Merry Christmas!

Ever since we started our cardboard engines in October

our little O has tried to get into every box she finds, big or small.

It's beginning to look

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Volkmann house

Birthday Cupcakes

Tonight's the party. We have a plan of pizza, cupcakes, and karaoke.

What I'm Thankful For

This Thanksgiving is our last Thanksgiving in Okinawa. I had a plan for a low-key, tradition Thanksgiving. My co-worker Dianne invited us over for dinner. I was going to make cranberry sauce and green bean casserole.

Then on Monday afternoon, I got a call from Olivia's daycare. O woke up screaming from her nap and was refusing to eat anything. She had a big ulcer-like sore on the tip of her tongue. This symptom could only mean one thing: hand, foot, and mouth disease.

After a stressful four-hour stay at the emergency room, yes, it was decided that Olivia was sick. The disease is highly contagious and the doctor said that it would take 7 to 10 days to run its course. Seven days. The news hit me hard. Seven days inside with Olivia. Olivia hates to be inside. Seven days inside is a prison sentence for our little girl.

But she definitely wasn't feeling well. Actually she seemed kind of miserable. Her mouth and tongue hurt, so she wasn't eating either. There was only one conclusion: cancel Thanksgiving 2010.

I called Benny and relayed the doctor's instruction. Immediately Benny jumped into action. He called everywhere on base trying to secure a turkey dinner. No luck.

I found a recipe online to cook a turkey breast in a crock pot. Remember we don't have an oven. Let's try it. If only there are still turkey breast at the supermarket.

At 6:45 p.m. Wednesday night, Benny went to the on-base grocery store in search of a turkey breast for us. Along with pudding, ice cream, Jello, and other soft foods for Olivia, he found a turkey breast. And we made a turkey in a crock pot for the first time ever. The turkey was done at 3 p.m. That's when it hit me that we didn't have any side dishes.

Plan B activated. We walked to the Japanese Kentucky Fried Chicken to buy side dishes, mainly mashed potatoes, green beans, and biscuits. But at this restaurant the only side is coleslaw. No good.

Benny suggested that we buy some potatoes at the grocery store and do our own mashing. So we did. Along with making some frozen veggies. Add a bottle of wine and that was our Thanksgiving dinner. A dinner that we'll never forget. A dinner that made me count my blessings, including my kind and understanding husband. He doesn't let a little viral diseased toddler ruin our Thanksgiving. And that's what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Happy Turkey Day!

To be 20 months again...

Trust me, it's a lot of fun!

Maybe we should start looking for that rocking Harley (or horse) sooner than later.

All I Want for Christmas

When we leave Okinawa, I'm really going to miss the parks. Not only to Japanese parks have long rolling slides that require a piece of cardboard to protect your bum, some also have stilts readily available for use without a waiver.

Do you really think I could walk by stilts without trying them out? It was 15 minutes of entertainment Michelle and Olivia will never get back.


A little tricky at first, but I got the hang of it. Enough to feel like the Wright Brothers Flyer and go 120 (uh um) inches.
No kids were run over during this take, although at least three gave Michelle panic attacks as they wandered in front of me. But I was in control the whole time, like a bull in a china shop. Eyes on the prize, ignore the taunting 8-year old boy who walks by on stilts like he was born on them. He wasn't blind folded, but he did stop and jump on his stilts. I had no idea you could jump on stilts. I would have tried jumping, but I was too busy looking like a new born colt with knocky knees.

I'll have to ask Santa for a pair of stilts in order to practice some more and get to the jumping phase. But at least I can start Little O now, while she's still in that no fear stage. Then she can walk by the gaijin (foreigners) and taunt them with her stilt skills.

My First Alaska T-shirt

After 23 pictures, I sat still long enough for Dad to snap this picture.

A Course for Each Year We've Been Married

I really don't know how I'm going to top this one. It may be impossible. I should probably stop now. It's not worth trying. I don't know if I can afford to try.

On October 30, Benny and I celebrated six years of married. Six years ago, we were huddling close together to keep warm on a brisk autumn Iowa day. The whole world was in front of us. And now, in what seems like a blink of an eye, we are living in Okinawa with a 1 year old daughter and more blessings than I can count. It is October and I'm still sweating. Silly Octobers in Okinawa.


