Ketchup

So what have I been up to?? Well, there has been lots going on, so I will just hit the highlights. Today, I chaperoned Emily's class on a Freedom Walk. The goal was to walk 2,974 steps in honor of the victims of 9/11. They had a 3 km route marked out for us and it took us a good hour to make it all the way around. It was nice and the kids did a great job. Earlier in the week, I mastered the Riso machine. Somehow, I always managed to pawn that task off on other teachers or super-parents when I was teaching. I hated that thing. However, I sucked up to it and so far it is working well for me. The staff has to enter a code on their copier whenever they make copies. They are strictly limited on the number of monthly copies, so a lot of work is done on the Riso machine instead. Sigh... However, she plans on moving me over to working with the kids on centers and doing weekly science lessons. I am really looking forward to that! I also helped Kenzie's teacher by creating a couple of match-up quizzes. If I learned one thing when teaching, it was that the little things made the biggest difference and "delegate" is the magic word. I am happy to help out now that I am on the other side of the fence.

Last Friday, I went on a truly international tour of Okinawa with the Det (that is what we call the Red Horse Squadron, since we are a detachment of Guam) women and spouses (and D, an honorary squadron spouse). It was a girl's night out in honor of one of Brian's co-workers who is getting married at the end of the month. We started with dinner at Onna Kow Kow. It was Hawaiian and terrific. Then we moved on to an Irish Pub. The owner was straight out of Dublin. He had the thickest accent and was pastier than me! It was like stepping off the street into Ireland. From there we went to an authentic Japanese Karaoke Bar. They don't mess around when it comes to this hobby. This was a tiny place and even they kept playlists with photos on file for regulars. Usually there is a stage. I didn't sing..sorry Elton John fans! I learned that if you are enthusiastic with the tambourine..yes they have accessories...you don't get the microphone handed to you. After this, I learned to dance to some Latin rhythms at the Banyan Tree Club on base. I knew hips would come in handy some day! Finally, it was time to call it a night..well early morning.
Saturday, we got a babysitter. She is actually the bride-to-be mentioned above. She is a great lady. She runs a babysitting business and is a girl scout leader in her time off. I love having an adult babysit the girls. As an added bonus, she has buddy-care training. If she can keep a fellow soldier alive on the battlefield, our girls are a piece of cake. I fear that marriage will mean a curtailment in her availability, but we wish her the best! Anyway, we went out to dinner at a fancy seaside restaurant, called Sam's Awase by the Sea, with D and Alex. It was soooo good! I had king crab legs. It reminded me of Oscar night at the Cortez's. We had fabulous food, spectacular atmosphere, and scintillating conversation. Perfection.
What else??? So much, this week has been full of activity...typhoon prep, studying, volunteering, general mommy-ness. I have rambled on and it is time to head for bed. Tomorrow, I laminate!!