This is one of the few buildings that survived the bomb.
The Shrine.
On the island was a herd of deer that were quite friendly. Enoshima
Here we are all geared up and ready to hike to the top of the big hill to see the shrines.
The kids had a blast trying to grab turtles and throw rocks in the water.
Jayden thought this "crazy red guy with a strange ball like 6-pack" was pretty cool.
Looking out at Japan from the light house.
Kamakura
Life size flowers.
Big Buddha or as Tia STILL calls it....Big Moopa!
People kept taking pictures of Tia and touching her pig tails. Tia was eating it up and performing for all of them. Shane and I couldn't stop laughing.
The older Japanese ladies absolutely loved her! They would come right up to her and hold her. As we were crossing the street this lady thought I wasn't doing a good enough job helping Tia by myself so she just walked right up, grabbed her other hand, and walked with us. I love the Japanese...they are so cute!
(sorry, my one handed camera skills are not very good)
1. Airman's Attic
This is my FAVORITE store! You'll never believe this, but everything is FREE!!! It's a second hand store that has NO prices!!! SERIOUS!!! You can take 1 big item & 3 bags of smaller items PER DAY! I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! It's also been a great place to get rid of extra things we find around the house that aren't being used.
Here are a few of the many things we've gotten there...
...a twin mattress, a twin box spring, this safety rail, and the Lightning McQueen comforter (thanks to my friend Becky) all for FREE at Airman's Attic.
Jayden was really excited about this Darth Vader toy...
Not only do we have this store, but we also have our own THRIFT STORE on base!
2. Self Help Store
3. National Anthems
The first time I heard it I was really confused on what was going on. Shane and I had no idea what we were supposed to do. But I must admit that it has really grown on me. I get emotional EVERY time this happens...I just love it! It's a very spiritual moment...even my kids are quiet for the most part (which doesn't happen very often)!
Today I was painting the fence when it came on. I was trying to hurry and finish the slab I was doing and Jayden yelled from the porch "MOM, you need to stop painting!" He's such a big boy, I'm glad he understands that it is something special.
It's like a craigslist just for our base. It's awesome! We found the kids some bikes, a playhouse, and our fence from it. I've also sold a bunch of stuff on it and they've all sold in less than 1 day. If you go to the website scroll all the way down. You'll see all the recent items that were posted. I'm addicted! Why buy something for full price when you can get it for dirt cheap :)
5. This road...
This is right around the corner from where we live. These are Cherry Trees and I heard they are BEAUTIFUL in the Spring time! I am so excited!
6. The Japanese Gate Guards
We love these guys! They check every one's I.D. as you enter the base. We have a favorite one. He's this cute, little, older Japanese man. He's always really serious, but we think he's rad! (I'll try and get a picture soon).7. Medical Facilities
We haven't had to wait for more than 5 minutes at any medical facility we've been to...so far (doctor's appointments, lab work, dentist, immunizations, etc.)! I don't even have enough time to fill out any questionnaires before they call us back. This is SOOOO different from California and waiting for HOURS on end!8. Arts & Crafts Center
It's like having our own little Michael's! I'm quite impressed with their selection. They also have a pottery store where you can paint and fire your pottery.9. Immediate Vicinity to the Flight Line
We live so close to the flight line that we actually drive right over it every day. If you happen to hit the runway at the right time you can see an airplane coming directly at you as it is taking off or landing (see below). The kids love seeing so many airplanes each day!
See the lights on the airplane right in the middle of the picture? (click on the picture to see it better) I happen to have my camera next to my seat the other day when I was crossing the flight line and 2 planes had JUST landed.
10. It's Own Airport
11. American Food
13. Golf Course
We've got our own little golf course right here on base. It's little, but it'll work. There are bigger golf courses at 2 nearby military facilities. Shane's very excited!14. Shrink Wrap
We love how they shrink wrap the vehicles that are NOT being used.
All in all...we really like this place! Come visit us and we'll show you :)
Our Branch President's wife is the one running the preschool. She's doing it out of her home with a few other kids in the ward. Jayden had a blast and was so excited to show me all the things he did.
This week is "Teddy Bear Week", but Jayden brought his Monster instead. He's all boy!
They made "teddy bear bread" which tasted fabulous!
Jayden asks me EVERYDAY if he can go to school...he LOVES it!
We are still looking at getting Jayden in a part-time Japanese preschool, but the one we want is full right now and all the other ones make you go 5 days a week and are really expensive. Hopefully something will work out and he can do both.
The kids went CRAZY when they saw all of their toys again! They were SO EXCITED!!! This kept them busy for HOURS which gave me a lot of time to organize!
Our back patio!
The kitchen
The bedroom before the movers unpacked all of our underwear :)
...red, hot, and sweaty! But they love it!
Yay!!!
These last 3 weeks were quite interesting as we searched for cars. The Japanese are heavily taxed for driving older cars however US Military members are exempt from this tax. This leaves plenty of older yet practically unused cars for Americans to buy.
Most of the cars available on or near the base are between the years of 1991-1998. As you can imagine we looked at some pretty funky cars. One of my favorites had curtains behind the front seats blocking out the rest of the car. If only it had a sound proof window we would have definitely bought it :0
So, here's what we found...
This is our family car. Our Mitsubishi Chariot Grandis has less than 20,000 miles on it and looks & feels practically brand new (except that it's 12 years old). The previous owner obviously didn't drive or use it much. The fabric on the inside is definitely "1997 looking", but we absolutely love the car! It's big enough to haul us and our stuff around(seats 7), but small enough that we're not scared to drive on these TINY Japanese roads.
And the Civic has been a fabulous car. Besides the funky black, grey, blue, & purple fabric on the inside you would have no idea it was 14 years old :)
We love how EVERYONE backs into their spots.
Japanese Public Restrooms
The public restrooms here are very fancy & spotless.
There were 10 of these at this Restroom.
Check this out...
You flush UP if you've had a SMALL "experience" or DOWN if you've had a BIG "experience".
My favorite part is the FLUSHING SOUND...it just sounds like it's flushing, but it's NOT....maybe you use this one when you need to make some noise and don't want others to listen :)
A urinal in the women's rest room next to the changing table. I'm so excited for this one...I can help both kids at the same time! 
