A Day at the Dam

Last week I was feeling restless.  The kids had been fighting all day and I knew we needed to get out of the house - besides, it was beautiful out and I wanted to enjoy the weather!  We have been to almost all the close-by outdoor spots/parks by now, and I was in the mood for some peace and quiet, so we got our swimming gear on and headed out to Kurashiki Dam.

We've only been here one other time, and it was over a year ago when Olivia was just a baby.  Wyatt didn't even remember the trip, so this was all new to him.  He had an absolute BLAST playing in the water.  He thought the dam was amazing the way the current (which was not very strong at all) would take his boat and sail it down the river!  Then he would chase after it and do it all over again!  Olivia had fun playing with her nesting/stacking cups, and I could relax in the sun and not worry about the kids playing in the shallow water. 

We were the only ones there and it felt nice to get away from it all.  Earlier that morning I had been scolded while at the Shopette (convenience store) for leaving my car running while going inside to get a 1/2 gallon of milk.   I had been patting myself on the back for not having on workout clothes (also against the rules) and schlepping both kids inside and getting out of the shoppette without A) either kid having a tantrum or B) having my kid accidentally swiping something and walking out of the store with it, when someone confronted me and told me I could have been cited for leaving my car running and unattended.  I said, "At least I didn't leave my kids in the car too." The guy just looked at me blankly.  Sometimes, living on a military base with all the rules and etiquette and everyone all up in your business gets to me, so the wide open space at the dam was a welcome change of pace.

At 85 degrees, it was a beautiful 'fall' day on Okinawa, and I couldn't help but thinking at this time next year we'll probably be freezing our butts off, scraping snow!!!  So I'm choosing to enjoy the moment and this beautiful weather we are having.  We had a snack (some more than others...Ms. Olivia!!!) and soaked up the sun. Yay for Fall!!