Dec 31, 2010 Post By: Jane

Happy New Year:D

Happy New Year!! 2010 went by so fast!SO many great things happened this year. I do not know where the time goes. Looking forward to another great year:D Finishing off the night with making new year resolutions!

Dec 29, 2010 Post By: Anne and Peter

We're in San Diego...

You Jealous?

Dec 25, 2010 Post By: Marnie

Merry Christmas, everyone!

from all the WA/OR Stinchfields of 2010!

Dec 24, 2010 Post By: Brooke

Sawyer visits with Santa

Christmas Eve isn't too late! Soy Bean climbed right up onto Santa's lap and gave him a huge hug. It was the cutest thing ever!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Post By: Mike

Christmas "Card"

Laziest Christmas Card ever:-)

Merry Christmas to all of you.

Updates:

Me: I have about 7 more months until I finish grad school here in Monterey, CA. It has been a great experience for us living in this beautiful area. Other than finishing my thesis, my other big personal goal for the year is the Big Sur Marathon in May. My next stop is Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for a year of military related studies. After that? Who knows.

Brooke: Remains the same amazing woman I met 18 years ago. She spends a lot of her time caring for Ellyn but somehow manages to take care of all of us as well. She has made tremendous progress in running recently and has the Newport marathon in her sights next year.

Jane: We are so impressed with her grades and performance with her flute. Despite no personal lessons, Jane was able to get second chair in the regional honor band...amazing persistence. She has also started her own exercise regimen and is making some amazing progress. We are very proud of her. Next year she starts High School, kind of (unfortunately it looks like a 7-8-9 Junior High in Kansas).

Sadie: An amazing child. She is such a good sister, especially as playmate to her little brother. Sadie has an unlimited imagination and it is rare to catch her without a big, thick book in her hand. Her 3rd grade teacher had to retire early this year because of family health issues, but she is excited for the second half of the year.

Ellyn: She has made so much progress this year. She turns 7 on Valentine's Day. Her therapists and assistants have added so much to her abilities. Although she is still not talking (coherently), her interaction with others has increased 10-fold. She occasionally will get a phrase out like "C'mon Let's Go" or "Vamonos" ...your guess where she gets that from:-)

Sawyer: Our boy. 3 years old and obsessed with superheroes, trucks, and cars. He has had a run of bad luck with getting sick the last few months but is doing fine now. We love the kid. He is loving to everyone, always says thank you, complements others regularly "I like your shirt", and is just a joy to have around.

We hope you all have a great holiday. God bless you and your families. Thanks for your effect on our lives. Let us never forget those in the military and others who are away from their families this season looking only to do their duty and serve their fellow human beings.

Post By: Dave

Happy Birthday, Brown Eyes

Dec 23, 2010 Post By: Marnie

Go Aztecs!!

Post By: Marnie

Train time with Papa

Dec 21, 2010 Post By: Dave

AZ

We spent a few days in Arizona last week as a family. Dave had a conference he was attending and wisely decided we should all go. I say 'wisely', because it would normally seem careless to pull the kids out of school for a couple of days and go out of town mid-December, leaving all responsibilities and holiday hustle-bustle. But we needed it. It's to easy to get caught up in crossing stuff off your to-do list during this time of year...we left our lists at home and just hung out.

In other news - Isaac took a serious hit to the face during a basketball game yesterday. Gushed a lot of blood, but we don't think it's broken. Taylor got his braces on yesterday and is requesting soup at every meal and sucks on ice to relieve the pain. Oh - and he got straight A's, earning him dinner at any place of his choosing. Parker has a hard time with the word 'double'. He says 'debble'. So - we all got a good laugh when we ate at In-N-Out in AZ and he requested a 'debble-debble'. And Morgan wants a cockatiel. She has cleared off a spot on her closet shelf and there is a post-it note there that says: Saving space for cockatiel cage and cockatiel play sets. No - she's not getting one.

The renovation is finally making headway. We've picked out some colors and discussed the phasing of the project. We are hoping to get the operatories done while we are in Japan in January. We'll see...

Keep the updates coming...

Adina

Dec 19, 2010 Post By: Brooke

Carmelites

We haven't dropped off the face of the earth

We've been busy- and sick.

Sadie's class Christmas party. Her favorite teacher ever, Mr. Taylor.

