Worth every Yenny.

Just a quick post! I went on the OSC monthly outing this morning. It's just like starting school in the fall, all kinds of new faces who have PCS'd (moved) to Sasebo over the summer. Always refreshing to meet new friends in the military!

So today we went pear picking. I've been apple picking. Cherry picking. Orange picking. Lemon picking. And when Declan is around, nose picking. Haha. But never pear picking. A beautiful grove of asian pears (they look like apples!) with a stock of goats to keep the grass down, it was a lovely little place. 

These gems weren't very cheap. 500 Yen per kilo. So about $13 for six pears. Fortunately they're big, juicy and absolutely perfect so what the hay!

Speaking of hay. We visited with the lawn mowers. I think they really just wanted to snack on our pears but they at least gave us a friendly sniff.

Our host must have been impressed with our purchasing skills so he led us to the grapevines across the road and invited us to indulge in his grapes. Grapes are an incredibly generous gift here and well, so is their price tag. 

These babies run anywhere from 2,000 Yen ($18) to 5,000 Yen ($45)! Our host mentioned he sells them to vendors up in Fukuoka (the big city) for 5,000-6,000 Yen a bunch. Now I can see why they're bagged and shaded. And treated like royalty. 

Once you take a bite you'll know why. Imagine a sip of wine in every bite. These pups are huge too. Each seedless grape is the size of a small plum. 

Amanda bit the bullet and bought a bunch.

So did Heather.

Holly bought two!!

A few bunches were left unbagged for snackers like me. I might have had one. Or two. Or six...

I felt bad so I a bought a 2,400 Yen bunch.

It was totally worth every yenny.

So after we filled our bellies with pears and grapes we moved onto lunch. We enjoyed a traditional Japanese bento box meal sitting Indian style on tatami mats. 

What I love about bento boxes is you're never disappointed. Even if you don't like everything in it, it's so beautifully and wonderfully displayed you spend half your meal wondering how long it took the sous chef to carve 36 kobocha squash leaves....

Or how the heck you can fathom eating someone who is looking at you.

Holly couldn't let these guys fall victim to our culinary fears and happily ate them for us. 

After lunch we did some browsing around the local market and wow'd our hosts once again. We found these awesome brooms for Halloween. Halloween isn't widely celebrated here so you can probably imagine what is going on in the local's minds as four gaijiin (white) women proudly purchase 400 Yen ($3) brooms. I thought one guy was going to lose his cool. 

Maybe there was wine in those grapes....

Matane,

Caitlyn

Home sweet Japan.

And just like that he's home! We're (sort of) getting used to these frequent three month deployments. Basically three months away, a few weeks home followed by three months away. Rinse and repeat. It's no cake walk living in a foreign country while living this Navy life but we're doing it!! And when I have my doubts I just look at our homecoming pictures to remind myself, gosh it's worth it.

Heading out to greet daddy. Elin wanted to make sure he'd find her.

There they are!

We got to head up to the flight tower to greet Colin. Elin's reaction was adorable.

Declan is still unsure about this male stranger who shows up every few months....

Perhaps my favorite photos. We went up to the flight deck to watch a promotion ceremony for some of our friends. Before hand, Elin and Colin had some fun. 

Oh and this reminded me of his first deployment here in Japan. Elin was beside herself to see her daddy for the first time in three months. This is still one of my favorite photos!

Matane,

Caitlyn

Spending the 4th of July abroad...again!

This year marks the 6th year I've spent the 4th of July overseas. Apparently even here in Japan we celebrate the 4th of July! In our case it was a three day celebration. On Friday my friend Judy and I ran a 5K on base with the babies. We were both met with a bit of a surprise at the end. We came in first and second in our age (no, we're not mentioning which one) category...apparently I was only 2 SECONDS behind the female winner. I won't grace you with my time but given I ran 12 miles the day before and was pushing a stroller, I'm guessing the field wasn't too plentiful. Buuuut, I won a $50 gift card to the Exchange...which will probably be spent on diapers and wipes. Yaaay.

Judy smoked it!

Saturday was a pouring mess so we decided to bail on the base pool party. Keeping tabs on a 3 year old and an 8 month old in the pool just seemed like too much for this mama still sporting a baby pooch with racing stripes (ahem, stretch marks). We did however enjoy a good afternoon of puddle jumping. When cabin fever strikes, give your kids some rain boots and just let em go! 

Sunday brought some unseasonably gorgeous weather. Cool and breezy. After church we joined the rest of the local American and Japanese community at Nimitz Park for a good ole American 4th of July party. We had some great country bands, carnival games, bounce houses and of course hamburgers and hot dogs. 

We might have waited in a 30 minute line TWICE  to jump in the bounce house. That is just how desperate I am to wear this child out. 

You might as well practice your jumps while you wait in line. 

And here is where I decided I give up on the prospect of all three of us looking at the camera. Apparently it is just too much to ask.

Add caption

Oooh! Buttons! 

A large portion of the Japanese community showed up for the event. I hear most stood in long lines at the base food court for some authentic American Taco Bell, Popeyes and Anthony's Pizza. They also wore kimonos with American flags tucked into the obi.

The best part of the day? My kids tucked into bed at 7:30 so I could watch a superb firework show off my balcony. Happy 4th of July America!!

Matane,

Caitlyn