Happy Birthday to the Twins!!

I cannot believe it, but the twins will turn 10 years old this week. That's right, 10 years old!! I am stunned (like always) at how quickly the time flies. They started out life so small and fragile, and they have grown into such strong, smart, independent boys. They have become the life of our family's party. They never cease to amaze me with their humor, their energy, their creativity or their kindness. I remember so clearly the moment in the doctor's office when I found out I was expecting twins. I felt like I had won the lottery to get not one, but two babies! Now, there have been times over the years when they have given me a run for my money, but all in all, I still feel like I hit the jackpot. Happy Birthday, Dylan and Logan. We love you!!

I am an idiot

I have to confess my idiocy. There are probably those of you out there who already knew that I was an idiot, but for any of you who were previously on the fence, this story will convince you once and for all that I am an ignoramus. Here's the story:

For several days now, Shane has been telling me that his van was nearly out of gas, but he never had a free minute to go fill up. So on Wednesday evening, while he was at soccer practice with the boys, I decided to do something nice and go fill up his tank with gas so that he wouldn't have to worry about it in the morning. Well, the best laid plans......

To make a long story short, I filled up his DIESEL van with regular unleaded gasoline. And then I drove it. Needless to say, I only made it about a half mile before the van died, right in the middle of traffic. I was able to coast to a parking lot.

In my own defense, let me just say that I have never put gas in his car before, and although in retrospect I acknowledge that I knew it was a diesel, I never really thought about it before. I have never owned a car that takes diesel, I haven't even really known anyone who had a car that took diesel, and in this environmentally conscious age that we live in, I routinely make fun of people who drive diesel burning cars. So it really wasn't in my realm of thought to consider putting diesel in.

I know, I know. I can try to justify it all I want, and in the final analysis I am still an idiot. Shane has been furiously (and I do mean furiously) emailing and calling family and friends trying to best figure out how to remedy this situation. We have heard everything on the spectrum from, "You'll be fine once you drain the tank and replace a few parts," to "Man, you are hosed. Your car is a total loss." I am banking on the the former being true. My happy marriage depends on it.

This reminds me of the time when I was 16 years old, and I got infamously lost trying to drive from Provo to Park City. I finally called my dad from a pay phone at a gas station, told him where I was, and he told me that I was about 30 miles off course. He explained how to get back to Park City, and all was well. You would think that the story has a happy ending, but no. Here we are 18 years later, and I still haven't lived that story down. My dad and my brothers still ask me if I need directions, and do I think I can find Park City on my own? Well, move over Park City story! I have a new legacy, and it isn't pretty. Oh, and by the way, that picture above is an actual photograph of Shane's van. Yes, it's 4WD, and yes, it's jacked-up. What did you expect?!

It's Time For My Quarterly Blog Update!

I can't believe that it has been over three months since I updated my blog. My, how time flies! I guess I won't win any awards for the Most Dedicated Blogger, but I was never in the running anyway. We have had lots going on over the last few months- not the least of which is another broken arm (Dylan this time), a trip to the States (Shane and Jasmine), a dance recital (Savannah), a pinewood derby (the twins), and a fun Spring Break trip to an island nearby (all of us). I am still figuring out this whole blogging thing, and I don't really have a clue what I'm doing. I just figured out -after much frustration- how to put on slide show on my blog, so I put three new slide shows on below. Sorry if I went a little overboard. I am still trying to figure out how to put music on the blog. If anyone knows how, will you email me and tell me? I need a tutor or something!

