1 year already!

In July we celebrated being in Japan for 1 year !!! Can you believe it?! I know you are wondering if I'm fluent in Japanese yet...well, I have about 5 or 6 words under my belt...ha ha (what do you expect when I have my own translator living with me)! At this rate I'll know about 15-20 by the time we leave. That's better than 0 right?!

(just in case you can't tell...we are holding the number 1 up on our fingers because we were celebrating our first year in Japan - the things I make Shane do...he was totally embarrassed to take this picture :)

We had a busy week, but we were able to squeeze in a movie to help celebrate. We don't get to go to the movies as a WHOLE family very often because usually there is a certain 2 year old who cannot sit for more than a few minutes. So this was a big deal for us to go together. Luckily this 2 year old didn't race down the isles this time and we were all able to enjoy the movie. I think bringing Jayden's car seat for her helped a lot.

Happy 1 Year to us!

We are so glad we have 2 years left! That also means that YOU only have 2 more years to come visit us. Start saving and get over here...there is enough fun for all of us. Hope to see you soon!

Another birthday.

I remember being 12 and asking my church teacher how old she was. When she said 30 I thought in my head..."man, she is OLD". I cannot believe I'm already older than that OLD lady :)! I was definitely wrong though...the 30's are awesome!

I had another GREAT birthday. Friends and family all made it just perfect! Thanks for all the cards, phone calls, emails, facebook comments, gifts, and cookies from a neighbor. They were so fun!

Shane had to miss 2 of my last 3 birthdays due to military obligations so this year was extra special having him home.

I received beautiful flowers from my husband and friends.

I also had a fabulous lunch with Alisha & Austin. It was so nice to be able to sit and enjoy a good meal with friends (and no kids - he he). Thanks girls!

The BIG surprise

Shane had been working on a surprise for about 2 weeks. I tried to figure out what it was but had absolutely NO clue. At 4:45 p.m. on my birthday a neighbor and friend of mine showed up to my door to take me away. I was so confused why Shane was not coming until we got to our destination...the AERO FLIGHT CLUB.

Let me explain...the base offers a flight over Tokyo in a little, 4-seater plane. Ever since we arrived in Japan I've been wanting to do it, BUT I did NOT want to do it with Shane. I know...it's silly...but I don't want our kids to loose both their parents at once. I was a little freaked out but still really wanted to do it. This is totally not like me...I usually don't do things that I think I could die doing.

Anyways, Shane convinced my friend Michele to go with me and to keep it a secret. She showed up to steal me and off we went. We were a little bummed because it was raining so they had to reschedule our flight (so we went shopping instead), but the next day was clear skies and we were able to fly. We also realized the fee included up to 3 people, so we quickly called our other friend and she came with us. Thanks girls for risking your lives with me :)

Michele, me, & Autumn in front of our little plane.

The pilot & I.

Funny little side note: the first plane we boarded actually broke down (luckily this happened before we got in the air). When we got out of that plane we noticed the engine was smoking....this really made us nervous. We crossed our fingers and prayed our hearts out that the next plane would work. It did-whew!

Autumn & Michele (borrowed this picture from Michele's blog).

Metropolitan Tokyo

Circling Tokyo Tower.

Meiji Shrine (we visited this in my Shibuya post).

Showa Park (also borrowed this pic from Michele's blog).

Japanese housing in the city.

American housing (these are the town homes we live in). American's definitely like their space.

Coming home.

Thanks Shane for the PERFECT birthday gift.

Shane & I then enjoyed a very relaxing, quiet dinner together eating a variety of Japanese foods.

And this was my yummy Baskin Robbins Oreo ice cream cake.

Another wonderful birthday. Thanks everyone!

4th of July - Shimoda Beach

Our friend's, the Woolstenhulmes, invited us on their 4th of July vacation. I don't know if they were expecting us to say yes :), but we did--who would pass up a 5 day vacation to the beach??? We went to Shimoda which is just south of us on the Izu Peninsula. It's about a 5 hour drive (only 100 miles) with beautiful cliffs, mountains, & ocean--it was breath taking. We had an ABSOLUTE BLAST! We want to do it again each summer. Prepare yourself for LOTS of pictures.

The Beach House

The STEEP road leading to the beach house (at the very top). It was so scary going up and down the hill that we ended up parking at the bottom and walking up each time.

The steps at the top of the steep hill leading up to the beach house.

Lunch on the balcony.

The beautiful view from the balcony.

