APRIL 2009

The month of April has been no doubt a busy one. With the weather warming up, festivals are going on and the beaches are opening up for swimming. The weekdays still consist of work and school... but the weekends have been full of fun and exciting adventures.

I love day trips - they are kind of like mini vacations. So we have been spending many hours on the road; finding new places, seeing new things, learning new culture.

Here are just a few things our family has been up to....

Nakijin-jo
Ruins of the Kingdom of Ryukyu
At the very north tip of this tiny island, you can see only the top portion of the remains of the Nakijin-jo Castle in Okinawa. They are in the process of excavating, hoping to restore the entire site. Nakijin-jo was the one of the largest castle in Ryukyu Kingdom (ancient Okinawa) constructed before the 15th century

I love this photo... a view from the top of the site; the castle wall, the thick jungle, then the deep, blue, ocean. Yet in reality, this photo doesn't give the actual site any justice at all.

Here we are in the entrance way to the castle grounds.

Easter

Looking throughout the base for some Easter accessories is easy... if you want the pre-filled flimsy baskets. However if any of you know me, I like to be a bit original.... add a personal touch to such things. So since I couldn't find an actual basket... the Easter Bunny brought us Easter bags instead. Myer didn't seem to mind at all- after all he did get the basics; a chocolate bunny, candy, a little bit of money, candy, and water balloons.

Also I asked my parents to ship me some simple plastic Easter eggs, since they too are scarce around these here parts. Which they obliged to do so. Thank you mom and dad! I love you.

After a fun morning of hunting for candy, we drove down to the sea wall, where we walked along the China Sea, then joined some friends for a BBQ.

Fish Market

Well, hmmm what can I say? This may be a pretty interesting place to go, but it's still one of Carl's favorites. He loves fish and sushi and such, I am not a fan at all. So when I cook, I don't add any of that to the menu. But every once in a while I let Carl have a chance in the kitchen; usually first we have to take a trip past town and to the port.

Myer picked out this fish to try... This is a Parrot Fish, which happens to be Carl's favorite type of fish. Named because of it's stunning colors and also his fishy lips which oddly look a bit like a parrot's beak. I'll admit this is a gorgeous fish. I would love to have a huge aquarium with this fish swimming around, but Carl has other plans. (is that a look of disgust on Myer's face?)

What a waste of such beauty. However Myer and I did try it. I took a bite and found it .... well... rather fishy. Myer gave the ol' thumbs up after his first fork full, yet he didn't eat any more. So who knows? We indulged ourselves with the chicken and steak.... Carl finished the fish.

Ie Island

Sounds just like the letters i and e..... ie

We originally made plans to visit this island for the Lily Festival. And although there were beautiful Lilly's on the island, I found other things more intriguing.

First off, we drove north about an hour or so on Okinawa, to Motobu Port. Where we put our car on a big boat and were ferried across the ocean... the boat ride was about 30 minutes long, cold, and windy. But it was fun. Myer enjoyed trying to stand up and walk while we were riding the choppy waves.

Carl & Myer on the ferry

After we docked, Myer found us a map of the island so we would know where we were headed.

There are many things to do on this island, but we only made it to a few. I would rather spend a lot of time at a few places, than a little time at a lot of places.

My favorite was looking down from a cliff, at the ocean waves crashing up against them. It was a pretty windy day, and the spray of the waves was just amazing; Like something you would see in a movie. The cliffs were protruding out from the water about 16 feet or so, and then the waves would come in and the splash would be twice as high. I don't even know how to describe the magnitude of it.

We also ventured to the Ninya-thiya cave. During the WWII, this cave was used as a bomb shelter, housing 1000 islanders. This cave is in the cliffs next to the ocean. (these cliffs were on the opposite side of the island, so the waters were calm.) And although it's a nice sized cave, I would have not liked sharing with 999 other people.

Below are the waters just outside the cave.

Inside the cave there is a legendary rock. It is said that if a woman lifts this rock, she will soon have a baby....

.... so well see.

There you have just a handful of things going on on this side of the world.

Adventure, danger, and excitement...

As for the Canlas Family itself.... Well, we are still waiting for the time when we can pick up our other children from the states; Daryl, Vicky, and Sidney. But we are doing okay.

