Our Journey Begins

It's that time of year again. Time for our annual pilgrimage to Zion for LDS Chaplains' Conference in conjunction with October General Conference. But this year, for the first time in seven years, we'll be making the trip sans children. And to top that, we'll be leaving all of them on a small island in the Pacific to fend for themselves while we're gone. Having a kid who's also an adult isn't so bad after all.

I stayed up most the night before we left, packing and attempting to get quilt squares prepped for travel, to take advantage of the "down time" on the plane. Things pretty much went downhill from there. At 2 AM, it occurred to me to check the passports for the reentry stamp. It had expired yesterday, from last year's trip. (Shocker!) So, add that onto the list of things to do on our way out of town.

When we got to the IPAC, we discover we were supposed to bring a copy of Cliff's PCS orders. Since we've been here going on 2 years now, we both try to mentally inventory the places where such documents might be. We got nothin'. Then, Cliff remembered he had a copy in his office. Which was actually closer than going home (bonus). We got to drag our lovely friend, Jenn along on this adventure. I'm sure she appreciated a routine ride to the airport turning into such a debacle...but she didn't complain a bit.

This was just the beginning of our troubles. When we got to the counter (A little later than we should have. See above.) they had no reservation for Cliff. My travel (arranged through the Church) was fine. Cliff's (arranged through the broken embarrassment that is the US military travel system) was MIA. Cliff had orders. Cliff had an official itinerary. Cliff had a printed CON-FIR-MA-TION-NUM-BER for crying out loud...which you can ONLY get (shocker) when your travel is CON-FIRMED!!! Thanks to modern cellular technology, Cliff was able to get on the phone with the Sgt. at admin while I called Cliff's boss...who said he was running down to the comptroller as we spoke. The one side of Cliff's conversation I could hear did not sound promising. At all. I attempted to inquire of the desk agents (through slow, loud speech and interpretive dance) if my ticket was changeable. Turns out...no. If I didn't fly now, even if Cliff's ticket was straightened out for a later flight...I'd be out of luck. I fought back the tears like I was a nine year old, having to fly on my own to see Grandma, for crying out loud! While it was true that even the later flight off of Okinawa would make him miss the Osaka connection to SFO and he'd be arriving in SLC a full day behind me, I am a grown woman capable of international solo travel! Still, I was SO bummed out. I was looking forward to the long flight with Cliff...now, it would just be drudgery.

We kissed goodbye and I pouted all the way through security and to the gate. I stared out the window at the rain, making it harder to fight back the tears. I sat there wondering if they'd let me check into the hotel or get the rental car without his govt. charge card, and in general, just felt really sorry for myself. The plane filled and the flight attendants prepared for departure...and at the very last minute...who should run aboard, sweat pouring down his forehead, but Cliff. It turns out, the day before, someone had opened up Cliff's travel account and changed something in error, causing it to get kicked back through the approval process, canceling his reservation without his knowledge. Crazy? Yes. But, by getting a hold of the right people, they were able to rush it through the approval process and resubmit it, ALL while the desk agents waited patiently, refreshing the screen every few seconds. Cliff said the three ladies kept shaking their heads...then suddenly one brightened up, the others looked at the screen, then rushed to other screens and typed madly. They tagged his luggage, printed boarding passes and he got the running, high-heeled escort to the gate we've come to know and love.

I was SO grateful not to be making this trip on my own...and especially to be making it with my favorite person...


Even though it looked like this outside...I was all warm and toasty inside.



We had a decent sized layover in Osaka, and we were starving by the time we arrived. There were many choices, but we stuck to our favorite Japanese cuisine. You just can't go wrong with tempura, miso soup and a sushi bowl.



When we finally landed in Salt Lake City, my ankles were the size of tree trunks and I couldn't wait to find the hotel. As we were headed out to the rental car shuttle, we saw this little slice of local culture below and had to gawk a bit...families welcoming their Elders home after their missions. SO sweet. Love me a good homecoming!

We tried to stay up until bedtime, but when we got to our room, decided to take a nap for a couple of hours and then get some dinner. That never happened. We just went to bed and called it good...then woke up starving in the middle of the night, wide awake. Finally at 4:30 we just got up and got ready for the day, and were at breakfast when it opened at 6.

A great start to another wonderful conference!

