Cape Hedo

Another outing with the cuties!

We drove down to Hedo Point to check out the view. It was so cold that day though. I felt bad for the little ones. We stayed and played for a little while, but it was chilly. Awesome view though. I am going to miss this island so much when we leave.

Brr.....

Cute Japanese man checking out the view.

We were able to check out all the beautiful cherry blossoms. I LOVE when they are in bloom. They truly are so pretty!

We also stopped to take a few pictures of the gorgeous sunset on the way back home. Another awesome adventure with my favorite people. Life is GOOD!

Random pictures from the ipad.

The other day I went to the furniture in search of bookshelf for the kids room. Anyway, the twins were driving me nuts as usual so this adorable Japanese lady working gave them both a sheep to have. It entertained them during the rest of my visit and they have played with them a ton at the house. I thought it was so cute when I walked into my room and saw this. 

That is until I came in about 15 minutes later and saw this...

My little monsters killed the serta sheep! lol

Ouch!

 Rhett and Carter got ripsticks for Christmas this year. They have gotten really good at riding them and were feeling pretty confident. They decided to go down the hill together. Rhett was on the sidewalk and Carter was on the road. A curb was coming up so instead of slowing down Rhett he thought he would just kick up the front of the board and ease off the curb. Not so much. Instead the front of the board hit first and he ate it hardcore. lol. He said he fell and just laid in the road for about 5 minutes. Carter pulled over and was like, "Dad. Are you okay?" Anyway, he came home with a frown on his face so we got him all bandaged up and he taught Carter to GET BACK ON THE HORSE. :) They went back outside to play. He was pretty sore for awhile though. Adults fall harder and take longer to heal than kids. :)

Haneji Dam

Next stop, Haneji Dam

This was one of those adventure days where we just hopped in the van and stopped and did as many fun things as we could before it got dark. It's one of my very favorite things to do with the kids. We usually pack a few snacks or hit up a farmers market along the way. The car is always thrashed by the time we get home, but it makes for a really FUN day together.

There were quite a few stairs that the kids all raced up. They are getting so good to stop and pose for their Mommy. They still are little firecrackers though and it's hard to get them to all stand and smile at the camera. 

Carter told us all that he has learned about Dams. It was entertaining to say the least! lol

Just enjoying the view!

Neo Park

Well, last night I couldn't sleep.

 I always have such a hard time when Rhett isn't here.

 He is in Texas right now doing a  dental conference and won't be back for a few more weeks. As I was laying in the dark I pulled out the computer and pulled up my blog and just started scrolling through old posts. It was so much fun to see how everyone has changed so much being over here in Japan. I still remember how excited and nervous I was when I got the call from Rhett that we were moving to Japan. It seriously just seems like yesterday. I can't believe that our time in Asia is almost up. :( It truly is bittersweet for me. This chapter has been amazing.

We have had the opportunity to not only experience our beautiful island of Okinawa, but have also seen many other awesome countries in Asia. We went to Malaysia, China, Singapore, Bali, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. We are still hoping to be able to hit up Australia on our way out. 

We just found out a few days ago that the next chapter of our lives will take place in England! We are so excited. I feel like we have done so much in Asia and can't wait to explore the UK and Europe. 

Our first year I did so much with the kids. I was out of the house almost everyday taking them on adventures and playing at our favorite spots. I notice as the time is coming to an end I have really felt the urge to explore the island once more before we take off. It truly is such an amazing island and I will miss seeing the Ocean as I drive down the road. 

Anyway, back to my blog.

Some of these places you will have already seen. We are hitting up some of our very favorite spots before we have to leave the island.

We went to Neo Park and had a great time feeding the birds and checking out all the animals. 

This is always such a fun spot to hit up when we are driving to Nago.

Carter is getting so big. He is fun to take with me on adventures because he is really into taking pictures so I actually get to be in some of them now. He's actually pretty good too. 

He really has grown up over the last year. The kids is HUGE too. He eats way more than I do and is just SOLID! I love his guts. 

