Race for the Cure

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of ours here started getting a group together to do the Tokyo "Race for the Cure" walk/run. Unfortunately, AJ is not here, but I had the opportunity to participate. We headed up to Tokyo bright and early this morning and partook in this wonderful event! As most of you know, my mom had breast cancer, so this was something that I was really proud to be a part of. Unfortunately most of the people that did this event with us today have a family member that has been affected by this awful disease. Despite that, we all really enjoyed ourselves. And how cool is it to do something like this in Tokyo? It was the PERFECT fall day here in Japan and the trail was a huge loop around the Imperial Palace, which made for some beautiful scenery! You'll see in the pictures that we had special shirts made as well. It was a great day!


The start/finish line.


Diamondback Ladies!! And our "diamonds"



Some of the beautiful scenery along the way!


Jumping picture...all of us after the race!

D'Backs Christmas Party

Our Christmas season has begun (outside of our own house!). The Diamondbacks Squadron held their annual Christmas party this past Saturday evening. It was a nice get together for us. We had a great meal, sat with some good friends and had a very nice time. It was a treat to have everyone together before the guys head back out on the boat for a few weeks. The evening was a spectacular way for our family to kick off our Holiday season! We hope you all have a great one too!

Christmas with the Clay's....2010 Edition

That's right... we're decorated for Christmas already! Since AJ has to go back to the boat for a few weeks, he felt that we needed to decorate before he left. So, this past weekend, the tree went up along with all the other decorations, and we are ready for Santa to bring some presents....but maybe we'll take Thanksgiving first! ;-)






We have a bit of a "makeshift" mantle...but the stockings are hung!


We felt this one needed to be out also!


The Grinch is also all over the house...and the tree!!

Casa de Zama

We are finally moved into our house in Japan! AJ came home a few days after our move in date so we had a lot going on at once! But, within two weeks, we were finally all set up. We are really loving our new space. Both of us are enjoying being in a house instead of a Navy Lodge room and sleeping on a metal shelf that is attached to a boat . Having all of our stuff and sleeping in our own bed again has been a real treat! We have even figured out how to work our appliances, which are all in Japanese!



Our living room


Master Bedroom


I even found a spot for our "little house."


Japanese houses have "shower rooms." This whole room is a shower. You shut the door and it seals the room off and then you have the whole space to shower or take a bath! Awesome!! The floor is even heated!


We also have a Tatami Room. The mats on the floor are made out of weaved bamboo grass. Very neat!


Our kitchen is quite large for a Japanese house! Which is a good thing because I have a lot of kitchen stuff!!!