Jeb and Salinda Family!

New Years

2011-02-22T04:53:00.000-08:00

For New Years Eve and Day we didn't really do anything much. A few days after though we were invited to our friend Mr. Takeno's house for a New Years Feast with his family. We went last year and had so much fun that we were excited to go again.

Here are the pictures, they are out of order, but oh well!

Mr. Takeno and his family.

This was the table we sat at to play games. I WANT ONE! You sit on the floor which has a hole under the table to put your feet down in, and it has a heater down there. SO warm and cozy!

They loved playing with Gena!

The girls had lots of fun playing and our hosts had fun with them too.

Gena had to go to the bathrooom and did not want to use a strange toliet. So sad.

They always ask the girls to play them a song.

They had found the English movie of Never Ending Story for the girls to watch.

Most of the food was very yummy. I say most simply because its Japan and well Japan likes lots of fish, and fish flavored stuff. In three years it still hasn't grown on me. The chicken and everything else was so good though.

I'm going to miss our Japanese friends!

December

2011-02-22T03:47:00.000-08:00

This past December was a busy and fun one.

The girls had a dance recital and they both did great!

Here are some videos of them dancing. Niyah is so cute. A lady came up to me after the performance and said "Harley is a great dancer, she was the only one up there who knew how to shake her hips!"...... umm thanks I think

We had a great Christmas activity at the church. Jeb dressed up as a shepard and this was his little helper.

Christmas Eve we invited a couple of guys from Jebs work over. Had a nice dinner, played some Christmas bingo.Genevieve sat by who she thought would let her steal the most M&M's.

The girls all received new PJ's from Granny. They loved them.

Then Christmas was set up and ready.

The girls were happy and excited.

This is them looking at their glow in the dark silly bandz.

A tired Mom and Dad.

The girls were so excited to give Gena their give.

Then it was all over

Some went outside to draw with chalk and play with their American Girl Mini Dolls

Someone went outside to play with their new roller skates

And someone took a nap!

All caught up!!

2010-11-30T09:38:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it, I finally caught up on the posts I wanted to do. Please look through and enjoy! I think you even have to click for older posts to see all of them. :)

Birthday fun

2010-11-30T05:39:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving was my birthday and I told Jeb I wanted to do something fun. So during the day we took the kids to Round 1 Stadium. Its a place where you can do all sorts of things and I could go up to the spa room for a little relaxation. The kids had so much fun and so did we!

Gena wanted to try everything her sisters did.

We had lots of fun playing war with the ball shooters.

Niyah's favorite was the roller skating rink, complete with her protective "butt pad"

Mini bowling was lots of fun

Gena loved the little kids section

So did her older sisters

To much fun

So much fun that when we arrived home this is what happened, no better birthday then having fun with my family

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-30T05:14:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was great this year!

Jeb started the day off with a game of flag football.

The feast was great

I cooked way to much food

The kids had fun

We had some missionaries, some single Airmen, and our neighbors over. It was our neighbors sons first Thanksgiving. I think he enjoyed it!

Then like last year I invited several families over for a pie party. It was a great time.

I made 13 pies, and people brought over some of their own. People had lots of fun eating as much pie as they wanted.

Our last Thanksgiving here, a bit bittersweet, and so much fun.

Okutama in the fall, I love Japan

2010-11-29T06:20:00.000-08:00

For Veterans day we took a drive up to one of our favorite places, Okutama. We knew it would look beautiful with all of the fall colors.

It was a quiet ride up to the mountains.

The weather was perfect

We went exploring along the river. This bridge we walked on was so neat!

Look at its support, crazy!

These Japanese guys were hiking around also and loved the girls, giving them gifts of candy.

Doesn't it make you wish you could go swimming? The water is to cold for that. :)

We love driving around on the little roads

Have I mentioned I love how beautiful Japan is!

"Mata ne"

2010-11-29T06:14:00.000-08:00

Mata ne or "see you later" is better to say then Siyonara, because Siyonara is a permanent goodbye. So to our good friends we made here in Japan, the Wilson family who moved away, we say Mata ne! We will miss you.

The Wilson's last night here we went out for dinner and ice cream.

Halloween

2010-11-29T05:53:00.000-08:00

Halloween was lots of fun. We had a trunk or treat at the branch. Harley was a great Mary Poppins, Niyah a beautiful bride, and Gena the cutest bug you ever saw!

Our nice neighbors joined us for the fun and we were so glad they came!

Gena seemed confused at the first trunk when I told her what to say, the second trunk she was more willing, then by the third trunk she was ready to go full speed ahead! She understood, if she said "tweet and Tank You" (treat and thank you) She would get candy. We couldn't get her to stop.

In this video its a bit dark but you can see her pushing her way through, and if you listen close you can hear her say Thank you! SO CUTE.

Kawagoe Festival!

2010-11-28T04:17:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed going to the big festival in Kawagoe or Little Edo.

We enjoyed lots of festival food.

Well some of it we may have passed on. Although it does smell delicious.

Who can pass on these bananas though?

The floats were so neat

This dragon was so fun. It bit the girls head, I think it brings them good luck. Everyone cheered and laughed when Gena cried.

Around this point I started to notice that Gena was getting her picture taken ALOT!

This is Gena trying to make the Japanese peace sign for her many photographers.

Then we bought the girls one of these candy covered fruit

Then Jeb stepped into a handmade knife store. I waited outside with the girls because it was so crowded inside.

As you can tell Jeb had the camera with him taking pictures of knives. Meanwhile I was outside where The girls were attracting the attention of many Japanese photographers. At first it was cute them stopping to take their pictures. Then they kept taking pictures, then more of them came, until I was surrounded by a whole circle of Japanese people taking pictures of the girls. It started to make me nervous, so I started to try to move the girls away and after a few more minutes they took the hint and slowly dispersed. Finally Jeb came out of the shop unaware of all the attention, Yuck, it was just uncomfortable.

The rest of the festival was fun, the floats move around the street then when they would cross paths they had to "battle" by trying to get the other floats drummers to lose their rhythm.

Love the little kids in the parade

Then we were ready to go home, it was very crowded by that time and it was very difficult to get out of the city.

Then time for a short train ride home.

All in all it was a great time.

Here is some video to get a feel for the fun

The Girls go Down Town!

2010-11-27T22:57:00.000-08:00

Harley, Niyah, and I went to down town Tokyo a while ago for some modeling stuff and decided to make it a fun girls day. Lets just say my two oldest girls, they are a LOT of fun!

Riding the trains down, my girls are so good at this now, I can tell them which train we need next and what line its on and they happily point out the signs and show the way to go.

We stopped near the temple just for a look around. I love letting the girls feel the difference of the Temple versus the busy city all around them. We also went in the Distribution center and I let the girls get little CTR pins.

Then after trying on some cloths for the modeling agency we went out for dinner and ice cream at the New Sanno.

Look at those eyes!

DON'T take a picture mom!

They are so silly together, I love that they are best friends.

I'm STUFFED!

I think she got chocolate in her eye....

What chocolate?

Having fun at the New Sanno

Then we started to head back. Across the street from this picture is this WONDERFUL bakery just down from the Temple. I love it. Well I love it when it has my favorite cheese bread in stock which it hasn't the last three times!!! But I do love it.

Then we headed back on a very busy train ride.

I love spending time with my girls!

Hakone Open Air Museum

2010-11-27T19:07:00.000-08:00

We were happy to go with the home school group on a field trip to the Hakone Open Air Museum. It was a really great trip and the girls had lots of fun.

Here is some of the home school group outside the museum.

The girls relaxed

Ran around....

and had all sorts of fun.

Alright as I was going through the pictures this one just made me stop. Is it just me or is my "baby" meaning Harley looking way to grown up. Someone please make her stop.

The museum is really beautiful and as the name states its in the "open air". Which means you enjoy the beautiful mountains of Hakone while looking at art.

Some art was just neat. Harley loved this one. (just a note many of the art was of nude figures.... just so if you ever go you are prepared for your children when they ask why are they all naked..)

Stopping to feed the fish

Some art was built to play on, this bee hive one is awesome!

I took ten pictures trying to get all the kids to look at the camera, as you can see I was not successful, they were to excited.

Come back Gena!

My view looking up. :)

Some of the art was weird......

Some was beautiful. This stain glass tower was great!
Looking up the inside of the tower.

Looking down the inside of the tower

The view from the top

Relaxing in the hot foot bath was a nice idea..... of course its hard to relax when you are keeping your children from swimming in it.

They did have an indoor Picasso museum, the girls were not very impressed by Picasso, I must say I wasn't either. Do you see the girls way down there?

I liked this one

This art to play on was the best of all!

Because inside it looked like this!

Great right?
It has a name:

The girls really wanted to climb the outside.....

Harley pondering on what the statue is supposed to be.

