Epic Asia

Our travels started on 12/10 for the US members of the group and the 12Th for the Okinawan crew. We have enjoyed Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Siem Reap and Singapore. We leave today (12/22) on a 5 day cruise which will take us to Phuket (Thailand), Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Lots of spicey food, exotic coctails (they make a mean Mojito in Siem Reap) and fantastic people. The elephants in Chiang Mai were great fun and Cambodia is a step back in time. More later.....ENJOY

The New Baby

This is the newest edition to the Westcott household....Her Japanese name is Mike Neko (sounds like Meekay Neck O) which means tortoise shell patterned cat. Her alias is Miss Mike (rhymes with bike,like,hike). Remember Johnny Cash's song "A Boy Named Sue"? This is "A Girl Named Mike". She is very sweet, talkative and cuddly. Sukoshi (Cat #1) is upset and spends most of his time growling and running away from her. She really wants to be his buddy, but will have to wait until cat #1 is ready. Sushi (Cat #2) is still MIA. We think she is either living large with another family or she has gone on to glory. When I went to the stray animal facility to post a sign about Sushi I met and got hooked on Mike. I gave it a few days and went back. I told myself if she was still there she was mine. SCORE...I was talking with Garth about the fact that we could end up with 3 cats if Sushi came back. "Dad will flip", I said. Garth's reply was, "He'll get over it". Good, good boy.......

Family Photo Japanese Style

I have never been one for professional "Olan Mills" style photography. Maybe it's the lack of spontaneity or the atrocious backgrounds, I don't know. As a child I distinctly remember a "Knott Family” photo which included alot of polyester and Dad's permed hair and handlebar mustache. I think it was 1976 because we were all wearing red, white and blue. That said, I have always felt a tad remiss about the lack of professional photography documenting the Westcott Family (circa January 1996). The only "real" pictures we have are our wedding photos which are really a collection of photos taken by friends and family. So.....I decided that we needed to get with the program and we had some photos taken professionally. To jazz it up we decided to do it Japanese style (Ageda Photography on the 330 near Gate 2 street). You wouldn't believe how much clothing goes under a kimono. Heath was cinched so tight he could barely breath and it was a production for me to sit down. It’s a wonder the Geiko and Maiko don’t fall flat on their beautifully painted faces. It would be close to impossible not to dismantle the entire outfit trying to go to the bathroom. Anyway, it was great fun and very worthwhile cultural experience. I would highly recommend this for any family here on Okinawa.

Okuma Weekend

We had a great time at Okuma a few weekends ago. Our friends Meiko and Vivian made it from Portland, OR to Okinawa unscathed and we thought we'd introduce them to northern Okinawa. Okuma is an Air Force military resort on the western side of the island. We have a group of friends on Okinawa that make regular treks to the resort for some down time. We had a group of about 20 adults and 10 children. We had a birthday celebration for three of the kids (Garth, Aspen and Matt) with 2 pinatas, a water balloon toss and pin the tail on the donkey. Tom and Brian (the chefs) cooked up some Kahlua pork and garlic chicken. Stefanie made a birthday cake that looked like a WWE wrestling ring. For the adults there were homemade pina coladas, ample beer and cigars, golf and big time laughs. Fast forward a few days and we finished our week with Meiko and Vivian. They were delayed leaving Okinawa by 1 day due to the issues with the Bangkok protests, but were able to fly to Honk Kong the day after Thanksgiving. We received and email today saying they were routed to U-tapao airport in Pattaya, Thailand and will somehow make it to Chiang Mai to catch up with her mom........What a trip.

Here's Garth......

This is my tribute to Garth......The little baby that was born in 29 Palms, CA on 11/24/97 has just turned 11 years old. His feet are bigger than mine and he is almost as tall as me. When did that happen????? As Garth approaches the Tween-Teen years I am hoping that he can hold on to his humor, his enthusiasm and his big heart. It's not easy being a kid, however, I hope he'll look back on his childhood as being a happy one. Here's to you Garth.....LIVE WELL

The Holiday Season is Upon Us......

We thought these photos would bring a smile to your face as the holiday season begins.....We are going to be joining about 5 families for Thanksgiving dinner. Our friends Vivian and Meiko will be visiting the week prior to the holiday and we look forward to seeing some sights with them and relaxing. Watch for new postings as we have lots of things going on- kids' swim meet, Garth's birthday, Okuma weekend with about 30 other people etc....Have a great day.

Funny Stuff & Myspace layouts

Funny Pictures & Myspace layouts

I love Shisa

Old Okinawan folklore tells of a Shisa or Lion-Dog that used its' powers to save the island from sea creatures that threatened catastrophe. When exploring Okinawa you will most definitely see varying interpretations of Shisa. They will be on roof tops, flanking a driveway or a gate, at the front entrance to about any type of building or business and in gardens. They are male and female counterparts with the male usually sitting on the right with its mouth closed and the female on the left with its mouth open. I happen to LOVE Shisa and am trying not to go overboard in my collecting of them. You can see them all over Okinawa, however, unless you have lived here they may not hold the same charm. They are not common in mainland Japan. Anyway, I'm sure my future neighbors will wonder what the funny things on my roof, in my garden or at my front door are.

Pretty Toes

Latest Pedicures for Salley and Grace. Salley went with the alternating black/pink polka dot motif while Gracie opted for a Halloween theme.

