Desiree and the Boys

Fort Adams, Newport, RI

2010-06-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I am up here all alone in Newport. No Honey, no Boys. It is not much fun. We bust our buns on these classes day in and day out. The other night I fell asleep working on the next days reading assignment, after about 4 hours of Review and Discussion questions. It is a real grind. Luckily the weekends are ours. I slept in on Saturday and a guy who brought his car pulled me out of my funk and we drove around Historic Downtown Newport for a while.

We ended up at Fort Adams, named after John Adams, and took a one hour tour. We saw the construction, heard how they lived, saw the impenetrable walls, and then learned that it had never once been attacked. I am putting in a few pix, but you cannot imagine until you see it how massive it is. I am sure they leaked the plans to the British and it was never attacked because they knew it would never work. Anyway, I guess Dolly Madison could have used one of these on the Potomac!

This is an example of the huge cannons they were using. This one fired a 24 pound ball, the bigger ones did 32 pounders.

This was what they called the 'Three Tiers of Firepower' where on the top level they fired for the masts and rigging, the mid-level was for the decks, and the bottom they went for the waterline. Later, during World War II they changed these to a movie theatre, a pool hall, and a bowling alley. That's when they started calling this, I am not making this up, the 'Country Club of the US Army'.

The walls were thick enough to stop people, and I think the guide described every area outside the gates as a 'killing field.' He did it so often I started looking at the kids in the group to see if they were scared. They weren't, of course. Then he showed us these 'listening tunnels' to see how they stopped people from tunneling under the walls. They were very dark, dripping wet, and reminded me of the Cask of Amontillado.

This is the upper level of tunnels where they had loopholes for creating the 'killing fields', the next level down was much darker, and they wouldn't take us in the level below that, but, you get the point. The cielings were an easy six feet, then down to five, then lower in the lowest tunnels. They used over 4 million bricks in this fort. Gotta go, love you all, when you come up we will go here. The tour guide rocked.

This is Ultra Cool

2010-04-16T04:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I mean it. This is ultra cool. Desiree is pregnant! This is the first Ultrasound. She is about eight weeks along.

Obviously we don't know what the baby will be, but we will be happy with either. Although, Desiree has said that if it is another boy it will be the last one, and we will just go out and adopt some girls to back her up!

Anyway, love you all and hope to bring the baby back later this year to share babysitting duties! One more Monteith. We are Monteith, resistance is futile!

Okinawa Marathon

2010-03-07T23:13:00.001-08:00

Well, it is all over but the groaning. I, Mike, Sr. completed my first marathon, the Okinawa Marathon, a full 26.2 Miles (42.195 Kilometers for the scientifically minded) and it was a bear. The hills were beastly going from 0 to over three hundred feet, with some climbs being as much as 200 feet in just a few kilometers.

These are the elevation charts. With all the ups and downs the total amount climbed is way over the highest elevation reached, which was just 360 ft.

Here is my action shot, coming through Kadena, I am sweaty and geared for running. I did not pee my pants! You can see I stand out from most of the crowd, not just because of my buttoned shirt. I got a good sunburn on my face, but my arms and neck were well protected. Half the race was in cloudy/rainy conditions, the second half was sunny and warm, but not too hot.

Well, I made about 14 miles before I stopped continuous running. After that I took water breaks of one to two minutes and then ran to the next station (3 miles in between). Around the 18th mile my left knee started to feel like it was being stabbed. I went to 5 minutes walk and 10 running. Also I got icyhot sprayed on my knee every few miles by volunteers. Then with about 3 miles left I went down to five walking and five running. The pain was quite bad. But I finished in 5:37 by my stopwatch, although the official time was 5:45 due to the amount of time from the real start to when I crossed the line.

I was #11744 which meant I started at the back of the pack. After the starting cannons and fireworks I waited about 15 minutes to even walk to the gate. It was like running a marathon inside a Chinese subway train (they are quite packed). I had a great time, despite the pain at the end, and am left with a feeling of a real accomplishment. And with about 24 hours of recovery time under my belt I am sure this is not my last marathon. I would like to run at least one more, and I think it will be the Shamrock in Virginia Beach, VA. I love Virginia Beach and would like to try a marathon with mostly level surface to see how that would affect my time.

Right now I am just waiting for my knee to go back to normal size. Love you all bunches.

Ryukyu Mura

2010-02-08T01:50:00.000-08:00

Entering Ryuky Mura
Traditional Okinawan kimonos
Our 3D glasses to watch a habu snake and mongoose fight on film. It is illegal now to have live fights.
Shisa dogs keep bad demons out and the good ones in.
A king and queen of ancient Okinawa.

Viewer Discretion is Advised! (Subtitled: Just Like in 'Nam)

2010-01-15T17:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I was on the phone the other day when I looked out the window at our neighbor's house and saw an ambulance, a fire truck, and a patrol unit! I was worried, not only because it's our neighbor, and one of my home teaching families, but because Desiree and the boys were over there playing after school. So I ran over and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature child and a bunch of blood!

Zachary was the victim of what we call 'the rough and tumble' and hit his head on the corner of a wall. There was quite a bit of blood as you can see. The responders from Base Medical said he was fine though and barely had a lump. He didn't have to go to the hospital, but he and Mommy needed a bath and a change of clothes to get rid of the evidence. Here are some great shots. Not for the faint of heart!

Michael's Tooth

2010-01-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

Michael, Jr. lost his first tooth! One day it was loose, and the next day it came out at Burger King. When it first got loose he suggested we tie it to a door and slam it like on TV! We just told him to wait. What a big boy.

China

2010-01-09T21:29:00.000-08:00

Well, we went to China. I have to say it was pretty amazing. What you may find more amazing is that I ever got around to blogging it. The secret is, the computer is back at the bottom of the stairs. We may be blogging more often now that I don't have to walk up a flight of stairs to do it! Lazy! Oh well. Here are a few pics to get you in the mood, and then Desiree is making an album on her Facebook page with a lot more.