Benny and I take turns planning our anniversaries. I planned the 5th anniversary, so this year it was his turn. Last year was also the year that Benny suggest we incorporate the traditional anniversary gift list into the plan. Five years is wood. Six years is iron.

One might think that iron is hard. Stiff. Unromantic. But Benny proved that iron can exciting, memorable, and filling to the stomach. He booked the babysitter and took me out for a teppanyaki (think iron cooking utensils) dinner at Busena Terrance Beach Resort at Onna Village (about a hour from our house). This hotel is set on a private peninsula. It's an open air design. It's modern. It's chic. It's what people are talking about when they say Okinawa is the Hawaii of Japan. Plus it's famous. The hotel was the host location for the G-8 Summit in July 2000. President Bill Clinton came to Okinawa for that summit.


The resort features many restaurants that are considered to be the best on island. The teppanyaki (cooked on a grill infront of you) one uses Okinawa fruits, vegetables, locally caught fish, and beef from neighbor island Ishigaki. In one word, it's delicious.

The evening started with cold appetizers.


Followed by sea grapes.


Followed by hot appetizers.



Followed by garlic chips. Yup, that garlic cut, grilled, and devoured by Benny and I.


Next was a small Japanese salad.



Next was the main course. Benny had the Ishigaki beef tenderloin and lobster while I had the lobster and fish. And the chef was nice enough to offer to share the beef and fish between the two of us.




This beef was perfect. It melted in my mouth. I don't think I'll ever eat another steak this good.

After dipping our lobster in melted butter, we washed our fingers in a bowl of cool water. (I'm so grateful that the waitress explained it to me.)

The courses were bitesize, so we continued one to eat goya champuru, a popular local cuisine and something I will definitely miss when we leave Okinawa.





Then we got to have fried garlic rice. Another favorite of mine. Luckily we both ate garlic so it was bad breath together for our anniversary. The things you do once you've been married for six years.


Then we got a plate of pickled vegetables and a bowl of Okinawa noodles. I didn't eat the noodles. Too full. I'm so happy that I picked a stretchy dress to wear out for dinner.

And finally we got dessert. Benny had a scoop of ice cream with dragonfruit sauce.


I had green tea ice cream and beans. Another thing I've acquired a taste for after living here.


To celebrate six years, we ate a 10-course meal over a course of three hours. It was relaxing and filling. I wonder what we'll eat when we celebrate 25 years of marriage.

This little garden gnome

This little garden gnome refused to wear her Halloween costume to the Monster Mash at the library on October 22.


This little garden gnome decided to wear her costume to Alligator Steps on October 30.




This little garden gnome handed out candy on October 31. She wasn't scared of the children dressed up. Just a little confused.


This little garden gnome was more than happy to run around the hallway while waiting for all the trick or treaters.

This Halloween, Our Little Garden Gnome Asks You to do the Mash

Thanks Uncle Bob and Aunt Patti for my Monster Mash. I LOVE it, and play it over and over, at least six times a day. The Monster Mash must be in my genes.

Cardboard Racers - Start Your Engines!

Our friend Jeremy always said, "Of all the toys kids have, the cardboard box is always the most fun." He's a smart guy.

The Sushi on the Belt Goes Round and Round

Looking up at the sign on the second story, it looked ominous. Watching the elderly men and women climb the stairs to Sushido looked like they were on a mission, so focused to get to the summit like Fuji-san. One step at a time. A little dramatic for a 2nd story entrance, but who am I to put a timer on the 80+ year old Japanese man taking his time up the stairs. Good sushi will be there for him too... when he reaches the top.

Sushido didn't have the same impact it did two and a half years ago, when my boss took Michelle and I there for the first (and only) time on our first trip to Yokosuka. The second trip meant so much more. After eating our fair share of sushi the past few years, it was nice to get back to the place that was our first sushi-go-round experience in Japan.

Jon, Lloyd, Ron (not pictured) and I had a total of 40 plates (10 each). Jon and Lloyd come from Hawaii to help me out with some big upcoming contracts for work.

You have to be on top of your game, constantly checking the belt, otherwise it could be another five minutes before the next piece of fatty tuna comes arounda gain. That black bowl on the belt was all the little packets of wasabi... and I let it go by (we had enough wasabi on our table already).

Forty plates, 5500 yen, and a post lunch snooze, it was back to work. Wait, I had a daydream about the post lunch catnap, but it never happened.