Supercharged Science

Since we are back in the land of the home-schooling, we must always be on the prowl for resources. Back in the days of our glorious home-schooling charter school (Thank you very much, state of California...at least your schools have THAT going for them) we were able to attend curriculum fairs and peruse the latest and greatest. Now I have to be a bit more creative. My least favorite way to find resources is by thumbing through the phone-book-of-a-catalog that Rainbow Resource puts out. Firstly, there are very few pictures (and I need visuals), secondly, the print is so dang small and crowded. Thirdly, they have a "religious bigotry" section...and I hate supporting companies who peddle garbage like that, if I can help it. I use them if I can't find something I need elsewhere.

My MOST favorite way to find resources, is tried-and-true recommendations from other home schooling families...or friends who are/were teachers (because if they are my friends, they are cool...so they have cool recommendations).

I found Supercharged Science through the blog of one of my favorite home schooling families. (No, I don't know them...but I followed a link to them one day a couple of years ago and have been checking in on them ever since.) This is a nearly-perfect resource for us, as Jake's curiosity of science in insatiable...and I can't keep up. He is able to watch the classes on line and do the experiments with little assistance. I say it is "nearly perfect," because it's pricey. We bought in to the high school level (since Jake is needing that kind of challenge), so at $57 a month for one kid, we are shelling out some serious bones. And the monthly fee is just the beginning. You should see the running shopping list. Luckily, he's been saving me some money by stripping old electronics for parts for projects like his hovercraft and crystal radio.

Anyway, there are several videos in the "getting started" department to get kids excited about science. In other words, stuff that makes a mess and/or blows up. Jake had to remind me a couple of times before I remembered to bring home a bar of Ivory soap.


I should have taken video...or at least a "before" picture.



While this looks like a pile of shaving cream, I assure you, it's as hard as a bar of soap...



Because it is a bar of soap. Or it was, rather.

Jake could tell you the science behind it. I just know he still has my platter in his room...and his whole room smells like soap.

The Animosity Quilt Club, or...What I've been doing instead of blogging

Have you ever heard of a friendship quilt? It's where you get together 20 insane people friends, you each agree to make 20 of the same quilt square of your choosing (usually within a theme) and then on a predetermined date, you get together and exchange your quilt squares so you end up taking home 20 different squares to make into a themed quilt to love and cherish (or look at with disdain and PTSD flashbacks...either way).

In a moment of grandiosity, I joined such a group. The Okinawa Memory Quilt Group. In the emailed invitation, we were given a list of possible choices we could make for our square, such as, "Japanese and American flags", "shisa dogs", "kokeshi dolls", etc. We would be responsible for designing a pattern, choosing fabric, cutting and assembling the pieces, fusing them together and stitching the quilt squares. Knowing myself as I do...I should have chosen something simple. Like castle ruins (how hard can it be to stitch a crumbling wall?), but no. That's not how I roll...


Sushi was on the list of possibilities, sushi is my favorite thing about Okinawa, and no matter how complicated or time consuming, how could I do anything but sushi?

Pictured above are all the traced and cut out pieces which will go into constructing twenty. sushi. squares. I was lucky in that another friend had done this square and she passed along her basic pattern, along with notes she used to tweak it. It put me a little step ahead...but not as much as I had fooled myself into believing, unfortunately. No matter what, you still have to figure it out and make mistakes.



This is my test square, which I will not be able to actually use as the machine stitching is too poor and there are some frayed spots. From this I learned I needed much bigger margins on the fabric. I did some practice blanket stitching, but won't be finishing it since this one isn't usable. I think I've got it down now, though.



Jake thought I looked stressed and in need of chocolate. He made me a microwave cake in a mug. Not sure why he put a candle in it. I'm not feeling much like celebrating, that's for sure.

I will keep you updated on the progress...or at least let you know if I survive. The deadline is Oct. 15th. Wish me luck!

Mandatory Family Fun

This is what a relaxing family vacation looks like...if you're a peeper standing out on the porch.



We had our annual Chaplain/RP picnic last weekend...and in a move that turned out to be sheer genius...the Chaplain Spouses Club (we put on the event every year) decided that this year it would be indoors...and catered!



The reason it was genius (besides food that we didn't have to cook or clean up after) was that it poured down rain the whole day. That would have been a bummer. (Here are two of the geniuses now...peddling our soon-to-be-released cookbook! Get yours while you can and support our charity efforts.)