The girls went in the:

I guess some people get married here. It would be pretty.

Gena even enjoyed herself.

I really liked this sculpture. It was so high in the sky though. That later when I zoomed in on the picture I noticed that yep he was naked too. I guess that's art for you?

It was a great trip and I suggest anyone who can, go. It was really inexpensive too!

CANYONING!!

2010-11-02T05:12:00.000-07:00

A few months ago ( yes I'm still catching up!) me and Jeb went canyoning. We have wanted to go ever since we first came here but just haven't made it. I am so glad we did it was amazing! My only wish that we could have went for a longer tour and that we had gone more then once. You can only go in the summer and we won't be here next summer. :(

The drive up was beautiful!

Me being silly at the rest stop.

Then we arrived and got suited up to go. Here is Jeb, grrrrr he is so ready.

I was so excited

Here we go!

The scenery.... gorgeous!

Sliding down waterfalls, so much fun!

I could have stayed and hung out here all day.

Lets Jump!

They made us go backwards. I didn't like to, it hurts your neck when you hit the water. Still fun though

And some video, the first one is me being sent down the waterfall, For whatever reason the guide decided to stop me in the middle of the waterfall. I couldn't figure it out and was trying to make it go when he let it go. You can hear Jeb and the others laughing at me, apparently I'm the only one who got stopped in the waterfall. Nice.

This is a video of Jeb jumping off of one waterfall.

This was a great day. So much fun and I wish we could go back!

Here is the places website! http://canyons.jp/Canyoning_H.html

Lots of updates

2010-10-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

I have posted several updates, I hope those of you who visit the blog take time to scroll down and see them all. I still have lots of catch up to do but at least I am getting started! Feel free to leave comments we love to hear what you have to say! :)

BEC English School

2010-10-24T04:58:00.000-07:00

This summer we enjoyed working with the BEC English School again. They have a friendship with the homeschool group here at Yokota and during the summer they arrange some homestays and a campout at Tama Hills. We had three groups of girls stay with us this year and enjoyed one day at the campout. We enjoyed it very much and have loved watching our girls develop friendships with the Japanese kids.

The kids had fun playing games of wheel barrow races, capture the flag, tug-of-war, and other fun games.

The girls with their friends

While the groups of girls stayed with us we enjoyed making cookies, playing flahslight hide and go seek, playing games, making crafts, swimming, bowling, and trying to communicate! The girls enjoyed it very much and I was sad to realize that this would be our last year because we will be moving before the next summer comes around.

Harley and her best friend Lien

Making cupcakes

They loved going to an Americn Diner

They were very dramatic when it came to bowling. They also were not very good and showed their dissapointment as you can tell.

They enjoyed playing with Gena

We played alot of games

Flashlight hide and see was a big hit

We will miss seeing our Japanese friends!

Fussa Festival and Yukata's

2010-10-24T04:14:00.000-07:00

A few months ago the ladies from the Japanese Ward that meet in our same building invited the ladies from our branch to be dressed up in traditional Yukata's (summer kimonos) to wear to the local Fussa festival. I was excited to have the chance.

These ladies took this very seriously. I didn't know wearing a kimono had to be so precise but it is! They even gave us instructions on how to go to the bathroom in one. Lets just say it would be better to go before hand.

Here we are all dressed up!

My good friend Allison and I looking slightly stuffed and uncomfortable because that is exactly what we are. Did you know they add "extra" padding under that belt to make you figure more even, not hour glass shaped. I wanted to tell them I don't need any extra padding there thank you.

The bow. The bow is in the words of the Japanese "more important than your face" Good to know.

Then off to the festival we went. It was lots of fun and really fun. We always have such a good time just enjoying the Japanese culture.

The girls were able to place some flowers to be planted at Fussa's city hall. They enjoyed that.

It was a fun day. We enjoyed all the typical things at a Japanese festival. I realized I have really gotten used to Japan because even the smell of these made me smile. Yes grilled baby octopus, it just wouldn't be a festival without them!

Climbing Fuji

2010-09-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

Remember back when I first moved here and Jeb climbed Mt. Fuji and I couldn't because I was pregnant? I said then that I really hoped I would be able to climb Mt. Fuji. The second year passed by and I couldn't climb it because I had a little baby who I couldn't leave for that long. Well no excuses this year and I did it! WE Did it! We climbed Mt. Fuji.

This is a view of Mt. Fuji from where we live. It looks so peaceful doesn't it?

Now before we go through all the pictures let me just say this is honestly the hardest thing I have done. Yes ladies even child birth, at least for me. I didn't say as painful as child birth but as far as hard work, this was so hard. NO way I could have done this without my husband. Yet I am so thankful I did it. What an accomplishment.

So we left our sweet little home at the wee hour of 2:00 AM in order to get to the Mountain by 4:30. The hike can take from 6-12 hours (unless you are my husband who when climbing it by himself did so in 3 hours) so we needed an early start because I am not my husband and would need all the time.

Here we are at the start of the trail. We are so happy even though I received maybe two hours of sleep. Yay I'm thinking I have my own cool Mt. Fuji stick and I'm going to climb a Mountain.

Of course watching the Sunrise in Japan from the start of the trail of Japans highest mountain was a reward. Wow, so neat. Most people climb at night so they are at the top when the sun rises. I figured I didn't need the added difficulty of climbing in the dark.

Here comes the Sun!

Then we were off! The trail starts out deceiving you by actually going down before going back up.

Meet Brandon and Henriquez from Jebs work.

Me walking alongside our friends Shane and Amy. I'm glad we went with them it made the experience better with friends.

Happy still as we begin the ascent. The view is breathtaking already and the weather is perfect!

It was like a sea of clouds below. Somewhere under that sea of clouds is our home. You can also see how far we have already came up the mountain to get to this stop which I think was the 6th station.

As we keep going up I look up and think, wow this Mountain is bigger then it looks, I'm getting tired. Maybe I should eat.

It was really neat though the clouds seemed to just follow us up the mountain. They would just float by the side of us. So pretty.

A little further up, still thinking this is neat but not quite as smiley......

Up we go some more, the trail not just a walkway anymore.

You can all thank Jeb for the nice picture of my behind. :) However the tori gate that we pass through for next station was just to neat. I love Tori gates.

Brandon telling us to look at this next bit, Yay we are getting excited now.

Shane and Amy being awesome! They were great hikers.

At this point you will notice Jeb has on two backpacks. That's strange right? Yes this is about when I start to struggle. By struggle I mean I couldn't breath so well. Yes I got altitude sickness. I didn't expect it but oh was it so hard. It felt like someone was in my chest squeezing my lungs tight. So my husband being as amazing as he is took my backpack and carried two the rest of the way. No easy task I might add. Have I ever said how much I love him?

In case you forget, Mt. Fuji is the holiest mountain in Japan, one of the main Gods. So there were religious people making trips up as well. We later found out this group included one of the highest priests of the Shinto religion. Everyone was making a big deal out of this group, then when we asked why we found out.

This is Bryce our other friend just hanging out about the clouds.

Right about now I'm wondering why I thought this was a good idea and why I was so excited. We have been climbing around 4-5 hours.

Nothing like an old Japanese guy making it up the Mountain to keep you motivated

I think this might have been the 7th station. Not sure, but I did have a surge of energy thinking I can do this.

Maybe it was just the amazing view that made me feel that way. The skies were the clearest blue I've ever seen.

Then we started to climb again. We can ALMOST see the top. Then I just settled into this mode of just doing it one little switch back at a time.

Up we go, the clouds are catching up to us. I am starting to see stars and have tunnel vision due to lack of oxygen. It was lovely.

Good thing my husband was so patient with him as I stopped and rested again and again. JEb was holding the little can of oxygen for me to give me a little pep to keep going. I wanted to just sit still and enjoy but we pressed on.

WE are almost there!!!! Between the 7th and 8th station (the top) is the shortest distance but it takes the longest. Why? Because you are ascending so much and the oxygen is so thin. I nearly passed out so many times. But Jeb kept me going, helping me, letting me lean on him. Have I said he is a great husband?

Are we having fun?

This is it. The last gate. The Top. We did it. 9 hours of hiking! I think everyone should have to do something that hard! Its just amazing.

WE are now at the top of Mt. Fuji and welll its wasn't all that great. The smell from a seasons worth of outhouses from the thousands of people, kind of ruin it. Of course the complete exhaustion makes it so you just want to lie down. Please notice the sleeping people in the background I became one of those shortly after this photo was taken. Yes I have slept on the top of Mt. Fuji.

Jeb however has done something more amazing he has cooked on top of Mt. Fuji. His awesome hiking stove, which is tiny, allowed him to cook a hikers dehydrated meal of beef stroganoff. Let me say it was better then the Ramen noodles looked. :) Once again my husband is just great!

