Patrick on the Today Show!

Oh my goodness, they really DID make it on the Today Show!


That's my baby's tongue on National TV!



And I see he purchased an "I heart NY" t-shirt to replace the "I only like NY as a friend" t-shirt I gave him for Christmas.



Here's a clip of the gang chatting with Al. I have watched it over.and.over.

Mrs. Deakins has been sending nightly emails to all the parents, recapping the adventures of the day. In all the other school trips my kids have taken, this has never happened before and I appreciate it so much. It helps me to still feel in the loop, even though I'm not at home, either. Just one more example of why Mrs. Deakins is da bomb! I can't wait to hear all about it from Patrick! I wonder which one of us will get home, first?

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!

A Kinder, Gentler Diet

I was watching an episode of Oprah the other day, which included the makers of the documentary, "Food, Inc." as well as Alicia Silverstone, actress, vegan and the author of the book "The Kind Diet".

At first I found the subject matter mildly interesting, but within minutes I was transfixed. So much of what was shared resonated with me. When it was over, I added "Food, Inc." to our Netflix queue and logged onto Amazon to send "The Kind Diet" on it's way.

One of the biggest messages I took away from the interview with the "Food, Inc." producer, is how cheap calories are ruining our country's health. The cheapest food is always the most processed, least nutritional...but it's cheap and fills kids' bellies...so the majority of our country lives on it. But we are paying an even bigger price with our health. This producer posed the question, "Do we want to pay a slightly higher price now for real, whole, nutritional food...or a MUCH higher price later through the cost of our health care (and I would add...the LOSS of our good health...can you put a price on that?)?

Alicia Silverstone (who, although I recognized, I couldn't have told you what she actually performed in) talked about how her health was transformed through using food as medicine and giving up things which were toxic to her body...how she gained energy and lost the fatigue and puffiness and feels like a million bucks. That's what I want...to wake up feeling like I have actually slept...to not have to drag myself through the morning and feel exhausted by dinner time.

When the book arrived, I read it in two days and was excited to get started. Since many of the ingredients are Japanese, it's been easy to find lots of produce, beans, sea vegetables and other ingredients (like miso) in the Japanese markets, but finding some western ingredients has been more of a challenge. It's not like we have a Trader Joe's or a Whole Foods over here. The commissary is it, as far as western shopping, and I've spent a couple of long shopping trips scouring the aisles...and mostly, have found a lot of what most of America eats...lots of processed "pseudo-healthy" foods full of lots of what we don't need (sodium, fat, hormones, chemicals, preservatives). There are a few gems here and there...but it has been very challenging to find substitutes for dairy, sugar and eggs for cooking, and meat substitutes (other than beans and tofu) like those made from grains, that are more readily available in the States.

The (not so) funny thing is, reading this book, I've found so much of it is right in line with The Word of Wisdom* but we (as a church) usually just focus on the "don't drink or smoke" parts...and not on the "only eat meat in times of famine and cold" and "eat plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables" parts.

Anyway, the author is vegan, so she doesn't use any animal products at all...but she has done a lot of research, and I've used some of her footnotes to read more about some of the things that intrigued me. This post could be really long, so I'll just get to the point by saying that four days ago, I decided to try 30 days meat, dairy, sugar and caffeine free. The caffeine shouldn't be a problem...it just means I'll be drinking water (yet again) instead of Diet Coke on the rare occasion I eat out on the base (off base usually only offers water or tea, anyway). The sugar is going to be a challenge, I know. I really don't like beef or pork, anyway...so that shouldn't be a big deal. Chicken...and especially seafood...will be tougher. (Although from what I read in her book about seafood...whether it be fresh from the sea or "altered" from the farm...makes it seem a whole lot less appetizing right now. Same with the chicken.)

At any rate, more importantly than what I'm giving up...I am having to eat a whole lot of yummy, whole, fresh food. Which has meant more prep time...but I'm really enjoying it so far.

My plan has been to make the same thing for the whole family, but to also offer meat on the side (like turkey breast or fish) so they can add it if they like. Surprisingly, everyone but Jake (who is worried we are all turning into hippie freaks) has jumped on the bandwagon to one extent or another. Troy and Patrick even read the book.

Here's an example of what we're eating:


Rice Pilaf with Caramelized Onions



Baby Bok Choy Drizzled with Ume Vinaigrette



Dinner is served!

These recipes are both from the book, which contains LOTS of yummy stuff. I'm also looking for more via the Internet and a great site called Vegweb.com. SO many recipes to try!

Do I think I'm going to become a Vegan? No. I think I will occasionally eat fish and chicken. But I want to spend these 30 days sorting out what feels right for my body and detoxing from all the garbage I've been feeding it, and I'll take it from there. I'll let you know how it's going.

* (from Mormon.org) "A law of health revealed by the Lord for our physical and spiritual benefit. In this revelation the Lord commands us not to use alcohol, tea, coffee, tobacco, and harmful or habit-forming substances, and promises blessings for obeying this commandment."

Breaking Bread and Burying the Hatchet

Some of these faces might look familiar, and you might be asking yourself if the Hatfields really invited the McCoys over for dinner? We did...AND Family Home Evening to boot!


With so many between us, the kids' table was pretty crowded. We had to put in both leaves!



And the adults were relegated to the coffee table!



I had them all captivated during my lesson on gratitude.



And the activity? What else? Karaoke...baby!



The Joneses discovered that Elijah really has been listening to what they play in the car...



