When Daddy's Away...

Spencer had the whole first week of his mom's visit off of work except for Wednesday, so we chose that day to do some shopping. When I got up that morning, the kids were already downstairs with Grandma and had been getting rides in a cardboard box. They were having a blast :)

When we were all ready to go, our first stop was the Navy Fleet Gift Shop- one of my major addictions here. I feel like it's a military version of Pier 1. Some of the employees go on "buy trips" to countries like China, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines buying everything from earrings, to candles, to furniture. Every month or so a new shipment comes in with fun stuff, and I don't feel bad spending lots of money there since the proceeds go to local charities. We also hit up the Kid's Cottage (same store, but it carries children's items), where Sydney got a new dress. That warranted an immediate wardrobe change when we got home. This girl LOVES wearing dresses.

In the afternoon we dropped by the 100 Yen store, then over to a Japanese grocery store called Max Value. I don't usually shop at Japanese grocery stores because the commissary is just easier, but we always stop in this one when we're in the area. Sydney especially loves it because they have kiddie grocery carts, and I always let her get a little 58 yen can of juice. I never have my camera with me when we're there (and the one on my phone is a joke), but lucky for me Barbara had hers on hand.

 Sydney sporting her new dress and 97,384 necklaces.

 Wondering what we should buy.

 Looks like Shawn ran out of Cheerios and was still hungry. Ha!

 Checking out the snacks. Most of the grocery stores here have an open air section like this.

 Time to check out!

Unloading the cart. She always looks like such a big kid when she does this part.

Of course we had fun spending money, but it was also fun to show Barbara some of the day to day stuff that is part of our life here in Oki.

Cape Zanpa Take Two

When we made our list of "places to visit" while Barbara was here (and while Spencer had time off), Cape Zanpa was near the top. With the lighthouse, beautiful views of the cliffs and ocean, nearby castle ruins, and a play area complete with giant shisa, it seemed like a good choice. It was cloudy again, but we once again lucked out and stayed dry.

Still have no idea what this sign says or who the guy is on top, but it makes a cool picture.

I was excited to go up into the lighthouse this time since the last time we were here it had already closed for the evening. We certainly got in some good exercise hiking up all those steps. Then when we got to the top, it was wiiiiindy!

Good hair.

Bad hair.

Shawn's hat blew off like 3 times, I'm glad we didn't lose it to the ocean. Barbara had to hold on tight to hers too!

Admiring the cliffs and ocean view.

Sydney wasn't a fan of the wind and sought shelter inside.

She also wasn't in the mood for taking pictures.

But the rest of us were:

It was fun to re-explore the area with Grandma!

Grandma B.!

On May 27, Grandma B. made the long journey to come visit us. Sydney slept on an air mattress in her room, and Barbara slept in her bed. When Sydney woke up at 5:30am, Grandma B. was awake too and happy to play with her. I came downstairs at like 7:30 am and Syd was already dressed in a new outfit, had her fingernails and toenails painted, and had 6 new puzzles done on the floor. Shawn warmed up to Grandma B. quickly, laughing while she held him and trotted around the house. She's the first member of our extended family to see him in person!

 Coloring some new crafts.

 Playing at the park down the hill.

 Getting ready to swing in the back yard.

 Building towers (kids and Grandma); admiring one million new outfits for my kids (me).

That morning Spencer played football with the Elder's Quorum, then our Branch had a Memorial Day BBQ at Araha Beach, which is about a 5 minute drive from our house. The day was pretty overcast, but the rain held off. 

 Barbara got a kick out of Shawn's growling when he eats. If he knows it's time to eat or sees someone else with food, he'll growl until we give him some. And then we can't feed him fast enough! Meal times are definitely the noisiest part of his day.

After lunch, we waded in the water while Sydney swam.

She sure does love the beach!

Then Grandma and Sydney walked all over the place, exploring and taking pictures. I'm sure Sydney thought it was super cool to be going everywhere in just her swimsuit. 

When I saw a game of beach volleyball starting up, I didn't hesitate passing Shawn over to Spencer so I could join in. I felt a little spoiled being able to play without keeping an eye on my kids! We had a great time, and it was a fun way to introduce Grandma B. to Okinawa.

Oooooh-kuma!

Our first night at Okuma was rough since Shawn woke up every time we made even the slightest movement. He went down for his first nap at 7:30am if that's any indication of how the night went. By then Sydney was up and ready to go, so Spencer went back to bed while Syd and I walked right out our front door to the beach! It was a cloudy day, but the water was still incredibly beautiful. 

 I'm pretty much convinced that Okuma is paradise, and what's even more awesome was that we had the whole beach to ourselves!

Sydney's favorite game was to run in to the water, then run back out to get away from the waves.

She also had a blast playing in the sand. It took her quite a long time to make the "ice cream cone" in her bucket.

The sun poked out every now and then and made the water sparkle.

Spencer and a much more cheerful Shawn joined us after a few hours. Shawn was a champion in the water and loved being pulled on the floating donkey.

On the beach, Spencer made quite the castle- complete with lots of trenches to protect it from the waves. It was still standing the next day.

During Shawn's afternoon nap, I rested on the couch and Spencer took Sydney to play miniature golf. He said she lasted about 2 seconds and then was done, but he still finished without her. When I woke up, she was conked out at my feet.

This little girl was tuckered out!

When the kids woke up, we geared up for a family bike ride. Sydney has a crazy good memory and somehow remembered that she wore that princess helmet the last time we rode this bike.

We thought Shawn looked extra cute in his little helmet. I have no idea how many other kids have sucked on that strap, but he sure enjoyed it.

This picture was an attempt to recreate the one we took when we were here for Labor Day weekend 2011.

Such a sweet little face, he looks like such a big boy!

One reason we chose to go to Okuma was to use it as a launching pad to check out a few places up north that would otherwise be a pretty long drive. One of those places was Hedo Point, the northernmost tip of the island. Since Spencer is kind of obsessed with getting good pictures of sunsets, he wanted us to head up there close to sundown. We stopped at a lookout point on the way up and busted out the camera.

It certainly paid off! It was really gorgeous.

Shawn was pretty grouchy in his car seat, and he was squirmy and whiny in my arms. Then I passed him over to his dad so I could take some pictures, and BAM!, he's all smiles. He is certainly a Daddy's boy, and Spencer loves it. He likes to give Shawn to me then hold out his arms to see if he'll come back to him (which he usually does).

This picture cracks me up! It was pure dumb luck that I captured it, but I think it's so cute.

Then Spencer wanted to get some pictures with me and the kids- but Shawn wasn't too happy about it.

We continued on to Hedo Point, where we enjoyed even more beautiful views while Sydney burned some energy running all over the place.