Happy Easter

Hope everyone had a very happy Easter!!

We were finally able to find an egg dyeing kit here, although Kirk and I think it had probably been hanging around for 5 years and kicked under a cabinet every year when Easter was over. Unfortunately no Easter Bunny to be found in the malls or Disney so no pics for Sarah. I think we have finally found the one holiday the Japanese don't celebrate. Or atleast the one they haven't got a hold of yet.

We missed you all horribly. Kirk and I were wishing we were there to go golfing and hunt eggs and enjoy the day with you all. However, we will all be home in less than a month!

Can't wait to see everyone.

Cherry Blossoms

There really are no words that I can use to explain just how beautiful the cherry blossoms are.

I understand now why people travel from all over the world to see them.

To have learned such a wonderful lesson about the beauty of nature in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world was, in short, a blessing.

I hope each of you has the opportunity to see this at some point in your life...

Yes, I know I've been Slacking

Because I've been slacking I thought I'd throw some other misc. pics out there for you guys. Sorry I don't post more, I do take pictures but Sarah limits my computer time unless I want to try to type while she's plucking keys off my keyboard. lol

Can't wait to see you all in a month, you aren't going to believe how much she's grown...or how headstrong she is. Gee, I have no idea where she gets that from. lol

Family Day #8 - Plum Orchard

So, for those of you keeping score, yes it has been a month since our last family outing. Winters in Tokyo are cold and wet and not so much fun for exploring in. However, Spring makes up for it with days like the day we went out to the plum orchard.

Although everyone talks about the cherry blossoms, the plum blossoms are actually the first harbingers of Spring. About an hour outside of Tokyo is a plum orchard that has over 25,000 plum trees, and as you can see in the picture we caught them at full bloom. It was the first warm, non-rainy day in two weeks so we were very lucky.

It was very cool, they had setup walking trails that criss crossed the three hills the plum trees covered, and there were benches setup under the trees so you could sit awhile and just enjoy the view. There is another mountain nearby that is supposed to be a great climb but we had gotten a late start to the day and decided to save that for another time.

I couldn't believe all the colors of the blossoms. I didn't get any pictures of them but some of the trees actually had mixed color blossoms, white and pink swirled on the same petal, like rose bushes get when they cross pollinate. I loved that right as we were leaving the sun peeked out of the clouds and I was able to get a few pictures of individual blooms streaked with sunlight. I didn't realize plum blossoms actually smell but they do, a soft floral scent kinda like cherry blossoms.

All in all it was a nice relaxing day and a wonderful opportunity to get out of Tokyo for abit. I can't wait to go back and hike the big mountain.

Weekend in Sapporo

Wow!

What a trip!

Sapporo was so amazing. If Tokyo is like Paris or New York, Sapporo is like Provo. Smaller town, open spaces, and the perfect amount of snow. It snowed every day we were there, for most of the day in big fat flakes that didn't seem to get you wet just add atmosphere to the festival. The snow and ice sculptures were amazing. Many more photos than I could ever hope to post here. There were several sculptures (including the lit building above) that were over 40 feet tall and easily 150 feet wide. Incredible. The picture of the leopard above is just a small part of another of the large sculptures. Some of the smaller ice sculptures were just as impressive, and we have pictures of a snowboard ramp that had been setup in a very small area. Kirk and I were amazed by the tricks the snowboarders were accomplishing on such a steep slope with only about 20 feet to stop at the bottom.

The second day we were there we went to another town, Otaru, which is right on the northern coast of Japan. They say that on clear days you can see Russian freighters off the coast, but it was snowing and cloudy when we were there. Unfortunately because of the salt on the train windows we couldn't get any pictures but incredibly there were parts of the ocean that if you just looked at the water could have been in the Carribean. Absolutely the most gorgeous shade of tourquoise blue. Very unexpected.

Otaru has an ice candle festival that we were there to see, people create ice and snow candles which are lit at night along a canal district. It was pretty to see but unfortunately as soon as the sun went down the temps dropped to about 20 degrees and Sarah lasted about 3 minutes before telling us it was time to go.

I actually felt like a bad mommy at several points over the weekend since she was without a doubt the littlest one we saw out and about. In 3 days we only saw 2 other strollers. Apparently the Japanese are too smart to drag babies out into the cold. Oh well, she enjoyed everything except the night in Otaru and I see no signs of frostbite so I guess she'll forgive me. lol

The one funny thing about having the littlest one at the festival is that the Japanese were even more in love with her than ever, we had people stopping us all weekend wanting to take her picture. She may be the most photographed American in Japan. lol

Not to be outdone, Kirk and I were also stopped several times but not for photos. Apparently the English teachers have figured out the festival brings out foreigners and they had their classes there politely asking if they could ask us question in English. We were stopped a half dozen times, which could have gotten old but thankfully everyone seemed to have different questions so at least they kept it interesting.

Sarah at Eight Months

Wow baby girl, it's hard to believe it can already be time for an eight month update. At times it seems that you've been here forever and then part of me keeps thinking that time is flying by so quickly it seems impossible to comprehend. There is no denying that you are discovering more and more each day just who you want to be. You are so happy, inquisitive, independent and loving that you make everyday a wonderful experience. (Ok, you just make some days a challenge, but even those look good when I can view them with a couple of days hindsight. lol)

Anyway, in the last month you have:

* Made your 3rd transpacific flight. Your mother thanks you for being a great flyer, and so do the other 500 people on the plane.

* Enjoyed your first Christmas. You unwrap gifts like a pro, after we convinced you to wait for Christmas.

* Got your two top teeth in, you're up to 4 now.

* Learned how to crawl.

* Learned how to pull yourself up on anything and everything.

* Learned how to sit up in your stroller, much easier to see everything. And along with that...

* Learned how to be a pickpocket. No, other peoples bags on the subway are not yours.

* Learned how to share. Too bad it was a cold. Mommy and Daddy could have lived without that.

* Said 'mama' for the first time.

* Said 'dada' for the first time 2 days later, making daddy very happy.

* Became an expert at picking up food with your fingers.

* Clapped your hands in response to me clapping mine.

* Learned that your screech will echo in the large halls of a museum. Uhm, yeah, you really liked that one. Don't think we'll be going back to the Tokyo Museum for awhile.

* Discovered that toys in the bath are really fun. (See picture above)

* Started eating 3 meals a day in addition to your bottles.

Wow, it certainly was a busy month for you little one. As hard as it is to believe I'm sure next month will be even more exciting. Your daddy and I can't wait!

Just a pic and quick video for everyone. The picture is Kirk's baby fortress...no one gets in or out so mama and daddy can be lazy and lay in bed for another 20 minutes. Yes, exhaustion is the mother of invention. lol

In the video you can hear Sarah making her squeaking noise. Not quite sure how she realized that she can make the noise but kirk will make it now and she does it back to him. Sometimes she'll just sit there making the noise over and over for 10-20 minutes. Such talent. lol