Gotta Get Away

Since it was Mom's last weekend here and the weather was supposed to be nice, we thought it would be fun to take an overnight trip to the beach.  Alan had been anxiously awaiting this trip all week.  Not because he was excited about the beach - rather, he was interested in seeing how much crap necessary stuff we would have to take.  Well, to begin with, we had to take two cars.  The stroller alone takes up the entire cargo area of my car, so we would need the back of his car for everything else.  Plus any free spot in either car.  So we had two vehicles filled to the brim.  For one night.  I'm sure that's the new norm for us.  I have to give Alan props, though, because he didn't complain.  In the past he would have, but this time he didn't.  Anyway, there's a Navy port with a beach nearby called White Beach that has cabins, campers and camp spots you can rent.  We opted for a log cabin and it was fantastic.  This was our cabin and our views:

We even got a little chance to relax:

Here's us getting mad at Adam for almost ruining that relaxation by rocking the chair so hard that it hit the cabin and possibly woke up the babies:

It didn't, so he got to hit the playground:

Our first day there was cloudy and a little windy, therefore chilly.  We walked down to the beach to hunt for shells and Mom took our picture from the cabin, which sat up on a bluff.  See us?:

We stopped along the way and snapped this one of us in front of the ship that was at port:

The next day was a beautiful, warm, clear, sunny day so we all hit the beach.  Anaya made the most of the beach tent:

Alan and I took the Monster for a walk in the ocean (the reef goes out pretty far so we can take a pretty good walk).  Here are some fun things we saw on our walk (we also saw two fish eggs, but failed to take pictures):

A sea cucumber

A bunch of starfish that looked like this:

 

and this puffer fish:

All in all, it was a great little getaway.  Maybe just what we needed.  Never mind that Anaya cried pretty much the entire time we were at dinner.  The restaurant wasn't crowded.  And never mind that Audie coughed/cried during breakfast the next day.  It's not like he coughed on the buffet.  We all survived our first overnight trip and that's what really matters.  And we actually had fun!  Maybe this won't be so tough, after all.   

Daytons Do the Beach

Yesterday was a beeeeeautiful day here so we decided we would take Mom to a local beach and let her stick her feet in the East China Sea.  We decided on the beach at Torii Station because a) It would be open since it's on an Army post and it's spring break for our schools (lots of beaches here are closed until later in the spring) b) There is a little playground and c) It would be stroller-friendly.  It was a good choice.  There is a huge coral reef here and the water doesn't get really deep until about 200m out so you can walk out quite a ways.  Here are some pictures of Adam, Daddy and me playing in the water:

Adam had just fallen and gotten all wet - suddenly not so fun :)

Some people walking in the water were lucky enough to spot a baby octopus (or squid of some sort - I'm pretty sure they weren't experts).  By the time we got there, it had taken off.  We did see this, which isn't that cool, but (thank God) was cool enough for Adam:

I'm pretty sure the babies enjoyed it (at least their view) and Adam had some fun - and Grandma enjoyed some time with them:

We found beautiful shells, tons of sea glass (even some blue - my favorite!), got a little color and had a nice picnic.  We did attempt a family picture, but that's for another time.  Since Adam was the highlight, maybe tomorrow, on Adamonday.  We were a little worried when we left the house, not knowing what the babies were going to have in store, but all-in-all, it was a successful day at the beach.  You gotta love a good day at the beach. 

Happy Spring!

Seconds, Anyone?

Last night we had Chicken and Rice Casserole and Mom threw some leftover broccoli in there for “a little color.” It’s just like my Mom to not let ½ cup of broccoli go wasted. As Adam was picking through the rice, he pointed to a piece of a broccoli stalk with his fork and said, “Mommy, what is this?"  I said, "It's broccoli."  He said, "It looks like it came out of someone’s nose at school.”

Seconds, anyone?

Quench his thirst

Chillin' in some 3D glasses

Grandma asked for a drink from Adam’s water bottle and he replied: “No, because if I share with you, I will still be thirsty.”

This one actually shows his brillance.  As if he had carefully calculated that it was going to take exactly the amount of water in that water bottle to quench his thirst.  So, of course, allowing someone else to take a sip would still leave him thirsty!

Janice does Japan

Chances are, if you're reading this, you know my Mom - or you've at least met her once or twice.  You know she's a trip.  I have spent many a moments since we moved here, whenever I encounter something unique to this place, imagining my Mom in the situation and how she would react.  Well, in about 25 hours she will be arriving here. In Japan. My Mom. Picture it, will ya'?  They find loud talking and laughing in public disrespectful.  They're small, quiet people.  They're friendly, though, so she's got that in common with them.  I just try to imagine her in certain situations and it often makes me smile - or actually laugh.  That's all - I just wanted to leave you with a thought that might make you smile :-)  Here's to Janice!  In Japan!