Jeb and Salinda Family!: June 2009

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Edo Village

We were able to go on a tour to Edo Village. Here is the web site to look at.

http://www.edowonderland.net/nikko_e/index.html

It is a park where you can experience the "Edo Period" (if you think pioneer village or old Spanish town you get and idea of what it is like, just Japanese style) For your info:

The Edo period (江戸時代, Edo jidai?), or Tokugawa period (徳川時代, Tokugawa jidai?), is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the restoration of imperial rule by the 15th and last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The Edo period is also known as the beginning of the early modern period of Japan

It was really fun. Here are some highlights.

The Edo Wonderland mascot..... I am not sure why everything in Japan has to have a mascot.

Us, I think they were pretending to arrest us, not sure, they just kept yelling in Japanese.

The local God/Ruler

Traditional Japanese theater

At the Theater the performance of the head Geisha

The Parade of the Head Geisha

The girls were enrolled in ninja school! They were so excited

My brave ninja at the ninja show.

The ninja school, here they learned the signs the ninjas use to focus energy.

Learning some Ninja Star throwing skills

After accomplishing the ninja training course they were called upon to beat the bad guy, the one in the tower. Harley was completely convinced she had to fight him and kept picking up her little wooden sword. She was ready. But they just shot their energy at him and he fell out of the tower.

Then we all headed home. Niyah was exhausted, Ninja work is hard.

This pretty girl wasn't wore out.

This is one of my favorite parts of the trip. LOOOK SPACE!! ROOM, COUNTRYSIDE. I loved driving in the country for my first time. I can't even tell you how reliving it was to see open space for the first time in a year. I wanted to just pull over and enjoy it. But couldn't since we were on a bus ride.

It was really fun and I highly suggest it.

Showa Park with Ana

The last few weeks we have enjoyed having our friend Ana visit us. She is so fun and the girls adore her. We have done several things with her our first trip was to Showa Park.

We stopped at the Bonsai garden which was very neat. I had never understood what a Bonsai was until now. It is the art of making a small tree an exact replica of adult trees on a small scale. Its more complicated then that but that is what I basically understood. It takes years and years for them to grow these trees like this. They are beautiful to see.

This one was my favorite. It made me feel as if a huge maple tree had shrunk it was so perfectly proportioned. Neat to see.

Niyah's Preschool Graduation

We had a little ceremony for Niyah's preschool that ended a few weeks ago. They were so cute and I was so glad Niyah had made these friends.

Chloe Anderson, Emma Andrews, Amelia Wilson, Niyah, Jolie Ortego

Monday, June 22, 2009

Happy Anniversary!

Today we have been married for 9 years! We have been together exclusively for 11. WOW time has flown and I am so glad that it has flown by with you. We started young and most people thought we were crazy, but without each other I don't know where either one of us would be.

For sure we never knew we would end up here in Japan with three little girls. But I love where we are because we are together.

Some things I love about my hubby:
Nobody makes me laugh like he does, he keeps me smiling
He loves me being a mom and being with his children all day. That he thinks my job is as important as his means the world to me
He is a great example of service he thinks of others much more then I do
He adores his girls, more then I think anyone else realizes
He has a strong testimony. I love to listen to him talk about the gospel. It is a side of him not many people see.
He is handsome!
He is tough! Really I love having a strong husband, strong emotionally, strong physically, he makes me feel safe.
I just love him, more then I knew I could on the day I married him.
Happy anniversary Sexy man I love you!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Happy Happy Birthday Harley Dear

Our Harely girl has turned 7!
Some great things about Harley:
She is so smart!
She is so beautiful!
She is one of the kindest girls I know
She is very nurturing, she will be a GREAT Mom!
She is very fun, with a great sense of humor.
She makes me thankful everyday that God blessed me with her!
We love you Harley,Happy 7th Birthday!
Look at how you have grown