What A Whirlwind!

We left Tokyo around 4:30 Monday afternoon. We had no problems getting to the airport, there was even a playroom for Brady to hang out in while we waited for our flight. Brady was very well behaved on the very long flight! He made friends with the flight attendents and slept for about the last 3 hours. We arrived in Dulles on Monday afternoon. That felt crazy! I knew we had just been flying for 12 hours and to step off the plane on the same day we left was wild! We made it to Jacksonville and had to wait a little while for Greg's friend to pick us up. I'm not going to talk any more about that! Finally, HOME SWEET HOME!!! There truely is no place like it. After being cooped up in a 500 sq. ft. hotel room our big ol' house felt like a true treat. Brady continued to say "Wow!" as he walked around the house and discovered all of his long lost toys! I think it was like Christmas all over for him. Greg went back to work on Tuesday. His boss is... well, I probably shouldn't talk any more about that either! We have just spent our time unpacking and adjusting to the time change. Poor Brady had a rough first couple of days, but has gotten much better. He still wakes up around 2 or 3 in the morning for a couple of hours, but we go to bed around 7:30 or 8 every night, so it hasn't been too bad. I have met our new neighbor and she has kids around Brady's age, so we have played with them a couple times this week. Brady starts school on Tuesday and I'm excited that he will have more time with people his age. One final note, while we were gone an armadillo moved in to our yard! That's right, I said an armadillo. For everyone around here it doesn't seem like that's a big deal. It's totally normal for armadillo's to roam about. Not for me! Our exterminator said he had a trap and could catch it for us. I'm sure that will happen after Greg leaves for Iraq and Anna and an armadillo is not a good combination! The poor exterminator will have to visit our house, once again, to get rid of it!

Last Day in Tokyo!

First of all, sorry the pics on my blog are all messed up, but when I have a chance I'll fix it! Today was another day filled with a whole lot of nothing. We have been on the go for practically every weekend since we have left the states and it feels like it has finally caught up with us. It doesn't help that the high today was 40. We have been spoiled by our tropical 75 degree weather! We went swimming and ate a couple of times. That's about it, aside from our usual nap! It really felt nice to not have anything to do, and we are happy with the tourist thing we did yesterday, so at least we did something while we have been here. We are catching an airport shuttle tomorrow at 10:40 and it is supposed to be a 2 hr ride to the airport. Our plane leaves around 4pm, so we will have some time to spend at the airport. Our flight to Dulles will take about 12 hours. We have a 2 hr layover, and hopefully we get through customs in time to catch our flight home! It will be about another hour flight to Jacksonville. It will be a long day, although not quite as long as the trip here! We are ready and looking forward to sleeping in our own beds. Now that Brady is climbing out of his cribs it will probably be time for a big boy bed. I was hoping to at least wait until he was 2, but he's trying to be ahead of the game! See everybody soon!!!

Tour of Tokyo

Saturday was a beautiful day! A little chilly, but not too cold to enjoy Tokyo. We decided to take a tour of Tokyo to hit the highlights. We began by going to Meiji-jingu Shrine. This shrine was built for Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. The idea is to say a prayer, which is a sequence of clapping and bowing then tossing money into the alter and asking for something you want or need. Next we drove by the parliament buildings and the old Imperial Palace that is now used as a guest house. We took a stroll through the current Imperial Palace's East Garden. It wasn't much of a garden seeing as how it's winter, but there was a waterfall that Brady enjoyed looking at! We met a man on our tour that is a MLB umpire and a detective in Daytona Beach, FL when he's not at baseball games. He was taking in the scenes during the morning and we saw him behind home plate Saturday night during a World Baseball Classic game. Next was a stop at Senso-ji Temple and Nakamise Street which was very much like Chinatown in NYC. Lots of vendors selling purses and all kinds of trinkets and kimono's. Finally, we were dropped off in Ginza, an expensive shopping district. There was supposed to be the biggest toy store in Tokyo on this street. We were expecting something like F.A.O. Swartz, but although it was 3 stories tall it wasn't what we thought it would be. We decided to stop by Tokyo Tower, which was something else we were told to do, but it wasn't included on our tour. We took the subway, which was spotless by the way. There was a lady even cleaning the handrail on the escalator. When does that happen in the states? Never. We got off at our stop and walked and walked with no Tokyo Tower in sight. We found out we were going the wrong direction! So, we turned around and walked and walked and walked until we finally reached the tower. The line was unbelievably long for tickets and even worse for waiting to get up the tower. So we took a cab back to the hotel. It just wasn't worth waiting so long, we had dinner reservations, and we were very tired. Back in our room we rested for about an hour and were off to dinner at the Japanese restaurant in the hotel. Our meal was very yummy. We have had a hard time putting Brady to bed in our room because we are all in the same space and he wants to be up with us. Even when we lay down he just plays by himself. Finally when he couldn't take it any more he fell asleep and so did we! Oh, I forgot to mention I made the security guard mad at the entrance to the hotel because I didn't bring my passport with me and he didn't want to let me in with Greg's credentials. He finally let me go but let me know he was upset that I didn't have proper identification.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Our first full day in Tokyo was cold and wet. Apparently winter is both cold and the rainy season. I guess it's good to get both over with at the same time! We slept in, played in our room, Greg took Brady to the pool which worked out for a little while until Brady fell in and was too scared to get back in. We looked at the gift shops, basically a whole lot of nothing until it was time for dinner. The hotel supplied a babysitter and Greg and I went to a very nice dinner in the hotel's fanciest restaurant. A candlelight dinner with classical music was very romantic! Along with salad and other fixings, Greg devoured an entire 22 oz. Porterhouse steak. The waiter had a look of shock on his face when he picked up Greg's plate. He said he hasn't seen anyone eat the entire steak before! Sometimes I don't think people believe that I really have to cook for 4 people to feed the two of us, and usually there aren't any leftovers. We had dessert and then they brought chocolate truffles. I think they were taking bets in the kitchen to see how much they could make Greg eat! We wanted to visit the fish auction and market, but the information we got about it said strollers were prohibited and small children were discouraged from attending. I'm not sure if it's the flying fish parts when they cut them up with swords or what, but I'll take their word for it and not risk going!