While we were there we met with President Obama during his visit. The kids wouldn't shake hands with him 'cause Mom is a Republican. Quite embarassing.

Desiree met Jackie Chan and thought about trading up. But couldn't get a better deal than eternity!

This was in Tiananmen Square with the famous huge picture of Chairman Mao in the background. General Tsao was nowhere to be found.

This is the Sacred Road of the Ming Tombs, it was amazingly peaceful. Even more amazing since Mike, Jr. and Zach were there! It was one of our favorite places and was lined with statues of animals and soldiers.

The Great Wall was the crown of the trip. We want to go back and climb again. It was amazing to think of all the work and lives that went into this, for good or ill. The Chinese call it the longest tomb in the world. Desiree and I hope it was not just a once in a lifetime opportunity.

This was in Xi An, where thousands of terracotta warriors were buried to escort some emperor to wherever he went. It was pretty cool.

Here is how tourists ham up the emperor's sacred guard. There's one of me around here somewhere also!

These were not the same place, just in the same direction, but Chinese signs were a laugh a minute!

Check out this sign outside the Government Headquarters! Just kidding, it was outside some palace, but still quite funny, and I think it is supposed to say no 'loud' speaking.

This was just a cool building in a fairly popular style in Shanghai.

If you are going to China, go to Beijing. It has the most, best, memorable stuff. Favorites were the Sacred Road, the Great Wall, and the Pearl Market (not just pearls). We had a great time, and wished you were all there with us. More posts to come . . . eventually.

That Boy is a Runnin' Fool

2009-09-03T06:24:00.001-07:00

Well, I haven't had a lot of time lately but I wanted to mention that I accomplished a goal this month. It happens on a day to day basis, goal-setting, but this one was a biggie. On August 3rd I overheard a buddy at work talking about how our Chief had challenged him to run 100 miles during the month of August. I asked what the setup was and he said he and the Chief were going to keep track of mileage and do 100 miles total during the month.

I thought about it for a minute, or less, this guy always gives me good ideas. I told him I was in and started that night. Initially I ran 3 miles a night and a couple in the morning through the week, but by the end I was doing 4 1/4 miles a night and finished at a little over 100 miles run that month. I was talking to Desiree about how I used to get a stitch in my side after two minutes of running. I weighed 215 at Graduation in 04 and it took a lot just to finish the 1.5 mile run for the Navy Entry Program.

Ironically, Chief had work responsibilities that kept him off his schedule, and my buddy Lighty got sick and couldn't run for over a week. Neither of them finished. When I was asked, 'Why did you keep going?', I simply said I didn't do it for them. I did it for me. It felt great to get it done, and I really feel proud.

Anyway, the kids are big as fence posts, and twice as smart and Desiree is doing great. And Lighty, the aforementioned buddy, mentioned that we might want to look at the Okinawa Marathon. It is in February, and the 20 week training schedule would start in two weeks to have us ready. I am thinking about it. Love you all, and miss you. Can't wait to be back.

The Slackers

2009-07-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

Anyways, sorry we have been such slackers. I still need to figure out how to get the pictures from one computer and put them into this one. Michael is now on graves so life is backwards right now. Some news is that Zachary is 3 now, and doing great with wearing big boy underwear. Yeah!! No more diapers. Also we got a dog named Sheba. The family was PSCing and couldn't take her with them. She is a 5 year old mini dachsund. She was already house trained and kennel trained. She is a very easy first dog. Of course she follows me around like a 2year old child. She is waiting for me by the door even when I take a shower. She is a crazy girl. Now there is some more estrogen in the house. Oh and Michael Jr. was so brave yesterday. He had to get 6 shots for kindergarten. The nurse said he was the best she has seen. He later enjoyed his coconut milkshake from Baskin Robbins. Anyways, thats for now.

Desiree

Brothers

2009-04-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

I didn't have to put them up for this. They did it all by themselves. Whenever they fight I know that deep down they love each other.

Michael's 5th Birthday

2009-04-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

For Michael's birthday we rented a camper on Whitebeach. We were the only ones there. These are actually rocks not boats.
Michael loves throwing rocks into the water.
Happy birthday honey.

Michael's favorite toy.

Music Men

2009-04-13T23:38:00.000-07:00

Botanical Gardens

2009-03-10T20:54:00.001-07:00

Superbowl Morning

2009-03-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

These are the Steelers pancakes Desiree made for me on Superbowl morning. Aside from how awesome the Steelers were (especially James Harrison and Santonio Holmes) I think the pancakes are the reason the Steelers won. Way to go honey!

Churaumi Aquarium

2009-03-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

We went to this amazing aquarium here on Okinawa a few weeks ago. It has the biggest viewing wall in the world, or so we were told. We saw some awesome whale sharks, rays and a cool dolphin show. The kids loved it, as did Desiree and I. Here are some pics.

'Transparent aluminum?!'

Road Sign and the Children's Park at Expo

2009-02-14T01:39:00.000-08:00

Okinawa Ocean Expo

2009-02-14T01:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been a long time posting anything. Okinawa I think has the largest fish tank, or at least it is one of the top 5. The boys loved seeing the whale shark and I loved the portly fellow. They also had a flower garden where they used flowers to make animals. Pretty awesome.

