EARTHQUAKE

Did you know that Japan accounts for 20% of the worlds major earthquakes? Well, I experienced one first hand this morning. I was sleeping soundly in my bed when I was woken up by a lovely 7.0 earthquake. I'm not sure what I thought at first but once I figured out what was going on I thought it was kind of cool and then it just kept going and going and it started to freak me out a little. It wasn't a hard shake like you would expect or see in the movies. It was more like a wave. Like someone was rocking me. I'm not sure if it was because I was half asleep but I swear it looked like the walls were moving. And you could hear it. I can't explain what is sounded like but you could hear it.



I knew it was big but I didn't realize how big until I got up and Googled it. 7.0...really? That's the same as the one that just hit Haiti. There were sirens going off outside and of course we don't have a local news channels that's in English! I found out that it was for the Tsunami warning and they were evacuating the coastline. They later lifted the warning and said that it wasn't expected to be more than a few feet.



When we lived in our apartment I always thought if we had a Tsunami we'd be S.O.L. We lived across the street from the water then and Matt always told me we'd be fine. Not much on the coast actually sits on the ground. It's just like at the beach were the houses are lifted and you park under them. We also have a seawall surrounding the island for that exact reason. I've always thought it very ugly and takes away from the beauty of the island but very necessary.



Since the earthquake in Haiti I've found myself thinking, that could be us! I mean here we are on this little island with no way out other than a plane. I'm very thankful there were no injuries and everyone is safe!!

Trying to get back to normal.

We've settled in and amazingly Matt, Gavin and myself didn't have a problem with jet lag. Avery not so much. It's taken her about 3 weeks to adjust to the 15 hour time difference and I think, I THINK she is finally sleeping through the night. For those of you moms that had babies that slept all night at 6 weeks.... I hate you! Both the kids were pretty spoiled by everyone, including me, while we were in the States so life in the Hobbie house has been very different and difficult for everyone. Avery thinks that you must be holding her or be on the floor next to her at all times. Gavin is still being a rebel as far as potty training is concerned but we are getting somewhere with his eating habits. He's still very picky but we've had a few night of sitting at the table for up to 45 minutes until he take a few bites. He is a stubburn child but he gets it honestly so when it comes down to a battle of will's ....Matt usually comes out on top and I usually just cave.

I'm borad, very borad! I've applied for a few jobs and I'm hoping something will come up soon! I love my kids but staying home all day everyday is just not for me. We play outside with the kids on our street but I gotta say, Gavin is kind of a loner. He usually just runs off and does his own thing. So, we got him a puppy to try and keep him entertained until I can get him in day care. So far it working. I think the dog might forget how to walk because Gavin will not put her down. She is an ugly little Oki mix and is the sweetest thing. She is doing great with potty training and puts up with Gavin really well. We named her Mia although Gavin just calls her "my puppy". I thought I was going to make it a rule that she not go upstairs but that didn't last long. Gavin is very sneaky and will grab her when I have my back turned and take her to his room.

We went to the Zoo a few weekends ago and that was very lame. My goal is to go do something new once a month. Since the Zoo was a bust maybe I'll have something fun to post soon. Until then, Sayonara!

We're back...

I've had a few people tell me that I need to start blogging again. Frankly the idea of reliving our trip back is not appealling at all. It was a bittersweet good-bye. I realized more that ever that I truely do have great friends and family. I'm not sure I would have made it through this deployment here, alone. I've never minded being away from everyone but it's always kinda bugged me that Gavin can't grow up around our families. I'm gald that he got the chance to spend so much time with everyone. He had a blast this summer and fall with Aaron, Makenzie and Cooper. So saying good-bye was sad because we don't plan on making the trip back until it's time to leave for good. It was almost as if were in a holding pattern for the past 9 months and we are excited to get back to our lives.

For those of you who haven't heard the details of our trip back, here it is... Avery did WONDERFUL and Gavin did OK. Until we landed in Okinawa... This is when both kids decided they were sick of flying and had complete meltdowns! Both kids SCREAMED through the line for customs, while we waited on luggage with no strollers so at this point I'm doing my best to hold both screaming kids while Matt is trying to get our luggage. Finally, he decided that he would just go get the car and leaves me to get the luggage with both screaming kids. I'm still not sure why he thought that was a good idea... Anyway, his car was SUPPOSED to be across the street in his work parking lot. Well, it wasn't. While Matt goes to get the car from our house, I'm still stuck in the baggage area because Matt left with my ID and I can't leave that room without it. GREAT! Finally after every single person is gone some guys that work there came over to help me get our luggage and my screaming kids outside. Still no Matt. Once he shows up we load up and the car won't start. REALLY! He just drove it 5 minutes ago!! Did I mention that we are also locked out of our house and the kids are STILL screaming?? At this point I have a complete meltdown myself. I'm just going to stop here.