Okinawa vs. Weber

After 29 months in Okinawa one block from the seawall, this is all that was left of our Weber grill before the garbage man picked it up last month. Poor guy's legs gave out after we tried to bring it in the house from the patio to prevent it from becoming a flying object as a typhoon was projected to hit Okinawa last month.

No Fear

She doesn't even shy away from an alligator...

Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, Der Gemütlichkeit!

This German was not about to pass up an Oktoberfest, especially not one that advertised 22 brews, an Oompa band, and most importantly: singing German songs.

I was going to Oktoberfest no matter what, and was pleased to find that the new guy in Yokosuka was up for a good time in Yokohama. On the train ride there, I discovered that Sonny was coming from Naples, Italy, and was interested in finding out how an Oktoberfest in Japan would compare to the one he'd been to in Deutschland.

We joined the entrance line that wrapped around the festival, about 15 minutes, 100 people and ¥200 ($2) later, we were in. With my German weisen and four sausage platter with sauerkraut in hand, we hunted for a table before sitting down to enjoy our feast. This is the obligatory food picture for Grandma Kann, Michelle, and Tammy. We were joined by two other gentlemen looking who occupied the open seats next to us. Turns out they were friends from New York, one an Air Force pilot and his buddy who teaches English in Tokyo. One was of Korean descent, the other of Vietnamese descent. Add in my friend Sonny, who emigrated from Thailand as a young boy, and the token German (me), and it sounds like the punchline of a joke is coming (thanks for pointing that out Somchai).

While I don't have a punchline, I soon realized that I appreciated how Oktoberfest has moved beyond Munich. I was grateful to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the introduction of beer to Yokohama too.

We soon learned that even with the German enthusiasm and an Oompa band, German Oktoberfest songs are not to be sung at a volume louder than Lutherans sitting in the back of church. But if you'd like, you can join the masses at the top of your lungs with "Achy Breaky Heart" and other "American" songs all night long! I just don't think they (Japanese) understand (the words and how to sing the German tunes) - Billy Ray Cyrus is my secret favorite (only joking).

Oktoberfest was much bigger than I anticipated, and there were as many people inside as there were outside. As the sun went down, it cooled off quickly outside since Yokohama is right on the water, and many people moved inside. As you can see, it was a family affair, this picture was taken at about 8:30pm.

The beer drinking was a classy affair, you paid a ¥1000 (about $10) deposit for your glass, and another ¥1000 for a beer. This was not your classic plastic cup college kegger. I had the pleasure of trying the Weisen, Oktoberfest Weisen, and Rauch. Three down, 19 to go... So much good beer to try, so little time. Happy Oktoberfest!

Olivia the Observer

In August, Olivia had her first swimming lessons. Well the lessons aren't lessons in the true sense of the word, it was an introduction to the water for a little girl. (We'll wait and see if she loves the water as much as her dolphin Dad or if she prefers higher and drier land like her mother.)

The 25-minute "Learn to Swim" class was held Monday through Friday for two weeks. We were lucky to grab a slot in the 5:30 p.m. class. It was a lot of hustling to pick up Olivia and get her changed and in the pool with a parent by 5:30 p.m. The first day (when it was raining cats and dogs during the class), I didn't plan it well and Olivia wore her bathing suit home and ate snacks in the car.


Then we had to buy a new bathing suit for her because the ones we had were a little too tight for our growing girl.


For the first week, Olivia's instructor nicknamed her "The Observer." Olivia the Observer didn't clap with the other kids. She didn't sing along. She didn't blow bubbles or dunk her head in the water. She just stared at her teacher and classmates. Basically she observed.

Then on Sunday, Benny and I took her to the pool on the Air Force base where they had a children's water feature. It was basically a large water sprinkler where Olivia could run through it on her own. She spotted it first thing and pointed to it.



She was fearless running through the water.





And after that experience, Olivia loved her swimming lessons. She fully participated in the class and was even happy when Benny dunked her in the water.

She was happy until Thursday, the second to last day of class. Olivia had been up late the night before and was super cranky when I picked her at daycare. She was fine for the first 10 minutes of class, but when it was time to practice jumping into the pool, Olivia didn't jump in the water. She turned and walked to her towel. When I asked her where she was going, she calmly answered "All done" plain as day.

Now Olivia talks a lot, but doesn't say much, so this was a big moment in her verbal development. I smiled and said "no, we aren't all done. We are only halfway done."