Jane examining the results of her science project. Very gross- bacteria from swabs around the house. My laptop keys were surprisingly bacteria free.

Ellie warming up after swim therapy.

Sawyer modeling Fangs from my Eclipse party.

Still need to write about Thanksgiving. The flu has been a frequent, unwelcome visitor at our house for weeks now. That has not been cool. Poor Soy has taken the brunt of it. He's such a good kid, it breaks your heart to see him sick.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Post By: Tracey

Christmas Letter 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

We have enjoyed a wonderful year full of fun and adventure! It was our last full year in Okinawa and has really flown by! I can’t possibly summarize all of it so I’ll share just a few of the highlights! Most of these activities were made even more memorable by the fantastic friends we’ve made here in Okinawa. They’ve become our family while we are so far away! We’ve been sad to lose so many of them this year but are grateful for the technology that allows us to keep in touch with all of them and the family that we miss so much!

Some of our favorite things this year: (details on all of these fun times can be found on our blog!)

** Visit from Papa and Grandma Barb in March!!!
** Karamas: A trip with friends to a small chain of islands. We stayed in a traditional Japanese tatami room and had the best snorkeling ever! We saw huge sea turtles and even a manta ray!
** IE Island Half Marathon: Tom and Tracey ran it together!
** Trip back to the states: Lake house with the Stinchfield’s in Washington and tons of shopping then off to Utah for the 4th of July with the Rowan's, seeing old friends, going to the temple with my sister Rachel, relaxing in Park City and playing at Lagoon!
** Iheya Island Marathon: Tom ran and met his goal of under 4 hours! While on the island we went exploring and found the most amazing beaches!
** Tour de Okinawa: Tom and I trained for a participated in a 110 mile bike ride. It was pouring rain and there were insane hills but we had a great time!
**Parks - Karaoke - Beach - Snorkeling - Aquarium - Rain - Dragonboat races -Water slides - Cultural sites - Fish market - Bike rides - Races -
Hayden: He continues to amaze us with his mind and abilities at school. We were sitting around one night after dinner trying to solve some riddles and Tom and I were both stumped when suddenly Hayden blurted out the answer. I imagine it’s not the last time he’ll show us he’s smarter than we are! He took first place in the school science fair and placed second at district. He’s a reading machine and recently finished the Fablehaven series. This past year he played soccer and basketball and likes them both. Most of his time is spent creating with legos, playing computer games, doing science experiments and running around with his friends in their imaginary world! He will actually be starting in the third grade after Christmas break and is looking forward to the challenge.
Danica: It’s been a really big year for Danica as she has grown a lot physically and emotionally. Her confidence and enthusiasm for life has really grown. She’s doing at gymnastics and can’t get enough of her time at preschool. A while back she began begging me to teach her to read and she loves it! During the summer she learned to swim on her own and has now taken the training wheels off her bike! She spends all her free time coloring with markers and playing “mom and dad” while dressed like a princess. Last week she turned 5 and tells everyone she can find!
Alyssa: She has such a great outlook on life and approaches every new situation with a smile and sense of adventure. In August she turned 3 and in September she started preschool. Although she’s the youngest kid at the school she loves it and is doing really well. Her teachers report that is always full of smiles and hugs, constantly telling them she loves them. If it were up to Alyssa she would have me push her in the swing all day, going “super, super high!”
Tracey: I’ve had a busy and fun year with not enough time to sit and read. I was the Girls Camp leader which was a new and exciting experience. For Christmas last year I got a road bike and I spent this year learning to ride it, culminating in the 110 mile ride in November. I’ve been very busy at church, the kids schools and running my family. To stay sane I have kept up on running and exercise. I listen to audiobooks throughout the day while doing housework and love the multi-tasking! Recently I've had the pleasure of going to a Japanese hospital for infertility treatment because we have been unable to conceive for the last 18 months. Everything has come back normal so we're back to playing the waiting game. Fortunately life is full and happy while we wait.
Tom: He has spent all of his free time this year in training for one event or another. It started with just a half marathon but then he decided to do a marathon in October and the bike race in November. He was faithful to his work out schedule and succeeded in both! He’s also in the progress of getting scuba dive certified and found a new interest in racquetball. He officially turned in his separation from the Navy and will be getting out this next summer. Although he has enjoyed his time serving in the military and all he has learned he is looking forward to the next adventure in life!
We truly are so blessed and recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives daily. He watches us over always and we feel his love. It is our hope that you to have found peace and happiness in 2010.

