Fun in Wheaton

Nayeli in her throne
Chocolate Face - Nayeli loves chocolate cookies
She is so excited to see a fresh bottle of Milk!
Playing with Fairies
Ghosts in our Apartment
Halloween Pumpkin

We made it!

Exion riding in the backseat with Nayeli

This is Nayeli's first roadtrip in the United States. We started in Little Rock, Arkansas and will end our trip at Bethesda, Maryland. I was kinda shocked at how much stuff I can fit in my little Nissan Sentra. I had to be creative and play Tetris with the inside of my car's trunk space and seating space. I wanted to have as much room as possible in the backseat for Nayeli and one adult. So yes, I had to be creative. Passenger seat was filled, the trunk, the spare tire bin underneath the trunk and one seat in the back was completely filled. I prayed that all the extra weight wouldn't take a huge toll on my poor car. Well, it didn't. Thank goodness, Nayeli's bathtub was an inflatable duck.

Soco driving through Virginia
Nayeli at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland
Aristocat Baby

We decided to have Nayeli try out a cat costume at the Disney Store in Roanoke, Virginia. It was too funny.



Building 3200
We are the first ones to live in this neighborhood.

Now, compared to our living situation in Japan, this place is almost double what we had in Japan. 1,700 square foot! High ceilings, utilities paid for, close to work, the works. Our apartment search was finally OVER!

Soco's Hybrid. It gets 34 miles per gallon which is kinda like a car. Not great, but good for a SUV.
Our Cars. Believe it or not, Soco's SUV uses less gas than my car. Mine gets 22-27 mpg. Go figure.

Driving thru Tennessee

Memphis Skyline from Mud Island

We made it to Memphis, Tennessee! I had to catch up with my old friend from high school, Garth. He is doing fine and will be getting married soon.

Nayeli fascinated with the brick flooring at the reenactment of the Mississippi River at Mud Island Park, Memphis, TN

At Memphis, we visited Mud Island Park and saw the reenactment of the Mississippi River. The only one of it's kind. Really neat to see and photograph.
Mississippi River



Corky's BBQ - The Original One that started it all... Memphis, Tennessee.

We also wanted to check out some authentic Memphis food, Corky's BBQ! It was the best BBQ that Soco and I have ever had. It doesn't taste anything like the frozen meals that you can purchase at the grocery store. The fresh BBQ was so delicious!





Our first stop, Millington, Tennessee. I had reserved a room for a day at the Navy base in Millington. The people there were very friendly and the room was spacious. We got a kitchenette and two large beds for $45.00. The only bad thing is that we didn't have any hot water to shower with. It got fixed the next day by maintenance. I haven't had a cold shower since field medical service school.





Nashville, Tennessee:

At the Apple Barn @ Opry Mills, Nashville, Tennessee
Fishes in the Aquarium

Hotel Hyatt in Opryland

Little Rock Zoo

Nayeli had a fun day at the Little Rock Zoo. It wasn't a big Zoo like San Diego, but it is big enough to spend a whole day to actually enjoy watching and seeing all the animals.
Sloth Bear



Gold Fish


Nayeli getting her haircut

Fast Forward to Bryant Arkansas

The flight from Los Angeles to Little Rock wasn't as smooth as we had expected. Nayeli was awake for most of it.


Swinging in Maumille Park
The visit with the Johnsons of Searcy, AR.

Look! I can do the splits!
Huynh's and the Undernehr's
Tending to the garden.
Phoebe and Nayeli
Nayeli getting her fingers stuck in the car grill.
The Nissan Mechanic checked out my car after it being in storage for three years and to his surprise, there were no problems. The belts and fluids were all okay and were in new condition. Everything was clean. The interior even smelled like new. Amazing. My parents kept it under some blankets and had the car sitting on jackstands for three years. It started up like a champ.

We expect to use most of our vacation time in Arkansas since Exion hasn't seen his folks in three years and this is the first time Nayeli has ever met the grandparents.

As Soco would say, "There is lots to do in Arkansas.... if I had a shotgun, fishing boat or camping gear."