Beach Time!

Kenna has been asking to go to the beach. So we took some family time on Saturday morning before things got busy and headed to a small beach on Camp Courtney. We were lucky that we were the only ones who had this thought as we got the beach all to ourselves! Kenna and Shawn were free to run and scream and play without me having to worry to much about who they were bothering! :)

It is always fun to watch Kenna play in the water!

Shawn and Kenna exploring the caves at the beach

Another creature enjoying the beach!

Trip to Cocoks

Here in Okinawa there is a wonderful place that all of the women love- Cocoks. I have to admit it is a favorite way to spoil myself! Recently, I took Kenna with her bestest friend ever- Becca! They both were tickled pink about sitting and soaking their toes and getting to pick out what they wanted on their toes!

Kenna and Becca

Here they are soaking their toes and Becca is still trying to decide what she wants!

Sitting in the big chairs watching their toes get done!

Birds, Birds, Birds, and a Scared Little Girl

Since it was Labor day weekend and we had a family pass to Neo Park, we took a trip up there. Kenna and I had been there before, for a birthday party, but this was the first time for Shawn. The park is full of wonderfully beautiful birds and opther exotic animals. We fed the birds bread and dodged the rain drops as it decided to rain while we were there.


Shawn developed a friend with this bird. It followed us through the park, eating from his hand. It was the prettiest color. It had a bright yellow beak and tail feathers, light blue eyes and a black body! Note the other on-lookers!

As you can see, Kenna is deathly afraid of birds! If we weren't holding her, she was glued to our legs!

Favorite Day

Today has to be my most favorite day in Okinawa (since the Hughes left the island that is). It is actually Shawn's birthday. He is 33 years younger today. In honor of that, he had the day off and we spent some family time biking and geocaching. Biking around our neighborhood allowed me to look at little closer at the houses and people.



Plus this well. Doesn't look like what we would think a well would look like. It got me to wondering how old it was and if at one time people used it for their water. However, now it is has overgrowth and algae. Anyway, it is amazing to see how simply the Japanese live. I am also shocked by how quickly new buildings, several stories high, go up. And while they live almost on top of each other, they still managed to make cement look beautiful and very livable.



Geocaching caches that were new and close to home added to our fun little bike trip. Even though we really only found one cache and then had a party pooper (Kenna) we still enjoyed ourselves. Kenna kept telling me to move so that she could see her daddy. How do you explain to a two year old that if you move she will fall over?! Remind me again why we put her seat on the back of my bike?????

Happy Birthday Nay-Nay!

Mona's Jungle

So with sun and humidity beating down on Okinawa, we try and find things to do indoors. This ensures that no one melts! Today we went to an indoor play area. If anyone remembers Discovery Zone, it is similar to that choas. Only the prices here are better!

Kenna and her friends like to run, climb, and of course eat snacks. She met a little Japanese boy on this trip. It was fun to watch them run around and play together. One speaking English and the other speaking Japanese, but it didn't matter to them. I didn't manage to get a picture of them together. I wish I had.

Saying goodbye

Having to say goodbye to one's child is not easy. While it is not that they passed away or that they are taking a right of passage like going to college. No, I am saying goodbye as we prepare to head back to Okinawa for Shawn to return to duty. 30 days of leave never seems like enough time. However, I don't think that all the leave in the world would make any difference.

Our last day together was filled with mixed emotions. Jenaya woke up rather ornery and Elle was quiet. She was in her thinking mode. Ian and Marni constantly picked at each other. I knew that it had to do with being torn. They were ready to go home. They were excited to see their dad and mommy number 2-Kelly. They wanted to see how much their little kitty, Pippa, had grown. However, all of these things meant that Mom, Shawn and MacKenna were leaving... again.


We filled the day with packing and searching Papaa's house for forgotten items and lost treasures. The kids filled their suitcases to overflowing and packed the back of the van. Already, the house seemed less full of life.

We did have one last hurray. Nay-Nay wanted to have a whipped cream fight and I had told her yes. To be honest, I didn't really want to. I was tired and depressed and struggling through my own emotions. However, she must have known something that I did not. She must have known that we all needed to laugh one more time together. That, as a family, we needed to be silly.

Shawn bought 7 cans of redi-whip and we all dressed in 55 gallon drum garbage bags. Those bags were huge! Poor Kenna had to wear a garbage sack instead. Less to cut off and less around the middle. However, all the rest of us wore one. Ian had to tie his on the side so that he had room to run and move. He looked like he was dressed back when it was in fashion to tie your shirt in a knot on the side of your outfit. Nay-Nay figured out that you could tie two of the corners between your knees and you would look like you had on knickers of sorts.

Flying handfuls of whipped cream and screams of laughter erupted from Papaa's backyard. Somehow the kids and I were more covered than Shawn. Must be some military tactics that he used. It may have only lasted for 15 minutes, but it was worth the memories and the laughter it created on such a yucky day.

While saying goodbye is never easy for me, I have strength in knowing that this road is the road that God wanted for me. I find comfort in knowing that He is in charge and has blessed me.