Wow...it's been a long time!

I really need to get better about this whole blogging thing! Now I have too much to say and too many pictures and it's gonna be huge! Well, It's been a crazy time for us over here in Oki! Juanpablo was in Korea for 6 weeks for training and got back right before Easter. He wasn't supposed to get home until after Easter but he was able to get on a plane and come home early. We were so excited! Juanpablo almost missed the plane. He and some buddies had left to get some food and hang out because they (the people at the airport on base) had told them that the plane had to be fixed and the part wouldn't be there until 4 p.m. Well, around 2 they came out of the USO where they had been hanging out and they see a guy that tells them the rest of the guys are already at the airport and the plane is ready to take off. They have to run back and get their stuff and head to the airport. When they got there the whole place was empty. They thought for sure they had missed the plane, but luckily an airport guy told them that they hadn't, they barely made it. So, thank goodness, he made it home earlier than expected. He got home with only a day or so left of Sam's spring break and so after Juanpablo took some leave we pulled Sam out of school for a week and did some exploring of our beautiful island. There is so much to do here and we can't believe that we've already been here 9 months and we haven't even done half of what we want to. At least we have a little over 2 years left and so we have plenty of time to keep checking stuff out. During our little vacation we saw many beautiful and fun places. We went to these beautiful royal gardens that were used years and years ago for meetings with Chinese diplomats. We got to walk through the house and the grounds where beautiful, they have these stone bridges and a gazebo, and it was just so peaceful there. We also went and checked out the Japanese Naval Headquarters Tunnels. We got to see where the Japanese headquarters were during the Battle of Okinawa. The tunnels were so small. It was really sad too, there is a wall that shows where some of the soldiers shot themselves or used grenades rather than be captured. Sam was a little scared of being in the tunnels because they were small and dark. It was very sobering. After that is when we went to the gardens and then we found a really fun park that had like a mini Ninja Warrior set up. Sam went through it all. He had so much fun! And they have these huge roller slides at a lot of parks here in Okinawa. It's pretty cool and fun for the whole family! We also went to this place called Ryukyu Mura, it is similar to Colonial Williamsburg in VA. We got to see old time Okinawan style dancing and singing and there was a clown type guy, but he freaked Bella out! Then we got to walk around and see the houses and we took a picture with some people in old time dress. It was lots of fun, though it was raining at the time. We saw a 3D movie they have there about snakes and mongooses. It was freaky. We also went to the zoo, Juanpablo had never been but it was like the 3rd time that the kids and I had gone. The zoo here is really kinda sad. The animals don't have a lot of room, the cages are pretty small. They have funny signs on the cages of the chimpanzee, tiger and lion. On the Chimp cage they have a picture of a person with the chimp throwing poop at the face of the person. On the tiger and lion cages it is the same sign, a cat spraying the face of a person and the person crying....hahaha...it just makes me laugh. Funny signs. Not something that you would see in the states!

I just had to put pictures of the signs up here...

We then spent a few days camping at a resort called Okuma. We have been there before and it's so beautiful. It was much warmer than the last time that we went! We went out on the paddle boats on our second day there. It was not a fun experience! There were some pretty rocks and a little island a little way out and so we decided to paddle over there. It only took us 20 minutes to get there. We walked around a little on the island and then got in the boat with 25 minutes til we had to turn the paddle boat back in. Well, everytime we would start going we got pushed back by the wind and the current onto the rocks. Juanpablo had to keep jumping into the water and pushing us off the rocks. The water was cold and he wasn't wearing any shoes. I was the only one with shoes on, so he ended up using my shoes, and his feet are way bigger than mine. And my shoes have little bows on them...it was pretty funny! But they saved his feet from the rocks. I was holding Bella because she was not very happy. We just kept on getting sent back to the rocks. It was so frustrating. And when we finally got away from the rocks we ended up going in circles. The rudder thing(I think that's what it's called, the thing that is supposed to help us go the direction we need to) didn't work! I would turn in one direction and we'd start going in a circle, so I would turn it in the opposite direction and we would just keep going in the circle. It was so crazy! Luckily the water wasn't that deep and so Juanpablo and I would jump out of the boat and try to push us in the right direction. It took us and hour and 20 minutes to get back! We ended up just trying to keep the rudder straight and we used our arms to paddle and turn. By the time we got back we were so tired. We had been paddling for about 2 hours with our feet and paddling with our arms for about an hour. We vowed never to get in a paddle boat again! Well, at least not out in the ocean, on a lake or something it wouldn't be bad I think. We had a lot of fun though. The second day that we were there a good part of the church branch was there, we were having a branch camp out. It was fun! We cooked smores and had a fireside by a real fire! It was cool! We had so much fun. Sam was supposed to go back to school yesterday but he woke up sick and so he stayed home yesterday and today. Hopefully he'll be able to go to school tomorrow. Also, college is going well for me. I already finished 2 classes and now I'm on my 3rd and 4th classes. I'm excited! It took me a while to do it, but I'm doing it now! I've also been getting up at 5:30 every morning to go to the gym. I meet a friend there, which makes it easier for me to go. So, things are going great here in Okinawa!

