{Just a little while}

Well, the boys and I took Shane to the airport today. He is TDY to Alaska for a little while. Lucky duck. I mean, maybe not so lucky to sleep in a sleeping bag in the cold ESPECIALLY when you are used to the warmth. He might appreciate the warmth even MORE than he already does after he gets back from Alaska. I think it will be really awesome to experience Alaska though so i am jealous he gets to see it and i don't! Bummer. My usual reaction to him being gone would be "oh my gosh, i have to live without him. This is going to be so hard." I feel like i can't complain or say a word here. I am surrounded my women who only see their husbands for three months out of the year. Mine is NOTHING compared to them. SO, i am NOT going to complain. :) I am lucky.
After we dropped Shane off the boys and i went to the southern tip of the island and they played on a playground there for about an hour and a half while i sat and finished my lesson for R.S.  This playground was at Peace Prayer Park.  They had Koinobori hanging EVERYWHERE. Koinobori are fish(carp) and they hang them up like a flag hangs.  They do this during their golden week, which is a big holiday here! It's to celebrate children. May 5th is Children's day. It was very crowded out today! This holiday traditionally celebrates the SONS in the house in hopes that they will grow strong and successful. Anyway, it was really cool to see all the Koinobori lining all the roads. Also, many houses with SONS will hang the koinobori's above the roof of their homes. So, there will be the largest koinibori for the dad, then one for the mom, and then a small one for each son , and the smallest for the youngest. I am so sad that i didn't take pictures. I couldn't take pictures because before we left i realized BOTH my batteries for my camera were dead. Unfortunate. Today was a great day for pictures. Great day.
Today was also Dragon Boat Racing Festival. It usually falls on the 5th day of the 5th month. Today.  I didn't want to try and tackle that by myself. I hear it can get pretty crowded, with parking being difficult to find. I was just too nervous to do it alone.  We will have to try next year. The summer time brings all kinds of fun festivals and celebrations that will occur here in Okinawa. I am excited to watch it all. :)
After the park we stopped at the family mart and picked up food for the kids. Gavin got some chicken nuggets. I got some anari sushi.  Tanner loves Onigiri, so he gets those everytime we go there. Jaydon ate some too. Onigiri are like rice triangles, completely wrapped in seaweed. Inside the triangle there is usually something, like fish or something. He likes the one with tuna inside it. I don't like seaweed, so i don't eat those. :) I am really glad tanner loves to eat them and loves fish and sushi. He will try lots of things. We also got some yummy japanese candies and snacks. They loved me for it. 
 I didn't get lost ONCE on our trip down south. I was so proud of myself. After we got our food at CoCo's, we then headed to meet some friends so we could all drive together to a special beach that they found a few years back. It's an awesome spot.  It'S a pretty hike to get there, and at low tide there is a tidal pool big enough for swimming so the kids swam there. Also, they said its an awesome spot for snorkeling with MANY colors of fish and coral. I am excited to take Shane's parents here when they come. They want to snorkel and this would be a great spot. We also made a little fire and roasted hot dogs. It was a fairly quiet spot. Part of the reason it's so quiet is because this is a spot where lots of japanese died during the war. The suicide cliffs are nearby, but in this area lots of people hid in caves that were all over.  The American were in their ships by the beach telling the japanese to come out and surrender and that they wouldn't hurt them. When the japanese started to come out of their caves, they would get shot in the back by the Japanese soldiers because they didn't want them to surrender.  This is also right by where the general took his life. SOOOO the japanese are very superstition about going down in this area because many spirits are present. And they think if you go near the water the bad spirits will pull you in.  We were safe though. :) It was a beautiful spot and a perfect spot for kids to swim.
After that we headed home. The boys showered up.  I fed them leftovers. They finished watching their movie from last night, Kung Fu Panda 2 and then they went to bed. Gavin said it was one of the best days ever. They really enjoyed it. I had Gavin sit in the front seat with me. He was being the man of the house today. He was passing out the food and directing the boys just like dad would do. It was fun watching him. :)
We were sad to see dad go today. I was very anxious about being on my own. But after todays adventure i realized I CAN DO IT. :) The fun day helped take our minds off of our sadness. On our way home, i felt empty again knowing we would go home and Shane wouldn't be there.
My goal is to help the boys by keeping them busy while he is gone. And before they know it he will be back. :) I have to teach preschool this week. I have to teach in R.S. tomorrow. I hope this week goes well. :)