Oh! The Places We'll Go!: Family Visit...that went by WAAAY too fast!

Here are some pix from the fun (if slightly chaotic, lol) Valentine's Day party playgroup Ha & I hosted!

Ha LOVES icing cookies...almost as much as she loves just eating the icing, ha ha. We had to swap out her spoon a couple of times to prevent double-dipping!

A couple of mom & kids...we probably had close t0 15 different mommy-child(ren) pairs over that day!

Ha LOVES to commandeer her doll furniture for personal use!

Haha & Austin hard at work on a lock-board.

A couple of days later...Ha enjoying her first-ever Cadbury cream-filled Easter egg! In retrospect, not the best snack for the car--but boy did she enjoy it!!

Ha & Da enjoying some QT at the Sunabe Seawall and nearby Sunabe Dolphin Park....

At the zoo with friends on a Monday afternoon playdate...

Ha was VERY wary of this gorilla statue!

Ha, Elise, and Derek at the elephant exhibit. Both Ha's friends' moms are also pregnant, due with little girls right around the time Vienna is scheduled to make her big entrance!

On the carousel...

Big girl in an even bigger chair! These pics are from the zoo's Wonder Museum...

Funny faces in the mirror...

Making beautiful music!

From Feb. 18th-26th, we had the special pleasure of welcoming our first out-of-town guests into our new home! Mimi, Tutu, Aunt Vici, and Aunt Sharon came out for an adventurous week of exploring Okinawa--and ringing in Ha's 2nd birthday!! Unfortunately, festivities were somewhat interrupted when all Okinawan military bases were put on lockdown, indefinitely, following a slew of unsavory incidents carried out by military members and dependents. So, since Feb. 20th (Ha's birthday), we have been unable to enjoy off-base activities (such as parks, beaches, zoos, etc.), but fortunately there is a lot to do on base, since we have never lived in an area that has so many different military installations in such close proximity. Fortunately, Ha and I were able to get a pass so that we could enjoy several activities with our family--and so that they would not have to decided entirely between the sights and sounds of Okinawa and darling Ha--but no active duty members (Martin included) are being granted temporary exemptions. Here are some great pix from our otherwise great and exciting week!!

On another note, it was SOOO hard to see everyone go. Mimi and Tutu stayed in our house for the entirety of their visit, so Ha got to know them particularly well--to the point of learning their names--something she NEVER does! She threw a mini-tantrum on the day Tutu (the last of the relatives to leave) pulled away in her cab, and has been asking for Mimi and Tutu intermittently ever since. As a mom, it has been very difficult for me--and I've even cried about it a couple of times (darn pregnancy hormones). Usually when Ha asks for something, I am able to give it to her, but this situation presents a glaring exception. It is so sad that she is forming a very real relationship and attachment to them that she cannot fully enjoy, due to the vast distance between us all. Anyway, enough about that--on with the pictures!

Here is Ha, checking out Mimi's bed before the guests arrive...

Ha & godmom Aunt Vici testing the chilly waters at Torii Beach...

Fun in the sun in the backyard...

Our little artist hard at work...

We also enjoyed a group outing to Churaumi Aquarium, but, alas, I have no pictures to show for it--too busy running around after fish-lover Hana Grace!

Mimi, Tutu, Haha & I took the base Okinawa Battleground Tour (while poor Aunts Vici & Sharon spent the morning in the ER, sick with flu-like symptoms). We got to see a lot of the key areas involved in the WWII Battle of Okinawa...

Here is a cave where our tour guide (pictured) hid with her family when she was 3 months old. There was great pressure by the Japanese for the Okinawans to commit mass suicides should the Americans discover their hideouts. Luckily, our guide's family resisted the prevailing mindset and made it through the terrible battle.

These pics are from Hacksaw Ridge, which was a lookout post (lost to the US) that the Japanese used at the beginning of the battle.

Tu & Ha...

Mimi & cherry blossoms...

Shi-shi lion statue...

Burial stone commemorating Japanese civilians lost (colorful bundle is a batch of 1,000 handcrafted paper cranes--Japanese symbol for peace)...

Burial stone commemorating Japanese military lost...

Burial stone commemorating Korean [slaves] lost...

Ha and me atop the lookout tower...

Fortunately there was also a great playground for Ha to enjoy!

After a visit to Sugar Loaf Ridge (another lookout lost to the US), we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Port Hotel--where we got to chow down on traditional Japanese food at a yummy lunch buffet!

Ha particularly enjoyed the seasoned boiled tofu and spaghetti...

After lunch, we went to the Japanese Naval Underground, a fascinating system of man-made caves and tunnels used by the Japanese, and then stopped at Peace Prayer Park & Museum.

Ha & me by an amazing amount of paper cranes...

Peace Prayer Park...

Ha going to town on the rocking horse Mimi & Pappy got her (we celebrated her birthday with a family party last Friday evening--her friend party has been indefinitely postponed due to the base lockdown--due to the unpredictable weather, we are planning on having it at an indoor play jungle that Ha adores--MonaKid Jungle!)

On Tu's last full day here, we took a base tour to Kokusai Street. On the way, our tour guide made a bonus stop at a recreated Chinese Garden in Naha. Apparently this garden was centuries old, but after WWII, the US tore it down in the interest of constructing officer housing. After it was returned to the Okinawans, they decided to rebuild the beauty that once was. Might I say, they did an incredible job! It was simply breathtaking!

Tu & Ha atop a mini waterfall...

Ha loves to feed the fish & watch the water!

Ejoying Kokusai Street--and its performers!

Chowing down on some authentic Japanese food on Kokusai Street! Haha loves her rice! (pronounced [by Ha]: "mahss"). And she also loves soup!

Riding the bus, big-girl style, on the way home from Kokusai Dori ("International Street")...

Enjoying a good read ("Pretzel") with Tutu!

Haha LOVES her birthday water table! Here she is playing with it on a fluke warm morning--we fill it with warm water and bubble bath!!

But, as you can see, she even enjoys it in chillier times, lol!

Now that the guests are gone, we are back to our usual routine of crafts, walks, and playgroup. I am very glad the freezing (okay, 50-60 degree) weather is almost over! Hana enjoyed making another bird feeder to welcome the birds to the backyard this spring season. I think what she enjoyed most was getting into the Crisco--which she was convinced was soap--and proceeded to smear all over herself, lol. Anything smearable--to include Handi-snacks cheese, Ha will enthusiastically apply as a soap. At least she will be enjoying even-softer skin now!!