First Ride

Andrew had a hard time deciding what he wanted from Santa this year. He kept going back and forth between a skateboard and a Nintendo DSI. It was so bad that I kept telling him that poor Santa was going to be so confused. Well, Santa was generous this year and brought him both. It was a good year for Andrew. Let's just hope his good behavior carries over into next year!

It wasn't until a couple of days after Christmas that he got to go outside and have his first skateboard lesson with Mike. They weren't out there for more than 30 minutes when they both came inside and told me to come outside and watch. We have a gradual downhill on the street in front of our house which was perfect for learning. Andrew was able to get on the skateboard and propel forward to start going without any assistance. He went down the hill like a 9 year old pro and was able to get off without falling. With some interruptions from a few cars Mike quickly taught him how to veer to the sidewalk and push his way off his skateboard and onto the sidewalk.

Andrew is growing up too fast. He is interested in older kid things now which is fun to see. I am happy to see him have fun on his skateboard, however, we won't be exhibiting any of the skateboard appearances here (absolutely no long hair). The boys already know that they will be clean cut. It's never too early to prepare them for their missions!

Dining and Degas

We love living near Yokohama.  It's nice to live near but not in two of the biggest cities in Japan.  There are so many things to do in the city.  The last time we were in Yokohama we noticed that there was an Edgar Degas Exhibit being shown in the Yokohama Museum of Art through the end of December.  Sometimes I fall short of being the thoughtful and creative one when it comes to planning dates.  Mike is always so thoughtful in how he goes about planning or buying things for me. It makes me realize that he is defintiely listening to me more than I give him credit for.  He really is quite amazing.  That being said, I have tried to be a little more thoughtful in how I go about things while living here in Japan.  He mentioned that he loved Degas and that was all I needed to hear.  I knew that would be the perfect date.  I procrastinated getting a sitter FOREVER and finally came up with the idea to do it after Christmas.  The idea was to eat lunch at the Sky Restaurant at the top of one of tall towers in Queens Square, go see the exhibit, and then go shopping.  Well, we quickly changed plans when we both realized we couldn't wait to eat lunch so we snacked along the way and went to see the exhibit first.  It was an amazing exhibit.  I just kept thinking how much the girls would have loved to see all the paintings of the ballerinas.  After getting our fill of paintings (let's face it, there is only so much I can handle walking around an art exhibit) we we went shopping next door at Queens Square (more up my alley).  We had a few things to return first and then we looked around.  Everything in Japan is way more expensive than shopping online or in the US, however, there is a different selection here and it is always fun to see the clothes in person. Returning anything here in Japan has proved to be such a hassle.  They credit you the entire amount of your purchase followed by re-charing you for everything minus the item returned.  It is so backwards.  I found a cute sweater at Banana Republic and we found Emma a brown sweater at LL Bean.  We couldn't find anything for Mike which is why we were there in the first place.  Bummer.

Instead of eating at the Sky restaurant like we had initally planned, Mike came up with the great idea (surprise, surprise) to go to Chinatown and eat at a Brazilian restaurant called Travesso Grill.  Brilliant!  We hopped on the subway and headed a couple of stops to Chinatown.  It was fun walking up and down Chinatown looking in all the shops and at all the food.  It was interesting to note that every restaurant sold sharkfin soup and it was pretty expensive.  I think the smallest portion was $50-60 and the biggest portion was almost $200. Yikes!  We finally made it to Travesso Grill but were dissapointed to see that it was not open yet.  We definitely had some time to kill but it was so cold outside so we headed to Starbucks, bought some hot chocolate, and sit in the warmth just talking.  It was perfect.  I could have stayed there all night.  Starbucks has such a cozy feel.  We finally did make it to the restaruant and completely gorged ourselves with lost of yummy meat.  Mike was in heaven reliving some of the things he ate on his mission.  He even ate things he didn't like just to remember what it was like.  There was so much meat to eat and I ended up getting full rather quickly.  It must have been that hot chocolate I drank.  I always look forward to the times where we can sit and talk about anything without little ears hearing what we are saying.  Being out with Mike made me realize how important it is to have consistent dates.  They don't have to be fancy or expensive.  They just have to be the two of us.  I can't wait for our next fun date together!

Christmas

Christmas Eve:

In an effort to make this less stressful than last year and to not repeat a meltdown on my part from the previous year I tried really hard to keep it simple. We had our usual Christmas Eve dinner with Ham, Sour Cream Potatoes, Homemade rolls, Deviled Eggs, Asparagus, Fruit Salad and lots of Sparkling Cider! After dinner we got in our Christmas pajamas (from last year) and the kids let me take a few photos in front of the tree. Our usual opening of one gift didn't happen this year as I had a hard time finding the right pajamas for the kids this year. Luckily there were no disappointments--thank goodness! We decorated our sugar cookies and made up a plate for Santa. Lastly, we shifted our focus to the true meaning of Christmas. The kids acted out the nativity again just as they did at the beginning of December. They were just as silly this time around with a hint of reverence at the end. This year we added something new. Before going to bed we all sang Christmas Hymns around the piano. It was the coolest thing we did all night. There was just this spirit of reverence as we sang about the Savior. It easily lulled everyone to a sleepy state and putting the kids to bed was the easiest it has ever been.

