Our first visitors!

A couple months ago, Cecily (Grant's sister) emailed and said that they were planning a trip to come visit us! Given the fact that we live across the world, this was especially big and exciting news. So, we started planning and made it happen! We knew it was going to be a relatively quick trip, so we had to squeeze in as much fun as possible. Rowan had not had the opportunity to meet any of his cousins yet, so getting to meet and play with Dash was a big deal! 

Unfortunately, it was my second week of work so I was pretty busy and had little control over my schedule, but I still had two days in a row off and it worked out great. Grant took the week off work to be able to play tour guide (an exhausting but very fun job :) They arrived late Monday night (after a full day of flying and a 13-hour time change) and tried to get a little sleep that night so the fun could begin the next day. I worked Tuesday, but they had plenty of fun without me (and I had my favorite day of work thus far, which eased the blow of not getting to hang out with them :) They went to the park, tide pooling at Maeda and ate at Hungry Tacos (a place they loved too!) 

That night Grant got a call that his unit had been put on lockdown (something that occasionally happens here when dumb people get in trouble and they decide to punish everyone). So, we had to start making plans that were either on base or where Grant would have to stay at home. He worked diligently to get off-base privileges since he was on leave and the lockdown really shouldn't have even applied to him, but there was a lot of vague communication.

Luckily, I had the next two days off, so we planned to go to Shuri Castle in the morning (Grant stayed home) and then met him at Torii Beach (which is on base) for the afternoon. That evening, Grant and Bryce and the kids had a romantic Subway dinner on the beach while Cec and I got pedicures!

 Rowan taught Dash the ways of the beach (since it's his natural habitat :) Dash was a little cautious in the beginning but warmed up quickly...

 Except to the sand...he HATED the sand! He loved sitting in a chair and digging in it with a shovel, but wanted nothing to do with the sand touching any part of him :)

Rowan got a little too friendly with the starfish this day and wanted to take a bite out of it...

 ...and got REALLY sad when I took it away from him. Sorry Rowan, starfish are our friends, not our food :)

 We had perfect weather and had so much hanging out together at the beach all afternoon.

 Cousin love...precious!

 And then maybe my favorite Cocok pedicure yet! I found the design on Pinterest and she did an amazing job adapting it to work on toes! They are so talented.

The next morning we ran a few errands and Grant FINALLY got word that he was off lockdown for the duration of his leave, yay! So that afternoon we went to Bios on the Hill (I can't even really explain what this place is), but we had a great time! It was a gorgeous area and a perfect afternoon adventure.

Our favorite part was probably the goats :) There is a big field with a fun play area and goats on leashes just waiting to be walked around! So so random, but fun!

After playing with the goats for awhile, we took a little river tour which Rowan loved (he loves all transportation that doesn't require a carseat)...

 That night we went to DokaDoka for pizza, pottery and the beautiful view!

Friday I had to work again, but everyone else went to the Peace Memorial Park, the Ryuku Glass Village and American Village, then met me at Blue Seal for burgers and ice cream when I got off work! They left on Saturday (like I said a short trip), but I am so grateful they made the huge trip across the world to visit us! They are serious troopers! A 13-hour time change, a crazy long flight, a 19-month old and Cec is pregnant...No excuses, come visit us! :)