You're 6- GO ENLIST!

Our next door neighbor, Joey is a Marine.  He may only be 6 years old, but he is as faithful to the marines as a man who's been in the service for 20+ years.  Not too long ago, he went through a phase where he would only wear camo clothes.  Pants, shirts, even underwear.  He wouldn't even leave the house at times until he had his clothes cleaned.  He is often seen outside hiding behind cars and jumping out at me with a nerf gun.  So it was no surprise to hear that his 6th birthday party would be a Marine themed party.

Welcome to the newest instillation of the Marine Corps... Camp McDaniel.  

Camp McDaniel was Founded in 2005 by General Joseph McDaniel

Camp McDaniel welcomes Marines of all ranks.

  Gunny London Coats is a proud Marine of Camp McDaniel.

Thousands of recruits are born every year just to join forces with the rest of the Marines here.  

As a general rule, General McDaniel enjoys keeping morale up by being silly both in and out of work.  

As a general rule, General McDaniel enjoys keeping morale up by being silly both in and out of work. 

Camp McDaniel is a duty station strives for strong Marines

1st Lt. Dimitri Stepanoff hard at work on the range

The people at Camp McDaniel are clean and organized.

Marines are encouraged to eat a healthy meal at their chow hall.

Enlistment at Camp McDaniel is a fine celebration for all

Marines preparing for combat.

Marines headed to the field with their MREs (M&M's ready to eat)

But hey, Marines don't listen anyway... (look at left officer carefully)

We hope you enjoy your tour here at Camp McDaniel.  Semper Fi.

General Joseph McDaniel

HAPPY 236TH BIRTHDAY MARINES!

Ask any Marine.  Just ask.  They will tell you their birthday is November 10, 1775 at Tun Tavern.  Anything after that is just a bit of a blur.
And so it's here, another Marine Corps birthday.  Last year I had to skip out because dima was deployed. The year before that I didn't know many people because we were about to move here.  And the year before that I didn't know anyone because we were not yet married and I still lived in Connecticut.  So this year I was very excited to be attending a ball with the most amazing Okinawa family.  Though they're Navy, the Coats and Baileys appreciate the Marine Corps and their history.  So with the presentation of colors, the cutting of the cake, then passed from the oldest to the youngest Marine, we were off to enjoy our meal and drinks!

Dima and I waiting on our food

This year was very different from past balls because we knew everyone at our table.  We didn't have to make small talk with strangers we would never see again just to get through the night.  This year our table was full of the friends we brought and the family we have developed.  

Jess, Louise, and I

The boys- Chris, Dima, and Steve

The crew.  Chris, Jess, Steve, Louise, Dima, Krimp

Jess and I

After a great meal (I believe the steaks that the rest of my table ordered were like hockey pucks) and some traditional cake, the music started and the fun began.  Now if you know me, you know I don't drink.  But somehow I ended up having 2-3 glasses of wine.  There goes our DD! If you know me, you also know that i do not dance.  Period.  I'm as white as they get on the dance floor.  I'm from Connecticut, we aren't known for our dancing skills!  But somehow this year with the combo of the wine and the friends, I did end up on the dance floor.  Though I didn't know most of the songs (something about Jagger?) I tried my best to keep with the beat.

And that's when it got crazy...

At the end of the night, we called our trusty friend, Joe to pick us up.  He was so nice, waiting outside the Delica and everything!

I was able to sit in the front with Joe, but the rest of our crew were crazy in the back of the car.  

We had a great time.  I cannot hesitate to say that this was the best Marine ball I've been to.  Thanks to our great friends for joining us and making the experience better!

An Okinawian Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  Though I don't go all out for this holiday quite like I do for christmas, I am a huge fan of Halloween!  I remember stuffing pillowcases full of candy on halloween night with my brother and friends back home.  The tricks, the treats, many of my greatest memories included the spirit of halloween.
I was so excited to finally enjoy a halloween with my husband (this is the first time we have EVER been together for this holiday!).  I knew what we were dressing up as before Zach was even born!

My little sushi man

My "bad dog"

When Louise and Ann Marie came up with the idea of an oki octoberfest months ago, I got super excited.  I may be too old to trick or treat, but darn it if i won't have an excuse to dress up and play silly games with my friends!
Because the weather was not great for the date we originally planned, we rescheduled the games portion of our party for today, before the kiddos got to trick or treat.  First up... bobbing for Goya!  For those who don't know, Goya is a very unique veggie here.  It is also called Bitter Melon because it has a very distinct bitter flavor.   I don't love it, but I will tolerate it in some dishes.  I have heard it's one of the reasons Okinawians live so long.

Yay London!

After much spitting into the water, Emmy too got her Goya!

Even Zach had some... this is his face after getting the bitter taste... Ick Mom!

Next up... decorating squash!  The plan was to decorate Okinawian squash, but unfortunately they are very expensive.  Instead we decorated imported pumpkins from America!

King Ben working very hard on his pumpkin!

The next event was my favorite... Neko Hog Tie!  If you know anything about my dog, it's that he's wild.  He is actually a very good dog- he sleeps most of the day, and is so sweet with his baby brother.  But when he's outside, he's a different dog all together.  He runs off in circles trying to get away from you (ironic considering he never leaves our sides inside the house).  The only thing that can get him to come home is his squeaky ball.  The plan was to have all the kids chase Neko and whoever could tackle him first won!
Ready, Set, GO!!!

And they're off... London has a pretty good lead on the other kids here...

This lasted a good 5 minutes or so.  Until.....

Success!  The winner of the 1st annual Neko hog tie is...EMMY!

With this win, Emmy won a nice goodie bag from the Stepanoff family.  It included a cute little halloween stuffed animal, some candy, and some homemade "halloween bark" (similar to peppermint bark, but with reeses instead of peppermint)

Emmy devoured the halloween bark... 

The big event of the afternoon included a sushi roll contest!  This involved every person being rolled up into astroturf and rolled down "Lester Heights."  The kids seemed to be having so much fun with this, I just HAD to join in!  

Louise rolling her sushi!

And there i go!  It was actually really fun.  The kids loved it!

Of course, what's halloween without some adorable kid's costumes?

Claire the bee

Nola the Vampire!

Tim is from the 70s? Natalie was a pirate

My boys :)

Joe... i don't know why he didnt dress up.

Joe loves halloween.  He decorated his entryway with black trash bags and a fog machine and came out to the trick or treaters like this.  At the end of our halloween night, he chased a 17 year old boy down the hill in this.  It was the highlight of my night!

Joe's decorations

Happy Halloween!