Thursday, July 24, 2014

Science Museum - Nashville, TN.

We are in Nashville, TN right now and today was our family vacation day as it is the one day we have in the month long tour that it was just the four of us. We ventured to the mall for some lunch and I thoroughly enjoyed the Greek food I had. Greek food is hard to come by in Tokyo. Then we took the kids to the science museum in downtown Nashville. The kids had a lot of fun exploring in spite of not wanting to go at first. It was a nice day as a family to re-connect and spend time together. Tonight we will enjoy dinner at our friends house and leave tomorrow for the long car ride to Arkansas. 

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Swimming and Outdoor Fun

One thing I miss a lot in Tokyo is the access to large pools. Obviously due to space, they are few and far between in Tokyo. We do have a splash pool nearby but it is not the same as a large pool. Miss M has made great progress in America this summer with the pool at Grandma's house. She is now able to jump in by herself, which is HUGE progress for her. She is also trying to swim on her own without her floaties and move her arms and legs. I am so proud of her. Today, our last day in Lexington, we had several of her little friends she has made come over to swim and play. While saying goodbye to some dear little girls, she cried and said she does not want to leave and how mama was "cracking her heart" by making them leave. I am so glad she made some connnections here and some new friends. She even attempted a slumber party last night with these two little girls, but ended up coming home at ten. I was pretty proud of her because I thought that was a big step for someone who flew half way across the world. She had a blast at the slumber party until it was time for bed. :) Mama was a bit happy to see her come in with daddy...I knew if she stayed all night, I would be a little sad at how she is turning into a girl. :) It was so bitter/sweet - I wanted her to stay, yet I wanted her to come back. Our visit in Lexington has been perfect. We got to visit with most everyone we wanted to see, even if briefly, and had some great time with cousins, aunts and uncles. It has been sweet to see our kids warm up so quickly to our friends and family here as last time it took a long time for them to get comfortable. Tomorrow we venture off to Nashville, then Little Rock, then back to Knoxville before heading home. Thank you Lexington friends and family for making our time here so special. 


Thursday, July 17, 2014

More Fun...trampolines and Children's Garden at the Arboretum

My best friend from high school lives about 2 minutes from my parents house. The past two days we have spent the late afternoons at her house playing on the trampoline, the swing set and with her fabulous yellow lab, named Sage, who thankfully let's kids drag her around by the collar. My kids thought their backyard was a park and they have loved hanging out at her house. It has been fun to see Miss M make friends with her daughter since we were pregnant together and the girls are just a month apart. 

Today we went to the Children's Garden at the Arboretum. The K Man was fascinated with the moving train and literally watched it for about 50 minutes of the hour we were there. Miss M and I walked around and ran into a friend of ours so she got an unexpected play date. This friend actually came to visit us in Tokyo when the girls were just two years old so it was fun to see them play together again. If you are in the area, I highly recommend the Arboretum Children's Garden. Our kids had a ball there today. 


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Wide Open Spaces

After a week, we are finally over the jet lag. I actually had to wake the kids up today at 8:30 to get to a play date on time this morning. I am glad that part is over with. It is never easy traveling with small children, and the jet lag sure does not help. For the most part, the kids are doing well, but they do miss home and their friends. Four weeks is a long time to be away and live out of a suitcase, but we are trying to make the best of it. It is worth it, but sometimes, to be honest, it does not always feel that way when they are cranky, tired and asking to go home and be with their friends. :)

I am trying to focus on the things we cannot enjoy in Tokyo, like wide open spaces. The weather in Kentucky has been beautiful. As I write this, I am sitting outside with the sunshine, blue skies, and no humidity in the low 70's. It is the perfect time to leave the hot humid city. We have spent a lot of time at the pool and playing outside, and we got to enjoy lightening bugs for the first time ever the other night. Today we went to Monkey Joe's, a big bouncy house play area, and the kids had a lot of fun. However, two busloads of campers came and we decided to leave as they were a bit older and rougher for our young kiddos. We caught a frog this morning in the pool and watched the cardinals eat breakfast from the bird feeder. The kids have loved going to the cemetary nearby to feed the geese, which seem to flock in the hundreds when we come with a bag of bread. By far, that is the cheapest entertaiment for $2 for the bread. 

I have gotten most of my shopping done, except for the food we want to take back, as I really do not like to shop much anymore and wanted to get it out of the way. I used to love shopping but now it is just not as fun as it used to be. I did find a new boutique called Hot Mama, and loved everything in it - finally found some jeans that are flattering rather than falling down your rear like the young teens wear them these days. I sound old huh? It was such a cute store with trendy clothes flattering for us moms where our shape is not quite what it used to be. 

We are enjoying time with Grandma and Papaw and visiting with lots of friends. Daddy arrives on Thursday and we are thrilled for that! I wish my friends from Tokyo could be here with us and see this part of our lives. This trip has been harder for me culturally and I will process it more later on the blog, but for now I will leave you with pictures of the Bluegrass in July.


Wednesday, July 9, 2014

AMERICA!

Well, we made it to America. We are here for four weeks and the hubby joins us for three of these weeks. The trip was fairly uneventful. Our kids have grown accustomed to traveling long flights so they did great. I really could not have asked for a better trip. The jet lag is a bear right now, but that is to be expected. I just keep trying to persevere, and stay awake! We arrived on Monday and on Tuesday went to visit with friends who are also in Kentucky, but they live in NYC. I have been wanting our kids to meet for a long time, and they got along fabulously. The city kids thoroughly enjoyed a day on the farm feeding donkeys peppermints and running in wide open spaces. It was great to catch up with my friend as she understands a lot of our struggles with big city life. I was so glad our schedules allowed us to be in the same city for one day.