The Ash Family

Oki Garden

2009-08-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

The boys have been begging to plant a garden like Papa and Oji. So Monday we got to work. We found a little green house on clearance at the BX. We have a huge bug and snail problem here. I hope this helps. I was telling the boys not to get to excited because seeds take a long time to grow. So keep in mind we planted these Monday that was 4 days ago and here are the cucumber plants today. Maybe this is normal but to me I swear if we sit long enough we could actually watch them grow.

And thats the way we roll...

2009-08-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

It is amazing to me how quick Dylan can pick up on something. He heard this song on the radio once and started singing parts of it. He heard it twice and you get video number 2! I guess we can thank primary for balancing him out with video number one. These were taken about 2 minutes apart. I think it is soo funny but Scott thinks I better start playing CD's and forget the radio. But for now I am going to rock it with Dylan! He is such a funny kid.

Gotta Love Base Housing

2009-07-24T03:16:00.000-07:00

So, in order to get my license to be a home day care provider I have gone through a few inspections. One by the fire department, who told me I had to have my "mystery wire" taken care of. (A DIY project Scott and I did putting up a ceiling fan. We ran the wire on top of the false ceiling and then down through a hole. If you look closely in photo 1 you can see the gold wire running down to plug in. ) Next was to sand our chain link fence and spray paint it to cover the rust. Needless to say, we pulled the fence out. 1 hour of our time verses the 100 hours of sanding. The fun part is how the Base Housing Service department fixed my mystery wire. (See photo ) Yes that is plastic tubing they glued to the middle of the wall, along the top of the wall and across the ceiling to encase the wire. Scott and I may have created a potential fire hazard but what they did is just ugly!!! Gotta love base housing! Believe me looks even worse in person.

10 mile RUN

2009-07-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

Here is the before shot. We decided to run 10 miles to the next town. Justin, Scott, Monica and Robyn. I talked pretty cocky about kicking everyone's butt. Unfortunately now I have to deal with the fact that I came in last. I still think I did great though. Robyn even had a cop cheer her on! Yeah us!

And the after shot. Notice not so tuff in this one.

My B-Day

2009-03-18T22:47:00.001-07:00

Well I had a wonderful birthday with so many friends wishing me a Happy Day! The best part of the whole day was the butterfly costume Dylan made me. You cant see in the photo but the head band has straw antennas with balls on top like a butterfly. He spent weeks planning and working on gifts to give me. Both boys woke up nice and early (6:30am) so the could give me a big hug and tell me Happy Birthday. One more of the many reasons I love being a mom! My friend even made me my favorite carrot cake! The best one ever! Thanks to everyone for the phone calls and e-mails. I felt very special today!

Yeah Scott!

2009-03-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

Scott got his promotion this week! We are so excited for him. The boys and I made a cake to celebrate! I told Ethan that the cake was a "wacky cake" (the name of the recipe) and all day he kept saying we got dad a yucky cake. He was wrong. It was so yummy! We had to use what I had on hand because I didn't want to go to the store. I think the cake turned out pretty good though. It was still warm while we were trying to decorate it but we only had 10 minutes before Scott got home. We put a big banner on the door too! I think Scott was surprised we pulled it all off in time.

2009-01-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

Sorry everyone. I forgot you get updates by e-mail . I was trying to figure out what was the best way to post videos. I didn't mean to send you out all my trial and errors.

Sweet Dylan

2009-01-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

So a couple of weeks ago I had this horrible stomach flu. I was passed out on the couch for a couple of days. Dylan brought me this picture to make me feel better. He kissed me on my forehead and told me to get feeling better. Moments like these are why my life is so rich! Can you tell which one is me? :)

Ethan's B-Day

2009-01-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

Scott took the boys camping for Ethans B-Day so we just had a little family party. We are going to have a friend party later in the month. Ethan was very excited to get his Thomas bed! He was most excited about the book Dylan made for him. It was very sweet. He stopped opening his presents and just wanted to read the book. Such pride I have in my boys at moments like that.

2009-01-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

Here a couple of funny photos of the boys. We were putting away the Christmas decorations and came down stairs to find Dylan all set up like this. Ethan had to have a turn too. They sang HO HO HO Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Christmas Fun!

2008-12-24T16:35:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas was wonderful! The boys are playing so nicely together. We have just enjoyed the morning with no fighting over toys! Our breakfast was so yummy. Dylan wanted "egg pie" and it was so tasty! This time mom and dad did the cooking though. We hope everyone else has as great of a Christmas as we are having!

The Man, himself

2008-12-23T01:54:00.000-08:00

Well Scott came home with this Santa suit for Dylan. I guess the metric sizes were a little confusing to him. Not to bad for a 15 minute quick fix job huh? I think Nikki will be proud of me.