Navy Ball 2008

Every October the Navy Ball rolls around. It is a nice way to celebrate the Navy's birthday while getting dressed up and hanging out with good friends. We started our evening with a pre-party at Tom and Kim Zuzelski's house. From there our designated drivers, Mia and someone else (can't remember who), escorted us to the Butler O'Club for the festivities. It is a formal affair with alot of pomp and circumstance. Lots of toasts, traditions and the ever important cake cutting. They also featured 2movies/slide shows. One was about a Navy Seal who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his valor in Iraq and the other was dedicated to all the sailors who have perished while fighting the current war. You know me, I cry at Hallmark adds so imagine my behavior during those presentations. I think everyone was very moved. We had a really nice time and look forward to future events. GO NAVY....

Grand Prix of Japan

The boys had a great time at the grand prix. Lots of loud cars going really fast.....what could be better than that? The weather was very pleasant except for one day which was quite chilly. That is a huge change from Okinawa where is it still in the 80's and humid.

Ode to Gracie

I did a very "Bad Mommy" thing. I missed Adoption Day. So....better late than never. Gracie has been with us for 8 years and 28 days as of today. We adopted her from Krasnoyarsk, Russia (Siberia near Lake Baikal)on 9/12/00. We arrived home after our second trip to see her on 9/17/00 in time to celebrate her 1st birthday on the 18Th. It's hard to imagine what our lives would be like without her. I can't really imagine another child fitting so well into our family. An added bonus to the whole Grace package is that we were also able to make contact with her birth family and are able to stay in frequent contact via letters and a translator. Her birth mother is Lilia and her sister and brother are Anastacia and Slava. Grace is very proud that she was adopted. She calls herself Russia and knows that it was no accident that she found her family half way across the world. Here's to Grace Oksana Lilia Westcott.........YOU ROCK.....

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Each year when October rolls around I straddle the emotional fence between feeling like a "Survivor" and feeling like I am pushing my luck. I have always worried that I would anger the "Cancer Gods" by being too smug and they would really let me have it. "So Salley...you dodged the last bullet, but watch out now", they would say. I was diagnosed with Stage 3a breast cancer in March 2002 at the age of 34. My treatment included 6 months of chemotherapy, 6 1/2 weeks of radiation, 7 surgeries, 5 years of hormonal medication therapy and every 3 month follow ups for 5 years. There was a time when breast cancer occupied my every waking moment. Now I am happy to say that I usually think about other things. I tell you......cancer has a way of knocking you flat on you back and helping you sort things out. I learned alot about myself by having cancer and I call that my silver lining. When someone told me that they would not change the fact they had had cancer I thought they were crazy. Now I understand. My family and friends have been my saving graces and I hope all Survivors are a lucky as I have been. Look......I just called myself a survivor and felt really good about it.

Zoo Trip Okinawa Style

Garth and Grace both had a field trip to the zoo. I volunteered to chaperone and we had a splendid time. I was in charge of 3 kids and it was my job to keep them in line and out of trouble. I think we were fairly successful. We saw your normal zoo animals including a poop throwing chimpanzee, the spraying lion and mating elephants. As you can imagine the elephant viewing caused quite a stir and the kids were beside themselves. I chose not to take pictures as I am sure your imaginations will do the job. As you look at the photos ask yourself what the 2 hand drawn signs would mean to you if you were to wander by a chimpanzee or lion cage. Garth was the proud recipient of "Chimpanzee Poop" fodder after he and the kids taunted the grumpy old thing into action. Great way to spend a school day.

Typhoon Sinloku

I guess you had to be here to feel/see/hear the rain, thunder etc.....This typhoon was definitely no Man-Yi (July 07),but was enough reason to tie and weight everything down so things didn't disappear. It was supposed to hit us directly, but ended up moving west. This is a short video taken from our back porch.

Gracie turns 9

What a gala we had.....Grace has been planning, talking about, rehashing and strategizing about her party for months. With all the pressure I was worried that I would flop as her assistant party planner, however, I am happy to say that we had a grand time. To start 4 little girls, Heath and I went to Burger King drive thru to get lunch. Lunch in hand we progressed to our favorite roller slide park. For those not living in Japan these parks are fantastic. The entire slide is made of rollers and the kids (some adults) travel down the slide on their backsides, feet and various other body parts. The major complaint (if not traveling on cardboard) by the end of the slide is, "My butt is itching and/or vibrating....". Well.....with cardboard in hand we hit the slide. The girls were up and down (in very humid weather) too many times to count. I am happy to say that by the end of my maiden slide yours truly was able to stick a catapult induced landing and earn a very respectable score per our 4 girl judging panel. I am also very proud to say that Heath's slide was not nearly as fast or graceful as mine. After the park we headed home for more festivities. Grace made out like a bandit in the gift department and the kids enjoyed a Lego cake (I am going into the cake making business) and a pinata. Grace is already talking about her 10Th birthday party.....

NOSCO Luncheon

You might ask....What is NOSCO? NOSCO stands for Naval Officer Spouses Club of Okinawa. NOSCO runs the gift shop that I volunteer at and is one of the organizations that raises money to be donated to local American and Japanese charities. Last year a total of 250,000 dollars was donated. Anyway......who would of thought that I would meet such cool women through this organization. Let me introduce you to Kim, Lea Ann, Rachel, Britt (front row L-R) and Kelly, Rebecca and Amy. We were at the Welcome Aboard Luncheon for the new people on island. It was a nice time and we had the most festive table. They gave away great prizes of which we won NONE while some people won 2-3 times.... We decided the raffle was rigged. All in all a very nice time and probably one of 2-3 times a year where dressier clothes are in order.