Hiroshima Trip & Sean's Birthday

Sean took the bullet train to the base at Iwakuni (in southern Japan) to treat some of their patients for a week (since they don't have an ENT Surgeon). The base is not very far from the town that many Americans remember from WWII history (Hiroshima). He decided to travel down a day early on the weekend to visit this sobering city. We wanted to join him but Liana was sick and not up for traveling. These are some of the historic sites he visited: The Monument to the Victims of the Atomic Bomb. Through the concrete arch the Atom Dome can be seen. Under a stone slab is a list of the victims, and on the slab is the inscription "Rest in peace, for this error shall not be repeated." Also, the Peace Memorial Museum (which is comprised of two buildings - the East Building tells of Hiroshima before and after the bombing, and the West Building concentrates on that fateful August day.) Numerous graphic exhibits convey the stark reality of the atomic bombing. I'll let him post his feelings about visiting these places as a member of the military who also has a love for the people of Japan after his serving his mission here 20 years ago. My favorite picture is the last one of our girls' reaction to waking up after a week of not having Dad around. I think you can understand their emotion just from this one shot. :) It was the best birthday present he could have asked for. Happy birthday to my mom too! She and Sean share the same special day.

1st Day at Kannonazki Beach!

Our Adventure in Paradise (Bali, Indonesia)

Bali was absolutely magical! The natural beauty, the outdoor adventure, the warm & loving people, their emphasis on relaxation (massage, yoga, meditation) we loved it all! Originally I was going there for a womens' yoga/surf retreat but after some of our good friends said they could watch our girls, it became an adventurous/romantic anniversary trip. I flew down on a Thursday to experience a bit of the retreat and had an awesome time doing yoga in the morning then getting pummeled by surf in the afternoon. But I did manage to get up on the board most of the time (my balance has improved since last time I tried it in Hawaii). The issue wasn't getting up but getting my feet right to stay up more than 5 seconds. I would paddle, push my body off the board similar to Up Dog (yoga pose), then jumped into Warrior 2 but in yoga, your front foot faces forward, with surfing it faces the same direction as your back foot. Our surfing coaches kept yelling out, "NO YOGA!" :) That night I met Sean at the airport, then back to "The Villas" at Seminyak Beach. Our villa had a thatched roof, garden, and private pool, so we had a nice romantic evening swim. I've never stayed at a place like that, so unique! See pictures below.

The next morning I took another yoga class at the "Prana Spa" (last pictures in the slideshow) & part of our hotel/villa while Sean read. In the afternoon we went back to Kuta Beach and we took surfing lessons together. That night we checked into "The Elysian Villas" (which were similar: private pool, garden, but this one had a more modern interior). Nearby was a restaurant / lounge called, "Ku De Ta". It's right on the beach, they shine lights on the waves, and everyone lays on big canopy beds outside. We looked up at the stars as we ate an incredible dessert and had to pinch ourselves to make sure we weren't dreaming. Our lives are so different now than they were a year ago during residency in Virginia. We definitely paid our dues to get to this point. In the morning went into the jungle for our white water rafting trip down the Ayung River. The pictures cannot describe how fantastic the natural beauty was all around us. It was also interesting meeting people from all over the world on our tour (China, Mexico, Singapore, Canada) no Americans. After we had fun under waterfalls, swimming & rafting down the river, they had a traditional Indonesia meal waiting for us. Yum! Then they took us on an elephant safari through the jungle. Another awesome memory!
We had the tour drop us off at Ubud village where I found another amazing center for yoga. This village is known for their yoga, local artists and handmade crafts. We ate lunch at KAFE (the same restaurant that the author of "Eat, Pray, Love" liked to frequent when she was stayed in Ubud on her spiritual journey. It's a non-profit, healthy, vegetarian place that attracts all the foreign yogis & hippies who are craving a California style salad. :) Then we headed over the local Hindu temple where the Balinese dance originated and is still performed there. It was the most interesting dance to watch, the sounds & movements were different than anything else I've ever experienced! I love it when that happens! We took a crazy long taxi ride back down to the beach to yet another hotel (The Laguna Resort & Spa in Nusa Dua). But it was fun switching things up & getting to see new parts of the island everyday. We ordered room service and splurged a bit on dessert (but hey, that's what you do on vacation, right?) The next day we called a dive shop and they took us out to a gorgeous reef (see video above). We wanted to parasail afterward but they said the wind was too strong. So we went back to our hotel and had a couples' massage outside in a cabana with flowing white drapes, it was so relaxing! Afterward we just hung out in our cabana reading, eating ice cream and trying to savor our last hours in Bali. Right next to our cabana was a large wedding cabana where we saw a gorgeous ceremony at sunset (also in the slideshow). After dinner (Indian) we headed to the airport, said goodbye to our beloved island of Bali & promised to come back!