Again she said "All done" and walked toward her towel.

Determined to get my money's worth, I grabbed Olivia and put her back in the pool, forcing her to finish the class. She screamed and cried and wasn't happy until the class sang the goodbye song. Then she immediately waved goodbye and gave the teacher a big smile. Olivia the Observer was "all done" observing for today.

Definitely have to take the O-Monster Here

I was tempted to join a tour group trip to Hakone National Park, the less than advertised area within sight of Fuji on a clear day. You can even see Fuji-san’s reflection on Lake Ashi on a clear day. But I had flashbacks of the wiki-wiki stops on the Big Island and decided to do it myself.

I picked up the directions from the fleet and family support services, and did a little research the night before. One gentleman did the same trip on his own, but started at 6am. I delayed my start a little bit in order to skype with Michelle and Olivia at 8am (thanks for letting me sleep in Love because I know Olivia was up earlier than that).

I got on the train at 9:30am and heading for Hakone. After changing trains I made it to Ofuna (how long it took I don’t remember, thanks to The World is Flat). I switched trains and headed for Odawara, when I jumped on a cable car heading up to Souzane. It was sometime after 11am I made it to my first destination, Hakone Open Air Museum. Only 100 yards from the cable car stop, I was mesmerized before even stepping through the gate. They had a fountain at the entrance that just caught my eye, and took me a few minutes to figure out it was more or less perpetual random motion that kept in moving.

Once inside I almost pulled the typical gai-jin mistake and walked into the middle of a video shoot that was being taken of the giant buffalo. They setup a little 20 ft track and must have taken at least 15 shots and running up to the buffalo. Next to the buffalo were two huge eggs on the sidewalk – at least 10 ft in diameter – that doubled as benches. How fitting, the paper just had an article about it was the hottest summer on record, and there at Hakone it was so hot they did fry an egg on the sidewalk. Later on I learned that the eggs were a part of a much bigger piece in which the obelisk looking object was actually a frying pan handle and the eggs were inside the pan. How clever.

Olivia and I have some practicing before out debut with Barnum and Bailey


I later wandered over to what looked like a giant set of Lincoln Logs, the Woods of Net. Inside were kids squealing in delight with the super sized hammock and suspended 2 ft diameter balls. One boy was practicing his karate on one of them, but ended his Tai Bo workout before I could get my camera out. I have to admit, I wished I was 22 years younger.

This is where I get home and ask Olivia, “Were you good while Dad was away? Really? Is that what Mom would say?” I’m thinking we need to encourage some potty training soon, and I have just the idea for a reward. But it gets better, there was also a giant space capsule gym unlike any other I had seen. It was like an eight-year-old designed the playground that only kids eight and below could use. Again, bummed. But, I think Olivia would have a hay day out here.



This is the Woods of Net. But I didn't see any nets from the outside.

Eureka, I've found the nets. But I couldn't get a picture of the little boy practicing his roundhouse kicks on one of the suspended balls.

In between were some not as eventual trips inside the Picasso museum (pictures not allowed), where I was reminded that the poor guy just could not decide on a woman to spend his life with. Oh, and his art was pretty stellar too, from the paintings to the ceramics and tapestry. All pretty amazing to see an abstract artist’s perspective, one that I have always had a hard time understanding. But I’ll keep trying, that’s why I love Michelle, she’s always exposing me to new things and getting me out of the engineer’s box of right angles and black and white solutions.

A little relief from the sun outside, and relearning about all Picasso and all of his quirks.
What happens when you have too much fun at the Picasso Museum, or sit in the sun for too long.

From the Open Air Museum, I just barely caught the cable car (almost got my shirt caught in the door as it was closing). Only to be headed the wrong way down the hill. Silly switchbacks, I forgot the cable car switched directions twice on its way up the hill, and this happened to be one of those stations. So I had another good 20 minutes reading my book in order to finish my trek back up the mountain.
Near the top a Souzan, I hitched a ride on the rope way (aka gondola) across Lake Ashi.

Yada, yada, yada, bus back to to the train station, train back to Yokosuka, and home by 10pm.

Coincidence our Little Miss Stubborn was born in the year of the ox?

Besides the Woods of Net, we also have the "Where is Miffy?" activity to wear our our Little O.

And when the day is over, we're stopping by to take our pictures with the Japanese Anamie cutouts.