times they are a changing

Well well well. I have some announcements!

We found out last Friday where we are going to be headed come January.

OKINAWA, Japan.

We are very excited. We keep hearing about how wonderful Okinawa is. I've talked to women in my ward who absolutely loved it. (one woman said she wants her husband to un-retire from the Marines if it meant they could go back to Okinawa). We are feeling pretty grateful that we have this chance to go.

In case you are unfamiliar with Japan geography, Okinawa is an island. A tropical island. So, unlike mainland Japan that can get quite frigid in the winter, Okinawa stays sunny and beachy all year long, with the occasional typhoon. But I'm willing to brave a typhoon now and again if it means that I will be living in this:

Some questions that people have been asking us:

How long will you be there?
The Marines usually station you somewhere for three years. So that's what we're planning.

When do you leave?
We don't know exactly yet, but it will most likely be sometime in January.

Can we come and visit?
Absolutely. Please do. Seriously.

How's your Japanese?
I can say "hello" and "thank you." Which is always a good place to start! I definitely am going to try harder at learning Japanese than I did with Chinese when I was there. It may be bad to have low expectations, but I highly doubt I will become fluent in Japanese. But I will try my best.


It's pretty crazy realizing that I only have a few months left living in the U.S. With all the things here we still want to see and do, we've realized that our weekends are definitely numbered. We are running out of time! We have a lot to do to get ready, including working out more, because basically once we get there, almost everyday is going to be a beach day. That will be rough, let me tell you!