Monday, January 2, 2012

Welcome to 2012!!

2011 was an incredible year for Matt and I.  We got to experience many things we never had before, and we did a lot of it with some awesome friends.  Matt got to go to California for a class as well as Korea for an exercise.  We took vacations to Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.  Our second nephew was born back in the States, I got a new job, and we also found out that our time in Okinawa would be extended... all in 2011! 

To ring in the new year, Matt and I did a New Year's Eve Night Dive with a bunch of other scuba divers, including our friends, Nick and Amanda.  We all went down to about 30 feet around 11:45pm, did our countdown under the water, and when we came up, it was 2012!!  There were a TON of us out there - especially Japanese divers.  One guy (a Colonel!) actually brought a bottle of champagne down with him, popped the cork at midnight, and were passing it around taking sips under the water!  While it was slightly chillier than I would have preferred, the water really wasn't that bad, and  the night was really clear and calm with a pretty half-moon.  We did our dive at a very popular dive spot - the Sunabe Seawall - which is a strip along the ocean where a lot of bars and restaurants are, so you can imagine the street was alive with party-goers.  We were greeted with groups of Americans and Japanese yelling out "Happy New Year!!" to us as we were swimming back, and we enjoyed some of our own champagne and cookies when we were back on land. 

Matt and I - 2011
Nick & Amanda
Midnight!!  It's 2012!!
Happy New Year!!

It was one of those things you want to do just to have the experience - and it really was an awesome experience!  I don't think we'll ever have another New Year's Eve quite like it!  I'm so thankful for all God has blessed us with in 2011, and I am really looking forward to whatever He has in store for us in 2012!  Here's to our last full year living in Japan!!

Happy New Year!!!

-C