Sleeping on the top of Fuji.

Can you see way down there? Thats where we used to be.

We must now start our long trek down. Which other people said was the worst and the hardest part. For me the climb down was SOO easy in comparison. Why? With every step I took I could breath again. We zoomed down the mountain in a speedy 3 hours.

OH Mt. Fuji I will forever respect you. I will also never want to climb you again.

Labor Day at the River

2010-09-09T20:24:00.001-07:00

For Labor Day our good friends the Wilsons invited us to go to the river with them. We had actually already planned to go to a place called Round 1 but thought a day with friends (especially friends who are leaving us soon!) would be much more fun. We are so glad we went because it was so much fun.

This is the area we went to. We had to pay a little more to park then we planned but it still was worth it.

It was a hot day so it felt really good in the cold water.

Here are the guys (minus Cade Salmon) enjoying the cool water

Niyah loved to jump off this rock. Every time I looked she was climbing up to jump again. She probably could have done that all day. The only thing that distracted her was when Harley caught a small fish quickly named "shiny" because it was well shiny.

Gena played with Blakely Barton. They were really cute just playing at the edge of the river. They even worked together to build this tower of mud. Shortly after they both decided that the other would look better with a tower of mud on their head. Neither one seemed to mind getting a pile of mud stuck on their head.

Super Bryce!

Niyah and Eli were happy playing with the boogie boards the Wilsons brought.

Gena tried to follow others out a few times only to be surprised that the water was to deep for her.

Later that day we took a little hike down the river to a place Cade had said would be a fun swimming hole for the kids. It was so pretty further down the river with the canopy of trees overhead.

Then of course we couldn't go the whole time without some incident. Right after I took this picture Niyah had a scary lesson. If you look at this picture you see Jeb in the water moving away from me with Gena. He had hung back to make sure me and Gena were ok, the rocks were pretty slick and a bit tricky to maneuver while holding a baby. So he took Gena and went to catch up with our other two children who had went ahead of us. They were not so patient with my slower pace. Our friends were up ahead with them too so I wasn't to worried. If you look closely at the picture down by the big rock down stream you can see the cluster of people. They were all making their way around the rock and Niyah went on the other side of the rock. Our friends didn't notice until they saw her struggling to survive as the undercurrent near the rock pulled her under. Thankfully Anne Leavitt was a short swim away and was able to pull her out. By the time I reached her Niyah was a hysterical girl as her Dad coaxed her back in the water. I kept replaying it over and over in my mind the rest of the day what would have happened if our friends hadn't seen her. Just scary. Needless to say she was talked to about staying with Mom and Dad.

This is the rock with the undercurrent you can kind of see where Niyah was. I swam through it after to see how tough it was, and it was a real strong pull. It was hard for me to get out of.

The scenery was beautiful though and I enjoyed being there.

Harley did a great job swimming in the river, she actually surprised me how easily she swam up and down it. She was so busy swimming and catching fish with her friends especially Jackson Salmon that I only got this one picture of her!

Our family, thankful that we are all there!

After this we headed back to pack up and go home. It was really a great day!

I love Japan: Indian Curry!

2010-09-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

I have so many posts to catch up on but I wanted to do this one really quick.

The other night we went out to eat and I happened to have my camera and I thought I want to remember this place. I have learned to LOVE Indian Curry. I like Japanese curry but Indian curry is my favorite. It is very authentic here because the restaurants are run by Indian Immigrants.

This one in particular is my favorite: Nepali Kitchen.

This restaurant is just a little hole in the wall that you can easily miss if you don't know to look for it. The people who run it however are such nice people and that is one of the big reasons I love this place. I have heard its owned by two brothers but only one have we ever seen, and he is owner/cook and his wife always serves us. There is a huge language barrier but they recognize us and seem to enjoy us.

There have been times when we came in and Gena has been fussy or doesn't want to sit still and they will hold her while I eat. They always talk real sweet to her and sometimes give her special sweet baby food.

When we first found this place the wife was pregnant but now they have a little one. I always talk to him and they must realize I like playing with him because this time they pushed his stroller right up to our table so me and Gena could play with him while they fixed our dinner.

The food is also so very very good. My favorites, Mutton Curry, Lentil Curry, Tandorri Chiken, Nann (regular, cheese, and Garlic). Everything we have eaten there is yummy and we always go away very full. The girls also love when their Dad orders them a treat of Mango Lassi. (A Mango yogurt drink) A few times when Jeb doesn't order the drink for the girls they will bring them out one anyway.

The girls feel very at home here. The husband has taken to handing them a remote control for a large TV that hangs on the wall and the girls like to turn on some good Japanese Cartoons.

Like I said its just a little place but the husband and wife seem to be trying so hard to make it work. I just want them to succeed and I'm always sad that more people don't come and eat here. I know its probably because its a bit hidden but I am sure good real estate here is hard to come by.

Gena just seems to be very much at home here. Probably because we go here fairly frequently and she has been coming since she was a few months old.

There are several good curry places around here that I enjoy but the one I will remember the most is this one. I LOVE Nepali Kitchen in Japan

I Love Japan

2010-07-29T04:45:00.001-07:00

So I want to do an occasional post about the little things I love here in Japan. Mostly for me so I can remember them when we leave and I thought it was fun to share. So this is my first post about things I LOVE in JAPAN.

Near the base there is this mall:

I really like this mall. It has a lot of fun stores and I just like walking in it. One of the nice things about walking in this and pretty much any big store here in Japan are their awesome strollers

I know it doesn't look all that cool but I think that they are. Their wheels turn in all directions making it so easy to turn and maneuver and spin your child in a crazy fashion as Jeb loves to do. If you live in Utah or someplace with snow and ever did donuts in your car..... yeah thats what Jeb has Gena do in this stroller. I think every store everywhere should have them

This is inside the mall.... and well I just love it

This is the theater in the mall where we have went to see a few movies. It is a little expensive comparatively to the American one on base but it is much more fun to see movies with Japanese subtitles and the credits opening up with Bugs Bunny speaking Japanese.

And my favorite place in the mall THIS!

We call it sweet sticks but as you can tell by the name it is actually stick sweets.... that's Japanese for you. But this place is so yummmmmy. Also see when I was a little girl and we would go shopping "Up North" because we lived in a small town and all school shopping must be done "Up North" in the Orem mall. My mom would get us a Mrs. Fields cookie every time. Its a great memory. Well Mrs. Fields shut down long ago and every time I went to a mall I would have a craving for something sweet and nothing would ever work right. Then I came here, found a mall and found our "sweet sticks." Sorry Mrs. Fields but the stick is better

The nice Japanese girl now recognizes me and smiles in a familiar way. Then she boxes up my special treat with a little bitty ice pack to keep it cool.

Then if I don't devour it at the mall or in the car on my way home I get home and open this

And these

The picture doesn't do anything for just how sweet these sticks really are. YUM

Ok so are they really that good? Yes I think so. Maybe its just a psychological satisfaction of a childhood time.... but I don't think so. If you like creamy, cakey, brownie like, they even have tart and cheese cake ones then I think you would love it too.

Just one reason why I LOVE Japan

Shimoda Beach on the 4th!

2010-07-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

For the weekend of the Fourth of July we decided to go back to Shimoda beach. We loved it so much our first time we have been dying to get back. Some friends of ours mentioned they would love to go too and next thing we know we have made plans and our getting ready to go.

We headed down ahead of our friends on that Thursday. We arrived a little later then planned but still went down to the beach to enjoy the sun set. We went to a beach that last time we only went to on our last time. The beach was almost isolated and so pretty. Even though it was getting cooler from the sun setting the girls still played in the water a bit.

So pretty! After the long drive (about 100 miles in 5 hours!) we were so happy to be there

Gena was not so sure about the ocean

She did like walking on the sand, as long as she could hold our hand

The girls were so excited to find sea shells.... I told them not to keep the broken ones and they just didn't understand

Walking with Dad. (I love this picture)

The Andrews (our friends) arrived later that night. They were exhausted and had only gotten a little lost with my wonderful directions..... Well thankfully Jeb went out and found them and I was relieved that I had caused no serious damage.

The next morning it was the beginning of a gorgeous day and off to the beach we went! It was so beautiful, the kids were so excited, and the beach was basically empty except for us. It was wonderful.

Harley jumped right into the waves with the boogie board. I could hardly get pictures of her she was always going so much.

This picture says it all. So excited so happy and just look at that beach!

Our friends son Jaydon with Niyah. I was surprised how well him and Niyah played together.

Getting buried in the sand sounded fun, Gena even helped

Then the water came.....

Jeb and Harley had lots of fun in the water together

Niyah liked to stay closer to shore

This was the most I could get Harley to stop for a picture for.... she was always running to fast

OK, so I look really bad, goofy, weird in this picture. But it totally captures how much fun I was having riding the waves with Harley

When her Dad took a turn on the boogie board Harley thought Gena would enjoy being buried in the sand..... what do you think?

