Snorkeling Pictures

This is the marine kindergarten class at Okuma! I think it's recess and they're playing a quick game of hide and seek!
This little guy is probably a bit older than the kindergarten fish. He's most likely a great big third or fourth grader. He's playing a fishy version of keep away, which would be much too juvenile for middle school.

And this fish is probably in fishy high school. I think she's all dressed up for the homecoming dance. Do you know the funky fishy dance?

And while I've heard that there are many fish in the sea, there is only ONE that happens to be a perfect match for Heather..... and a perfect Daddy for Little Miss Grace (and Baby McGriff). I'm so happy he's my son-in-law!

To see pictures of Grace in the ocean, check out Heather's blog at www.mcgriffadventure.com

We're Back from Okuma!!!

Dustin, Heather & Grace took me to Okuma for a Mini-Vacation!

We did lots of fun things!

Grace and I played on the playground. There were no swings so we played on the slides for the most part. I didn't get a picture of Grace going down the slides, though. That would be a really tough picture to get since she likes going down the slides in my lap. I think this playground had at least 10 slides. But, we only tried about 5 of them out. The others were either too small for me, or too wet from recent rainfall. We also played with a tetherball - but I had to hold Grace up to reach the ball, so we didn't get a picture of that, either.
Grace also loved the little bridge. It was made to look like a swinging bridge but it was stationary. It did slope down and then back up and Grace loved playing on it. After the first few times, running across was not scary at all.

Dustin, Grace and I also raced Go-Karts! Dustin started out going nice and slow and I passed them a few times. Then, all of the sudden they were speeding along and I couldn't pass them. I guess that means they won the race!

Go, Team McGriff!!!!!

Grace likes riding next to Daddy!

By the end of our race she was getting pretty tired, but still, she did not want to get off. She's quite the little Daddy's Girl!

And we did lots of other fun things! We played at the beach and went snorkelling. I'll have pictures of that, too - but those pictures are on my dive camera. I've only had time to download pictures from my land camera at this point. So - leave a comment if you enjoyed these pictures and check back soon to see more!

NOTE: And Grace is not afraid of sliding down the slide. I really don't think there is much that Grace is afraid of. I tried to assure her that she could go down the slides by herself, but she proceeded to touch the slide with her finger and say, "No! Too hot!" So, she's just more comfortable in a lap that is the right temperature! (either that, or I've been horn swaggled again.... as Papa would say)

A Picnic In The Jungle!

This morning, Grace wanted to play in the pool. When she got out and put on dry clothes we read a few stories. We read a story about a mother dog who prepared a picnic for her puppies and Grace started saying, "Picnic, picnic." I asked if she wanted to have a picnic and she did. So, she got the blanket and I made little sandwiches on crackers, got some raisins and some carrots and we had a picnic!
We spread the blanket in a clearing on the jungle floor - right beside the monkey tree! Grace brought her bears along, so we had plenty of protection. I've heard that jungles can be quite dangerous, but the wildest thing we saw was this little monkey!

Grace spotted him! Thankfully, I remembered to bring my camera.

A little later, we spotted a tree frog sitting beside a butterfly. He was so cute! I don't think the frogs in the states are quite this colorful - or friendly! This one was all smiles and he even let Grace touch him!

Grace played well all afternoon! She actually played so well, that her Momma let her skip her nap! Yay!!!!! That meant more play time, which Grace loves!

C is for Cookie!

Last night we drove onto base to pick up some swim diapers and eat at Chilli's. We also went to the post office to check the mail and WE GOT COOKIES!!!!! Yay!!!!!

Not too long ago, I won Lil Mootz's contest on Yummy Mummy's blog. Thanks Yummy Mummy, Lil Mootz and Stonewall!!!

The prize was either Wanna Hava Cookies or some cheesecakes that couldn't ship to Japan, so that made our choice pretty easy. We got the cookies and they are delicious!

The cookies are BIG, and there are different flavors and fillings!

They were giftwrapped!

And the card was really cute! It said:

"Congrats on winning Lil Mootz's TC of the Month Contest! I hope you, Heather (and Baby McGriff), Dustin and Grace enjoy the whoopie pies!"

I thought it was really nice that Yummy Mummy included Baby McGriff. Heather and Dustin are expecting a baby in March and we don't know yet, if it's a boy or a girl. But, it's a little person and already a big part of the family!

At the Park!

Grace and I went to the park while Heather went to the gym!

She loves the swings!

Don't you just love this happy face!

Weeeeeee! We played on the little swings. Then we played on the big swings and we went down the slide. By that time we were pretty hot and we needed a break so we went to get some ice cream. Grace saw the kind of ice cream that she wanted, pointed to it and said, "Try!" So - the lady behind the counter asked if she wanted to try it and she shook her head. The lady got her a sample on a little spoon. Grace tasted it and then started pointing to other flavors and saying "Try, Try!" She ended up sampling four or five flavors before we ordered.

Enjoying the park. We swang so high that her hat blew off and she thought that was funny. I think I spent about as much time chasing the hat as I did chasing Grace!

After ice cream we went back to play on the swings and the slide some more.

Shop Til You Drop..... Then Go Home and PLAY!!!

Today, we went grocery shopping and Grace literally shopped til she dropped.

She's been teething and she was fussy and the only thing that seemed to make her happy was riding on my shoulders. So, that's what she did - until she fell asleep!

Working the Animal Puzzle!

The Transportation Puzzle!

The Fishing Puzzle! The fishing puzzle is really hard because it has complicated shapes and no pegs. But, Grace can do it! She loves puzzles!

At The Beach!!!

Grace loves the water! She had a great time at the beach!

And I am loving my new dive camera. Pictures like this would be impossible with a camera that wasn't water proof.

Playing in the sand!

It was a beautiful day!

Dustin and I worked together to herd this little crab into a sand bucket for Grace to observe. This crab is really fast and he runs sideways, so he was actually quite difficult to catch. Grace liked watching him.

We also caught a couple of hermit crabs with shells on their backs. But, we didn't keep any of them. The beach is their home, so when it was time for us to go, we turned them loose and Grace said, "Bye-bye!"

The shoreline of the beach at Courtney!

Grace playing with her Daddy in the Ocean!