Boys Bored of Toys

2009-01-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

In this video, we did not come up with the idea. They boys did that all on their own.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-09T22:14:00.000-08:00

We really enjoyed our Christmas. We videoed but the blog wouldn't take it. Michael was very quiet when he saw the presents but Zachary made some noises then fell down. It was hilarious.
The boys had fun opening the presents and playing. I did nothing that day but watch and play.
The last picture here is when I asked the boys to help me clean up the paper and they stuffed it under their table. It stayed that way for a couple of days. They are so cute.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2008-12-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

A Mother Venting :(

2008-12-17T04:21:00.000-08:00

O.k. everyone. I am going to do some venting. I don't normally do this online. I usually call a tons of people to let them know, but I feel this is important. I had to pull my son out of preschool because of bullying, and now choir practice. These pictures are what happened in choir practice when he was playing in the children's bedroom.
He was hiding in the closet and they went after him. He tried to leave but they wouldn't let him. I am livid. I teach my boys the 3 strikes you are out rule. This week I have really been enfasizing(sp?) how the Lord made our bodies and spirit and is our job to protect them. When asked what to do, my son Zach now likes to say "block and punch". I understand a little rough housing, but when you son comes out with blood on his face and shirt, that is different. As a mother I will be his shadow for a long while, until I know he can properly punch someone in the nose. My opinion might change, but in the state I am in right now. I don't see that happening. If I decide to homeschool , or not have babysitters, or not have certain people over, or not go to choir practice, or anything to keep my kids safe, that is my right and job as a mother. This should not be happening at such a tender age. What are parents not teaching there kids?
I don't want to judge, but I am appalled. Anyways, I am looking for the possibility of leaving this island as soon as possible. I love my boys. They are everything to me. All 3 of them. Sorry I am a downer right now. Not that many of you have seen this side of me. Take care. Love you, Desiree

Here we are

2008-12-17T03:38:00.000-08:00

I just want to say thanks for all your comments and for your support. We love you all a bunch and are actively trying to find a way to get back to you all sooner. Okinawa is nice, but we have been away for 10 years and I am really starting to go through some sort of withdrawal style homesickness. I can't wait to be surrounded by family again. I was thinking about Dad and all the activities we had at the house and all the friends and family that filled it so often. I want to do the same. We love you all and can't wait to see you again.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

Well,

Here's a super happy Christmas Message from the Monteith's (of Okinawa). We are living in a tropical wonderland of sun, water, and more biological diversity than you can shake a candy cane at. The weather here is actually quite good. I have only needed a jacket twice so far, and one of those times was at 2 in the morning in a steady wind.

Our year has been good so far, and looks to be continning(sp?) into the future just as well. The only off note is, of course, the fact that I have to write this note to you all. I would rather be discussing it with you over dinner. 'They' say its a small world, but it seems larger when I think of family and friends around the world. We miss you and love you very much.

Oh, let's just get to the details, so I can focus on the positives. Zachary Boy is 2 1/2 and smart as a whip. When we sing at bedtime he loves to sing his ABC song. We read the scriptures out loud and he repeats the words so he can be part. He rides a 'big boy' bike with training wheels and will be getting a newer one for Christmas. Don't tell him!

Michael, Jr. is learning letter and number games and how to recognize key words. He can add numbers just like his Dad. On his fingers! His only issue right now is the habit of scaring his brother for a laugh. He then wonders why Zachary won't immediately sit back down and play! Mostly though, they share what will make each other happy, and one thing I love to see is them teaming up to open our heavy front door. They are a great pair, and we love them very much.

Desiree is making friends as usual. She teaches a beginner's sewing class, hand and machine, for Relief Society, and is on the Enrichment Committtee(I got on a roll with those tee's). The two of us are on the Activities Committee(that's better) and we team teach the Sunbeams class in Primary(Michael, Jr. is in the class, also). She can often be found in the yard with friends watching the kids play, or trying some new recipe in the kitchen. All of us love her, and couldn't function without her.

I am in the U.S. Navy. I am proud to be serving my country, and my Heavenly Father by doing the best I can in work and my callings. I have recently become qualified as a Watch Commander and am in charge(on randomly scheduled days) of the training, care and distribution of a twenty man security team. It sounds cooler than it is, but it's still pretty cool.

Okinawa actually has a lot to recommend it and we have only begun to tap the well of tourist activities available. We have camped at the beach twice, wandered in foreign cities, and gone to Tokyo Disneyland (which was quite fun!). If anyone wants to come visist we will be gracious and enthusiastic hosts. We love you all and can't wait to see you again. Thanks for all your calls, letters, emails and care packages. We will be together again.

Merry Christmas,
Love,
The Montieth's
Mike, Desiree, Mike, Jr., and Zachary Boy

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree....

2008-12-01T02:44:00.000-08:00

Well this year we made our Christmas tree. We left ours back in storage. We don't really have a lot of room in our house, so this was the next best thing. I actually like it. It reminds me of Dr. Seuss. The boys had fun making the decorations, of course it was a little hard to steal them away from the Steelers game. Our next project is covering our windows with snowflakes since we will not be getting snow here. We have already started making some, and Jr. was going scissor happy.

Until next time. Love you.

Just a couple of new pictures!!!

2008-12-01T02:39:00.000-08:00

Children as Drug Dogs

2008-11-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, child labor and bad environment and all that. Seriously though, Desiree was trying to get Zachary to eat some chili the other day. Kidney beans, meat, tomato paste, we've all been there. Zachary only wants the corn bread (probably because I have taken to calling it 'corn cake' to get them to eat it). Zachary demolished his to crumbs getting it into his maw. Yes, look it up, its appropriate.
So Desiree puts a smidgeon (also appropriate) of chili on a spoon and cleverly disguises it with 'cake' crumbs. Zachary won't have it. He just turns his head. Well, he also whined, but I digress. So Desiree dumps it off the spoon, except cleverly again for one bean. Crumbs back on, up to Zach's face, no go. So then for an experiment she dumps the last bean, and a full spoon of 'cake' crumbs go into the mouth no problem.
These kids could detect kryptonite in a lead box. Love em.

