Marissa's Grown Up - Straight Hair, Chinatown & 1st Grade!

I bought a "Chi" straightening iron so that Marissa would no longer have to stand in front of the mirror and attempt to straighten her hair by dowsing her hair with water then pressing it down against her head with her hands. :) It was fun to watch but frustrating for her once her hair dried curly again. So last Sunday I took a few extra minutes with her to flat iron it. She absolutely loved it and everyone kept complimenting her (how grown up she looked). I don't want her to grow up too fast so I told her only on Sundays and special occasions. :) She also just started 1st grade this week and loves her new teacher who is a bit strict (according to Marissa) but very dedicated and caring. She's one of their best teachers, we're so lucky to be in her class this year. She really emphasizes advanced reading, which is good because Marissa's Kindergarten teacher said she was her best reader last year. We've been practicing sight words with Marissa and now she knows 200 on the Dolch list (they're suppose to know 220 by the END of 1st grade so we're happy with how fast she's progressing). She's got her Dad's knack for memorization, definitely not her mom's. Also, last week before school started I decided to have a little 1 on 1 time with her so I arranged childcare for our other 2 girls and we hopped a train to Chinatown in Yokohama. She felt like such a "big girl" with her own train ticket and using it like a pro. We had such fun exploring all the interesting shops together. She got a Chinese silk covered notebook, compact mirror and a ring. But the trip wasn't all about Marissa, I had to go up there to buy Chinese decorations for my friend Dayna's birthday party (which I'll post pictures of later). I found some great lanterns, placemats, napkins and fortune cookies. It's funny, but in the States it's actually easier to find fortune cookies than in Japan (since they're Chinese). Before going to Chinatown I'd go into the Japanese 100 yen stores (like our Dollar stores back in the US) and I'd ask them for Chinese decor but they thought I didn't know what country I was living in because they'd get all offended and say, "No, this Japan. NOT China!" But we had fun in together just the two of us and I was able to find everything I needed for the party!

Girls Will Be Girls

Just a rainy afternoon at home with my girly girls. They love to put on Marissa's dance recital costumes from when she was their age (I miss our RPM Dance School back home). Then we put on their favorite "Learn How to Dance with Barbie Princess" DVD and they have fun twirling around the room trying not to bump into one another. I'm really loving this time in their lives, they are so adorable together. I don't want them to grow up, this stage is too much fun! (Sorry about having to listen to my annoying overly animated and excited "Mommy voice" during their performance). :)

Children's Hall - Tokyo

A couple of friends from church (Lisa and Bonnie) came with me to check out the Children's Hall in Tokyo. We took our kiddos up on the train and after a few wrong turns out of Shibuya station decided to just take a cab. But the taxi driver didn't understand when I said, "Children's Hall" he said, "Baby? Babies?" So I called Sean (my on-call translator) he looked up the address of the Hall online at his work and then I handed the phone to the driver so Sean could tell him in Japanese where it was. Yes, he does come in handy. We caught the end of a puppet show that our girls weren't thrilled with because they couldn't understand it but then we went upstairs and they had fun in the woodshop, making crafts, playing on the indoor playground and the Haunted House. (I guess they're getting into Halloween early here). All in all it was fun but next time we'll go when it's a little cooler and the Japanese schools are back in session. Thanks Lisa & Bonnie for agreeing to come with me on another adventure in the city!

Jet Skiing in Japan

Summer is coming to a close and I've been missing our friends the Kents back in Virginia who would take us on their boat waterskiing and jet skiing. When I would go boating with them it reminded me of all those summers I spent with my family on our ski boat at Scott's Flat in northern California waterskiing and having fun tubing. But in Japan, especially around Yokosuka there aren't many places lake you can waterski, mainly just Tokyo Bay which is choppy, semi-polluted water. So I asked around and found a place on Zushi Beach that rents Jet Skis. I took my friend Melissa up with me (who had never Jet Skied before). We got to the rental shop and found out that in Japan you need a license to operate a Jet Ski which requires a practical and written exam. They only offer the English exam twice a year (July & Feb) so we had to hire a "trainer" to operate the Jet Ski and we rode on the back. It ended up being almost as much fun as doing it myself. Our trainer was super cool and rode way faster than I normally do. It was so fun just laughing & screaming with Melissa. Here's a clip where we were going slower so I could film it without my camera flying into the ocean. Fun in the sun!!! Sad to see summer end...