Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters

The day before Thanksgiving, Spencer had an early morning uniform inspection and then got special liberty for the rest of the day. We took advantage and drove down south to the former Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters.

Inscription on the memorial outside near the entrance to the tunnels.

Me in front of the entrance to the former HQ.

I feel like sometimes there's a sense of awkwardness whenever we visit historical places like this. We were the only Americans there, and while people are polite, I always have this thought in the back of my head that some of these people hate our guts and wish we would leave their island. I think these kinds of feeling would come out more at cites that point out how our troops totally destroyed theirs. But I digress...

Inside there was a small museum with lots of pictures and Japanese war memorabilia.

Shawn was not happy to be trapped in the Baby Bjorn, he wanted to touch everything in the room.

Then we came to the entrance of the underground tunnels, making our way through lots of different damp, musty rooms. The tunnels were surprisingly long, and were dug out by Japanese naval personnel using only pick axes and hoes.

Walking though there I just felt a deep sense of sadness. The inscription on the memorial outside said that 4,000 people committed suicide in the tunnels. I can't even imagine how hellacious it must have been to be under there day after day.

Hand grenade damage on a wall from people committing suicide. 

A plaque outside one of the rooms said it was sometimes so full of people that they had to sleep standing up. It was a little eerie and although everything was pretty well lit, Sydney told me she was scared. We did our best to explain it to her, that places like this is part of the reason we live here, but war is kind of a tough concept to explain to a four year old.

I wish I would have taken a picture of an old picture they displayed of all the U.S. ships in the East China Sea. What a terrifying sight that would have been to wake up and see that out your front door. And then to see the pictures of Naha completely leveled by gunfire, it was just devastating. Of course I'm all for the U.S. kickin' butt, and I know that Japan instigated the fight and we were just bringing it to their door. But the thing that made my heart sink the most was thinking of families who were just caught in the middle, and how helpless I would have felt not being able to protect my children.

The flag officer's room, where Admiral Ota sent his last telegram to Tokyo to report how the Okinawan people fought.

The farewell poem he inscribed on the wall was still visible.

Overall it was a pretty eye-opening experience. War is ugly, and it was sad to see the atrocities that occurred here because of evil and greed. I'm so grateful that I've never experienced war first hand in my own country.

Back to daylight!

Shawn is obsessed with drinking fountains and always wants to go back a million times for more.

Sydney checking out the view.

A Day of Exploring

With a 96 over Veteran's Day weekend, we enjoyed a lovely day re-exploring some cool places and introducing them to the Heaton's. Our first stop was Katsuren Castle ruins, which we'd been to before. The last time we went was pretty cloudy though, so I was excited to experience it again with blue skies overhead.

Sydney, Anderson, & Jack were entertained by climbing the fence by the parking lot.

Jack & Shawn, turning Japanese.

The kids had quite a fun time sliding down this steep hill on their bums.

Love that pretty water (and the boys too).

I also love this picture of Shawn's hair. I think it looks like he's wearing a wig.

Spencer & Shawn at the entrance to the first enclosure, with Henza (left) and Hamahiga (right) islands in the background.

Sydney had a great time running all over the place with Jack.

At the top level, the kids had a great time collecting small rocks and throwing them over the wall into the trees below. They also loved climbing up on the wall, which totally gave me a heart attack! I felt like Sydney was too fearless up there, getting way too close to the edge for me. My timid little girl is gone!

Hamahiga Island was our destination later in the afternoon. The bridge to get there (at the left of the picture) cuts right through the water. The drive across it is pretty picturesque.

I tried to initiate a Senior Picture competition, but it didn't take. I was the only participant, and then we kind of forgot about it as we tried to keep our kids from killing themselves.

Initiate heart attack. There was a huge drop-off just a foot away from Sydney's feet.

After a lunch stop on the bridge, we went to Hamahiga to look for shells. I chose the location based on reports of mass amounts of shells and sea glass, but it was actually kind of slim pickins. It was our first time at a beach there though, so now I know!

We still had fun being with friends and finding little shells and hermit crabs. I am always amazed to find hermit crabs in even the teeniest tiniest shells! 

Sydney had a ball filling her bucket with treasures.

Spencer couldn't resist capturing a few shots of this local farmer we passed by on our way off the island.

You know it's been a good day when both your kids pass out in the car on the drive home.

Marine Ball

We attended the annual Marine Ball last month, meeting up with our friends the Perrins' before heading over to the Officer's Club.

Spencer sure looked handsome in his dress blues, but they just don't compare to his dress whites!

Me & Kathy

Joe & Yashica Grant, Kathy & Seth Perrins, Me & Spencer

This ball was significantly shorter than last year's Marine Ball, which was nice. The program and dinner were over by like 9 pm, so I coerced Spencer to stay a few extra minutes so we could dance. The DJ was kind of terrible, the only recent song he played that I knew was "Gangnam Style." When he turned on "When I dip, you dip, we dip", I felt like I was at a bad high school dance. I think we maybe lasted 10 minutes on the dance floor. Nothing makes you feel old like ending a night out at 9:15 pm!

Happy Birthday Sydney

On November 4, my little Sydney turned 4! It was a Sunday, so she was excited to get her bracelet and gum birthday prize in Primary. I knew she ate a piece right after the kids sang "Happy Birthday" to her, and when Primary was over, I asked her if she wanted me to put the rest of her gum in my purse. She responded, "I ate it." 

"You ate all five pieces of gum?" I said.

"Mmm hmmm." She had totally chewed and swallow every piece! So sick, but what's a Mom to do?

The many faces of Sydney:

She opened up presents from Grandmas and Grandpas first, then I hid all of her presents from Spencer and me and sent her on a scavenger hunt to find them.

Opening up a movie from Grandma and Grandpa H.

Delighting us with a tune on her new xylophone.

Following clues to a present hiding behind the chair.

Opening the present: a new bike helmet.

Checking the storage closet to find her last present.

A new bike!

I knew Sydney wanted a new bike, as she'd told me several times and sat on a few at the BX. My friend cued me in to balance bikes, which have no training wheels or pedals. The idea is to get kids to learn to balance, and there's a little foot rest they can put their feet on when they're gliding along. Supposedly it helps them learn to ride a two-wheeler faster. I found a really cute model online and was surprised to find they shipped here, so I ordered it.

Fast forward to her birthday. I was so excited for her to open up her new pink bike! After Spencer assembled it, she sat on it for about two seconds and said, "Why is it so wobbly?" Then she refused to get on it again.

Shawn, however, thought it was great. He plopped himself down on the foot rest and wanted me to push him around the house on it for like ten minutes.

Sydney: Not interested. Shawn: Having a ball.

He also enjoyed playing with the packaging to her presents.

Next it was time for cake! Syd had requested a princess cake, which I knew there was no way in a million years I could pull off. So I sort of convinced her to want a crown cake, and threw a few pictures of princesses on it to act as the crown jewels. Not my best effort, but she seemed happy enough with it.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!

She has been reminding us every day since her birthday of all the things she can do now that she's four (i.e. jump higher, reach things that are higher up on the counter, run faster, etc.). Pretty silly.