A time of relief...

Conferences went well on Friday and I am thrilled they are over with, for now anyway...we also have 3rd quarter conferences...I had a few blessings at conferences. First, after I was done going through the report card with one of my parents I asked if she had any questions. She responded with. "How are you liking Okinawa?" Not exactly the kind of question I meant, but it led to another 20 minutes discussing Okinawa, thanksgiving and christmas plans, my family, the boyfriend I don't have, shopping, etc. etc. and even included taking pictures! It was a lot of fun and provided some good laughs for a potentially long day! My other blessing was from a parent that brought in some homemade pumpkin bread and several different yummy marinades and sauces that she recommended. This is a missionary family that has been on the island for several years and is well acquainted with good food and things we may be missing from the states.

On Saturday the plan was to make the 2 1/2 hour drive to Hiji Falls, a great hike and a beautiful waterfall. We survived the drive with 3 children and 5 adults in one van only to find that it was closed down for construction. Luckily Rocky was with us and knew of another waterfall that he liked better down the road a bit. It had been pouring rain so when we finally arrived to the second waterfall we ate our bento lunches (Japanese lunches to go) in the van. There was only one problem with this waterfall, you had to walk in the water about knee deep, on rocks, for 30-40 minutes. We figured we would go as far as we could without shoes, since we weren't prepared for this kind of hike. Though the rain had stopped it was still quite the journey! I hung at the back with Izzie, Lori, and Rocky, while the rest of the gang took up the front. We made it to this point (see picture below) only to find out that you needed to climb up some steep rocks to take a path to the actual waterfall. Needless to say we stopped here and decided we'd come back another time with appropriate water shoes. The Japanese ladies in the picture happened to be trekking through the water with us. Notice how I am only wet just above my knees...Getting to this point was a bit easier than heading back.

After holding a wet child and slipping and sliding on rocks, I wasn't so lucky to stay real dry...This was a hilarious moment...you can see that Izzie just about ate it in the water! I thought for sure I would end up completely in the water, on several different occasions!

Here we are after making it back to point A...

After church today, we joined up with Lori again for some bowling with a group of high school age boys who attend a Canadian school in China and are visiting the island for a cultural exchange program. She hosted 4 of them for the weekend. We had a great time bowling, followed by a trip to the 100 yen store (where the boys bought little red and white hats that many of the Japanese students wear for PE...it was hilarious!), and then back on base for dinner at Chili's...oh how I have missed Chili's! There were lots of laughs tonight...much needed! ...Looking forward to a short week...No school Tuesday in observance of Veteran's Day.