Saiki Pearl Sea Resort Aquarium

The day after Grant got home we headed to the local Aquarium for the first time. Jane had been there before and it was cold and rainy so she suggested we go try it out.

Ben and Grace checking out the fish. There we huge turtles in there. It reminded me of Hawaii!

Here are the turtles (or honu!)

Some sort of Japanese lobster. Looks yummy - hahaha!

Very neat tank. The man doing the feeding was having an encounter with a very aggressive sting ray!

Ben, Grace and Anna checking out the dolphin tank.

Cool! They swam right by us. It was like they knew we were all there waiting for them to entertain us!

Poor Piper, she was so tired!

The top of the dolphin tank. They were playing ball and doing jumps.

This is a picture of their "family" room. Please tell me how you are supposed to get a stroller up there to tend to your baby. Very interesting...

Jane and I decided to try our hands at opening an oyster to get the pearl. We both ended up with variations of silver pearls. They were quite pretty. I had mine made into a charm to put on my bag.

The playroom there. Japan has so many great play activities for kids Ben's age.

Ben holding a starfish.

Homecoming!

We were so anxious for Grant to come home. We got up early and got our sign ready and went to a local market to get him flowers (Ben's idea.) When we met Grant we picked up right where we had left off. It was so nice!

Yeah!!

Ben and daddy back together.

The sign we made.

Getting ready to go to the Ginza to see the Christmas lights. We didn't waste any time when Grant got home. We immediately got out and about in Sasebo.

The Christmas lights in the Ginza. Japan loves Halloween and Christmas. The lights in the Ginza are very nice. We are anxious to go back down and see them again!

Ben hanging out in the light up tunnel.

Night Before

This was taken the night before we Grant got home! The week before we went with Jane and the girls to the bowling alley and it was the night before her husband got home. We decided to keep the tradition up and went back the night before Grant got home. We were so excited that night!

Ben helping push the babies. He has really turned into a good helper. He tries so hard!

I think Piper was ready to go to bed!

Sick Day Cont.

I decided to keep Ben home another day from school. Because we had been cooped up the day before and Ben's energy level was pretty high we ventured down to the Ginza with Jane and Anna and Jo. They have a Starbucks down there that we always have to stop at for hot chocolate and we always have to hang out at the park for a little bit.

On our way to Starbucks we cut through a department store called Tamaya. They had this candy counter that moved like a merry go round. You stay in one place and the candy moves by you. The kids thought it was pretty cool (I thought it was pretty cool too!)

How about a pair of socks with a slot for your big toe?

Ben coughing - notice the hot chocolate coughed up on his jacket. Yuck!

Poor Ben....

Tomorrow night is the official lighting of the Christmas decorations in the Ginza. They were busy making preparations today for it.

This must be a pretty special tree!

I had to put this pic in. This is the Japanese hospital where I took Nate for his appointment that turned out to be a bust. The hospital is right downtown, right next to the Ginza.

Ben napping after a fun morning. I sure hope he gets better soon so we can have fun once daddy gets home!

Sick Day

On Monday I got a phone call from Ben's school saying he was coughing and had a slight fever so I needed to pick him up. By Monday night all three kids were coughing and miserable. On Tuesday we took it easy and I was amazed that Ben did so well considering he was cooped up inside all day.

I took out a new doodle board for him to play with. It is amazing how those things can keep a child entertained for quite a long time.

Piper hanging out with me while I messed around on the computer. I don't know what I would do without the computer! It is my connection to the outside world!! When our computer crashed a couple of months ago I thought I would go bonkers!! Amazing how reliant we now are on technology. As Napoleon Dynamite's brother Kip sings "Yes, I love Technology but not as much as you, you see. But I still love love technology. Always and forever."

Nate hanging out too while I was on the computer. These babies really like the exersaucer - Ben really didn't. Funny how each child is different. On a side note with Nate: We have an appointment to see a Pediatrician in Yokosuka in two weeks. The kids and I are going up there with Grant for some training he is doing. We'll see what the Pediatrician thinks and go from there. Hopefully it is just positional plagiocephaly, we'll see on the 1st.

Preparations

Only a few more days until Grant gets home!!!! I'm sure this experience has been hard for Ben to understand but I thought we could start to get ready for Grant coming home by making a sign. It actually also turned out to be a great experience for Ben to practice writing. I made him connect the dots to write the letters. Hopefully I remember the sign when the time comes!

Good job buddy! He is finally starting to hold the marker correctly. Notice Piper in the background - she was just thrilled with sign making.

Birthday party fun

Ben's friend Anna turned 3 last Friday and had her birthday party on Saturday! Ben was so excited! Jane did such a good job creating a frog themed party.

Ready to go to the party!

Here is the birthday girl hanging out with the babies. Her little sister, Jo, loves the babies so I put them in the pack in play for safe keeping.

Coloring with another friend, Kayleigh.

Jane found these awesome frog hats and mouths. They were the perfect "party hats!"

Piper sacked out - I guess she partied too hard and needed a nap.

Mmmm, the frog cake was tasty. Everyone had green mouths!

Opening presents - notice Ben's fairy costume. I'm surprised he didn't break out the high heels ( he has done that before!)

All of the kids playing.

We are getting soooo excited for Grant to come home. I am trying to come up with creative ways to pass the time. I thought making homemade playdough would be fun. We concocted cherry flavored and orange flavored (blue) playdough. Ben wanted to eat it more than he wanted to play with it. Oh well....