Tops In Blue -2011

A couple weekends ago, we went to Tops in Blue, a musical show put on by Air Force Members that travel the world for a year tour. We have gone each year since we've been here, and really enjoyed each show. Olivia usually loves the singing and dancing - Especially this year! She was really into it this year. Although, I think she wanted to get on stage herself. She sat through the whole show, enjoying the lights, songs, and dancing. Then. They. Played. Lady. Gaga. And she LOVED it. They did a Lady Gaga ensemble where they played each of her popular songs and had all kinds of different Lady Gagas dressed up. They had Olivia's attention, to say the least. I think she sang along with every song. Above is a video of her enjoying her favorite!
And some pics from the night to share:

Cheese! Excited to see the show!

Ok, this is cool (she pretty much stayed like this, when not dancing):

"Telephone" Lady Gaga:

The performers, singing Lee Greenwood at the end. A great end to a great show.

Oh and by the way - Here's how big Olivia was at her very first Tops in Blue in Jan 2009. Back before she wore shoes:

Back then she fell asleep half way through. Clearly they managed to keep her attention this year!

Play Day Sunday and Bedtime Monday

Ok - yes, 10 days is a long time not to post, since it is my goal to keep up on this. I will make more effort. And give you two posts tonight! But the upside is that I've been slacking on this because I am really putting in the effort for the Body By You Boot Camp. I started week 3 of 8 today. I've also started a Couch to 5k program where it helps me pace myself and eventually run a 5k with out stopping (hahaha - we shall see!). It's an app on my itouch and it takes 9 weeks. I'm on week 2. I am still not a fan of running. Or push-ups. And I've recently added squats, sit-ups, dead lifts, etc. But I do like rows, and boxing. That's right, I box. Sort of. Anyway, back to blog business. Yesterday we had great weather so we met up with our pals at the park. Great way for the kids to spend energy and us to chat. I was even thinking ahead and brought my camera so I could share pics with you!
Getting ready to go down the slide:

TJ - Taylor's little brother. He loves me now and gives great hugs when I see him :)

Having fun:

Taylor and Olivia found a spaceship and traveled into the galaxy during this park hour:

Not sure which one is controlling that thing:

And tonight Daddy was reading her "Olivia" book. She loves reading about Olivia:

Awww Nighty-Night!!

Mike Goes Diving

In case you haven't heard, Mike is Dive Certified. And he loves it. But he hardly gets to go, between work and bad weather/sea condition. But he got to go today! So he was excited. So he gets the blog spotlight tonight. Above is his self-portrait. I got him an underwater camera and today was the first day he got to try it out. So I thought I'd show you what he sees. But first here's a shot of Mommy and Olivia eating breakfast...do you see a resemblance? Lol.

Ok, back to Mike's spotlight. The water was a chilling 68 degrees today. He had to get a wet suit and said he stayed warm - until he got out of the water and hit the wind. Here's some coral:

This is a cuddle fish. It kinda looks like a squid - not like a normal fish:

Some more coral - he did a good job getting great pictures. This is about 55 feet under water, that's why there isn't much color. The deeper you go, the darker it gets.

Starfish Chilling:

He was even brave enough to take a picture of a sea snake:


A little guy by himself:

And he found Nemo:

Cool Coral Shot:

Little worm-things and a yellow fish:

A giant sea-cucumber:

Ocean floor with fish:

Pretty neat! But I'll stick with snorkeling and the aquarium. :)

Here Fishy, Fishy

Olivia got a fish tank for Christmas. And we finally took down our Christmas Tree, so that meant we could put the fish tank up. No, the tank isn't huge, our house is just small. So, Olivia and Daddy put the tank together and filled it up with water. Then, Monday night after work, we went to a pet store off base and Olivia picked out two lovely fish. (She almost picked out a puppy and a kitten too, but luckily, we stuck to the fish). She is so excited about the fish. She could hardly wait to put them in the tank. Here she is waiting for them to adjust to the water:

Enough time to put on some jammies.

Here they go! So excited!

We even got them a Torii gate, to make them feel more at home. They are Japanese goldfish after all:

By the way in case you are wondering, she named them "Fishies." Both of them. Fishies - they share a name. She is pretty creative.