Niyah took a turn, but she still liked to stay closer to the shore line

Genevieve didn't like the water to much, but thought the sand was great

When our skin had as much sun as it could we headed back to the house (the same one as last time) we took a little nap. Then when we all woke up we went exploring in town.

The next morning we headed out to go to the beach again but stopped at the sand hill first. (This is where later we would be coming back for fireworks. )

A few hikes up this hill and a few topples down (I have some neat video to load of that) and we were getting tired out. Also the few drops of rain quickly turned into alot of rain.

We hid out in the grotto cave for awhile then went back to hang out at the house until it was time to pick up our other friend Shimo.

We found Shimo at the station. The rain had lightened up but still wasn't exactly beach weather so it was a good time to take the cable car ride up the mountain.

The view on the way up was so neat. I wish I could tell you about this neat building, but I can't, I don't know anything about it except it looked so neat.

What a view of the Shimoda cove area. The history is interesting as this is the place where the Americans came and asked (told) the Japanese to open back up to international trade, and here they signed the treaty.

On top of the mountain were some beautiful gardens. We were excited to go on the maze but it was closed due to the rain. :(

Jeb found a nice cannon for Gena.

The view was Great

That night we all relaxed and had a great time playing games. I wish we would have taken pictures of us all sitting around the little Japanese table playing games. It was a great time.

Then it was Sunday the 4th of July. We didn't want to spend the day at the beach because it was Sunday so we choose some quieter things to do.

We went on a boat ride on the black ships (my kids called them pirate ships) They were to represent the ships that came to open back up Japan.

We were excited to feed the sea gulls that follow the ship for the bread you can throw at them. We were not so excited when the hawks began to dive for the bread too. That was just a little scary. Seeing the hawks was neat, seeing them dive at your fingers, slightly frightening.

This is them posing for a picture while Niyah stares frightened at the hawks above.

This is Jaydon after the boat ride.

Niyah after the boat ride. Cute kids!

We then drove along the coast to reach the other side of the peninsula. The drive was so so amazing. I was so glad we went for the drive just to see it. Problem, the view flew by in the car a little to quickly and I couldn't get any pictures.

We arrived at the other side of the peninsula with plans to ride another boat that went through caves. The boat rides were shut down though due to the high waves. So we just went hiking around a bit and tried not to die of the heat.

This was not as steep or dangerous as it looks from this picture

The drive back we took the shorter way, going inland rather then along the coast. The small villages were still neat to see.

We then went back and grilled up some food for our Fourth of July dinner.

This is the group relaxing on the deck at the house. It was so nice just to be able to relax. It was great to have good friends to hang out with too.

After dinner we went back to the sand ski cove area to light up some fireworks.

Ok I know you are tired of me saying this but it was just so pretty. I didn't grow up anywhere near beaches so the sounds, the look everything is just so amazing to me, and these are exceptionally pretty beaches that we had all to ourselves. I just felt so lucky to have this experience. Sitting on a beautiful beach in Japan, with friends, celebrating the fourth. How neat is that?

Gena and Tia having fun in the sand.

Harley after face planting it from sledding down the sand.

We started with sparklers. Niyah still is not really over her fear of fire so Harley just enjoyed them with Jaydon and Tia

Then we had a seat on the hill and watched while the man risked their lives, I mean lit fireworks. :)

oooooh

aaaaahhhh

It was a great mini firework show. Thankful no injuries despite a few fireworks gone awry. We then headed back to the house for a last night of games.

Monday was our day to head back but we spent the morning at the beach. We went to a different beach. It was a bit more crowded this time.

Niyah was a little more brave

The waves were bigger and there were lots of surfers

Gena and Tia still loved the sand

The guys ready to head out in the waves (Jeb, Shimo, Shane) They frustrated the surfers with their boogie boards but didn't care to awful much

Harley could hardly wait for her turn with the boogie board

Tia worked really hard hauling in the sand

Riding the last waves

Then before we wanted it to be it was over and it was time to go home.

It was a perfect trip. I know there was a lot of pictures on this post but there was so much I enjoyed. I still didn't even get it all, I am missing videos of the tumble down the hill, Jeb parting of the waters, Jebs melted screen, and once again the battle of bugs! It was a great trip and we can only hope that we can go back here again before we leave Japan for good. Thanks again Shane, Amy, and Shimo, it wouldn't have been as fun without you!

Baptism

2010-06-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

The day after Harley's birthday on June 13th Harley was baptized. It was a great event and we felt so loved to have so much support from our branch family and our family from far away. Harley is such a special girl and we are so proud of her.

Before church that Sunday

So thankful that her Dad was able to baptise her and confirm her.

After the baptism she was all smiles. She was a double dunker!

(I'd like to put up a copy of her program but am not sure how to yet, I'll keep trying though)

Celebrating 8

2010-06-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

Harley turned 8. EIGHT can you believe that? I can't it just sounds so I don't know close to 10 which sounds real close to 12 which mean she will be in Young Womens which means well that she is growing up. Harley is an amazing daughter and we have said many times that we don't really deserve her as parents because she is just truly great girl. SO for turning 8 we figured she needed a great party and I would like to think we accomplished that goal.

The Invitation! Jeb made them, I thought he did a really good job!

Birthday morning I'm afraid there was not alot of presents to open mostly because we bought most of her turning 8 gifts on our trip to the states. So most of her gifts she already had (special dress, pierced ears, lots of earrings) But we did give her a first set of scriptures. She was really excited. She has hated being the only one in her church class without them. Everyone else has already turned 8 she was the last.

Harley talking to Mama's and Grapa via skype. Showing them her scriptures and getting ready to open her presents from them. They gave her a beautiful CTR ring and a few other special gifts.

The activity day girls group had a surprise for Harley that I think helped make her special day. They picked her up early and took her out for a breakfast donut! She is so happy to be finally going to activity days with her friends.

Getting ready for the party!

Whats all the fuss about Gena wonders????

We rented this in hopes for a great party..... I think it did its job.

The girls enjoying a couple of hours with the jumper all to themselves before all the guests arrived

Time to start the party

Woohoo Harley is flying and this is Lien, who Harley has told me is her BFF..... I don't even know where she learned that

All the kids... From the right in the back Noah, Addy, Shelby, Keefer, Jacob, Jackson (in between the jumper), Dakota, Harley Lien, Sarah, Chelsey, Bottom: Chloe, Jacob, Eli, Peter, Pono, Niyah, Chloe, Brinkly, Narissa, Nathia, and Jadyn.

Presents

Water guns kept them from melting in the heat

Jeb supervised the chaos with a water house. :)

The Cake... I was happy with it because well I know nothing about decorating cakes so I was impressed with myself. I made the hearts with a fondant marshmallow recipe.

One happy 8 year old = one great party!

We love you Harley!

Back

2010-06-07T00:49:00.001-07:00

OK I have been away from blogging for way to long. It makes me sad because I do enjoy blogging and use it as a family record, so I regret that I have last the last while go by. So what have we been up to since our last post?

March was Niyah's birthday. She turned 6 and had a great party with a Kitty theme. All the girls were able to "adopt" a stuffed kitten to take home. To bad we don't have any pictures to show from it as our computer crashed!

April we were able to go on our visit back to the states to visit family! It was a great visit and we were so thankful for all the people who put up with us. We had a great time. We were so busy that we really didn't even take that many pictures. Some of the things we did:
Ate out way to much
enjoyed Eater with all the family
Jeb built a deck
went shooting Jebs new gun
Visited our dearest friends the Jensens (love you guys so much!)
attended a cousins baptism, two baby blessings
spoke at my parents branch
attended conference
shopped
shopped
and shopped some more

and just hung out and had fun!!!
Here are some picture recaps

The girls on the way out to girls day to celebrate Harley turning 8 soon. We shopped, ate at spaghetti factory, had Harley pick out her special turning 8 dress, and Harley got her ears pierced!

Having fun!

Easter!

shooting the new gun, Jebs only real purpose for the trip. :)

Eating Smores with Grapa

Then we came BACK home to Japan mid April. A light layover in in Seattle let us see Grandpa Tom and made us wish strongly for a farm.

Jeb playing farmer

Since then we have just been BACK here doing our normal routine. We got back into our school lessons and the poor girls have been doing extra to make up for all the time off. The girls had a ballet recital and both did great

That pretty much brings us up to date on activities. We are all well and happy. The girls are amazing and smart. We hope to have Harley done with 3rd grade by the end of the summer and Niyah done with 1st. Genevieve is hitting her two's a bit early and is constantly shouting NO NO NO at anyone who crosses her.

