KONNICHIWA!!!!!

I can hardly believe we are here! After 41 total hours of traveling, a 12 hour layover in Seattle, 4 stops on what was supposed to be a non-stop flight to Okinawa, 5 air plane transfers, 10 pieces of luggage, 6 carry-ons, 3 car seats, one double stroller, 3 very good kids (I must say was the biggest surprise), 2 new Leapster Game handhelds (okay, not so surprising that they were so good, they were just very occupied with a new toy), a car ride to the hotel that tripped my mind with everyone driving on the wrong side of the road, and a 17 hour time change that made us lose almost a whole day....I must say, we did very well.

However, it was very hard with all the waiting around that we had to do and all the changes that were made to the flights with stops in Alaska, Tokyo, another city in Japan I was not familiar with and then Okinawa. And in between each of those stops, we had to get off the plane and wait around for 2 hours each time, and then reload the same plane? Yeah, me too!

Anyway, we flew to Seattle on Wednesday, and got there around 3pm, and since our flight wasn't until 2:30 the next morning, we decided to rent a car and drive to the city and see the only building we know in Seattle...the Space needle. After $35 of a very quick view from the top (because the kids are not so easily impressed and didn't want to linger to make it worth the money) we headed down to the grounds around the needle where they had like a mini state fair carnival (the biggest reason why they wanted to hurry the "View"). So we explored the park and let the kids ride the rides (which we were almost the only people there on a week night, but the place was fully staffed) and then we walked over to a really cool and very big water fountain (my camera battery died, so I have no pics to share except from google pics).
Anyway, the kids had a great time watching everyone play in the water. Then we went for a nice walk and then drove back to the airport to wait for our flight that became delayed and didn't leave until 4am. I wish I had my camera with me. I have never seen so many people sleeping on an airport floor (and I am no germ-aphobe, but the floor was filthy), so I opted to sleep sitting up.

Once our plane came, we hopped on the flight only to be told it was going to other destinations first, and that was pretty much the rest of our night and day of flying on a large commercal jet chartered by the Military, carrying over 300 other military members and their families who were also moving to one of the many bases in Japan, or just returning from vacation. It was packed, but with all the kids I saw, it was a very quiet ride. I'm not saying I would do it all over again...I think we were pushing our luck until the end when the kids were very hungry, very tired and were forced to sit around while we tried to get a hotel and all our accommodations taken care of until we are assigned housing (which rumor has it, it can take months to wait for a permanent house...months!) And with all those people coming in, I'm very nervous about the housing situation.

At least one thing has paid off so far, all those late nights I stayed up hanging out with my family has trained me well as it is only 6pm over here, but all the kids and John passed out over an hour ago. I've got a good hour or two left in me..hence why I am blogging away even though I'm Super sleep deprived.

So, tomorrow starts our first offical day here, and we have a nice couple who will be helping us around the island and getting settled. They even did our grocery shopping for us tonight...so nice!!!

When I get a chance, I will post more about our adventures to come. Sayonara!