Send it to Jesus

2008-11-17T07:13:00.000-08:00

Michael, Jr. drew a fairly recognizable picture of Jesus Christ, the Golden Plates, and a rather sturdy table to hold them up (just the plates, I'm sure). Which shows that in addition to scriptural knowledge structural engineering is getting in there somehow. Anyway, he showed it to both of us and then was not satisfied with promises, but made us put the picture in an envelope to 'mail to Jesus'. We thought that was pretty sweet. Also, we are planning on buying the Animated Stories from the Book of Mormon since he did this shortly after watching one of the DVDs at a friends house. Cute as a button.

Sleep Tight

2008-11-04T05:09:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of days, I have come to discover that when I check on my boys they are in Zachary's bed. They are so cute.

Halloween

2008-11-04T05:05:00.000-08:00

My boys had a blast on Halloween. They especially loved the candy. It was so cute how they got their bags ready and said trick or treat and thankyou. Zachary was extremely eager. He has a huge sweet tooth.

Creative Hide and Seek Spots

2008-11-04T05:02:00.000-08:00

AFN Commercials

2008-10-30T06:02:00.000-07:00

Here in Okinawa we don't get regular television commercials. We get the Airforce Network. I was looking for some of my favorites, but they didn't have them on youtube. But here are a few to give you a taste of what we see in between shows.

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=SpOb_qSggGE
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=mghxZzWVO7A
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=LemcePDZSxk
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=YSEUOQSIpfc
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=8bNrrQ7xhyQ

The ones I have posted I have actually watched on t.v. I can't wait to find the Lewis And Lebowski Expedition, and the crafts commercial that copies Napolean Dynamite, and the conseving energy one that is like Forest Gump.

Pumpkins

2008-10-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the pumpkins. Take them as you will.

Just a Couple of Pictures

2008-10-22T03:09:00.000-07:00

Watching T.V. together

Our Disney transportation

Yeah!!

A family wanted to take a picture with our boy because he was a blonde. My boys got a lot of looks, and their hair touched.

Year 1978

2008-10-13T04:38:00.000-07:00

My sister showed me this website that you could put your picture in it from the years 1950-2000. I always wondered how I would look like with an afro. Try it.

Tokyo Disneyland!

2008-10-02T03:26:00.001-07:00

Well, we made our first real trip somewhere since we arrived in the Land of the Rising Sun. The 100 Yen store doesn't count. We had a lot of fun.

Ate a bunch of random stuff you wouldn't believe.

And we went on some great rides.

We also had some good family time.

I'll send a disk with more pictures, as soon as I remember or March of 2011. Whichever comes first.

Super Heroes in Training

2008-10-02T03:14:00.000-07:00

These boys are already into some Super Hero worship. Zachary loves to have us read a Spiderman book almost every night. I don't know when Michael, Jr. picked up on Batman, although I think I have let him watch parts of Batman Begins he hasn't seen it in a while, but he knew who he wanted to be for Halloween. Here they are, the new 'Dynamic Duo' (Robin always was a piker, Chris O'Donnell notwithstanding).

Zachary looks sad, but he really fought for the costume!

Fire Balls

2008-10-02T02:19:00.000-07:00

Michael, Jr. must have seen DragonBallZ once or twice because he taught his brother Zach a new skill. Let the Fire Balls fly!

Junior the Giver

2008-09-19T05:05:00.002-07:00

Well Michael Jr. has been a real sweetheart this week. Last week was hard because of preschool starting. This week he is finally figuring it out. Sunday he had to share with me a treat he got at Primary class. It was so funny seeing his little hands filled with fuzzy, sticky, gummy candy. He was so proud of saving some for me. Of course I took it and popped it in my mouth and said Thank you. Tuesday in school, he made me a necklace. He was so happy. I was too. He was very protective of it. He wanted it on me, and he didn't want Zachary touching it. Of course I granted his desires. Today he made a bear crown. Later in the day he let Zachary wear it for a little bit. My boys are great.

The Stitches are Out.

2008-09-19T05:05:00.001-07:00

Well I went to the doctor yesterday and they are out. Zachary handled it very well. At first he did not want to lay down. The memory is still pretty fresh. It is nice to know that Zachary isn't alone in this world. He has two people he can count on in the future to compare his chin with. Naomi and Rachel. Wow.

Okinawan Recipes from Relief Society

2008-09-19T05:05:00.000-07:00

Miso Soup (5 Servings)

Ingredients:
4 cups water
1/2 cup pork meat, thinly sliced
1/2 cup daikon (white radish), thinly sliced
1/4 cup carrot, thinly sliced
1 bag (8g) dashinomoto (soup stock granules)
1 tablespoon wakame (seaweed), soak in water and cut to small pieces
2 tablespoons miso paste
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:
In a medium saucepan: add 4 cups of water, pork meat, daikon, and carrots. Boil until carrots are tender. Reduce heat to medium, and add dashinomoto and wakame. 30 seconds later, simmer gently. In small bowl, take 4 oz of liquid from saucepan and dissolve 2 tablespoons miso paste then add to saucepan. Remove soup from heat and put green onion. Serve immediately.

Yakisoba (5 servings)

Ingredients:
2 cups pork or beef meat, thinly sliced
1 each carrot, cut into long thin strips
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/3 medium head cabbage, coursely chopped
1/2 bag (1/2 kg) yakisoba noodles
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
*Add salt and black pepper to taste
1/4~1/2 cup yakisoba sauce (recommend thicker one)

Directions:
In a large skillet put olive oil, stir fry pork meat 30 seconds and add salt and black pepper to your taste. Add carrot and stir fry 30 seconds. Add yellow onion and stir fry 30 seconds. Add cabbage and stir fry 30 seconds and reduce heat medium, and add 1/8 cups sauce. Add noodles and the rest of sauce and mix well; remove from heat.

I liked it all.

