Tama Zoo

While down at Tama Hills we hopped on over to TAMA ZOO (only a few minutes away). It was nice because it's winter so NO ONE was there. We pretty much had the whole zoo to ourselves.

Dad & Jayden on a very large grasshopper.

The Butterfly Exhibit They have a really awesome indoor butterfly exhibit at the zoo. It was so warm inside we wanted to stay there all day! There were many many butterflies flying all over the place.

The kids thought it was cool that they would fly right past them and sometimes land near or on them. They are watching the butterfly to the left that just took off flying because Jayden tried to pick it up.

Shane holding a butterfly.

The Lion Bus We took a bus tour through the Lion's exhibit. The lions sit around waiting for the bus to come by so they can eat the meat that has been tied to the bus.

Here it is looking right at me as I'm taking a picture about 12 inches in front of it's face.

Shane video taping the lion eating the meat in front of him. It's funny going to the zoo with a Vet. I heard many things about the exhibits, the animals, their homes, etc. He was having a blast. I'm so glad he loves what he does. We both decided these lions need to be cleaned and groomed...they were pretty scraggly looking.

There was a cute Japanese couple to our left who kept saying "scary, scary". (you'll have to excuse my lame laugh)

Elephant FeetCute boy comparing his foot to an elephant's foot.

The MonkeysMonkey's are so smart. To get their food these ones had to find a stick, poke it through a little hole in the wall, and knock their food into a hole in the middle of the floor. Then, they had to go to another hole on the outside and stick their hand or stick up a barrel to retrieve the food.

There were 2 layers of this and if they wanted the really yummy food, they'd have to knock it down from the top layer first then do it again on the bottom layer. Poor monkeys...at least it gives them something to do all day-I guess.

After a few short hours of hiking up and down a bunch of hills we were all pretty worn out. Tia couldn't even get all the way in her stroller. I tried to straighten her up a few times, but this is how she preferred it. It was a good day, but we were all worn out-I love days like that!

Obstacle Course Park

There's this really fun (& FREE) Obstacle Course Park about 15 minutes from our base. We went there over the New Year's break and had a great time! Here are a few pictures...

Climbing up the hill (on different obstacles) to get to the top.

Jayden and a "spider web".

Sweet Tia being a big girl and climbing things like her brother.

Jayden on the zip-line.

Tia & mom on a little slide.

Climbing up a hill of ropes.

An AWESOME Slide.

Jayden loved this slide so much that he cried when we had to leave.

Check it out...

The Japanese never cease to amaze us with their many varieties of slides. We have loved them all!

Thanksgiving trip to Hakone

Over Thanksgiving break we went to this cute town on a hill called Hakone. It is near Mt. Fuji (about 2-3 hours from us). We started out by taking a boat ride across Lake Ashi on this speedy Pirate boat.

Can you see us? The kids and I are in the bottom left corner of the picture :)

Shane & the kids on top of the pirate boat.

It was a fun ride.

Then we went to this Hot Springs Amusement Park & Spa Resort for an afternoon in some really HOT water. It was perfect for a chilly November day.

The baby pool was probably just as hot as a hot tub in the states.

Jayden throwing a ball at someone.

Everyone had to wear these jazzy matching cover ups. I won't even attempt to show you what Tia and I looked like in ours...they were yellow & we looked ridiculous, but it gave us a good laugh :)

Here are some pictures from their website:

These were a bunch of water massaging Jacuzzis. The kids were allowed in everyone of these "HOT" pools. There's no way they could do that in the states. I remember I wasn't allowed in a hot tub until I was 12.

There were so many other hot springs besides these. Shane & Tia's favorite was the Floating Bath which was filled with water from the dead sea. You just sit there and float...they loved it. It made Jayden's body itch so he and I went to another hot tub.

Outside were these slides and a kid's area.

The Scented Baths:

They had a bunch of scented baths like Coffee, Green Tea, Red Wine, etc. We didn't spend any time in those, but they were pretty fun to look at.

Our favorite hot spring was the "Japanese Bath". It was located outside amongst all of the trees which made it very peaceful and relaxing--even with kids. We could have stayed there all night.

But, our all-time FAVORITE for the day was...

The Dr. Fish bath.

If you hold really still these fish will eat the dead skin off of your feet. I squealed like a baby. I tried SOOOO hard to keep it in, but couldn't. It was the strangest feeling ever. We both flinched right before this picture was taken so they all swam away, but at one point I think we both had at least 100 fish on our feet. We must have dirty feet. Tia got 1 or 2 fish on her feet and Jayden didn't dare.

We will definitely be going back to Hakone.

