Beach Party

 August 25th was the annual Branch Beach Party to celebrate the end of summer.  The weather was iffy.  There have been typhoons up the wazoo this summer and while none hit Okinawa directly, they did induce a lot of windy and rainy days. And that's what we got on Beach Party Day.

I said I wouldn't go if it was raining when it was time to go.  It was not raining, so I reluctantly got in the car. The weather held till about the time we got to the beach.  Then the wind blew like cray and it sprinkled off and on.  So it was a very windy and slightly rainy event.  Not my favorite weather.

I did not get in the water.  There was a little wading and some swimming, but with the wind pelting you with sand and rain, it wasn't a great dat to be out.  Grilling was also interesting!  We had to make sure everything was weighted down so it didn't fly away on the wind.

Still, we had a decent turn out and the food was tasty and I think everyone had a good time.

Marian wanted a picture.

"No wait, get one of me in the water!"

Delaney got in.  She found a friend and they had a blast. 

I think she stayed in the water most of the time.  She got a wee bit sunburned as well.

 It was a beautiful beach.  The photo does it no justice.

 Rylee running up the beach.  Can you see that ugly weather blowing in?!

 Callie wanted you to know what the wind and rain do to her hair.

All Good Times must End

Sorry, this was just too funny to pass up, and I had to take and share a photo.  I have no idea what is going on here, but it makes me laugh! 

 Last ride in the truck with Grandpa.

I forgot to mention that Sue and Steve came to visit and we got to hear them practice their alp horns.  It was pretty awesome. THEY are pretty awesome!

 Last photo with Grandma the night before we had to leave.

Rylee was off playing with chickens when we took the picture above, so she needed her own picture.

Rylee and Grandma! 

 Thursday August 16, it was time to go back to Okinawa. We are chillin' at the airport and ready to for the next 24 hours of travel!

 We had a 3.5 hour delay in Narita.  Thankfully they had these couches we could nap on.  So we did!

And the napping continued on the last 3 hour flight from Narita to Okinawa.  

I'm pretty sure all the kids sacked out for the duration.

And just like that, an epic summer came to an end.

Yes, more chickens!!

Rylee with the friendliest chick, Alice The Black Queen.

Posing with Alice.

The gawky rooster chick, Dovey. He was named by our cousin Sarah.

Adrienne, the hen, named after one of the main characters from Rylee, Delaney, and Callie's favorite show, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

More pictures of Alice.

Rylee and Dovey.

The much less awkward rooster, Mr. Chicky, named by our cousin Camden.

Such a pretty chicky.

Delaney with a hen named Nory; named after Lake Norfork and the main character from the Upside-Down Magic series.

Rylee had to get a picture too.

Chillin' with chicks.

Silver Dollar City!!

 The kids swore it wouldn't be a real summer unless we went to Silver Dollar City. It's tradition!  So a few days before we had to leave, we went.  And it was fun!  It was a perfect day. There were no lines, so we rode all the rides.  We ate funnel cake and got kettle corn.  We did not get rained on, which was a huge bonus.  We had a great time.

 Selfie with Rylee.  Who still refuses to ride anything more than the kiddie rides.

Zoom in in Rylee.  This picture cracks me up.  I was getting a picture of Delaney and later realized that Rylee was sulking about the unit being unavailable to get in. 

 They made me ride alone.  So I got a selfie with them in it!

They do love the swings.  I hate them.  I really do not like heights. But they rode the swings like 5 times. 

They liked this ride and Rylee will even go high now. 

In the teacups.  Which are one of my favorite rides! 

They enjoyed this ride and their faces were awesome. 

We had split up, but the big kids joined us and they wanted to ride the swings too.

I find it amusing. They loved it and I took pictures. 

Delaney and I shared a teacup and had a contest to see who could spin fastest. The ride operator said Delaney and I were by far the fastest.

 This is another ride that they love but I do not.  Rylee and I sat this one out.  Delaney sat closer to the middle on the other side.

See chair, must pose!

We loved this set up.  The Time Traveller is the new ride that just opened and we loved it. I even ditched Rylee and Delaney to ride it with the older 3.  It was awesome!  We rode it 3 times. 

These two did not ride it. Do you like their faces?!

A Special Day for Marian

 Marian was able to receive her Patriarchal Blessing before we left.  It was pretty special.

My lovely girl, getting so grown up.

And the awesome patriarch, who is one of the best people I know.

When we got home, we had to get a picture of Mom and me and Marian and Callie.  3 generations here.