Jingle Jog

Tommy's base hosted its annual Jingle Jog 5K on Friday.  They encouraged "holiday spirit" so here is waht that looked like for Tommy... and Wyatt :)  Can you imagine running a 5K in this?!?  Wyatt loved "helping" dad wrap the present!

The biggest present under the tree!

Wyatt's Christmas Concert

Today was Wyatt's Christmas concert at his preschool.  He was so excited for Daddy to come (Daddy was gone for the Fall Festival).  Last night he said,  "Some of the other daddy's are going to be there... you can come if you want, daddy!"  This morning when I dropped him off he told me that Daddy was already in the chapel waiting for him.  "You can just wait inside if you want to," he said - never mind that the concert wasn't until Noon and it was only 9:30!

Here is a video of them singing Jingle Bells!

So we went to the concert and the kids were all so cute dressed up and looking sharp.  They sang "Jingle Bells" and "Go Tell it on the Mountain," a few others and then we all sang "Oh Come all Ye Faithful" together.  We had refreshments (i.e. sugar!!!) afterwards and then headed home.  He is excited to hang out with mom and Livy for a couple of weeks while preschool is on winter break, and I am excited to have him  home for awhile and do some fun things for the holidays!

Another "Wyatt" tidbits - after we read books, before we go to bed we always sing a couple of songs.  Lately they have been Christmas songs but before this I had taught him the Star Spangled Banner, which he then "performed" for his preschool class one day.  His teacher was very impressed!  Whenever he asks to sing it, he says, "Can we sing the "Old Banjo"?"He has trouble saying "Star Spangled Banner," so I guess it got shortened to the Old Banjo :)

Christmas...the "Local" Way

So my mama san was here yesterday cleaning and she had said she liked my Christmas tree.  I asked her if she had one, and she said no, and that "Christmas big for Americans!" but not Okinawans.  I asked her what they did to celebrate and here's our conversation...just imagine a very thick Japanese accent in the mix!!

MS (Mamasan): "Chicken...We get chicken, and CAKE, and go outside. We celebrate outside."
MP (Me): "Chicken? Really?"
MS: "Yes, CHICKEN.  How you say... Kentucky!"
MP: (Confused): "Kentucky?"
MS: "Yes! Kentucky Chicken!"
MP: (Laughing hysterically): "You mean Kentucky Fried Chicken? Like KFC?"
MS: "Hai!" ("yes" in Japanese)
MP: Still laughing!
MS: "Mmm...is good, no?"
MP: "Umm... yeah!"

Side note: I absolutely detest KFC!! Yuck!  They totally gross me out in the States. They are so dirty! Even the worst restaurant here is cleaner and better than those in the States, but I still cannot bring myself to eat at KFC. Or A&W.  I have eaten at McDonald's only once in over a year! 

MP:  "Do you get presents for each other?"  (She has no idea what I'm talking about)
MP: "Do you get gifts for each other?" (Again, no idea)
MP: "Toys? For the kids?"
MS: "No... no toys... too much toys! More for mamsan to clean!" (Gestures widely around my living room...)
MP: Laughing..."Hai!"
MS: "Cakes...and cookies...we have cookies."
MP: "We give cakes to our neighbors" (Again, she has no idea what I'm talking about, so I repeat and point to neighbors houses)
MS: "Hai... no toys! Too much toys!" Gestures to my neighbors and walks off...

LOL!!!  I guess she thinks American kids have too many toys!! :)  She could be right. That night I had Wyatt go through his toys and choose some to donate to the local orphanage!

Love that Mama San!

Christmas is Coming!

I forgot to mention that we broke out the holiday decorations on Thanksgiving morning.  Our party didn't start until late afternoon so we set to work decorating the house.  I just love putting up the tree. This was one of my favorite things as a kid and I loved going through all the ornaments and seeing my favorites from year to year.  Now I love having Wyatt "help" decorate the tree too!  He is always so excited to help... last year was sort of stressful because he wanted to open up everything right now so this year we had a plan!  First, we made sure to put Olivia down for her nap.  Then Tommy drug all the boxes out and Wyatt helped set up the tree.  Then we bribed Wyatt with a treat from the Shopette, so dad and Wyatt rode bikes there to give me a good 45 minutes to go through and get the ornaments out of their boxes.  Upon their return Wyatt decorated the tree to the 3-foot high level :)  After that point, we gave him a lift up high to reach the top!  I must say, though, that my favorite part of this picture of our tree is the beaming baby girl sitting on the floor!  And, I think it is interesting to note that she hasn't even so much as lifted a finger to the tree!!  Oh, and she finally got her two front teeth in, so she can cross those off her "All I want for Christmas" list. :)

I love the holidays and this year we have resumed our annual Parker Holiday party!  I was a bit sad to see that after making out our guest list, though, that we had to chop it down by 75% because we just do not have much room in our house.  As it is, it will be tight but we are looking forward to gathering with good friends and lots of food!

We also have Wyatt's Christmas program at his pre-school coming up as well as Tommy's unit holiday party.  After that come Christmas itself and then I am hosting a spouse social after Christmas, followed by a Progressive Dinner party for New Year's Eve.  I'll keep you posted on all the activities as time permits!

Thanksgiving Weekend "96"

A happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone!  We had a fabulous 96-hour weekend.  And Tommy only had to go to work once!! :)  We kicked it off at our friends' the Nelsons home with lots of friends on Thanksgiving Day. It was quite the feast - they cooked THREE turkeys in the turkey fryer so that everyone could have lots of leftovers!  They were amazing. Each one had a different marinade injected and it was YUMMY!! My favorite was the garlic pesto. The kids played, the adults ate and drank... everyone was happy!

The next morning I hit the black Friday sales.  LOL!!  They "try" to have black Friday here but... well, it is just not the same!  The BX has a sale on TVs and cameras... the gift shops on base have like 15% off certain stuff... and that is about it... :)  But my friend Amber and I hit up Starbucks and hit the holiday bazaar and the gift shops and had a fun girls morning out nonetheless!

The whole weekend was absolutely beautiful - 70 degrees and sunny, so we took advantage of it and took the little ones to Bios on the Hill.  We had been wanting to go their forEVER but something had always gotten in the way.  I can't really explain what this place "is."  It's part forest, part flowery garden, part river, part playground.  In any case, we had a great time.  Tommy and Wyatt walked across the floating bridge to the Dragon topiary and somehow managed not to fall in...

Then we went on the boat ride and although we couldn't understand a WORD the Japanese tour guide was saying, he must have been pretty funny because everyone around us was laughing hysterically.  Then all the Japanese people would look at us and laugh like we were supposed to know what he was talking about!  It was pretty funny to me.  We were the only Americans there and they Ooh-ed and Ahhh-ed over Olivia, it was very sweet.

Next up we hit the play area.  The fun thing about this place is that I think Tommy and I actually had more fun than the kids!  They had stilts, huge tree houses, hammocks and extra-large swings!  It was so fun to play.


Then we fed and walked the goats.  I don't really understand why, but they want you to go unclip the goats from their posts, feed them carrots and walk them.  Wyatt thought it was hilarious!  Which it actually was.  My goat was very stubborn and kept pulling me over to leaves so he could eat them.  The goat was actually walking me, not the other way around!

Anyway.  The next morning I had a girls' brunch at a restaurant I've been wanting to try and we finished up our Christmas shopping at the BX. We had a fabulous weekend filled with sun, fun, family time, and great friends.  What more could we ask for?