Something else the geniuses thought of was crafts for the kids.



The little darlings agreed. (Except that snotty one down in the corner...whose kid is THAT?)



Good times.



Who needs real sand when you can build a sticker sand castle and not ONLY get to take it with you...but not have to wash sand out of your crevices the rest of the week? Just sayin'.



It was a great party with some of my favorite people.



Since we don't really need much of an excuse to slack off and/or party...we booked one of the cabins on Camp Schwab (where the party was held) for the weekend. This was the view from our front porch.



This was our front porch.



This is what our cabin looked like.



And this is the beach you can walk down a million stairs to reach.



These are Jake's footprints on the beach...



And this is the lovely sea foam washing them away.



The water was a little choppy, but still beautiful.



And this...this is the last photograph my camera took. I had been standing here awhile, watching Jake and Cliff explore. I timed it just right to get some of the spray on the rock. Lovely, no? Then Jake decided to climb a rock just to the right of and a little bigger than this one. There was a tide pool on the top of it and he wanted to see what was inside. I came up behind him and held my camera up in the air over his head to photograph him looking into the tide pool. Then it happened. Out of nowhere...a huge wave. It washed over the rock, over Jake, over me, over my camera. Pain. Suffering. Devastation. Sadness.

I have SO many great memories with that Canon. It's the nicest one I've owned. I had planned on upgrading to a Rebel next...but not for another couple of years. I cried over this camera...and I've NEVER cried over a material possession in my life. (OK..there was that time back in the 90s I thought I lost my Day Runner...but that thing had my whole life in it!)

So for now, it looks like I'm stuck with the little dive camera. Oh, the irony...if I had just brought that one in the first place!

More Cross Country Fun

I've really enjoyed watching Patrick run. I especially love how he's adopted the headband this year...making him much easier to pick out as green runners fly by...


And they're off! (Where's Patrick?)



Last Wednesday's meet was at a private Christian school up north. It was the first meet where they've had to do laps instead of a laid out course. On the final lap...



They had to turn into the lane of cones for the finish...



Although he still hasn't met his personal best time from last year, he did come in 4th on his team (13th overall)...which is the highest place he's come in so far.



Boys! He had to get a pic with his bloody-nosed friend. This one will make the banquet slideshow. Guaranteed.



They finish out the meet with group stretching before heading for the bus.



I was too far away to hear what they were saying, but they were being total goofballs...



It was hard not to crack up while watching these two.

It's a Party in the USA...or Okinawa

Remember when I told you about my kids and their friends making this music video here? And how they were already working on another? Well work, they did...keeping the details tightly under wraps. I knew it was going to be good. (I mean, the last one was good, right?) But I knew nothing else of it.


They decided to keep it a secret until the "premier" at Josh's going-away-to-Stanford party, two nights before he left. The living room was packed when I arrived...I was SO excited! All I knew was my kids had been taking off to locations all around the island, with various costume demands. I knew the older three were involved in some capacity...but had no idea who was doing what.

The movie started, and I was in AWE! Before you go on...go watch it here. Right now. You won't be sorry. Then come back...

I laughed, I cried...it was better than CATS! I could not believe how creative and funny it was.

Some FAQs:

• Josh Jones was the master-mind, director, main choreographer and star. He also did all of the editing (the hardest part).
  
• Stuart family stats: Troy did 80% of the filming, even though he didn't appear in this one. Patrick was the cowboy and also helped with the filming and choreography. Coree was a dancer/flag waver.
• The other kids were from our church and the two military high schools here (mostly Kubasaki). Most of them are military kids...some are kids of contractors or teachers.
• They were able to appear alone in the American Village intersection because they filmed at 7 AM when it was empty. Even then, they waited for the pedestrian lights (traffic stops in all directions) and ran out for about 30 seconds of filming...20 times over!
• The intersection at Kokusai St. was busier, but they did the same thing...waiting for the light, running out to dance and running back. They had to time the Jumbotron shot with every 4th pedestrian light when it filmed the cross walk. Wild, huh?
• They had locals following them, filming their filming and requesting pictures with them. I'm sure they'd be sorry to learn they were not really famous. ALL of the Okinawans/Japanese they encountered were lovely, smiling, waving, laughing. It was a great experience.
• The video took off like a wildfire. It's been shared on Facebook newsfeeds over 10,000 times and viewed over 38,000 times on YouTube (and that doesn't count the Facebook views). The comments are so heartwarming, from people who have lived here before and miss it so much. Everyone is so grateful these kids highlighted so many cool things about this place.
• The kids are going to be interviewed on AFN!

