This Month with the Petrini's....

I know my blog posts have been sparse since we moved here, but I can only say that life is busy right now. Luckily, Ben just finished T-Ball season with many impressive home-runs in almost every game, (pictures below) and I finished the 1st stage of making my Okinawan Memory quilt which included make 20 squares of the same square, and then exchanged them after working on them for 6 months with other people who also made 20 squares of something Okinawan. (again pictures below)

T-ball:
(I love the tongue sticking out...)

It's a home run!

Mia decided to sit in a another parents lap and just rest for about 20 minutes of so. Funny girl who is not afraid of anyone.


6-Months worth of Quilt-square Labor of Love:



But mostly, my teaching dance "hobby" that I began almost a year ago so that Bella could learn, and some other kids too, has just exploded and has turned into more than a part-time job for me. I teach almost 80 kids within 9 dance classes, and have 3 private students on the side, with more parents seeking private lessons, than I have time for. I've also been super busy planning a dance recital all by myself this time, and have been ordering costumes and hiring people for music and lighting and venues and choreographing over 20+ dances for the show....it is exhausting, but rewarding!

Ben is busy with being a 1st grader, and both Ben and Bella have begun to take Violin lessons and are actually enjoying it and progressing after 2 months so far.

Bella with her teacher, Miss Lindsay.


As a family, we have tried to get out and enjoy the cooler weather, and most times, I forget the camera, but we were able to see some neat things lately that have been the highlight of our stay here so far:

Beautiful, secluded beaches with friends:
For John's birthday in late September, we went to a neat little beach on a nearby island to snorkel and let the kids play in the tide pools. I brought a cake I made and we embarrassed John by singing Happy Birthday to him. It was a little impromptu party, but it was a great day to spend with friends and family.






Shuri Castle:
A few weeks ago, we took our good friends, The Hamlin's, to see Shuri Castle, which is one of the oldest Shrines on island, but has been rebuilt several times between wars, earthquakes and such. Very Beautiful and really helps you understand Japanese culture a little better.


Ben and his friend Kyler, pretending to be Samuri fighting....it was pretty cute, but they were quickly stopped by the Japanese to behave. Seriously, how could a kid resist...I know I couldn't. :)

How Shuri Castle might have looked back in the days of the Ryukyu Empire.

This picture describe Mia to a T if you know her well enough to know that there is some smart brains behind those smiling, mischeivious eyes of hers. :)



Okinawan Tug-of-War:
This tug-of-war is the largest in the world, and also a very old tradition here in Japan. And when I also say the largest, just get a look at that rope:


This rope spans over a mile-long and over 20,000 people participate each year in this event to pull the rope.



We had a fabulous time watching and slightly participating in the pull-event, and even had our side of the rope win the tug!

The kids got in on the celebration too:



Futenma Shrine:
Then last week, we took the kids to a neat little Shrine nearby called the Futenma Shrine and Cave. It was neat to walk around and look inside their shrine while ceremonies were going on (to take pictures is considered rude and dis-respectful).


Local Okinawans pray to their ancestors and offer them food and comfort when they visit their family shrines. Pretty Neat.

There is a cave nearby the shrine temple where there is another shrine. I missed the importance of why it was here.





Last week, was also Ben's 7th birthday, and since we don't do big parties every year, so on the "off-years", we allow Ben to invite one or two friends to tag along with out family for some fun. We took the kids to Mona Kids Jungle and had the place nearly to ourselves.




Bella enjoying a rice-ball for dinner:


That is what has been going on these past few weeks with our family. I hope to blog again before another month goes by....but don't hold your breathe.