I'm ready

Tomorrow starts the day. The first day of the rest of my life - or however that saying goes. It's the first day of my Body by You Boot Camp. Did I mention I'm doing this on the marine base? Yikes. I'm scared and excited at the same time. Ok maybe more scared than excited.
But, I'm ready nonetheless. The trainer said (jokingly) if we have sneakers older than 3 years we needed to buy new running shoes - then she laughed and said "I know no one has sneakers that old, haha!" At the same time I looked down and tried to do the math on my sneakers' age...umm before Olivia was even thought of - so 4 or 5 years old maybe? Kelly might remember, you were with us when I told Mike I needed sneakers to work out in. You can now see how that went. So anyway - I'm ready. I went out and got some new running shoes (white and blue), I got some weights - 5lbs (blue to match my shoes), a few work out outfits - but nothing too matching - don't want to look like I'm trying too hard, oddly I already had lifting gloves (I won them a few months back), and I already had yoga mat (from the box of pilates that I never opened - so brand new!). So, yes, I'm ready. I am looking at this as a lifestyle change. We eat out way too much. Always have. So, more eating at home. Make that more healthy eating at home. We went to the store and spent $$ on fresh food. I did something I've never done. I made dinners ahead of time. I spent Sunday cooking Sunday's dinner and also Monday's and wednesday's. I even made up little snacks for the week. And made my lunch for tomorrow. I can count on one hand the amount of times I brought my lunch from home since I started back to work. But I'm putting in the effort, because the trainer said diet is worth 80% or something like that. I know I can do that part. Remember when I was preggo and couldn't do carbs? I did it. And I lost weight, even pregnant. So I know I can do it again. It's just a little harder because it is just me and no baby depending on me. I even have my workout playlist ready, though I don't know of I'll use it at camp.
So enough about me. Everyone else is good too. Mike is excited I'm on "board" with being healthy. And Olivia had an awesome weekend. She went to a Bday party for a girl in her class at school and I think she had a lot of fun. Then we enjoyed dinner out ( of course) at Jack's- my favorite place on base. It was Tom's Bday so we hung out there after and had a great time. Today daddy and Olivia set up her fish tank. Now all she needs is fish. She's pretty excited about it and we'll go sometime this week to buy some fish. By the way, have I told you she goes to sleep on her own (knock on wood). Yep, it's so nice and a big relief from before. We read a could stories and the lights out and she falls asleep on her own, like a big girl.
I do have a video to share with you, but have to figure out how to get it on here from my iTouch, so you'll have to be patient.
In the meantime here are some pics from our week.
At kiddie disco - she got a pink sword and balloon bracelet. Notice that when she wears a bracelet and long-sleeves, she has to roll up her sleeve to show off the bling. Every time.


In the car:





Loving the pink cupcake she got at the party:


Swinging on the swings:


She loved it:






Ok better get some sleep for tomorrow!
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Good mornin'

Well it's Wednesday on out side of the world. Got this picture this morning during Lala's breakfast. Crazy head of hair! We are going to try to check out kiddie disco, so if we end up going, check back for pictures of Lala dancing it up!



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How many?

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a lollipop?


Not enough for Olivia - she isn't a fan of the tootsie roll middle, but loves the candy part. So when she gets down to the "brown part" she says "this ones yucky - I's needs a new one." She thinks shes pretty slick, trying to maximize her licks! Can't say that I blame her, I was never a fan of the tootsie roll center either.

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Shuri Castle

Today we went to Shuri Castle with Tom, Tesha, & the kids. Shurijo was central in the ryuku kingdom era and has been restored. It's even on one of the yen bills. It is a beautiful site. And at New Years they have a special celebration. We watched what I think was a king and queen (emperor and emperess) tea ceremony, tour the inside of the castle, and watched some dancers all decked out in traditional garb. After the castle we strolled along kokasai street, a market street in Naha. It was nice day. Olivia enjoyed it because we told her we were going to a castle and she immediately thought of a
"magic castle!" and then thought of Dora and the crystal kingdom. Needless to say she was excited and had a great time too. Here are some pictures:














The dragon is a symbol of the king:


Olivia and Taylor cheese-ing it up





We actually got a nice family pic:


Restored garden:


Outside by the magic castle:








Later with the dancers:














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