Look for more posts as I am realizing it is to soon that we truly go "back" to the states as we are on our count down here. I want to post everything I love about Japan, so watch for those!

Worst Valentine.......

2010-02-28T04:37:00.000-08:00

Ok not that we had a bad valentines but seriously we went to a sweetheart dance at the church on Saturday and won this valentine chocolate as a prize.......

Alright can you imagine a worse valentine chocolate to give to someone? Because nothing says I love you like a chocolate fish..... mmmmmhmmmm and yes it is "double crisp"

What to do with our lovely night out prize, give it to our beautiful daughters of course. Once they determine it was not made of "fish guts" they loved it. What can I say?

Just had to share

SNOW

2010-02-11T05:08:00.000-08:00

When it snows in Japan in a way that it hasn't in a long time what should you do? If you are the principal of "school of home" then you call it a half snow day!!! Then go out and enjoy!

What a great snow man!

Then we end it with some hot coco! Don't worry we researched how snow is made afterwards so we made good use of the day.

1 Year

2010-02-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

This post is late but so it goes. Genevieve turned 1 year a couple of weeks ago. I can't believe how fast this year has flown. Gena is such a blessing in our lives and we love the spirit she brings into our homes. Since she is twelve months old here are twelve things we LOVE to Gena
1. We love your belly laughs
2. We love the way you follow your sisters everywhere
3. We love how much you love black beans and rice
4. We love the way that despite our best efforts you recognize chocolate and will go to any lengths to get a piece
5. We love the way you say "woo woo" when asked what a doggie says
6. We love that you love to be chased by all of us
7. We love that you throw things on the floor then say "Uh Oh"
8. We love your sweet smile
9. We love your open mouth full on kisses
10. We love how you love books and music
11. We love how happy you are
12. We love everything about you, especially that you love us too!

Lets watch you grow up!!

Eating Birthday cake!

skiing in Japan

2010-01-22T19:36:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Jeb along with his brother Sean who was visiting had the opportunity to go skiing. Jeb has been wanting to do this for a long time and I was happy he got the chance.

They went to a place called Mt. Naeba ski resort. It was fun for him and beautiful scenary. Next time though I think I might tag along!

Nice View!

A little night Skiing

Only in Japan would you get to meet someone like this on the slopes! Love Japan

Next time maybe he will try the Onsen!

Holidays 2009......... come and gone

2009-12-30T21:53:00.000-08:00

Christmas came, quickly as you can tell from my last post. Its now time to begin a new year. I would like to start the new year all caught up on the updates of the holidays so here it is, Holiday season 2009 recap!

The holiday season begins on the great day of Thanksgiving. I am fully aware that this was a long time ago but since I never posted pics and I really enjoyed this year I want to have the pictures to remember it by.

I think we started this holiday year off with a nice big bang with our great Thanksgiving dinner followed by the really fun pie party!

Here was the dinner spread it was yummy!

our humble eating arrangments. I was just glad to use my china.

all the ladies at the pie party. I wish we had got a picture of all the guys also. They are starting from the back left, Amy A., Austin C., ? Alisha's neighbor?, Bottom left: Sis. Bybee, Bybee daughter 1, Angela A., Allison W., Alisha B., Miriam R., Miriam P., On the floor: Me, and Bybee daughter 2.

wow lots of pie!

Here is Harley in a school play she did for Thanksgiving.

Here is a little bit of it. Harley does have a speaking part but you can't really hear her. She was also a narrator for the begining of the play. She did a really good job.

Its getting colder we have to bundle up!! The girls call this Gena's pink marshmallow outfit.

Niyah had a Christmas Ballet recital. She did so well and looked so adorable!

Here she is afterwards. She was so happy that we gave her a rose to say good job.

The Sunday before Christmas I thought the girls looked so pretty in their red dresses. I was in charge of the branch Christmas program this year and I was so glad when that Sunday was over!

On Christmas Eve there was a branch activity to come exchange cookies and let the kids do a nativity. Although I think Harley was sad not to be Mary they had a good time and made beautiful angels!

That night we spent with our good friends the Wilsons. The kids and Fred entertained us with singing Feliz Navidad! We were so grateful for friends to spend the holidays with. Especially since the Wilsons fed us and since we had just moved would probably have eaten toast for Christmas dinner!

Here was our tree. It was the first thing set up in our new home I wanted it up for Christmas. Somehow we didn't get any pictures of Christmas morning, only video. Since I can't seem to load video you will have to wait for that!

Then Christmas night it was back to the Wilsons for dinner with them and the Anderson family. Allison has received a popcorn machine from her sister and the kids were all entertained by it!

Thanks Allison and Fred for making our Christmas great!

Here is the Anderson family. Jeremy reminds me so much of my cousin Jordan that it frightens me.

Well except for videos to be loaded of Harleys school thing, Niyah's dance recital, singing of Feliz Navidad and Christmas morning there you have it, Holiday Season 2009! On a side note here are things that happened this past month that didn't have pictures or videos to go with even though some of them should

1: we moved again

2: Harley got glasses

3: Genevieve took her first independent steps on the 21st

4: I made my first ever horrible batch of divinity

5: We had a great time just being a family

On to 2010!

Christmas Eve.... WHAT?!?!?!

2009-12-23T17:46:00.000-08:00

So here it is Christmas Eve. I am in many ways in total shock. This month has more then flow by and I can't seem to catch up. I have really wanted to come on the blog and post updates I have so many things to post but I never seem to find the time. Since Thanksgiving we have been kept busy with school things, dance things, Christmas things, oh yeah and moving! Yes we have moved again. That now makes it three times (if we don't move again while we are in Japan) in three years! If you count the crazy time before we came to Japan it is something like 5 times in five years....... (big sigh here)

The story is long of why and how we moved and I'm not sure if I should tell it because I am trying to put it behind me and be positive. Anyway we are here in our new place and its Christmas eve and I am "mostly" unpacked, mostly because we moved in on the 22nd I spent the 23rd unpacking what I could and I now have no pantry in my kitchen. Please understand that I have seen it as my duty to store as much food as I can in our pantry in our old place. I have boxes of food, and nowhere to put them. I think I am getting shelves for Christmas. But I have been so thankful for good friends who have helped with kids and our stress of moving, from those who just listened to my complaining and wanted to help me fight off the Air Force housing unit, to those who watched my kids, and let us eat dinner at their house. We are truly blessed. Especially since most of these same friends helped me do all the same things a year ago. So to the Wilsons,the Salmons, the Piersons, the Beyers, the Andersons, the Halls, and everyone else who I am forgetting to mention thanks for the help or even offers to help!

So now I am going to go attempt to dig out some flour and sugar and make some cookies because it is Christmas Eve and it wouldn't be Christmas without some cookies. Of course I am waiting for my mom to call because I can't find my cook books!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Here comes Turkey Day

2009-11-24T03:42:00.000-08:00

(picture has nothing to do with post this is just me and the girls playing in the Japanese photo booth, the girls used the decorations tools, don't you love my crown!)

I just am so excited for Turkey Day. Tomorrow I start my cooking in the kitchen and don't plan on leaving for 48 hours (except a little break for dinner with some friends!) We are having dinner at our place. I am excited to be hosting it all on my own. For dinner we will have our good friends the Wilsons over along with the Porter family and a few single guys from the branch and Jebs work. Then afterwards I have invited several families over for a PIE PARTY! If you know me you know I love to make pies! I do miss all the family this time of year so I have to focus on what I am doing so I don't get to homesick. I think of Aunt Jannettes rolls and making pie with my mom and I miss it! I miss me and Janeal being tough playing football. :) I definitely miss family more at Thanksgiving then I do at Christmas, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday after all. SO Here is to Thanksgiving. If you have read my ramblings good for you, I just wanted to ramble I guess. For those who would care here is my yummy menu.

Turkey (stuffed with apple, onion, and garlic)

Stuffing (made by Allison she makes great homemade stuffing!)

Mashed Tators and gravy

Homemade rolls (aunt Janettes recipe)

some herb popovers

yams/sweet potatoes pecan bake

candied carrots

asparagus with Parmesan cheese

green onions w/cream cheese

deviled eggs

beets

lasagna

salad

jello w/ marshmallows

and the pies!

two chocolate

three pumpkin

two apple

two cherry

two cheesecake

one sweet potato

I think thats everything, of course I could be forgetting something I don't have my list in front of me. What do you think? Am I missing anything?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

What have you been up to?

2009-10-26T00:39:00.000-07:00

I get that question a lot, what have you been up to? Well since I haven't put anything on my blog for a long time, I thought I'd update on few things we have been up to the last couple of months. (these pictures are not in chronological order so keep that in mind)

We went on our first full family bike ride! Jeb got me a new bike, Japanese style I love it, and put on a seat for Gena. I was so excited, Gena loved everything except the helmet. (please ignore my funny face in this pic and messy background)

We adopted a pet. When we kicked him out of Harleys shoe that had been left outside we felt the poor guy needed a new home. Here he is down in her shoe, Harley squeled when she found him.

