Friday, July 30, 2010

funny picture

so here's the pre-pool calisthenics at Cora's school. As you can see, she didn't participate in the stretches but watched her classmates (we can only imagine what her face looks like...) Gotta love this culture! We can't help but giggle at the poor kids who have their diapers on the OUTside of their swimsuits :) or that Cora appears to be about 2/3 the size of her sensei!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I suppose it's been awhile....

since we've blogged. We don't have much news to share other than the rainy season MAY be over and the summer HEAT is here. So far, it's felt more humid than last year. We're trying to get out when it's coolest, which proves to be a challenge. You know it's bad when even Finn and Bonny won't walk :)

Cora's been enjoying any water she can find..... while I water the flowers, in the shower, at the pool on base and hopefully the beach soon. Here's a cute picture featured on her school's blog yesterday.
Greg's been fighting a fever for about a week now with no diagnosis made. Poor guy! He's a trooper, indeed. Thankfully we have not caught whatever it is and we are happy to have a guestroom during times like these. I think he's bummed that the rain is over yet he's not been able to "practice" his motorcycling that much (Cora and I disagree)...

Work's been busy for me and I'm picking up one more shift a week for the month of August since I'm looking to take some leave in Sept and October. I had my first sexual assault forensic exam last week, which was challenging. The meticulous details were tedious and I hope that I did okay as I'll likely be called to testify when this goes to court martial. We are doing some pre-joint commission inspections now, too, which means we are being inspected in our patient care, infection control, documenting and protocols... more stress!
check out C's couture denim diapers! She's taking her baby for a walk in the hallway here, like the cape she created from a hand-knit bib from Obaa?
Cora picked up "Aka" and handed her off to me, then proceeded to run down the hall and look for something else to do... if only it were that easy for us!

We hope your summer is going well -- can't believe how quickly time flies!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

BioPark!

The rain FINALLY stopped for a day, allowing a family trip to BioPark which is located about 45 min south of Sasebo towards Nagasaki. Greg and Meg both had the day off, so we kept Cora from school and did some family exploring. It wasn't raining, but it was a steamy 80+ degrees with air so thick you could cut it with a knife! Oh well, the hilly terrain allowed for some extra calorie burning :)
a spider monkey tries to beat the fish at catching some treats
Riding in style
Eew, that bat is real and about 2 feet behind them!
A wallaby approaches Cora who thinks she's buying some treats

Sigh, "mom rules are meant to be broken"

Feeding a kangaroo and mighty proud of it!
"what the...?"
Cora gently pet him like she pets Finn and Bonny
A capybara -- so cute and cuddly, they remind us of the dogs at home!

wash, wash wash
the monkeys (squirrel monkeys and lemurs) LOVED Greg!
apparently his coat feels better than our dogs -- he surely enjoyed Greg's pat!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

happy birthday, America!


Waving the "stars n stripes"
not worms, it's seaweed in her rice. Great picture, huh?
Nice picture of those teeth.... this is Cora's "heh heh heh look what I just did" shot!

Friday, July 2, 2010

rainy day activity....


We went to the Aquarium again :) We've got a family membership now and are determined to "get our money's worth" ha ha. The last time we were there, Cora was barely creeping, it was so fun seeing her run around the tanks this time!
giant grouper mug
feeding the fish
touching a starfish
checking out the kame
playing a favorite game "knock down what mom worked so hard to build"
C's mug

Thursday, July 1, 2010

rainy season, blagh...

Here we go again! This year the rainy season far exceeds last year. We've had over 7 days straight of deluge. Rain, rain and more rain. The dogs are miserable. Cora's miserable. Which makes us miserable. We dream of walks and parks!!! The grass and flowers are the only things loving this weather....

Bonny on her perch watching the raindrops
Bonny and Finn TRYING to pass the time quickly (I think we're watching Jeopardy)
Between raindrops, Greg attacks the lush yard "Saipan style" and states that he has more respect than ever for the yardworkers there.... it's challenging cutting a yard of grass with a weed-wacker! Notice "rucky" the dog advising from above :)
Cora's finally figured out finger puppets. It's too cute!