There is this big ferris wheel that sits on top of the 3rd floor of a building here. I think this picture is funny, Bella is standing and looking at everything and Juanpablo is cringing...both kids were way more calm then Juanpablo and I were. It was very high!
We weren't even at the top of the ferris wheel in this picture. I didn't let go the whole time. I did open my eyes, but I kept closing them again. I wasn't always afraid of heights, now it is different, not a big fan of heights.
This is at the Royal Gardens, it was so beautiful there. You can see the house and lake in the background.
This is also the Royal Gardens, you can see two of the stone bridges in the background. It was just so peaceful there.

This is the Japanese Naval Headquarters, the entrance to the tunnels.This is at a fun park. I just love this picture of Bella.

This is Bella at the top of the roller slide. It's pretty high but you can't go very fast, you have to push yourself a little at some parts, but it's fun!
This is us at Ryukyu Mura. It was pretty cool, we got to see how they convert the sugarcane into sugar and stuff. And we got to see how they made the pottery and stuff. It was fun!
Camping at Okuma, it was pretty dark by the time we were all set up and started cooking. We made steak and we had to use a flashlight to make sure it was cooked all the way.
On the paddle boats, as you can see we are happy...we were on our way out to the island and enjoying ourselves at this point.

Feb 2009....

I can't believe that it is already March! The month of February just flew by! We took some family pictures, which I will be picking up next week. Sam and Juanpablo were doing Brazilan Jiu Jitsu. Bella is talking so much more and so much better. She is shocking people with the fact that she speaks in clear sentences. I have started taking 2 college courses. I'm finally getting my behind in gear and going for my degree. I plan to major in history and to be a teacher with DoDDs(the Military School System). I figure that way I can just transfer where ever we go. And I'll have the same schedule as the kids, summers off, etc. It will make vactioning much easier! It has been a very busy month for us and March will be even crazier. I thought I'd share some cute pictures of the kids from Feb. I'll put family pics up once I pick them up.

For the longest time Arabella would not let me do her hair, that's why in every picture her hair is just crazy. She would let me put barrettes in her hair and then pull them right back out before we even made it out the door. Then February came around...and it got really windy here in Okinawa! It drove her crazy that the wind was blowing her hair in her face and now she lets me fix her hair. I just have to tell her that it's so the wind won't blow her hair in her face and she won't pull it out! Yeah!

We love to play board games. Even Bella is getting into it. Fun times!

Bella "mooing" this is the face that she makes when we ask her what sound a cow makes! She is too funny! She is also wearing daddy's work socks on top of her jammies, she insisted....wanted to be like dad. Too funny!

Just hanging out and being cute. They sometimes fight, but mostly they just love to hang out and play together. I'm so happy that they really do love eachother!

We had the missionaries over for dinner, and of course Sam had to bring out all the costume stuff that he has. They all had a blast being the different superheros and bad guys! There were 2 American and 2 Japanese missionaries. They took lots of pictures of each other with the costumes on. I think the grown up missionaries were having more fun than Sam! It was a great night.

A cute picture of Samuel

A cute picture of Arabella

Sam said "this is how the Japanese people always pose" So, he just had to do it too! hahaha...

So Proud!

I learned something new about Arabella today that made me so proud! Some friends are moving and I was watching their daughter, Jenna. Bella loves Jenna, she is just a few months younger than Bella. They were running around and playing and having a great time and some how goldfish crackers ended up crushed all over the living room floor. I had to vacuum them up and so I told Bella and Jenna to go to the bedroom. Bella is scared to death of the vacuum. She doesn't like it being around when it is off and she really doesn't like it when it is on. She went running back to her bedroom calling for Jenna to follow her. Jenna didn't move. She just sat there watching me vacuum and laughing. When Jenna didn't follow, Bella came back out to see where she was. Bella walked up to Jenna and tried to get her to leave but Jenna wouldn't budge. Bella, scared out of her mind, refused to go and leave her friend out there alone with the scary vacuum. No matter how close Jenna got to the vacuum, Bella wouldn't let her go alone. I was so proud of her! What a great friend she is and she is not even 2 yet!

