We are back

Hello All
I am alive and well:) We just got the Internet up in our apartment yesterday as well as received our express shipment. Needless to say I have been busy getting Dylan and I settled and all squared away here on base.
I have much to share with you all and promise to do so. I will be going all the way back to Terri Sue Place, Dylan's 1st birthday etc...
The adventure has for sure begun! Once I get to the Japan aspect of life I have decided that I will add a journal section to our blog. For those of you who do not have time or don't care to read extra, I will place this at the bottom of each post so you can just enjoy the pictures which will be posted first.
Stand by for new posts.....

From Rory... Leaving San Diego

Well I figured I would put up a quick post since Kim is trying to get everything situated in Japan. Kim and I have been able to chat on the phone a few times and are emailing all the time to keep in touch. Things are going well with Kim and Dylan in Japan. They are mostly set up and the first shipment of household items will be delivered on Wednesday. Our sponsor has been a big help to Kim with getting all the things taken care of since their arrival. I am sure she will start blogging soon as the internet will be connected in our apartment on I think Wednesday. Then she will be able to set up Skype to make calls back to the US for cheap. That will be a big blessing for her I know.

As for me, I am leaving San Diego on the 21st. I am ready to get over to Japan and be with my family. However, I won't be arriving until late September. The fire on the ship certainly threw a kink in the plans since I would have been in Japan tomorrow had it not happened. So anyway, just thought I would throw this up to say goodbye to you all and the USA for a year! We will be in touch though of course. Sayonara...

Sayanora

I wish that I had more time to post pictures:) I have many that I will share when I play catch up. Of course that won't start until I am in Japan and have Internet access in my apartment.
My Florida visit has been splendid as always!
I head out tomorrow morning at 9:49 and will arrive in Japan on August 12th at 3:35pm (Japan time)
will post again when I can - I am sure I will have great stories

Understanding

Hello Precious Faithful Family and Friends
Life is winding up here in Hampton Roads which is very hard for me. No I am still not a big fan of Virginia but the blessings Rory and I have received here are astounding. We are members of a wonderfully alive church, I enjoyed my job and we have priceless Christians friends who are making it hard to move. As you can imagine with my time being so short and my responsibilities so many and so large, I will not be posting regularly. I will do my best to keep you updated on our life and its myriad of changes. Adding pictures won't be as easy but I will make an effort because I know they are the best part.

Schedule
July 18th movers are here for the express shipment
July 21 - movers are here for regular shipment
July 22-23 people are here to pack up most of our possessions for storage
After the packers are done Mom, Dylan and I will be heading down to Florida
August 11th we leave for Japan

THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING

Plane Flight to Tokyo

I received my e-ticket yesterday from the Navy.
We will be heading out of Jacksonville on August 11th a little before 10 a.m. and will arrive in Tokyo 17 hours later, which will be August 12th at 3:35pm (in Japan)
The timing = 2 hour (approx) flight to DC, one hour layover in Washington DC then approx 14 hours to Tokyo
Wow, one month from tomorrow and we begin our journey!
You may start praying now for our flights PLEASE

CA - Day 4 & 5

Day 4 was spent at the zoo. What a wonderful experience! We were so amazed to see up close God's creativity!! We have tons of animal pictures but thought we would spare you :)
Also you will notice that you are now getting the abbreviated version of ours days due to the fact that my life is currently in a time crunch. Moving day is quickly approaching.

Below was Dylan's grin for his daddy and mom was thrilled to have the camera ready!

Day 5 - Daddy is getting Dylan covered in sunscreen for our day at Balboa Park. Balboa Park is the nation's largest urban cultural park. I would agree with it's own advertising that it is a must see in San Diego.

Through out the park the architecture was magnificent! (above -just a small taste)

There was also a Botanical Building with breath taking tropical beauty. I was thinking it would have been wonderful to just pull up a bench or even better string up a hammock and take in nature. Of course, that would have taken place in a pre-Dylan era:)

Balboa Park is also home to outdoor gardens. Two of which we visited they were the rose garden and cactus garden located side by side across the bridge from the museums.

I found the above cacti to be fascinating and spotted them through out the area of San Diego. Each "head" would almost grow backwards causing it to have a circular shape. Behind Dylan and I there are a ton of them together so I am not sure if you can tell what I mean.

These two photos are of the Museum of Man. Unfortunately, we did not get to visit this museum but did admire the architecture. Every Tuesday the park opens some of the museums to the public free of charge. The museum's on the list rotate. We didn't spend much time in any of the free museums one reason being that our little man is very animated:) No difference in his outside to inside voice at this age:)

After Balboa Park, we headed back to Mission Bay where Rory took us to the Wave House. This is an outside restaurant/bar with two wave pools. You can watch people surf as you eat. A neat and very "Southern California" location

Happy 4th of July

Ok, I had to put this next picture up.
I was sorting through our files to make sure we are ready to store our computer and whoa look at Dylan and I on July 4th 2007.
I am amazed how fast he has grown up and don't miss the days of me being massive with a not so little man inside!

I promise to someday (won't promise soon though I will try) to get the rest of the CA trip pictures up. I am swamped as you can imagine. The movers will be here July 18-23. They will take Saturday and Sunday off so they won't really be here for 6 days