Liana's 2nd Birthday - Bowling Party!

Our sweet little Liana is no longer a baby but a full grown toddler. She loves to go bowling with us so that's what we did for her birthday and it was a blast! They had fun music playing so the girls had a ball dancing in the lane after they threw the ball. We came back home for some expensive but yummy Japanese cake and Sean got into a little icing food fight with the girls. He's such a great dad, as you can tell from the pictures. Our girls keep us laughing & keep us young!

Kyoto, Hakone & Kamakura - Moms' Trip

We flew both of our moms out here to visit us at the same time because we thought they would enjoy each other's company and traveling together, which they did! We were so happy to have them join us on our "Asian Adventure"! The first couple of days we showed them around locally, then went to Kamakura, Hakone, Kyoto and Tokyo. What a fun 10 days we had! They went on 7 different modes of transportation: plane, bullet train, car, bus, rickshaw, gondola & boat! Here is a slideshow from the trip. Highlights: Kamakura - The rickshaw ride & Johnny their driver, the beautiful temples all within walking distance, & the beautiful trees (Japanese Maple and a few Cherry Blossoms). Hakone - The ferry ride across the lake, the gondola ride up the mountain, seeing Mt. Fuji, soaking in the hot onsen bath at the Prince Hotel & the sulfur springs. Kyoto - Gion Corner (watching Geisha dance, Ikebana displays, tea ceremony, the Zen rock garden & amazing Golden Palace! Tokyo - Walking in Hiroo's parks/neighborhood, getting a reflexology treatment with Mom, Korean BBQ & Tokyo Tower!

1st Day of Japanese Preschool - (Yochien)

When we moved to Japan we wanted our girls to learn the language (just as Sean did on his mission) and since Kelea is at the perfect age to absorb it we decided to enroll her in "Yochien" (preschool). We researched various ones & found that "Mikasa" got the best recommendations from parents who had their children there. We also wanted a school that didn't have a lot of American children so that she would learn Japanese instead of speaking English. Mikasa just started allowing Americans last year so there are very few (my friend Nina's daughter who is half Japanese was the first). There is one other American girl in her class whose mom also works at the Naval hospital (she & Kelea get along well). The school is a Catholic Yochien that has a lot of very specific rules & procedures especially when it comes to the uniform, obento (lunch) & labeling every school supply in Hiragana. It's funny to think that our Mormon American daughter is now attending Japanese Catholic school! :) Yes, it's costly to start, but their focus on art, music & language combined with their adorably sweet teachers makes us happy with our decision! I also feel secure knowing that it only takes 5 minutes to drive there in case of an emergency since it's right outside the gates. Above is a picture of Kelea with her teacher Otani san (so patient and kind). We feel very fortunate to be here with our children. It's exciting to see them learning the customs, values and traditions of this beautiful country. The video below shows cute clips from her 1st day.

Rock Climbing with Melissa

I finally found a great indoor rock climbing gym in Yokohama! My friend Melissa wanted to join me so we put our kids in child care and decided to take the train north for some grown-up playtime. We had lunch at a delicious Chinese restaurant in Yokohama station, then since it was raining we took a cab to "B-Pump2". It specializes in boulder climbing which was fun since both Melissa and I didn't want to bring any gear with us. We're use to climbing vertically so we had to keep reminding ourselves that bouldering is more about crossing over and going horizontally rather than up & down. It was a great workout and we had fun laughing at ourselves when we couldn't figure out the set course. I was chastised a bit in Japanese when I accidently used someone else's chalk bag for my hands (thinking it was the gym's) but all in all it was an enjoyable mid-day adventure!