Our Spring Break Trip to Tokashiki Island

For Spring Break we took a wonderful trip to Tokashiki Island. It is a tiny island about an hour's ferry ride from Okinawa. It is very remote (about 700 people live there), filled with rice paddies and the most beautiful beaches. It was incredible. We spent three days sitting on the beaches and soaking up the sun. I have to tell you a little bit about the place we stayed, though. It was very interesting cultural experience. We stayed at a place called "The Okinawan Youth Friendship Center." It is subsidized by the Japanese government, and I think it is meant for Japanese youth and school groups to use for things like retreats and summer camps, etc. Somehow, our friend who speaks Japanese made arrangements for us to stay there. The accommodations were very sparse and minimalistic- for example, in the sleeping rooms there was nothing but tatami mats. No furniture or anything. At night, we would take mats and blankets out of the closet to sleep on. Our meals were prepared for us by Japanese cooks, and there was no choosing what you wanted to eat. They prepared the same Japanese meal for everyone. Our kids were really great about eating miso soup, rice, seaweed and vegetables for breakfast each morning! The funniest part about the whole thing was when they told us we had to participate in mandatory morning stretching exercises at 7 am at the flagpole. They weren't kidding, either. Each morning, we would meet and have a flag ceremony led by a Japanese man. We listened to the Japanese national anthem and then he chose some of our children to help him hoist the Japanese flag. Then he led us in our exercises. This was all done in Japanese, and we just followed along. It was hilarious. And actually, after sleeping on the tatami mats for two nights, I was more than happy to do some stretching since my back was in knots! We encountered some rough seas on our ferry ride back home, and many people in our party were puking over the side of the boat. That part wasn't so fun. But all in all, it was a great trip!

Easter on Okinawa

We had a nice Easter on Okinawa. We did all the usual things like color eggs, etc., but we also did something new this year. We went to an Easter egg hunt at the beach! It was a beautiful spring day and it was really fun.

Tiny Dancer

Savannah LOVES to dance! She will dance to any music, at any time, preferably with a costume. She is currently taking ballet, tap, and gymnastics and she loves them all equally. She recently had her recital for tap and ballet and she did a great job!

I left my heart in San Antonio

I had the chance a in late March to go to Texas for a week. It was such a fantastic trip! Shane had to go to San Antonio for a conference, so I decided to tag along. It was really hard for me to leave my kids and go more than 6,000 miles away, and I almost backed out at the last minute, but I am so glad I went. I got to spend several days with my amazing friends in San Antonio. We shopped, talked, went out to eat, and did I mention shopping and talking? I was in need of some serious retail therapy after living for almost a year in a country where I don't have access to anything American. I also realized anew that there is no substitute in all the world for old friends. After my trip, I told my San Antonio friends that they are like vitamins for me: I feel stonger and healthier after spending time with them. Thanks, guys. You're wonderful! After my few days in San Antonio, I borrowed my mother-in-law's car (thanks, Merlene!) and drove to Houston to see my brother Kyle and my sister-in-law, Emily. They just had a new baby girl, Reese, and, let me tell you, that was heaven on earth to get to hold her for three days. What an angel. I also loved spending time with my neice, Jaden, and my nephew, Ty the Guy. I don't think Ty's forgiven me for falling asleep during an episode of Power Rangers, but in my defense, it was the second episode, and I was suffering from a powerful case of jet lag! My journey back to Japan was crazy. I missed my flight in Osaka, and I had to spend the night in a chair in the Osaka airport. This was after I had already been traveling for over 24 hours. I finally made it home a day later than planned, and I was so happy to see my kids again. I missed them so much! But what a wonderful trip.

We have a winner! Pinewood Derby '08

Dylan did it again! That's right. For the second year in a row, Dylan's pinewood derby car annihilated the competition and he was the winner! I have to mention that Logan did incredibly well, too. His car took second place in the Bear den. Way to go cubs!

Okinawa Parks are Awesome!

City parks here on Okinawa are nothing like anything I've seen in the States. For one thing, the playground equipment here would never pass safety inspections in America. There is really dangerous stuff for the kids to play on. Needless to say, my boys (and even my girl) LOVE it! There is a "drop-slide," where you have to hang out over a ledge and drop down a totally vertical slide; there are "roller slides," where you slide down a conveyor belt of metal rollers 40 feet in the air; zip lines over water; a huge slide made of cement - my kids all tore out the bottoms of their pants going down that one. Seriously, who thought to make a slide out of cement?? One of my kids fell on that slide and practically got a concussion. There are parks like this all over the island and it makes a fun day trip to set out to find new ones.

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