Summer summary

Okay, so here’s most of July in a nutshell and not necessarily in sequential order.  Most of what we’ve been doing involves places we’ve been/you’ve seen before, with the exception of the Yamada Stone Bridge hike which will get its own post later/soon.

We came home to find this monster in our banana plants in the backyard.  This thing was huge!  I was tempted to put my hand behind it to give you a size comparison, but they are supposed to be mildly poisonous and I didn’t want to mess with that.  You’re just going to have to trust me; it was BIG!

We took Jake to Kurashiki Dam because he’d never been before—we’ve always gone on weekdays, usually in conjunction with a trip to the nearby farmers’ market.  Turns out that it’s much more crowded on the weekend!

It never takes Logan long to make friends.  I find the lack of language barrier at his age both interesting and amusing.

Another day, another beach/playground combo.  This one is Tropical Beach, where we were surprised to find that the playground had been replaced while we were in the States.

Logan shows off his fancy new beach gear: shades (with Tigger on them), swim shirt (SPF 45 built-in), and sandals (which we had to buy after Logan threw his old pair out of the stroller and Mommy didn’t notice).

Logan opened his train set at G-ma and G-pa Wilde’s, but then they were kind enough to mail it to us.  This thing has been a huge hit since we got it; we play trains everyday, sometimes twice a day and it holds Logan’s attention longer than any other toy so far. 

Many, many thanks to Henry and Janet for providing hours of classic fun!

Random gorgeous day at Araha Beach.  In case you’ve forgotten my stated intention of spending most of the summer floating my pregnant belly in the ocean, let this be a reminder to you—you can expect to see a lot more beach pictures from now through September!

Logan certainly looks ready for adventure!

We’ve got to come home and dry out sometime.  This arrangement has become very typical in our backyard. 

Also typical in the backyard are these.  The red ones are much harder to photograph as they have a bit of gloss to their petals which always makes the pictures turn out funky.  This is the first shot of a red one that I’m really pleased with!  And besides, I haven’t shown you a hibiscus in quite a while :)

  The Wonder Museum updated one of its displays with a “Let’s Sport!” theme, so we had to go check it out.  In addition to what you see here, they had a timed track for a 10-meter dash, a series of really cool balance/agility games, and a virtual battle cage!

Logan is all ready to help Daddy mow the lawn!

Oura Wan beach, up at Camp Schwab on the northern end of the island.  Jake gets up here for work about once a month, but this is the first time Logan and I went with him. 

This is (unfortunately) the beach that is probably getting covered up by the new airfield if/when that gets built.

But until then, it’s ours to enjoy!

 Last but not least, my new car!  We discovered right before we left for the States that my old car (the blue Mazda Premacy) needed a new transmission and a new water pump; it was going to cost us almost as much to fix it as we paid for it in the first place. It wasn’t worth it, not when we could get a new (used) car for the same price as the repairs.  So we junked the old one and got this instead!

It’s a 2002 Honda Stream.  We actually paid a little less for it than we paid for the Mazda, even though it’s two years newer.  (I managed to get them to knock $700 off their asking price—I’m quite proud of that fact!)  It is classified as a compact MPV and in size it’s like a longer version of the Honda Fit or a smaller version of the Honda Odyssey; it seats seven but it’s a small family car, not a van.  We can easily fit two car seats and keep the third row folded down for lots of cargo space for groceries and trips up to Okuma!

So, like I said, that covers most of July.  I still have to catch you up on our hike, which was pretty spectacular.  Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying your summer also.  If I haven’t talked to you recently, expect to hear from me soon!  Miss you all!

Mega-trip: NC

Time to finish this thing off!  Last leg of our trip was NC, which we took in two parts.  Part one: quick stop in J’ville for a joint baby shower for Holly and I.  Part two: longer stay in Morganton at Holly’s house since she was approaching her due date (which should be evident from the last post).

Baby butt cake! 

Belly comparison at the shower.  I believe Holly was 36 weeks and I was 29.

