Helicopter Ride

This past week my sweet husband arranged for me to go on a helicopter ride with the rescue squadron for spouse orientation day. We got to go up for 20 minutes and had an amazing tour of the island. I thought I would share just a couple of the pictures from my amazing day.




First I got to get on the blue bus. Now to the rest of you this may seem silly, however, I have many a memory of saying goodbye to my husband before putting him on a blue bus. Today I got to ride the blue bus.
I was lucky enough to get the seat on the end giving me the best view. The view was so good I was the only spouse that got to see a whale swimming below.



As they hovered for a moment as part of their checklist, I was hit with a wave of excitement that I was about to get on this thing and actually go up.


Yep, I love where I live. I told you the view was great.
These are just a few shots I got from the air.



We got to land on top of this mountain in the middle of the jungle.
So it would seem that it is the responsibility of this crew member to lean out the window of the aircraft while we are flying so that I become nervous. Ok, so I am sure it is for another purpose besides making me nervous but I have no idea what it is.









Ok, so I wasn't on the helicopter when I took this shot but it is one of my favorites. Yes, I actually teared up when I saw the position of these two airplanes on display and if you know me and my family then you understand why.
Yea spouse's day.

It's Been A Long Time

Some time has passed since we have had a chance to update on the goings on around here so here you have it. First it is no secret that our family has a long tradition of embracing
St. Patrick's day, this year was no exception. So we donned our green apparel and began the celebration.





This is our baby, and he approves this blog.

One of our favorite activities is to go to the park and do some chalk drawings.
The other day we wore the baby out to the point that he fell asleep eating his supper. I had to continue to feed him in his sleep (not easy) so he wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night with a hungry tummy.
Another of our great adventures was the Naha Cherry Blossom festival. It was a fabulous time. One of my favorite things about these festivals and the culture here in general, is how often we see grandparents and grandchildren working and spending time together.

We found this amazing honey at the festival and enjoyed trying all the different flavors, the fresh honey comb and seeing a working bee hive. We even came home with a jar of blueberry honey. Yum!
One of my husbands favorite views was of the cherry blossoms with the palm trees in the background. We should always live some place warm enough to have palm trees.


Another favorite part of the festival were the pet goats. Sure you can go to a petting zoo and pay to feed a goat, or you can come here where they are someones pets and there are bags full of food that the owner is grateful to have you feed them for free. They were fun to watch romp and rumble all over the rocks. I was sure that had I given him the opportunity, my three year old would have been right in there with them butting heads.



I couldn't get over how beautiful this stretch of irises were. I can seen why they were such a popular subject of paintings.





I love this sign warning people not to fall off the bridge. At least I think that is what it says.
Next there were whales lots of whales. My husband loves to go look at the whales and I have to admit it really was quite spectacular. My daughter hated the boat so she clung to me for dear life. As for my son, he was calm and at peace on the boat. He fell asleep in my arms.
It was interesting to see the bubbles turn the water white as the whales would dive.
It was easy to see where they were swimming because the water was still and glassy above them.

If you think these pictures are amazing you should see the whales in person.








Of course we couldn't resist posting this sweet smile.