This last Saturday we had the chance to go to the Army Ball!  It was great to get all dressed up and have a fun evening :)  Well, I think it was fun to get all dressed up anyway…..

This last week we celebrated the Army’s 235 birthday, and also the 65 Anniversary of the Battle on Okinawa.  Of course that was all addressed at the Ball and it was really the best presentation we’ve ever seen!  They had special VIP guests, members of the Japanese Military were there with their wives, and also a few soldiers who were actually present here on the island during the battle.  That was just really special, what would it be like to come back to a war torn place that you fought so hard on?   To see the progress made and what the people are like now.  Just very cool!  But not the coolest part, haha!  OK, the coolest part was the Streamer Ceremony.  Battle streamers are something the Army earns every time they are in a battle.  I may be simplifying that a bit, but that’s how I understand it.  So in the ball room, they turned the lights all the way down, and in walks a man dressed the Revolutionary war uniform.  He slowly marched over to the flag to place a few streamers on.  As he’s marching, the announcer explains what war he’s from, names a few of the battles, the year it took place, things like that.  Oh, and how many battle streamers the Army earned for that particular war.  They did this with Revolutionary War, Civil War,  War of 1812, WWI and WWII,  Korea, Vietnam, one I forget….Desert Storm/Shield, and of course ended with OIF/OEF.  I wish I could have gotten pictures of that, but for one, my camera battery died, two…we were not cool enough to be seated anywhere close to the ceremony, and three…it was dark anyway!  So you’ll just have to picture it!

Of course the food wasn’t all that great and we left hungrier than when we got there.  But they did have a real live band playing while we were eating, so that was awesome!  Of course when it was all said and done and it was time to let loose and dance….it was the “Smoove and Hypnotic rhythms of DJ Somebody…”  OK, if you’re going to actually say “smoove” then we’d better go!  So here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!

Here on Okinawa, I think they are completely obsessed with the word “Coco’s”  There is Coco’s the curry restaurant.  There is  Coco’s Convenience store and then the best one of them ALL…..Cocok’s (the K is silent, haha!) Nail Salon and Spa.  Now this is the one I’m going to talk about!  It’s a little slice of heaven here in paradise :)    So ever since our first day on the island, I’ve seen ladies walking around with these toe nails.  Not just painted…but like tiny little works of art.  At first I thought they were so tacky, but then the more I saw them around, the more I started wondering what the deal was.  We have an Army Ball coming up and someone mentioned “Hey…..we should all go to Cocok’s!”  Yesterday was the day and I’d been looking forward to it for a long time!  Everyone said how it’s so much better than back in the States, and they do so much more.  I’ll have to just believe that, seeing as how, you know, I’ve never done this kind of thing before ;)

They sat us all down and gave us this big book (70 pages to be exact) of nail art to choose from.  Oh, and we sat in these huge, overstuffed comfy recliners!  So as we’re flipping through, these awesome ladies got to work buffing and clipping and massaging our feet AND calves!  With coconut oil……..Anyway…….I don’t even know how long that lasted, maybe 20-30 minutes! It was so relaxing!   We then showed our lady what we wanted done and she ran off to get her palate, paints, glitter, jewels, whatever was necessary to make your design.   The women who work in there are truly artists.  The details they can put on a pinky toe are just out of this world!  As per tradition, I’m sure one that has been passed down from generation to generation,  since the beginning of time, we put all of our feet in a circle and took a picture to post on facebook :)  Now my toes look amazing for the ball, and I think when this wears out I’ll take Emma in with me!  She’s always begging me to do her nails.  When we go there, heck, she can get Spongebob on her big toe if she wants! 

Whoa, so we’ve lived on the island for 6 months now!  Well, technically, June 6th was the date, but I was busy, ha!  I’ve wanted to write this post for a while, but now my mind is blank!  It has been a blast out here so far.  The heat is still manageable too!  We keep hearing “It’s usually so hot by now!”  Hey, we’ll take it for as long as possible! 

 Things are going well, the kids will FINALLY have their last day of school on June 17.  Our first adventure will be…..cleaning their bedrooms!!!  I’m excited, are you?  We’ll see what sort of fun things we can do, and try to check out parks and beaches as much as possible.  It also did dawn on me…. I have a 12 year old now.  That means I don’t have to drag all 4 kids with me to the commissary/PX or whatever boring errands I have to run.  Score!   

We’re also preparing for a Ball next Saturday.  Well, I’m doing the preparing, Tyler’s just along for the ride!  I’m borrowing a dress from a friend from church (thanks Melissa K!) and another friend will be doing my hair, yay!  I’m actually going to get my first pedi too, so that should be fun!  I have a whole blog post prepared in my mind for that experience too, ha!

That about covers it for now!  No pictures to post this time around, I’m on the *wrong* computer for that.  Tune in next time I should have some fun things to show!