Searching for Seaglass

One popular hobby here is to collect seaglass. If you haven't seen or heard of it before, its just pieces of broken glass that has been worn down and smoothed out by the ocean waves, the washed up on the beach. There is actually a North American Seaglass Association - fancy, I know. Here the stories of seaglass range from the glass being pieces of broken bottles left over from the soldiers back during the wars, to pottery thrown out to sea during a traditional Okinawan wedding ceremony and then washing back up to shore in pieces. Most people that collect the seaglass make something out of it - jewelry, frames, whatever. I have already bought a seaglass necklace that I am in love with. Well, On Oct. 26th, we decided to take a drive and try to find Camp Schawb, a Marine Base nearby. It isn't a very popular beachy-beach, so there is a lot of pickins of seaglass. We got to take the Express Way to Schawb, which meant we got to go a whopping 80 km - and we thought we were flying. We also got our first taste of Japanese toll booths...that was an experience. But we made it to Schawb and hunted for seaglass...I'm not sure what I have in store for my findings.

Olivia Helping Mommy Look:

Olivia and Daddy Hunting:

Testing out the water with our toes:

Scenic shot:

Olivia likes hunting:

Our treasures - I am so excited about the pottery one with the cobalt blue design (I found it)!

P.S. If anyone wants any of the pictures posted on the blog, just email me and I will send them along!

Somebody Has the Giggles

Goofy girl had the giggles. This video just makes you laugh!

Answer to the Poll

Well you guys guessed brown as the winner and then blue and gray tied each other for second. Well...I think we were all wrong! I'm not sure what color her eyes are. All I know is everyone comments on them, and each time they say a different color. Sometimes they look brown, sometimes gray, sometimes a little blue, but most of the time they are kind of a hazel color. Here is the best shot of her eyes...you decide:

6 Month Progress Picture

She stretched out her shirt- every month she gets harder and harder to sit still.

This is her "I'm not doing anything wrong" look.

See? Not only does she not sit still, she ripped the "6" off! She is pretty proud of herself too.

The six month war wounds...Apparently they were out of girl bandaids because she got spiderman and spongebob.

Six Month Check-up

Well if you haven't heard, Olivia is sick. She has a little cold. But she is getting better. She is six months now! She had her 6 month well-baby check-up and aside from having the cold, everything looks good. She weighs 16 lbs 7.5 oz, and is 26.5 inches long. And she has a tooth! Actually, one and a half teeth. They are coming in on her bottom. No crawling yet, but maybe soon. I have taken some new pictures of her but I have to wait to post them. I think I have loaded the maxium number of pictures on this old computer. Our new computer is in the mail on its way to us. So as soon as I have that up and going, you will get the six month progress picture. Until then!
P.S. In case you are wondering what size she is in: Sleepers- 9-12months, Onesies- 9-12 months, pants and shirts- 9 months. And if you are wondering what she needes: pants and sleepers! :)

Botanical Gardens

Last month, Mike, Olivia, and I went to Southeast Botanical Gardens. It is a little piece of paradise here on Okinawa. It's located right around the corner from our house. If we weren't surrounded by the base gate and fence, we would be able to walk to it! Its basically just a giant garden, but it is so beautiful. They have hundreds of tropical plants and flowers and even grow their own passion fruit. I just realized I never posted pictures of it here on the blog.

A little Off-roading for the stroller


Definately a place for to go to for whoever comes to visit us!


Silly tourists

We took this train that toured around the gardens. It was a good idea at first, but then we realized the tour guide only spoke Japanese. So we had no idea what was going on. People were "ooohhing" and "aahhhing", and we just sat there. The only word we knew was "shopping" and "pineapple"- apparently they are the same in English.

Warning: The tree sways back and forth when the wind blows.

USO Craft Fair

A few weeks ago we went to a craft fair at the USO. They had local vendors there. Well we came across this "toss the hat" game. They had Okinawan glass (Ryukyu Glass) pieces displayed, and you had to get the hat to land on one of the glasses. Whatever it landed on, you won!
Here are the rules:

Me playing...

I won!


My Prize!

A funky creature on display at the fair. It is crafted from wood and shells.

Play Time!

Olivia is getting so big! Hard to believe in a couple weeks she will be 6 months! We are all doing good, even Jill. We are getting settled in over here. We are all unpacked, so that is a plus! Sooner or later I'll post some pictures of the house, but for now here is a video of Olivia playing. She can pretty much sit on her own now. She doesn't sit up from laying down, but if you set her up, she'll stay there (a little bit wobbly still). No crawling yet, she still hates her tummy. We have even tried to bribe her with a bottle placed in front of her, but she wants none of it. Bit by bit we are working on getting her used to her tummy. Sometimes she does well, pushing herself up farther and farther. She seems like she would know how to crawl, just won't take the time to do it! Anyway here she is! It takes a little while to load...

Note: Tilt head to left side to get the full effect! Sorry!

Olivia has a boyfriend...

Well, not really, but she met another baby that is her age. And she was very interested in him. He was born April 24th, so a week or so before Olivia. He was premature, only weighed 4 lbs! But he is bigger than her now. His name is Gabe. Look how cute they are...(ignore us moms, we were not ready for the pictures).

5 Months Old

Yes, I know I'm late posting, but we got our stuff, so we have been unpacking! Anyway, here are Olivia's 5 month pictures!! She is getting so big!
Big Smile!

See, it says "5 months"

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