June 2006 Archive

6/24 - Freedom! For all of you who have followed the saga of us trying to fly 2 dogs around the world, the shots, the microchips, the quarantine, etc... here is some good news. Brandi was released from her quarantine and she is a free dog. Maggie still has a month to go but no worries that will be here soon enough. It has been a painful process but it is almost over.

 6/23 - Sam's latest creation is a Basic Variation number 2. Sam also got her hair colored today so we put a couple of pictures for you to enjoy.

Yesterday the Commandant of the Marine Corps (head of the Marine Corps for all you non-military folk) came to Camp Courtney and spoke to the Marines in the base theater. He spoke to us about the importance of what we are doing both in the war efforts and in support of the war efforts and reemphasized the importance of Honor, Courage and Commitment. He also spoke of things, that some that have never served may not understand, but I think what stuck out to me was the aspect of how Marines are a family and what happens to one effects all. Normally I don't talk about these things but with the current investigations, allegations and charges that Marines are undergoing I think I need to say it. Today is the year anniversary of when I lost 2 Marines in my unit and on 23 May was the year anniversary that I lost a Marine from my section that I knew very well. Point that I want you, my family and friends to understand that there are Marines out there working hard everyday protecting this nation and doing the right thing, so before you pass judgment on the Marine Corps as a whole as some do, remember that the actions of few should not erase the all the good deeds of the rest of the Marine Corps for the last 230+ years (not saying that I think any of those Marines are guilty, just making a point). I am proud to be a Marine and love the Marine Corps and it disturbs me when people forget all the good that have been done and all of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for this country when it appears that some Marines did something wrong. Ok I will get off of my soapbox now.  

 6/21 - Okinawa is truly tropical beauty, when its not raining. When we get caught up in our everyday routine it is easy to forget that we live on a tropical island. Speaking of tropical, rainy season is officially over (we are still in Typhoon season). The Stars and Stripes reported today that in 36 days we got 38 inches of rain and it rained 20 days straight. The pictures above are what I see everyday when I go into and come out of my work building.

This is my work building, I work in the back in the room with no windows.

These pictures were taken down the street from my building. Looks just like a postcard. If you make it a post card I want a cut!

This is Riley's attempt to look like Uncle Barry with a mustache made of bubbles.

For those who are not checking the page on an irregular basis I have created an archive for updates so that the main page won't get bogged down trying to load a million pictures. I have also added a button for the weather here in Okinawa in case anyone is curious.

Click on the button to play Riley's water clip. It is more of an experiment than anything else. Now that I got this working expect more video clips in the future.                                                                   

6/20 - Today Riley's daycare has started a twice a week trip to the pool. Here are a few pictures of Riley at the pool. I am working on trying to figure out how to add videos to the page because we have a short video of Riley walking in the pool. I know this weekly trip makes Aunt Sonia proud!  Coming soon will be Touring Okinawa by foot. I am going to start to take the camera on my runs so you can see Okinawa as I do. These pictures will be on Monty's Page. I will let you know when it is up and running.

6/19 - Riley has some new artwork posted to her page.

6/18 - HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all fathers everywhere. For Father's Day I got a homemade card from Riley and the Band of Brothers DVD set. I did a whole lot of nothing today which is exactly what I wanted. The weather was good until about 6 pm. The downfall to the day was that the cable and internet have been off and on all day. The cable went out during Pimp My Ride! What's up with that? Anyway, today was a good day for Daddy Quailes. I would like to say Happy Father's Day to: Ralph, William, Barry, Bill, Uncle John, Demond and Tino.

6/17 - SUNSHINE HAS ARRIVED!!!!! We went to the park today so Riley could enjoy the outside. You can see the pictures when you click on the Park Pics button above. I moved the Iraq Pics to Monty's Page. She got to play on the slide, tire swing and do a few pull ups as well. We also went shopping (I know her Nana is proud). Riley loves to shop so much she asks us to go all the time. By the way if your sound is off you are missing music playing. (Here comes the sun was playing)

6/16 - Here are Samantha's latest creations. The arrangement on the left is the Moribana style. The arrangement on the right is the Samantha had some extra flowers and needed to practice style. Today was mostly sunny with a few sprinkles in the afternoon. Don't forget Father's Day is on Sunday.

6/15 - Who sent a Jedi to Okinawa? Little Miss Riley wanted to go for a wagon ride in the rain and she rode the whole way with her hood like you see it in the picture.

6/14 - Today Riley helped bake cookies at daycare. Ummmmm, nothing like enjoying the product of hard work... Yep it rained the past two days and the 10 day forecast calls for rain. Yeah! Oh and the question came up if Riley took after her daddy with her Oreo eating technique. Well the answer is no, daddy eats the cookie as is, no twist.

6/12 - Riley's New Umbrella: Well there is no surprise that is is still raining here today. So Samantha went to the 100 Yen Store (its like our Dollar Store) and bought Riley an umbrella. Riley made a drum and shaker at daycare that you can see on the Riley's Artwork page. Oh and for all of you Oreo fanatics Riley is a "twist and eat the cream".

 6/11 - CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN. That's what you do when it rains forever. Riley helped us clean her room and we found tons of toys she hasn't seen in a long time so she should be happy for the rest of the day. The pictures here are what it looks like right now (11:05am Sun Oki time) out of our front door and back door. Now you see what we will be looking at all day because I think that is probably as far as we are going. Tomorrow my leave ends and I go back to work, so there may be a slow down on the updates but I may surprise you so keep checking back. Oh and here is a picture oh Riley's entertainment for a while. She is riding her bike through the house in a circle... I have added a new link to the favorite links area (Military Support). It links to the America Supports You website. This site is a military appreciation site where you can send messages to our troops and stay up to date on some military news. Until next time...
 

6/10 - Daughter like father? Somehow I don't think that is how the old adage goes. Anyway, yes it is still raining and everything is canceled. Every base here has a skate park for skate boarders and roller bladers. Today there was supposed to be a competition here on Camp Courtney and it has been canceled. Every other weekend here on Camp Courtney there is a Flea Market (Yard Sale) in front of the commissary but that was also canceled. On Camp Kinser there was a festival planned for this weekend that we wanted to go to today. It was going to have food, games and activities for kids. You guessed it... CANCELED. Welcome to the rainy season. I have added a map of Okinawa under the favorite links so you can get an idea of some of these places we are talking about.

6/9 - Sam went to a Japanese flower arranging class. The arrangement is called Sensho Ike no Bo
which contains Sori Da su Tan, Daisy Aster and Ginga guim flowers (yeah I don't know how to
pronounce them either). This is part one of 4 classes, so expect to see more of these lovely arrangements in weeks to come. The teacher is taking Sam to a Japanese restaurant after her last
class. Oh and its raining again!

6/8 - Today Riley came home wearing her artwork from daycare. It is a pig nose that she
colored herself. Oh and go figure it is about day 10 of rain!

  6/7 - Sam took an obi making class and here is what it looks like.

6/6 - Monty has begun the journey of creating a family website. This site is intended to keep friends and family update on the adventures of the Quailes family during our 3 year stay here on Okinawa, Japan.