MonaKids Jungle

We've had a little cold snap the past few days. So after a week of being couped up in the house we decided to take Gavin to one of the indoor places I've heard so much about. Monakids is an indoor playground complete with rollersides, ball bits and plenty of tunnels to climb through. It was completely empty. Good news was that Gavin got to run wild but mommy and daddy had to climb, jump and swing with him. Not that I don't' enjoy these things but my hands and knees were screaming when we left. The rollerside has got to be the best part. It reminds me of something you'd see in a big factory assembly line. I had to drag Gavin through the tunnels to get to it the first time. But one trip down and we were both hooked! Even Matt enjoyed it although I bet he'd never admit it.

Hidari, Migi and Massugu

The excitement of the earthquake and Tsunami has passed and I hope to never experience either ever again! Waiting on a Tsunami is a lot like sitting a waiting on a hurricane to slam your house. The warning system on base SUCKS! I found out we were under a warning from a friend on Facebook. I thought that was a little bit ridiculous but I'm thankful it turned out to be nothing and everyone is safe :)

We actually got out of the house this weekend. Our sponsor Natalie is leaving in a few weeks and they gave her a going away party at the Orange Dinner. It was also a good bye party for the Japanese controller that work with Matt. They are taking the air space to Naha and Matt will pretty much be useless here. Anyway, we rented out the restaurant, which was more like a tiny room with a bar. There are about 60 Japanese controllers (JCAP) and maybe 20 military. So it was a very tight fit. For some reason they make the JCAP do funny little dances and sing. It pretty entertaining because their English is still a little broken and they are reserved people by nature so they are a little out of their element. Natalie was invited to be part of a traditional Japanese dance as a gift to her from the JCAP. And somehow Matt ended up on the dance floor when they started singing "Go Johny GO". It has been very hot here lately and with that many people in a small space a lot of us just mingled outside. We found out this wasn't such a good idea when the Japanese police showed up and told us we were being to loud. YIKES!

People take taxi's everywhere here because they have no tolerance for drinking and driving. One drink and your DONE! We drove there because Matt was working the next day and wasn't planning on drinking but he is Matt... They have a service here called Dico. They come and pick you up and bring someone else to drive your car home and another car that follows him to take him back to ....where ever they go. Somehow having a whole caravan take you home is cheaper then taking a taxi and you have your car home so you don't have to go get it the next day. Taxi rides are usually a little crazy as they are in most places. Our driver was trying to teach us how to say left (Hidari), right(Migi) and straight (Massugu) and Matt kept jacking it up. Luckily we had a nice one and he laughed while he had to repeat himself 50 times! Maybe I'll just start taking more taxi's and get some free Japanese lessons. Fun was had by all and I loved our babysitter!

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.

Bye Bye Oki

So, we are all packed up and ready to go! It has been an extremely stressful and overwhelming week but as corny as it sounds I'm impressed with how well we've been able to just push through it!! I haven't had a whole lot of time to just sit down and think about what it is we are doing until today. Today was the first day in a while that we both weren't running around like crazy people trying to get things done and it made me stop and remember what this is all about. ...Matt is being deployed!! I'm sad today because I have to leave my husband and Gavin has to leave his daddy. I know that Matt doesn't have a very dangerous job but that doesn't stop the fear or the tears. You try to tell yourself that it's in Gods hands, and it is, but "what if" is always somewhere in the back of your brain. I am sad to day because I have to uproot my child for the 4th time in 7 months. I don't care what other people say, it does effect him. Just because he is two does not mean that he isn't confused by all the changes around him. I've seen it in these past months. I'm sad because the friends I've made here will all be gone when we get back and it's going to be like starting all over! I will put on my strong face tomorrow but today I am sad.

The plan is to go to the airport in the morning (Wednesday evening for you all) and wait and see if they call our name. They have 67 seats but we don't know where we are on the list. I don't think it will be a problem. The plane leaves at 11:00am Thursday morning and lands in Seattle around 7:00am Thursday. Nothing like living the same day twice! For us that we be 11:00pm so the plan is for Tak to pick us up and take us back to his house to sleep a little. Gavin and I will buy a ticket home when we land in Seattle so I don't know the details of that but I do know that we will be home sometime Friday. I know that everyone will be excited to see us and want to see Gavin but please keep in mind that it will take us a few days to adjust to the time difference and we will probably be sleeping during the day and watching movies and eating breakfast in the middle of the night. Bare with me! We will see you all soon!

