Golden Week Dragon Boat Races

At the end of Golden Week in Okinawa, they have their big Dragon Boat Races at the main port in Naha. This year I was finally able to see some races and it was lots of fun. Even more fun, because we got to see the Navy Womens team compete. My friend Mickelle and I both knew a few people on the team and it just makes it so fun to cheer for people you know. 

It was so fun seeing everyone cheer each other on. Japanese teams were high fiving the American participants and other competitors. 

The Navy team warming up

 These sweet girls LOVE Baby J. And he loves them. We are going to miss them!

And they're off! The Navy team is in the middle and shortly after this was taken, they took the lead and smashed the competition to win the race. All their hard work paid off.

Happy Golden Week from Japan!

Mama-San Beach. Heaven.

Beach days are back and they are glorious! 

My sister Camille has been visiting these past few weeks, and it has been too cold to do beach stuff. We went snorkeling this weekend but had to wear wet suits. But these last two days have been so amazing. We spent yesterday afternoon at the beach closer to my house and today I took her to my special place. My favorite beach of all the beaches. Mama-San Beach. We all had such a wonderful afternoon. We even snorkeled without wetsuits. So glad the cold spell is hopefully over. (I've blogged about Mama-San beach before here and here.)

Soooo, going to the beach with J now is pure delight. He is a beach baby through and through. Splashing in the water, playing in the sand. It is so much fun, and just looking at these pictures is making me swoon over him again. 

CUTENESS OVERLOAD

^^I cut my hairs. It feels good.^^

The best.

 And for kicks and giggles, the last time I visited Mama-San Beach I was 38 weeks pregnant, visiting with my mom. Let's recreate it!

Good times.

Okinawa Bucket List: Whale Watching

Three winters here, and three seasons worth of whale migrations here in Okinawa, and we finally went this time around! My first winter here I actually saw a bunch of whales off the coast from Cape Manzamo one day: super cool but too far off to take pictures. This time around it was awesome to see them up close. And thank goodness for dramamine, because I'm pretty sure I would have been miserable without it. 

We saw a bunch of them in our time out on the sea. We got to see one breech as our boat was headed out and it was my favorite. No photographic evidence unfortunately. And I just don't think pictures do these majestic creatures justice. One was skimming the surface for a while and it was huge! But pictures don't show that. So glad to see it in person. 

^^you can see the mist from his blow hole^^

I don't think Baby J was feeling too hot from it. Several people told me the baby should be just fine, but I don't think he felt good. He looked a little greenish when I came down and found him like this.

But he was extra snuggly to Victor, which Victor loved.

As my mom said when I told her we were going whale watching, "it isn't hard for you to have fun in Okinawa." True true. There's always something to see or do. Love it. Happy Monday!

Cherry Blossoms at Nakijin Castle

We were a little too late by just a few days to see Nakijin's blossoms at their peak, but there were still some beautiful views from these huge castle ruins. It was a gorgeous afternoon so we had a great time walking around, switching off who carried J because he is getting heavy!

^^his faces. i love.^^

Love our family time. It's been pretty sparse lately, so this was a much needed refill to our canteen.

Valentines Weekend

Our first Valentine's Day with a babe actually turned out to be my favorite Valentines Day so far! If anything stood in the way of ruining it, it was Victor's work, since he didn't get home from work until 2:30am and then went back to work after breakfast. But he came home with flowers for me, so that was great. That's all I require for V-tines day. Flowers. And I made him chocolate dipped strawberries. 

We got a babysitter and had a wonderful date going out to dinner baby free. Unfortunately J has reached that busy baby stage that is starting to make eating out a challenge. So to be able to get dressed up and have wonderful dinner with adult conversation about literature, religion, travel, etc. was so nice! Such a great date night. 

We made a whole weekend of it by heading up to the Orchid Expo the next day. My favorite! It was Valentine themed this year. It seriously is orchid heaven up there and I just wish my mom and mother in law could have come with us because they would love it so much. 

^^so cool how they don't need soil^^

 Happy Valentines Day! Hope you had a great one with your loved ones.

Sakura Sakura

We've been hosting our first visitor of 2015 this past week, our mission friend Alicia. We've had a great week showing her the best of the island. The cherry blossoms are starting to bloom so we headed up north to check them out this weekend. Some of the trees were still a little sparse, but we still saw some beautiful blossoms and enjoyed perfect weather. Okinawa in January is heavenly. 

It makes me sad this is our third and final cherry blossom season in Okinawa. We are getting to all these lasts and it's bumming me out! I'm soaking it all up. 

 Beauty everywhere on this island. Love Okinawa flower season!
Hope you had a great weekend!