Afternoon in the waves...

Mike and I decided to take the kids for a swim one afternoon, which proves to be much harder than you think when you own two water dogs who hate the water... Mike literally had to drag them in the water with him. He finally ended up getting into his boxers, picking them up, and dragging them out with him, haha. Needless to say, Chloe didn't care for it and she's not the best swimmer... I supposed we should take them out more often!

Charlie and Chloe trying to get out of the water as quickly as possible... haha, I love the look on Chloe's face!!

Charlie exhausted after all the wave dodging... wasn't from swimming, that's for sure. He didn't even like the waves touching his toes!!

Shortly after this picture was taken, Mike took his shorts off down into his undies, picked him up, and carried him out into the water... poor dog look completely panic-stricken when he got back to the shore!

Needless to say, it was an entertaining afternoon on the East side of the island. Nice little beach for a dog who actually likes the water, not so much for our kids though! We'll try again another time...

Some Yummy Som Chai

So I have been trying to stay away from the food posts, but this one was way too yummy to not share with everyone. We have been to this place called Som Chai a few times now, and every time we're gone it has been EXCELLENT!! This pic up above is my Pad Thai, MILD. The first time I came here I failed to mention that key word and the food almost scorched my esophogus. I should have known when the plate came to me and it was covered with red peppers, haha!

So this my amazing home-made Chai they serve there. You can tell it's going to be amazing before you even take a sip because the milk they use has to be close to half and half or heavy whipping cream, because it's super thick and floating on the top of the ice... yummy!

This is the inside of the resturant. The guy in the black t-shirt owns the place and is super super nice. He always comes to everyone's table to ask how everything was, speaks perfect english, and will alter any of his nigthly specials or daily menu to make you happy! There are only about 15 seats in the whole joint, and it's very quirky inside. The only thing I find odd about the place is there is a sign that states that he will not serve anyone in uniform... but yet he welcomes american in civilian clothes... weird, I know. Regardless, anyone who comes and visits will have to be taken here in the future!!

New friend... for keeps?

Hey everyone, here's the latest addition... Miss Jesse!!

This poor little face was given up by her first family to the kennels, then adopted out. Since she had such bad ear problems, her next owners just didn't want to be bothered with the hassle I suppose, and they sent her back to the kennel as well... Well, I couldn't stand for that so I went and got her once I head she was sent back to the kennels...

Here are the three kids trying to make sense of why all our stuff was going into boxes and leaving the house... they were like, ah man... not again!!

You're all probably wondering how I know about this little pup's history, but the trust of the matter is I met her at the clinic. The first time I saw her, she weighed almost 100 pounds (she now weighs in at 66lbs), and had quite possibly the WORST ears I have ever seen on a dog...

Poor little Jess had a hematoma on left ear that was the sive of her entire ear and about 2 or so inches thick, which for anyone who doesn't know, that's like disgusting and unnatural. We tried to treat her and she got sent back to the kennel since she wasn't privatly owned by a family...

The next time I saw her she was a tad smaller and was adopted out by a Major and his wife. The seemed like they were doing great things for her and life was getting better for Miss Jess... well... needless to say I thought things were going well until one of our Military techs told me they saw her again at the kennel and they were debating euthanizing her because of her chronic ear problem and no one wanting her or to deal with the issue... I wasn't about to let that happen.

So, a couple days later after some negotiation with the kennel, I went and picked myself up a new friend! She's been an absolute delight to have, regardless of the stinky ears, cleaning of the ears every other day, lots of meds including a run with some prednisone which sent her into camel-drinking mode, and special food for horrible allergies...

She's a great girl, follows you around everywhere and will lay down wherever you stop for more than a minute, like the kitchen, laundry room, and even tries to follow you in the bathroom and will sit on the floor mat and wait for you in the shower despite the heat and the steam that don't seem to help her constant panting she does anyway. Her favorite thing to do it put her paws in your front lap and root her head into your neck and sneak her paws up onto your shoulders to really get into full snuggle-mode. She's a nut. We're working on taking treats nicely and sharing with others, but she never barks or complains, and is crate and potty-trained. All around a great puppy.

