Borrowed Treasure

Our neighbor Alison, is such a treasure. Just shy of two, she can brighten one's day with her sweet grin and big "Hi's!" The munchkins love having her in our home and are so willing to cater to her every whim. I have to admit, with one simple request of "Fishey, please?" I head to the cupboard for the bag of PepperRidge Farm Goldfish. We have asked the kids if they would want a little sister and the answer is always the same "No, we just like to borrow, Alison."

Yesterday morning, the Little Dudes and I had the pleasure of having her among our midst. We colored, played games, and watched videos. The highlight for me was watching the Little Dudes include her in all their activities and they willingly modified stunts to suit her size and stature (walking across beanbags vice jumping off them). The best was the gales of laughter amongst the three as they were blowing zerberts on each other's stomach.

The Little Dudes with our Borrowed Angel

Big Sister & Alison

The additional highlight to our day yesterday was learning that the next cousin to be arriving in October was going to be a girl. We are already planning and longing to be able to "borrow" her. I just know, she will be doted on by these three munchkins.

East China Sea Morning

Definitely a sight to see...the East China Sea on clear Okinawan day. The Little Dudes and I headed out today in the "blue rocket" aka the jogging stroller. They were grumbling as it had been a five day respite of being able to hang out with Dad at home while I went running solo. I was quickly hoodwinked into stopping and letting them get out and hang out on the rocks. Little Dude M proceeded to tell me "Mom, the beach is sooooo beautiful. I just want to sit and watch the water." Who could argue with that?

We truly have taken for granted the picturesque runs of the past three years. Doubt I will be packing the camera in the "blue rocket" as we head out in the suburbs of Virginia!

Summer's Here

It sounds silly saying "Summer's Here" living on this beautiful island which is balmy, sunny, and humid about 80% of the year. However, within the past week, the Okinawan humidity has crept back into the daily grind and the backyard blow up pools have started to emerge from the sheds. With sunset hovering at 7pm, early dinners are a thing of the past and wrangling the munchkins back home is not an easy fete.

Yesterday evening, all the families moving this summer were honored at the corner cul-de-sac for a neighborhood cookout "Bon Voyage" party. With water slides and tables full of eclectic dishes, both the kids and adults were having an enjoyable evening. The Little Dudes teamed up and were quite the gentlemen to their blue-eyed doe buddy Jordan. She got them dancing in the grass and had herself perched on the back of Little Dude M's motorcycle and told him to take her for a ride. When it was time to head home, hugs were given all around!

The Dudes and Little Miss Jordan

Jordan and Little Dude M

This afternoon, Big Sister had the opportunity to "model" her new swimsuit. She felt extra-special as this suit was her choice. I just was not so crazy about it when I saw it on the web. However, she insisted, and since the the price was right and seeing she would be wearing it and not me, I agreed to her choice. Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised and she was ecstatic. She was more than willing to let me take a few shots before she headed out to the neighbor's pool for an afternoon of splashing and swimming.

Loving her selection!

She selected her towel...color coordinated.

Wear did she learn this pose?

Movin Right Along

The second milestone of Move 2008 was hit on Friday. (The first being the purchase of our home). It was barely 7:30am when our moving crew of four showed up to 6147A Camp Lester to pack up the first of two shipments. This was our "household goods" shipment...the biggie.

Within four hours, these guys packed, pulled up carpets, numbered boxes, and loaded the truck. In all of our moves, this was by far the most efficient and rather impressive pack out. These guys were so efficient and were ready to pack everything and anything. We diligently put up "Do not pack signs" written in English and translated into Kanji to help not only them but ourselves. I will say, a couple of things got packed that I had intended to keep out until our last shipment on June 16th, however, nothing that a trip or two to the 100 Yen store (a dollar store) can not solve.

Our home is currently one of borrowed furniture and kitchen paraphernalia. The stark walls have quickly been decorated by Big Sister and the Little Dudes with taped up artwork. Although we have the echo effect, it is still "home" and cozy nonetheless. I think the kids have learned quickly how little we need in terms of gadgets, toys, and accessories. I will say the portable DVD players is essential though! We will manage just fine for the next three weeks.

