Sakura (aka Japanese cherry blossoms!)

I'm on a role with posting this week, so why not keep it up, right?! Here are a few pictures of the cherry blossoms from this year. This is a very anticipated time in Japan since the blooms only last about 2 weeks and it seems to mark the beginning of spring. Many families bring blankets and spend the weekend eating, drinking, and relaxing under the cherry blossoms at parks - some even camp out over night to get the perfect spot! There is even one park in Yokosuka that is only open two weeks out of the ENTIRE YEAR and it's while the cherry blossoms are in bloom. The pictures honestly don't do them justice, they are absolutely breathtaking!

Navy base in the background

a park just outside base

in Kawasaki

close up!

at our local shrine

(a really sweet Japanese man invited me to a Sakura festival while I was there taking pictures!)

on base

Belly pictures!

Yay!! I have belly pictures up for your viewing pleasure! There really isn't a whole lot to see yet in pictures, but I can certainly FEEL a difference...and it won't be long before the bump is undeniable...my jeans are feeling tighter by the day and there are already some that I've given up on completely. All in all I think I'm fairly comfortable with my growing waistline...it's definitely a strange feeling to have no control over your body, but I'm way too excited about what is CAUSING the growth to worry about it!

Since we've been back from Guam we've been spending a lot of time prepping the baby's room. Our changing table and dresser made the long voyage across the ocean and Shane did a fantastic job assembling them. Now we're just hoping the crib gets here before he has to leave! We've also been doing a lot of reorganizing/purging/consolidating since the baby's room was previously our storage room. We don't have a lot of space here so we're doing what we can to get organized now, since I'm sure all the baby stuff will soon completely overtake our home!

Our last bit of news - cross your fingers that the baby is agreeable next Friday - we have our big ultrasound appointment and would love to know if it's a boy or girl!!

Babymoon

We decided to get away to celebrate our anniversary (a little early) and enjoy one last vacation as a family of two. Even though the baby is due in October, Shane will be going back out to sea soon and we won't have another opportunity before the baby is born so we jumped at our chance. Since it's still cold here - in the 40s when we left and even now it's only highs in the 50s - we decided to go for a tropical destination that's only 4 hours away by plane...Guam!

The first day of vacation was a little rough to say the least - we missed our train to the airport by 3 minutes which resulted in us missing our flight! Fortunately we were able to get on another flight (after paying a ridiculous amount of money of course) but had about 8 hours to kill at the airport. The one highlight of the day was that Shane LOVED the cut and shave he got at the airport!

Definitely worth the wait...taking advantage of the infinity pool with an amazing ocean view.

Guam has the world's largest Kmart and though we didn't buy much I was VEERRRRY excited about the ICEE!!! I did hit a maternity clothes jackpot at Ross and Motherhood which I'm realizing I will be wearing MUCH sooner than I expected! (Two important reminders: #1. there are NO ICEES in Japan #2. I don't really shop for normal clothes in Japan so the thought of shopping for maternity clothes sends chills down my spine!)

Anniversary dinner at Roy's - so yummy!!!!

View from our balcony!

Just goofing around

An awesome little cove we found away from the touristy area. Decided to take an impromptu swim and snorkeling pit stop.

Okay, so I've seen plenty of chickens and pigs in my life but this was the first time I've needed to wait on them to get into a parking lot for a tourist attraction. Can you imagine waiting on pigs to go to Disney?

Talofofo Falls

Slightly scary suspension bridge - especially when Shane started shaking it!

All smiles!

Shane relaxing in the waterfall!

Since I'm not allowed to scuba dive while pregnant we took FULL advantage of snorkeling! It was so great being in the water even if it was only on the surface.

I just can't explain the feeling of relaxation I get in the ocean...

and it's soooo wonderful that I get to share it with the best guy in the world!!

Since Guam is one of the places we could potentially be stationed, we felt it was important to see the Navy base. From this perspective I'd say it's a pretty good base! ;)

Last but not least for those patient enough to hang to the end...this is my 14 week belly photo! At that point I hadn't gained any weight (don't worry I'm making up for it now) but the pooch is definitely beginning to show!