And Josh and Patrick make for a pretty studly duo.



I can hear the hearts breaking all over the world!



But their air-guitar...



doesn't even come close to Jake's air-guitar!



We had a major Copacabana jam session (is any evening of karaoke complete without it?)



And Josh and Brenda shared "What they like about you".



At 10:30 (on a school night, no less) it was finally time to go...so I decided to send everyone off with Etta James' "At Last"...which turned out to be a serenade to my Cliffie (it just came naturally). I don't remember who, but one of the Joneses scrawled this sign really quick, and they all started swaying back and forth, American Idol style.

Which brings me to my new nickname, of which I am proud...Carrie-Oki.

We had such a blast, we need to make this a regular event. This is even more fun than toilet paper and popcorn put together. With chopsticks on top.

The Circus Keeps Coming Back...But Childhood Doesn't

Yes, I unabashedly ripped off that title from President Monson's latest conference talk...but it so accurately describes my motivation for the events of this post. I'm certain I don't need to rehash here, all the details surrounding our overseas move (since I've already done so ad nauseam in previous postings). Adding in an 8 hour round-trip drive to LA in the midst of all of that when it wasn't absolutely necessary might seem like insanity. Maybe it was.

When we met up with the Hinmans at Disneyland this past November, Gretchen suggested (implored, really) that I take Coree to American Girl Place in LA...and we HAD to do the lunch. It would be a life-altering experience...when would we get another chance? It seemed crazy, but I determined that I would do it. Coree knew nothing of this plan (I couldn't stand the pressure, for one, and what if I couldn't pull it off?)


(Trivia: For those of you who don't know Gretchen...she's Cliff's childhood-best-friend Sterling's mom. Cliff was very close with Sterling's family. They even took him on vacations. Bob (Sterling's dad) was a teacher and coach and Gretchen was a librarian. They exposed him to many wonderful things and were just an overall great influence on him. Gretchen has impeccable taste and style, and Bob has a very unique sense of humor.)

Anyhoo, we got down to the wire, and ended up squeezing this in 3 days before our departure. I couldn't believe I actually got a reservation only 1 week out. I knew it would be no small feat. For one, we had no heater (remember?) so we'd really have to bundle up through the mountains. We'd also have to leave by 5:30 AM to make it to the OC to meet up with Gretchen and grand-daughter Kalee, before making the drive into the city for our 11 AM reservation. We would have to make sure the boys were all set for the day, too.



I didn't tell Coree she was coming with me until I woke her up at 5 AM. I helped her do her hair and told her to dress herself and Nellie in cute outfits. She already knew I was going to LA for something undisclosed, so she figured out where we were going pretty quickly. We dropped the boys at Seminary, picked up our favorite salted carmel cocoa at Starbucks and were on our way!

Gretchen did not lie! It was a magical experience.


The lunch room was darling,






the food was art,






and the shopping was sweet!




I didn't know that it was actually part of an outdoor mall, so mom and Gretchen got to do some bonus shopping, too. I was SO excited that I was the one that got to introduce Gretchen to Anthropologie...she had never been to one. I knew she would love it. We have very similar taste (impeccable!). For some reason, she didn't seem quite sincere in her appreciation at the introduction...better for her wallet not to know it exists, I guess? She'll thank me later!



(I found this there for Minetta...can you believe it? I'll have it off in the mail to you in a jiffy!) {hehe...only she and I know what a funny statement that is!}

So, here is one of the highlights of the trip. We were leaving Anthropologie, and who do we see? Adam Sandler! Can you believe it?


Seriously, though...he was just chillin' on a bench, with a stroller, waiting for his mom. We asked if he would pose for a picture with Coree, he was very kind and agreed:


And then Gretchen proceeded to tell him all about Cliff and I, where we've been, where we're going:


He kept looking back and forth between us saying, "Take care! Oh...Stay safe! Best of Luck to your husband...tell him to stay safe!" etc. I remembered to tell him Happy Hanukkah. (Was that too dorky?) Then we went into Barnes and Noble for a bit, and ran into him again when we came out and he waved at me again and said, "Take Care." Then I got this picture of him helping his mom with her pinched finger. Isn't he a nice son?


Then, it occurred to me that I could have been shooting video, so I got this little clip here:

Coree and I disagree on who he waved to (we were standing right next to each other, but he was clearly waving to me).



So we are driving through Beverly Hills traffic, soaking in the atmosphere...


When a gorgeous Jaguar coming toward us wants to make a left turn in front of us. We stop to oblige, and traffic in the lane next to us keeps going. I said to Gretchen, "Don't you just love that, when you try to be courteous and people don't cooperate?" I don't notice much about the passengers, other than the driver is a beautiful blonde, and the passenger is male. (I was too busy reviewing my photos of Adam Sandler.)

Finally, traffic stops and as the Jaguar turns, the passenger leans out to give us a "thank you" wave, and it's Jim Carrey!!! Can you believe it? Was I ready to snap a photo? NO! I was still star struck by Adam Sandler's pics in my camera.

It was a day to remember in SO many ways! Not even mostly for the dolls or the celebrities, but because it felt like a small victory over all the "have to's" and the "maybe tomorrows" that fill my days. I don't want to look back with regrets. As wonderful as it was to reconnect with Gretchen for such a special day, I couldn't help but mourn the loss of all the time which has passed by, time we could have spent building relationships. I didn't dwell on it, but instead lived in the moment.

My goal...to have more days like this one and less days full of "maybe tomorrows"...