I Spy A Birthday

Ok, It is official...the Little Dudes are four years old! It has taken me several days to blog about this momentous occasion. May 19th is their actual birthdate, however, being born in Hawaii puts the actual time of birth 18 hours behind Japan. Therefore, the were officially four yesterday afternoon at 2:13pm and 2:27 pm May 20th. The confusion and technicalities of celebrating the event has had the The Dudes continually asking "When is our REAL birthday?" and "Are we really four NOW?"

It is somewhat hard to fathom they are now little men. With our impending move, it only brings back the memories of our arrival to Okinawa when they were a tender 15 months old and barely walking. These past four years have been almost been a blur; however, they have been so full of wonderful memories. Watching their personalities emerge has been a real trip. Oddly enough, your favorite colors often remind me of your temperaments. Little Dude M...orange could only say "notice me" and "in motion." Little Dude B...green so reminds me of being "relaxed" and "easy going." I never envisioned that I would be so lucky to parent twins. It truly is such a privilege.

As for the party...
Saturday afternoon, we had twelve kids running around the yard for the "I Spy Party." About two months ago, Little Dude M found a book on parties in the book store. Oddly enough, he turned to the page with a "I SPY" theme featured and this became the agreed upon theme by both dudes...sometimes not such an easy task. The Little Dudes had a great party, got some wonderful presents, and declared it the "Best Party Ever."

A special kudos goes out to my neighbor Kristen, the fondant helped make the cake look so realistic. Got to love success!

Ready to spy!

Happy Birthday to yous guys!

Blowing out the #4 together!

Pinata Time!

Mom, Did you Know?

Yesterday morning was just like any other typical morning around the Moloko household. The Little Dudes and I were headed out for a run and they were very vocal about the route we were going to take. They suggested the seawall along what is know as Araha beach. It is typically a windy run both coming and going, but strikingly beautiful. It indeed was a beautiful clear blue sky day. I was really enjoying the serenity of the East China Sea and as we came upon the rock path/pier that juts out perpendicular to our usual path. Little Dude B asked if we could run to the end. I obliged his wish and stopped at the end so we could take in all that was around us.

Suddenly, I was bombarded by questions. What are the buoys for? What do the different colors mean? Why can we only swim in the roped off area? I answered all the questions but the discussion turned to why the roped off area is only for swimming. I explained it is due in part to the heavy population of jellyfish. This prompted the "B-Man" to throw out the following statement: "The Blue-Green Sea Turtle eats jellyfish." I truly thought he was kidding me as I was not sure where he got such a nugget of information. "M-Man" quickly confirmed his brother's statement only to puzzle me even further. Had Big Sister learned this at school or were they just using their vivid imaginations? I quickly inquired where they had heard such a tidbit. It seems the "Underwater Diego" video I rented last week provided this tidbit of trivia. I actually did a Google search...it is indeed true.

No sooner had we turned from the pier and back onto our course route when I saw the following sign. I was glad I had provided the correct information to the dudes. To top it off, I now have this useless piece of information in my brain. Trivial Pursuit anyone?

Logistical Nightmare

Moving is always a challenge, but, this summer's move is going to be a logistical nightmare. Where to begin? OK, we have two scheduled pack outs in Okinawa with the first occurring on May 23rd. This is going to be the bulk of our household goods to include furniture, wall hangings, and just about everything with the hopes of it arriving in Virginia within 60-70 days. Our "Express Shipment" which takes roughly 30-45 days will be on June 16th. Fortunately, we have loaner furniture to get us through from the 23rd to the 16th.

The craziness begins when we factor in our "storage" shipments. When we left Indianapolis in 2002, we left items in an Indiana storage unit as we were told we could not ship everything to Hawaii. We left behind seasonal clothing, a few pieces of furniture, and treasures. Items I recall only after reading the manifests. Then, when we were sent to Okinawa, we were allotted only 4000 lbs of goods. Therefore, the remainder of our furniture and belongings have been in another storage facility since July 2005. What this all means is that we will be receiving four different shipments to our home in Virginia this summer!

John just accomplished the greatest fete we had on our list...buying our home. After months of scouring the Internet and working with a realtor, we decided on our future home yesterday. John spent the better part of a week touring homes and found although it is a "buyer's market", he could not find anything suitable especially with our desire of a short commute to work and close proximity to the school we have chosen for the kids.

