Raleigh Summer!

Now that I am writing this post its very bittersweet to me! It means my time in America for the summer is gone and I am in route back to Japan. The past 2 months were probably the quickest of my life, but also some of the best! I have so many moments and pictures I want to share so bare with me because this one could be long!

I left Japan on July 16 and had a layover at LAX. I bought this flight because it was cleary cheaper then the others posted at the time, and I quickly found out why. After the 9 hour trek to Los Angelos, I had a 10 hour layover. Yes you read that correctly and yes I agree that wasn’t the smartest.  Once I made it to Raleigh it was 6am on July 17 and my sweet mom was at the airport to pick me up! Seeing her for the first time in 7 months was just what I needed and even though it was super early and I hadn’t slept in what felt like days, my second wind kicked in and I was ready to go. Obviously the first stop was Chick fil a for some breakfast and even though I should have gone home to shower and sleep, mom and I headed straight for Elkies to be there when the kids woke up. It felt like the anticipation of Christmas morning with each turn getting us closer to their house. I wasn’t sure how they were going to react, especially Bennett because I left when she was only 8 weeks old but the reunion was perfect.

That weekend we went to the beach and had the best time. The beaches in Japan aren't really used in the same way we do back in the states so it was a very refreshing trip. 

Another very special moment for me was when I finally got to meet my newest nephew Daniel for the first time. FaceTime is the best invention for those of us that live overseas, but getting to hold precious Daniel for the first time was so wonderful. It was love at first sight of course…

One of the biggest reunions I had been looking forward too and knew I was going to get emotional with was with my sweet dog Tubbs. I have the best in laws in the world and they have been keeping him for us while we are in Japan. The plan was for me to bring him back with me after this trip, but after thinking about it Will and I made the hard decision to keep him in the states while we are gone. Tubbs is my buddy and I loved spending as much time as possible with him! 

Tubbs loves to sit on furniture

Since 2 months is a pretty long time to continue paragraphs of information, I am going to post a few pictures to give you an idea of what I did most of the time because it was pretty repetitive with seeing friends and family! 

Wills boat, the USS George Washington, did a boat swap to the USS Ronald Reagan in San Diego. Since I was already in the states we did a last minute trip there and it was amazing. He has always talked about San Diego and I have always wanted to experience it together. Our dear friend Kyle who passed away 2 years ago is buried here so we got to go see him as well. 

After 2 incredibly wonderful and fast months…it was already time to head back to Japan. My last night in the states my family went to dinner at the Angus Barn and it was so much fun! 

Thank you to everyone who made my trip so special. I am blessed beyond measure and will miss you all so much! 

Now its back to Japan! 

xoxo

Caroline