The sucky part of all of this...this was a goodbye party, remember? While this video was going viral, Josh was flying back to the USA to attend Stanford. It was a bittersweet time, with lots of moping. The video was an excellent diversion, however. Ma Jones (the other stage mom) and I have been a little obsessed with it, actually...confessing to watching it first thing in the morning and last thing at night...and lots of times in between.




It's been fun for the kids to be recognized at school and other places. You just never know how something you do will impact others. I think this will be one of our kids' favorite memories of our stay here...I know it's one of mine!

Family Home Evening

I wish I knew who I could contribute this often used (by me) quote: "The human mind has an infinite capacity for rationalization." I know my mind ROCKS when it comes to rationalizing. Take Family Home Evening.* We are not consistent at holding it weekly like we should. My rationalizations..."We read scriptures together every night...with discussion questions. That's like FHE (only without the singing)." or "We do SO much as a family, every night is FHE." I'm sure I could think of others if you gave me a minute. Oh, here's another one..."Cliff is responsible for sponsoring the YSA (young single adult) FHE on the base and has to be there." You get the picture.

Regardless, we are trying to be consistent WEEKLY as we have been counseled to do. Cliff did a great lesson on The Living Christ and we each were able to share our thoughts. It wasn't complex or time-consuming, but it was wonderful. It didn't require me to cut, paste or color anything, nor were there costumes involved...but the Spirit was there.



Can you guess what we are doing here?
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Luckily, we had ice cream ingredients just begging to be used, so we combined the activity and treat together in one...



For Ice Cream in a Bag.



Cliff calls it Scout Cream (popular activity for Cub Scouts...only you play catch with the bag until it's ice cream) and I countered it should really be called Home School Cream (popular, edible science activity).



This is mine. I added Ovaltine and mixed in a chopped Take Five bar. It was heavenly.

Wish us luck in our endeavor to be more consistent. Which will most likely need to include chocolate. Just sayin'.

*I included a link to the "text book" definition, but on a more personal note, Family Home Evening usually consists of a lesson on a gospel topic (hopefully prayerfully considered to benefit the family needs), an opening and closing hymn, opening and closing prayer, a fun activity, and a treat. It is absolutely adaptable to your own family, but should at least include a lesson, even if you have preschoolers and that lesson is two minutes long because that is all they can handle. Some families do more singing, some add in scripture reading or even a talent. Some have dubbed it, "The family fight that begins and ends with prayer." Sometimes...it's just like that.

Korean Barbeque

It has been awhile since we ventured out for a new, family-dining experience. We've heard great things about this all-you-can-eat (at a substantial price) Korean BBQ place, so we decided, "What the heck...that's what COLA is for, right?"



What shall we choose...Lamp meat? Large intestine?



Tender meat around the diaphragm?



I could use more stamina...how about the short ribs?



Well one thing was for sure, if we were eating Korean, we were ordering the kimchee!



We started with this variety platter of wieners, chicken, pork, and tender meat around the diaphragm. (What do you think that translates to in English? I'm really curious.)



They fired up the Barbie for us...



And things really started cookin'!



There were even yummy veggies.



After 3 asst. platters of meat (each choice getting progressively smaller as we got fuller), Troy decided on the pot marinated beef chuck roast. It cooked in a flash.



I have to be honest, I wasn't really thrilled about having to pay to cook my own food, but it was lots of fun.



And as an added bonus...all you can eat soft serve. In chocolate, too. And not just any chocolate...it was SO dark and flavorful. I had to have some.



Jake isn't flashing gang signs...he's boasting about being on his sixth ice cream cone. At least we got our money's worth.

As much as we loved it, at this price, it will be a rare occurrence. And if we do return, we'll starve ourselves all day and then plan on staying for several hours. (No time limit!)

But if you have unlimited funds, I'd highly recommend this place to you. It's on the 23, bordering Kadena Air Base, near the high school gate.