We were not in the market for a "fixer-upper" and the homes in "foreclosure" that looked SO GOOD on the Internet were left in pretty sad shape even though they were 2-3 years old. Just when he was at wit's end, he decided to check out a new development. We will close on June 30th and become home owners to a 2-car garage townhome in Stafford, VA. Fortunately, we were able to upgrade on tile, counter tops, flooring, and carpet. HOORAY to Hubby as I know this process was exhausting, disappointing, and stressful. He did a fantastic job and I am so looking forward to moving into our "new" home!

Now that we have an address, we can start arranging for the two storage shipments in the US to get loaded on a truck and head to VA. The tricky part is that it may get to the warehouse in VA in a quick time frame, however, getting it delivered is where the frustration begins. The Northern VA & DC area is crazy every summer with the multitudes of military personnel moving. Therefore, the moving companies are booked and it can take upwards of 2-4 weeks to have your items delivered to your home. AGGGH!! Camping out is a genuine option or knocking on the doors of relatives and friends becomes the next best plan.

To top this off, we own NO cars other than our Okinawan vehicles which we can not transport back to the US. As if the $$ signs were not already flying around, we are going to delve back into the world of car payments...it has been close to 8 years! Wow...we really have been spoiled living outside the Continental US for the past six years.

Once we depart Okinawa on June 21, we have a whirlwind flight plan scheduled. We will head to Oahu, Hawaii to spend a couple of days soaking up the sunshine and visiting our old stomping grounds. The Little Dudes want to see where they were born and Big Sister wants to go back to her favorite beach and the kids museum. After Hawaii, we will fly into San Fran for a long weekend to attend Hubby's younger brother's wedding. The next stop will be San Antonio to visit with the grandparents before heading onto Virginia.

Everything will work out...I have faith that it will. I am certain that once the dust settles, we will look back on this move and marvel at how we survived this logistical nightmare!

A Memorable Visit

Just a few pictures of the munchkins with their Grandparents. They had a wonderful time getting re-aquainted in the flesh. It had been way TOO long since the last visit!

Mother's Day 2008

Mother's Day 2008 was marked with Grandma & Grandpa's departure back to the United States. After a VERY short 8 days, the munchkins and I headed down to join Uncle Cookie Monster, cousin D, and Aunt M in giving them a warm send off. I had some sad grandkids with fat lips pouting on the way home, but, the reaction was much more manageable then I was expecting. I think knowing they will be seeing Grandma & Grandpa again in 6 weeks was definitely helpful in keeping the tears at bay.

Mothers Day 2008 - Me with my Munchkins

After leaving the airport, the munchkins and I headed back to Kadena to check out the Red Cross Fair. The local High Schools have several events sponsored throughout the year which various vendors come and display their wares. I had yet to attend one since our arrival in August 2005 and I figured it was worth a gander.

If I had been in the market for antique Asian furniture, I would have been able to spend a small fortune. Our big purchase of the day was an Obi Cord for Big Sister's dress up box. The highlight of the fair was the Ryukyuan glass ping pong game. (Ryukyuan glass is hand blown glass from Okinawa and comes in a myriad of jewel tone colors). The Ping Pong game entailed paying $3 for 5 attempts of bouncing a ping pong ball into the pit of glass items. If the ball landed in a glass item it was then yours. The munchkins and I initially played two rounds and ended up with three glasses and a bouquet of glass flowers. We were quickly addicted and headed back for another two rounds. Big Sister was the big winner of the afternoon with three drinking glasses and a dish. When it was all said and done, we came home with 8 items. The top cabinet of my curio cabinet is know overflowing.

Moloko Munchkins w/Glass Collection

Spectator to Rower

This will definitely be the most memorable Cinco De Mayo to date. It was finally race day...the DRAGONBOAT race! I blogged in mid-April about my disappointment of not making the Navy Women's Dragonboat team. However, I swallowed my pride and bruised ego and continued to attend the practices and fill in where needed. I truly enjoyed the camaraderie of being part of a team and by many I was treated no differently as an alternate.

Picture this, a typical Okinawan rainy day. Overcast, drizzle, shower, drizzle, no rain, only to have the cycle repeat itself. I decided to drive down to watch the race as opposed to riding the team bus which was leaving much earlier than I deemed necessary. The team was to congregate at noon, so, my goal was to leave home no later than 10:30am as I was not certain to how the parking situation would pan out.

