The Evans Take Over Oki

Hello All.....FINALLY, I'm making some time to post about Loretta (my mom), Eddie (my dad), and Alice's(my godmother), trip to visit us here in Okinawa. We had such a busy and fun time during their time here. When my mom and dad visited before (December 2009), we had just arrived to the island so we did not have much to show them.....this time......we took them EVERYWHERE. They were able to try all our favorite restaurants, go see all our favorite sights, and my dad and Colby were able to play golf MORE than once (even tried out the new course).

I wish I would have sent Colby to the golf course with the camera one or two times, but it totally slipped my mind so there are no pictures to share of their golfing "fun."

We took all three of them on a tour up North. The Northern "highlights" include the aquarium, the butterfly garden, the Tropical Dream Center, & the Pineapple Park to name a few. Needless to say, they were not interested in a few of the destinations (aquarium & butterflies), but we MADE my father enjoy the Pineapple Park (a Okinawan tourist must visit destination) and the orchids at the Tropical Dream Center because I knew Loretta would be in HEAVEN.

See..... She was so excited and enthralled with the plants... These little machines are usually conveniently placed by water fountains. If you can see, it says "gargle." Colby and I made each of them try it.....it is minty mouthwash and you spit it back in. Here is Dad doing just that.

My father and I with the orchids.....SO BEAUTIFUL.

Alice & Eddie (brother & sister).

More Orchids.

My Birthday gift from my parents and husband.......round diamond earrings. I LOVE THEM!

For my birthday, we went to visit our Dear John and his wife Maki at the British Wine and Tea house. He even baked me a cake for my 30th....so sweet. It is always an entertaining experience to go there and have dinner. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I must point out....Colby stayed awake all day for this day after working the night before. He was such a good sport to make me a happy lady and join us for the entire day.

Mom and Dad at Taguchi Beach. We love this place. It is so pretty and this is where we took photos last year for Christmas. It was a little "chilly" this day...as you can see. I love this picture of my mom and dad. They are both smiling and mom is wearing her sunglasses so you can't tell if her eyes are closed (I love you, Mom).

Nanny (this is what we call our godmothers in Louisiana) on the roller slide. She is still 18 years old at heart. I will NOT mention how old she REALLY is........ I can't believe it myself. Gotta LOVE HER. I'm hope I'm this spunky at 35y/o (wink wink).

We took Chili and Lester along for the ride. We stopped often so our little man (Thank the Lord) didn't get car sick. They had to wear their sweaters too though. Thank you, Mom for sewing Lester's so it would fit.

(I have NO idea why some of my fonts are underlined like this.....and I can't fix it...ugh)

Then we went to Cape Zanpa. This is a place on island with SERIOUS cliffs and VERY strong currents. There is a lighthouse there as well. It is sometimes really pretty, but the two times we have been, the weather has been very similar.....WET AND COLD!

Colby and Lester at Cape Zanpa.

AMERICAN VILLAGE for Dad to get his A&W Root beer float fix.

This is pretty much all he talked about the entire trip.... I think he had two while he was here. He wasn't THAT impressed....prefers his Barq's (not sure the spelling here) Strawberry soda float better.

Colby introduced my dad to Nathan's hot dogs at the new golf course on island (Taiyo). My dad kept talking about how good they were, so we made the short visit to American Village so he can have his SECOND Nathan's hot dog of his life.

I tried to tell him that they have Nathan's hot dogs at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (I think)and his reply "Oh really? Well, Maggie, I've never wanted to eat HOT DOGS in Vegas!" Now I think he might be rethinking that decision when he sees the famous Nathan's hot dog signs!

We took some pictures here during our recent professional photo session...some of you may have seen it in your Christmas card from us.

PRUNING....trying to save my plants. We (surprisingly) did NOT do much gardening while they were here. The weather has been "blah" and it is hard to get motivated when you know the cold will kill things. I think this day my mom was trying to get away from me because I was being mean to her.

She and I tend to "butt (pun intended)heads" every once in a while because we are SO MUCH a like and I know she'll love me no matter what I say. I'm sorry, Mom for being such a turd sometimes. MOST of the time....I'm not. I love you!

