Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Scrapbook Day April 2013

Scrapbook day fell on a Saturday this month. It was a very fun day for me. I started it with a friends baby shower at the Disneyland Hotel. It was so nice to have some fellowship with girlfriends. We leisurely enjoyed lunch for 3 hours! When I got home, the hubs took the kids to the park. I picked up a bit and then enjoyed reading in the stillness of our home for about 40 minutes, a very rare occasion for me. We finished the night with feeding the kids, Indian take out and watching the movie Argo when the kids went to bed. Intense movie. I highly recommend it. I love Saturdays where we just enjoy one another and not have too many plans.

Shari Fest 2013

Once again, Shari fest came and went and I became another year older or wiser, whichever you choose to believe. I think it is older because I do not feel very wise, but oh well. I had a great birthday week full of special celebrations all throughout. On my actual birthday we had our sitter so I could go to leadership with BSF. Afterwards I met a friend for a pedicure. I had not had one since I was back in the US for Christmas, so I was a bit overdue. The hubs had to work late on my actual birthday, so Miss M helped me make a Minnie cake and the kids sang to me. It had to be the sweetest moment of the week - so so precious. I will never forget it. On Wednesday we celebrated with daddy - well, he was home before bedtime so I could open my gift. Miss M was so excited to give me the gift. She went on a special date with daddy to shop for it and when she came home from the date she said, "We got you a present but I am not telling you what it is." She kept to her word and did not tell me what the gift was but she nearly tore it open for me on Wednesday night. And I was thrilled with the gift - the hubs got me my big fancy bag that I have longed for since we moved to Tokyo. He claims my taste has gone up since we moved here. I blame him. :) On Thursday I joined some friends to celebrate mutual family birthdays. Miss M enjoyed decorating another cake and gave the blue fish some pink fins. On Saturday night after my birthday we went out with our Australian friends for sushi at a place called "Shari." We did not know this, but "Shari" means sushi rice in Japanese. The restaurant was fabulous - it felt like we were eating in Soho in New York City. They were playing American music in the background and served California Rolls and Spider Rolls. My favorite dish we ordered was the Russian Roulette of sushi - four pieces of tuna sushi with one having LOADS of wasabi. My husband was the lucky one and got the wasabi. Overall, it was a fabulous birthday week. I could not be more blessed.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Easter 2013

We had a fabulous Easter weekend. Miss M and I colored eggs on Good Friday. On Saturday we hosted an Easter dinner with two other families from our church. It was freezing, but we still went outside to do our Easter egg hunt. We also made an Easter craft and enjoyed some yummy food. Sunday we spent at church with a wonderful Easter worship service, seeing 2 high school girls get baptized and watching several people join the church. We are blessed to have found a wonderful church home in Tokyo.

Hanami

The cherry blossoms have bloomed a bit early this year and we have enjoyed them at multiple places - the 100 yen park, our local neighborhood park, and a park out at Oji station. I wish everyone could experience Tokyo during the Hanami season. Words cannot describe how beautiful the sakura trees are. Not only is the city beautiful, but there is a lighter feel in the air while the cherry blossoms are in bloom. You see business men enjoying a coffee or beer outside during the workday. People seem to be a bit happier, a bit lighter in their feet, during the hanami season. And then, once the blooms fall from the tree, the city goes back to its normal, fast paced, 80 hour work weeks. You truly have to experience it to know what I am talking about. Although it only lasts a few weeks, I enjoy the season of hanami. Here are pictures of how we enjoyed hanami this year.