Kids are funny....part 2...

This morning after we got home from taking Sam to school I asked Bella a question. Her answer had me wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. I asked "Who's my baby?" I was hanging up jackets and getting ready to get her out of the stroller. She told me "I big girl!" So I asked "Who's my big girl?" Her answer, "Bella!" I could just cry. She isn't my baby anymore, at 20 months she has decided that she is a big girl. At least Sam still wants to be my baby. He told me that even though he's a big kid now, he'll always be my baby. How cute is he!

Every Tuesday evening until bed time is Mommy and Sam time, just the two of us. Well, last night he wanted to read some books together. I read 2 books to him and he read 1 book to me! He sounded out most of the words on his own. Just a few he needed help with, but "two" can be tricky to sound out when you're 5! He did such a great job! He is doing so good in school, he just takes after his mom and talks a little more than he should...lol.

Here are some cute random pictures...

This is Christmas Eve of this year, they had just gotten out of the bath and were ready to open their Christmas Eve present.
Here is the doll that I sewed for Bella for Christmas this year, you can see that her hair got into her smile and smudged it a bit...still have to fix it, but Bella doesn't seem to care. I made it all, the doll, the clothes, everything. It was fun and she seems to like it!

The other day the kids were playing in Bella's room and they were unusually quiet. I went to check on them and they had trashed her room and I found them like this....Rocking in Bella's chair together and being silly. They are just too cute!
This was from November, she wanted the camera so bad...she's so funny!
Here is a blast from the past....
October 2000....I was only home from my mission about a week or 2 and still so tan...it was my dad's retirement ceremony. And both my brothers still had hair...lol! (They both shave their heads now.)

Wow it's been a while.....

Been sick for about 2 weeks and not quite over it yet, but I'm getting better. Juanpablo was able to take off for a day and Sam was at school most of the time so it wasn't so bad. I've been told that coughs last forever here because of the coral in the air...I'm not happy about that. They put coral in everything here, it's even in the asphalt! We have to be extra careful during rain because it is slicker from the coral in the road. Since we aren't used to it when we get sick it makes it worse. But, it's almost gone and so that is good.

We had a great Christmas! We were able to talk to our families on Christmas day and that was great! We made everyone open their presents early so we could see them. hahaha...I'm sure they didn't mind. Since we are 14 hours ahead of most of our family it was Christmas Day for us but Christmas Eve for all of them. It's still so weird to be a day ahead of everyone.

A few days before Christmas I was talking to Bella and I asked her what we celebrate at Christmas. She said Santa. I asked her what else? And she said...Jesus. I thought that we so cool! We had been trying to teach her about Jesus but since she is only 19months old we didn't know how much she was actually learning. It was so cool that she is understanding. We were reading in the Book of Mormon, the one for LDS families with pictures and quotes, and Bella saw a picture of Christ healing the sick and she got all excited and started pointing and saying Jesus! It was pretty cool...of course then she started pointing to everyone else in the picture and saying Jesus! So, I guess we still have some teaching to do...hahaha...

Bella is getting so big. She loves babies now. She got her stroller the other day and was pushing her babies around in it. Then she went into her room and got a diaper and tried to change the babies diaper! It was so very funny! She was trying to make it fit the baby and of course it wouldn't, but she was determined.

She couldn't do it herself and so she enlisted her brothers help to make it work! She is just so funny!

Bella also seems to have gotten her Dad's luck. At Juanpablo's work Christmas party they had raffles and Bella won a Build-A-Bear and a huge Barbie Castle. She is such a lucky girl!

The other day Bella was tired...she was eating some pizza and then all of a sudden she was asleep....she is so funny! She can fall asleep anywhere!

Here is a cute picture of Sam since this blog seems to have just pictures of Bella. She has just been doing some crazy stuff this month!

This is Sam with just a small amount of his superhero collection. He has like 5 times more than are shown in this picture! He is a big superhero fan. Lately he likes Spiderman the best of the traditional superheros. His favorite of all right now is still Ben 10. He was very excited that he got a Ben 10 Omnitrix (it's like a watch) and Santa brought him a Ben 10 game for the Wii. It was a Ben 10 Christmas for Sam. I think all but like 3 gifts were Ben 10 related! So, he was very happy!

There's nothing like camping to make you grateful...

