The Hoden's Visit California!

We had some FUN visitors come earlier this month!  My sis and her family made the trip from bitter Edmonton to sunny California.  They arrived into LAX on Tuesday night and spent two days at Disney before coming to our house!  Last minute we decided to meet them at Disney on Thursday for the day.  We live about 70 miles from Anaheim, but that means nothing.  Traffic was ok getting to Disney, but coming back was rough!  It took about 90 minutes to get there and about 2.5 hours coming home.  Granted, there was an accident on the main interstate, but not fun when you have a crying, hungry 6 month old and an exhausted 2 year old.  Although our "not fun" moments were just moments - overall the girls did really great.  Anyways, back to the fun stuff.  Disney!  Well, it was something we did and not sure when we'll do it again.  Not anytime soon, probably :) Quinn loved seeing Goofy walking around, we met Mickey, and went on a couple of rides that she thoroughly enjoyed.  That was worth every penny seeing the look on her face during these fun times!  It was also fun seeing Max, Mya, and Ivy on all the "older" kid rides, too!  I still can't get over how much time you have to wait in line to take a 2 minute ride.  I guess I'm just not patient, but probably because my kids are far from that stage, as well :)

After we all got back to our home in Murrieta Thursday night, a few beers were shared, the kids played, and bedtime was late!  We did a little swimming, although not much because our community pool doesn't heat during the off months.  SUCH A BUMMER!  We had record highs when the Hoden's were here so to not comfortably swim was sh**ty.  We made the most of the weather though!  We played a lot in the backyard, the older kids took horseback riding lessons, sat by the pool and soaked in some UV rays, had chris' cousin over for dinner, shared a few drinks every night, played cards..aaaaand celebrated Ivy's 5th birthday all weekend long :)

Here are a few pics from our fun weekend.  We sure missed them when they left!
Can't wait until they visit again.

5 Months Post Okinawa

I've been thinking about Okinawa a whole lot lately.  Don't get me wrong, I love where we live and where our lives are at now, but I really miss some things about that place.  Basically what I disliked about Okinawa is exactly what I'm missing about it now.

Our house.  I was pretty annoyed most days at the size of our kitchen and the small living room.  Looking back at it now, it's all we needed and it was cozy.  Love the space we have now, but something about that little living open concept area we had was quaint.

The water.  I think I took as much advantage of the beautiful beaches and water as I, who doesn't love to swim, could.  We had our "own" private beach we went to a lot when living in Yomitan and then went to different ones when we moved closer to base a year and a half later.  I miss packing for the beach.  It would be so much more fun now that I could enjoy a few drinks!  18 months of going to the beach with a sparkling water wasn't AS fun when Tony had a stiff margarita poured.  I miss my car being full of sand (WHAT!?).  It was just proof of having a good time!

Friends.  My gosh I miss them.

Distance.  Ok, so the distance was WAY farther than I had ever thought I could be, but there's something about the feeling of being that far away that brought Tony and I very close - and close with our friends.  I don't want to be that far away every again..but I'm so thankful we had the experience we did.

Babies.  Now that I'm 6 months postpartum, I have such incredible memories of being pregnant there.  Had you talked to me during those 9 months when I was pregnant in Okinawa - I would have told you I hated it.  I did.  I craved things I couldn't have, my family never really saw a baby bump, and no one was in the hospital when Quinn or Shae were born.  Sure, that sucked.  But we also have (again), cozy memories of just Tony and I with our newborn girl(s).

Shopping.  What I miss is that there was none of it!  Ever since being back in the states, we have had to buy a lot.  2 cars, a house, and basically furnished a whole house.  I miss being OK with whatever we had in Okinawa.  The couch was fine.  The TV worked.  The burn mark on our coffee table was no big deal.  My car squeaked every time I would turn it on - oh well.  I knew these feelings wouldn't last all that long - and although I cursed it all MANY MANY times (ask Beth).. I miss that.

So you're question is - would I want to go back?  NO.  absolutely not.  I love being closer to family.  I love our house and the space we have.  I love my car.  I love going to Trader Joes and Target.  I love that I can have Chipotle (although I have yet to have it) whenever I want.  I love the conveniences we now have.  My sister is coming next week, Tony's parents are here this week, my parents are coming in December, My bestie was here in October.  LIFE IS GOOD.  and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
In hindsight, I just maybe should have enjoyed Okinawa a little more than I did.

She is 6 months (already!)

My goodness, these last 6 months are nearly a blur!  Maybe it's because I'm a bit sleep deprived or maybe because we moved to a new house and have been busy since...or maybe it's just because time really does go this fast when your heart is so darn full!

Shae is a pretty sweet babe.  She is happy 93% of the time and 100% of the time if her naps are on schedule.  YES! We have a schedule. It's wonderful.  Although she doesn't always stick to "the plan", it is nice to know that 5/7 days a week I can count on both girls napping at the same time.  She naps 3-4 times a day and we are working on getting it down to 3 only.  She'll take a 45 mn nap in the morning, 20 mins in the car, 90 mins at 1:00/1:30 with sis, and then a short cat nap around 5:00.  Her nightly wakings vary a whooooole lot.  We had an awesome month or more that she was getting up twice a night (10:00pm and 2am) but now with her 3rd tooth coming in (the top one) we are getting up anywhere between 3-6 times.  Those "6" nights are exhausting..we've had a couple.  But we will get there!

We are on solid foods and she loves what Quinn did not.  Shae prefers prunes and cereal and is warming up slowly to sweet potatoes.  She's not a fantastic eater, which is hard to believe after looking at her cheeks, but seems to be doing just fine!

She is in size 3 diapers, weighs over 17 lbs (that was at her 5 month check up) and has the sweatiest feet ever.  Her favorite person is Quinn by far.  Sometimes she will just see Quinn and crack up with the most genuine laugh.  And then once Quinn starts being goofy - it's a loud house of laughter!  Brings joy to my heart.

When running errands, most people at the check out counter will comment how calm she is.  I would have to agree.  Unless she's really tired, in which case we stay home! - she won't make a peep while out shopping for groceries or whatever we're up to.  As long as there is action, she is very content.

She doesn't like the car a whole lot, although it's getting better.  And prefers me over anyone putting her to sleep.  That would be my fault and no one else's :)

Here are a few pics of baby Shae!

Grandpa Brown and Shae at the winery :)

We love you!