Grace Tour 2009

The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind of nonstop traveling and visiting. Mike and I joke that this is what it must feel like to be on tour if we were a famous band- on the road everyday, living out of luggage, and a bunch of adoring fans (for Grace) everywhere we stop. Mike and I are the crew of the tour and Grace is the superstar, of course.

The Grace Tour 2009 started in Japan when we packed up our place and the temporary homelessness began...

Say goodbye to all our stuff for 2 months!

At least the Navy gave us some loaner furniture the last couple days we were in Japan. Grace loved this crib, but we thought it looked like she was on display in a zoo.

The Estoestas hosted a Sayonara party for us, which included a fabulous sushi bar.

The triplets- Gracie, Grace, and Jasmine. I'm going to miss seeing these girls grow up together.


THE TRAVELING BEGINS...

All went well up until this point. And then the actual traveling began. We had such high hopes that the trip back to the states would be relatively easy. Afterall, we were headed to Seattle first, which is just a manageable 8-9 hours away from Japan. But because we were on a military flight, we didn't realize that we would be making a few stops. It wasn't a straight shot like a commercial flight. In the end, from the time we left our house to the time we landed in Virginia, we had been traveling a total of 72 hours.

This is the plane that took us back to the States. We were still hopeful that things would go well.

Even Grace was still in a good mood.

But then the trouble began. Here we are stuck in Misawa. In a hot, crowded terminal. For 5 long hours.

Luckily, I had my "friends" to keep me company. Before I left, Julie gave me a parting gift, little paper dolls that represented my three girls- Julie, Jojo, and Melanie.


SEATTLE

We finally got to Seattle and spent the night after an exhausting flight. Grace cried and cried on the plane. The flight attendants kept coming up to us to ask if they could do anything. At first I thought it was sweet. Then I just found it annoying. Didn't they realize that if there was any way I could stop her from crying, I would've done it already? And to top it all off, I spilled a soda all over Mike and my carry-on. It was a trip from hell and every time something happened, Mike and I would just look at each other and laugh. It was either that or cry.

This is the first Starbucks coffee shop!

We also got to see Pike's Fish Market where we saw them tossing fish around. So cool!


ROAD TRIP

After getting to Virginia Beach, we had a day of 'rest', or running around like crazy to get errands done, before we were on the road again. It was good to be back though and Grace did much better in the car than she did on the plane. First stop was a wedding and then off to Ohio to visit family.

Mike with his VT college buddies.



The scenery- I love fall road trips!


OHIO

Four generations: Baby Augustine, Daddy Augustine, Grandpa Augustine, and Great Grandpa Augustine.

Grandma and her boy.

Grace and her Great Grandma. I know it doesn't look like it, but they really are related by blood. I joke that we're the Asian branch of the Augustine family tree.

Grace and Grandpa picking out some goodies at Alesci's, a must-stop for any Augustine while visiting Cleveland.

Mike's new ride. Not. At least not YET. I might consider letting him get one when the kids are out of college.

Checking out a real deal barn with a bunch of tractors inside.

Mike has a picture of himself as a little boy with his dad on this very same tractor. I wish I had the picture with me to compare- then and now, but unfortunately, it's all packed with our household goods at the moment.

We made it back to Virginia Beach just in time to celebrate Lola's birthday.

And there you go- that about catches you up on what we've been up to these last two weeks while we were on hiatus. Our next adventure will be in Athens, Georgia where we'll be spending a month while Mike takes a class. I hope to make regular entries while we're there. Stay tuned....