We went to Okinawa World. Colby saw this big drum and was like a kid in a candy store..."I want to hit the drum." So, he was the first. Then the other kids followed.....

Dad doing a Shisa impression I believe.

Me and Nan....Love the Hibiscus.

In the Cave....

I made them do this....of course they obliged.

Doctor Fish!! This took SOME convincing (especially for my Mom), but whenever Eddie and Alice said they would do it...she became a "follower" and caved in. I think they liked it!

It really tickles like heck....I couldn't stop laughing when I did it.

Awamori taste test.....

Again........the child of the group.

THE snake show....Mongoose vs. Snake & this demonstration of a cobra and the fangs...she is extracting the venom in this picture .....

This was their faces..... Loretta is NOT a fan of snakes...Dad seems a little bored...and Nanny is TOTALLY enthralled in the action. (love them)

Shuri Castle. I took only my mom and nanny to Shuri while Eddie took a nap. He came with us last time we went and decided he didn't need to see it again. Napping=his 2nd favorite thing to do. #1? GOLF..... and I think he did play golf that morning.

PEDICURES...at Cocoks. This place is a MUST for all tourists here. We love Cocoks. Great pedicure with hand painted designs. This is NOT something I was a fan of before I moved here, but now it is quite an addiction and I am always VERY amazed at how good they are!

I should totally point out that my Nanny is wearing MY green sweater in these pictures. She apparently has one JUST like it at home, but she did NOT pack hers (we figured out here) and she stole mine from the laundry room....it was a little joke.

What's a vacation to a Japanese tropical island without dying your hair with your godchild. We took it easy one night when Colby was going to work and we died each other's hair. I love this picture!

I think this is also the same night we made my dad go eat Ramen at a VERY good ramen restaraunt and sit outside in the freezing cold. I WISH I would have taken a picture there...just for memories sake. My dad was NOT happy that we had to sit outside in the cold, but he was outnumbered by his sister, his wife, and his daughter and he was coming with us! Luckily the Japanese are so nice and there were heaters and blankets waiting for us when we sat down. I think the warm Ramen made him happy in the end (I Hope). Thank you, Daddy for coming with us! We enjoyed your company!

Japanese Naval Underground.

This is the room where the Japanese Naval General and his men comitted suicide during the Battle of Okinawa. I think they felt weird smiling.......hence their somber faces.

Nanny was OBSESSED with these machines. She took so many pictures of them because they are truly EVERYWHERE. She really thought Evan (her youngest son) would be impressed. It was the 2nd most photographed thing by her. The 1st...pictures of historical signs to show her husband. He is a history teacher (she is NOT) and she knew he'd be interested and she'd NEVER remember. Did I mention that she and I are A LOT ALIKE....it's scary?

NONE of my blogs include historical data....not because I don't want to share...but because I have NO idea!

Peace Prayer Park.

Colby found this broom and thought he'd help out.

He does this often....he did it in Kyoto too....NOT sure if I posted that picture or not.

There was a little small butterfly garden at the Peace Prayer Park. I had never seen it before this trip. Pretty cool.

As I previously mentioned, we had a birthday WEEK for me. This lovely dinner with my neighbors was the night before the family left. This is the dinner I had planned with neighbors because I had NO idea there was a surprise party planned for NYE. Despite the surprise party, we kept our date at our favorite restaurant (one of them), Sea Garden......HOME OF THE BEST CHEESE FONDUE ON THE PLANET (NOT an exaggeration).

Our Toes. I almost forgot to get a picture like this. You should have seen us trying to stand with both feet together and so close to each other. We are all goofballs and nearly fell over.

Again..... A LOT LIKE MY MOTHER AND GODMOTHER....me!

I love them both so much!

That's all, Folks!

Thank you, Mom, Dad, and Nanny for the awesome visit. We had such a great time hosting you all and we hope you had just as much fun being our guest. It was so nice to see each of you and hug you all so tight! Great memories were had during your time here and I can't thank each of you enough for making the time to come visit. We love you all and miss you already!

For the rest of you......our house is empty now.......come on over....we only have NINE MORE MONTHS!

XOXO

Yours Truly