Poor little pooch is going to have to be on a month's worth of injectible meds to help with her ears. We finally got her meds sorted out and hopefully this will kill the 4 types of staph she has and the one random protazoa... she'll probably need surgery and will always have hearing problems from double ruptured eardrums and irriversible damage to her canals, but she will make a most excellent pet for someone once she's all tuned up. For now, she's living the high life with us here, and I'm in no rush to get rid of her!!

Higashi Dam... Dam it was scary!!

So this is Higashi Dam that we crossed right before we got to the coffee farm. It's on the Northeast side fo the island on the Pacific Ocean side. It wasn't anything super special, but the bridge we had to cross over was like super-skinny, even by Japan standards and I needed to get out and scope it out before I could let myself cross it in a car... 'cause you know how I feel about bridges. So anyway, we stopped and took a couple pictures real quick just 'cause it was pretty!!

Hiro Coffee Farm... Home grown and oh so tasty-roasty!!

So, since I'm so far behind on my posts, I decided I should probably start with the most recent stuff and work my way backwards to the point where I stopped, which at this rate I think was back in October... ugh... I'm such a slacker.

So to start, there's an issue with how my photos upload so they are kind of all over the place, my last photo was supposed to be first, etc. I have no idea what happened. Anyway, This is Sarah and my adventure to Higashi Village and the Hiro Coffee Farm. It was quite a hoof to the Northeast of the island, but totally worth it.

At the Coffee Farm, they obviously make their own coffee, which is the only place in Japan which does. Apparently the conditions are just right for some super yummy medium, and dark roast. It doesn't look like much when driving up, but it was well worth the trip!

This is the view outside of our little "Tasting Bungalo" as I like to call it. There were like 3 or 4 little covered seating areas with table and picnic tables and whatnot, all spread out over this little tiny plot of land. It was so cute... minus the cookie-crazed chickens that begged for toast and cookie scraps!!

This was out little table, complete with very small menu, fresh flowers, burlap coffee sacks on the wall, and a little hot pad for our pot of coffee...

Cheers!! Here's to oishi coffee!! (That means yummy!!)

Another cute little seating area with rejected coffee beans on the ground... crunch crunch...

This is the "main bungalo" complete with roasting area, food prep area (it's ok, they only offered toast), and area to make purchases like fresh roasted coffee and other fun whatnots like your own coffee plant!!

Here's the guy roasting some coffee that I purchased... literally, my bag of coffee was still warm from being so fresh off the roaster! His little room was like 5x5 and smalled like he was cooking fresh pasteries, it smelled delicious!!

A view of the front of the main store. To the left is where we were sitting, and to the right was where the room with the coffee ground was, and there was also another room that a local guy was sitting in with his two little puppies, which made me smile! Next time I go, Chloe is gonna come with me, as long as she can behave around the chickens!

So all in all, it was a great little adventure! I got myself and the fam some fresh coffee, had about 4 cups myself, and left perfectly filled with medium roast deliciousness and the shakes, haha. Nothing I like better than a good coffee jolt! This will be a must-visit place the next time the parents come in.

I suck, and I am sorry

Ok my faithful readers, this us yet another public apology about how much I suck at keeping up with the blog... in my own fairness though, it has been a hectic few weeks, er.. months. Lots of pics to come, gotta make up for when mom and dad were here, scuba pics with the fam, lots of Xmas and New Year celebrations, etc... keep a watchful eye, within the next few days I am gonna try to play major catch up and get some serious pics up here... and to let you all know, I will be posting all my pics onto shutterfly so you can see all of the album, not just a select few that I put up on here... just go to www.nordinsinokinawa.shutterfly.com to see them all!!