Mt. Takao

Last week we took the kids to a nearby mountain called Mt. Takao. Although it was pretty chilly and there were thousands of Japanese people (it was over the New Years holiday so all of Japan was on vacation) we had a great time!

CHAIR LIFT

Instead of hiking (or should I say hiking & CARRYING our children) for 2 hours up the mountain we decided it would be best to take the chair lift up. We are REALLY glad we did. It was a beautiful ride and the kids absolutely loved it.

MONKEYS There were a few monkey exhibits on top of the mountain. Here's the trainer doing some tricks with them. The kids especially liked the cute baby monkeys.

OVERLOOKING TOKYO You can't tell from these pictures, but it was a beautiful, clear day and you could see Tokyo off in the distance.

Apple Peeler

Shane surprised our family (for Christmas) with the COOLEST gift ever. We both remember these from when we were kids and have ALWAYS wanted one.

Why did we wait for so long??? This is the GREATEST invention ever--every family needs one!!! Our kids MAKE us use it EVERYDAY...they absolutely LOVE it!

The Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer by Pampered Chef.

Is that NOT THE COOLEST! Not only does it peel and core the apple...it cuts it into spirals. We have had a blast using this thing!

Highlights from the Holidays!

Here are just a few of the things we loved about the Holidays this year...

COUNTDOWNS

I think we were just as excited as the kids to take a link off each day.

CHRISTMAS CARDS, PHONE CALLS, & PACKAGES FROM FAMILY & FRIENDS

It was SO WONDERFUL hearing from our family & friends this year...THANKS everyone for helping us feel closer to home!

GETTING OUR CARD SENT

The highlight was that we got our cards sent BEFORE Christmas.......you may not have received them BY Christmas, but they were SENT before Christmas...YAY! Thanks Sams Club for helping me get them done quickly this year (and thanks Elizabeth in California for picking them up and mailing them to us).

MEETING SANTA

I think this was the 1st year we didn't have a child screaming during our visit to Santa. Check out Tia in last years post.

MAKING GINGERBREAD HOUSES WITH FRIENDS

Shane used his family recipe and "homemade" the gingerbread houses & frosting. They turned out fabulous...way to go hun! We had a great evening with friends!

Us & the Leonard's.

The Cummings & the Rothas'.

Our gingerbread house.

TAKING TREATS TO THE GATE GUARDS

Shane grew up in the military and every year took Christmas goodies to the gate guards.Shane and the kids making the treat bags.

The "Goods".

Delivering the treats to the gate guards.

We learned how sweet and gracious the Japanese are (all of the gate guards are Japanese policemen). They were so cute! They kept bowing and saying thank you. It made our day just seeing how excited they were. Jayden said he felt really happy! This will definitely become a tradition!

CHRISTMAS PJ'S

Growing up, my favorite thing about Christmas Eve was opening our Christmas PJ's from my Grandma Dorothy (and eating warm cinnamon rolls from Uncle Gene-I really missed those this year). Thanks mom for carrying on the PJ tradition. We LOVE them!

CELEBRATING JESUS

We talked a lot about how Christmas is celebrating the birth of Christ. Jayden REALLY wanted to give Jesus something for his birthday. We asked him what he thought Jesus would want and he thought for a LONG time and finally said... "I think Jesus would really like a new toothbrush!"

So, Jesus got a picture of a new "Diego" toothbrush for his birthday! Thanks Jayden for being so thoughtful...and practical :)

This month was very magical! I'm so grateful to both of our parents who taught us about the meaning of Christmas & how to make it such a magical time. We did MANY things this season that we both remember doing growing up. Thank you MOM & DAD Atkin & Andrews...our Christmas was GREAT because of you!

SANTA

We had a fun time teaching our kids about Santa and helping them believe! Jayden was so excited to hang this "special" key outside our door to let Santa in and he couldn't wait to see if Santa & his reindeer ate what we left them.

GIVING GIFTS

The BEST part about Christmas day was watching our kids GIVE their gifts.

Jayden giving dad "X-men The Wolverine." To see why Jayden was so excited to give it to dad click here.

And...here's our FAVORITE moment from Christmas day...

Listen to Jayden...he is so excited about the gift he's giving Tia that he keeps telling her how much she is going to "LOVE IT" (even when he sits down he says it again). He found this at the store a few weeks ago and has kept it a secret the whole time.

I'm sure you are thinking this is a random gift, but ever since we went to see the Big Buddha in Kamakura Tia gets way EXCITED when she sees a Buddha, so Jayden knew that she'd love it! I think she's a little shocked at first (or maybe she doesn't know what it is because it's a small Buddha)...but she sure loves it now.

Tia thanking Jayden for her present.

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!