Congratulations Max!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness, Max was selected as the winner of a college scholarship today!!!!! He was chosen out of 83 students based on his essay and an interview in front of a panel of judges. I'M SO PROUD OF HIM! He'll be honored at a banquet on May 17th and will receive the money then. He worked really hard on his interview skills and it obviously paid off. The scholarship is from the Kadena Officer Spouses Club and they give a scholarship only once per year and can be used at the college of his choice. Yea Max, he's leaving Okinawa with a bang! I'll post more photos after the banquet.

Our Angel gets baptized. February 17, 2012

We celebrated Mika's baptism today. We had the ceremony at Holy Family Catholic Chapel on Kadena, and this is the same chapel where Max had First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Now that's quite the coincidence considering how frequently we move! Max had his Communion in 2001, and here we are eleven years later. I think that's remarkable.
We were very thankful (and very blessed) to have our dear friends Mike and Angie be there with us to be recognized as Mika's Godparents. We've been stationed together three times over the past 12 years, and we're very lucky that they're on Okinawa with us to help celebrate Mika's commitment into the Catholic faith.
It was such a special day! They greeted us at the airport when we brought Mika home almost three years ago, so we think it's only fitting that they have such a special place in her life.


At the church and ready to receive the sacrament of baptism.



Angie's Mom and Dad found this beautiful dress in Florida and sent it all the way to Okinawa!

Mika and "Auntie Angie." They gave her a beautiful gold cross necklace to mark the special occasion.

She wasn't nervous at all!

Mike and Angie with Mika. We love you!

It was a wonderful day.

At home now and ready for cake.

A special cake for a special girl.

She posed this way by herself!!

She loved this dress because it would poof out when she spun around!

Max and Mika.

yummy cake.

Time for a nap. (sugar crash from the cake!)

Valentines Day 2012

Mika and I went to the supermarket in the morning. She likes to go to this one because they have little baskets for kids and little carts that she can use.

We had a very nice Valentines day this year. David surprised me and took us on a picnic with sushi from Ichibantei and a flower for me and a flower for Mika.It was a very nice treat.

Mika had a great time running around the big trees.

Some of my favorite sushi: tuna corn, and ebi fry nigiri! He got yogurt drinks for Mika, she loves them and I have a photo of her drinking one at the orphanage the day we had our "gotcha day."

A cuddle for Daddy.

Mika begged us to kiss so she could take our picture. She calls it "fairytale kisses."

Stay out of her way shen she's eating!

My precious little girl.

Our picnic location on Kadena Air Base.

I bought a Valentine cake for David at Sweetheart Bakery. The size is perfect. (I'm not a big chocolate eater, but he LOVES it)

A yellow rose from Daddy for Valentines Day.

A red rose for me.

I gave David a chubby bronze Buddha from China. He collects Buddha's and didn't have one like this.

Valentines for my two little sweethearts.

I asked Max to take a picture with me.

Hokka Hokka Tei....the Japanese version of "fast food."

This has grown to become a favorite takeout (Mochikaide) restaurant chain on Okinawa for us. They recently changed the name to Hotto Motto, but I still call it Hokka Hokka Tei because the theme song sticks in my mind from hearing it on the radio all the time. LOVE the Katsu Don and the Chicken BanBan with tarter sauce!

Ordering is easy, just point to the picture on the menu.

This is my car.

Every month they have a special dish, so we like to order it sometimes to try something new. This one was umeboshi with salmon, root vegetables and shrimp tempura. Delicious. (I don't like umeboshi, so I usually give that to David.)

Good for Max!

Max was acknowledged at school for having a 3.9 GPA. Great job Max!
That's a huge accomplishment considering he missed alot of school this year due to doctor visits in Hawaii.

Having fun at the park: February 12, 2012

A fun day at the park behind our house.

I LOVE this photo!

She has strong muscles from gymnastics.

Having fun playing frisbee with Daddy.

February photos 2012

Mika loves eating at Bikkuri Donkey, but she cracks me up because she can't pronounce the name. She calls it "Kapoody Donkey" and "Honky Donkey." She's so funny.

She wanted me to take her picture in front of this green pay telephone. She thought it was cute. (she's carrying her favorite baby)
Here are a few photos from February. I'm a little behind with posting stuff, so I'm trying to catch up.

David and Max happen to wear matching hoodies, so I snapped a photo. Our friends from Michigan sent these for Christmas last year.

I love the way this car is parked on the sidewalk in front of a big sign that says "NO PARKING!" Drivers will park wherever they can find a spot on Okinawa, and the sidewalk is a popular place.

The Sakura are blooming now, they're so pretty.

This Koza sign used to be very famous many years ago, but now they've closed the road, so it's a quiet walking area now.

Ice cream vending machine at Mainplace. This ice cream is yummy!!

David was asked to sit on a promotion selection board on this day, so he's wearing his "Charlie" uniform.

Mika has started taking piano lessons and she LOVES it, her teacher is great! (her family is Chinese and she's from Australia. She's is married to a pilot and they live behind us, so it's very convenient.) Mika likes her very much.

Mika got a toy violin.

Koko and I took Mika to see the Dragons baseball team in Chatan. They're from Tokyo, but have Spring training on Okinawa. (Max was at school, so he missed it.)

Playing in a bouncy!

This is the team mascot: Doala Koala. I have NO IDEA why the Dragons team has a koala for a mascot!

A cute group of school kids were there. I love their matching pink hats.

Doala signed a baseball for Mika.

That's my friend Koko in the picture with Mika.