Birthday and reality

What a crazy couple of weeks.  I always intended to do updates of the week on Sunday evenings, but as the last few weeks came and went I just couldn't do it.  I remember telling many people as we prepared for this move I would be fine but I worried how the children would adjust.  Instead, now that we are here, they are thriving and I am struggling to find my place.  The homesickness on some days is just so completely overwhelming I can not bear to think of the morrow.  What on earth am I doing in Japan?  Honestly, I never had any desire to see this part of the world, much less live here.  So as the days went by, I knew any post I did would be wretchedly depressing.  Thankfully, life has been very busy!

Our Stanley turned 7 on the 9th and as he anxiously counted down the days I worried about how he would be on his actual day.  All his previous birthdays have been filled with family and parties, this one would be much different.  Thankfully he took it all in stride, and after talking to Laura (his dear
cousin) on the phone, he deemed it to be almost as good a birthday as he'd had in Ohio.  Cake and lego made all well in his world.  As we celebrate these milestones so far from all who we love and and hold dear to us, my heart breaks as you all mean so much to us. 

The day after Stanley's birthday our belongings arrived from Ohio.  Almost 2 months to the day of our departure.  It was a joyous day for the children, but a great sense of finality for us.  Bittersweet.  This last week has been spent unpacking and settling in.  How wonderful it was to sleep in our own beds again, and cook with my old pots and pans!

    Grandmas piano, all the way to Japan!

Each Friday I organize a Japanese adventure day with some ladies I have met on base.  This has been a good diversion for me, as we go and explore a different part of Tokyo each week.  The city is massive and I think it will take us a long time to see it all.  I will post pictures of our adventures soon, I hope to get a good feel for this city so I can show all my visitors Tokyo! (hint hint, come visit!}

Lastly, Tommy and Stanley took part in their first triathlon here in Japan.  They had to swim for 100m, bike 5 miles, and run 1 mile.  They had a blast and I have to say I was proud of them!  Tommy said he felt 'like a champion' and Stanley exclaimed 'I never gave up, not once!'

    Yup, that's me I ran with them!

    Proud!

                            Look who was at the finish line to cheer on the participants!

We'll be ok, so glad we are running this race with the Lord beside us...every step of the way.

Kamakura

I am sure we have all heard those wretched stories of the traffic and congestion in Japan, but this past weekend was the first time Andrew and I truly experienced it.  Like REALLY experienced it.  I have inched my way along 16 many a time, but never like this.  

So we decided to go to Kamakura for the weekend.  There are several famous shrines in this area and ever since I saw a picture of the 'Big Buddha', I wanted to see him.  For some reason I envisioned him being like what Daniel and his friends were told to bow down to, and would be neat for the children to see.   As we set off on Friday morning, with GPS in hand we thought getting there would be a piece of cake.   Boy were we wrong.  Our GPS does not 'see' highways stacked 4 high, and cannot understand why you couldn't just get off and go left.  We missed our exit and ended up almost in downtown Tokyo.  The traffic was unbelievable, our GPS practically useless, highways stacked 3,4 and 5 levels on top of each other, and tolls every time we tried in vain to reroute ourselves.  It was a nightmare.  Truly.  Andrew and I are still married, but times like those should not be repeated, like ever.  Sigh.  Andrew, and I have to hand it to him, figured our way out of it, but it definitely served as a wake up call as to why the train is used like it is here.  Driving is a crazy waste of time if you are anywhere in the vicinity of Tokyo.  Our projected 2 hr trip, took 5 and we arrived.  

                             At the first shrine Kamakura Hanachi ji

                             I just loved this tree...


Was he worth it?  Buddha I mean?  He was.  The kids were really able to see what an idol is as they were in Biblical times.  People were praying and bowing to him, offering gifts and burning incense.  It was really very sad.  We also went to several other temples in the area, most notably Hasadera.  

Hasadera had stunning gardens and overlook areas of the Pacific Ocean.  

It was built in the 8th century, and has an eleven faced Kannon (or goddess of mercy) in the main hall.  It is over 30 feet tall and was apparently hand carved by a very well known priest named Tokodu.  It is the largest wooden structure in Japan and its 11 faces are to help her see in every direction.  We could not sneak a picture, but did manage to get one of this buddha at the shrine for prosperity

From there we went to see the Daibutsu or Buddha.  He is the second largest bronze statue in Japan.  The fact that he is in the open air makes him unusual as most of these idols are in the shrines. 

This shrine was for deceased children 

This cave had about 2 dozen gods in it, with spots to burn your incense in front of each god

The kids were utterly exhausted after this and we decided to head to Yokosuka where we had a hotel for the night.  Yokosuka has a very large naval base and I had heard had way better shopping than our base in Yokota.  It was better, but I wasn't expecting how neat this base was.  I guess I have to admit being on a working Air Force Base is pretty cool, but seeing the destroyers, submarines and an aircraft carrier sitting at the docks was awesome!  I mean going through them when they are past their heyday is one thing, but these are active.  In use.  And we all couldn't see enough.  Loved it.  We were not sure if we were allowed to take pictures of the ships.  Due to security reasons, we arent allowed to take pictures of the aircraft at Yokota.  Otherwise we would have gotten close and taken a lot of good ones.

    At breakfast we saw one of the air craft carriers heading out to sea, and if you look closely their is a submarine docked to the right.  Amazing veiw.