Here he is in his bug box. He soon afterwards made his cacoon and we await him coming out in the spring!

We surrived our first soccer season. (yes I can't believe it either I became a soccer mom!) The girls loved soccer. They both had great coaches. Harleys was Bro. Salmon from our ward who we really like. Niyah was the Sissans and they were so kind.

We had a fun Halloween. This was the first year the girls didn't want to be some form of princess. It made me kind of sad. But they made great Ninjas and Genevieve was the cutest skeleton ever.

I finally finshed this project (it only took me five months) the little aprons turned out cute.

We went on a homeschooling field trip to the planetarium. It was really fun and I like the girls meeting up with the other homeschoolers. I am trying to get more involved with the group here. yes and my girls are the two in the front facing backwards.... *sigh*

All in all we have just went about our normal everyday lives.

The girls are still the best of friends, it makes me so happy. I often find this when I check on them at night.

Oh and here is a conversation I had with Niyah:

Niyah: mom I know how it works

Me: how what works?

Niyah: How you get a husband

Me: Oh how is that?

Niyah: well when you get to that older teenager age..... how old did you say it is mom?

Me: tell your almost done with college, in your twenties, not teenager

Niyah: well when your in college and you decide you want to get one you just go outside and ask them and find one that is ....

Funny, they have to be happy and make you laugh.....

Nice, they can't be mean......

They have to love you......

and they have to go to church so I can go to the temple.....

and then you get married and have babies.

Me: Well thats about right

so there you have it all those with eligible boys the standard has been set!

I have also been very busy because this little one has become much more mobile. As you can see. Ok maybe not, since I can't get the video to load. But she is very mobile and stairs are her newest favorite toy. Busy Busy

A day in the life of a baby model

2009-09-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Genevieve had a modeling job. I thought I'd let Genevieve share what her modeling day was like...

Well after mom got me up at 6:00 AM it started with a crowded rush hour, 1 hour long train ride into Tokyo

My sisters were good sports and came along to keep me and mom company

Harley seems to fit in well with the Japanese

Once in Tokyo we take more trains to get to the right station...... Check out the video my mom took. Some of the other trains were more crowded then this but this one was pretty good.

We got to the station and waited for awhile for our agent...... mom was a little frustrated. But finally she came and we took a taxi to the studio which seemed to be a house made up for photo shoots.

Here is a picture of the studio, you can see what they call the story board of how they plan the pictures for the magazine.

So then they changed my clothes, took my picture, took off my clothes, let me play, put on new clothes, took my picture, took off my clothes, let me play, put on new clothes took my picture, took off my clothes, let me play,...... it just kept going like that

Here is me waiting for my next set of clothes

My mom thought this outfit was cute. I didn't really think it was any different then the others.

Then I must have fell asleep because next thing I knew we were on our way back to the station.

We always have to stop in the train station bathrooms a lot and mom always makes us go in the family ones so we can all stay together.

Check out the huge safety door, it kind of feels like getting locked in the vault. You have to push the big green and red button for the door to open or close. My sisters always fight over pushing them, when I'm old enough I think I will push the green one.

Then my mom let my sisters stop for a treat...... she said they had been really good and patient

Where's my ice cream? Wasn't I good? I was the one getting my picture taken, sheesh

All in all I found it exhausting work, I tried to tell Dad all about it but I was so tired I just fell asleep again, thats ok Dad fell asleep too.

The Perch house

2009-09-17T00:11:00.000-07:00

Ok so I haven't shown you were we stayed the whole time. Its called the perch house and this is its link http://www.shimoda-beach-house.blogspot.com/

The lady who we rented it from gave us lots of warnings "it is not luxurious, the stairs to get to it are very very steep, more like a hike..." anyway she was very upfront. So I was not expecting much.

Here is my list on it (for anyone thinking of going there so they can decide)

PROS

*great location (very close to the beach)

*Great price (it was about 100 dollars a night versus everywhere else was 150 per person, ouch!)

*Friendly lady to rent from (she was really nice and so so trusting)

*They let you use their stuff (surf board, boogie board anything that's there)

Cons

*Ok I have to be honest the kitchen and bathroom could use a good scrub down! I know she hires a cleaning lady but she does not clean much in those areas. That would be my suggestion it needs a deep clean.

*its a bit cluttered, I think the homeowners must still stay there sometimes and so there is a lot of stuff..... just stuff, you know cluttered in corners and on shelves. It doesn't really give it a relaxing feel.

So my suggestions if you wanted to stay there I wish we had brought our own camping stove, I was glad I brought my own shampoo. Just think of it as camping in a trailer and you should be ok. :) Oh and yes it is a really really steep hike from the parking to the house so if your not a bit of a trooper, well probably not for you. We didn't mind that part, in fact I thought it added to its charm.

so here is the grand tour

The road to get to the house

The stairs to get up.... once again glad for my tough guy, carrying all our food, and gear up that, love you babe!

Harley quickly saw the chess set and wanted to play a game!

OH and the story wouldn't be complete without a picture of our bathroom buddy! oh yes Niyah found herself locked in the bathroom with this guy..... Poor girl she was whimpering and me the mean mom said , oh Niyah your ok its just a spider.... then I peeked my head in. Yes I probably would have been whimpering too.

Trust me the pics and video do not do this monster spider justice, it totally freaked me out. I do realize that being in a jungle ( like we were) bugs like this are just part of life. Still it took me awhile to sleep that night.

More beach.....

2009-09-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

So after the aquarium we spent the rest of the day Friday at the beach. Can you blame us? Is is so pretty!

Jeb and Harley spent most of the time out riding the waves. We had a boogie board from the house we rented and it was really fun for them. They were so far out though that I didn't get any pics or videos. :(

The girls had fun playing in the sand.

This was when Genevieve was having fun. She didn't really like the waves but liked playing happily in the water.

Then a huge wave came and hit her right after we took that video and looked like this the rest of the time.... if you look at it close you can see she is covered in sand from getting knocked over by the wave!

Shimoda Aquarium

2009-09-16T16:30:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics from the aquarium in Shimoda. It was kind of small but fun. They had fun little features that I liked. I had a hard time with some of the things. The penguins for instance they had lots of them but they were in little tiny spaces and I just hate to see animals penned up in such small spaces like that. It was the same for the seals. It kind of broke my heart. But there was a lot of cute things too.

The girls loved the dolphins. They had an option to swim with the dolphins for 5000 yen, we didn't do it but it looked fun.

These were little fish that eat the dead skin off you. Its a popular thing here in Japan that makes your skin soft. We have never had a chance to do it and they had a little place to try it with your hands. It was neat, but weird!!! The girls didn't really like it, I kind of did once I got over the weirdness of little mouths sucking you. Jeb said they felt like little buffers.

Japanese spider crab, eeew nasty huge! Can you imagine seeing that in the water. They are said to live up to 100 years maybe more. WOW.

All the penguins.

All in all it was fun!

Going around Shimoda

2009-09-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

So Friday before we went to the beach we just went around the area looking at sites and going to the Shimoda Aquarium. It was a fun start to the day.

Hopefully you can click on this to read what it says.

The "Pirate Ship" as we called it.

Genevieve loved it can you tell?? :)

There were local ladies at the temple cleaning and taking care of flowers. They loved the girls and had fun playing with them.

Shimoda

2009-09-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

We went on a little get away last week to the Shimoda area, on the Izu peninsula. So so beautiful!!! and so so much fun to just hang out on the beach. We definitely want to go back. There was a lot to see. There seemed to be a lot of historical sites in the area that we were not aware of before we went and we want to go back to see them. It was a great trip. Here is some pics of the fun on the beach. (I will probably have to break this trip up into several posts, so this is the beach pics first day!)

Driving along the coast, such a scenic drive

Beautiful views at the beach

Clear clear water, nice light sandy beaches

the girls loved the waves

OK he didn't want this pic on, but I liked it! My handsome man.

Genevieve got so tired, and so snuggly the whole trip. We loved it! She isn't to much of a snuggler so we took her up on it. :)

and the girls splashing me.....

That was Thursday, next post is of Friday!

Health Care....

2009-09-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

The whole country is talking about health care. Its a huge deal right? Me and Jeb have talked about it a lot. I realized as we talked that I don't share my thoughts on politics at all. Outside of a very very small group of people (you know who you are) I keep my thoughts to myself. I wondered why, am I afraid? I realized maybe it wasn't right. The thing is I don't feel like I am educated enough at times to make my case very well. But then Jeb was reading to me a book that talked about that very attitude. That one person can and should make a difference. So I thought maybe I should voice my opinion.

