Shikinaen Royal Garden

Well, we were supposed to be vacationing in exciting Taipei, Taiwan this past weekend for Valentine's Day/President's Day.  BUT (as our luck would have it), through a trio of unforeseen disasters the night before, we ended up canceling our much awaited and anticipated adventure.

"What were these three  mishaps?" you may ask.

Well, first, G and I got sick...coughing and fever sick.  So then, Adam decided that he would enjoy taking just E and enjoying our Taipei vacation with her.  So we got that settled and then he looked at our passports and realized that our reentry stamps were expired.  Meaning: while we could get out of Japan, they very well might not let us back in!  YERP!  But he called his friend and she assured him that with current orders, that wouldn't be a problem.  But THEN, the car wouldn't start.  DEAD.  Deader than ever and Adam tried to jump it to no avail.  Let's all keep in mind that these three things all happened THE NIGHT BEFORE we were supposed to leave.  By 11:00pm with all of that going on, Adam threw in the towel and decided that the good Lord didn't want us going to Taipei this weekend so he switched our tickets and I switched our vacation rental.

I'm glad I'm not stuck in a one bedroom apartment coughing through the night with my family...but I sure would've loved to spend Valentine's Day in Taipei...

So what did we do instead??  Mostly rested and played inside.

But we did venture out a couple times!  Once, last evening to Cape Zanpa (only 10 minutes away) and then today (President's Day), down to Shikinaen Royal Garden and then a Naha Park for lunch.  Some lovely outings and I even got a few cherry blossom shots.

That little face!

she's a wild girl!

Look at those wild eyes!  She always looks prettiest when she's adventuring!

Can't believe how grown up she looks! 

smiley boy

Skikinaen Royal Garden

I love E in a trucker hat...she's so much cooler than me!

Such a beautiful and tranquil place

E kept calling this a tinker bell house...she has a one track mind!

It's right in the middle of Naha!

This is at a Shinto shrine right next to the huge baseball stadium in Naha

Our Christmas Family Shoot

  My lovely friend, Diana, put her photography skills to work and took some amazing shots of our little family at our favorite little cove just a few blocks from our house.  I love that we have these for our home and for family and friends...but mostly I love that my dear friend took them and at our favorite spot.  Such wonderful memories!

Cosmos Fields

  Our family joined our good friends, the Traficans, on an excursion last month to these beautiful flower fields up north on the island near camp Hansen.  Apparently they plant these every year to replenish the soil and put nutrients back into the fields for the next year's crop.  What a beautiful way to take care of the earth!!  It's also a tourist attraction and it was difficult to get any pictures without tons of people in the shot!

9 trees in one!

So sweet!

How did she get so grown up looking??

E and E = Best friends

My beautiful friend, Diana!

Baby Shower!!

  My beautiful friend, Shelley, is having a baby!!  I'm so excited to say that!  She and Jared are such a wonderful couple who love God and who have poured so much love into our family (especially my children)!  I have honestly been so excited to see little Ella arrive that I feel like it's taking FOREVER!  I'm so ready to see what she looks like and meet her little personality.

  So last month my friend, Roxanne, and I threw a little baby shower for her and of course I did almost everything homemade (because that's how I roll).  I was so pleased at how everything turned out and I think Shelley liked it too!  Roxanne did ALL of the food and our church community ladies, Michelle and Caylee provided a real cake and a diaper cake (so wonderful to have a community of Christ lovers who want to be a part of your life and help out as much as they can)!  Here are the few pictures I took - I am AWFUL at taking shots of parties at my own home.  This is mostly due to the fact that I am putting things together at the last second and even when people show up, I'm throwing food on the table whilst trying to apply makeup (and sometimes, I forget the makeup and don't realize I look like a zombie until I see myself in the bathroom mirror two hours after the party has ended - nice)!

that tablecloth took me hours to make

this actually might be my favorite diy decoration yet!

our fabulous diaper cake and yes, i also made Ella this tutu