Kadena Research!

Since we got our assignment to Okinawa, Japan (Kadena AFB) I haven't been able to stop researching! I have so many questions! If you want to know more about it too, then read on! This is a summery so far with what I know and where I found the info - mostly personal notes but some good info.

• http://www.kadena.af.mil/newcomersinformation/index.asp - This is the Kadena AFB website that has lots of info on what to expect when moving there. 
• https://www.usps.com/ship/apo-fpo-guidelines.htm - When we get there we will get a mail box like a PO Box but for the military. This link will explain how to mail us! 
• http://okinawahai.com/ - This has been the best site so far giving real experience of military personnel moving to Okinawa! I could read this day and night! 
• http://www.toriimwr.com/ - This is where I plan on living everyday when we move! 

So far, we have learned that we cannot bring our car or washer/dryer and will have to figure out what we want to do with them. All accompanied personnel has to live on base unless there is no room, then housing helps find you a place in another military housing unit or off-base. We learned that Logan will have a 3 week training in Florida before going to Japan - still don't know if I can come or when. I know that I will have phone and internet capabilities. I learned that there is a military beach called Torii Beach and it is fantastic! There are three LDS military branches. 

Other things I'm still figuring out are: what company to use for cell phone service (SoftBank, AU, Docomo) and how much it is going to cost to call the States; what kind of cars are available and what kind do we want to buy while we are there; We have never done a military move. What do I need to get ready, what should we move (or what can we move) and how long it will take to get our stuff. 

I'm sure there are more questions that I don't even know I need to ask yet but I feel good knowing that we still have time to figure them out. 

Houston Trip

After finding out where we are moving on Wednesday (chant* Kadena! Kadena!), we got to finish off the week by going to Houston for the long Memorial Day weekend. We stopped at Chipotle's in Austin on our way through and then went to the temple on our first day in Houston. 

It was a beautiful day and we took some pictures while we waited for the next session to start.

The Houston Temple is set up just like the Albuquerque temple inside. It was wonderful starting our trip off with it. It had been a while and I think Logan and me both thought this was one of our favorite parts of our trip!

After the temple we checked into our hotel and grabbed some dinner before going to see Iron Man 3 in 3D. Don't we look cool!

I took this picture the next morning while Logan was eating breakfast and waiting for me to get ready.

Saturday we saw Star Trec and shopped at the outlet mall! Logan was really great the whole time we were shopping! I know it is not his favorite thing but he followed me around the whole time and was nice enough to let me buy some new clothes! (I will miss my Banana Republic when we are in Okinawa).

For dinner we ate at Rudy's because it is supposed to be real Texas bbq. It was good. My favorite part is that we took the peach cobbler we got for dessert and drove down to Galveston and ate them as we walked on the beach. From where we were, you could see Pleasure Pier and all its rides lit up.

Sunday was beach day! I hate to spend too much money when we are on vacation so we decided that after going to church we would play on the beach for free. I sprayed us both down with spf 100 and we drove out to Galveston. I new it would be busy because it was a holiday weekend but it was crazy getting there. Unfortunately, we spent most of the trip sitting in the car but once we got there it was a lot of fun!

We found a less crowded beach further down the cost and had a lot of fun playing in the waves and eating the picnic we brought. The water was really warm even if it was not very clear (It made me excited for when we can go to the beach any time when we are in Okinawa!). 

We had to drive back on Monday but before we left, we hit up a place called Niko Niko's. It is a Greek restaurant in the middle of down town Houston. We heard that they had Donor Kabobs (like Europe) and we weren't disappointed! They were pretty much the same and tasted so good! It was the favorite thing I ate on the whole trip!

After lunch, we went to Ikea and got a guest bed for all the company we are going to get while living in Japan and had a safe and uneventful drive home.

Logan's Job Drop

It was a long wait to get to Logan's Job Drop night but we made it! Logan has been working so hard in the program and it has really shown. I don't mean to brag or anything (actually I do) but right now he is second in his class and that is really good considering the people in his class and is probably the only reason we got our number one choice!  

The way a Job drop goes, is that they make all of the classes wait in a different room and then call one in at a time to tell them what they got. They have the civilians and Guard decide how and present them (they already know where they will go after this unlike us). The worst part was that we were the last class and had to wait over an hour (you can see how this was making Logan feel above). Finally, it was our turn.

The way our class found out was that they put together a slide show with funny facts about where they were going and then let them guess. Here is a video of Logan's. I love his fist pump at the end every time! (It's not Hawaii).

It is hard to see his slides on the video so here is what we saw. I giggle every time I see Logan's face in a kimono.  

We are so happy and excited to move to Okinawa Japan! It is like a dream come true for me and I am so glad that Logan will be doing a job that he wants to do and I'm sure he will enjoy! We have learned that there is a lot to learn about moving overseas (more on that coming in another post soon) but we are up to the challenge!

I love this boy! 

Here is a pic of Logan's Class:

Class 130226B