So the most recent thing Audrey has gotten into these days is riding her princess bicycle (which Larry bought for her last year) around our neighborhood. Well when we moved to Okinawa that bike took a real beating, suffering extensive damage to the pedal cranks, training wheels and tires during its 2 month trip over California highways to LA port, then across the Pacific Ocean to Kobe, Japan then again across the Japanese seas to Okinawa. Well we had to replace some damaged parts for it but since the bike was American we had a real hard time finding the parts it needed in Japan. Luckily a bike shop just down the street was able to find us used parts over the internet and fixed it right up for us. We really wanted Audrey to use THAT bike, since it was a gift from her Uncle (who she affectionately refers to as her "best friend"). That's on good days anyways, on other days she'll say to him "You're fat, you're fat. Or maybe even, you're not the boss, I'M THE BOSS! But that Uncle Larry-Niece relationship is quite special, so we put in the effort to "save" that bicycle and have it be the one she uses in early childhood. We all have had and remember that childhood bicycle of our respective pasts. I remember my first real bike was red with white handle bar grips and I used it for years to get around the neighborhood on various childhood adventures.Well then I started taking Audrey out to ride everyday right after work since there is usually an hour or two worth of daylight left when I get home. Emma of course could not be fooled for more than two days in a row. She insisted to be let outside to see what daddy and Audrey were up to and BAM, we were caught in the act! Emma was so upset that she didn't get to have her own bicycle to ride. So Akemi called around and was able to get a hand-me-down tricycle from her sister. So now we go out there and ride together most days. Audrey talks about her bicycle, and she brags to her friends. She gets competitive with Emma eventhough Emma can't even pedal on her own yet. She does pretty good and here's a little video of a ride we had the other day.
The good thing is our neighborhood is located on a dead end street so we really don't have to worry about cars. There are about 10 houses in the area and there are kids ranging from 2 to 16. So I think this will be a really nice neighborhood for the girls for awhile. I'm still quite pleased with this house we got in Okinawa City. I feel like I can settle here. I just need to make sure I can continue to find and do work for somebody. But so far so good and I expect things will be okay. If not, I could go work as a civilian on one of the bases here. For now, its just fun watching my two girls grow up.
