More Boy

He looks so old here! well... so 'boy' anyway. He did the hat himself and carried the cars around for about an hour.

Mommy's little helper!
He loves those hats, no matter who's they are.

Someone was having a bad morning :(

Hiji Falls

This bridge is about halfway up to Hiji Falls, it was quite the hike to get there, and took 2 hours getting Coryn along between rest stops for us and his slow walking/stair climbing. its only supposed to take 45 minutes max. The first part of the hike reminded us of a small Boise river landscape, and the upper portions of the more traditional fall feel.
As you can see though, the hike was not without its pleasantries. Great scenery, interesting plants, cool water. There were a couple of tombs along the path too. Every now and then there were markers along the trail, and we were saying that they were tributes to the path builders and their heroic efforts.
Here's Jackson climbing around on the rocks. Apparently Americans used to go cliff jumping here and its now against the rules.

Ah, refreshing!

Poor baby, fell asleep right when we started back down, thus making the trip down a nice 45 minutes (we had to stop once for a break for us, he's heavy!)

Water Water Everywhere

Coryn used to be afraid of non-bath water, but mostly because it was usually cold. He doesn't seem to mind it now that a couple of hours in the sun warms his pool to bathwater temps. (the ocean's not bad either)

Here he's playing with the neighbor girl.
Awww... blackmail!

Dad certainly isn't afraid of the water.

He's dragon boat racing! Its an annual event which typically draws large crowds, but it was raining this year so it was still crowded, but without a few of the military people (not that the rain detered the racers).

The teams take turns on the three boats provided; other than that, I don't know too much about it, we left early (cranky Coryn hadn't had a nap yet). Its practically a fair though, carnival games, food stands, and two performance stages were some of the sights.

Toddler Life

Look! I found out how to use my pocket!
Ducky ducky ducky ducky splash!

My first bowling adventure.
I know the camera loves me... and my beautiful glove!

Yes, I am at the computer, I got here myself, and I have my own slew of virtual pets including a dog, cat, fish, horse, and monkey. The cat is my favorite, I get to use the mouse and make him move.

Ryukyu Mura 2

In this continuation we have the Juri (Okinawan geisha) parade where they 'ride' wooden horses. This is a January festival.
Here we see the Eisa drummers who always seem to be led in their dance by this funny looking guy... he has his own dance called Chondara but I don't know what its for, he whistles really well. The Eisa is performed for ancestor's souls on Lunar Bon holidays, they have a competition each year for people to show their families' version of the Bon dance, for the most part it is waving your arms in the air to the beat.
Here is the Mamidoma dance which is comprised of folk doing harvesting motions.

At the end of the parade they have everyone join in the dance circle, this little old lady walks around with a big bottle of sake on her head asking people to join in... I don't know what the signifigance is in the sake... yes its full.

I realize that I never completed the first posting about this, I'll go fix it now.

Happy Easter!

We held our spring/easter party today, and Coryn got to meet a puppy, color eggs, hunt for eggs, and smash eggs together!

Ryukyu Mura

One of the places we've been to thus far is a place called Ryukyu Mura or 'village of the Ryukyu's (the collection of islands down here)'. It is a small cultural 'theme park' of sorts with a parade held twice daily showcasing some of the traditional dances, festivals, and songs. This dance called Yotsutake was used to welcome officials and royalty. The flower hat is very recognizable as Okinawan and some buildings feature it as the roof.
Here the 'king and queen' are welcomed to watch the festival.
There are two festivals featured in this picture, the guy with the mask is the Miruku parade. He is the Bodhisattva of happiness, rich harvests, and prosperity. It takes place on the 16th of July and he fans the audience as he passes, blessing the crowd. In the background you can see a guy pulling a handcart... it has a lady who is 97+ years old, it is a celebration of Kajimayah passage. On Sept 7th they decorate pinwheels for those turning 97, it is the age at which one is old enough to be a child soul again.

This is the Shishi or shisa liondog and has his own dance and show. the guy in the background is his master. Shishi is the protector and is found on most rooftops/gateposts/or somewhere on the grounds. It used to only be one, but somewhere along the way they decided to have a male and female, one with open one with closed mouth, warding off danger and keeping the happiness in. Most of the versions you see aren't quite so vividly colored.