Stitches Stitches

2008-09-17T15:44:00.001-07:00

Well Zachary has finally been initiated into boyhood. He was climbing up the bathtub and fell down. I did not witness the event. Daddy witnessed it all. I thought at first it was just his mouth but soon realized that blood came from a nice clean cut on his chin. This happened Friday night. Later on Sunday, he fell again and busted a stitch. This reminded me of when Michael yanked the superglue stuff off of his cut above the eye coming home from the hospital. The doctors were thinking that the superglue stuff might work. I wasn't for the might work, so the stitches were put in. Zachary was very mad at being held down. They wrapped him up pretty good. I held him down too. Everything is fine now. I just need to remember to call the doctor to pull his stitches out.

The following day after the doctor. He picked out the Spongebob bandaids. It was either that or Helly Kitty.

We put a butterfly bandage after we cleaned his boo boo. We decided he didn't need to go back to the doctors for another stitch.

Looks alot better.

Questions Answered

2008-09-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

To answer a couple questions that have been asked, Michael Sr. is taking an online class. He has finished his Sociology Bachelors. He is working on a Psychology Bachelors as long as the military will let him. Second the preschool Michael goes to is Niko Niko meaning, I think, Smiles Smiles. It is not expensive because it is for the military and it is based on your paygrade. There you go. :)

1st Day of Preschool

2008-09-15T15:42:00.001-07:00

Well it is about time for the pictures of his first day of school. He is really enjoying school.

Michael and Zachary playing while I check Michael into the computer. We also have to check him into class too. Very tight with the security.

Walking to class. Zachary is excited to start preschool too.

Michael and Courtney playing.

This wasn't on the first day, but it was cute. I take Courtney to school in the morning.

Good Boys

2008-08-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the boys have been wearing their mother to a frazzle lately. Fighting, running and falling, getting loud. It's all a big to-do. But, boys will be boys, and Desiree is a strong woman. And they are not bad boys, just crazy. Here are a couple of pics to let you know how they are doing. The first one here is Mike, Jr. after we built some things together. I'll let you guess which one I did (I am a show off).

Next is their rendition of Napoleon Dynamite's 'Pull Me Into Town' scene.

One more thing, let me tell you that 'nomiso' means 'brains' in Japanese. Or Nihongo, as they say. And the boys love it when I chase them around like a zombie saying 'Nomiso, nomiso'. Its alot of fun, and a little weird. But that's me. Love you all, hope you are doing well. I am in school again with a couple more classes to go before my Psych Bachelor's is complete. Desiree is getting ready to teach some sisters out here how to sew. And as she sews, so shall she . . . you know. Gotta go, Love, Mike

Tribute to Military Wives

2008-08-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

I found this on one of my friends website, and I really enjoyed it.

The Military Wife

The good Lord was creating a model for military wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared. She said," Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one. What’s wrong with the standard model?"

The Lord replied," Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both mother and father, be a perfect hostess for four to 40 with an hour notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully, even if she is pregnant and has the flu, and she must have six pair of hands."

The angel shook her head. "Six pair of hands? No way!"
The Lord continued. "Don’t worry, we will make other military wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride in her husbands achievements, sustain the pain of separation, beat soundly when it is overworked and tired, and be large enough to say, "I understand" when she doesn’t and "I love you" regardless.
"Lord," said the angel, touching his arm gently, "Go to bed and get some rest. You can finish this tomorrow."

"I can’t stop now," Said the Lord. "I am so close to creating something unique. Already this model heals herself when she is sick, can put up six unexpected guests for the weekend, wave good-bye to her husband from a pier, a runway or a depot, and understand why it’s important that he leave."
The angel circled the model of the military wife, looked at it
closely and sighed.

"It looks fine, but it’s too soft."
"She may look soft," replied the Lord, "but she had the strength of a lion. You would not believe what she can endure."
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Lord’s creation. "There’s a leak," she announced. "Something is wrong with the construction. I’m not surprised that it has cracked. You are trying to put too much into this model."

The Lord appeared offended at the angel’s lack of confidence. "What you see is not a leak," he said. "It’s a tear."
"A tear? What is it there for?" asked the angel.
The Lord replied, "It’s for joy, sadness, pain, disappointment, loneliness, pride and dedication to all the values that she and her husband hold dear."
"You are a genius!" exclaimed the angel.
The Lord looked puzzled and replied, "I didn’t put it there."

Author Unknown

To the Zoo, To the Zoo . . .

2008-08-10T06:23:00.000-07:00

We went to the Okinawa zoo on the 4th. It was fun. Really, fun. Seriously,

it was fairly small, but good. It did have some interesting things that you don't see in U.S. zoos. Like the pool of a hundred (at least) turtles. Also the koi (carp) pond, where we watched the ducks and fish battle for food pellets.

Then after I wrestled the Hippo . . . and won . . . Desiree and the Boys desided to tackle the 'Giant Hog'-not me!

We also saw some cool reptiles.

All in all it was a fun day and we are glad we went.

Michael on Sunday

2008-08-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a wonderful day. So many different things happened that made me so pleased and love my son Michael. First, in the morning, I was lying in bed when my son got his clothes on and said mommy look. I looked in his bedroom and he made his and his brothers bed. I have never asked him to do that before. Later, we were sitting on the couch and he says listen to me count. He counted 1-50. That was the first time. We have only really been practicing to 30. Next, we went to a linger longer at the bishops house. The bishops wife mentioned that on the balcony was a kiddy pool and to be aware of it. I thought if my boys get wet it will be no big deal because it is very hot. So I went up there later looking for my boys, and here is Michael soaked. He asks if he can take his shirt of because it is wet. I say yes and to keep his underwear on. I went downstairs to get some icecream for him. When I went upstairs and looked through the door I saw the shirt, his shorts, and socks. There were a couple of boys looking in the pool. I call for Michael and this little skinny naked cutie comes to me and says look mommy. It was hilarious. Granted we had a discussion that in the bath you can take your clothes off, but everywhere else you need to be covered down there. I love my boys. Desiree :)

The Boys Lately

2008-07-20T05:26:00.000-07:00

Well it is summer and it is very hot over here. It gets to about 115 in the shade at 5pm. I thought that I could tough it out but I find myself not as strong. The funny thing is that people over here say that in the winter when it is 65 that you will want to wear a coat because you acclimatise. I have found out that I will be outside in this horrible heat and because the humidity I get a chill. My little Michael has lately decided that he enjoys wearing long sleeve shirts and pants lately. He says he is not hot when we are out. Crazy. He is so funny. I am the primary pianist again. But today I was happy to be it because Jr. actually hummed to some of the songs and waved his hand to conduct. I was so happy. Later on today he was singing a lot. Both my boys have taken a liking to getting the bad guys lately and killing them. Michael goes around saying I'm dead and Zach just shoots and says chase me. They are adorable. Here is a little clip.