We had a great weekend. We started out the holiday weekend with a district wide Thanksgiving dinner. That was really cool! It is a tradition here in Okinawa since we are all pretty far from our families. The church district provides the meat and whoever wants to come can come and bring either a side or a dessert. We had it at one of the schools on the Air Force base and there were a lot of people that showed up. Then after getting full on turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pies of every flavor and so much more, the kids got to run around and play in the gym for a little while. Then we left and drove about 2 hours to the very top of the island for some camping at the beach resort that is up there. It was already getting dark when we left and we were following friends that had been there before. If we hadn't been following them I just know we would have gotten lost! It was kinda hard to find in the dark. We got there and it was fully dark and had begun to rain. We had to get the tents set up and Juanpablo and I had never set up our tent, we had just bought it the day before! But, it was really pretty quick to get it set up. The Cook's tent was bigger than ours and took a little while longer to get up, but in not too much time we had both tents up and the kiddos were ready for bed. We didn't do anything that night but attempt to sleep. The rain never got that bad, just sprinkling mostly. But oh my goodness, the wind was insane! It was seriously blowing the tent down on top of us most of the night! It was like a hurricane was going on outside! It was so loud! And then we were practically on the beach, just a little bit of grass was between our campsite and the sand, so we could hear the waves really well also.

This is our view and our new tent.

I wasn't able to sleep most of the night due to the wind, I was sure that it was gonna pull all the stakes out of our tent, luckily it didn't. The kids slept great though! It was like nothing was going on outside! Samuel woke up before Bella and Juanpablo took him down to the beach. A little while later they came back and Sam was soaked from about the knees down. The water had come up quickly on him and he hadn't run fast enough to not get wet. Well, we had him change clothes and then he walked around in Juanpablo's shower shoes because his were soaked. We made breakfast and ate and then Leeanne and I drove out to get into the near by town to get Samuel some new shoes. While we were gone Juanpablo, Blake and the kids went to explore and play miniature golf.

Bella tried to kiss Dopey...how cute!

Here is Sam playing miniature golf in Juanpablo's shower shoes!

Samuel loves miniature golf and you just don't see to many places for it anymore. The resort is called Okuma and it has campsites, cabins and like hotel rooms. The campsites are the best because they are actually on the beach and you can see the water while laying in your tent! They also have go-karts, these jumping things for the kids, miniature golf, boats you can rent, water bikes, buggies to tour the resort, jet skis, scuba gear all this stuff for rent at really low prices and we are really excited about going back when it's warmer and the water isn't freezing! It is a Air Force resort and it is really nice. When Leeanne and I got back from shopping we ate lunch and then Juanpablo, the kiddos and I went for a walk on the beach.

It is just so beautiful there.

We found a blowfish on the beach and we weren't sure if it was alive, Juanpablo tried to turn it over and it tried to take a breath! We knew that we had to save the blowfish! So, Juanpablo got some bark that was on the beach and picked it up and got it back into the water. We don't know if it survived, but I like to think that it did!

The water is better than anywhere I've seen. It is this beautiful turquoise color. The pictures just don't do it justice.
We made hobo dinners and ate s'mores while waiting for them to cook. And just hung out. The guys played basketball and the little girls just ran around playing. Then we got the kids to bed and the adults had fun hanging out by the fire til it was really late and we were all ready to go to bed. It didn't rain and it wasn't very windy, so Friday night was much better than Thursday night! On Saturday we packed up camp and then went to play at the beach and then Juanpablo, the kids and I went and did a tour of the resort on a buggy.

Then we went to the go karts and Sam was to short so he had to ride as a passenger with Juanpablo and they raced Blake.

Then Sam rode with me and we raced Leeanne.

Bella slept through all that. She actually didn't nap on Friday which was shocking! But she made up for it on Saturday! Then it was getting late so we went to eat at the restaurant there on the resort, it was really good and very, very reasonably priced. Then we headed home. The camping trip really made me grateful for this beautiful island that we are living on now, for the beautiful world that the Lord made for us, for family and good friends. It really was a great weekend!

Iron Chef Melissa

Did you know that I'm an Iron Chef winner! O.k. so not from the show Iron Chef. Our Branch had a ward activity and there was an Iron Chef competition. We had 3 different secret ingredients to choose from and then it was either side, main or dessert. Our choices were apples, cranberries or pumpkin. I chose to do an apple side dish. I made Salpicao, it's a Brazilian dish. It is shredded chicken with ham strips, peas, carrots, palm hearts and apples mixed with mayo and topped with potato sticks. It is probably my favorite Brazilian dish. It is typically eaten as a side at bbq's but can be for any time. Well, there were several other dishes in my category, but I was the Iron Chef winner for apple side dish! I was so proud! Everyone loved it and I had none left over to bring home. Yeah me! Just thought I'd share.