full, so you had about 6 kids in a class. Still, their skills improved and they all did remarkably well in the water.


Troy, age 13..circa 2005, MCAS Miramar pool
(He started diving head first off of the high dive later that summer and looked pretty good, I must say!)



Troy, age 15...circa 2007, NAF El Centro pool

Then we moved out to El Centro, and while in some respects it felt like exile...there were MANY positive aspects about living there. Not the least of which...their swim program. It rocks!

Since it is such a small facility, it was not uncommon for our kids to be the only ones in their level (we had Troy and Patrick together, and then Coree and Jake in the next lowest level together). This was like having private lessons. The coaches were great and the kids' skills just took off. The older boys completed level 7 and the younger two, level 6 while we were there. Pretty sweet!

This week, Troy started lifeguard training on Camp Foster, where he hopes to gain employment for this Summer (and for the next year while he takes college classes and prepares for his mission call).

Hard to believe that little boy will be the one in the chair!

Good luck, Troy...we know you can do it!