Shibuya - the world's busiest pedestrian crossing!!

Despite pleas from others not to go into downtown Tokyo with three children, we went anyway!! It was actually very easy - the train lines were easy to follow and there were many helpful people making sure we were going the right way!! It helped that the sidewalks were without massive holes and were fairly even so pushing the stroller was no problem! We ventured to downtown Tokyo to an area called Shibuya which is a lot like Times Square in New York City. The crosswalk in the picture below is supposed to be the world's busiest pedestrian crossing!! It was fun to walk around with the kids and window shop (most things we liked were so expensive, especially since we know we can get them in the US for a lot less in two months!!). We even made a quick stop at a Denny's for a little lunch. The menu was completely different than our Western menu, but the kids happily ate pancakes, I got french toast, and Danny ate some delicious Japanese entree!!

Let the street crossing begin!!! There were hundreds of people crossing with us both times - it was very orderly!!

Proper Parade Behavior!!!

One of the things that fascinated Danny and I the most during our trip to Japan was how respectful the Japanese appear to be of others' personal space!! Of course, we really value that after living in China where it is not uncommon to find someone pushing you out of line or a stranger's hand all over your child. The first day we were in Disney we witnessed what I would have to say was the most well behaved people I have ever seen watching a parade!! Danny and I just stood back in awe and had to take a picture.

You see, they sit cross legged on little mats, they fold down their strollers so everyone can see, and they don't push and shove to get to the front!!! It was truly amazing!!

Tokyo Disneyland

As I mentioned in my last post, we were extremely excited to go to Tokyo Disney this past week!! We just couldn't pass up the opportunity while we are in China - the flight was only 3 hours! We also knew it was cherry blossom season, so we were hoping to catch a glimpse of the trees in full bloom! It turned out to be one of my favorite holidays that we have taken. The people were extremely helpful and polite. There was no cutting in line or spitting. Toilets were lovely (this has become a criteria for vacation sites!) and most even had heated seats! The air was fresh and clean! The food was yummy (although a bit expensive!)! And there was so much to do!! We were warned before we left that very few people speak English, but we had no trouble at all, probably because we were at Disney and we are becoming pros at "invented" sign language! I even had one very sweet girl who was working at the monorail tell me that Cooper didn't need a ticket and she refunded my money right then and there even though I had bought the ticket the day before! This was all conveyed through "invented" sign language!!

We had originally planned to go to Disney for only two days, but when we arrived we couldn't wait, so we bought three day tickets. The first day there started out warm, but by nightfall we were freezing. We kept riding the rides though because it wasn't busy and we didn't have to wait in lines. We had read stories about wait times of over 2 hours for popular rides and we knew that we weren't patient enough to do that, so we took advantage of the few people braving the weather!! It also helped that the Japanese school year started right about the time we went, so most of the children were in school!

Right when you walk through the gates, you walk into a covered Main Street. It was great, especially when it got cold later at night!This was one of the many cherry blossom trees located throughout the park!Can you tell which one was excited to go on the roller coaster - hint, hint - it was definitely not Eens!!

The boys and I took the train while El and Danny were on Big Thunder Mountain! They both loved it!! Now if we can only convince their daddy to take a train to travel in China!!

Our all American little girl with her foot long hot dog!!Why can't they ever smile at the same time?? Someone always has their tongue out!!

Throughout the park there were eggs decorated as the different characters for the Easter celebration!

One of Coop's favorite rides - the "rocket ships" as he called it!!
Danny eating a pizza spring roll - it may sound strange, but it was good!!
The little monkeys were finally trapped!!
One of El's favorite rides, Roger Rabbit Spinning Cars.

The characters walked freely through the park and they even rode some of the rides! It was fun to watch them!!

Four Disney Parks down, one to go!! Paris here we come (although I'm not sure when!!!)!

The Hard Part of Being on the Other Side of the World

This past week the kids were on spring break (it must seem that our kids are never in school, but they really do go and learn a tremendous amount!!) so Danny and I decided to take them to Tokyo, Japan. We both really wanted to go to Japan and since Tokyo Disney is there, it was an easy decision.