The next day we had designated as a beach day.  I never dreamed when my children first put their toes in the Pacific it would be in Japan!  We had a wonderful day relaxing on a black sand beach very near Kamakura named Enoshima and enjoyed the very warm ocean and surf...

It started out rough but I am so glad we went... Memories galore!

Nikko Edo

Last weekend we ventured off base to a beautiful part of Japan.  Nikko National Park is known for spectacular hiking, beautiful shrines, temples and hot springs.  We did none of the above.  We are going back the first weekend in October (Canadian thanksgiving) to see all of that.  This was just a day trip to a little village where the Japanese have recreated their way of life in the Edo time period.  From 1590 until the 1860's the samurai led this country.  This period abounded in ninjas, geishas, and all things I consider classic Japanese.  This village would be like Hale Farm  or Sherbrooke village, except in Japan.  There were amazing samurai battles, grand ninja demonstrations, and geishas performing throughout the day.  The kids loved it, and if any of you with kids come visit this would be a must see!

                                              Going for a ride

                                         Check out those platforms!

School began this week.  The kids are happy thus far and I am cautiously optimistic for the year.  Their day is from 8-2, with a 5 minute walk to and from so we love how fast the day seems to go for them.  Thankful!

Summer days

I have been dreading the return of the school year with every fiber of my being.  As these summer days wind down I want to make every day together with my kids extra special.  Yet, I know just doing the simple things with them, talking, laughing and spending time together is really what counts.  This week had a bit of everything.  Maybe that is my favorite.  Several days we relaxed at the pool, but we also spent time at some parks we had been to before with friends.

Most of you have heard of my ill fated trip to the Nippara Caverns so I shall not bore you with that.  I do plan on going back this week with a working camera and hopefully it goes a little better.
Today the kids and I, along with a friend I have spent a lot of time with recently Jenny, made our way downtown together to Tokyo Skytree and Sumida Aquarium.  I have been incredibly nervous about tackling this train/subway system.  We go to meeting every Sunday on it, and always seem to do something wrong on our transfers.  It is huge, busy, with multiple companies doing different routes that all come together in this crazy system that is very impressive with its speed, efficiency, and overall layout, if you can figure it out!  Well today I did!  Jenny and I have never done the trains together ( in fact she had never been on it yet, she's new too) and I felt extra pressure leading the way with her 3 kids as well.  It went without a hitch.  This is a feat I am so proud of!  I can do this!  Yay!  In rush hour no less on the return!!!

The Skytree was pretty cool.  It opened last year and is the tallest building in the world.  Surpassing the one in Dubai.  The boys loved it of course, and I have to say the 'local fish' section in the aquarium was a bit more impressive than Ohio's.  I now feel I can get into Tokyo with confidence so we'll be back!

Tokyo Assembly

On Saturday we invited our friends over from meeting for a traditional American meal.  They are wonderful people, and we are so thankful for them.

Standard fare at fellowship tea

Yesterday was fellowship tea which is always sushi...this is not rolls as I know it and can stomach.  We get it down, but it's an experience to say the least.

This is my last week before school begins...planning on enjoying it!

Feeling like normal

This week was one of those weeks that started with big plans to get out and explore.  However, with temperatures of 95 and up every day with 100 percent humidity, we opted for a low key week at the pool.
Tommy auditioned for, and got a part in a play this week.  The Mazoulis children's theater was here on base for their annual production.  They are a traveling group that go to various military bases all over the world, and for 1 week they work with the children and put on a play after 5 days of practice.  Tommy was rather skeptical and really wasn't really into it, but he made a few friends, and in the end liked it.  The play was Jack and the Beanstalk, and shocker (for those of you who know my boy) he was a clown.

While Tommy spent his mornings there, the rest of us continued our off base explorations for parks off the base.  Like I mentioned earlier it was unbelievably hot, and by the time we came home, we were running for our swimsuits.  We did find 2 more marvelous parks, one called the Kabokuen roller slide which was exactly that.  It was a slide built onto the side of a hill about 250 meters long.  You had to sit on cardboard to go down it (your backside gets a little tingly!).   Also we found an obstacle course park that the children LOVED.  I could hear them shrieking with delight as they raced on ahead of me...

Tommy, understandably, was bitterly disappointed by this and my mommy nerves are shot.  I am looking forward to having them all with me next week under my wing, with no bickering and gloating going on over who did and who didn't do what...

This week I really want to make it into Tokyo, on the train, and venture a little further off base to kamakura and the beach....lets see if my kids let me!!!

Showa Kinen

Today we went off base and found a wonderful park which I am sure will be the sight of many more family picnics with wonderful places to explore.  The kids loved it and so did I!
The Showa Memorial Park, also known simply as Tachikawa Park has 11 km of bike paths, beautiful grounds, nature information, marvelous play areas, tea houses, shrines, and a wonderful water park.
It used to be a Japanese Air Force base interestingly enough.
I am thrilled that this park is only about 10 min from Yokota...can't wait to go back!

                                          These floating 'hammocks' were a huge hit!

                                         These roller slides are everywhere here in Japan, I love em too!

                                          Dragon park, amazing mosaic details on each

                                          cooling off.........

                                          The bathrooms, take your shoes off!  Slippers were provided on the green mat

                                          Memorial garden

                                          Feeding the koi fish from our paddleboat, they swarmed our boat...fought with
                                          the ducks for a share