Underwater

Windy days on Kume = choppy surf = poor visibility under the water.  So we didn’t get to do quite as much snorkeling as we really wanted to, but we did sneak under the water a little here and there.

Fighting?  Mating?  Playing tag?

This is a shell or, more technically, a snail I guess.  It was nearly the length of my foot and simply gorgeous; I would have loved to have taken it home with me, but I stuck with the “look, don’t touch” rule.

Another one that would have been cool to take home.

Lucky for us, there was one area on the island where we could see all sorts of amazing fish without a mask and fins.  These coral formations trap fish at low tide in extremely large, deep tide pools.  They were amazing to explore, but a little hard on the feet!

Somehow these ones look kind of mean, don’t they?

I count at least 15 different fish in this shot and a minimum of 7 different species.  Not bad!

I played with this one a bit, washing out most of the color, so that you could see the fish a bit better.  Can you find all six?

We found several new varieties, including this one with the orange spot on its tail.

And my favorite new fish.  I saw one but didn’t have the camera and then Jake was able to catch it for me!

In current news, we are only slightly less underwater than the fish in these pictures.  This storm is blowing something fierce and is just sitting on top of us.  It’s moving at an average of about 5 whopping miles per hour, and it’s a big stinking storm.  Thus far we’ve been in full-on typhoon mode for 34 hours (read: the kids have been trapped in the house for that long) and the eye has only just passed us. 

Obviously, Rachel wasn’t able to fly in tonight.  She’s sitting in Tokyo, hoping to catch a flight here tomorrow.  If she makes it in, then you won’t hear from me here for a week or so, but I promise I’ll be back in force with more double-post days to get caught up. 

Have a good one!

Tatami-ishi

One of Kume-jima’s most notable landmarks is a patch of naturally-formed rock slabs in pentagons and hexagons.  They call them tatami stones, which doesn’t quite fit because tatami mats are rectangular but whatever.  They still make a pretty spectacular picture.

The setting.  I was really excited to take a couple good pictures of the kids out here.  They were pretty excited too, but not about taking pictures; they had lots of fun exploring though!

One set of eyes/smile = really not such a bad picture.  Just not the golden one I had hoped for.

   

I can’t complain too much though, especially when there was so much pure joy and exuberance being expressed.

 

 

Whee!  Puddles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I know it’s basically a shot of her butt, but I like the color-contrasts.

 

 

 

Here’s a shot of her front side too, so you don’t feel like you are missing out.

 

 

 

 And here’s this guy.  He’s pretty cute too!

  Hmm.  I don’t seem to have mastered the model hair-blowing-in-the-wind thing exactly.  The remnants of our picnic don’t do much to help the picture either.  Ah well!

A quick hike rounded out the morning and brought us to this spectacular view.

Stay tuned.

I’ve Got Sunshine

Not a bit of sunshine outside right now as the typhoon continues to blow over but once upon a time . . .

There was sunshine inside . . .

and out!  So we decided to do a little island exploration.

We found a series of waterfall but, due to another typhoon (Songda, not Muifa—it’s been a busy summer on the weather front too), the path wasn’t cleared all the way down to them. 

We also found a small set of gusuku (castle) ruins.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel for lunch and naps.

Mommy snuck out to the beach for a little walk while the kiddos were napping.

An underwater bouquet.

A little afternoon beach time rounded out the day.  I LOVE whoever had the genius idea to string a clothesline up on all the balconies; it was even set with clothespins. 

Night-night everybody! 

Weather Update

You can’t see Okinawa, but we are just under the edge of that white swirly cloud.  Don’t panic; we are going to sit tight in our concrete bunker house which has already survived more typhoons and earthquakes than you’ve ever imagined.  We’re going to have some indoor games, some good snacks, a VeggieTales or two and then we’ll go pick up Rachel from the airport.

Just Another Day in Paradise

Following Logan’s birthday party, we packed our bags and got on the ferry the next morning.  A few hours later, we were . . .

Looking out from our hotel on Eef Beach on Kume-jima.

 
A couple of details from the hotel.

Can you smell the sunscreen?

  The only company we had at the pool that day.

It was Logan’s idea to stick to the pool rather than the beach.  Not sure why.  Novelty maybe?  He sure seemed to enjoy himself though.

There were two pools and one of them had a large kiddie section.  Both pools overlooked the ocean.  I never really understood that setup (pool overlooking ocean) until this trip.  But we had several windy days later in the week and it was nice to be off the sand.

  Didn’t have to worry about Naomi eating the sand either.  (Not that we tend to be overly concerned about that.  It’s good for her system, right?)

Everybody’s happy.

And thus ends day one.

Happy Birthday Logan!

One of my favorite cards of all time shows a little boy seated at a piano looking forlorn.  Inside it asks “How do you play ‘Happy Belated Birthday To You’?”  Well, the birthday party wasn’t late but obviously this post is.  Thanks for hanging in there with me!

A musical card from Great-Grandma Sharp plays the classic birthday song.  It was loved by Logan and not hated by Mom and Dad.

Nearby, Naomi practices looking cute in hopes of snagging a few crumbs of birthday cake

  “Hey”, she says, “how did you know that was what I was up to?”

The aforementioned cake.  It looks like Henry might be angling for a piece as well.

Oreo cookie wheels, crushed Oreo coal in the first car, M&M, GummiSavers and sprinkles cargo in the next two cars, and a fine red caboose.

Party guests Emily and Vincent.

Izzy and Logan.

Other guests include Isaac, Connor, Zach, (baby) Isabelle, (baby) Alejandro, and Naomi.

    Henry sat this one out in favor of a nice nap.

Happy birthday buddy!

Thanks to all those who called or sent gifts from afar.  Logan knows how much you love him too!