Love,

The Stinchfields

Dec 17, 2010 Post By: Tracey

Happy Anniversary Mike and Brooke!

Hope you guys are having an awesome day. We love you. Tom, Tracey, and kids.

Dec 15, 2010 Post By: Tracey

10 Amazing Years!

Post By: Marnie

Socal Holiday

Post By: Marnie

back in grey

Guess I should give an update since I've been away and haven't posted for a while. I spent the last two weeks in LA, San Diego or somewhere in between. The purpose of the trip was to attend a wedding of one of my old roommates and turned into some work and fun with friends.

I tried to fit in as much as possible and I think I did pretty well. Activities included:

Seeing The Black Swan at midnight after flying into LAX
Going to Disneyland three times - one of which was quite rainy
Karaoke with nine of my close friends at our favorite Korean Karaoke
More movies including The King's Speech and Burlesque in LA and SD
Shopping at Fashion Valley and Nordstrom Rack
A full day of training a new employee at the company I work on contract for
A reject reindeer party with friends including reindeer like Goner the Zombie Reindeer, Vomit and Stoopid the White Trash Reindeer and Poser the Gothic Reindeer
A Hollywood Christmas party up in the hills
Food, food and more food at favorites like Santana's, China Fun, Golden Bagel, 25 Degrees, Wonderful Sushi, Il Fornaio, Umami Burger and PitFire Pizza Co.

Overall it was a totally awesome trip and I am so glad that I was able to stay the entire time I had planned so I could work more and get more time with all of my friends down in CA.

One of the photos I took: Sandy and Steve's first dance

Another of my pics - classic Sandy

Me and the beautiful bride

Me and Kim - our other roommate

I went as YeeHaw the Cowgirl Reindeer

YeeHaw with Santa

a few of the rejects

my favorite :)

Christmas on Main Street

The beautiful tree while waiting for fireworks

Matthew, Kat and I before the fireworks and snow

Our "family" Christmas picture - from left to right: Michelle, her bf Simon, Joel, his gf Susie, me and Matthew

CA Screamin' - literally

So now I am back and I am glad to be back. It is nice to have the cozy weather - makes it feel more like Christmas. I can't wait till the Christmas festivities start up. We did go to the lights at the raceway thing last night with Brent & Buffy and Kim and the girls. After we got back and were coming inside the house, Melia was lagging so I went back to see what she was doing. I found her as shown in the pic below. When I asked what she was doing, she said she was petting Remus and then she said "Good boy. Good boy." She also asked if he'd grow up someday to be as big as the Expedition. It was hilarious!

The job search continues... Most companies are taking the holidays off from interviewing so I will keep up the search but probably won't have any interview activity until after the holidays. I am very thankful for my contract job, which makes a huge difference so I can mostly support myself during this limbo time.

Well, that's it! Hope to see you all sooner than later!

Dec 12, 2010 Post By: Tracey

Happy 5th Birthday Danica

We’ve had a fantastic time celebrating Danica’s 5th birthday! I can’t believe she is growing up so fast. She is our little sweetheart and just the nicest girl ever! Her smiles are captivating and she is so loving, considerate and caring. Alyssa quite possibly has the best big sister ever. Danica spends a lot of her time taking care of Alysss and playing with her. I can always count on Danica to help me out when I need it. Today we took a snuggle nap together on my bed, I loved it! She won't leave the house without a hug and kiss. She loves to play polly pockets, baby dolls and dress up. She loves to color, cut and draw. This year she has taken the training wheels off her bike, learned to swim and learned to read! It’s been so much fun but I wish we wouldn’t grow up so fast!

Her party was early in the month, we had a princess tea party theme with lots of little girls and two boys. She doesn’t like cake so we made a huge cookie and put candles in it- that was a big hit! We drive past the Macaroni Grill on base several times a day but never go there and Danica always asks to. So, Saturday night we finally took her there and we had a great time. The kids thought it was so fancy.... I guess we need to take them out more often! Today she got to open her presents, wear a fancy new dress Grandma sent and eat her favorite dinner of chicken and broccoli. What a great birthday!

The girls did a photo shoot with dad while they were in their new princess dresses!