Soccer Season Rolls In

Keanna had her first soccer practice Thursday night. It's called Start Smart and is for younger kids (three and four year-olds were allowed to sign up on base) to learn the basics of the sport. She'll have six practices, no games, and parents (ahem, I mean me) are required to be there each time. We lined up, parents on one side of the cones, kids on another, and kicked the ball back and forth. She learned how to throw the ball in from the sideline, and even dribbled the length of the field. Sydney wanted to play so badly, and the coach took notice. She let Sydney use one of the smaller balls and she participated a little bit. I made sure she stayed to the side and out of the way...I did my best anyway. She got right in there though and dribbled the length of the field behind the kids twice her age. When they were practicing kicking at the goal Sydney stood behind and would kick the balls out of the net. The two of them were playing outside and practicing this afternoon after school. Speaking of school, Keanna did great on her second day today, and my fears of her being scared and not wanting go to have been squashed!

Two Firsts Today

Keanna's first day of school was today (Wednesday for us in Japan), and I turned 29 (for the first time!) today too. Since Bob isn't here, I bought Keanna a book about Elmo's first day of school. I told her he sent it from the ship, and I wrote a little note on the inside cover apologizing for not being there, but thanking her for understanding his job doesn't allow him to be home that often. I signed it his with name and put the date on it too. I emailed him and told him to ask about the book he got her...he obviously had no idea what I was talking about, but the next time he's able to call he knows to ask her if she liked her book.

Keanna did great and was so happy this morning. When we got to the school to drop her off she got shy, but by the time the parents left the room, she had warmed up and looked to be fitting right in. I peaked in the room and saw her and at that moment I realized we were entering a new stage of her life. This was the first time she's been gone. She hasn't been to day care or anything like it before, so this truly was her first day out of the house. Click here to view more pictures in my Shutterfly album.

While Keanna was at preschool I got together with some wives from Bob's command and we walked down one of the main streets outside the base. We went into a grocery store that was also a market with different vendors. We walked into a department store actually, then took the elevator down to the basement. My favorite was the little fish though. From a distance it looked like two large piles of noodles. As we got closer I realized what it was, and when offered a sample Sydney and I took a bite. They were good! One of the wives is from this area and translated for us and explained a lot of things. She said these fish (I forget the name) are high in calcium and are used in rice and omelets mostly. The guy behind the counter was so sweet, and when he gave me my change, he asked me to hand the bag back to him because he was going to give me another bag with extra in it. The Japanese wife translated and said, "He wants to give you extra since you're his type!" We all got a good laugh out of it, and I even blew him a kiss. We moved on to another isle, and I elbowed Brenda and said, "Hey, come with me to take a picture of us." I asked the fish guy if I could get in a picture with him, he agreed, and when Brenda was ready to snap I gave him a kiss on the cheek. He got a kick out of it, and the Japanese wife said, "Oh honey, you just made his day!!!"

When I picked her up she didn't look happy at all and I got nervous. The school didn't call, so I knew she was doing fine during the morning and early afternoon. Turns out she didn't want to leave, that's why she looked so upset! But we went on the swings and that cheered her right up. After about 20 minutes we headed home and baked my birthday cake. On the drive home she told Sydney and I about her day, and how nice her teacher is. I was hugely relieved, especially when she asked about going back tomorrow. Anyway, back to the cake....All I had for box mixes was red velvet, so that's what we made. I was too tired and drained to make a cake from scratch! The girls had fun stirring and eating...as you can see from their dirty faces.

Julie invited us over for dinner, but I told her I was trying to keep the focus on Keanna since this was her day. That, and I was so tired I just wanted to stay home! She was fine with it, and we'll figure something out for next week. After the cake cooled, and when we were done with dinner, We all frosted the cake and decorated it too. Keanna went through most of the blue tube, and she was making a dolphin she said. Sydney insisted she had written her name. I took a video of them singing to me...too cute! Obviously I'm biased, but hey, how could a four year-old and two year-old singing to their mom not be cute?!

