Moving is
definitely a pain in the butt...overseas is even worse. Luckily, we
didn't have to actually pack anything (movers do that), but we did have
to decide what we wanted in each shipment, when to schedule them so we
wouldn't be too long on the other end without stuff, etc. Although there
was some craziness trying to do it with kids around, I am glad we
stayed and had these last few weeks together as a family. We're crazy
like that, love spending time together, even in less than ideal
circumstances. To counteract the annoying stuff, we had a lot of fun
too.
"Moving truck!"
No furniture in the house...why not use the built in chairs :) Smart kids!
And
just like that, all of our stuff is gone! (except what we flew with).
The housing company does a crazy cleaning inspection and said that
pretty much no one passes and they essentially charge the full amount
even if it's mostly clean, so we decided to just pay and let them do it
all. Definitely the right decision!
Got
my last pedicure...a tribute to Oki (shisa, torii gate with cherry
blossoms, sea turtle and coral). Cocok pedicures really are one of the
things I will miss very most. Sounds silly but they are 90 minutes of
amazingness followed by cute nail art for weeks to come!
Played at the beach with friends
Lots of brunches and dinners with friends...so grateful for the great friends I gained working at the Naval Hospital.
Sunsets and mocktails with nursing/midwife friends
We celebrated Grant's birthday in the hotel our last week there!
This
cute girl from our primary (Sunday school class) really wanted to say
goodbye. She made us the most adorable cards and laminated book marks.
Her mom said that she was insistent on giving them to us before we left
and came up with the plan and everything on our own. Glad to hear our
chaotic 6 year old class may have actually benefitted a few of them :)
Our
last day, we checked my last bucket list item off...Japanese photo
booth. It did not disappoint. I only wish we had done it at least once a
year. It was really fun! and hilarious
We landed in Seattle around 9 am, and the trip continued from there...
Checking
in with our load of stuff the day before we flew out...not sure how we
navigated through the airport with it all, but we did it :)
Our last view of the island we called home for 3 years. I won't miss the
humidity, or the grocery shopping, or the distance from family...but I
undoubtedly will miss the warm clear turquoise ocean, the kind Okinawan
people, the laid back lifestyle, living at the beach, seeing funny signs
everywhere, my mama sans, and so much more.
I remember being so worried about the trip out here with my 2-month-old
baby. I can't say I blame myself. I didn't know what motherhood was all
about yet, I had never traveled out the country, I was having issues
with nursing, etc. This time the flight didn't make me anxious at all,
but I had a feeling that Boden was going to be crazy. He doesn't like to
sit still but he's not old enough to watch movies, etc. However, it
went better than I ever could have imagined. I decided to do something I
had never done before and bring his carseat on the plane with us. Best
decision ever! He slept so well and so much in it. Slept the entire
first flight, was awake but pretty good for the second one and then was
awake for a couple hours of the long flight but then went to sleep for
the night for pretty much the duration of it! Rowan did equally well.
They both got a little restless (can't blame them, so did I), but it was
definitely a success.
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