Nakagusku Park

We needed something fun to do on Tuesday.  The girls agreed that they wanted to go to a park.  There are TONS of parks.  So I looked for the closest one.  Nakagusku Park seemed to fit the bill.  It was about 3km away from us and looked pretty easy to find.  It also was purported to have three different playground areas, to include fun jumping areas.

So off we went.  I have a lame GPS and I really need to figure out how to set it to NOT take the most direct route.  My van is not really of a size to be driving up and down tiny back alley mountain roads!  And when I make a wrong turn, it just replots to the destination without taking into account that it would be much easier to turn around than to drive an extra 5 miles up and around a mountain.  I guess getting there was half the fun?!  I did just input "Nakagusku Park" into the GPS and it did know where to go.   It did have bathrooms and it had lots of vending machines, so of course we had to get ice creams!

The girls had fun.  The place was teaming with small children and I think a Japanese school (or two) had a field trip there.  It was also really sunny and hot, so that sucked away some of the fun. But overall we had a good time and it was a good day.

Not the roads I was expecting on the way to a large and well known park!

Funnily enough, these are not the roads most people use to get there.  My GPS must be set to "Adventure" mode.

This was the top park.  You can't tell from here, but the top of that is not a shade.  Well, it is, but it is also a plastic bouncy material and you can jump on it like a bounce house. And underneath it is a rope net network to scramble around.  The girls enjoyed this the most.

Behold, the bouncy top.

Delaney bounced to the peak and had to take a break. It was pretty warm.

Rylee bounced to her heart's content.  she was like the energizer bunny, bounce-bounce-bounce.

She leaped for me to get a photo though. 

Marian tumbling through the nets.

Once they got a good perch, they needed to rest a minute.  Apparently it is hard work.

And it was hot.  Delaney joined them for a bit.  Then they crawled and tumbled away.

This was the middle park (No photos of the bottom one, because it was for little kids and we didn't go there).  Lots t climb on and there was a short roller slide.

Rylee posed for me.

This was a kind of obstacle course.  There were different things to climb over or under or to do. I think Callie cheated by just walking on the rope.

Marian did try to Over-Under, but then just walked on top too.

Hiking with the Youth

The Youth had a hike planned for Saturday and needed some drivers to carpool them over. I volunteered because I thought it would be fun.  I was a little less enthusiastic when the kids said it was only 1.5 miles.  Not of the boys said he thought it was going to be a lame concrete path kind of hike.  That sounded quite dull to me.  But I had committed.

And I am so glad I did commit to go!  It was awesome!  It was a fabulous hike up and down a ravine. There was some path, some hiking up a creek (and trying to keep your feet dry!), some steep muddy path and trails requiring a rope to help haul yourself along. So much fun!  And it ended up being about 2 miles and it took close to 2 hours (including a snack break).

2 minutes into the hike on wide trail and we found this!  What the heck?!  A little castle?  Yes, please.  We had to climb and check it out. That is Josh up there, wearing my sweet hat.

This was the view from where the castle was.  Pretty spectacular and the picture does it no justice.

Another Castle picture where you can see Josh and his hat a little better. 

The steep down trail with the support ropes.  That's Marian and Josh is in front of her.

Over logs and more downhill.  I had a marvelous time.  Marian and Josh had fun too.

This portion was steep and slippery enough that we went down one at a time so one fall wouldn't drop everyone.  

Negotiating the slippery rocks in the water as we hiked up the stream.  No path on the side, it was right up the creek!

Pretty waterfall.  The hike really was gorgeous.  I felt very jungle explorer!

Me!  In the jungle!  By the little waterfall!  And I am having a wonderful time, and wondering why I never do this on my own.

See, it was a very pretty path to hike.  

My brave and conquering heros!  

We took a short break here and this rope was the source of much fun.

That's my Marian!

Callie also climbed across the rope.

Then she had to climb up the vertical rope. 

Which she successfully managed.

What goes down must go up.  So there was a bit of uphill that left my legs and calves crying.  But t was a god time and I am really glad I went.

