Happy Birthentines Day

As the month of February develops, so does love. Ahh, the romance, the bliss, the roses, the chocolates, the romantic dinners, the chaos, the 'I can't believe you forgot Valentine's Day!' the 'sorrys,' the tears, the tantrums, the... Oh, I'm rambling on.

Anyway, Valentines day... pure bliss, right? Right? Carl and I both decided to put a nix on the whole thing. No, there were no big scenarios as the one above, we just have more important things to do.

However, with the big V-day tucked away, this day does not pass us by without a little chaos. February the 14th just so happens to be Myer's birthday. He turned seven this year. Can you believe it? I am getting old. Blegh!

Our week was filled with party planning, praying for good weather, cupcakes for school, and a special birthday cake for Myer. Did I leave anything out? Oh, crap!! I've got to run back to the store, for his birthday present. Needless to say, that it is still Valentines, for the rest of the world, and the rest of the world is raiding the only retail store on base for pretty much the same reason. This was no quick jont.

But what is any boy's b-day without all the preparations? Of course, there is still just one more loop for me to jump through... this world wide special day, happens to be Carl's birthday as well. I guess I've got one more cake to bake.

Party invites.

Took Myer two blows to get all them candles out.

The weather did hold out, and we were able to hit a bucket of balls.

Dorvall, Spencer, Myer, Nathan, & Abby enjoying some Pizza.

I think this is the most looked forward time for any child's birthday.... the opening of the gifts. Myer was spoiled. Binoculars and a watch from his parents, a Nerf gun from Grandma and Grandpa Linford (he loves it, and is constantly outside with his friends having a war), something for the DS (beats me what it is, we will have to let Carl figure out that one, but Myer was way, WAY excited about it), slingshot, some Star Wars action figures, and a gift certificate to the BX, which he wants to use towards a scooter he's saving up for.

Yes, I realize I misspelled birthday....

And striking. O-well.

When all said and done, the smiles and laughter make it all worth it. And now with two of my boys another year older (FYI Carl is now 32... what an old man huh?), we can sit back and relax until we figure out what's next in life.

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day, I know we did!

Love you all!

January 2010

. . . . I know I sound like a broken record but once again I am apologizing for the lack of posts. Too many months have passed since the last. We've been here on this beautiful island a few weeks shy a year, so I should have what... twelve entries? And counting back, let's see... one... two... three... ahhh, four. So i guess you can count of me for only one third of the time. For someone who is constantly on the computer for one reason or another, this is not a good number. Alas, I will not make another promis to 'try harder'. For now on, you'll get them when I write them. Whenever that may be.

. . . . So Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas have all passed us by, not to mention it is now a new year.

Myer's new golf set.

. . . . We have had great holidays, fun times with our little family and friends...

. . . . Well, I think that sums up last year a bit. And now onto 2010. HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVERYBODY!!

. . . . For a few weeks we've had some pretty cold weather; surprisingly cold. No snow like the little bit I hear they got back in Utah this winter, but some bone chilling winds blowing off the ocean. I didn't even realize Okinawa ever got this cold. Although I would take this temperature many times over before the heat of the summer here, I refused to go outside unless I absolutley had to. But the low temps only lasted a few weeks, and now we are back up, and things are just lovely. There's a little rain here and there, but mostly sunshine and comfortable temperatures. (no, I'm not at all braging... I would never do such a thing)

~NAGO CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL~

. . . . Two days ago Carl and I celebrated our first anniversary. And to do so we took a drive up to Nago for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It was a relaxing hour drive along the highway 58, which for the most part boarders the East China Sea. The Festival itself was made up of many venders (mostly food and games) lining the streets. There were some ice sculptures, bouncy houses, and tons of people. We picked a booth to eat lunch from, and then headed to see the cherry blossoms.
. . . . It was beautiful. Looking up, the side of the mountain was all pink. We, along with a throng of people, started for the stairway up the mountianside. Lots of stairs, lots of people, lots of sweat... but the view was spectacular.

. . . . We climbed and climbed and climbed- cheering eachother on, taking photos, looking forward to the end of the trail- just think how much more amazing the sight would be from the top.. . . . Well, we made it to the end! And I've got to say, it was a bit of a dissapointment. Our final destination, and we were surrounded by trees... and not even of the cherry variety. We couldn't see down into the city below us. There was however a little hut thing with a single stump in the middle. ??? I'm learning not to question the Japanese, they just do weird things.

Myer was a trooper... and he was excited about the hut.