Just as I was debating on whether to drag my parents and the munchkins out in the rain, I received a phone call. I was assuming it was Hubby as he departed earlier that morning for a flight back to the States. It was just this voice on the other line demanding "Where are you?" "Are you coming?" I quickly deduced it was someone from the team, but, I made Mary Ann identify herself immediately upon hearing "Katie, you are rowing. Get your but down here!"

I will say, this brought such a sense of relief and I had a couple tears of joy trickle down my cheeks. It was such a high to hear the news and Big Sister's reaction was PRICELESS! She came running around the corner jumped into my arms as she declared out loud "We made the team!" That was definitely the best reaction I have ever experienced. To see the excitement and pride in her eyes was such a touching moment. An image I will never forget.

The grandparents, munchkins, and I quickly headed to the car in the drizzle down to the port. As we arrived, we found a parking space without any trouble and the rain stopped. We then headed out to find the team tent. I will say upon seeing some of my teammates, having them as excited as I upon making onto the boat was extremely touching. When it was time to line up and race, I had to admit, the butterflies started to churn. The title was on the line and I could just tell that I would have to give it my all to prove to myself and the team I was worthy of that spot on the boat!

The Women's Navy Dragonboat Team was Victorious! With a time of 5 minutes and 42 seconds, we beat our main competitors, the Women's Army team. I felt honored to be apart of this 500+ year tradition!

Oars Ready!

I am on the left side of the boat. The coach standing in middle wearing yellow is next to me.

Digging deep upon our return to the finish line.

The Coveted Trophy!

Nirai Kanai Women's Dragonboat Team 2008

Winner's Circle

For the past two months, Hubby and Big Sister have been preparing for the Powder Puff Derby. What is this you say? It is the Girl Scout version of the Boy Scout's Pinewood Derby in which a car is cut and painted from a solid block of wood and then raced. It definitely was a collaborative effort between father and daughter as they designed the car, sanded the car, and shopped for the paint together. Hubby became quite attached to their creation and on more than one occasion, I caught him caressing the emerging car.

Sunday afternoon was the BIG event. Grandma and Grandpa arrived the evening before which made the afternoon all the more festive and exciting. The "Daisymobile" competed in eight heats and had an impressive second place finish after another two heat run-off.



This is a clip of one of the heats in which the "Daisymobile" was victorious.

The proud team of Moloko & Moloko!

That is one proud DAD! He definitely was glowing!

A Decade Later

According to Webster's, a decade is a period of ten years. How vague and simplistic! Therefore, I have decide to give my own spin on the word DECADE.

As a child, that word had the connotation of being forever and an unfathomable period of time. Somehow and somewhere along the way, this concept was taken from me and what seems like "just yesterday" IE., high school graduation, college experiences, and college graduation are 15 to 20 years ago.

How vividly I remember May 2, 1998! It was slightly overcast as I headed out on my last run as a single woman. Just a couple of hours later, I was committing myself to another person and embarking upon the next stage in my life. I was blissfully happy, confident, and ready for the challenge.

Here we are ten years later! I have spent the day pondering the last decade and all that we have experienced. The words of Fr. Rocheford, the priest who married us, keep running through my head. Marriage is a marathon..sometimes flat and copacetic and sometimes a battle uphill while trying to recover on the down slope. I definitely think that we have reached a notable mile marker.

Let me try to summarize the last decade.

Seven Moves:

Hubby and I have lived in four states to include California, Virginia, Indiana, and Hawaii while having six different addresses and a three year residence in Japan.

Ten Anniversaries:

Hubby and I have been able to celebrate six out of ten together. Four were spent apart as he either on a business trip or deployed out of the country.

Three Kids:

A singleton arriving in January 2002. A set of twins joining us in May 2004. Wow! What a threesome they are too!

Traveling Adventures:

Three cross country road trips hitting 26 states together. Adventures in six countries while briefly changing planes in three others. Which continent next?

All in all, it has been a blessed decade full of excitement and adventure. Although we have had, a few disappointments and headaches along the way, our motto has been the same: WE HAVE LAUGHTER!

Ready, Set, Go! The marathon has begun!

A decade later...

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Happy 10th Anniversary Hubby!