Plan? What's a plan?

Most of you know, I'm a planner! I have to know what is going on when, where, how, who.... that's me. So Wednesday morning I wake up with plans to go to the doctor and find out the sex of the baby and then the guys were going to come by to pick up our refrigerator and washer because we were moving THE NEXT DAY! Well, this is how my day really went. At 7:30 a guy from the moving company shows up and wants to do a survey of our house to make sure they have everything they need when the come the next day. At 8:30 the guys came and picked up the washer and refrigerator. This was wonderful because that meant that Matt gets to go with me to get my ultrasound. Well, that didn't go as planned because this little bean didn't want us to know what it's goodies look like!! I was very disappointed!!! I found out that Gavin was a boy at 14 weeks. I'm 22 weeks now and I already feel like I've waited a lifetime!!! Oh well, nothing I can do so I move on. I come home and Matt goes back to work. I get a phone call at 12:30 from the moving company and she wants to know if they can come this afternoon and do a per pack. Here is where my planning comes in. I was planning on having EVERYTHING that Gavin and I will need to take with us packed up and in our car out of the way. I was also planning on gathering up everything that needs to stay, to clean the apartment once they are gone. I had some dishes that needed to be washed and a few other "odd and in's " to do before the movers came the next day. So, I agree to let them come at 3:00. This way I have time to get my stuff done. At 1:00 (30 mins later) my door bell ring and it's the movers. I say "oh, you're early. Please excuse the mess". He smiles and ask me if they can start packing. I say yes go ahead. Then he says "we, move everything today". Whoa, back up! You want to move everything TODAY?? Again I get his sweet like Japanese smile and he just says "please". So, everything that I had planned to do that evening then changed to getting it done before 3:00 is now all shot to hell.

The next thing I know I have little men coming in my house from the front door and men climbing over the balcony from the roof of the truck! I'm completely overwhelmed!! So, I take a deep breath and start throwing stuff in a little area I've ask them to leave alone. I realize after about 10 minutes that this is just not going to work because I have way to much to think about! So, I start call Matt and hear his phone ringing in the living room...just like him to not have his phone. I called what I thought was his work number only to be told that I have the wrong number! Then I call Shelly, her husband works with Matt so I got the number from her. I call Matt's work and DEMAND that he stop whatever he is doing that very minute and get his butt home. Thank God he actually listened. I just knew it was going to take him an hour. By the time Matt got home I was busy trying to keep Gavin out of everyones way and out of all their stuff. I decide that Gavin and I have got to just get out of the way. I grab the little 15'' TV and some movie and off we go to the new house. I didn't remember sippy cups, snacks or anything that you need to get by with a toddler. The floor in our new house is cold tile and we have nothing to sit on. Then Gavin realizes that there are stairs in the new house! So, up and down and up and down until I thought my legs were going to fall off! He has no problem getting up the stairs it's the down part that he needs help with. I've been having a lot of back pain for the past month or so and this just put me over the edge. It has not been as bad as when I was pregnant with Gavin but still not fun. When Matt showed up with the movers I was already at my wits end with Gavin and my back hurts so bad I can hardly walk. It's 5:00 and Gavin has not had a nap at all so he is in complete melt down mode! So, we get in the car and go out to find some dinner. I'll stop here with all the details because I think you get it. The movers didn't leave until around 6:30 and then we had to unpack our bedding and things we needed ASAP. Not easy to do when half the boxes are labeled in JAPANESE! I've spent the past few days unpacking, which I was not planning on doing! But I have to finish packing our suitcases for our 6 month stay in Bama. I've had to do most of it myself because Matt has been busy trying to get everything in order for us to leave and he cleaned the apartment before we turn in the keys. I do not remember moving in 5 months ago being so painful!!! I HATE STAIRS!

On a lighter note, I love our new house now that everything is unpacked. We were both a little unsure if we'd like it here but did it for Gavin and the yard. Our back yard is a toddlers dream. There are about 6 kids all around his age and every house has some kind of big outside toy to play on. Tonight (Friday) I looked out my back window and there seemed to be some kind of party going on. Matt and I decided to go out and introduce ourselves. Gavin had so much fun running around with all the little kiddos and we had a good time meeting everyone. I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and I just thought "we should have been here all along".

Sorry, I know that this was a blog of me just rambling on and on.