Waki town Fireworks

A Japanese man has me!!!

Noriko and I eating fish on a stick (the Japanese like to put meat on a stick!)

Megumi and I eating the fish on a stick

All of us that were hanging out on top of the roof watching the fireworks

Two of the men in Noriko's band. The one on the right speaks very good English!!

Letting the toros(not sure if I spelled it right!) off in the water-they represent the souls of their ancestors. This is their way to remember them and send them into heaven.

Noriko's mom and Lola

She loved Lola, and in case you haven't noticed, Lola discovered her tongue!

She had a big night and was getting sleepy!

Lola and I have had a great past couple of days. We went to the fireworks with Megumi and Noriko and had good food, listened to the band and met some new friends. I am very excited about the fireworks next weekend though b/c Lola and I are dressing up in traditional Japanese dress!!!
Today we went out to the Kintai bridge and played in the fountains. A lot of Japanese children were out there with their parents so Lola and I joined in, and of course all the children, as well as parents were curious about us! It was soo refreshing, and Lola had a great time. The water was shallow enough for her to sit and play in. After that we came back to the house and hung out all day. The older she gets the more fun we have playing together, but of course I am in no hurry whatsoever for her to grow up! Hope everyone is well!

Yasaka Dam

abby swimming in the river

the sun was bright!!

the back of the dam

Today Lola, Abby and I went out to Yasaka Dam. It's about 40 minutes away, but worth the drive. It was soo gorgeous out there. I didn't get a good picture of the dam itself. There were boats for rent, you can put your own boat in, or just hangout. Abby had a blast there. There were steps leading down into the water, so she loved that, and Lola loved watching her run around. Lola thought it was soooo funny when Abby would run after the ball in the water. Its been soo hot and humid here, that the cold water actually felt good.
Lola was sleeping great through the night until Chris came home for the weekend and now I don't know what happened. I have tried Tylenol, Motrin and teething tablets and nothing works, but she always does this when the teeth break through so hopefully it will be over soon.
In case you didn't know Chris flew up here for the weekend, it was the first time he had been home since April, so it was wonderful having him here. Lola and I will probably go down to
Okinawa towards the middle of August, and stay until Chris deploys. Other than that things are pretty quiet around here.

back in the kuni

Not a good pic but wanted everyone to see how I put her hair up now!I think its soo cute!

Da-Da having fun with Lola

Rev Todd, Chris, Me, Lindsay and Lola after her Baptism. She was awake a playing the whole service and of course when we go to take pictures she falls asleep!!

Lola hanging out on the porch at our room at Shell Island-needless to say her Da-Da just got finished feeding her!!

Matt,Aunt Shelley,Adam,Me and Lola in front of their new restaurant in Rose Hill
Lola and I are back in Iwakuni, and back on schedule. She has been sleeping through the night wonderfully and enjoying all her things at home. Since we've gotten back to Iwakuni she has also started crawling all over the house!! Before we left NC she was crawling a few steps, but now shes into everything!!!She pulls up on everything and can stand for a few seconds by herself.Its been raining since we got back due to the rainy season (Tuyu) and the "typhoon" that is passing through.
Chris has also arrived safely back in Okinawa, we hope to see him soon.
Not much else to update-talk to everyone soon.
Thanks to everyone for making our trip home so wonderful. We miss you all already!But see you all soon-and hope to see everyone we didn't get to see this trip in November.