. . . . After our decent, we rewarded ourselves with two scoops of Japanese ice-cream! They have some pretty cool flavors; like sweet potato, shrimp, soy sauce, and of course fish. And although I've never seen it, I hear there is also 'raw horse hide.' Can you imagin? Myer and I had vanilla and strawberry, Carl ventured out a little and had chocolate with his strawberry. Oh, we are so origional.

~SHURIJO CASTLE~

. . . . Last weekend we took a trip south of Kadena, to the city of Naha. This is were the main airport is, so the city isn't new to us, but the sightseeing was.

. . . . We found our way to Surijo Castle. This is the largest castle on the Okinawa Island. It has burned down serveral times, and rebuilt again throughout the centuries. It was destroyed one final time during WWII. This time when rebuilt, very little of the origional castle was even left to use, and it was only restructured for tourist reasons. It was built 18 inches above the origional site to preserve what ruins were left; there are places in the building where the flooring is clear, so you can look at the broken rubble below.

. . . . It was a self guided tour, which kept you on a certain path along the exterior and then in through the castle itself. It was fun to see all the vibrant colors and gold plaiting. But if there was a place where we wanted to spend a little more time, there was always an usher standing near to hurry us along. Some of the building was under construction (I think they were painting, but I'm not sure) so we missed some of the tour, but all in all it was fun to see a little bit of the old Japanese Culture. The ushers themselves wore kimonos; and even the women around the vicinity were in their beautiful kimonos with the white makeup covering their faces.

These entryways are called Torii's.

~KOKUSAI STREET~

. . . . After spending time at the castle, we drove around a bit until we found the famous Kokusai (coco-sye) Street. This street brings us to the moders age of Okinawa, leaving emperors and castles far behind.

. . . . This is a pure shopping district... I will try to explain, but I'm not sure if I can. The main street is Kokusai. It's kind of like an ourdoor mall, with venders and stores on both sides of the busy street. Most sores, side by side has instead of a regular door, something which resembles a small garage door, which of course are all opened (come on in). They bring out merchandise onto the sidewalks, or you can venture in farther. Some stores were small and you could barley fit two people in them, other stores had an upstairs/downstairs; there were quirky novelty stores, clothing stores, and fine silver stores; restaurants and food markets. This street has a little bit of everything.

. . . . And just as every street will turn off onto yet other roads, Kokusai did as well. Some were regular roads which cars could drive down, and some were more like alleyways, blocked off from cars; but if you were on a bicycle or a motorcycle, it's yours for the taking. Most alleyways had a tarp like contraption covering the walk way, so it is almost as if you were inside. it seems as if you could walk through the mazes of streets and shops for days on end, but after about two house our parking meter was up... and i think my 'dodging the crowd' meter was looking pretty low as well.

This is a vew of one of the many alleyways.

These were taken at some of the markets.

Above: thoes are dried snakes. They use them for soups.

Below: yes that is a pigs head- it's not real,

but they do sell pig face and legs, like the ones hanging just above the head.

This was a cuter pig I saw out on Kokusi Street.

~PINEAPPLE PARK~

. . . . A few weeks back, we were once again packed into our van... Pineapple Park here we come!
. . . . Pretty self explanatory, a park with lots of pineapples. It was easy to spot by the huge whimsical pineapples out in front of the building.

. . . . I had an image of walking through pineapple fields, and I thought I heard at one time that we were able to pick a pineapple for ourselves... but maybe this was for another palce. Oh-well, it's not the season for picking anyway; the pineapples right now are so small and cute. The tour was a ride in an self driving, electric, golfcart with a pineapple roof. They had I-pods in each one which told us in broken English all about the park and it's pineapples.

. . . . I would love to tell you all about it, but like I said, it was broken English, with lots of static. But it's nice that they try to make things convenient for us. It's funny when they post signs in English... the icecream booth at the Cherry Blossom Festival said 'ice crean'; and then of course theres the 'no smorking' signs. They word their sentences funny as well, they have t-shirts that just crack me up, they make abslutly no sence at all. There is always something to giggle about here in Japan. Anyway back to the park...

. . . . When the ride was done we were herded into a gift shop where we had the chance to purchas many of the items they make with the pineapples. There was wine, juice, cookies, cakes, vinegar, and more. The best part about this was all the free samples. Each item for sale had a sample... and after tasting almost one of each, we were all full before leaving the park. The cakes and cookies were excelent! The viniger? Well this was my first time trying viniger strait... and I don't really have anything nice to say, so I won't say anything at all.

