Sumo Wrestling in Okinawa

A few weeks ago Kyle attended an exhibition sumo tournament here in Okinawa. I was planning to go along, but I didn't feel well, so Kyle invited our friend Blaise. I think the boys really enjoyed the sumo matches.

I've posted a few videos so you can check it out!

Shaken not Stirred

Kyle wanted to get dressed up and have a night on the town. Really, he just wanted an excuse to wear one of his hand-tailored suits that he bought while stationed in Bahrain in 2003. Well, he came up with a reason. He decided to rally the troops and host what he named "James Bond Night." The boys all wore their hand-tailored suits and the girls got dressed up in our favorite LBDs (little black dresses).

The evening started with Kyle making a phone call to the restaurant/jazz club called Bar Dicha. He attempted to make a reservation, but when he asked the person on the other end of the phone "eigo ga dijoubou des ka?" (is English okay) they said no. So, he couldn't speak English to the staff at Bar Dicha. Well, I was feeling a little gutsy, and as you all know, I always like a challenge. So I pulled out my Japanese phrase book (thank you, Wendy) and started hunting for phrases that would convey that I was trying to make a reservation. I dialed up the restaurant and stumbled through the phrases. The person on the other line started speaking a bit of English and I continued to speak a bit of Japanese. At the end of the conversation I was quite confident we had a reservation for six people at 7 p.m. Kyle looked at me and offered a proud high five! When we arrived at the restaurant with our well dressed group in tow the waitress looked at me and asked, "Are you Jen-san?" I replied with yes (or hai) and she seated us at a beautiful table for six (roku)! She then looked at me and asked "Nihongo o hanashimasu ka?" which means "Do you speak Japanese?" Of course I DON'T so I got a good laugh out of that question.

After dinner Kyle proclaimed "James Bond Night is not complete without a martini!" So we traipsed to one of my favorite establishments, Niche, for a tasty vodka martini. Kyle was so excited to tell the bartender he'd like his martini "shaken, not stirred." The bartender just looked at him and sort of uttered a nervous laugh. I guess James Bond's cool points don't permeate all cultures . . . .

Shaken not Stirred

Happy Birthday, Marines! Kyle and Jen at the Marine Corps Ball 2009
The Thanksgiving crew at Oura Wan Bay
(l-r) Blaise, Amy, Tommy, Wyatt, Megan, Chrissy, Jen, Kyle

The view from our cabin

Shisa Cabin (and the view)

Hiatus

Hiatus:
[hahy-ey-tuhs]
–noun.
1. a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.
2. a missing part; gap or lacuna: Scholars attempted to account for the hiatus in the medieval manuscript.
3. any gap or opening.
4. Grammar, Prosody. the coming together, with or without break or slight pause, and without contraction, of two vowels in successive words or syllables, as in see easily.
5. Anatomy. a natural fissure, cleft, or foramen in a bone or other structure.

Does my six month absence from blogging count as a hiatus? Or perhaps a sabbatical? I took time away from blogging in order to develop my style? To follow the regulations of operational security? Maybe I was just lazy? Perhaps I felt bad blogging about this fabulous life while Kyle was stuck on a ship working 24/7? I'm not sure why I stopped blogging, but I've decided to start again! You can look forward to Vlogs as well (video web logs) because I purchased a Flip Camcorder a few months ago. This thing takes awesome videos and I love to shoot footage all over the place!

The past few months have been amazing. I am not even kidding when I write that I just love our life right now. Kyle is home . . . hopefully for the next year or so. He enjoyed a very challenging tour with the 31st MEU. I think he learned a lot and really matured as a young officer. During his time with the MEU Kyle visited Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, and sat in the water off of Korea. I'll let Kyle write about his time with the MEU, but from my perspective it was a great career opportunity for him. We've made some new friends out it and it certainly strengthened our relationship.

I've done a lot of traveling over the past few months as well. In July my sister came to visit again! We had an awesome couple of weeks which culminated in a trip to Ishigaki Island. We stayed at the Club Med Kabira Beach on Ishigaki. It was probably one of the best vacations of my life. There were a total of six girls and we just had a great time living it up. Club Med is an all-inclusive resort, so we were sure to get our money's worth in drinks and food. We also enjoyed a variety of the activities they offered. Danielle became a trapeze expert and I learned how to windsurf.

I traveled to Japan and Korea to fulfill work obligations. I think I have the best job in Okinawa -- I get to teach, travel and manage a dedicated group of people! My supervisor, although very serious and 100% business, is an inspiration. She is a military spouse of 25 years and has managed to carve her own path and experience a successful and rewarding career. She currently directs all overseas program operations and reports to the Executive Vice President at our company. She has sort of become a mentor for me.