4th of July

2008-07-10T05:57:00.000-07:00

On the 4th, the Airbase hosted a fair. We went and the boys had a lot of fun. We saw lots of planes and helicopters. Here are some pictures.
Zachary and Mike, Jr. sat at the controls of many different vehicles.

This is the bay of a Rescue Helicopter of some kind. I think it is a version of the Black Hawk.

You can just barely see Zachary under the wing of this C-130 Hercules.

It was Zachary's first time seeing fireworks (no pictures of those). He absolutely loved it. We found we had more fun watching the boys reactions than we did watching the fireworks. Love you all.

For Those Who Know

2008-07-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

Rebecca Harlow is getting married and this is a link to her bridal shower blog. You can leave recipes and play games and sign her guestbook. Hope lots of us do. She has always been a good friend to us all, and congratulations. http://rebabridalshower.blogspot.com/

Food Storage

2008-06-28T01:41:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend Tirzah sent this video she found to me. It is hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If7YJ-oeSy8

Some Recent Photos

2008-06-28T01:34:00.000-07:00

They boys staring off at the beach.

Michael and Zachary showing off how strong they are by carrying this stick up a hill.

A moment when they are together in harmony.

A to Z

2008-06-22T01:56:00.000-07:00

A- Attached or Single: Attached
B- Best friend: My honey and my sister.
C- Cake or Pie: Pie, preferably apple or cherry with ice cream
D- Day of choice: I don’t know. The first thing that pops to my head is Tuesday. Weird huh?
E- Essential item: Military I.D. card
F- Favorite Color: Green, blue, and then yellow. I am pretty indecisive.
G- Gummy bears or worms: Worms
H- Hometown: I am a military child and wife. I don’t really have a hometown, but I will end up back at Virginia Beach.
I- Indulgence: Currently, Flamenco dance classes 3 times a month. In July I am going to take Belly dancing.
J- January or July: I only like January when there is pretty white snow around, and I like July for barbeques and beaches.
K- Kids: Michael Jr. and Zachary
L- Life is incomplete without: My boys
M- Marriage Date: 11 May 1999
N- Number of siblings: 3
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges
P- Phobias or fears: I don’t like the idea of tornadoes or home invasions. I don’t have a proper escape plan in my head, and I can’t possibly build an underground bunker and tunnel when I am moving every 3 years. Right?
Q- Quotes: I am not a quote girl. I do feel quite odd that I don’t know a single one right now.
R- Reason to smile: My family being silly or cute, especially when they come up to me and say I love you on there own accord.
S- Season of choice: Fall
T- Tag 3 times: Naomi, Jen, and Crystal
U- Unknown fact about me: I have 2 ear lobes on my right ear
V- Very favorite store: Michael’s and Joann’s Fabric, I miss those stores here in Okinawa
W- Worst habit: Nail biting
X- X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound
Y- Your favorite food: I really miss the Chicken BLT salad from Wendy’s. The honey mustard dressing for that salad is very yummy. I think the dressing is my favorite part.
Z- Zodiac Sign: Aries

Price Check on Apples

2008-06-14T03:57:00.001-07:00

O.k. I know that prices all over are jumping skyward. My cousin Elisheba's told me that the gas in England is over $10 a gallon. The tomatoes are $5 a lb. Anyways, I went to the grocery store today, and they were out of seedless grapes, which they only had them for a couple days since we have been here, anyways that is not the point of the story. I bought four apples. How much do you think four apples should cost? Surely not over a couple dollars. Try $8.50. Can you believe it? I can't but I paid for it.

Love, Desiree

Boys Favorite Song

2008-06-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

My boys are the cutest. They have a song they call the Mickey Mouse song. In the morning, or whenever they choose, they ask "Mommy, can you put the Mickey Mouse song on?" Then they dance like crazy all over the house. Jr. has this special kick move he likes to do. Can you guys guess the actual song? The boys love Mickey by Toni Basil. Yes that is the one.

Katsuren Castle

2008-06-01T01:06:00.000-07:00

This is our first Japanese Castle. We were pretty excited about it.

It looks over a wide area and is in the middle of a jungle type area.

It was steamy hot because it had just rained and then the sun came halfway back out and the water was back up in our faces for a second time.

We love it. Virginia will never seem hot again.

Blast from the Past!

2008-06-01T00:56:00.000-07:00

Hey, who remembers Saturday morning wrestling? Or I should say, 'Who doesn't?!' "Let's have some get down good times with the Dog, Arf-Arf!!!" Much to my surprise, and pleasure, I found this burger place. It's not that great and not that bad, but with a spokesman like this, how could it fail?!

White Beach on Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road

2008-05-27T03:33:00.000-07:00

Some Movies

2008-05-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some nice videos of the family. Love you all dahlings.

Zach is the Big Two Now!!

2008-05-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

Library Excursion.

2008-05-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

So after we get our movies and our books, my boys love playing on this huge tree outside the Library.