When I first got here, we were told that we would be moving to another building so that they could remodel this one, but that doesn't seem very likely now. We just got new neighbors in unit B; which was just recently renovated as a single unit after our old neighbors were PCSd (getting stationed elsewhere). So I'm starting to do a bit more with the house, with the thought that we won't be uprooted in a month or so. A neighbor gave us a bit of carpet for our living room. It adds so much to our home. Also I've put up some curtains in the windows. Just doing little bits at a time, as not to put Carl into a total shock.

Myer is doing well in school; making many new friends, and participating in many school activities. This last week I joined his class on a study trip to Comprehensive Park, and next week another trip to some caves.

It's just about a month and a half until school is out, and we have plans to visit the beach often, and head on back to Utah for a little bit.

Tomorrow we are heading for Okuma to do a night of camping. Well, they call it camping, we will be staying in a log cabin on the beach, sounds more like luxury to me. Also sometime this summer we are planning on a camping trip to Torii Beach with our neighbors (this one well be sleeping in a tent).

Hope all is well with you and your families... we love and miss you all.

Katie & Carl

Konnichiwa

For all of you who do not speak Japanese, kinnichiwa is a greeting for good afternoon. And that is just what it is right now, a good afternoon, and i hope it is for you all as well.

It has been nearly two months since Carl and I married, and he moved me to the little island of Okinawa, Japan; which is just off the mainland.

I'm still in the process of "getting used to it," but it has been so far, a wonderful experience for Myer and I. We are meeting new people, Myer is enjoying school, Carl is back at work, and I'm having a blast changing our house into a home. Life would be complete if Carl's children were also here with us, but they chose to stay back in the states with their mother. But we are hoping and praying that they will want to come back this summer.

Our family is made up of seven of us.... Of course there is myself and Carl, but let me introduce

our children.

*****DARYL

Daryl, is the oldest. He turned 14 just two days ago, on the 31st of March. It's hard to believe i have a son that age, and so mature. In two years he'll be driving. Daryl loves to bowl. Some of his friends back here on the island call him a "laughing bowler." Explaining that, he only bowls strikes, if he is laughing right before tossing the ball down the lane. It's a good thing he laughs a lot!

VICTORIA *****

Daddy's little princess! What more can I say? She is a rose among thorns.

Vicky is 9 years old and comes with an endless supply of hugs- bear hugs that is. This sweet little angle loves to dress up like a princess, but don't let that fool you, she likes the sports just like the men... even asking once, if she could sign up for football. But has since settled with the sport of bowling.

She excels in school, and was more than excited to come home and shout out that she was able to run the mile in PE. We are so proud of her determination and dedication.

*****SIDNEY

Seven years old and all boy. Soon to be a first grade graduate, this young man keeps well up with his older siblings. He likes to bowl, play with his friends, eat sushi, and play video games.

Sidney is full of smiles and can make anyone laugh; perhaps a bit shy at first, but he is such a lovable person who enjoys meeting new friends.

MYER*****

This little six year old guy might seem timid and shy, but he can get pretty crazy at times. He has amazed me in his transition from stateside, to Okinawa. He tries to keep his outlook positive, and has put forth effort to try new things... this including sushi (which i have yet to do).

His favorite color is red, and he'd wear it everyday, if i didn't do laundry. Myer enjoys school, and making new friends. His best friend in school is Rebel (and yes, he lives up to his name). He loves doing all the school activities, and going to the library.

Myer too, is getting into the bowling spirit.... and he gets his fix at least once a week. Pretty soon he'll be as good as his brothers and sister.

and last, but not least.... *****BERNIE

Although, I've had to clean up his poo several times from the upstairs hall way, and he chews up the rugs, sheds on my furniture, and i actually believe that he hates me.... i guess we can still call him 'family.' Bernie is a pretty good dog, doesn't bark much, and as long as we are home he minds the rules. However it's not really my choice, he was here before me and Carl says he stays (because the kids love him).

So there you have a little insight to our family....

Tune in next time, I'm going to try to keep you updated on our lives and I'll even let you in on some of our Japan experiences.

~Katie :)