Houses and Cars

Monday was my birthday. We were going to go to the beach, but we didn't have a car and they are not within walking distance. Plus, Curtis had to work so we just walked to Chili's for dinner and then got a delicious apple pie for dessert.

Earlier this week we went out to our first authentic Japanese restaurant. The first thing you notice is they don't have air conditioner inside. Maybe that is so you don't eat as much because you get too hot.  Then you take your shoes off at the beginning of the long table where you then kind of sit on the floor. The food was not too bad. We ordered beef and broccoli, fried rice and some kind of chicken. The kids had fried potatoes, aka french fries. Brooke wouldn't even taste anything else. I tried sushi for the very first time. It wasn't awful, once I got past the wall I have of "I don't eat things from the sea".  Still, I don't plan on ordering it the next time we go out.

Remember I told you about the vending machines? Here is one on the street corner at the end of a subdivision. They really are everywhere!

We have now been here for a week and the kids finally slept in till 7:30 this morning. I am hoping it is their new thing, but I highly doubt it. They rarely slept in that late in the states. There is a play room in the hotel that we go to often. It is nice since we don't have any toys.

Here I am trying to carry our groceries up the stairs. I may have bought a few too many in one trip. Good thing we only live on the second floor.

So we just bought 2 cars. I ended up getting a Mazda MPV ( a red mini van) and Curtis got a Mazda Demio. It's black and looks kinda like a Honda Fit. We got a pretty good deal on both of them and hope they will last us the next three years.

We are getting used to the weather. Every time we walk outside Brooke immediately asks for a drink of water. Even if we don't have any, she continues to whine for some like she is completely dehydrated. It sure is nice that we have cars now so we don't have to walk everywhere.

Houses- the way it works here is you give them your information (rank and how many in your family) and they put it into the computer. Then it gives you 2 options for houses. You pretty much have to accept one of the options or they put you back on the waiting list for 90 days. We had been praying that we would get a house, or at least something nice. Today they called and said our 2 options were a single house and a multiplex ( 4 townhouses next to each other). We went to look at the multiplex first and thought it was pretty decent, but our hearts were set on a single house...until we got there. It was nearly as nice and not in as nice of an area, so we went with the multiplex.

So here is our house. It has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. It has a separate dining room and nice sized living room/play room. The bedrooms are pretty small, but at least the master will fit our king sized bed (which it wouldn't have in the other house). It is right next to a huge park and a basketball court. We went by at night and people were hanging out at the park. I had this wonderful feeling come over me that this was going to be a great place.

First Impressions

We have now been here for 3 days and I thought I would write a little about our first impressions.

-Here on base EVERY SINGLE BUILDING looks exactly the same. They are all made out of cement and painted an off white, yellowish color. It is hard to find things only a few of them a have a sign in front that is visible from more than 10 feet away.

- Directions: Speaking of hard to find, we have noticed that there are no addresses really, people just give directions such as "go down the 58 and turn right after the statue of the funny looking man in the weird outfit" or "turn after you see the red vending machine". I am super nervous to drive off base, not only because of the whole driving on the left side, but because I won't know how to find anything.  We were looking at cars and I saw that one had a GPS and got excited. Then the guy tells me they are all in Japanese so they won't really do you any good. Perfect!

- Toilets: We went to church today and it is such a beautiful building. It was built only about 3 months ago so everything is brand new. We went into the restroom and noticed the toilets were plugged into the wall. Then, in one of the stalls they have a super high tech bidet (Matt, you would be in heaven!). They have a little screen thing on the wall and you can pick what temp you want the water, what direction you want it to spray in, whether you want a wide spray or narrow spray... seriously intense. I didn't try it yet, but plan on it in the near future.

- The two handed hand over: If a Japanese person hands you something that is meaningful, they give it to you with 2 hands. Anything from your change at the cash register to my sandwich that they made wrong the first time at the food court. I am sure it is slightly offensive to them when I only take it with one hand, but I am trying to remember. The other day the cleaning ladies came by and asked if we wanted any services. I said no, but asked if she would take this. I then handed her a poopy diaper wrapped in a baby wipe. She took it with two hands and then realized what I was handing her and probably had second thoughts about adding that second hand. I felt kinda bad afterward, but she just said "ok"with a very strange look and I walked away.