Up Close and Personal with Our Yard

2008-05-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

Some Recent Photos of My Boys

2008-05-18T03:35:00.000-07:00

Eating Dilemma

2008-05-18T03:31:00.000-07:00

O.k. My boys are picky eaters. I have been catering to there wants because I am tired of fighting. But I am tired of eating chicken nuggets. Zach won't even eat pizza anymore. Today I started the tough mom approach. Which I probably should of been doing all along but I was tired and stressed. Well the boys didn't eat there breakfast until after 2 hours. There cereal was in the fridge. Yuk. Anyways, my heart was broken when I asked Zach to eat one measly little pea so he can eat more tator tots. I don't think that is an outsanding request. Well he tried to grab my tator tots from any angle. He was doing the sad cry which breaks my heart. I usually give in and he knows it. I do to now. He went to bed with only 5 tator tots and 3 crackers in his belly. I don't know what to do. I am going to try this out for a week or so. I don't want to waste food. If any of you guy have some helpful hints. PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Future Photographer

2008-05-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

Michael Jr. took this picture all by himself of his little brother Zachary. I was extremely impressed. Desiree

Rotten Egg

2008-05-11T04:27:00.000-07:00

Previos post information: my knives were on a chopping block. The block stayed on the refrigerator and tip when I closed the refrigerator door. I have learned my lesson. Now they are in a cabinet. If they fell it would land on the counter.

Anyways, I was experimenting yesterday and tried to make a bread pudding using leftover french toast, which failed because I didn't let the bread soak long enough. I was cracking the eggs as usual. I have seen blood out of my eggs but I have never seen green chunks before. The smell was horrific. It took a while before the smell went away. My only regret is I didn't take a picture, and there is no way to send the smell.

Love, Desiree

Count your many blessings!

2008-05-09T03:49:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been in a wierd funk. I guess it is because I am so far away and I miss everyone. So anyways, I have been reading my scriptures and really trying to be grateful and positive. The devil gets to me sometimes. Well today I had a jumpstart on gratitude and that the Lord is there even when we feel alone. I was making a quiche today. I told the kids it was a pie. They were so excited to eat it. Eating it is another story. I went to get my knife so I could cut the cheese in half to shred. My children were playing in the kitchen. I got my knife then I got the cheese and closed the refrigerator door. As I closed the door all of my knives fell down. I was under them all. I screamed of course. Thankfully, I nor my children were hurt. I quickly told Michael Jr. that we needed to say a prayer to thank Heavenly Father that we were not hurt. Michael got on his knees and he said the prayer. This incident is my first in my gratitude journal. The Lord is always there. Love you, Desiree

Dragon Boat Races . . . Catchy, huh?

2008-05-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

Well, we spent the day at the races on Cinco de Mayo. Actually, here that is Boy's Day. A national holiday that celebrates their male youths. Very nice. There were races between long boats propelled by oars in the hands of many people. We watched one and then wandered around a carnival playing random games. Mike, Jr and I both shot at an airgun stand. I did better thank goodness.

Zach and Mike, jr. rode in some airplanes and then we ate some local snacks. One was a pancake made with cabbage and some other stuff. Desiree ate that. Then we had yakitori, translated chicken meat. This was basically teriyaki chicken chunks on a stick. The big surprise here was that Mike, jr. loved it. He ate four skewers of it. He's normally picky, but the fact that it was cold and lightly drizzling may have helped him get over this.

We had fun and consider this to be our first big Japanese experience. Love you all, Mike, Sr. Out.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2008-05-04T00:51:00.000-07:00

In church today we were learning a lesson on grattitude. Or, I should say, we were hearing a lesson on grattitude. The subject turned to children and the most adorable story surfaced. Often these stories are out of context, embarassing, doctrinally unsound and prejudicial to good order and discipline. This one was simply unrelated to the topic at hand, otherwise very funny.
It seems a brother had been teaching his daughter about tithing. He gave his four-year-old ten pennies and then asked her to give one to the Lord as tithing. She agreed readily and walked away happily. He thought this went well until later when he walked past her bedroom and heard her laughing and saying, 'Ha ha, Jesus! I have nine and you only have one!' Kids today.
This was a real crowd pleaser.
Michael, Jr. made his own funny on the way home in reference to the fact that we haven't had cable since he was two and had forgotten what commercials were. He has since relearned. Today on the way home from church he asked if he could watch something. Then he said, 'Whenever we turn on the TV there is a commercial on, and when we don't turn it on there is a cartoon on. I am getting tired of this!'
Kids. You know I love 'em! -Mike, Sr.

Emergency Boy!

2008-04-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

Michael, Jr. has finally been given his Super Hero name! I know you were all waiting. With a father like Michael Monster and a mother known to criminals everywhere as Death Ray it was a sure thing that he would emerge as a powerful force for . . . something. And now we know what his power is. It is to get hurt, alot.

He has now been to the hospital four times in the month or so we have been here. He went first when a spider bite turned into a draining pus blister on his hand that migrated to his neck. That's how we learned not to play in any sand on Okinawa that is not near a beach. Then he woke me up one night to ask for a drink of water, only to present me with the dilemma of a 106 fever. Fun ride to the hospital at 2am. That lasted til 4am and ended with security pulling me over and asking why I was out so late. This is when we considered 'Alibi Boy' as his name. But we waited. Then twice in the last two weeks we have had to have Xrays on Michael's left foot because disastrous attempts to climb the piano and slide down the hall in his socks left him without the ability to walk to the pooper on his own. Emergency!

So, with no broken bones, but an unbroken record of beating his brother to the hospital with a case of the dumbs, we now present to you. Emergency Boy, defeater of sleep for his parents, champion of worry and defender of the mid-list novel. That last one was for 'You've Got Mail' fans.

Love you all, see you later. Mike, Sr.