. . . . So there you have our major trips lately. And other than the occasional trip to the beach, we are just living our life day to day. Carl has work, Myer has school. In school, Myer is in the Tyco Drum Club. They meet each Friday after school in the music room. He is learning the art of the Japanese Drum. Myer is enjoying it so much, and at the end of the school year they will put on a performance for all us parents. Also Myer as well as myself are getting the hang of the whole chopstick thing. It's kindof fun, but I'm still not sure why they havn't switched over to forks yet, they are soooo much easier. I guess some customs just don't die... maybe that's not such a bad thing.

. . . . There has been a slight change in plans, as for picking up Carl's children from Utah. Daryl, 15 and a freshman this year has been acepted into the Upward Bound program at Weber State. We are so proud of him and his efforts in school. He is living with his Grandma and Grandpa Sablan in Ogden, we are so grateful for all the help and suport they provide.
. . . . Victoria and Sidney have joined their mother, and are living in Texas. We miss them all very much, and long for the time when we can see them again. It is hard being so far away, as life continues back in the states.
. . . . Well, it is late, I should head off to bed. Thanks so much for listening to me ramble on and on. I know if I wrote more often, my entries would be shorter... but o-well, too bad. We miss you all and wish you a wonderful 2010 year! Love, the Canlas Family.
. . . . One more thing: Myer wanted to send a picture of our church house. So here it is, down in Awase, and there is our little Myer so proud to go every week.

2009 SUMMER

. As the summer windes down into fall, and night creeps in just a little bit earlier each day... I find it easier to find a little more time to sit and relax. And therefor you are all fortunate to take in yet another load of the Canlas Family.

. Myer started into first grade this year. He's in a class of about 20 children and a really great teacher. Mrs. Tassi is a breath of fresh air compared to the high strung, overbearing kindergarten boot camp Myer graduated from. Each morning Myer wakes up early, looking forward to the day ahead. When asked, his favorite subject is recess... but i know he loves P.E. and science as well. I have the opportunity to volunteer in his classroom several days a week. It has been fun seeing him in a peer environment and to get to know some of his classmates. His friend Rebel has a different teacher this year, but he and Myer always seem to find each other at recess to play.

Here is Myer, six and a half year old, on his first day of school.

. The summer has been excruciatingly hot. Filled with headaches and a nauseated stomach gifted to me by the nasty heat. The temps were high, and the humidity even higher. We stayed indoors for the most part, avoiding direct contact the sun at all costs. Our trip to the states has been the highlight of our summer vacation. Getting out of this Okinawan weather if only for a few weeks.

. But it wasn't only the weather that made this trip so fun, we were also able to see family and friends who I've been away from for the last six months.

. We took a military flight back to Utah, space A (or space available). It is basically a flight that is on a mission somewhere, and they figure they might as well tote along a few passengers. This process I've come to learn is pretty much a joke. The ride in a cargo plane was fun and very laid back. Looks rough, but really not that bad of a way to travel. It's the unexpected trips, all the waiting, and then still there was no guarantee of a flight. That was the hard part to take in.

. For starters, when we were finally able to get a flight off the island, we were on pretty much a straight flight to Seattle, Washington. A few hour layover in Yokota, Japan, and then another in Elmendorf, Alaska. After takeoff, we learned that our hours would turn into days.... two nights on mainland Japan, and another night sleeping in the Elmendorf terminal. We also stayed two nights in Seattle after we landed there. But we did make it..... was it worth a free flight? I'm still not quite sure, but we did purchase tickets for our travels back to Okinawa.

. I was so excited to see my family. Mom and Dad were at the airport waiting to pick us up. And when we got back to their house my sister Liz and brother Korey were there with Tony's Pizza for me. I have the best family in the world!

. While in Utah, I was able to see all of my brother and sisters - new homes, new babies, new cars... who knew the world back in Utah wouldn't pause just because I was missing. I got to get my toes done with my wonderful sisters, and i had an evening out with all my best friends, Tara, Mindy, & Megan... A night out on the deck. Awesome! I drove down to New Mexico to visit a bit with my sister-in-law Carleen. We spent one day hiking Timpinogus Cave, and then swimming in Park City with my sister Jo and her family. Myer was able to spend lots of time with his best friend and cousin Braig. I indulged myself at my favorite restaurant, Elmatador (twice). And it was really, really great to see all our kids together!!

