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.

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 :)

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