Annual Beach Trip to Shimoda

We went back to Shimoda this past weekend. On the train down there, we realized this was our fourth summer going. It has become a nice little tradition for the kids and we once again had a great time. We got there around 4:30 on Friday and went to the beach immediately. The kids were still in their clothes and it did not take long for the clothes to get wet! On Saturday we went back shortly after breakfast and enjoyed a nice play in the morning. After lunch we went into town and visited a park where the hydrangeas were in bloom. They were beautiful. We walked along the Perry Road, saw little crabs and enjoyed a historical area. After buying some sparklers to enjoy on the beach, we headed back to the hotel. After dinner we did fireworks on the beach. Our kids were not crazy about them but they did enjoy watching from a distance. On Sunday we woke up to rain, which was unfortunate, so we headed back to Tokyo a bit earlier than we normally do. All in all it was a great weekend and we had a lot of fun.

Disneyland May 2014

I mentioned back in a previous post that I would do an individual post on our most recent trip to Disney because it was probably our best visit by far. We went with another family who recently moved to Tokyo from Arizona and started coming to our church. Miss M LOVES hanging out with their girls and having some older girlfriends to play with. The K Man, who knew, is fearless when it comes to rides. His favorite was the roller coaster in Toonland where he held his arms up the entire time and shrilled in delight. He was our more adventurous one and wanted to ride everything. Daddy took just him on Buzz Lightyear and I took him on Monsters Inc. Miss M surprised us by doing a few new rides - Pooh's Honey Pot, the rockets, driving cars and the roller coaster. She was not a huge fan of it, but we are so glad she ventured out and tried new rides this time. We stayed until the park closed so we could see the new projection show of Disney princesses coming to life on the castle. It truly was a magical day. It helped that daddy took off work and went with us or else this mama could not have stayed as long as she did. The kids were both fast asleep within minutes of being on the train ride home.

Legoland June 2014

Today we went to Legoland in Odaiba. We had so much fun. The K Man was finally big enough to ride the rides, and he loved them. Miss M joined two friends and built penguins together out of legos and she did a really good job. I think we are entering that phase where we can slowly move into the small lego pieces with her. She loves her duplo but she is beginning to show signs where she can do the smaller lego pieces as well. I love legos. They are some of the only toys I do not mind spending money on as they are challenging and provide loads of room for creativity. I am always amazed by the Miniland. I just do not know how they can construct the city of Tokyo by legos. It is amazing. The K Man could have stayed in this room all day watching the trains and boats go through the city. Everyone enjoyed a little kareoke as well and the girls belted out "Let it Go" on a number of occasions. We went with quite a few friends today to legoland so it was a bit hard to keep up with everyone, but we all had a great time together. 

Tokyo Toy Museum

On Wednesday we ventured out to the Tokyo Toy Museum with some new friends who recently moved
here from Arizona. It has been on my list for a long time to try and I am so glad we finally went. It is located near Yotsuya-Sanchome station on the Maranouchi line in this old elementary school building. It is filled with lots of old traditonal toys, most of which are wooden. You can even make your own craft or toy if you get there at the right time, which we did not but maybe next time. The kids really enjoyed it and are already asking when we can go back. The K Man was so tired at the end of the day he literally could not keep his head up during his nap on the train ride home. I am so glad we finally made it out there. And I am really grateful for our new friends from Arizona - they are such a blessing to us!

June Scrapbook Day 2014, Saturday

June scrapbook day fell on a Saturday this month. Saturdays are family days and twice a month we have community group with our church. On this particular Saturday we hosted community group. Afterwards we went to a local farmers market nearby that is held on the second Saturday of each month at a nearby park. The food was great and the kids enjoyed running around outside. After the afternoon outside, the kids were tired so we rested at home and then daddy and I got to go on a date. All in all it was a great day. Usually we always have something to do on Saturday or people to hang out with. I try to block Saturdays to relax, but hanging out with friends is relaxing for us too. We really love our community group with church and look forward to the mornings we spend with them sipping coffee and discussing the sermon from the previous week. The pictures below were taken recently at the local lego store as we were purchasing birthday gifts for friends and in our bed, where the kids fell asleep one evening.

June Fun Has Begun

June has come in full swing here in Tokyo with the rainy season in full force. Last Thursday the weather forecast called for rain and it said rain for the next ten days. Thankfully that has not really happened but it has been foggy, humid, and constant rain clouds lurking even if it does not rain. We went to Disney a few weeks ago. Daddy took off work and we had so much fun. We closed the park. I want to devote an entire post to this one day when the pictures from the big camera are uploaded because it was one of our best Disney days ever, so I will not say much here. However, I did snap a few pictures on my phone of some very happy and tired children on the train ride home, which will be in this post. Last week we ventured to the local gas museum. They had renovated it a bit so they had some new attractions. Miss M loved the convenient store game. They set up a mock Lawson's store and you were given a basket and list of items to buy. She had to walk around and find the items and pretend to pay for them. She also enjoyed the exercise bike and of course making fried rice on this oversized wok. It is such a fun little place to go to, and it is close to our house and FREE! The first Saturday of the month our church holds a bento project where we pass out bento boxes (think fancy lunch boxes with hot meals rather than pb and j) to homeless people who live near the Imperial palace. We try to go as much as we can but had not been in quite some time. On this particular day, it was raining and had rained all day the day before. We knew the kids needed to get outside so we strapped on rain gear and went. The kids had a BLAST playing in the rain, and even were photographed by a Chinese tour group as they basically swam in the puddles. I wish I had taken a bar of soap and just bathed them there. On this same night, the women of our community group enjoyed dinner at a New Mexican place called Mucho. The atmosphere was so cool with changing lights and the food was pretty delicious. It is hard to find good Mexican food here so the husband and I will definitely go back on a date. Finally the other pictures on this post are of our building/lobby. Why you ask? My friend in NYC wanted to see how big our lobby was. She and I are always comparing city life with one another and vent to each other on the days we get really really frustrated of living in the city. I thought I would share these with you as well as you may find it fun to see. I hope each of you are off to a fun-filled summer!