233rd Birthday

Birthday Ball season is usually a dreaded time of year for both Cody & I. He has to work almost every night, and I never get to see him. This year has been a little different as they've had brass quintet on most of the gigs. We had originally planned to go to a ball this Saturday, but then they let Cody know they booked a rock band gig. I was really nervous that after buying a dress we weren't going to get to go. Plus, since Cody is getting out, this is his last ball as an active duty Marine.

Luckily I work with some great people! Beth & Patrick invited us to be guests at their ball so we went to celebrate the 233rd birthday of the Marine Corps last night! It was a blast...and I even got Cody on the dance floor! A big thanks to Beth & Patrick for letting us celebrate the birthday in style.

This could very well be one of my favorite pictures of us.

This one, too.

(Note: Cody's uniform is getting pretty girthy!)

Cody showing off his rack.

Beth & I have far too much fun together!

But we can take serious pictures as well.

...give 'em a little shoulder...

Again with the 'too much fun'.

Beth & Patrick! He was on sword detail for the ceremony & was perfectly still through the entire thing...even the guest of honor's speech!

I'm showing off my delicious vegetarian plate & Cody is showing his love for me.

We're obviously too happy.

Cody's quote of the night: "I don't dance. I rock."

It was such a great evening. Cody even admitted that it's so different attending a ball than it is working one. I'm so glad he got to go. Celebrating the birthday means a lot to both of us and this being our last one, it was even more important that we go.

Love you guys!

I'll be putting some pictures (and hopefully video) of the rock band gig this weekend!

JUNGLE Adventure Park!

We finally did it! We've been talking about going to Okinawa's new Forest Adventure Park for months now. This Sunday (Hannah's 4th birthday!), it was perfect out, so we met up with our friends and did it! I work with Beth at the library & her husband is an officer in the Marine Corps. Their friend was visiting from the states so we had quite a group swinging through the jungle!

Here we are at the very beginning of our journey. There was a small lesson we had to take and we had to pass a test, then we were set free on our own for 2 hours!

Patrick braved the first zipline as the rest of us looked on.

Cody & I...Cody being his wonderful, loving self. :)

We must have done 30 Zip Trips!


I'm not sure what I was doing here, but this Zip Line was the longest one out of all of them!

We were definitely high up...when you drive to the park, the bus takes you through all these pineapple farms. The view was great & it was a perfect day!

Just call me Jane.

Cody was the first one to try the Tarzan Swing. Wait till you see the video!


Impressed onlookers.

When we were done the course, we went to this creepy beach that Patrick & Crystal found. There were really old tombs in the caves there & if you looked in them, you could see the remaining bones of the people laid to rest there.

What a fun day! I wish we had known about it a few months ago so Cody could've taken Chuck & Dei out there. Hopefully we get to go again before we leave!

Fall Pictures!!!

(Cody, Elizabeth, Candi, JD)

The night before Halloween, our neighbors, JD & Candi, came over to carve pumpkins. It had been so long since any of us had carved one...but we had a blast anyways! This is the end result, along with the delicious pumpkin seeds that I roasted once we gutted them!

Cody & I found some really great directions to this place called Pizza in the Sky. It's literally 'in the sky' on top of a mountain up north. It's a very traditional Japanese-style restaurant that looks like it's out of someone's house. This is the view of the (angry) sky from the table we were sitting at. The pizza was AMAZING!!!

This is the view from the front of Pizza in the Sky. Japanese nationals sure do make Cody look like a giant!

Last night we went to Sam's by the Sea with our wonderful neighbors! It was JD's birthday on the 4th, so this was our late celebration. We're so lucky to have neighbors that we can also call close friends! Unfortunately, they'll be PCSing in a little over 2 weeks. :(

This is what happens when Cody & I try to take a serious couple-photo. He makes a face, so I make a face at him for making a face, and someone catches it on camera. It's us in a nutshell!

Again, we were thisclose to getting a good picture taken, and he sweeps me off my feet. I guess I should count my blessings!

I've slowly come to realize that I will have albums full of Cody making some sort of face. This one is a constant face, and if you look back at our jack-o-lantern picture, you'll notice that Cody's jack-o-lantern is making a similar face. Oh well. He's still cute regardless!

PS: Cody just called me a little while ago to let me know that he finished qualification on the pistol range today. You'll never believe it...(sarcasm)...but he shot EXPERT! Woo hoo! That's my Marine!

Love you guys!

Yes we DID!

Congratulations, America.

Fall is finally here!

Well, not really...
My neighbor and I were just sunbathing on the beach last week!
It's technically fall and Cody & I are looking forward to so much this season!

We had a great Halloween. We carved some really great pumpkins with our neighbors (who are leaving us this month...something we're not looking forward to). We passed out candy, played a little Rock Band 2, then went over to the neighbors house for pizza and scary movies.

This weekend, we went on an adventure! We decided to finally try Pizza in the Sky. It's a small place up in the mountains that serves the absolute BEST pizza! It takes a while to get there, and it's a little expensive, but the view and the culture and the PIZZA makes it all worth it. After our delicious and scenic lunch, Cody treated me to some GELLOBELLO all-natural ice cream. There's a great webpage that I've been going through giving great tips on places to see & eat on Okinawa. That was one of the places. We at our cocoa banana ice cream and walked around the mall.

This week, Cody is on the pistol range. Needless to say, he loves it. Anything hardcore and Marine-esque, he's great at. We're really looking forward to the Marine Corps Ball this year. It's our last ball and should be really fun!

Then there's Thanksgiving.
Everyone should know at this point that I LOVE to cook. I've recently picked up the habit of being a vegetarian...I've lost quite a bit of weight and still eat seafood...Cody has been great about it since I still cook him something meaty once or twice a week...but on Thanksgiving, I will DEFINITELY be eating some of my amazing turkey! Our friends will be over and it'll be a great day, as it is every year.

As for right now, we're just waiting for the election to be over! I have the day off tomorrow, thank goodness, because I'm going to be sitting on my computer & by the television to see the results. I'm anxious for the election to finally be over and done with. It's getting so out of hand. I can't wait to see what happens!