Peter's 10th Birthday

Peter was so excited for this birthday this year because it was finally his turn to have a friend birthday party.  It didn't take long for him to come up with the Lord of the Rings theme.  Excited, I got online to find some ideas and to see if I could find some free downloads.  Much to my dismay, I couldn't find any worthy banners, invitations or name cards.  So, I got my creative juices flowing and came up with what I thought was the coolest Lord of the Rings party EVER.  I found the map of Middle Earth and created his invitations and the banner.  Then with some ideas from the internet I came up with my own spread of food.  Next, I headed to the hundred yen store (like the dollar store in the US) and found the grass squares and small picket fences and other items I needed.  I had Mike help me make the Hobbit feet with hair and all and I came up with a few other games.  Each of the boys got a map at the start of the party with a road map of the places they had to go.  At each place we played a game.  The first one was finding the ring in Gollum's cave.  Every boy then wore their rings around their neck to each game.  The next game was called "What's in it's pocketsess."  I cut out old jean pockets and pinned them up on the wall.  I hid something inside each one and Mike came up with riddles for them.  The boy who guessed the riddle got to keep what was inside the pocket.  The boys enjoyed the other games like Orc Bowling and the Eyes of Sauron but their absolute favorite was Hobbit racing.  We had each of the boys take turns wearing the Hobbit feet and then we timed them as they ran from one end of the house to the other.  The boy with the fastest time won.  It was hilarious watching them stumble in those huge Hobbit feet.  When they were all done with games and  gorging themselves with lots of yummy food they each got a sword and went to the park across the street for some all boy fun.  

Piano Recital

The kids have absolutely loved Hiroko as their piano teacher.  She has been coming to our house to teach Andrew, Peter, and Emma piano for the last two years.  Today was our last piano recital with her.  Andrew played the Spinning Song, Peter played the Battle of Jericho, and Emma played Fur Elise.  They all did such a great job.  Hiroko was pretty adamant about having the kids bow before and after their song.  For some reason Emma did not want to bow but she was obedient and did it just like she practiced with the addition of a little eye roll.  The audience broke out in playful laughter.  Our Emma is such a character.  All the kids played so well.  I was so proud of them for calmly getting up and playing in front of everyone. This year our neighbors and friends, the Murata's, also participated in the recital since Rin started taking lessons from Hiroko.  It was fun having them there with us.

Getaway to Hakone

For my birthday gift this year Mike surprised me with a two night getaway to this awesome resort in Hakone called XIV Hakone Rikyu. Our first getaway together without the kids after moving to Japan in 2010 was actually in Hakone. I remember walking by this fancy resort and thinking how cool it would be to stay there. Apparently it is really hard to get a reservation at this resort unless you are either a Japanese citizen who owns one of the timeshares at this resort or you know of someone who owns one of the timeshares.  Luck would have it that the Bishop of the Yokota Ward has an aunt who owns a timeshare at this resort and she was was able to help us book a reservation.  

The outside entrance to the resort wasn't anything special but once you stepped foot inside everything was spectacular. Right in the middle of the lobby was this big petrified tree root sculpture. It was really neat looking. Every detail of this hotel was so unique and classy. The inner halls where labyrinth like but still easy enough to fine our way around. Once inside our room we were amazed by the view of the mountains and some of the cool amenities inside. The bathroom was pretty amazing with a jetted tub and a touch screen TV right above it....so Japanese. I always thought it was interesting how every Japanese western style room (beds vs futons) we have ever been in has two beds instead of one. It made me feel like I was in the Brady Bunch show.

We had dinner that night at the resort and while we enjoyed our fabulous buffet dinner we got to enjoy some music entertainment. Breakfast the next morning was also pretty amazing. The food was fantastic and we made several trips to the fresh croissants. Since the weather was nice the big dining area was opened up to the patio outside. After breakfast we went to our reservation to use one of the private onsens. We had our own private room with a shower, vanity, lounge chairs, and a hot steamy onsen on the balcony outside. It was an hour of true relaxation in privacy. It was well worth it. After we were relaxed we headed to Lake Ashinoko where we ate a nice Katsudon lunch. It was a little overcast but we were still able to see Mt. Fuji. That afternoon we hiked up a trail near our resort. We didn't go all the way to the view point as it was getting dark but it felt good just to be outside breathing in the fresh air. I felt truly blessed for being able to spend some alone time with Mike in such a beautiful place.

Hawaii . Laie LDS Temple

During one of our last days in Hawaii we drove to the Laie, Hawaii LDS temple.  I am always amazed by the beautiful drive along the eastern side of the island.  First we stopped in the visitors center and were pleasantly surprised to see that one of the sister missionaries was from Japan.  We used the little Japanese that we knew to speak to her in her own language.  The kids had such a great time with all the interactive stuff they had in the visitors center.  Andrew was enamored by all the different Book of Mormons that were in languages from all over the world.  What is there not to love about the awesomeness of that? 

I love the temple grounds in Hawaii.  They are so uniquely beautiful.  We all walked to the top where the entrance to the temple is so the kids could see the front of the temple and then we sat in the grass and had a little family home evening lesson.  It seemed fitting that our thoughts lately had been directed to our gratefulness for the Plan of Salvation and eternal families.  We could think of no better way to show our appreciation and gratitude for all that we have then to share our testimonies with our children on the temple grounds.  I'm so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.