August 12, 2015
Homeless In Okinawa
Being homeless is hard, no matter where you are. It is especially hard with kids. We were homeless for just over a month which in the military world is not long at all, it still felt really long. Our first week in Okinawa was sort of an unrealistic introduction to the island. TLF(temporary housing) was full so they put us up in a $500 a night resort. I was NOT complaining! We got free meals except for dinner and daily housekeeping, a gorgeous pool and an ocean view…see what I mean by unrealistic? Yeah, we were living it up for a good 8 days and soaking in every minute of it.
The view from the inside of our room.
Another thing I’m really enjoying about Japan is their toilets! They are awesome! The toilet seat starts to warm when you sit down and then when you are done going you can get a warm water bum spray! You also have 2 flush options, up for small and down for big, haha!
Our first little excursion was to the nearest Family Mart convenience store. It was interesting to say the least. There was a hotdog with spicy mustard and a bun with noodles on the shelf just waiting to be purchased. I was not interested that day…maybe another day. I stuck with coke:) Rich and Arabella got what they thought was a strawberry popsicle but ended up being some kind of sweet bean popsicle(they didn’t eat it).
At the pool
During our stay at the Kafuu Resort Fuchaku we ventured out and had our first authentic Japanese experience. It was awesome!
“Reading”(looking at pictures) the menu.
The table was just Eva’s size!
I learned a lot there. When we came in we had to take our shoes off before stepping up on the platform where our table was.We all just kicked our shoes off and our host knelt down and lined up our shoes with the toes pointing outward. I was so embarrassed and felt like we were a bunch of slobs. We will remember that for next time:)
So after a few days of bliss we had to move to TLF, booooo! It sucked. We went from an ocean view to this-
On top of not getting free, cooked meals we also had no car and no pool so we had to find other forms of entertainment after the kids had exhausted their their desire for movies/video games.
This kept them entertained for a really long time…and then they started fighting. TLF got old so fast and we were anxious to get a house. On our way to check out our future home we were introduced to a creepy Okinawa native.
It crawled all over our windshield while we were driving and when we pulled in to the parking lot it crawled to the top of the van! We were soooo creeped out and did not want to be the first to get out of the van. Rich eventually got out and then I followed and we both watched as it crawled to the bottom of our van. For days I was just waiting for it to crawl on my leg while I was buckling Eva into her carseat, eeeeeek! It never happened and I’m finally convinced that it is gone.
So, after seeing an incredibly crappy house, we accepted our new home in Chibana housing!
July 30, 2015
Our Missouri Visit~Baker Side~
We spent a total of 3 awesome weeks in Missouri visiting family. We kind of bounced back and forth a bit to spend as much time as we could with both my family and Rich’s family. This was our time with Rich’s family.
White Water! It had been years since I’d been to White Water. I grew up going almost every single day during the summer but of course all that stopped when I was old enough to work. I let Rich go on all of the rides with the kids while I chilled and tried to unwind from all of the stress of our move…it was nice.
We had a surprise baby shower disguised as a Baker girls night out for Julie and baby boy Grayson. We had THE BEST time! We laughed so much and so hard. I feel so lucky to have amazing in laws!
Pineapple Whip, yum!
Cousins Kayla and Chris stayed for a few days. Kayla was so fun.
My fancy little lady loves shoes.
The kids spent a lot of time in the pool.
The Marshfield ward had a really cute pioneer day themed Sunday lesson. They drew mustaches on the boys and put bonnets and aprons on the girls and they all sat around a fake campfire. It was so cute!
Grandma Baker arranged for us to go visit her friends farm. The kids loved interacting with the animals.
This donkey’s name is Jake.
He was Aidan’s favorite.
These are miniature donkeys.
Chris got poop on his arm.
It was a fun day on the farm:)
Of course, I can’t forget the annual Rockwood campout! It’s always a good time.
The campout was also a 40th birthday celebration for Jeffrey.
And then, after a few final days of fun, we said goodbye.
Goodbye Cantrells
Goodbye Robinsons
Goodbye Rockwoods (Julie)
The rest of the goodbye pics will be posted later when mom sends them to me:)
Baker family, I love you so much! We all look forward to your visits in the next couple of years. Thank you for being amazing.