For future reference, we hiked at Ishikawadake.  If I type that into my gps, it brings up the parking lot at the foot of the trail. It was less than 30 minutes from Kadena Gate 3.

Marian's Birthday

 Marian's birthday kind of snuck up on me.  I did have all her loot, and the last gift arrived in the mail the day of her birthday, so I had pre-planned enough there.  But the day before her birthday I had gone to the commissary and gotten groceries. I felt like I was covered for any request she had.  I asked what she wanted for dinner and for cake and she said she wanted Chicken Enchiladas and an Ice Cream Cake.  Oops.  I was not prepared for that!  So I headed back to the commissary to get the required ingredients.

The Our Best Bites "Mint Chip Ice Cream Brownie Squares".  Brownie for the bottom, then ice cream, with an oreo and chocolate ganache layer, topped with whip cream.  Delicious!

My happy birthday girl!  Okay, not the best photo.  She was enjoying her cake and she has a good size loot pile next to her and on the bench there.  

The kids all asked for giant pieces of cake.  And since the darn thing takes up so much room in the freezer, I obliged.  

The cake was fabulous, but most of the kids ran out of tummy space before finishing.  Heh heh heh.

Now we are ready for presents!! Marian was the last to finish and made everyone wait on her as she ate every last bite of her cake. 

Josh may be too cool, but he wasn't too cool to hang out with us and enjoy the birthday festivities.

Enjoying the presents and feeling pretty special. Super cute and soft shirts from Grandma and Grandpa.

Slightly confused and fully delighted about the Miraculous Ladybug action figure she just opened. 

But trying to pretend she's too grown up for such things. (She totally isn't!) 

 Callie is already plotting and planning how to most enjoy her sisters stuff.

Levi's Haircut

 The weather has been warming up.  Once it starts hitting the 70's, it is time for Levi to get a haircut.  Callie had been begging to get to shave him and we agreed that she could, once he had a grooming appointment to finish him up.  She was ecstatic and could not wait.

He is magnificent and shaggy and glorious in all his lovely fur. 

Is't he handsome? Such a good dog, and a sweet dog. 

Ah, now you can see his marvelous hairy hide.  It is quite long and thick.  And it is EVERYWHERE!  This dog sheds like crazy and his hair is all over the house.

 Yep, One house vacuuming fills the entire canister of the bagless vacuum.  And it is 90% Levi hair in there.  We love him shaved just to get rid of the hairballs that wander around the house, even after we just swept or vacuumed it. But I do miss his gorgeous long hair when it is gone.

He was not thrilled about getting shaved.  He is a good boy though and merely protested by sitting down so his long haired bottom was inaccessible. 

It did take her a while to cut through that incredibly thick undercoat.  Levi was very patient. 

Mostly.  He was a good sport.  It took a good two hours to get him mostly trimmed in a mostly even manner.   

Callie would have kept working, but a rain storm blew in and we had to call it good enough.

This was after Callie was forced to quit.  She did a pretty good job!  I do like this length, but he needs it shorter for summer.  Next time Callie will do even better.

One nekkid dog after the groomer finished with him!  He's so bare!! 

It always cracks me up after he's been shaved- he looks like a totally different dog! 

And now instead of looking like a dog-rug, he just looks awkward when he lies like this.  

But he is still my handsome little dog and he is still a great dog.  And we do love having smaller hairballs to clean up.

My favorite kid today!

I got an email from Marian's ELA teacher today and it made me happy.  So I had to share:



I wanted to share one of Marian's journal responses with you.  We are
reading Romeo & Juliet right now, in which they go against their parents'
wishes and get married.  The journal prompt was, "Describe a time you
disobeyed your parents.  How'd that work out for you?"

This is Marian's response:
"I cannot think of a time that I have disobeyed my parents.  I cannot think
of a time where it worked out.  I have nothing to say in this journal entry
today.  My parents are fair and they don't really have very strict rules.
My parents are the best parents ever."

I just thought you'd like to see that.  She's not quite so sure about her
sister, but you guys rock!  :)

ありがと ございます
Thank you!