- Church: The ward we went to today was super nice. The people were so friendly and welcoming and happy to have another family around. It probably won't be the actual ward we are in which is unfortunate. There are 3 military branches on the island they make up a military district so everything is in English. The Elders Quorum President went up to Curtis and asked if he was going to be in the ward for sure because he wanted Curtis to teach the lesson next Sunday. I told him it is because he has such a wonderful spirit about him. He was happy to say we didn't know where we would be so...sorry.

- Driving: I have to admit I am super terrified to get behind the wheel and drive on the other side. I feel like I am 16 again and the whole driving thing is just a bit scary. There have been multiple times I see a car driving down the road and I look in and for a split second I think "Ah, no one is driving that car!" We get our drivers license tomorrow, but first have to pass a test. Hopefully it's easy because I haven't taken a test in a long time.

- A few things I am really going to miss: WinCo. It really was my favorite store because of all the little bins with a plethora of snacks. Calling family at any time- this 15 hour time difference is a killer. Hey, if that is all I can think of right now, we must be doing really well!

My goal is to do something new at least once a week. I am telling all of you so you will hold me to it.

We will add more pictures soon.

The Journey

We left South Jordan at 6:15 am on Wednesday morning. When we got to the airport we realized the plane was delayed so we hung around for about 2.5 hours before it was time to go. By the time we got on the plane, we were all ready for a nap. Spencer fell asleep before the plane even left the gate. The idea of bringing the car seats was genius! It made it so the kids could fall asleep pretty comfortably at any time. Two hours later we were in San Fran, but the delay left us no time to go hangout at the USO L. We went from one gate to the next with a quick stop for (a very expensive) lunch. Two sandwiches, some chips, and a drink and it cost us $30.  Absolutely ridiculous!

            The flight from San Fran to Tokyo was on a massive plane so they start boarding an hour early. Since we had 2 kids, 2 car seats and we are military, we got on first. Unfortunately there was a mechanical problem and we sat on the plane for 3 hours before we even took off. Poor Brooke after about 2 hours asked if we were almost to Japan. Thank goodness we had a large bag of entertainment and snacks. The flight actually went pretty well. I think the kids slept for probably half the time (since we didn’t land until about 2am Utah time). I was amazed at how few tantrums there were and I know for a doubt it was because of all the prayers that were said for us, so thank you.

            12.5  hours after boarding the plane in San Fran we touched down in Tokyo. Because of the delay we missed our connecting flight and had to run to get the second (and probably last) flight out to Okinawa. What fun it was to go through the airport with the kids that are only half awake, 9 carry-ons and 6 checked bags. We had one casualty and left the car seat covers on the plane to Tokyo. I don’t think they will ever show up, despite their kindness in trying to tell us “they would call us when they are found.” Man am I glad that we are living on a base where people speak English!

            I am sure a lot of you know about going through customs and it actually ran quite smoothly, except for the fact that you have to get on a bus with all your luggage to go to a different terminal. I had no idea you could drive 10 minutes and still be “at the airport”.

            There was a slight problem with our tickets when we tried to check in, but we were not sure what it was. They kept talking in Japanese and then looking concerned while making multiple phone calls. We waited at the gate for about 20 minutes and finally they figured it out. We had to run to catch the plane and thank goodness they were holding it for us. The Japanese workers were so kind. They would carry a few of our bags and run with us to another worker and then tag team them to run with us. It was kind of funny. Then when you think you are getting to the gate you have to get on another bus which takes you way out on the tarmac. When we got on the plane the flight attendants were super friendly and brought out some little souveniers for the kids as well as a cup of juice. Then they brought us out a cup of juice as well.  We don’t know if they did this to everyone else or if they just felt sorry for us.

            Three hours later we arrived in Okinawa and our sponsors were there to pick us up. By the time we arrived at our hotel it was about 11:30 our time and guess who was NOT ready for bed. Yep, Brooke and Spencer were ready for play time. Since Curtis had to be at work at 7am I went into the other room with the kids. They slept from about 1:30-4:30 at which time Brooke told me “ I can’t sleep anymore!” Perfect, who needs more than 3 hours of sleep (and it doesn’t really count as sleep because I was in the same bed as both kids)….oh wait, I DO!

            At 11:30 this morning I couldn’t take it anymore and I put the kids down for naps. I slept for 2.5 hours and after 3 I figured I had better wake the kids up. To them, it was the middle of the night and they were not eager to wake. TOO BAD! I need a good night sleep tonight so that was all the nap they were getting.