Kyle joined me for a long weekend in Korea. We visited the DMZ (demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea). We enjoyed Seoul -- dining at some great international restaurants.
In October I traveled to Vietnam with my dear friend Wendy and a few new friends, Rachel and Ricco. We spent six days seeing as much of Vietnam as possible. The trip was amazing. In my opinion, the best part of the trip was the cruise on Halong Bay. Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Vietnam, about two hours from Hanoi. We met the most amazing couple on this cruise. Peg and Paul are seasoned travelers who have seen 131 countries. Peg is from Churdan, IA and they met in Orange City, IA. Of course Wendy and I felt an instant connection with Peg and Paul, given our Midwestern roots. I felt a connection with Peg and Paul on a different level -- they've been married for 21 years (the second marriage for both of them) but they truly are best friends. Wendy, Rachel and I spent a couple of hours talking with them about the secrets to a happy marriage. It was so refreshing and enlightening to see a couple who were so happy and truly complimented each other in every possible way. The coincidence of meeting Peg and Paul was truly a gift from the universe. They inspired me in so many ways!

The month of November was consumed with plans for Kyle's (final) return home from the 31st MEU. I ordered a Welcome Home banner (www.buildasign.com) and had it express mailed to Okinawa (thanks, Mom!). Kyle was able to come home for two days prior to his final return. So, I got to spend the Marine Corps Birthday (November 10th) and Veterans Day (November 11) with my FAVORITE Marine and Veteran! On November 11, Kyle went back to the ship for a week, which gave me time to decorate the house, select a CD with patriotic music and finalize our welcome home party! I hope Kyle felt really special during his homecoming. I am so proud of his work on the ship, but more importantly, I am so proud of us for getting through the deployment cycle. Kyle and I have been married for 25 months but have only lived together for 10 non-consecutive months. We are much stronger now (both as a couple and individually) than we were a year ago. I am proud of how much our relationship has grown.

We just enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday at Oura Wan Bay. We spent Wednesday - Friday at a cabin on the beach. We swam in the Pacific Ocean and basked in the glow of 75 degree temps! Megan and Chrissy cooked an amazing Thanksgiving dinner and all of the friends who joined us at the cabin helped create a fun-filled holiday.

Chatan Town Seaport Festival

I have a new toy! I purchased the Flip Ultra Mini UD Camcorder a few weeks ago, and I love it! So, I've been taking video everywhere I go. I have loaded a few of the videos here for your enjoyment.

Kyle's Promotion Party

Kyle with the neighbor boys -- Christian, Caden, Skylar, and Connor

Cherice (and baby, Maysen), Jen and Kyle

The happy 1st Lt

Kyle's dog tag cake, as created by our neighbor, Amy

Kyle's promotion party (or Wet Down) was held at Araha Beach on Saturday, June 6th. The party was a ton of fun. Kyle did an awesome job with all of the food and drink. I wasn't able to help out with much of the party, because I was traveling for work, and arrived home just in time to change into my swimsuit and head to the beach. We had a great time celebrating with friends.

Kyle's Promotion

Kyle was promoted to 1stLt on Tuesday, May 26th. The pictures below are from his promotion ceremony.

Working for the Weekend

Kyle just returned from his most recent deployment. He spent about a month in the Philippines, supporting a multi-national, joint force exercise called Baliktan. He was at Clark Air Base near Manila most of the time, but he did have a chance to travel to a few other areas of the PI.

He returned on Tuesday afternoon and then had a full day of work on Wednesday. On Thursday he was granted a "96" which means he gets 96 hours of liberty, or a long weekend for those of us that speak civilian and not military.

We spent Thursday morning kayaking in the East China Sea, Thursday afternoon scuba diving at Diamond Beach and Thursday evening swimming with the dogs at Sunabe Baba Park. It was a fun-filled day.

We were diving with a couple of Kyle's friends, who are very experienced divers. They found this puffer fish and then "scared" him so he would puff up. Then, we all took a minute to pose for the cool underwater photos. These are actually the first pictures I have of us underwater and they are already some of my favorites.

On Friday we had to do a few chores around the house. We returned some government issued furniture to one of the warehouses and we made a run to the PX. We got home just in time to spend a few hours at Araha Beach. Friday night we crashed a going away party for a cool guy named Brian. Brian is headed off the Kansas City, MO to recruit new Marine Corps officers in Missouri and Iowa. We ended up at a fun establishment called Seabees, where we sang karaoke for a couple of hours. Stay tuned for a detailed explanation of singing karaoke in Japan.

