Aquarium

We took McKenna to the Chaurami Aquarium up in Nago. Even though we've been there before, the kids loved every second of it. And even though we were sweating to death, the dolphin show was our favorite. 

 I mean, you just can't beat that view. Thankfully we were in the shade, but we were all melting.

 I love looking back on all these pictures with McKenna here. She was here for two months and it went by so fast! Almost like it was a dream. Hopefully she had as much fun as we did.

After the aquarium the kids played at this park. I wish I had this in our back yard. They could have played on here for hours! I don't know how they could stand to be out there for more than two minutes in the heat. It was seriously miserable outside. The humidity makes everything feel like a sauna. But they were crying when we told them it was time to go home. I need to figure out their secret!

4th of July

 The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays! (Do you love that face I'm getting from Anderson?)

 It was a little weird celebrating it in Japan, but we enjoyed it non the less. Of course it was blazing hot that day and we could not wait for the sun to start going down.

 I remember putting that shirt on in the morning and asking Justin if he had accidentally put it in the dryer because it was feeling extra snug. He looked at me, smiled, and as nice as he could, told me it was not the shirt that was getting smaller. It was my pregnant belly getting bigger!

 Justin and McKenna, waiting for the fireworks. We couldn't believe that McKenna had already been with us for a month at this point! The time went by so fast.

We went and saw some fireworks on Torii. The fireworks were pretty short, but it still made for a good ending to another great holiday.

Okuma

 Towards the end of June, Justin's dental squadron had a picnic up north at Okuma. Okuma is a recreational facility owned by the Air Force. They have cabins, condos, parks, volleyball courts, beautiful beaches and lots of different things that you can rent. This was our first time up there and we loved it! We rented one of the bigger condos and stayed the night with 3 other families. We are heading back for Labor Day and we can't wait.

 The drive up there is so beautiful. When the sun is out, it makes the water bright teal and blue.

 After the picnic, the boys headed straight for the water. The tide was coming in, so they had fun trying to run from the waves.

 This picture of Anderson cracks me up! His hair was so long and every time he would run by me it would poof up and down. It looks like a Baywatch action shot of them running down the beach.

 The next day we rented one of these bikes, which the kids loved. I was enjoying myself sitting in the middle while McKenna and Justin peddled on the side in the scorching heat. Jack and Anderson kept saying, "Go faster! Go faster!" It's a lot harder than it looks to get that thing going! Especially with the heat and humidity. They were good sports about it. 

 We got off the bikes to walk up a trail and take in the gorgeous views.

 We saw a few of these ginormous banana spiders along the way. This picture does not do it justice. This sucker is huge!!

 After the bikes, we headed over to North Beach, on the other side of Okuma. The water was much more calm and had the best sand. Most of the beaches here are covered in coral and shells so it was nice to be at a beach with soft white sand.

Okuma was the perfect "stay-cation"! We were really glad that McKenna was here to experience it with us. It ended up being her favorite thing we did the whole time she was here.

Jack's Birthday: #6

 Ok, so this post is LONG overdue, but I am trying to recommit myself to my blog and get all caught up. I need my life to be in order before this baby comes in 3 months. :)

Just after we returned from the states, Jack had his 6th birthday. It's really hard to believe that my first baby is 6 years old. Jack started out as the best baby. He slept great, ate great, and had a really fun personality. He was extra smart and starting talking really early. We loved listening to his little voice. He loved to sing primary songs and I could just listen to him sing them over and over. He was so sweet!

Then...he turned into a toddler. He was SASSY. He had a mind of his own! Justin and I had no idea where our sweet little baby had disappeared to. Right around his 2nd birthday he started screaming at anything that bothered him. My sister Angie came out to visit us and we wanted to take some family pictures. Every other picture Jack would be yelling at Angie, "Don't you dare take a picture for me!!!" And yes, he said "for". It was a delightful stage, but we were so happy to move on! He has definitely matured and it has been so fun to see his little personality change over the past few years. Right now Jack loves drawing, playing the iPad, riding his bike and razor scooter, his new dog Winston, swimming, making crafts, outer space, jumping on the tramp, playing with his friends, and helping with little babies. He cannot wait for our baby to get here. Every time we see a little baby, he says that it's not fair that they already have their baby and we have to keep waiting for ours. He is excited about being my helper once this little guy gets here. 

For Jack's birthday, he requested a spy party with just our family. He woke up to a birthday bucket filled with Lucky Charms and a couple gifts, including spy glasses. Of course Anderson had to have some spy glasses for the party as well. They thought they were so cool!

 He also requested a trip to the drop slide. Now this is no ordinary slide. It has a CRAZY drop at the beginning! Japan definitely does not have the same safety regulations as the states. The kids LOVE this slide. Even in the heat and humidity, they went on it over and over and over.

 Now that is a serious slide!

 McKenna flew back with Justin to stay with us for the summer, so she joined in on the fun. Justin had to coax her in to it in the beginning, but after she did it once, she went back for more.

 After we got home, we set up a little scavenger hunt for Jack and he found a new bike at the end, which he of course loves and rides way too fast for my liking.

 We even had a little laser beam game set up where they had to try and make it through the hall without touching the "lasers". Jack made it through with flying colors.

 Anderson on the other hand, kept standing up and ruining it. Every time he tried to go through, he pulled the string off the wall and would start crying because he didn't know how to make it through. Apparently this game is not recommended for children under 6.

All in all, it was a great day. 

We love you Jack. We love having you in our family. You are our first born, so don't judge us too hard if we mess up. Parenting has definitely turned out to be a trial and error process for us, and lucky for you, you get to be the guinea pig!