Healesville, Sanctuary Melbourne, Australia

Over the weekend while in Australia we went outside the city by a hour via car to Healesville Sanctuary. I wanted the kids to see some Australian animals in their natural habitats. This place was amazing. We saw kangaroos, koalas, emus, Tasmanian devils, and every other type of animal only found in Australia. It was hot so the kids definitely needed hats and sunscreen. We did a special encounter with an emu and the kids got to feed Dash and Drum. :) We stayed in a nearby hotel and enjoyed a fabulous dinner. I tried kangaroo meat for the first time. I will be honest...it was not my favorite. It reminded me a bit of duck. However, it was good and I am glad I tried it. I figured where else can you try kangaroo meat other than Australia. I do not think I would order it again when I visit Australia, but I am glad I experienced it once.

Melbourne, Australia - The Melbourne Museum and a Park

On our third day we ventured into the city and went to the Melbourne Museum. They had lots of fun exhibits for the kids and it reminded me of the Natural Science and History Museum in Tokyo. The kids had a great time playing in the children's area and checking out the animal and dinosaur exhibits. We walked to an Italian area and had some yummy pizza and gelato. Then we played in a local park and came home. It was a very fun filled day. The weather was great while we were there...some days chilly and one day it was 44 degrees. I loved watching the Aussie moms at the local park...their kids were off running around and they were drinking their champaigne and wine!

Melbourne, Australia - The Zoo

The kids and I took a little New Year holiday down south to Melbourne, Australia to visit friends we met in Tokyo years ago. Our friends have boys the exact same age as Miss M and the K Man and I wanted to let them reconnect with their friends. The flight was uneventful although I was traveling by myself with three kids. We bought the entertainment package so the big kids basically played games and watched movies for ten straight hours. Unless you have flown internationally with kids without letting them watch tv, then please do not judge. If you have done that, you are my hero! Our kids are great travelers. They do not complain standing in the immigration lines or security lines. They simply know the drill and go with the flow. We left Tokyo at 12:45 PM and arrived in Melbourne at 12:15 AM (10:15PM Tokyo time). Due to the long travel day we spent our first day enjoying the large house and backyard at our friends place. On our second day we ventured via public transportation to the Melbourne zoo. It was quite a beautiful zoo. I forgot what it is like to be around people who can understand me on the train. And I found myself listening to conversations. It was quite strange and felt a bit distracting. The Melbourne zoo is very big, spacious, and green. If you are ever in the city I highly recommend it. The kids loved the splash area. And another highlight was the butterfly house - a large house with thousands of butterflies around you. If you stand still long enough they will land on you. We had a great first day exploring the city.

Scrapbook day 1/16/2016

Scrapbook day for the first month of 2016 has come and gone. It fell on a Saturday this month. I am a bit behind on the blog but hope to catch up this weekend. The kids and I travelled to Melbourne, Australia for ten days to visit our dear friends we met while living in Tokyo. We had just returned home on the 15th on a red eye flight, arriving in Tokyo at 10 in the morning. To say mama was exhausted is an understatement. So, Saturday on our scrapbook day, we did not do much of anything. The kids relaxed at home playing with their toys. We went to the mall next door for lunch and enjoyed some udon noodles and onigiri. We followed up with a Japanese curry dinner, we and filled the kids with foods they had missed while in Melbourne. Mama took a nap and caught a yoga class. Miss m had a make up art lesson where she drew a bird. She followed up with painting it this week. Daddy and the K man ventured to a local park to try out our new boomerang. After the kids were put in bed, mama and daddy started a new show to binge watch, Homeland. All in all it was a great day and it was so nice to spend the day together as a family after a ten day separation. The pictures below are current from this month....kids sleeping in a hotel one night outside Melbourne, kids on the plane before we take off, and the J man at home in Tokyo showing off his skills of pulling himself up.

NYE Fun

We added to the Christmas fun and it extended it to New Years fun. We enjoyed New Years Eve with friends who have four little girls! Miss M had a ball playing dress up with her friends. The K Man felt a bit left out since he was the only boy next to the J Man. But he managed! Oh, and the J Man stood up for the first time pulling himself up on NYE! We got home around 8, put the kids to bed, and enjoyed the Japanese lack of entertainment on TV for New Years. Seriously it is the worst New Years tv known to man and we laugh through all of it. Then we counted down and listened to the boats on the Tokyo bay toot their horns. Usually Tokyo tower puts the new year in lights on, but they did not do it this year. We were quite disappointed. We spent New Year's Day being lazy in pajamas, taking a family walk and enjoying our traditional Japanese New Year food. Normally we just fix what the husband enjoyed as a kid, but this year we ordered an osechi set with more food than we could eat. The kids tried some of it and enjoyed the red caviar the best. Daddy was happy because this is one of his favorites! It was beautiful and delicious and fun to enjoy with the kids. I do not have anything worthwhile to say about the New Year...I have not thought too much about it to be honest. My only hope is that as a family we love Jesus more this time next year than what we do today and live authentically for Him and His glory...what more could one want than to fall more in love with our Savior?