Myer & Braig Vicky, Daryl, Sidney, & Myer

. I was able to take the kids for a day. We went to Beuses Pond and fed the ducks, did some hiking and had Wendy's for lunch (I miss Wendy's!), then headed back to my parents home and they all played together for several hours. It was great to be able to spend some time with them, and I look forward to the day when we can all be together living under one roof. As of right now, Carl is planning on flying out to pick them up sometime in January. Only months away but it still seems so long. We miss you guys!

. After being away for a five weeks or so, it was nice to come back though. To my home and my husband. The weather still hot, but you could tell its slowly cooling down... heading into fall.
. On Labor Day, we took a drive to Cape Zampa. A light house over looks the blue ocean, and breathtaking cliffs. On a previous trip Carl and I paid 200 yen each to climb the stairs to the top, but with Myer with us we thought we'd save that activity for him when he's a bit older.
. From the top of these cliffs you will often see local fisherman; with their homemade extended poles which are crazy long to reach out far enough over the edge.

. All summer long we've heard singing and drums from our home late at night... the Eisa Dancers practicing for their yearly performance. It's within walking distance from the base and so when the weekend of the festival arrived we headed out Saturday night to watch them perform. It was fun to walk along the skinny aisles they call streets around here. Usually when we are out and about we are among the more touristy spots, with the wider roads, and bigger stores... but this time we traveled down some rural side streets. Little shops lined the road, and small houses. It is amazing what these people can do with so little space.

. The festival it's self was really fun. There were the dancers who were of course all dressed up in their costumes and makeup, but there were also people walking around in the traditional kimonos.

Myer in front of the night lights. A group of teenage girls.... yes kids here always throw up the peace sign for photos.

. In school Myer has already had his first field trip; I was able to accompany him to the Okinawa Zoo. This was a fun activity for all the kids. However, it was a sad experience for me. The landscaping was beautiful, and they had fun, colorful mosaic pictures on the walls surrounding the zoo itself. But it was hard to see all the animals in very small habitats, many of them very dirty. It was definitely not one of your American Zoos.

Myer and classmate Zachary climbing on a monkey.

. Our favorite attraction of the zoo was the orangutan. As we ventured passes, this guy called out with a screech, then preceded to hop up on a bench and clap. How fun! A clapping monkey. An obvious reaction was to clap back, to encourage him to extend his performance. Mistake. Another screech, then the insane jumping up and down, right before the tossing of the poo. And yes, it did get us. He carried on with his fit for about five minutes or so, picking up more of his feces, but yielding to throw again. Unfortunately it was after his little episode, that we saw the posted sign :

Yes, these are actual posters at the zoo. Check out the sign behind the lion cutout.

. Oh, and while we are on the subject of waste: our kitty cat is now potty trained! Woo hoo! No more litter boxes ever! http://www.city-kitty.com/home.html

. So yet another exciting couple of months with the Canlas's. We are doing good and loving life. Work is good, school is good, and I'm still having fun being a stay-at-home mom! Everything will be perfect as soon as our other kids join us.
. Hope you are all living out your lives with happiness and prosperity as well.
. We miss and love you all!

Hello again family and friends!!

Greetings from the Canlas Family!

Well, for starters we have adopted a new family pet (no it is not a cockroach this time, although it may look sort of like evil vermin). A sweet little kitty we found out in the jungle. Myer and I brought him home and spruced him up a bit....

After that first bath, and a quick dry with a towel he became just a little more adorable.

Carl named him Dipstick, because he is pretty much all white except for his tail; which is grey from the base to the tip. Bernie gets excited when the cat is able to come out and play, and whenever possible the cat is following Carl around and pestering him... i think cat's know who are not necessarily cat people, and they prey upon them.

This last month we also took some time out to put a little garden together. A garden, i know your thinking tilled land, maybe a little edging, lots and lots of flourishing plants. Yeah, that's what i think of too.... however, our garden consists of several pots filled with soil and a few plants.

Well there are some zucchini there, tomatoes, a few pepper plants and some flowers for color. We've also attempted some potatoes. It has been a couple of weeks now; my flowers aren't looking so hot, the peppers have aphids, and the zucchinis some kind of worm or something... who knows. Yes I've brought my wonderful green thumb with me to Okinawa, where it is supposedly hard not to grow things.

Myer has been busy this month with school activities. A field trip to Okinawa World, where there is the huge Gyokusendo Cave, glass blowing, Eisa Dancing (with the drums), and Dr. Fish.