Leaving on a Jet Plane!

We mailed all of our souvenirs and a good deal of other random things home so we could manage the amount of luggage we had to carry. I sure am glad we did this because I could not imagine what we would have done because we still have 3 suitcases packed full, along with 3 carry-ons! The check-in at the airport was smooth sailing. The airline had everything down to a science and we had no worries. I must admit, I was very unsure about how the plane ride was going to go. The last time Brady was confined in a small airplane the results were not optimal. Brady did GREAT!! He was so well behaved, and I was so proud! The flight lasted about 2 hours and once in Tokyo we were bussed to the terminal, collected our luggage, then it was off to McDonald's! I asked a security guard how to get to the McDonald's and because he looked a little confused I asked where I could find a hamburger (making a circle with my hands, which I'm sure clarified everything for him!). He told me downstairs, I said thanks and walked away. A few seconds later he came back over to me and he had written down McDonald's to make sure he understood what I said and that he gave me right directions. Could you ask for better service? Everywhere we have been the Japanese people have been outstanding! We ate lunch, then took a taxi to our hotel. Again no problems anywhere! Our hotel is beautiful! It has several restaurants and shops, and the best part is that I still can't shop without Greg! We are staying in a military resort and it takes an ID to do anything. I can't wait to buy something at Wal-mart all by myself! We have already taken a nap! No big surprise, right? Tomorrow we are going to try to head out to the fish market bright and early where apparently they fillet fish with Samaria swords! Good times!

Goodbye Okinawa

This is it. It is all over. Nothing left to see here. We have completed our final hours on Okinawa. What a wonderful place it has been, from the kind people to the beautiful scenery, this has been an amazing experience. We have been welcomed with open arms (except for the restaurant that kicked us out) by Americans who included us in their lives for a short time and the Okinawans that treated Brady like a rock star! We have done as much as we could possibly do from exploring the very top of the island at Cape Hedo, watching the waves crash as two bodies of water collided (although it was very difficult to determine where one stopped and the other started) to the very bottom of the island at Peace Prayer Park solemnly reflecting on the devastation WWII left in it's wake. Brady won't remember the time spent here, but I think he enjoyed himself. Greg and I are better for this experience. We had quality family time and truly enjoyed each other's company. We woke up every weekend and had no plans, just deciding on a whim what to do that day. What fun! These are days Greg and I will remember for the rest of our lives! Needless to say, I'm a very lucky girl!!

Final Weekend on Okinawa

Well, we have completed our last weekend on Okinawa and move on to Tokyo on Thursday morning. One more weekend to go! Saturday began like most weekend mornings, breakfast then play until naptime. We were going to try and go to a baseball game, but it started in the middle of naptime, so it was a no go. After running a few errands, we decided to go to the Comprehensive Park. This park is supposed to have several playgrounds, boats, fishing, all kinds of fun outdoors activities. We have already been many places that people who live here have never been, and this is a park maybe 2 people have told us they have been. Well, there were signs that got us on a road it was supposed to be on, but we drove around forever and couldn't find it. To make matters worse, Brady was not in the mood to sit in his car seat. Greg is amazing with directions. I have not been somewhere with him where he has not been able to get us out with record time (except in Ireland on our honeymoon, I think all the love he had for me was getting to his head!). Greg was beginning to get frustrated and because Brady wasn't helping matters we decided to head back to a playground on base. All in all it was a good day and we stayed at the park until we were the only ones left! Sunday was again a typical Sunday, brunch then naptime. You know, it's amazing we have done so many things with as much as this family sleeps! When we woke up it was on to the Jungle. The Jungle is an indoor children's playground with all kinds of tunnels, slides, ball houses, and coin rides. Brady was interested in 2 things, the ball house and a plastic house where he could open and close the door and shutters. All of these fun activities surrounded him and he just wanted to go in and out of this plastic house! Afterwards Greg dropped me off at a salon so I could have a pedicure and the boys went out for dinner. The best thing about my pedicure was the toe art. There were so many choices of designs they could do on your toes. Once you choose your design they hand paint it and the artist has 2 inch long fingernails. Amazing! Aside from maybe a dinner or two, we aren't planning any other adventures. Our next adventure begins on Thursday morning with a 3 hour plane ride to Tokyo. Please keep us in your prayers!