To see the rest of the pictures from today, click here, and below is a video of the girls singing. After I set the camera down and keep an eye on their tongues. I didn't see Keanna doing it at the time, just Sydney...

Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo

I'm sitting here watching "CSI" on AXN, a local channel we get. They show mostly American television shows but with Japanese subtitles. The commercials are in Japanese, and as I type there's one for "LOST" on. I'm not sure exactly how the announcer is saying it, but it sounds like "Losto."

Anyway, we had a very fun day on Friday, and it began early for us. I say, "for us" because we're not morning people...and it's worse when Bob is here. Julie had been wanting to go to a store up in Tokyo in search of bento goodies. The particular store she wanted to go to is near the famous Shibuya Crossing. Shibuya can be compared to Times Square in Manhattan. I've told her countless times (at least!) that I want to walk through there with my video camera and wanted to see Hachiko Statue on one of the corners. It was a meeting point in season nine of "Amazing Race," and that one particular place has always stuck out in my mind. On Thursday we had talked and I knew she was heading up there, but around 8 am on Friday she called and said, "Hey, this store is right near that intersection, so if you want to go we have to catch the 9:40 train." So off we went!

My birthday is coming up and since Bob won't be here for the third year in a row, I bought myself a little camera. I have my Canon Digital Rebel XT and adore it, but since it's an SLR it doesn't take video. We're doing a couple of ITT trips this month and I want to be able to take some video. So I bought an Olympus FE-340 last week and since it's about the size of my cell phone I can keep it in my wristlet...perfect! We had a great time, the kids did too, and we did a pretty good amount of walking. Normally for trips like this I'd bring the umbrella stroller for Sydney, but want to get her used to walking...and me bringing along less stuff, so she had to be on foot like the rest of us.

Walking on the sidewalks through the busier areas people hand out fliers or little packages of tissues (I always make sure to get one because they're great for the car, backpack or purse) as advertisements. The tissues are just like the travel Kleenex we have in the U.S., but these have a print ad in the packing. When we took the mandatory four day class when arriving, one of the speakers said to get them when you can because not all the bathrooms have towels. one of the best words of advice! So anyway, getting back to it, I've seen the tissues and fliers, but never ice cream cones. That's right, they were handing out ice cream cones for free! So here are some pictures from Shibuya Crossing and I'll try to throw in a video too. FYI, the video will have sound, so adjust your speakers accordingly.

Shopping, Funny Shirts, Doctor Car and Wahaha!

A little bit to catch up on! Earlier this week we went back to Jusco with Julie and Noah. It's a department store and small shopping mall. I got some Engrish shirts, this time in adult size! The girls also got a toy that they love and keeps them entertained without arguments! The packaging and instructions were all in Japanese, so thankfully it has three buttons and takes three AA batteries. It plays a song and has no volume adjustment, but I'll live. We ate lunch out too...at a little food court in the middle of the store. Sydney was being extra clingy, whiny and annoying, and she was really starting to get to me!


The ground floor of Jusco is a grocery store. There we found some goodies...and one thing I've never seen or heard of before. That chocolate, you read it right, that's salt chunks inside the chocolate. Nope, haven't tried it and don't plan on it either. Then basil and tomato Pringles, and the toy for the girls has a ferris wheel and train that are both motorized.


Julie was up in Tokyo during the week and brought back Tea Kit Kats and Oreo bars with macadamia nuts inside! I'm not exactly sure what kind it is and Julie wasn't sure either. I think the packaging looks like the tea that is served in Chinese restaurants. More to add to my Kit Kat collection, and I've already updated my Kit Kat list. Thanks Julie!




On Thursday Keanna's preschool on the main base had an orientation. Julie and I rode together since our kids are in the same class and we both had errands to run on base afterward. On the way home I heard the sirens coming from behind, looked in the mirror and sure enough, ambulance. I pulled over, they passed, and this was our view. Julie snapped the photo with her camera, but this is a perfect example as to why I always have a camera on me, always!