Chef Dylan

2008-12-21T19:23:00.000-08:00

After 30 hours of no food (stomach bug) Dylan invented a recipe for lunch today. I guess he was really hungry. The whole family had the pleasure of tasting his "New Food" Half way through eating Dylan decided maybe it would taste better without the ketchup and carrots on top. At least I was able to convince him that syrup and ketchup don't mix very well...

Incase anyone would like the recipe

Fry an egg, add cheese and ham. Smother with ketchup and top with cooked carrots. YUMMY!!!

Santa at the USO

2008-12-20T16:35:00.000-08:00

Well we finally got photos with Santa. When they asked if anyone wanted to see Santa. Ethan jumped out of his chair and took off running, pushing to the front of the line. They had the kids sit in front of Santa and wait for their names to be called. I had the camera ready. Both kids got their presents and ran away from him. No tears this year though. Finally after all the kids had gone through I got a photo. Santa tried to pick up Dylan to put him on his lap but he was not having it. I am sure everyone thought I was so mean. I was yelling to just stand by him because I was GOING to get a photo! This wasn't soo bad!

Caught RED Handed

2008-12-19T20:45:00.000-08:00

So I caught Dylan and Ethan opening presents today. Little stinkers. At least Ethan opened one he wrapped himself. ( A toy he already had) Dylan went for gifts from OBA and OJI!!

What has the world come to?

2008-12-17T00:05:00.000-08:00

So I bought this as a "treat" for my kids. I was looking at the box and noticed this "SMART CHOICE" thing in the corner. As if this sugar laden cereal could be considered a "SMART CHOICE".... I am disturbed. Also committing myself to better eating habits.

HEE HEE HA HA

2008-11-20T22:18:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad Visit

2008-11-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful time with mom and dad here! The boys were so sad to see them leave. I have not been doing to well with the blog, camera etc. Most of the photos dad took and loaded on the computer for me.

Halloween

2008-11-07T18:38:00.001-08:00

Well I think I will just post a bunch of photos. I am due for my quarterly update. :)

Going to Farm

2008-08-10T03:42:00.000-07:00

So we took a tour to a local farm we paid $50 for the tour. I am sure most of my family are laughing at the thought. As strange as it sounds it brought back such good memories for me. We stepped off the bus and that familiar smell rushed into my nose. Without missing a beat Scott turned to me and said, "AHH! The smell of money!" We spoke with the owners of the farm and I told her about grandpa and grandmas farm. I explained to her about "the smell of money" and she laughed and laughed. She said she agrees! I could understand a little bit of the Japanese as she translated the joke to her daughters, again they roared with laughter. Lately Dylan has wanted to be farmer when he grows up (along with a baseball player, astronaut and pilot) I thought it would be fun for them to see a real farm not just one in a movie. We started out seeing the cows. 35 cows in all, so different from grandpas farm. WE saw pigs, goats, chickens and rabbits. Ethan was in heaven with the rabbits. He really got into it and wanted to be involved in everything. When it came time to milk the cow, Dylan was not going to even go near the cow. Ethan climbed right under and gave it a squeeze! Finally Dylan decided he could do it. I was so happy! We hurried and got his hands washed and I sent him into the pin with Scott and Ethan. I was ready with the camera. Dylan was standing next to Scott while I was trying to get a photo of Ethan actually pulling the udders. Next thing I know Dylan gets whacked to the ground. I guess the cow had a twitch. Dylan was standing too close when she swung her head and he hit the ground. Scott grabbed him up and starting running out of the pen with Dylan screaming. He forgot to get Ethan. Ethan heard Dylan screaming and saw Scott running and got scared. I tried to get in to get him but in his panic he ran right into the bars and banged his head. So we had 2 kids screaming. No one was really hurt just a little scared. But that was over for Dylan. He insisted we get back on the bus and go home. After 20 minutes I finally calmed him down and we went in to feed the cows. He was so mad at the cow that he threw the food all over her head. I decided maybe we should wait for everyone outside. Next we got to make our own butter. We got fresh milk and whipping cream in little bottles. We shook and shook until the milk was on top. I drank the milk off to get to the butter. Wow! It is had been a long time since a drank anything but skim. No wonder Todd refuses to drink skim milk. It really does taste bad after that fresh milk. We ate our butter on fresh rolls right out of the oven. The rolls were shaped like a cows teat! So funny. I took a picture but I think Ethan deleted it when he was messing with the camera. Most of the photos I got of Dylan are gone.. MMMM.... Dylan thought the milk was so good he kept asking for another glass. I thought for sure we would have to stop the bus on the way home for a bathroom break. After the whole cow incident Dylan stood on the sidelines so most of the photos are of Ethan! Dylan decided he doesn't want to be a farmer anymore. He said it is much too hard work!

