Thanksgiving Weekend

Well, another Thanksgiving has come and gone and who know where our next one will be spent. What a week it was!! Monday ended with a bang, literally. I was on my way to pick up Miranda from her club at school and another person pulled out of a stop sign without looking. I had the right-of-way because I didn't have a stop sign. I blew my horn and knew that I wasn't going to be able to stop in time and was going to get hit. Anyway, it was raining and I don't have a cell phone and watched as car after car drove by without stopping!! I was also concerned about Miranda and getting into trouble for not picking her up on time and her being worried out of her mind about where we were. Well, someone did tell the Security Forces (we are in Air Force territory) and I flagged him down. After waiting at least 45minutes for him to finish up the paperwork with the other person, the battery in the car died!! Yes, as if enough hadn't happened I couldn't drive home. Luckily, I saw a friend from church and she was able to have her husband come and jump the car for me. Thank you!!! So, where was Duane in all this? A fellow company commander in his battalion stopped, since the accident happened right by his house, and called Duane. He showed up and took Ryan to scouts, but left his phone in the car and didn't hear my attempts to reach him so he could come and jump the van for me. Anyway, the van barely has any damage and we are all fine. I actually felt bad for the kid who hit me, a high schooler, because he was driving his friend's car. I have yet to file a claim because the insurance here in Japan is crazy!! They said that I would be found at least 10-20% at fault and my insurance would increase. How messed up is that?!

I spent Wednesday up late completing my assignments for the week, so that I would get to spend the weekend with the family and not be distracted by school. We spent Thanksgiving Day at the District (Stake) Thanksgiving meal. It was my idea to try it out this year and promised Duane that I would do a traditional Thanksgiving meal on Friday. We didn't stay long and ended up at the movies for Madagascar 2. The kids really enjoyed it!

Friday, I made the kids clean which they were not too happy about. Oh well, Mom was happy and isn't that what is important?! I am usually a huge fan of Black Friday and have gone through withdrawals living in Japan without a mall or Target. This year was so bad that I didn't even go to the BX or any store. There wasn't anything to buy and we are looking forward to our trip back to the States in a couple of weeks. I hope that next year I get to do the traditional Black Friday.

Saturday, we spent the morning at a baptism at the beach which is always a neat experience. It's hard to believe that Ryan's will be coming up before we know it. Duane then spent the afternoon selling popcorn with Ryan for Cub Scouts. Evidentally, Ryan is quite the salesman and raked in at least $250 by himself in two hours and now Duane owes him a steak. The girls and I headed to the movies again to see High School Musical 3. Miranda was in heaven and has been waiting and waiting to see this movie. Olivia enjoyed it too and spent the last 10minutes of it jumping around dancing. Miranda and I had to drag her out of the theater because she wanted to stay and watch all of the credits.

We had a great holiday weekend and I am sad to see it end and for life to start on Monday! The next two weeks will be a blur between all of the holiday events coming up before we leave for our trip.

The Power of Exercise

I have to admit that I had fallen off my stringent workout routine over the last couple of weeks, mostly due to my busy schedule. It wasn't until a few days ago that I realized how down and stressed out I was and knew that I needed to start taking care of myself. Over the last almost two years I have been very strict about my exercise and it was a priority, especially when it came to scheduling other activities. It is something that makes me feel great, even though I often wonder why I torture myself. Anyway, I knew that I needed to get that feeling back, even if it is depressing that I can't do what I used to do and the trail that I used to run with Olivia in the stroller is now a challenge just to walk. This week I've been back to my old routine and I can't tell you how much better I feel. If the stress of life is getting to you, go out for a walk, take time for yourself and you will be amazed at the difference it makes.

Happy Halloween!

Here on Okinawa we trick-or-treat in shorts and t-shirts and don't have to worry about covering up a costume with a coat because it's too cold outside. We even have bats (yes, fruit bats live amongst us) that circle overhead to add to the ambiance of Halloween. The kids had a lot of fun going house to house getting as much candy as they could. They filled their bags so full that by 7:30pm they were ready to call it quits, a half hour before the official stop time!

Olivia as our beautiful Cinderella, compliments of Grandma and Grandpa Coleman.


Ryan's recent obsession with Indiana Jones was a help in picking out his costume this year.

Yes, along with High School Musical, Miranda is also a big fan of Hannah Montana. She helped make the skirt and we took and afternoon to look for accessories to come up with this costume. It also took 1.5 hours and a lot of complaining on her part to straighten her very curly hair.

All excited to start collecting candy!

At the end of the night they helped Duane finish passing out the last of the candy and then we went inside to see what the night had brought them. Yes, after all that work the humidity was a bit high that night and Miranda's curls started coming back.

Lunch on the Lawn

On Wednesday, Ryan and I ate lunch on the lawn. I picked up Taco Bell and together we ate and then he brought a Star Wars book for me to read to him. I was amazed that he ate three tacos and a chicken taquito!! He really is a growing boy. Ryan and I don't get to do things together very often, so it was a great chance for the two of us to be together.