"Arghhh, Matey!"

Wyatt was very excited for Halloween this year!  I tried really hard to get him to be the Devil and Olivia be the Angel (so true to their little personalities!!) but he wanted none of it!  He wanted to be a PIRATE....like last year :)  And his costume still fit!  I changed it up a little and added the head bandana (and minus the sword....) but I was stuck on what to do with Olivia until my friend suggested a Parrot!  After I searched all over the island for Feathers, I went to work with the hot glue gun.  I think it turned out pretty well!

Shaking her tail feathers... :)

Halloween is really fun here because the base opens up to Japanese locals and they can all come and trick or treat.  It's fun to see them because they (obviously) don't really celebrate Halloween but they love to dress up and get the candy and the kids are so super cute!  It is also really nice to be able to sort of "give back" to them in some small way.  They share the island with us and are such great hosts, inviting us into their culture.  It is fun to share Halloween with them!

We went around to a few of the cul-de-sacs and all of our friends were out in full force. It was like a big neighborhood Halloween party!  After I deemed that Wyatt had more candy than he could ever possibly eat, we headed back to our house and sat out on the step to give our own candy away.  We were out of candy after about an hour!!  It was crazy.  Wyatt LOVED handing out the candy (perhaps even more than trick or treating himself!) and when we were out, he was so disappointed that he poured some of his own stash from his bag and handed it out to the kids. I was so proud of him :)

One Year Anniversary

We have lived in Okinawa for one year now - and are one-third of the way through our three-year tour.  When I think about that and all it entails, I don't even know where to begin!

In the past year...

...we moved 8,000 miles around the world. We sold our cars, said goodbyes, and got on a plane with 5 suitcases, 6 carry-ons, a stroller, a car seat, each other, a two-year old, two cats, and a pregnant belly.

...we started new jobs...both of us :)

...we traveled to remote islands and swam in water so beautiful that most people will only dream about

...we welcomed a daughter into our lives - a daughter I love so much that I cannot remember never having her in my life

...Wyatt turned 3, started pre-school, got potty trained, and became the best big brother ever

...and celebrated yet another year of wedded bliss!

And I am so thankful for it all.

Obviously the Parkers are no longer "headed" East... we are East.  So while I'll be keeping you posted on our adventures from time to time, the transition of heading East is over and it is time to let go of the blog, at least in terms of what it has been in the past.  So keep checking up on us, but know that it won't be updated quite as regularly as before.

Sayonara!

Columbus Day weekend, Part II

Hmm...what's that saying? The best laid plans... :)  Well, our plan was to head up to the Butterfly Garden and the Churamai Aquarium with some friends.  But Wyatt was up coughing all night, and by morning he was coughing so much he started gagging and throwing up.  He threw up three times by 9 a.m., with the last two times being in the car on the way to meet our friends...all over himself, his car seat, and the seat in front of him.

So the new plan involved the ER, since the pediatrics clinic was closed for the holiday.  After a chest x-ray, they said he has 'borderline pneumonia' and gave him an antibiotic.  I feel bad for him, but it obviously isn't keeping him down any... the kid has so. much. energy!!

So no preschool for him tomorrow. ACK!  I was looking forward to getting back into our routine and having some down time with him at preschool.  With Tommy gone, I don't really get a break from the kiddos at all, aside from peeing and showering.  And Wyatt is disappointed because they were supposed to bring a pumpkin to school tomorrow - so he doesn't want to miss out on what they'll be doing, of course.

Ah, well, so it goes....so it goes :)

Columbus Day weekend, Part I

I usually dread the long weekends when Tommy is away.  And, it's Columbus Day weekend... which for most people means not that much, but for us it means another long weekend with no school on Monday!  Tommy is gone again for a month or so this time on an exercise.  However, the weather finally broke a little bit (umm... okay, it's still hot and muggy, but it's just not AS hot and muggy as before) and I must have my big girl panties on this week, because I decided to go back to my "list" of Things to Do on Okinawa and go on some adventures this weekend!  Columbus would be proud!

Yesterday (Saturday) I loaded up the kiddos and headed out to Kurashiki Dam.  I found it no problem, even though it's out in the middle of nowhere, and it turned out to be the perfect spot to play in the water without having to deal with sand from the beach!  Wyatt loved the "waterfalls" and I was glad I had remembered to have him bring along his toy boats so he could sail them down it and watch them float away!  Olivia was content to watch for the better part of an hour from the safety of her stroller.  Such a good little girl!

Today's adventure was the the Cape Zanpa lighthouse.  We had gone to Zanpa Beach a few months ago, and I had seen the lighthouse from the beach and wondered about it.  Turns out you can walk all the way up to the top of it (for a small fee, of course).  We made our way to the top and back down again, then Wyatt got to stop and play on the rocks for awhile.  After that we ate a picnic lunch, had some ice cream from the ice cream bus (there is ALWAYS ice cream available on this island!  I have never seen so much ice cream!), and meandered over to take a look at what else was down the way.

We found a petting zoo, so Wyatt fed the goats for awhile...

Then we found a very large ship structure on which to play "Captain and Mate" for awhile....

Then we found this very large Shisa Dog statue.  Shisa dogs are very popular here; Long story short, there is a male and female dog and they mark the entryways of houses and businesses to protect them from evil spirits.

All in all, a great day with the kiddos.  Stay tuned for tomorrow's adventure!