Jakkepoes

2008-08-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

I went out to a Japanese (Ihop)with my friend Shiloh (she is the one that gets me out to new places). It was a cute place. 6 tables and an equal amount of items on the menu. I really enjoy that about Okinawa. I love the small little cafes and resturants where you don't feel jam-packed and rushed to eat and get out. There is a sign posted that reads.. "We began kneading the dough when you order, so we may make you wait a minute" The pancakes were awesome!

Who is He?

2008-07-20T01:32:00.000-07:00

So we have discovered the secret identity of Santa Clause or Mr. Incredible who is he really?

Yummy Pineapple

2008-07-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

Well we did it! We ate the pineapple. Probably should have given it a couple more days but it was still soo good. I went to move it a little at it just fell off in my hands. So much for the guy who blogged about needing to saw his off. Now I can't wait for the next one to start to grow.

Garden

2008-07-18T02:22:00.000-07:00

So I have been trying to hard to keep my little garden alive. I am doing pretty good. I am so excited about my pineapple. It should be ready to eat in a few days. We also have a mystery vegetable. We thought it was a tomateo plant but we are not sure what it is now. Interesting. Seems to be like a cherry tomato growing in a husk. We have been using organic methods to keep the bugs away. If you know Okinawa, bugs are plentiful here. In fact I went for a walk with a friend today and we were attacked by a bunch of cicadas. Okay not really attacked we scared them but one hit my friend in the face and another got stuck in my hair. They were pinging off our strollers too. Their noise is so loud it makes you want to cover your ears. Anyway, back to the garden. I am so excited and wanted to share with everyone!

Moving Forward

2008-07-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

Well there is no way I can catch up with what has happened in the last two months. It will end up just like my scrapbooking (not done). So I will just make a better effort to start new. Here is a slideshow of random things that have happened.

Still Alive

2008-07-16T04:23:00.000-07:00

Well we are still alive! I guess I just lost my blogging bug for awhile. Thanks Nikki for the e-mail to get me going again.
#1
I will start with our drama last night. Ethan pulled our little TV off the table and right onto himself. I almost ran all the way to the emergency room with him I was so scared. (Scott was gone with the car) Anyway, my neighbor was outside and took a look and said she was pretty sure he would be okay. Nervous mom! He has a good sized bruise on his arm but seems to be okay today. He was moving it and pushing himself up off the floor with it.

Our adventure

2008-05-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

So we had an adventure yesterday. We started out for Shuri Castel with 2 juice boxes an apple and some crackers. (Just a little unprepared.) It was 1000 degrees out side and two steps out of the car we were dripping wet. The kids were troopers. We stormed the castle walls and collected our stamps all along the way. Once we had filled our cards we turned them in for a prize. STICKERS!! WHOOAAA. Our next stop was to ride the mono-rail to Kokosai street for a little shopping. The kids loved the train, the shopping was not much fun. Ethan fell asleep and we had to carry him about a 1/2 mile to the next train stop. He is getting way to big for carrying. We were totally exhausted by the time we got to the car. We really did have a great time but it was a long day. We loaded the kids up in the truck and realized we had lost our parking ticket. Of course off base parking is sooo expensive but if you lose the ticket FORGET IT!! It cost us $50 to get our car out of the parking. Yes you read that right 50 bucks for 4 hours of parking. We didn't have enough yen and ended up having to buy some off of people in the parking lot. Lucky for us they were nice enough to help us out. What an adventure!

Family Home Evening

2008-05-05T03:00:00.001-07:00

Tonight we talked about Daniel and the Lions. We watched a Liken the scriptures movie about it. There was a lot of singing (very theater). The kids loved it! After the movie Dylan asked if we wanted to hear his God song. Luckily I had the camera near by. Since Dylan was singing Ethan wanted to sing also. If you listen close you can hear Ethan singing "stinky diaper change" in the middle of I am a Child of God. We are so proud! Such talent, we know where they get their musically ability from. Anyone want to hear my song about sick children? (only some of you will understand that)

Crazy Hair Day

2008-05-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

I am trying to catch up with my blog.

Dylan had a crazy hair day at school. We colored his hair with washable markers. He had a great time showing it off at school. All the kids thought it was great. The last picture is what happened when we tried to wash it out. What a mess!

Beach Fun

2008-05-04T21:33:00.001-07:00

We spent the day at the beach with the Cheney family. Jennifer is so awesome she made this video on You Tube if anyone wants to check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQErXfKLJQs

Yummy Pizza!?!?!?!