At 5km long, the Gyokusendo cave is the longest in Okinawa, and the second longest in Japan. And of course for only 500 yen, i just couldn't resist putting my feet into the Dr. Fish tanks. They tickled like crazy as they ate the dead skin off my feet (of course not that i had much).

Myer was also part of a school program which the kindergartners put on... they worked very hard and did a wonderful job. It was the "Barnyard Moosical," each class dressed up as different animals, Ms Freeman's class were the Gourmet Goats. They sang a funny song about making Pizza Pies.

And just yesterday, Myer was able to lead his class in the Pledge. I missed it by two minutes, but Ms. Freeman raved about how well Myer did. She said he did the whole thing with no mistakes, and you could hear him perfectly. Myer is doing really well in school, even though he is taking speech therapy classes still. I have been meeting with his Speech Therapist every once in a while and she's been trying to get him into classes twice a week, instead of only once. So this last week i went in, and we chatted, and she was so excited that after several tests Myer's taken, we were able to up his time to 50 minutes a week. She boldly stated "we will beginning this right away." The funny part about that is there was only a week and a half of school left. But in reality, this will still be good, because next year he can just start off on the two days, and we won't have to test him for another three years. But we are all hoping and praying that he wont be needing her services for that long.

** MYER'S FIRST FISHING TRIP **

Myer has also been able to spend time with his dad. Carl took him on a lazy Saturday, to a remote place along the ocean, to do some fishing. I tagged along, but just sat back and relaxed, and took pictures. Myer had a lot of fun, its unfortunate that he didn't catch anything... each time they would reel the line in, the bate was missing, but there was nothing on the line... we are dealing with some smart fishies here :)

PEACE PRAYER PARK BEACH - Itoman, Okinawa

We went with the Cheney's (Jennifer and Randall, and their children) to this hidden beach. Up above on higher ground there is a memorial for all who have died in one of the most bloodiest WWII battles. This was the last battle before President Harry S. Truman, decided to use the atomic bomb to end the war, ordering planes to drop one on Nagasaki and one on Hiroshima, after studying the high casualty figures for Okinawa. There were many deaths due to the enemies on either side, but there were also many suicides here on this beach as well.

Thinking that this might be a sacred spot for the Okinawans, Jenny asked some of her friend who she works with off base. They explained that it is a spot, where many went to pay tribute to the fallen, and many others avoided the area of fear of spirits, however it was also not a spot where the locals would be offended of us visiting, and enjoying the many beautiful things this place has to offer.

This place was fun, because of all the huge tide pools... the ocean was pretty far away at low tide. So it was great for the kids to just go out and play. In the tide pools were vast amount of sea life... beautiful florescent blue fish, sea cucumbers, crabs, lots of little back starfish.

Here is Carl teaching Myer how to swim at Peace Prayer Park Beach.

OKUMA

It's about an hour and a half drive to Okuma from where we live. We had booked a cabin and were heading down to camp for the night. Up above, I am the one driving... yes i am on the right side of the car, on the left side of the road... all you Utah drivers better watch out when i come back, because I'm going to be all mixed up!

We were there as part of the Okuma Fest. There were bands all day long, hot sun, food and game booths, an area closed off for those huge, blow up slides kids love so much, putt putt golf, and way too many people.

Many of Carl's coworkers also booked cabins for the night, so it was like we had our own little community. It was nice by the cabins because they were just far enough away from all the festivities, but still close to the bathrooms. We did foil packs and fish for dinner, and ate some smores with the neighbors.

The next morning Myer woke up with a polka dotted face, neck, and hands. The result of bedbugs. He looked so sad and sick, but luckily they didn't hurt or even itch. Myer didn't even know they were there until he saw them in the mirror Monday morning; I let him stay home from school for the day- he loved it!

Early in the morning we rented clubs and balls to play some putt putt golf (no they do not call it miniature golf here), for only two dollars a piece. We played the nine holes, and then Myer was able to play again and again. It kept him busy for the better part of two hours... he thought it was great, all you can play golf. We finally had to pry him away when others started waking up wanting to use the course.

This was a fun outing, but i think next time, we'll stay on a weekend where nothing is going on, and we will stay clear of the bed bug ridden cabins.

As much fun as i am having here it's hard to think of all I'm missing back there in Utah, the birth of my nephew Korvin... and one of my best friend's, Mindy's wedding that they are probably just wrapping up right about now. Congratulations to you!

I hope you are all planning on some fun journeys this summer; and as soon as i know, i will let you know when i will be heading back for a few weeks to Utah! I can't wait to see everyone again, i miss you all so much!

Much love,

Katie :)