Ju-ni Gatsu

Merry Christmas!  Another busy month and end to quite a year in Okinawa.  December didn't see any trips or travels but we did have a wonderful Christmas Holiday.  The weather was only so so with a couple days getting above the 80 degree mark.  That, however did not in any way deter us from drinking plenty of wine.  We also got some good sea shell hunting in.  And, as you will see Ellie got her first pedicure in--she is two folks and already paying people to paint her toenails!

Then, of course we celebrated Katie's birthday on the 25th...

Ellie getting in the Christmas spirit

Ellie (and Katie) torturing Maddi

 A couple photos from sea shell hunting...we call this sand dollar beach.  Not much to look at but it sits in the back of a large shallow and sandy bay--you guessed it, a great place for sand dollars to call home.  On the whole shell hunting is improving since Typhoon Muifa really wiped out a lot of beaches on the east side of the island this past summer.

One good lookin' KC hat, one really good lookin' KU hat and one really big pile of  shells

As mentioned...Ellie's first 'pedi'...as you can see she seems a natural, no practice necessary.

Looks like she could just doze off right there!

Bet you cannot paint a 'Hello Kitty' on such a small toe...man those Japanese girls sure can!

 As mentioned we had a wonderful Christmas.  We celebrated Christmas Eve with our good friends Joe and Lindsey Platt.  We marked the occasion with a traditional Wigilia (pronounced Vee-Geel-yuh) meal...it was exceptional!

Christmas Eve

Ellis isn't all too sure about Santa Claus but she assumes that anyone who eats cookies cannot be all that bad

Maddi is no dummy (well sometimes)...she knows for certain there is something for her in this stocking

 Bring on the presents already...

This year we had a Christmas duck...it was super...but the real reason to cook a duck is to reuse the fat to fry some potatoes...I dare you to try it!

Here comes the Birthday Cake!!!

Happy Birthday Katie!!

Solid evidence of a good cake!

Apologies...we don't have any photos of New Year's, aka our anniversary.  We think though, that we sent 2011 off right with a 2 inch thick ribeye and a bottle of Whitehall lane 2004 Cabernet.  We are happy to say good riddance to 2011 and welcome 2012 with open arms!  See you all next year.

Ju-ichi Gatsu

Scheeeesh!  If you are like me you are tired just from reading the past two months worth of posts.  Now, say aloha to November's post and remember we still have holidays fast approaching.

This month we welcomed Sesame Street Live to Okinawa (which if you guessed it, Ellie was afraid of them).  Then we celebrated Will's 21st birthday.  Then we jet-setted to the island of Oahu to meet the Sirridges for Thanksgiving.  Check out the photos below.

Ellie was mesmerized (as was I) with the Elmo toy

We had to take a break in the back to make sure Elmo and friends were not too dangerous

Ellie is still not convinced this is a good idea...

The balloon says it all

Birthday hug

Are those candles the right ones??

Everyone wants a piece of homemade ice cream cake...EVERYONE!

Mid month we hit the air again for a family trip to Hawaii.  Ellie is watching the islands approach.

Washin' the salt off

Playing hide and seek

Sirridge family dinner

We celebrated all the 'fall' birthdays much to the delight of Ellie

This photo may end up in the 'Stars, they are just like us' section of US Magazine

North Shore, Oahu...November, the waves were amazing!

Sunset Beach...if you couldn't tell

Even Thanksgiving on Hawaii needs football

 We ended our stay on Oahu with a trip to Pearl Harbor.  This was exceptional because just two months ago we were in Hiroshima at Peace Memorial Park.  If you haven't been to either they are certainly moving and cause one to ponder what is truly important in life.  Interesting part though is that they both essentially say the same thing--no more fighting!!

Add caption

US Ensign at the USS Arizona Memorial

December here we come!  Oh, if anyone is counting, as of November 30 Kansas City only has to wait 292 days for the return of the Duensings!!

Ju Gatsu

Hello again!  October was supposed to be a cool down month before the holidays fell upon us.  Instead we stayed busy nearly every chance we had.  This month we found two great new places to hang out.  In the first few photos we head out to Tsukenjima, a small island only 15 minutes by boat out to the east. Not sure why it took us over 2 years to find the place.  It is a tiny little island but a great place to 'get away' from the bustle of Okinawa.

Ellie is waiting for the Tuskenjima ferry at 7:00am

Ellie is excited to get her own tatami mat for the boat ride

Ellie is looking for Tsukenjima

Tsukenjima is known as carrot island--October is not carrot season

Ellie found a crab on the way to the beach

 The following are several photos from the beach at Tuskenjima

The lone grocery store on Tsukenjima

 Later in the month we started to work on our tans for our trip next month to meet the Sirridge clan in Hawaii.  Here we found a new 'off the beaten' path beach on Hamahiga.  We have been going to this island for two years running.  It is tiny and we just now found this beach...it is a great time for all.

The family at hidden beach on Hamahiga island.  Here we are looking south over Nakagusuku Bay on the east side of Okinawa

After the beach trips it was time for Halloween.  Having an extra kimono in the closet makes Halloween costumes easy--although make-up on a 2 year old is always a challenge.  Ellie wasn't too sure what Halloween was all about, but let me tell you, she caught on quickly.

post trick-or-treating bath!!!


See you all next month!!