All Clear for Take OFF

They even carried their own stuff! They look like little turtles.

7-26-15

We are on the plane! Its 2:30am and we just boarded, but we are actually going this time. All the kids fell asleep so we had to wake them up to board, but they are still in good spirits. I took Kayden in the 2 seats with me and Preston sat in between the girls in the middle 3 seats. It didn’t take long until he was used as a giant pillow and they were right back to sleep. Next stop Japan, in 9.26 hours…

I wasn't the only one that thought they were so photogenic here. We were approached by a lady that asked if she could take a picture of them as well. lol

Just waking up at the end of the 9.3 hr flight

Best Flying Buddy Ever lol

 7-27-15

We all slept until the last hour of the flight…not too bad. First stop was Yokota Air Base, Japan. We had to get off the plane and wait for security clearance before we could board again. OMG this humidity punches you in the face! I’m pretty sure my purse was sweating because I had to wipe it off. This is going to take some time getting use to. As we were walking up to the waiting area Kayden says, “oh, Yokota. I’ve never been here before!” hehehe Yes, son you’ve never been here. It was about a 2 hour wait with very little A/C available. A little girl screamed the ENTIRE time, not sure as to why. We loaded the plane and had yet another stop at Iwakuni (MCAS-Marine Corps Air Station) before we reached Okinawa. At least we were able to stay on the plane for this stop. Still took an hour and half, but finally we were on to our final destination.

Finally when we reached Okinawa it was perfect timing, my butt had gone numb and the kids were done=16 hours. They were AMAZING!! After what seemed forever waiting on the plane until they “allowed” us to depart, we were then bused the 100 yards to the customs office where we got our first stamp in our passports! Luggage took a while, but at this point it doesn’t matter. These 8 suitcases have become the same as keeping track of the 3 kids and we have gotten pretty good and traveling with ALL. Lol Our sponsor LT. Chris Finchim was waiting for us. He borrowed a van to carry all of us and our stuff, it barely all fit! We checked into our hotel room at the Eagle Lodge and headed right back out to do a commissary run and get lunch. My first impression of the island- beautiful! Reminds me of the coastal towns we just drove thorough going up to Klamath, just with Japanese writing on the buildings.

It feels weird basically skipping a day. At least that is what it feels like. I wonder how long it will take to get adjusted with the time change. Our first meal in japan….Taco Bell hahahaha With lunch done and groceries picked up we went back to the hotel and fell asleep. Chris says I will wake up at 3am for a week, but that just sounds crazy. At least our hotel room is nice and spacious enough.

 

7-28-15

3 am wakeup call! He was right! Today we have to get up and leave early. First stop is the housing office. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for a house. We are just doing a walk in since we missed our appt. due to being delayed, so we might not even be seen today.

We got good news: we should get a call in 2 days with housing options. Now we have to set up child care for the new comers orientation that is required that we attend and get a few things done for Preston in regards to checking in to the island.

Well after much running around, we were not able to set up child care nor get picked up by the bus to get us to the brief or get any of Preston's stuff done! ugh. Our sponsor will have to give us a ride. We can’t drive until we have a license and we can’t get a license until we go to this brief and PASS the driving test. Ugh so much! Not to mention we now have to take the kids to this brief that is scheduled to last 7 hours. Put the iPads on the chargers!

Now I am really nervous and we spend the rest of the night studying for the driving test. I really don’t want either of us to fail. We took a break and went down to the Indian curry restaurant located on the first floor of our hotel. Makayla loved it-all of it. Kayden tried it and seemed ok, he didn’t really like the nam bread. McKinley just ate rice. I don't care for even the smell of curry and had a salad. Preston says this isn’t "the good" curry place though. He knows his food. Lol Lucky me to have the chance for sooo much curry! lol