Danny had told me early on that his international cell phone would not work in Japan and we didn't think to leave any of our trip plans with our parents - we seem to be on the go so much, that we just don't do that anymore. We knew we could access our e-mail, so we went on our merry way. On Friday morning we were checking our e-mails simultaneously and read an e-mail from Danny's dad that his mom had had emergency surgery. Thankfully for Skype we were able to contact Danny's brother and eventually his dad. They gave us all the information they could and reassured us that his mom was going to be fine. When you are on the other side of the world when something like this happens, you feel utterly helpless. All we wanted at that moment was to go home and be with his mom and see for ourselves that she was doing as well as could be expected, but we couldn't. And of course, we believed his family, but we have found from both sides of our family, that sometimes we are not given the full story because we are so far away and they don't want to worry us.

When Danny and I made the decision to come overseas we came knowing our priority was family. This priority has not changed, so today Danny got on a plane to go and see his mom and dad. I am so thankful to have a husband who knows what is important in life. He makes me so proud and I know his mom is secretly tickled that he is coming!!

As far as I know, his mom is doing well, but still in the hospital. We are hopeful that she will be released in the next day or two. I'm sure Danny will feel so much better when he can give her a big hug and help with anything they need! (Mom S. - the kids and I are sending big hugs to you too!!) Now we just have to pray for her recovery so she can be prepared for the craziness this summer!!

Singing in the Rain!!

In hopes that we can get some rainfall soon - I think it has been 3 weeks and counting with no precipitation, I thought I would share a part of the children's assembly at school!! Click on the link below...

Singing in the Rain

Birthdays are not so bad!!

I never make a big deal over my own birthday - when it is the kids' birthday or Danny's I like to spoil them rotten, but for my own, I prefer a nice quiet affair!! I lucked out this year and my big day fell over spring break, so almost everyone was gone except a couple of very dear friends! The kids and I went to the People's Park with them in the morning to enjoy a beautiful day and then had a nice leisurely lunch where the mommies played on our i-phones and the kids played in the playroom - we were all happy!!

Just had to post this picture - you never know what you will see walking through a local park!!

Later in the day, the kids and I met Danny at the new Italian restuarant, Prego, at the Westin! All I can say is that I think it was the best food we have eaten since we have been in China!! Who knew you could get excellent quality Italian food in Tianjin!! We only had one spill and one minor meltdown - I think good behavior was part of my gift from the kids! And, thanks to our very good friend, I even got a special cake!! It was the perfect end to a wonderful day!

The cards, gifts, and messages from all of my loved ones also made it even more special - thank you for thinking of me!!

Happy Easter!!

I can't believe we have spent yet another holiday away from our family in the US! You would think that it gets easier, but really the only easy thing is that we are sleeping when our family is together, so we can pretend it doesn't happen! I know it is sad, but never as I was growing up did I imagine being apart from my family for so many holidays.

I try to make the holidays as fun for the kids as I can, so when Eensie requested homemade Swedish pancakes with Nutella for our Easter morning breakfast, I attempted to honor his request and was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out! This may be a new Easter morning tradition, but when we get back to the US we'll have to go to the late church service because they take a bit of time to make!!

We did really make the best of our situation, and our Easter turned into a wonderful celebration with dear friends!! Danny and I attempted our first uncooked ham (it was a 10 pounder!) and it was a huge success! My "meat man" kept warning me not to cook it too long or it would dry out and then my mom kept telling me to make sure I cooked it enough so it didn't make people sick! It came out just right at the correct temperature and very juicy! Nobody has gotten sick and it is now Wednesday, so I will declare it a success! We asked everyone to bring a dish that they would typically eat in their home countries for Easter, so everyone had a taste of home! There was sooooo much food and it was all delicious! I think we all ate leftovers for the past two days!! The only disappointment was my lemon pudding cake! I did not set it flat in the fridge and it kind of fell apart!! Oh well, it still tasted good!! Notice the chopstick holding it together - so thankful for clever friends!!

We were fortunate with beautiful weather, so we were able to do our egg hunt outside! Most of the kids had never seen plastic eggs - can you imagine?!! They usually use real hard boiled eggs and hide those! We let the littlest children start first and then the oldest finished so they could find the really hard ones! I loved watching the kids get so excited when they found special eggs!!

We all really enjoyed ourselves and were once again reminded of how fortunate we are to have found such beautiful friendships on the other side of the world!

Our attempt at a family picture - it took a bit of bribery, but at least we are all looking!!