Today Julie, Myra and I went to Costco...oh yeah, and we took our kids too! Julie snapped a picture of us walking in. The kids loved the motorized walkway. We were surprised when we saw it the first time back in May, and it's still just as much fun. The shopping cart doesn't move on it...our guess was magnets. The kids got a kick out of it though! We have free samples here just like in the United States, only here we have raw tuna, octopus and wine! I didn't get a picture of the wine though, but promise to next time I see it. While walking around something caught my eye. As soon as I saw it I reached into my pocket for my cell phone. I had to call Susan. Had to call her and tell her what I found. But that wasn't exactly possible with a Japanese cell phone. I have been on the hunt for this ever since we arrived in March, and Susan was kind enough to get me the UPC so I could request it at the commissary. And what was it that had me so excited? Just as excited as when I saw the Carvel cake in the frozen section of the commissary? It was Langer's Mango Nector. We absolutely adore this stuff, and finding it today (and buying three bottles) made my week!

Keanna Loves the Wii Fit

And she especially likes the table tilt game. I took a video of her today, and it's just over 8 minutes long. The first half she plays with Sydney cheering her on saying, "Go Keanna Beth go!" She does okay, even tells Sydney she's doing her best; then she decides to play again. During her second attempt she explains to Sydney how my name is Katie and dad's name is Bob. They call him dad, but I call him Bob. It's cute. If you watch it, at least watch the second half of it to listen to them talk and to see Keanna score her second highest ever...she was so proud of herself...that comes up around the 6 min 30 seconds mark. Shortly after she expresses her excitement, then explains her Engrish shirt, "Love. Happy soul of love myself." For those of you reading this in your email, you'll need to go to the blog website. Click the link at the bottom of this email that says "You are subscribed to email updates from Pass the Chopsticks - U.S. Navy Family in Japan."

Monday, Monday

My dad is 58 today. I don't think he'll care that I post his age, but when my mom's birthday comes in December I know better not to publicize hers! And happy birthday to Uncle Rodney too! Hope you don't mind me posting your age either. And in case you haven't figured it out, they're twins. In the first picture dad's showing the girls how he makes ice cream at Mortensens' Restaurant in Newington, CT. I've helped countless times from toddler to adulthood, and it never gets old! The second is with my mom when they came to visit us in Hawaii, and the last is him coming down the hatch of Bob's last submarine...and that's Bob in the background.

Yesterday was a rainy day, so since our plans of heading up to Tokyo with Julie and Noah were scrapped, we stayed home and baked brownies. Keanna woke up yesterday and today insisting we all wear our "cooker hats" as she calls them. On Saturday she and Sydney took plastic bags and put it around their feet...I thought they were going to attempt plastic bag sack races! Keanna brought the handles up to her knees and twisted and tied hers, put it on her head and said, "Look mom, I'm a cooker!" Then suddenly there was one for Sydney, one for me and one for Bob. But since Bob isn't here, the girls insisted it sit on his chair at the kitchen table awaiting his return. So after we all had our hats on, they wanted a picture taken so we could send it to him on the ship. That's right fellow submarine wives, I can email him photos underway! Anyway, I took a picture with my laptop so the quality is poor, but it captures the moment. Mine and Sydney's hats are NEX bags and Keanna's is from WalMart. No, there isn't a Walmart here, but there are still some in my bag holder thing. I wish the other side was showing because it says "Aloha" on it and has the Hawaiian Islands on it as well. She instructed the bow go in the front, and believe it or not, they are custom fit. Well, Sydney was fussing with hers so it loosened.