The beach was about a 10-minute walk from the house.

The Beach

Isn't this beach gorgeous??? All the beaches in the area were just as beautiful. We will be returning each year!!! My friend from Hawaii said that she loves going to Shimoda because it reminds her of home.

Harley & Jayden enjoying the beach.

Shane & Tia

"Take me back dad"

Shane & Jayden

"Take me back dad" :)

I guess they both didn't like dad's idea of "fun".

The beach (Ohama Beach) was the perfect beach to play on...and we had it all to ourselves.

Jayden & Niyah.

Dad & Tia Boogie Boarding...

Mom TRYING to get Jayden to Boogie Board...

It didn't work...I couldn't get him to let go.

After watching Niyah and Harley, he eventually loosened up and had a blast by himself.

Poor Gena face-planted onto the beach.

Shane's mom sent us this awesome rocket that takes a simple bike pump to shoot off. We couldn't believe how high the rockets would go. Thanks Suzy...what a hit!

The Cable Car

Shimo, the Woolstenhulmes, and the Andrews. Our friend Shimo from church came and joined us for 2 days. It was really fun having him there.

We took a cable car up a mountain which overlooked the city Shimoda and the ocean.

Shimo, Jeb, Shane, and Tia.

The kids.

The city of Shimoda. I love how the city wraps around the mountains.

Exploring

We found this cool mountain out in the ocean with a walkway leading to it.

The Beach House

Here are the kids playing one evening during dinner. There were 10 of us staying at the beach house.

Upstairs had 2 rooms (1 for the Woolsteinhulmes & 1 for us) with tatami mats and futons. Shimo had the downstairs with the couch (and critters...keep reading).

With only 1 shower and 10 people, the boys had to get creative with other showering options. The rain was coming down so hard they just stood outside and had a shower.

Sandhill Cove & Fireworks

We found sleds and slid down this hill. Way fun and way dirty.

Jayden climbing up.

Jayden sliding down.

Shimo getting drenched by the waves.

Jeb parting the sea.

Fireworks

I didn't get any good pictures of fireworks that night, but it was probably one of the most memorable & funny 4th of July's we've ever had. Shane, Jeb, & Shimo put on one of the best firework shows ever. Thanks Jeb & Salinda for all of the fireworks. It lasted at least 45 minutes. We were laughing & screaming the whole time. What a perfect night.

Black Ship boat ride

We went on a quick boat ride through the bay.

Fed the seagulls.

Look closely...the seagull just took the food from my hand.

Izu Peninsula Drive

On Sunday we took a beautiful drive down and around the bottom of the Izu Peninsula. We went to a city called Dogashima in hopes to take a cruise out to the ocean and through some caves. Unfortunately the waves were too strong, so all the cruises were canceled. We ended up taking a beautiful (and HOT) hike around some cliffs instead.

And, last but certainly NOT least...

...THE SPIDERS

The trip was near perfect until the very last night....luckily it was the last night and not the first.

We knew there was a possibility of spiders in the beach house (because the Woolstenhulmes went the year before and encountered some), but we thought we were clear when Jeb did a thorough search of the house the first night. Somehow those little (actually BIG) boogers snuck in the last night we were there.

I went to use the bathroom (last year they found the spiders in the bathroom) and as usual I opened the door, scanned the whole bathroom, and found that it was clear so I entered and proceeded to use the restroom. Moments after I sat on the toilet I turned to look at the door and there, about 6 inches from my face, was a VERY LARGE, FURRY spider (about the size of a man's palm of his hand). Of course I screamed, jumped up, & screamed again. The spider jumped across the door, then back where it was close to the door opening. All I could think about was "get that thing out of here". So, half dressed I threw the door open (sorry Salinda for the show) in hopes that it would jump out.... and it did. Below is a picture of what happened to the spider once it left the bathroom.

Thanks Jeb for being prepared with the flame thrower :)

This is the "fried" spider. It was WAY bigger than this when it was alive. It's butt is about the size of a quarter.

All of it's legs fell off when Jeb singed it.

Here's Shane trying to throw it away.

Shortly afterwards we found this 4 inch long centipede. This is a picture of it after Jeb torched it. We ended up finding 2 more large spiders, but they did not live long.

Jeb got a little excited and started torching everything....oops! We had to leave a little extra money to cover the screen :)

This was probably one of the greatest vacations we've had here. Even with the spiders...it was still perfect. Thanks Woolstenhulmes for letting us crash your vacation. We had a blast!