Christmas Day:

For some reason I never sleep very well on Christmas Eve. I think I am always worried the kids will wake up early and sneak downstairs to see what Santa brought. To miss those surprised faces would kill me. This year I was worried about the boys looking over the railing to the entryway below to see their gifts. I woke up earlier than anyone and proceeded to turn our extra heater on in the entryway by the tree so we wouldn't freeze while enjoying Santa's gifts. To my surprise the boys didn't even wake up until 6:30am. Upon entering their room I was surprised to see that they were both snuggled in Peter's bed just talking and being obedient about staying in their room until 7:00am which I had told them the night before. Shocker! All of my worries were for nothing. I think I must have been really excited because I told them they could get the girls and dad up so we could go and see what Santa brought. All the kids insisted on bringing their stuffed animals downstairs with them. It was rather cute. The boys were happy to see that they had indeed been good enough to get their Nintendo DSI's and the girls were so excited to see the princess dolls that Santa brought. Emma was most excited by ther new Singing Belle and her Sleeping Beauty doll. Abby loved her new princess castle and was so happy to finally have a Snow White doll. She is so in love with Snow White. The boys were also excited to see the new skateboard and four square ball that Santa brought. After everyone had their fill of round 1 of Christmas Day we all headed to the kitchen to enjoy our homemade cinnamon rolls (recipe is HERE) on our fun Christmas plates! We didn't sit for very long before the kids were begging to open up the rest of the presents. We sat and opened them ALL in probably under 30 minutes. It was fun to see their excitment. After we were finished I headed for the couch and closed my eyes in relief that the morning was finally complete. I was proud of myself for leaving all the wrapping on the floor for most of the day. It was especially fun to be completely lazy all day long all while lounging in our pajamas. What a day!

Nikko . Day 3

We woke up to quite a downpour outside so we just lounged around inside our room for most of the morning.  The kids enjoyed watching Japanese TV and Mike and I enjoyed relaxing.  When the rain finally stopped we gathered our things and checked out of our hotel.  We walked across the street and headed up to the Toshogu Shrine.  It was still a little misty but far better than it had been earlier in the morning.  We prepped the kids with how we were to behave inside the shrine areas and headed up to the entrance with our tickets in hand.  Unfortunately this Shrine cost money to enter.  We saw the See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil monkeys and lots of cool golden laden Shrines and Gates.  We were able to actually go inside 3 of the shrine temples after removing our shoes of course.  It was neat to see what was inside the temples.  We even witnessed a small prayer ceremony in a small room of one of the shrines.  We weren't supposed to take pictures or videos inside the temples but I saw Mike trying to sneak a video with his iPhone.  One of the shrines had us walk up an exorbitant amount of stairs to an upper shrine.  We had such a great view of the entire shrine area as we hiked up all those stairs.  Abby wanted to walk the entire way but eventually realized that she was indeed tired and put her arms up to be carried.  After getting our fill of shrines for the day we headed back to our car.  On the way back we got to see one of the temple workers ring the big gong with a huge log attached to a big rope.  It was quite loud but very fascinating.  Of course I think shrines are just fascinating.  There were some mixed feelings about spending so much time viewing the shrines earlier in the morning from some of our younger company but I think by the end everyone agreed that shrines really are neat.

Shinto shrines have braided rope hung above the altar and sell talismans to protect the home, for success in study, to wish for something and so on. Shinto shrines also hang up Ema - wooden blocks with a picture of kami (a god) on one side. A wish is written on the other side and the ema is hung on the racks provided. The ema are ritually collected and burned as an offering.

A little history about Shrines and Shintoism:

Shintoism is not based on the teachings of someone but rather promotes devotion to the Imperial family and veneration of the gods. It is believed that the Emperor is a direct descendant of the goddess, Amaterasu. Amaterasu is believed to be the daughter of two 'kami' (gods) who created the islands of Japan and many other stories about various gods are told. The overriding principle of kami though is to protect and sustain life.

Shinto shrines do not often have pictures of gods but rather something symbolic such as a mirror, sword or beads. Shrines are called miya (important house) or yashiro. The mirror symbol stems from a legend that Amaterasu gave a mirror to her grandson when she sent him to earth to become the first Emperor and told him to look into the mirror as he would look into the face of Amaterasu. The mirror has now become one of the most venerated items in Shinto.

Shrines are usually designed so that you approach over water by a bridge and the roof of the shrine is thatched with cypress. A red gate made by two large logs for edges and a wooden top to join them symbolises the sacred areas and leads to the shrine itself. Following a path will bring you to a place with a ladle and water to wash your hands and rinse your mouth before entering the shrine proper. The shrine is guarded by two stone statues that look half dog, half lion.

Rather than sin, Shinto is concerned with purity and cleanliness so Shinto priests often perform rites of cleansing on building sites and so on and the 'washing' with the water when one approaches a shrine is essential. Shinto is also concerned with peace and it is common to see doves in the grounds. One of the most important aspects of Shinto is fostering harmony and this practice spills over into daily life and into many of the traditional Japanese art forms and martial arts.

A little history about the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko:

The Toshogu Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Nikko and is dedicated to the kami (spirit) of Ieyasu (d. 1616), who founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, a military dynasty that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867.  To create a worthy shrine for the shogun, 15,000 craftsman worked for two years, using 2.5 million sheets of gold leaf. The enshrinement of Ieyasu's spirit is reenacted twice each year in the Procession of the Thousand Warriors.

Unlike most Shinto shrines which are characterized by minimalist architecture that blends into its surroundings, Toshogu is a riot of color, gold, and carvings, with birds and flowers, dancing maidens, and sages following one another around the buildings

One of the most famous elements of Toshogu is the Sacred Stable, where a white imperial horse is kept (a gift of New Zealand). The stable's fame derives from the original carving depicting the three wise monkeys, "Hear no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil." Other famous carvings at Toshogu include a sleeping cat and an odd rendering of an elephant by an artist who had apparently never seen one.

Although a Shinto shrine, Toshogo contains several Buddhist elements. Next to the entrance gate is a five-story pagoda in red and gold, and beyond it is the formal entryway flanked with the Two Deva Kings. A Buddhist library with over 7,000 scrolls of sacred texts is contained in a revolving case, which can be turned in order to effect the equivalent of praying all the texts.