My week off in the States

We have had NO ONE from the States come and visit us while we've been in Japan. I even had a baby to get people to visit and still no one has come. Well, I couldn't help flying back to the States to show off this little darling to my family. My dad made it happen with his financial contribution (Thanks Dad!!!!) and we were off. I got 8 days without anyone whining at me. Kate is BY FAR my easiest child right now and I really felt like I was off duty. Here are the highlights:
I discovered this neat little bassinet that attaches to the seat in front of you (if you're in a bulkhead seat). It was a welcome relief since Kate was a lapchild.

For my long flight from Tokyo to DC, I sat in between these two Chinese grandmothers that were with a big group. They kept wanting to hold her and when they did all the other people in the group would swarm. They didn't speak a lick of English and I know very, very little Chinese so it was interesting. Everytime I'd go to nurse they spread my nursing cover over my shoulders from each direction assuring extreme modesty. It was pretty funny. If Kate had so much as a toe exposed, they would quickly cover it up. She got quite a bit of attention between the three of us.

Two days before I was supposed to fly out we discovered that Rob's parents would be in DC for a conference. My layover was through DC for 3.5 hours. Yeah! They took the afternoon off to meet up with me. I wasn't planning a trip out to Utah while in the States due to my short stay and lack of funds, but what a treat to meet up with them and introduce them to Kate. We had a nice lunch and it was so nice to see them and show off Kate.


One of the main reasons I wanted to head back was to get pictures of Kate with my parents and Grandma Ruthie. Grandma Ruthie has recently been sick so it was nice to see her now that she's a bit better. Kate loved her!

Four generation of girls.

My parents have two pugs and Kate had fun mauling them. They liked licking her too.

My big brother Scott and Kate.

Mom and Kate.

Grandma and Grandpa Catlin with Kate. Here we are at one of the many restaurants (Pancake House) that we frequented while in NY. They spoil me so much! I think the thing I got here was an apple Dutch baby.....pure heaven.

Here Kate is playing with the dogs, Lotus and Lexi. They loved checking her out as much as she enjoyed figuring them out. My parents are in the middle of adding 1000 sq. feet to their house and it was nearly finished while I was there. They are in the new master bedroom closet in this picture. A new master bedroom, master bath, dining room and kitchen were added to the house as well as hardwood floors, painted walls and carpeting throughout. A MAJOR remodel. So nice. I'll have to make another trip out when it is all finished.


My Grandma Ruthie always gives the kids a stuffed animal to sleep with and they each cherish it. Here Kate is getting a puppy to add to her siblings bear, monkey and kitty. She loves it and already has a fond attachment to it. Also the sweater she is wearing was made by my cousin Amy. We did meet up with my aunt, uncle and 2 cousins while in town. They all showered my kids with gifts that are homemade and gorgeous. We always love the sweaters they knit (super DUPER talented). Pictures will follow.




This is my little brother Ben with Kate. Go ahead and use it for your Facebook picture.

We had an interesting trip home which included having a mechanical delay before we even left Buffalo which resulted in missing my flight to Tokyo. I spent the night at a hotel in San Fran after traveling through Chicago and the airline loosing my luggage. When we got to Osaka, Kate started thowing up and was soooo tired. The one ray of shining wonderfulness through it all was a gate agent that took pity on me. He bumped me up to business class for my long flight from San Fran to Osaka. Both Kate and I had a wonderful giant seat with a purser to cater to our every whim. We had real silverware which was cold when eating a salad and warm when eating our steak. We had warmed nuts. I don't even like nuts, but I ate them because everything is better in a higher class. My seat laid out flat and I couldn't even touch the seat in front of me without some serious reaching. I'm not quite sure how I'll ever take another coach flight again. Good thing I'm married to a dentist because we're rolling in dough (sense the HUGE layer of sarcasm there). All in all we had a wonderful trip home and I'm so glad my family were able to meet Kate. See you in 1.5 years when we leave this duty station!