Tickle fest in Morganton!

Not all was fun and games however; Logan decided that this would be a good time to get his two-year molars.  Jake tries to get a look without getting his fingers bitten.

In spite of the teething, Logan still found time to make friends with the multiple canine members of the household.

Quite frankly, I’ve lost track now of which day we did what, but somewhere in there we took a picnic lunch up to a mountain stream and had ourselves a grand old time clambering over the rocks, splashing, throwing sticks (in Logan’s case), chatting and generally cavorting like children (all of us, not just Logan).

  The first pic is Sam (my non-biological brother) and I, then Jake and Dad.  You should recognize everyone in the third shot by now.

      Okay, so in this set Jake looks handsome and I look . . . pregnant.  But that’s the reality: Jake IS handsome and I AM pregnant.

Holly got in some toddler training and looked super-cute doing it.  About that swimsuit Holly . . . you won’t be needing it anymore this summer, right?  ;)

It was a fabulous, fun day! 

 

Change of scenery: we took another afternoon and hiked up to a mountain waterfall.  It was a pretty decent hike for a couple of pregnant ladies and a toddler, but we managed to keep up with the rest of the gang.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group shots!
Holly, Mom and I.

 

 

 

 

Holly, Sam, myself, Jake and Logan with the waterfall in the background.  Btw, Drew (Holly’s husband) and Jonathan (that would be my biological brother, in case you didn’t know) were MIA for both the stream picnic and the hike because they both had to work.

Photo op!  Everybody (Holly, Sam and Mom) snap the waterfall!

 

Jake and Sam take in the view of the falls; meanwhile, Dad takes Logan (cool dude with his hand in his pocket) off in more social directions.

 

Making our way back along the trail.

Logan found a nice place to ride.

  My parents! 

The hike made for another all-around wonderful day, but now it’s time for another scene change: 4th of July town parade, cook-out and family fun.

Avid parade watchers—Drew (sunglasses next to Holly) and Jonathan (red shirt other side of Holly) included this time.

Jonathan can’t figure out how we ever manage to get a decent picture of this kid who just will not sit still and face forward!

Every now and then, he decides to cooperate though.

Uncle Drew and Aunt Holly with their favorite nephew.

At this point, you could still reasonably argue that Logan was Mom’s favorite grandson.  Of course, now he has to share that title :)

Logan learns to play cornhole.  What?—You told him to get the beanbag in the hole, didn’t you?

Last group shot.  (Everyone is facing the camera and looking pleasant!  AND there are no dogs walking through the frame!)

Unfortunately Jake and I had to take a pass on the baseball game and fireworks that evening because we needed to get packed before waking up at 3:00 AM to catch our flight.  And the short version of the flight back is: approximately 29 consecutive hours of travel, 13 hour time change . . . we survived.

It really was wonderful to see everybody and a great trip, but it was great to get back home too.  And now I still have to get caught up on post-trip Okinawa events . . . including my new car!

Aunt Heidi!

We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin: for those who haven’t already seen pictures of Holly’s baby, here’s your chance to ooh! and ahh! over his newborn cuteness!

His vital stats.  Full name: Noah Jesse Thomas.

My awesome sister and her beautiful boy!

And my fabulous brother-in-law showing off his son.  (Where do hospitals get those hats from anyways?  It’s always the same hat, on every newborn baby.)

Noah seems to enjoy relaxing in the sun(lamp).  He definitely takes after Hollly!

Mom gets a turn holding her newest grandson.  Look how tiny he is compared to Mom’s hand!

Just look at that cuteness!  And those long fingers—maybe he actually got some tall genes!

I love this one!  Okay, so it’s not officially a smile, but it sure looks like one.  Hey, I’d be happy too if I were him—he’s got GREAT parents!

He’s got a good little crop of hair, great baby cheeks, and perfect little lips!

Congrats to Holly and Drew!  Welcome to the world little Noah!    Yes, it makes me eager for our own new little one to get here!

And now back to our regularly scheduled program . . .