2008-04-22T04:18:00.000-07:00

There are many wonderful things about living overseas. We get to experience a new culture, beaches, even military life is interesting sometimes..... and then there is Anthony's Pizza. Anyone who has lived here I am sure has sampled Anthony's Pizza at least once. When I was in high school we would go all the time! Of course they didn't have pizza hut around here when I was in high school. We had a tragedy here the other night. We went to order pizza and Pizza Hut was having a power outage. So we decided to order from Anthony's. They said it would take 10 minutes to get to our door. That should have been our first clue. Cook a pizza and deliver it in 10 minutes???? So after 40 minutes still no pizza. I called and they had lost our order. Second clue I should have just stopped there and made Easy mac. So we finally get our pizza. Dylan is very excited because he decided at school the other day that he likes pizza. So this was to be his first piece of pizza at home. I cut him a slice and put it on his plate. Ethan grabs a bread stick and chows down. I see Dylan with his pizza, I was trying not to stare but I really didn't' think he was going to even try it. He must have sensed this and announced, "Mom, I promise I am going to eat it!" Good for you Dylan! So here it comes the big bite, he bites, he tugs, he tugs some more. The cheese falls off and makes a thud on the plate. But that didn't stop him. He keep gnawing on that pizza crust. Finally with a look of defeat he puts the pizza down. My dear sweet boy looks at me frustrated and says "I am sorry mom, but I just don't have the patience for this!" I guess we both understand that old saying about eating shoe leather now. Let this be a warning to all. NO ANTHONY"S PIZZA!!!

Date Night at Karishna's

2008-04-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

Scott and I went out with some friends to this great Indian Restaurant. It was my first time with Indian food and I loved it!!! After dinner we went to a new place called Gelobello. It is a healthy ice cream/ smoothie place. It was yummy. I had the mango ice cream. It was nice to get out with adults and just have a good time. We got to watch them cooking the Naan bread. They make a dough and slap it to the side of this oven pit thing. It just cooks right there on the wall of the oven. The kabobs are also stuck down in the pit to cook. I enjoyed my curry so much it is all I think about. I am going to have to start making curry at home. My friends was nice enough to share the photos she took that night so I could place them on the blog.

April 1, 2008

2008-04-01T01:35:00.001-07:00

So, I got Scott good this year! and a few of you as well! I had my pregnant friend take this test for me. The best part was Scott came home while she was here. He decided to play a joke on her and tell her that I was pregnant. She played it off well since she was in on my joke with me. She teased him that we were such good friends that I would have told her I was pregnant long before I ever told him. Anyway, after she left I got the test and took it Scott. I told him the joke was on him becuase I really was pregnant. He just stared at if for awhile and then asked me how and when that could have possibly happened? I think someone may need to explain these things to him. I had him going for awhile. Finally I called April Fools on him! I saw a very relieved expression on his face. This is the best joke I have ever pulled off with him and I think I will be laughing for a week. Wish I would have had a camera for his response!

Smartest Kids on the Block

2008-03-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

So we were out site seeing and walking down this path. The kids decided to take the slide becuase it would be much faster. What our sweet kids didn't realize is that it is NOT a slide but a gutter on the side of the sidewalk. We are so proud. At least April thought it was a slide too!

Kimono Day

2008-03-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

Rimi-san is a dear sister who has taken us on to teach us about her culture. We have had a traditional tea ceremony and now a kimono dressing. There are many parts to the kimono that most people would not know about. For example under the red Obi there are two binding cords and an Obi Ita. The cords hold the kimono up in the right length and the Ita keeps the shape of the Obi. It is basically a hard belt that is the width of the Obi. I wore this kimono for about 4 hours. I decided to purchase an Obi Ita and wear it every day becuase I now believe that is the reason that most Japanese women are skinny. It works almost like a girdle. I sucked my gut in the entire 4 hours. I had such a wonderful time and really enjoyed this experience. We asked Rimi what we could do for her becuase she is so kind to teach us so much. She said, "Tell me you love me!" ...and so we did! Our next class will be ichibana, the art of flower arranging. So more photos to come.

Dylan Cut his hair

2008-03-26T04:12:00.000-07:00

Well, Dylan cut his hair with a pair of scissors today. I told him now he had to get it cut. So I was trying to trim it up a bit and make it look better. I was trying to make him feel like he was getting a punishment by getting a shorter hair cut. (He HATES a hair cut) He looked at me and said "whatever mom, go ahead and cut it shorter, it was getting too big anyway" He is lucky I kept the guard on the clippers. Little smarty pants. I will post photos tomorrow since he is in bed now.

Easter Weekend

2008-03-23T05:17:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend up at Okuma. We enjoyed relaxing on the beach, riding bikes, playing golf etc. We did a little site seeing too. We went to the Nakajin castle ruin site, to Forest Park, and to pineapple park. The kids loved eating all the pineapple treats.