Kelea's Big Birthday Week!

Kelea is our middle child, and as such she can sometimes get overlooked. Since I was also a middle child (#5 out of 9 kids) I remember the main thing I enjoyed about my birthday was having the undivided attention of my mom & dad. So instead of planning a big party (which I normally love to do) and getting distracted with invitations & shopping for party favors we decided to give our little 3 year old a week filled with 3 special outings: 1. The Yokohama Zoo with just Sean & I. 2. Picnic with Mom under the Cherry Blossom Trees. 3. Her Favorite Play Place with her Sisters! Here are the videos & pictures from that wonderful week. Even though I was sick for part of it and Sean missed her actual birthday (because he was in Chicago taking his board exams) he was still able to go to the zoo with us before he left and helped her feel special. :)

Easter Fun in a Japanese Fountain

This park is near our church and I thought the fountain would be a nice backdrop for Easter Sunday photos of the girls. We did get some cute shots, but after they saw some Japanese kids taking their shoes off & walking in the water, they soon followed suit. There were lots of Japanese onlookers who came over to say, "kawai" (cute) and watch the silly American kids having fun in the water with their fancy dresses. Below is a video from Liana's first Easter egg hunt (although she was more interested in the swings than the eggs) her sisters got into it.

Picnic with my English Students - Under the "Sakura"

I teach English for an hour every other Thursday to 3 wonderful Japanese women from Yokohama. They usually take the train down (a 25 minute commute) and meet me at a French bakery near our base but since the cherry blossoms are in full bloom we decided to follow the Japanese tradition of having a picnic under these beautiful pink trees "Sakura". They were very excited about their "field trip" on base and when asked what they wanted to see or do they said they wanted to eat "Taco Bell". So we got lunch there and walked across the street to Kasano Park to have our little picnic/lesson. It was such a perfect sunny day and the park is right next to the ocean. Andrea, from my Prenatal yoga class (which I teach right before my English class) wanted to join us so she made these adorable Cherry Blossom cupcakes for the picnic. She's also in the picture with my Japanese students. We have so much fun just talking and learning from each other's cultures. It's the reason I wanted to teach English in the first place. A lot of military spouses teach English in Japan because it pays well. But just 1 class is enough for me along with teaching my yoga classes I don't want to get too busy. I just want to enjoy our time here in Japan and learn as much as I can! Each day that goes by I find myself loving the Japanese people and their way of life more and more!

Baby Shower for Prenatal Yoga Mamas

Three of my Prenatal Yoga students are nearing their delivery dates so I had a little baby shower for them after class. We came back to my apartment and had lunch, opened presents and laughed about all the advice people give pregnant women. Our class has become a close-knit support group (especially for first time moms). It's sad for the class to lose Kara, Marina and Christina, but I'll still have the privilege of being their yoga instructor since they all want to come to "Baby & Me" yoga class a month after they deliver. Yea!!!! I love these women and can't wait to see them welcome their little ones into this world! :) We'll miss Andrea who is moving to Great Lakes, but we look forward to seeing her baby pictures!!!

My Birthday Weekend in Tokyo

We took the train up to Tokyo on Friday night with our friends Dayna & Garrett (so sweet). We went to Ginza (an upscale district of the city) and found our favorite steak house from the States "Ruth's Chris". Our meals were heavenly (their filet mignon melts in your mouth like chocolate)! I don't normally like red meat but theirs is amazing! The desserts were yummy too. Then we said goodbye to our friends and took a cab to the "New Sanno" (a four star hotel the military owns in a nice area of Tokyo). We spent the night there and enjoyed sleeping in for once and ordering room service. We spent the next day exploring Shibuya (see video below) a fun, bustling & crowded part of the city. Then Sean took me to an art exhibit (he knows I love modern art) and it was so wonderful to walk into a museum without a stroller and just take my time absorbing all the beauty and talent. It started to snow as we left so we decided to head home. It was great to come home to 3 big hugs from our little ones.

Kelea (Our Little Yogi)

Here are some pictures I took while teaching our 2 year old yoga. It comes naturally (from doing Prenatal yoga inside of Mom before she was born). :) She's our extraordinary little miracle and such a blessing to have in our lives.

