suksan wan gert

Suksan wan gert- Happiness on your birthday

Amazingly enough, in the over 4 years we have been together, Dima and I have spent almost all of my birthdays together.  The first year he was away at OCS, the second year we spent it in Disney World, the third here in Okinawa I cannot seem to recall, and last year we got bombarded with tons of rain. We have been extremely lucky to have spent so many birthdays together and consider ourselves lucky.  We thought this year we would get to spend another birthday together, but unfortunately we found out a few days ago that Dima is going away very soon.  Leave it to the Marines!  Gotta love military life!  We decided that we would make the most of the weekend before my birthday instead and I got to pick what we would do.  

We are really lucky to get to live on such a beautiful island.  As much as I curse many of the things Okinawa has to offer, this is one thing that I will say with absolute certainty- when it's a nice day out, Okinawa is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  Today was one of those days that proved that exact point. 

I have been trying to get Dima to Thai in the Sky for almost 2 years now.  Unfortunately, every time we try to go, the weather is bad and it's just not worth going when it's rainy or even cloudy!  When you see the photos, you will see why it's just not worth going to this place if the weather is not perfect.  The odds were finally in our favor, as this weekend was absolutely beautiful.  If you know me well enough, you will know this one thing- my favorite kinds of food in this world are Japanese, Indian, and Thai.  Japanese for their unique sushi that we get here in Japan (not those boring rolls like in America!), Indian for their unique blends of curry (more specifically- Laxmi!), and Thai for the wondrous blends of turmeric, lemongrass, and out of this world spice!  Being in Asia- Thai food is one that taste far better then in America.  Seriously, does it even compare?  There are some wonderful Thai places here and the mix of yummy food and a beautiful view will draw anyone to Thai in the sky!  

The truly unique thing about this place lies not only in the fact that it's in the middle of nowhere, but it's also got a very random assortment of other things surrounding it.  There is a bomb shelter across the street with plastic dinosaurs you can climb on, and a fossil museum right next door.  Seriously, only in Okinawa does such a unique thing exist!  And with those things in mind, we loaded up the car with our friends, Tim, Angie, and their Daughter Natalie and headed south!  

Getting ready- Zach is obsessed with shoes these days.  He walks around the house saying, "shoes, shoes, shoes" over and over again until his shoes are on his feet.  Here he is trying on Daddy's shoes.  Wrong foot buddy!

I think I got this!

Odd assortment of ugly pottery in front of the entrance

Tim and Natalie

My family at the front entrance.  Just one day shy of 28 weeks pregnant here and feeling great!

Gotta love Okinawa's bugs

Part of the fossil museum

I wish I could have afforded this beautiful piece!  

Come on mom, let's check out the garden!

Leading Daddy into the beautiful garden

Mom, aren't you coming?  I'm waiting for you!

My handsome hubby

This is why Mommy can never finish her water- the boys are constantly stealing it!

Looking at the fish.  "Fish" is one of Zach's favorite words too!

Signing "fish" with Daddy.  This is a favorite sign too!

My boys by the pond

Our great friends- Tim and Angie

Little lovers admiring the view

Chatting away a storm

Natalie and Angie

It is so hard to get a 17 month old to look at the camera!

Cheese!

Love this boy!

Tim and Natalie

Admiring the beauty

My cheesy boys

Love that face

Dangling off the edge.  Just kidding!

The view from our table.  Seriously- this place is paradise!

Dima's Tom Yum Soup- this was fantastic!

Natalie's Beef curry

My Pad Thai

After our adventure down south, we came home to a cranky baby.  Zach went down for a late nap and when he awoke, the day was still beautiful.  What to do in Okinawa on a beautiful day?  To the beach! Unfortunately, there was a baseball game going on, so we couldn't find a parking spot.  Instead, we headed to the pool.  Zach loves to swim so he doesn't care where he's swimming.  The pool was just as good in his eyes!  

Stealing mommy's keys before diving in

He loved playing with this noodle in the water!  

No!  I don't want to get out!  

And so, that concluded our fun in the sun day.  We headed home to have a yummy salmon dinner in the front yard.  I will still be a bit bummed to miss Dima on my actual birthday, but at least we got to spend this beautiful day together enjoying our family.  It will surely be a fun birthday next year with two boys around!

Stepanoff Summer Sixty Checklist:

Try a new food

Tom-Yum Soup

We all loved this fantastic, spicy, and flavorful soup!