Kids "Handmade" Calandar

I helped the kids make these homemade hand print pages for a shutterfly calendar. We had fun doing it, and they turned out so cute!

January Snowflake

February Hearts

March Kites

April Duck Tails in the rain puddles

May Flowers

June Butterfly

July Fireworks

August Sunshine

September Teacher's Apple

October Ghosts

November Turkey

December Rudolph

Bullfight November 2010

Bullfighting in Okinawa is called Togyu. It's not really like Spanish bullfighting that you may think of. The matches are sort of like sumo wrestling because they are a contest of strength. The point is not for the bulls to harm each other, and in fact, if a bull accidentally gores its opponent, the match is immediately over. But just like sumo wrestling, the bulls are ranked by ability, with the top bull in the sport being called the yokozuna.The bulls lock horns and try to push each other backwards using all their might. Each bull has a handler that encourages it to win and these guys are half the entertainment. They stomp their feet and shout like madmen in an attempt to energize the bull.The winning bull is draped with a cloth and the owner of the bull is given a gift to celebrate.

Well, you know me. Hearing that there was something this "unique", I had to go!!

This guy was kind of like a clown?? He did funny things and made everyone laugh!

We got to go down into the ring before the matches started to see some of the retired bulls.

Posing! Too bad the picture taker didn't get the bull's head!!

A little Taiko drumming and dance entertainment:-)

Begin the matches!!!

Elijah took this picture<3

I went to the top to get a full aerial shot of the arena.

This was such a fun night for us!

November 2010

Elijah's class had a "What I am Thankful For" presentation.

Elijah was thankful for video games!

They sang some Thanksgiving songs too.

Noah and one of his school buddies, Evan, being silly at their Thanksgiving Celebration.

Lots of potluck Thanksgiving food!

Noah is pretending to eat his corn on the cob craft...lol.

Elijah was Student of the Week in November too.

This was displayed in the classroom.

He got to do something special for the class too: play piano!!

At Monakids!

The monkey climbing at one of the parks on Kadena.

Monkey bars!

Elijah, Noah, Talia Khorassani, and I climbing a cool tree!

Noah is trying to perfect his PB&J making skills:-)

Kokesei Street

This street in the middle of downtown Naha is so cool. There are a lot of souvenir shops, as well as eating establishments lining up and down both sides of the street. Sundays were the best days to come here, as the street was closed to motorists and the hustle and bustle of the many people added to the fun.

The beginning of Kokusai Street kind of reminded me of Times Square with the big screen on the corner;-)

Our mini tourists:-)

One of the souvenir shops...

These troll looking statues are everywhere in Okinawa. They are called "kijimuna", a mythological spirit native to Okinawa. They are known to be mischievous and commonly play "tricks" on people. They are in many Okinawan folk tales.

Tim with his soulful buddy:-)

Japanese super hero!!

Geisha girls!!

We lucked out to be here one day while a festival parade was going on.

The Ryukyu King

And Queen...

So pretty and cool!

Another awesome day!!