            This afternoon we went and bought some phones and then looked at cars. We can’t actually buy a car until we have a driver’s license which won’t happen till Wednesday. Good thing our hotel is right across the street from the BX (mall) and the commissary. (We went and had lunch at the food court this morning at 9 am!)

            Tomorrow we would love to go exploring but there is only so far you can walk. Maybe we will try and learn the bus system.

            I just wanted to mention a few of the blessings we received while traveling. I know that they are due to the prayers and fasting that we and our family have done and for that we thank you.

-               no back pain for Jen while traveling (which was a miracle because I was in pain from a pulled muscle for days beforehand. Not only that but my cold took a break and I was able to breathe the whole time.

-               No one sat in front of Spencer on the long flight so he could kick the seat all he wanted

-               We made the second flight even though they should have left without us

-               Our sponsors stalked our hotel room with food!

-               We found Spencer’s blanket that we had lost at Baba’s house the night before we left (only after saying a prayer)

-               The car seats!

-               People who speak English

Something very interesting was that the whole time we were traveling, the sun never went down. It made me think about the Nephites waiting for the sign of Christ’s birth. We had a day, a night, and a day with no darkness. Last night before bed we read a quick scripture where we are in the Book of Mormon just happened to be in 3 Nephi. The people kept the faith that the sign would come. It was an answer to my prayers that the Lord is mindful of me and our little family that now live on a small island on the other side of the world. It will take some adjusting, but I am pretty sure we will learn to love it!

2 Weeks in Utah

Between graduating from residency and starting in Japan we decided to take 2 weeks to spend with family and friends in Utah. Our kids were so good in the car, we hardly had to entertain them at all. 

Stickers are seriously the most fun....for some strange reason.

We got there just in time to say hi to my Grandma and Grandpa Jensen. I was so happy to see them and visit with them before we left. 

Thanks to Matt for the awesome Jamberry nails

We found this hidden gem in Herriman Utah. It is a manmade lake and it was perfect for a couple family outings. 

Brooke was perfectly content playing on the beach all day. We put her in the boat for a little bit and she hated every minute of it. Spencer, on the other hand, is a natural in the water. He loved this game of fetch with Curtis where he kept throwing the toy deeper and deeper. 

My dad got free tickets to a baseball game. It was the kids' first game and Brooke was totally into it. She kept cheering for "her team" even though I don't think she understood much. Still I was happy she was enjoying a sporting event. 

Curtis being a great daddy while the girls went out to eat

Papa showing Pimpollos to the little ones

Baba was great at distracting the kids while we packed

At the Aquarium in South Jordan

A great water party at Ryan and Emilee's house. They had the firetruck out there to spray down the slip and slide. It was awesome! Just wish I hadn't thrown my back out the first time I went down. I must be getting old.

We did a bunch of other fun things that I didn't get pictures of such as; birthday dinner for me with the Gapinski girls, a nice visit with my roommate and her 7 kids that I hadn't seen for 10 years, evening visiting with Miranda, date night with just Curtis and another one along with my parents, temple trip with most of my siblings, dinner at Grandma's house, surprise birthday party for me from my family, a few dinners with all my Jensen cousins, sprinklers with some Armstrong cousins, etc. We really packed in as much fun as we could while we were there. I wish I was better at getting pictures. 

Goodbye California- the last few weeks!

We had some fun events going on the last few weeks we were in California. 

A bunch of family came out and we all went to see Wicked in Sacramento. It was so fun to go see it with so much family, I wish we would have take a pic with all of them. Thanks Mom, Dad, Em, Stacey, Matt, Rachel, Michelle, Eric and Clarissa for coming to see it with us. 

I love seeing the cousins bond!

 Happy Father's Day Curtis! He is such an amazing dad to these 2 little munchkins!

Curtis graduated from Residency. We are so proud!

 Brooklyn's first dance recital. She has been taking a dance class that was half ballet, half tap. They performed a tap number to "In Summer". I love that she enjoys dancing and hope she wants to keep it up when we get to Japan. 

Curtis' parents came out for his graduation. It was so nice to have them there to watch the kiddos while I tried to get everything ready for the movers to come. 

One of my friends threw a goodbye for me. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the people there. I am terrible at remembering in the moment. I was so grateful for all our wonderful friends in California. We really enjoyed our three years there. 

Our last few nights at the house-we had almost no furniture. One night we put Spencer to bed and I think he thought it was some sort of punishment. He was in the bedroom which was completely empty except his pillow and blanket so he just stood at the door and cried.