Health Care is a tricky thing. People ask the questions (I've seen them on blogs, comments of news, on facebook, everywhere!!) "do you want people to die because they don't have health care? Do you want people to go bankrupt because of huge medical bills?" and many other questions along the same frame.
What stupid questions. What would anyone say about that? OH yes yes let the poor people die in the streets!!!!

So when people ask that question what they are really trying to say is, if you don't support government health care you are sentencing people to death or poverty. I JUST DON"T BELIEVE IT!!!

We already have government health care by the way its called medicaid and medicare, and all you have to do is research that a little bit to find the corruption and problems with it. Why do we with think more government will solve this?

From a historical perspective it won't work. Every country that has started government health care has huge problems with it. Oh but we will be better we will be different, we will learn from their mistakes, the people say. Reaaallly? We will???? You can guarantee it? There will be no corruption, no people are standing behind this plan ready to make millions of dollars. You are sure of that? Because you are betting some of our freedoms on this you know. And I am not sure, so I am going to say no! Because the old saying is very very true. You can not get something for nothing. It is not possible. Free health care will cost. You can not get it without giving. In this case it will cost money (somebody has to pay the bills.... who... oh yeah the tax payers!) and it will cost freedom. You can not deny it. At no time has this country began giving out things without some freedoms being taken away. Its just not possible for it to be otherwise. It is has not been otherwise in any other country in will not be any different for ours. Surely people realize that people who live in places with Government Health Care, want to be treated somewhere else, somewhere like America?

But what is the answer. Because yes there are problems, and yes something needs to be done. So now I am just going to share this article which demonstrates a lot of what I think could and should be done. Let me know your thoughts. But please be polite! That's all I ask. :)

This is from
http://www.thesocialleader.com/2009/09/health-care-reform-personal-responsibility/

Health Care Reform Through Personal Responsibility
by: Carol Korte Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
True health care reform needs to happen not only on a national level, but also at the individual level in the form of personal responsibility.

Individuals in society today are quick to lay blame elsewhere, not willing to take personal responsibility for their actions. This action (or inaction) is a major factor in the massive increases seen in health care costs in the United States.

In The 5,000-Year Leap, Cleon Skousen said that the “greatest threat to economic prosperity is the arbitrary intervention of the government into the economic affairs of private business and the buying public.”
He delineates four areas of governmental responsibility: the policing of illegal force to compel purchasing or selling, fraud, monopoly, and debauchery of the “cultural standards and moral fiber of society by commercial exploitation of vice.”

The Proper Role of Government in Health Care
Based on the role of our federal government as defined by the constitution, there should be governmental intervention in health care: bringing to task the unethical practices of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

The Huffington Post reported that American Medical and Life Insurance Company was advertising comprehensive health coverage for just $5/day, preexisting conditions being irrelevant, primarily targeting the ads to the uninsured or underinsured. After being charged $419 per month for coverage, one woman had only $1,164 of her $28,000 hospital bill paid by the insurance company.
This is where the federal government should intervene, helping to stop these unethical and fraudulent business practices.

Additionally, the cost of medical malpractice insurance is exorbitant. Imagine having to pay one-third of your salary for mandatory malpractice insurance coverage, not to mention also paying the $12,500 per year for your own private health care coverage.

It’s no wonder physicians fees are so high! There are many frivolous lawsuits brought against doctors, causing these insurance premiums to continue to rise, hence raising the cost of medical care.

The Proper Role of Individuals in Health Care

HealthCareProblems.org reports that in 2007, 75% of health care costs were spent on chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes. Approximately half of these conditions are linked to preventable problems such as smoking, obesity, and lack of physical exercise. Conditions such as these drive up medical care costs and decrease the availability of physicians.

Imagine a society where people took control over their own health and didn’t expect others to clean up after their actions (or inaction); a society where there was no smoking, drastically reducing the rates of lung cancer; a society where one out of every three people were not obese.

Imagine if fast food were eliminated, if children moved off the couch and away from the computers into the backyard or neighborhood park, and if malpractice lawsuits were only used when truly necessary and in settlement amounts that are ethically reasonable.

What if the pharmaceutical and insurance industries were limited to only reasonable charges and you knew that, when you got sick and relied on it the most, the insurance you have would help you to cover the costs of your illness?

Let’s let government take care of the unethical business practices occurring in the health care industry, and let each one of us do our share in taking care of ourselves. Be educated about your health and what you can do to improve your health. Teach your children how to lead healthy and responsible lives.
Let’s not rely on the government to clean up our own messes. Let’s take responsibility for ourselves

Will Crawl for Chocolate

2009-08-26T19:24:00.001-07:00

So it is not official crawling but its getting there. Here is the story:

So if you know me you know I don't give my babies sugar. I have all sorts of reasons but that's besides the point. The problem here is that I am addicted to sugar. OH I know its awful and horrible for me I have tried to quit but like any addict I think the pain is to hard. So there is sugar which means chocolate in the house. So a couple of days ago I had a bag of Dove chocolates on the floor where I had been reading the night before. I set Genevieve down not realizing they were in arms reach. She got a hold of them and sucked happily through the foil. Till I discovered her and took them away, this made her very very mad. Since then she has seen the packaging and has tried so hard to get to the chocolate whenever she sees it.

So Jeb thought he would use this new found obsession she has to try to motivate her to crawl last night. She has not shown much interest in crawling at all but maybe for chocolate???? Watch and see.

Cuteness

2009-08-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Just some cute pics of the girls I wanted to share.

Bugs

2009-08-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

See one thing that I really dislike about Japan, BUGS. Around this time of year July to Aug. when it is very hot and very humid creepy crawly things come out. Anyone with Facebook maybe has seen the application give a Japanese gift and one option is crazy Japanese bugs? Yeah that's because there really are crazy weird bugs here. I have never got one on camera though so just know they can be disturbing.

Now as much as I think those bugs are gross what I hate more then that is the mosquito's! They are like swarms here. They also seem to love the girls, they must be extra sweet to them.

Here is Niyah's leg from one afternoon when she went outside to move her bike. Less than five minutes I am not kidding and look at her legs. I counted at least 30 bites on just one leg!!! I really hate bugs!

Bath Time

2009-08-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

She enjoys her bath time. So cute. She rubs her eyes, that is what she she does when she is sleepy.

Growing up

2009-08-21T17:11:00.001-07:00

What can I say other then that. My babies are all growing up. Genevieve is coming up on seven months. It makes me smile and cry at the same time.

Huge Roller Slide near Okutama

2009-08-05T21:06:00.000-07:00

So we drove a little ways from Okutama, still in the mountains to this great roller slide. IT was great. One sad thing, the wouldn't let Niyah on, said 5 was to young. I wanted to argue and get mad because all these little Japanese kids who were smaller then Niyah could go. They might have been older then Niyah but much smaller. I know she could have handled it. GRRRRRR. Next time I guess.

Some pics of the slide before we went on it. Look at the view, so nice.

Here is the video of it. Its not the best. You have to use your hands to control your speed, so my camera skills were shaky. Especially at the end where I was running into poor Harley. LOL don't call child services on me I swear she had fun. I know I did.

The obstacle course

2009-08-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

At the campsite there was a really fun obstacle course that Jeb did. He said it was great. Something that would never be allowed in America! He didn't even have to sign a release form. You know you would have back in the states. LOVE IT. Here are a few pics, there are a ton more but this is a little look.

Thats me and the girls, way down there waving goodbye

Looks like fun huh? He said the one that went off this edge/cliff was great but didn't get a pic, he was too busy jumping off and holding onto the rope.

Playing around campsite

2009-08-04T17:53:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of us playing around where we camped. The cool water felt so good in this hot humid weather.

Miss Serious

Exploring

Making friends

Don't splash..... hahaha

just hanging out

some videos of the fun

Camping in Okutama

2009-08-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

We went camping! I was so excited. I love camping, I love being outdoors. It brings me a lot of peace. So I was very excited to go. I researched it out, looked for the best camp site and just knew I had found it. When we arrived it was beautiful. I was very happy. Online I knew it said 1900 yen so about 19 dollars a night. Not bad for a camp site. So we go to pay and oh no its not 1900 yen a night its 1900 yen a person..... WHAT?????? oh and another 1000 yen (ten dollars) to park our van. OK I know I still think in terms of America prices, but per person, for a camp site? I mean really we have our own tent its just a square of dirt with a fire pit, does it really matter how many people are on the dirt? I mean sure they have toilets and showers (but you have to pay for the showers too). Well me and Jeb looked at each other, not wanting to give over basically 80 dollars for a camp site but looked at our two bright eyed kids who were so happy to be there, and knowing that you can't just go find another camp site so.... goodbye 8000 yen and hello campsite *sigh*

But really the campsite was great, it was beautiful the facilities were nice (if it really had been 1900 yen I would say lets go back all the time.) Still we had lots of fun and the kids loved loved loved it. Genevieve loved just rolling around in the tent.

oops I fell in the river sorry mom! Sure that face looks really sorry to me. :)

I won't lose my shoes mom..... I don't know where my shoe went......

