Fini-Flight

Shaun had his final flight for the 961st today! So, the tradition is to spray the person with champagne, but for Shaun they thought it would be fitting to tie him to the stairs so there would be no escape! :)

P-O-Y

POY Banquet, or Professional of the Year Banquet, is an evening to celebrate this year's best of the best! All of the squadrons from the Ops Group came to represent their candidates and show why we're the best squadron of all! What better way to show our support other than to wear the squadron colors--unfortunately our colors are orange and blue. We purchased orange flight suits and then tailored, decorated, and bedazzled until they were our own original pieces of fashion! Thanks to our lovely ensembles, festive table decorations and our loud cheers with noise makers---the 961st AACS went home with the coveted Squadron Spirit Award! I guess next year's spouses will have to defend the title! ;)


Our wonderful Shaun was up for Executive Officer of the Year, but unfortunately he didn't take home the trophy. We all think he was ROBBED!

Kim and I making orange look good!

Sparky and Shaun trying to look manly!
Kim, Me, Amy and Amy
Just to give you a taste of our orange pride! :)

Local Folklore

Tucked away in a cave on a small island a short ferry ride from Okinawa lies the mystical fertility rock. This cave was used to hide during WWII and somehow this rock was discovered. If picked up, you will have baby soon. So, Kim and I set out to see the legendary rock!
At first we thought the gods were against us. On our first attempt, we missed the ferry by 4 minutes! On our second attempt, we made the ferry but then had the battery die in transit!!! Luckily, a posse of five friendly locals jumped the car and we were on our way to discover the wonders of Ie Island (pronounced Ee-ay)! Note the height difference between Kim and the locals.....think she gets noticed much?
Another portion of the legend has to do with the perceived weight of the rock. The gender of your future baby depends on whether you think the rock is heavy or light. Kim was the first to pick it up.
Then I had my chance. We both agreed--the rock was pretty darn heavy. So, will the rock work? Apparently a little magic rubbed off on Kim since she is now due in October!! :) Once we know the gender we'll know if the entire theory works!! :)
A picture of Okinawa seen from Ie Island.

5 weeks

It's official! We are leaving Okinawa in 5 weeks. It is so crazy how time just sneeks away while you're distracted by other things. We will be leaving April 1st and should be arriving at DFW on either the 2nd or 3rd. We will give hugs and kisses to everyone, but then we need to rush off to Oklahoma to find a house. Shaun is leaving the 12th for school, so we're hoping to have the house picked out by then. After the house stuff is taken care of, I hope to come and spend some quality time with family and friends! :) We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone! Let the countdown begin!! :)

A couch landed on my dog

No, it really didn't squish Monica! This is our precious 5-pound puppy attempting to squeeze under the couch to recover a beloved lost toy. She lays down and slides as far under the couch as she can get, but alas, the toy cannot be reached. So, Chandler came over to provide moral support. There was no rest until Dad came to the rescue, lifting the couch to allow toy retrieval! :) We have wierd dogs! :)

Sapporo Snow Fest!

Well, I have made it back from the snowy mountains of Sapporo, Japan! I have to say that I highly recommend the Snow Festival! :) Being surrounded by snow and snow sculptures really brings out your inner-child. Especially if you weren't around much snow as a child!



So, I had to take a picture with the man wearing glasses. I know--I'm a nerd!


Glamour Girls! So, on our way to Sapporo, we discover in Glamour magazine that if you take a picture holding the magazine somewhere interesting, they might put your pic in the next month's issue. How many other Glamour readers could possibly be at this year's festival?! So, fingers crossed you'll see our faces in Glamour next month! :)

Amy and Allison enjoying the sculptures! There's no way to describe how big these are without getting a human in the picture as a reference!!

My inner-child catching snowflakes on my tongue!
I just liked this one--I like elephants!
We took a little day-trip to Otura, a town about 40 minutes away. We were told it had a strong Russian-influence in it's architecture, but the only thing we found was the canal. Other than that, it looked like the rest of Japan! :) But, we enjoyed a pretty heavy snowfall, a nice cup of hot chocolate and purchased a few handmade glass items. Not too bad of an afternoon!
You have to enlarge this picture to really appreciate it. Along with the snow sculptures, there was a collection of ice sculptures. Great place to get ideas for those expensive weddings they show on WE. Anyway, this one shows a fisherman holding a REAL fishing pole trying to reel in the big catch! It was amazing to see in person! It was about 7 feet tall, but it's hard to take a picture of something that almost completely clear!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!! I love y'all!!!!

A Day at the Park

Since our time here is dwindling down, we've been trying to go to some of our favorite spots on the island. We love taking the dogs to Comprehensive Park. It's a huge park with lots of open spaces to play around with the puppies. We also had a chance to fly our kites, but only one of the two was able to get airborne.

The game of fetch. A game Chandler and Monica can play with no end. However, their style of playing are very different.
Chandler loves the chase! He will run after the ball and then play a mean game of keep-away from Monica. But, then Chandler's interest begins to fade and Monica eventually gets possesion of the ball and will return it to the owners. So, in short, our 5-pound dog is the better retriever!
Monica with the game-winning ball! :)