Snow Day!!!!!!!!!

My mom had told me earlier in the week that we may have snow today. Jane's mom had also told her but I think we both brushed the thought aside. Well this morning we woke up to snow!!! Last year Sasebo received about the same amount of snow and it was a very rare occassion - well it happened again this year!! Schools were closed and the expressway was shut down! I was so anxious for Ben to wake up and see it! When he did finally wake up, I took him outside to show him and his response was: "Wow, I think Santa Claus should come here!"

That is our van to the right. The snow was nice and powdery. Perfect for making snow balls that don't hurt!

Even Steven liked the snow!

The babies are ready!

I don't think Ben really knew what to do at first. Remember that we lived in Hawaii for three years so he has no clue what snow really is. It took him some time to become comfortable playing in it but once he figured it out he had a blast!

Our neighbor Michaela with the babies and a snow ball!

Right when we moved here I bought a sled at the recycle shop for about a buck. I thought it may come in handy one day and sure enough it did!!

Michaela and Nate

Ben and Grace

Ben and Grace making snow angels

We went out in the snow a total of three times. On the third time Grant had come home and I decided to see if Jane's 2T snow suit would fit Ben. It fit well enough to go outside in but I don't think Ben was too thrilled. I guess I should have gathered from this pic that the next outdoor adventure wasn't going to be as fun.

We walked around the base a little and found several funny snowmen. This one was in front of the medical clinic. He has umbrellas for arms and surgery gloves on for hands.

This one was in front of the fire station. He even has his fire hat on!

The Japanese love to put chains on their cars! I don't know that I would have considered this a chain day but they did. Shortly after this pic was taken Ben had had enough. We came home and soon found out he had a 102.9 fever! Poor little buddy. Too much playing in the snow for him!

Dinnertime

We've started feeding the babies around dinnertime now and then leaving them in their seats while we eat. They get a kick out of eating with us - I think!

Yahoo! We're at the big table in our big seats!

Costco trip!

Last Saturday we took a trip to Fukuoka to Costco! We hadn't heard much about it so we didn't know if it would be mostly Japanese products or not. The trip took about 1 hour and 45 min. and we had to pay about $35 in tolls each way! It was worth it though! The parking lot was as chaotic as every other Costco parking lot I have been in and the store was just as busy! The set up was exactly like several of the US stores I have been to. It felt great to see so many products we see in US stores! Grant and I initially went crazy and put tons of stuff in our basket. At the end though we went back through it all and weeded out several "impulse" purchases. Next time I go I am going to bring a cooler and stock up on some of the food I have been missing!

Japanese parking lots are a lot tighter than US parking lots. You can see the small area to drive in and you can see how everyone backs in.

Piper riding in the seat of the cart for the first time. This shot was taken before we weeded out our cart! We still managed to spend about $250 though!!!

Very similiar snack area. The Japanese are very trusting though, they put their full carts lined up on the side - you would never see that in the States.

We saw this car in the parking lot. So Japanese!

Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy New Year!!!

On New Year's Eve day we got a little bit of snow. It stuck for a short period of time. Our neighbors were out playing in it, unfortunately though Ben slept through the whole thing. I think he needed a nap more than he needed to play. Hopefully we'll have a little bit more for him to play in this winter.

Happy 5th Anniversary Grant! Since we were married January 1st it is always hard to find somewhere open to celebrate. We had a babysitter and managed to find an Indian restaurant in the Ginza that was open. I can't believe we have achieved a move to Hawaii, a move to Japan, several major trips and three kids in five years!!! Here's to many more adventures together!!!

We have talked quite a bit about a banana and donut sign that you see on your way out of town. The signed has been moved a little closer to the road and I was finally able to get a halfway decent picture of it on our way to dinner. As you have probably seen in previous posts - Asia has "interesting" hotels advertised all over the place. Well if you look very closely at the donut and banana in the upper right corner you can once again see this is an "interesting" hotel advertisement.

Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu! Happy New Year! New Years is one of the most important Japanese Holidays. It is a holiday to get together with family and eat and look forward to leaving their worries and troubles of the last year behind them. They send postcards out to family and friends wishing them a happy new year and children get money. Another tradition is the bamboo arrangement in the above picture called a kadomatsu. You see them all over town and they are traditionally put out on New Year's Day.

This is another traditional decoration called Shimekezari. It is twisted straw rope with fern and an orange hanging from it.

Kadomatsu in front of Huis Ten Bosch.

We have once again started feeding the babies solids. Piper is so funny during feeding - she is soooo messy!!

Nate is just like his big brother - he opens wide and chows down!

Hong Kong Blog Has been posted!

You may want to start from the first day and work your way up.

Hope everyone reading this has a Happy New Year!!!

Hong Kong - Day 6

On our final full day in Hong Kong we hit a few last tourist spots.

On our way out the day before we had noticed tons of women sitting on the sidewalk hanging out. They were under stairs, on the sidewalk, on the stairs, etc. We never figured out exactly what they were doing. Our guess was that they all had Christmas off and were hanging out with all of their friends. We also guessed they were possibly from Malaysia due to their dress. This picture doesn't do justice to the tons of women sitting around but it reminded me of how strange it was.

Sugar Cane - Sugar cane is a popular treat in Hong Kong. It is sometimes sucked off of the cane or the juice is extracted and sold as a beverage.

We decided to head out to a place called Ngong Ping which is a gondola type cable car that takes you up a mountian to one of the largest outdoor Buddhas. For those of you who know me well know I am extremely afraid of heights. I don't know how I did it but I did...

There was a super long line for the cable car.

Grandee with Piper...

Grandee with Nate...

and finally Ben got his turn.

The cable cars.

Scarey!

Here we go!

The cable car ride was about 25 minutes long and took us over the water and up the mountain.

Of course Ben loved it. The cars could hold up to seventeen people!

Tian Tan Buddha Statue. This is the largest, seated outdoor Buddha in the world. This was taken from the visitor information for Ngong Ping: Constructed from 202 bronze pieces the Tian Tan Buddha Statue weighs over 250 tons and soars 34 meters into the air. The impressive landmark opened in 1993 and is considered a major center for Buddhism in Hong Kong; it is also a major tourist attraction.

Sitting atop 268 steps, the Tian Tan Buddha Statue is positioned on a lotus throne, surrounded by eight smaller bronze statues representative of the gods, or immortals. The statue is so named as its base is a model of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

The Buddha Statue's right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction; his left hand rests on his knee, signifying human happiness. While most Buddha statues face south, Tian Tan casts his serene gaze towards the north, making this statue unique amonst its peers.

At the top of the mountain there was a little village with shops and resturants. Ben asked for cotton candy and of course Grandpa obliged. Talk about a lot of cotton candy!

Mmmmm...

This is one of the mascots of the Ngong Park.

Ben was obessed with getting his picture taken in front of all of the different cars on display.

The entrance to the village area.

The Buddha. We did not walk the stairs to see it up close.

A sign showing the distance to several major cities around the world.

Ben in front of another car.

They had a Christmas display set up in the middle of the village along with live music.

On our way back down. The car with pink on the bottom was one of the crystal cars. It had a glass bottom. No way!!!

The way down. The fog started rolling in again. A girl from South Africa was in our car with us. She is teaching English in South Korea and found out her days off at the last minute. She decided to travel throughout China and Hong Kong on a whim and by herself. She is brave!!!

Our last dinner in Hong Kong. I ordered a curry dish and was impressed with all of the extras they brought out for me to use with the curry.

Uncle Scott attempting to feed Nate. He did pretty good considering he doesn't do it very often!

Ben lovin' on Aunt Manju.

Silly boy

Opening gifts from Aunt Manju and Uncle "Hot".

It was a pink Hello Kitty towel - perfect!

Where we ate dinner.