Saturday and Sunday were both beach days. On Sunday we took a ferry to one of the outer island with a few friends. We went to Zamami Island in the Kerama Islands. The beach was absolutely gorgeous and the snorkeling was amazing. Kyle grew up and SoCal and spent three years in Hawaii, but he swears Furuzamami Beach is the most beautiful beach he's ever seen. The water was crystal clear and the sea shells were amazing. When the tide went out we walked from one island to another. We are already planning another trip to this pristine tropical island.

The Boys

As you might know, Rex and Hari are very dear to our hearts. Kyle and I seem to be the happiest when we are curled up on the couch (with a nice glass of wine) and the dogs are nearby. It really does feel like our family. After petting both dogs on the head, Kyle will look at me and say "Jen, I love our family." It is a great feeling. You probably know, I've been very connected to Rex since the day I saved him from the pound. He's an emotional dog and really loves people. He senses the energy in the room and always adapts to it. If I am sad, Rex gives me a hug. We've been calling Rex "velcro dog" lately, because he always wants to be near people. Hari has become a much better dog. I'm sure it's a combination of the fact that he's now 1 year old, he's been neutered, and I decided to love him. He must have sensed I had a beef with him before, because he and I just didn't see eye to eye. Well, in early January (after almost giving him away) I decided I loved Hari and he was part of our family. He really is a good dog and has positive traits that Rex doesn't have.

Well, a few weeks ago my friend Kari posted about her dog Boomer and doggie ice cream treats she had picked up at the grocery store. http://kariandbrad.blogspot.com/search/label/Boomer I was so excited to see Purina was making doggie ice cream, but I didn't figure we'd be able to find it at the Commissary in Japan.

Low and behold, last week when I was shopping for slumber party supplies, I spotted the Frosty Paws in the freezer section.

The boys loved the ice cream!

Friday Nights

When Kyle was at TBS I told him Friday nights were the worst. I always missed him so much on Friday nights. I'm not sure why -- maybe because a lot of people are "coupled up" on Friday nights or maybe because he and I spent so many Friday nights at Olde Main playing shuffleboard. Well, don't get me wrong . . . I still miss Kyle when he's not here to spend a nice Friday night with me. But, I have had some great Friday night plans recently.

Last Friday the girls got together to attend Margaritaville. The event was hosted at the Officers' Club and was complete with a Jimmy Buffet cover band. We had so much fun!

Tomorrow night I am hosting a slumber party for my next door neighbors. Christian (5), Connor (4), Caden (2) and their Mom (Amy) will be having a sleepover at the Farrell-Mattox household. We already have plans to sponge paint, plant tomatoes and herbs, watch movies, and make a fort on the living room floor. I'll post pictures soon.

Kristina, Jen, Stacee

Mary and Chrissy

Jen . . . I'm not really sure about this pose

This guy got to know Jose a little too well

Chrissy and Jen

World Clock

Wow, I'm already in love with Blogger . . . check out the World Clock I installed at the bottom of the page. This is will everyone figure out the time difference between wherever you are in the world and Okinawa!

Security Breach

Friends -- the following post will explain my blogging hiatus, and the email you are about to receive in your inbox.

During our weekend in Thailand, I had a chance to meet some of Kyle's colleagues. As we waited on the patio of the Hard Rock Hotel for our Elephant tour to depart, I was introduced to a Lieutenant Belt Buckle. Upon meeting her and shaking her hand, she took one look at me and said, "Oh, so you're the one that's been leaking information to terrorists." I had NO idea what she was talking about. A look of confusion washed over my face. And then, Lieutenant BB realized she had just blindsided me. She then looked at Kyle and said, "Oh, Mattox, you didn't tell her?!?"

Kyle grabbed my hand and told me, "Oh, it's nothing baby. It's just that the Intel and Comm guys discovered your blog. I guess they were doing a keyword search and they found the blog." I couldn't even believe it. I was mortified. I felt horrible. I would never, ever type, post or say something that might put Kyle or any other service member in danger. I thought I had been so careful with what I typed on the blog. I thought I had followed all of the rules of operational security.

I asked Kyle what I should do . . . should we take the blog down? Should I stop blogging? How will our family and friends stay in touch with our life in the Far East if I can't blog? He told me, "Jen, calm down. It wasn't officially a security breach. Just almost. . ."

Given that our blog was "almost a security breach," I am taking new measures to protect our information. I have created a blog on blogspot. You will be required to "log in" to read our blog. Please watch your email inbox for information about becoming a viewer of our new blog.

I hope you'll continue to read! Kyle and I are really having the adventure of a lifetime over here in the Far East. We are both so thankful for the opportunities and experiences we've had over the past 15 months. Please email me at JenLFarrell@hotmail.com if you would like access to the new blog at http://kylejenrexandhari.blogspot.com.