Life Behind The Wheel of Our "Shoe-Box"

Baby In The Car (I AM SAFETY DRIVER)

WE HAVE A CAR!!! God Speed Japan, God Speed!

It took a little while for me to get used to driving here on the left side of the road, but with practice, makes perfect... (or almost perfect in my case!)

Michael let me pick the car out since I'm the only one in the family who drives at the moment, he still needs to take his test, but that should be SOON! So here she is, in all of her orange glory!

Her name is Lola, she does the cha-cha...

She is a 1997 Honda S-MX Station Wagon (or shoe box as Michael calls it)

She has 3 doors and seats 4 comfortably. Laela likes that she can see out all of the windows while we drive, and she has her own bench to herself.

I'm really excited to get a GPS and tour this place! I couldn't do it (safely or sanely) without a GPS!

Ta-Da!

Our Humble Abode

We have FINALLY started fixing up our house, and everyday it is closer to resembling "our home." We absolutely love our neighborhood... with the exception of a few of the "louder" neighbors. We live at the very end of Leyte Ct. which is nice because traffic is always quiet.

We have a small front yard, and a small back yard, but they are perfect for us! :)

Our doors are always open for those of you looking to visit Japan! Although an RSVP in advance will be appreciated! lol

Mi Casa Es Su Casa!!!

A Little Bit of Where We Live

Here are a few pictures of Yokohama. I took them while waiting outside CoCo's for my take-out order! :)

They aren't the best, but they are interesting! I really wish you guys could see this in person, Japan is amazing! Every twist, every turn, leads to something so new and exciting! With the exception of when your driving around L O S T. (don't ask! :)

Oh CoCo ICHIBANYA, We L O V E You!!!

Just outside the entrance.

This is their delivery car! :)

Who woulda thunk it? A little piece of Heaven right here on the island of Japan!
Presenting:
CoCo ICHIBANYA (the worlds GREATEST Curry House)

So... I used to get "pissy" when I would call Michael (while I was still back in the states) and he was always at "CoCo's." I couldn't figure out why he was always there... What could POSSIBLY be that addicting? Curry? Yuck!
Oh Boy, was I ever SO wrong!! CoCo ICHIBANYA is my new favorite place to eat! Apparently it is like a Japanese version of any American fast food chain... just with curry entrees.
Laela even enjoys the curry sauce on her sticky rice(: (we get hers mild ofcourse)
Check out the Menu!! They even translate it in Spanish for you more "southern" Californians! :P
http://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/info/multilingual.html
You have NO idea what you guys are missing out on! It's ALMOST worth the plane fare!

Welp, WE MADE IT TO JAPAN!

We've arrived, safe & sound! We have a cozy little (seriously) home in Yokohama, Japan. Our housing community is actually separate from the main base, but still technically "on base." We live about 30 minutes from the main base at Yokosuka, so Michael takes the bus to work every morning at 5am.
Our flight was really smoothe, Laela played with our courteous Japanese neighbor! He was so FRIENDLY! He played with her a lot of the flight, she literally didn't cry ONCE! And she slept a little too! (No Benadryl needed thanks!)

We arrived at Narita Airport to be greeted by MICHAEL! He was so happy to see us again! Although he wasn't too excited about the amount of baggage two girls could possibly have stuffed in 7 bags! :) oopsie!

Laela and her Daddy picked up right where they left off, she even fell asleep on his chest on the bus ride home, the way she used to when she was a newborn! It was so sweet to see them sleeping together!

I will tell you, this was about THE ONLY sleep he got that night, because when we FINALLY arrived at our hotel, and got into bed... Laela decided it was playtime! After all... she could play in between Mommy and Daddy as they tried to get sleep! She now had TWO noses to stick her prying little fingers into, and 4 ears to stick her slobbery fingers into... talk about the cutest (still gross) wet willy you could ever receive!

It's FINALLY Happening! Japan here we come! :)

Monday morning we had our first "pack out." The movers came early and packed all of our stuff... They were done in a matter of 4 hours.... Needless to say, we don't have a WHOLE lot of stuff! It's mostly Laela's anyway! Funny how that happens when you have children. Laela was SURPRISINGLY friendly with the movers... they didn't seem to phase her!













Tuesday morning... they came and hauled it all off! YAY!!! Our stuff is on it's way to JAPAN! I cannot believe it's ACTUALLY happening this time! We've waited SO long!!!!

While I ran to the other room to grab something for the movers, Laela decided to help herself to a mid-morning snack! SHE IS CRAWLING EVERYWHERE!!!










You should have seen her jump when I came back into the room and found her rummaging through the cupboard to get to the pretzels... Let's hope she doesn't LOVE CheezIts like her Daddy does... we'll be in trouble then!!



Meanwhile, Michael is in Korea... He doesn't seem to interested in it... He went the the movie theatre and ate at OutBack Steakhouse and that was the extent of his stay in Korea.

This weekend is Laela's EARLY First Birthday Party... and EveryBuggy is invited! (: Our farewell BBQ will follow her Birthday party! Hope you will all BEE there!

July 2008

LAELA MICHELLE DURHAM HAS ARRIVED!!!

July 17th 2008, 11:38pm 7lbs 70z 19inBorn at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, Ca.

Well, Laela had arrived! Michael missed her birth by 9 hours. He actually didn't even know I was in the hospital because by the time I arrived, he was already on his plane ride home!

Michael arrived on the morning of July 20th, to find Laela and I doing great! The next two and a half weeks were so special to say the least! We were a family now, and were bonding as such! :) Unfortunately, Michael had to leave earlier than desired to head back to Japan, before his ship leaves for Korea. We had NO IDEA it would be almost 9 months before we got to be together as a family again...

Michael Leaves For Japan!!!

April 2008

Michael leaves for Yokosuka, Japan to be stationed on the USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19). I couldn't be more proud of him!! Although I must admit, it was EXTREMELY hard saying goodbye to him til July when Laela was born! While being stationed aboard the BR Michael has seen many new countries. So far he has seen:

Thailand

Singapore

Malaysia

Hong Kong

Phillipines

Korea

Maybe a few others! His favorite thus far seems to be Hong Kong. He said it was absolutely beautiful at night! He even got to see where part of The Dark Knight was filmed, which he was SUPER excited about! We are hoping to see him soon!