My favorite buddies-

Sometimes I like to nibble on Rhett's ear like this. hahaha

I'm going to miss seeing the kanji signs everywhere we go and at the same time I am so excited that we will actually be able to read the signs at our next base.

We thought we would get a lot of luck if we sacrificed a child. Carter very happily volunteered. :)

Whale Watching

Oh my hell....

I don't even know what to write about this trip. lol

I told Taylor we would get to do something special together and he really wanted to go whale watching. I invited a couple friends of mine to come and play with us.

I was a complete mother hen before we left. I made sure to tell Chris and Adam to bring a lunch or snacks and some dramamine. I didn't want anyone to get sick on the boat. It had been fantastic weather the last few weekends so I was a little bummed it was overcast and rainy, but I was still just so excited! 

We got on the bus and I pulled out granola bars, grapes, and carrots to make sure we had something in our bellies before we got to the boat. I had taken 2 dramamine and tried to force one down Taylor's throat, but to no avail. I did get Adam and Chris to both take one. Nothing was going to ruin this awesome day.

Then, we got on the boat. Still excited to go and find us some whales! 

The water was really choppy as we rode out to deeper water. I started shoveling food in my belly hoping to help the queasy feeling. 

They had handed out little black bags to everyone so we all had a good laugh about who would have to use it first. It was all fun and games until the barfing started!!

I could NOT stop barfing. Everytime I did they just brought me a new little black bag. Poor Chris. lol. He was sitting next to me and started rubbing the back of my lifejacket, but really there was nothing anyone could do to stop the barf. 

I also could NOT stop laughing. For some reason it was hilarious to me that I couldn't stop barfing. 

We eventually got out to where the whales were. This picture above is what whale watching is like here. They really get close to the whales. Not quite like in the states. lol

Once we found a whale we just kind of followed it around. We were able to walk around the boat as we pleased. My friends headed up to the top of the boat as I was laying down on the base of the boat for the majority of the time curled up in the fetal position. ;) I was so THANKFUL they watched Taylor. He was so excited watching to whales. 

I was able to pull myself together enough to head upstairs and snuggle my Taylor for a few minutes in between bags. It really was so cool to see the whales. We even got to see one breech completely out of the water.

 This picture was borrowed from a friend who had been. I didn't have my camera most of the time, but we did see one come out of the water. Very cool!

Chris was an absolute angel and took on the job of caring for Taylor. The waves were still really choppy so I thought it was sweet when I looked over and saw him with his hand on Taylor's shoulder keeping him safe! Chris has been one of my best friends here on the island. We met while playing volleyball and have been friends ever since. He is such a great guy. He has an adorable little boy of his own. His wife is also active duty and is stationed stateside right now. It breaks my heart that he can't be with her and his baby, but in June they will both be going to Germany together and can really start their lives together. I am so excited for him. I think that is why we get along so well. I can hang out with him all the time and I never have to worry about him hitting on me or wanting more than just friendship. I truly love him and am glad he is such a great friend. I am truly very lucky to have him in my life!

It did get a little long and a little boring for Tator Tot. We followed the same whale around for about an hour watching him resurface. Taylor was such a good boy though and never once complained!

 Adam and Chris are such total posers. lol I thought Adam was going to fall in the water doing this. The waves were really wild!

Chris took this picture of us from the top of the boat. I had thrown up 9 times by this point and was so ready to go back to the dock, but I still had a good time with my little buddy. I am so grateful anytime I get to spend one on one time with the little ones. 

Well, Taylor got a little sick on the way back to the dock and ended up throwing up. I used 9 little black bags, but continued grinning and laughing the majority of the trip. It helps going with 2 of the funniest guys on the island. :)

Anyway, I was so glad that we got to see whales and Chris and Adam were so glad that I made 6 sandwiches for them to eat on the way back since their idea of bringing a snack was sunflower seeds. Crazy boys. They enjoyed the sandwiches, chips, grapes, and cookies I brought. They did call me Mom every time I passed them something, but I was glad I could help. 

The important thing is that Taylor had a ball. He still likes to talk about when we got to go see the whales and his red barf! What a guy!!