After lunch we made the brownies, and since Bob's not here I let them have some of the batter. Normally we all have a bite each and Bob tries to scrape out the bowl, but we totally took advantage of him not being here and kept it for ourselves. I actually had two bites and let them go to town. Anyways, the two of them really did go to town before I poured it in the pan! By the time the oven had preheated I realized we had eaten so much that the 13"x9" would be too big. I opened up the cabinet expecting to find my Longaberger 8"x8" but nope, the pie plate was right there in front and that's what I went with. Keanna was so excited to have a brownie pie, so when it cooled enough to cut, I cut them in pie slices. Needless to say, that went over quite well! As you can Sydney still has batter on her face. She insisted she could lick it off, but yeah, obviously that didn't happen! The brownies came out great, and as Keanna pointed out, they're just like Bob likes them, nice and mushy in the middle!

Patriotism

It's a little after 10 p.m. on Sunday night and I'm sitting here on the couch watching the closing ceremonies (live) to the Olympics; it's on one of the seven or eight Japanese channels we get with Americable. It's great to see it before everyone in the United States. This bus just drove around that looks like a double-decker from London, and people came out of the top of it. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but it's pretty impressive. I recognize faces, but can't understand the commentators one bit! I know it's going to air on NBC in the United States Monday night (EST), so my guess is one of the Armed Forces Network (AFN) channels will get the NBC signal and we'll get to watch it tomorrow morning. At least then I'll be able to follow it better, although it'll be shortened and edited.

Speaking of the Olympic Games, I've been trying to use it as a lesson for the girls. Not so much the sporting aspect of it, but the patriotic part. I think every child should have a sense of where they're from, and with that should come patriotism. Anytime we watched an American on the gold medal podium, the three of us stood up and put our hands on our hearts when our National Anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," came on. I'm trying to teach and explain to them what makes our country so special. And not only what makes it special, but more importantly, I want to instill in them the respect they need to show to our flag. They know that we put our hands on our heart, and when Bob is in uniform he'll salute the flag. We see it everywhere, even here in Japan on the bases and mililtary housing installations. I'm not sure if Keanna will learn the Pledge of Alligiance when she starts school next week, but I certainly hope so.

I showed them a map of the world along with the different colors and countries. Keanna was excited that we live in a green country because that's her favorite color! Anyway, I told them that each country has their own flag, and since we live in Japan we see the Japanese flag, but we see the American flag too because of Bob's job. Since we're from the United States the American flag is special to us, and because of that we treat it with respect. I didn't get into the fact that there are 50 stars that stand for our 50 states. The 13 stripes stand for the original 13 British colonies, and that in 1776 we gained our independence from England by the signing of the Declaration of Independence; they wanted to govern themselves rather than be ruled by a king. Both of them looked to see what I did when putting my hand on my heart, and I told them to look at me or the people on TV doing it. After the song ended the Olympians would wave to the crowd, and naturally the girls did that too. After all, they did listen to me, I told them to do what they see! By the time Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal, the girls stopped what they were doing, stood up and put their hands on their heart.

Their father is an officer in the United States Navy. As I said before, we see the American flag every day-at the entry to the bases, outside of people's homes here, and at our house as well. Of course we appreciate our country, rights and freedoms, but being a military family, we have a deeper appreciation and sense of sacrifice than others. This picture is from November 2007 when Bob's sub returned from their deployment. You can see the American flag waving, and the red, white and blue lei that adorns the sub for homecoming. The wives and families were on a small boat and we rode along side the sub as it came up the channel into Pearl Harbor. Bob's on the far left looking through the binoculars.

This website provides guidelines for displaying the American Flag.