It started raining when it was time to cook dinner. Jeb was a great sport and stayed out in the rain cooking while me and the girls hung out in the tent telling stories and singing songs. It was so fun.

After a rainy night we woke up to beautiful sights!

My camping hero. He always cooks and makes the best camp food.

The camp site, we were the only ones there..... maybe that's worth 1900 yen? See the tree house in the background. It goes out over the river bank so it is actually pretty high up.

Here is Harley swinging under it. They had lots of fun.

Here is Niyah after she fell out of the tree house, on a rock and a tree. I really thought she might have fractured her wrist it was hurting her pretty bad. But nope she's tough.

Such a pretty place

To be continued.....

Japanese Home Stay

2009-08-01T03:54:00.001-07:00

We had a couple of girls from the BEC English school come and do a one night home stay with us. Their names are Hitomi and Yuka. They are such sweet girls. The times we have done things with the English school before they have always played with Harley and Niyah, so we were excited to have them come stay.

Their mothers came for a couple of hours to see our home and the stores on base. They were so polite and fun to watch. They were amazed with our "huge" fridge and our Big oven. "For Turkeys??" they said. They loved doing some American shopping on base, its much less expensive. Here they all are. (ignore me in this pic ugh)

We took them bowling that night. They seemed to have fun. At least once we put the bumpers up.

Despite staying up to watch a movie that I doubt they understood at all they were up early and playing with the girls. Tag seemed to be the favorite.

Then I had them make cookies. They are so timid and hesitant that it was hard to get them to really get into it and do it. But after much coaxing they seemed to enjoy it. They were unsure what they were making when I had them make Aunt Janette's Wagon Wheels. But when they tentatively tried the powder sugar they were very excited.

Then after they finally tried a baked wagon wheel they excitedly talked in Japanese and kept sneaking back for more. HAHAHA no one can resist wagon wheels.
We then took them swimming. Then out for some Hamburgers. They were surprised at the milkshakes and loved them. Then it was time to go home. We had enjoyed our Japanese guests and hope they had fun too.

2009-07-30T05:45:00.000-07:00

So... here are the opening thoughts.... I challenge you to copy and paste them into your own blog post and fill them in yourselves.

Outside my window....

I am thinking....

I am thankful for…

As the homemaker..

I am wearing...

I am creating...

I am going...

I am reading…

I am hearing…

One of my favorite things...

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...

Here is picture thought I am sharing... (find a photo in your digital photo collection or a random one from the website)

I am thinking.... I should be going to bed, but instead I am doing this why?

I am thankful for..... having all my needs met and a full pantry. That is wonderful

As the homemaker.... I struggle with clutter in certain spots. You know that one spot (or several)that just seems to catch everything, every stray piece of paper, broken crayons just random stuff... it drives me crazy and yet Ican't seem to get a handle on my clutter spots.

I am wearing.... jeans (I bought two days ago) and a shirt. But I am thrilled with my jeans for two reason, one I actually found a style and size that fit me not an easy task here, trust me. And it is in a good size. A nice size and since I have struggled getting my size down since I had this baby it makes me smile to have my size back. Now if I could just tone it all up. I am just so soft and squishy.

I am creating... do I create???? I don't know, I suppose every day I try to create in my children a great education

I am going... To bed soon I hope, but we are thinking about trying to make a trip to Izu beach next month. Oh yeah

I am reading… I just finished the Count of Monte Cristo and it is now one of my all time favorites. I was just thinking about what to read next when I got on here. I have read all the books in my house to many times I need a new one

I am hearing…Low talking from my husband downstairs he is having a church meeting while I am upstairs, thus I am not in bed yet. :)

One of my favorite things.. The sound of wind in the trees, so soothing

.A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...Tommorow is Friday, yes! We are having a couple of Japanese kids come stay with us Friday night, we met them at the English school and they want to "experience" American homes. The girls are really excited

Here is picture thought I am sharing.. . Ok so this is not my pic. BUT I love it I came across this guys picture blog while looking for a camping place here and he has beautiful pics of Okutama which is where we ended up going. I love this bridge it is so pretty when you are there, the brillant red against the forest green. SO nice. oOu can check out his blogs and pics they are worth looking at.

http://cktravelblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/fog/

ALL caught up!

2009-07-23T04:48:00.000-07:00

Can you believe I am finally caught up. So go ahead and scroll down there are lots of posts I put on during the course of today. I love to get comments by the way and thanks to all those who leave them. It always makes my day.

Genevieve's starting to eat solids. Sniff Sniff. Why is it with your first one you are so excited for them to reach every mile stone, but now I just wish they would slow down and not come so fast?

Pioneer Day celebration

2009-07-23T04:38:00.000-07:00

Our Branch had a pioneer day breakfast. The kids had a lot of fun dressing up and playing pioneer games. Our branch is great.

To Fran

2009-07-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

We also were lucky to have Jebs mom visit us. We had hoped she would be able to come with Jebs brother Sean but that didn't work out so well. But still Fran was an excellent guest. She was gracious and understanding an easy visitor. I am thankful my kids are blessed with Grandparents who love them! This is the day she headed back home.

Fourth of July

2009-07-23T04:11:00.000-07:00

I don't have a lot of photos from the Fourth but we did enjoy ourselves. We did the same as last year and Went to the party here on base. It was as good as last year with tons of free food and games for the kids, but not as HOT! and the fireworks didn't get rained on YEAH

Little Edo - Kawagoe

2009-07-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

We took Jebs mom to a little place not to far from here nicknamed Little Edo or Kawagoe. If you remember when we went to "Edo Wonderland" I told you Edo was a period of time in Japanese history. Well Kawagoe has all buildings from that time period, not re-makes, real buildings that have never been destroyed. Whereas most of Tokyo has at one time been burnt down this little village remained. So its fun to go see. We actually took two trips. So here are the pics!

Genevieve, looking so cool!
Fran found her Buddha

500 Buddha's each with a different emotion. The one that's warm is the most like you...

Candy Lane! So many good sweets. I am picking some up for those people I still packages to. See I haven't forgot. :) Wasabi candy anyone?????

I love walking down these little side roads.

We went to the museum that talked about the towns annual festival. It displayed the floats and the carvings on it were so intricate. Here is one example.

Scary guy in mask

The floats in glass cases

The girls loved this water pump.

The old buildings in the street.

The Bell Tower

Ana

2009-07-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to dedicate on post to Ana. She is a dear friend of ours from Colombia and we were glad she came to stay. The girls adore her and she is always so sweet to them. This was us on the day she left. The girls were so sad. We are so glad to have Ana as a friend.

BYE Ana!

Slip and Slide fun

2009-07-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

The have been really into their slip 'n slide since it has been getting HOT! Its good that they enjoy it because when its 90 degrees and 100% humidity it can be way to warm to fast. The slip and slide keep them nice and cool!

Here they are with good friends Amelia, and Chloe.

Yomiuriland

2009-07-22T03:35:00.000-07:00

We went to Yomiriland Amusement Park in June also. I thought instead of uploading several different videos I would put them all together. I think it made it funner to watch and I enjoyed doing it. So let me know what you think.

2009-07-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

Back in June we went to Kamakura to see the great Buddha and also went to the near by beach. We had wanted to go on the island but the traffic line for parking was just to long! So we just went to the regular beach instead and the kids loved it! The water was really surprisingly warm.

I love this picture with Harley leaping in the background!

Baby's first time in the ocean. She took it very seriously. Of course. :)

And we saw the great Buddha. It was still there and still a great big Buddha

Where did June Go?????

2009-07-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Holy cow June is gone. I am so behind. We have had a busy month. We had both our friend Ana and Jebs mom come to stay. Here are some highlights of June.

Baby is still growing. She laughs and smiles and rolls over (only if she feels like it) and loves to squeal.

Granny loved meeting Genevieve. And we are so glad to have her here.

Of course Harley turned 7 and a week later had a great party!

We took Fran and Ana out to eat at Tajima Hall. Ana now loves India food! Love that nan.....

We took Ana on a day trip to Tokyo, its always fun to ride the train....

Jeb pulling his happy face.

LOOK I've been to Tokyo Tower!

YoYoGi Park. It was hot, and we didn't want the baby to get sunburned.

Meji Shrine by YoYogi

Entering the shrine area

Harley received a special call from Pocahontas. I couldn't tell what she really thought of it.

We went bowling. Go ahead ask Jeb who won. HAHAHA

We took everyone swimming.

Well thats half of the month. I am out of time. I will try to finish updating tomorrow! So I can move on to July.....