Friends, Family & Tokyo!

Hello Friends,

It's been a while since I've blogged about the happenings of Okinawa and now I'm way behind! First off, my good friend Simone came to visit us in March. She was only here for four days, so we packed as much fun in as we possible could and made some great memories!



We were even able to go snorkeling that early in the year... it was her first time :).



Shortly after Simone left, Mark's parents and brother, Bob, came to visit us for a few weeks. We had so much fun showing them around the island. We played at the beach, toured the Okinawan landmarks and ate lots of Japanese food...





Then we all traveled to mainland, Japan to visit some of Bob's friends. We basically "back-packed" across Japan, visiting six different cities in just seven days!

First stop: Fukuoka. Bob knew this family from his stay in Japan several years ago. They welcomed us into their home and their three very lively girls (only two of which are in the picture) brought lots of laughter!



Then, we were off to Shimonoseki to see the Nishihara's! They took us to dinner and showed us the entire city via the Shimonoseki Tower. It was beautiful.



Next stop was Hiroshima. There's a huge memorial park attributed to those who died from the Hiroshima bombing during WWII. This old building survived. Ironically, it was surrounded with beautiful blooming flowers. I thought it was a good picture of new life despite terrible tragedy. It was really something to see...



Kobe (where we ate the famous Kobe beef!) is where we met up with this couple that Bob used to work with in Utah.



They accompanied us to Kyoto the following day and showed us some of the oldest castles around.





Our final stop was the one and only TOKYO! We visited some major electronic stores, rode lots of trains (SO crowded), visited some more people Bob knew at a local church, and even went to Tokyo DisneySea. So much fun!



As usual, we came across some funny translations...



For as much as we did, it seems like the time went by so fast! And now all of our company is gone, Mark is deployed to the desert and I'm chillin' with the kitty here by my lonesome :). If you think about it, say a little prayer for us.

Until next time!

Laura Jean

Thankful This Thursday - The Little Things

My good friend Neisha, the author of the blog The Outdoor Wife, invited the world to join her in being "Thankful on a Thursday".



Living in a world that moves very quickly with so many people demanding much of my time, I often forget to stop for a moment and reflect on the little things that add so much to my life. So this Thursday, I will. I'm thankful for...

1. Wise and selfless in-laws
2. Colorful flowers I've never seen before
3. Odwalla Superfood
4. International phone service
5. Big tippers
6. The amazing courtesy of the Japanese
7. My cuddly cat
8. ALIAS re-runs
9. Waves crashing along the shore

What are you thankful for today?

Laura