An Afternoon Out in 逗子市 (Zushi)

I want begin by saying I absolutely love living in Japan, and after our day yesterday it's really sunk in how sweet the people are here. We weren't thrilled about being told we were leaving Hawaii about a year ahead of schedule, but I'm telling you, I just adore the people, the culture and the food. It's a shame Bob has missed on out everything, but the kids and I are making the most of it even without him here.
Things have been quiet this past week. The weather has cooled off and has finally gotten under 95 degrees. Since it was in the high 70s I told the girls on Thursday that tomorrow we could take a ride on the train and walk around the center of town. They were so excited to take a train ride, so no matter what we did it didn't matter to them! I had talked to Myra a little bit before then and told her we were bored, the rain looked like it was going to hold out, and I had decided to go for a walk around Zushi Ginza. She was happy to tag along, so off we went. I took some pictures too, and to see them click here and you'll be brought to my Shutterfly album. I have descriptions under just about all of them too, so you'll have an idea of what you're looking at!
We had been to this area before on the walking tour of Zushi we took back in June, so we had a pretty good idea of where to go and how to get there too. We walked around, shopped and ate dinner out too. I hadn't planned on being gone for nearly six hours, but we were really enjoying ourselves and decided to eat at the little Hawaiian restaurant we had heard so much about.
First we went to a 7-11 and got some Kit Kats Myra hadn't gotten yet, after that we went to the grocery store then to a 100 yen store (just like a $1 store in the U.S.), and after that we stopped at a farmer's market. Then we found a little clothing store that had an awesome sale going on. I bought a few t-shirts for the girls...and only because they were Engrish. Myra and I were laughing hysterically at some of them, and of course I took pictures.

While we were looking at the racks just outside the store, a woman walked out and started patting Keanna on the head and trying to make her laugh and make faces. She was showing her the charms on her cell phone. There were at least five or six of them, and I can't imagine how heavy and uncomfortable they must make the phone! Suddenly she started taking one off and gave it to Keanna! We were shocked and taken aback by how sweet and thoughtful it was. Keanna was thrilled to say the least, and poor Sydney was sitting in the stroller facing the other direction eating her haichu candy. After she saw how appreciative we were and how happy Keanna was, she took another one off and gave it to Katelyn. Completely unnecessary, but so nice. We bowed and thanked her, Keanna gave her a hug, then she was off on her little scooter.
We went to eat at the little Hawaiian place around the corner from where we were, and thankfully there was English in the menu. They didn't have the wax food on the outside and they didn't have pictures in the menu either. Anyway, they serving dinner yet, but we were able to have a choice of a few things off the menu. The girls were so excited to have watermelon, a cherry and flower in their apple juice, and as tempting as it was to get a nice domestic Japanese beer, I opted for a Coke. Myra went with the safe bet of basil and tomato pizza, and I went out on a limb with devilfish and avocado pizza. I figured it would have raw fish on it and slices of avocado. Nope, turns out devilfish is octopus! I think the reaction on my face was priceless and terrifying, because I had to pick my jaw up off the floor! I gave it a try though, and boy was it delicious! It also completes my task for something round for Shari's weekly photo challenge. Almost forgot! See the little pin I'm wearing? It's actually a submarine. I've bought them over the years at the Dolphin Store on the various sub bases Bob's been stationed at, but I wanted some more. Since we're not on a submarine base, there's no Dolphin Store here. Some friends offered to get them for me, but I decided to ordered them online...and they arrived Friday! I couldn't help but put one on in the parking lot of the post office. They're so cute, and FYI, she ships USPS...only took a few days to get here from Hawaii!
As we were leaving the two girls working were so helpful. One got the stroller set up for me and the other picked Sydney up and put her in there. As we were walking across the street they stood outside waving goodbye and even bowed! And as we were leaving, the guys working behind the counter bowed and said "Arigato" to us a few times. While we were waiting to cross the street Keanna yelled, "See ya" to them and Sydney immediately followed. The girls yelled back, "Sayonara," and Keanna, Sydney and Katelyn all did the same.
As for our finds yesterday....we had lots! Myra introduced us to haichu candy, and now Keanna and Sydney can't get enough of it. We've had grape, apple, strawberry and kiwi, but yesterday we found mango and lychee! As for Pringles, French Consommé and Smoky Salami have been added to the collection. A few days ago Julie got me milk flavored Kit Kats, and yesterday I found brown sugar Kit Kats. I've updated my list too.