I Love Teaching These Classes!!

I filmed a few clips from 2 of the classes I teach (Mom & Baby Yoga, and Prenatal Yoga). It's so much fun to teach these awesome women and their adorable babies. It's become a support group too for the new moms who have lots of questions. I love being around babies and pregnant women because they radiate such a special energy, it's a beautiful thing to be a part of. :) If you want to watch this clip, then turn off the music from the post above by clicking on the sideways bell. Enjoy!

Toddler Ballet - Kelea, Arabella & Sophie

Snow in Yokosuka!

Our girls were SO excited to wake up on Sunday morning and see snow falling outside!! It doesn't happen very often here so they quickly ran out onto the balcony to see it first hand. Then we bundled them up and Dad took them outside to the snow covered playground and threw a few snowballs. Even though it only snowed a couple of inches, our church was cancelled and so was school the next day. It's been nice and relaxing just being at home & enjoying the wintery view.

Celebrating Marissa's 1/2 Birthday!

Ever since we got back from Idaho Marissa has been feeling a lack of attention (since mommy hasn't been able to focus much on anything since Dad's passing last month). So she's been asking how many days until her birthday (every day) and telling all her friends at school about the party and planning the celebration in detail. The only problem is... her birthday is in July (6 months away) which is an eternity to a 5 year old. So we decided to celebrate her 1/2 birthday with just a small family party at home. We made half of a birthday cake (using a mini loaf bread pan), then put 5 candles on it and chopped one in half at the end to represent the 1/2. :) But we told her she couldn't have any presents because Christmas was just a few days before that. So all she requested was a Sponge Bob pinata (difficult to find on New Year's Day when all the stores are closed). So I had to think fast and improvise. Luckily we had a rectangle shaped yellow pillow that I used as his body (with a zipper at the bottom to stuff the candy in. Then I got some yellow paper and asked her to draw his face and sponge holes for his body (which we taped to the pillow. It looked pretty cute (check out the video). She loved feeling special all day and we didn't have to spend a dime (just a little time and imagination can make all the difference in the world. Kelea got into it too wearing her favorite princess dress and tiara for the special occasion. (She's going through a serious dress-up phase right now).

Ringing in the New Year

Our friends who live off base (Renee and Geoff) invited us to celebrate New Year's Eve with them in a traditional Japanese way: By ringing a giant bell to welcome in the new year. We drove to their house at 11:30pm and ended up walking down to the shrine with their Japanese neighbors (Sean speaking fluently with them, and me just smiling and pretending like I got the joke when they would laugh about something.) :) If you can see the photo where Sean and I are swinging a large piece of wood back and then forward to hit the bell, it gives you a better idea of what we experienced. We were the only Americans there, which made the night even more special and authentic. After we hit the bell, we were invited (by Renee's neighbors) into the Buddist temple that was next to the shrine. We were excited to see inside so we took off our shoes and followed them inside. They opened the sliding shoji screen doors and we sat on a cushion next to them, smelling the scent of incense and listening to a buddist monk chanting and hitting a drum. Our Japanese friends handed us a wooden drumstick that we hit on top of a wooden sculpture that looked like a skull. Everyone in the room was beating their wooden skulls at the same time in a rhythm that flowed with the chants of the monk. It was a surreal feeling as I was sitting there looking at the back of this Buddist monk, listening to sounds in the room and feeling like I had stepped into another world completely. What an amazing experience it was to discover a few of their traditions and beliefs first hand. That is why I love being here and want to stay another year. It's a once in a lifetime adventure!

Kelea & Liana - "Whipping it!"

Marissa Reading at 1st Grade Level!

In October we got serious about teaching Marissa to read and bought her the "Hooked on Phonics Kindergarten Reading Program". She read her first book at the beginning of November (see archives) and since then has read all 14 books in the program and has moved up to the First Grade level reading program! We're so happy that she loves to read and found a program that she enjoys. Every night we read her 1 "big book" then she reads us 1 of her "little books". In this video she's reading "Where is Zot?" The last book in the kindergarten level program. It's so cute to see her sounding out the words & being such a big girl!