Monday, July 28, 2008

I've been tagged by Taryn

3 Joys
Having fun with my Family
Going out for Sushi
Relaxing on a tropical beach

3 Fears
Losing my Daughter
Not being as good of a mother as my mom
Spiders

3 Obsessions/Collections
Clowns
Sea shells
Fun Japanese things

3 Surprising Facts
I hate meat loaf
I organize my dirty dishes before I wash them
I must wear socks to sleep.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Hermit Crab Hunting

Recently we went to White Beach with our friends the Matas.
The beach itself was quite the let down. It was a beautiful beach but swimming was not allowed. The campground was pretty nice though. The real fun began when the sun went down. We walked the beach in the moonlight, and between the crashes of the waves you could hear: clickity clickity clackity clackity tick tick tick. You get the point.
The cause of all this noise was apparent when we saw all the beautiful shells....moving and crawling all around.
Hermit crabs!!! We ended up spending an hour or so searching for the biggest, smallest and prettiest hermit crabs on the beach. Then Jason found a large boulder and shrubs and there were millions of them crawling all over the boulder and underneath the shrubs. Maybe not exactly millions but you get the point. You and I may be a little creeped out by these spider-like creatures, but Bryton was more than happy to hold them upside down until they came out of their shells. Pretty cool.
I'll add pictures soon.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Ocean Expo Slide

Our Ocean Expo Adventure

While we have been on Okinawa we have been privileged to be able to see the most amazing sights. From castle ruins, to the Dragon dance, to one of the largest aquariums in the world.
The Ocean Expo and Churami Aquarium is one of my favorite places to go. The Churami Aquarium is indeed the 2nd largest aquarium in the world (used to be the biggest) however it is the largest of its kind.
It has 2 or 3 whale sharks a few angel sharks and several smaller sharks swimming around and around. Before the main aquarium we walked through the entire exhibit of smaller aquariums and tanks. Even a petting zoo for underwater animals. SO much fun!
Throughout the Expo portion there are tons of sights to see. A dolphin show, manatees, sea turtles, a ground fountain, and about a quarter mile of blue climbing nets stretching above the softest marshmallow-like blue padding your feet have ever felt. As well as a variety of very large and very impressive Chia Pet like hedges.
It is truly an amazing place to see and is a one of a kind experience.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Chyo Chyo Koen (Butterfly Park)

Recently we visited the Butterfly Park in Okinawa.
It's a beautiful park, and with all of the colorful plant life in Okinawa butterflies are abundant!
The main part of the Butterfly Park is the Butterfly House. Just a big shaded tent with trees and flowers. This house is filled with butterflies!!! These aren't your everyday monarchs that we have in Utah. They are about the size of my hand and are black and white. I believe that during different times of the year they have different butterflies in the House, but when we went they were mostly huge white ones.
The butterflies are attracted to bright colors; pinks, yellows, and reds. There are several red hats that you can wear in the tent and they are covered with butterflies.
Bryton had on a pink shirt with bright red flowers, and she had on bright yellow shoes. Well the butterflies just couldn't resist, and they would crawl on her from head to toe!
We really had a good time!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

America Fest

We had a great time celebrating Independence Day last weekend.
It was incredibly hot and humid! Bryton had a great time playing the over priced carnival games and won a lot of $1.00 toys.
Bryton was big enough this year to play on the bungee-trampoline. She tired to do a flip but it was too difficult and stuck with just jumping super high.
We were allowed to see Jason's planes (C-130) and see where his systems are and all that fun stuff. We got to go up into the cock pit (or flight deck) and Bryton sat in the pilot's seat!!
On a side note, last year I was able to fly on a C-130. They opened up the back and strapped me into a harness and I sat out the back and dangled my feet out of the plane! Really really cool!
Anyways, the fireworks were great! We sat on the flight line and watched smiley faces, hearts, stars and other amazing colors explode into the night sky. ooooh aaaah.
all in all it was a great night.