Happy Days

2008-04-24T05:26:00.000-07:00

My car broke down. This happens. To me. Alot. It is a Honda Civic two-door hatchback. Let me tell you. It's an alright car, or was before this. Interesting fact though . . . I have told a few Japanese Nationals that I work with that I bought a Honda. They all say it was a bad decision. Funny, huh? Okinawans will not buy a Honda if they have a choice. They prefer Toyotas. Let that be a flea in your ear. Japanese hate Hondas. Who knew?
Anyway. Fun.
Other than that we are settling in nicely. Heidi wanted to know what Habus are, referring to Desiree's Gastro-post. They are a very fast, deadly poisonous snake. They are faster than a mongoose and so far the only predator that can get them besides the wheels of a Patrol Unit on base is the Akamata . . . Snake. Anyway, we could have any number of them in our backyard and we hope that the monster snails will give them encephalitis before they give us the bite!
Hope you are all well. Love ya bunches.
Mike, Sr.

The Attack of the Gastropods

2008-04-19T04:41:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday, we went outside to play. In our backyard there is a large spot of land that was recently barren, but it is turning green with weeds and baby treesprouts. The kids and I planted some sunflowers, beans, and pumpkin on that spot of land. We check it everyday, and it gets stepped on more everyday. But today was different. Usually there are no living snails in the area, just tiny dead ones. I got to tell you I was freaked out. These large mammoth sized snails are freaky. They carry encephalitis. You know I don't want my kids touching them. So I told Jr to stay away, and I ran and got the salt. Jr helped me find them so I could properly cover them. There were like twenty of them. Zach touched one, so I quickly took care of that. Then he got his hoe and took care of them. Later when Michael Sr. came home I told him that the snails were moving closer to our house. So, he went and tossed them back in the forest. He said as he tossed them they squealed. This was pretty scary for me. Sr has gotten all the weird shots, but we haven't. I'm glad I haven't seen a habu yet.

Anyways, today we went to an Earth Day Fair. The boys had a lot of fun on the bouncy houses. There was a lot of recycled items there. So free stuff. We got recycled rulers, balloons, pens, pencils, and golf tees. They even showed how they make fuel out of oil, biodiesel. Anyways, remember to recycle.

Spouse vs Spouse Tagback

2008-04-17T06:13:00.000-07:00

How did you meet your spouse? Desiree moved into our ward when she was a Junior at Salem and I was a Senior at Kempsville. We danced at a dance or two and ended up in seminary together. The rest is not that historic. Although, the kissing is.
Where did you go on your first date? We went on a group date to see the movie 'Maverick' with Mel Gibson. We held hands and liked it! Rachel was there and she kept leaning over to see what we were doing and report it to the other people with us : )
How long have you been together? We dated off and on from Spring of 1994 'til we got engaged after my mission in Fall 1998 and then married in Spring of 1999.
Who eats more? I eat more all around, Desiree worries me sometimes. I have to remind her to drink sometimes.
Who said I love you first? I'm pretty sure I did. Desiree kept those cards close to the vest.
Who sings better? I sing more often, but I love it when Desiree sings. Her voice is beautiful, but she is shy. I on the other hand sing anywhere and don't care.
Who is smarter? Desiree is Sudoku, I am the crossword puzzle. There is no comparison.
Who does the laundry? Desiree.
Who does the dishes? Desiree does them most. Thank goodness for dishwashers.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Desiree
Who pays the bills? Mike.
Who mows the lawn? I mow it, but we both attack the dandelions! They are the devils favorite flower.
Who cooks dinner? Desiree prepares meals in the home, but when it's time to hunt and gather . . . Wendy's here I come!
Who drives when you are together? Desiree, she thinks I corner too fast.
Who is more stubborn? I refuse to answer that.
Who is the first to admit when they’re wrong? Desiree won't admit she's wrong first, but she is usually the first to try and end any argument. When she starts smiling it's hard to stay angry. I manage it sometimes. : )
Whose parents do you see the most? It's been pretty much half and half. Aside from the few months Desiree stayed with her parents while I was in Basic and A school.
Who kissed who first? I kissed Desiree first, in Rodney Lambourne's car, then on the porch. Rodney asked me "Did you kiss her?" I replied, "A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell. And yes, I did."
Who proposed? I did, in the Kid's Cove at Mount Trashmore. Having 'trash' involved in our engagement story is not nearly as bad, though, as the fact that the only lighted area was near the restrooms . . . well, I was nervous and not very smart to begin with.
Who has more friends? Desiree always has more friends. I only have work acquaintances, and family.
Who has more siblings? I have 7 and Desiree has 3.
Who wears the pants in the family? When it comes to finances, it is Desiree. When it comes to raising the kids, also Desiree. I get to decide what songs to sing to the boys at night. Most of the time.
This was fun. Hope to see others doing the same. Mike, Sr.

Blogging on!

2008-04-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

I am glad to finally get this blog going. I hope that I can get across to all of you what we are doing and who we are. Of the nine years Desiree and I have been married we have only lived about six months of that in Virginia around the Monteith Clan. We have been fortunate to have Shane and Naomi close, and for a while Dave and Adam also. But what we really want is a 100 person dinner table and a good game of scattergories. We miss you all even more now that we are in Japan.
That being said, we are very grateful for all the support we have had from family and friends and hope that this blog will help us get even closer. We are all growing, all the time. Sharing ideas, thoughts and hopes will help us know each other again. And if we all find out we can't stand each other then I will just extend my time in Japan! Probably not.
Still, Okinawa is great so far and we have plans for several trips and tours. When we know more we will let people know what we are doing and when, and if you can tag along on some excursion, we will open our home to some would-be world travelers. The Great Wall is on our agenda for next spring, Mainland Japan this fall, and one or two more times after that. Thailand, Australia, Korea. We hope to have some great stories and pictures. More than that we hope to be able to post our love to you all each time. Thanks again for all you have done for us over the years.
Further blogs, at least by me, will not be quite this mushy. Desiree may be a different story.
Love and all that, Mike, Sr.