Tokyo - Day 1

For spring break this year we decided to go to Tokyo to visit Allen's brother, Nathan, and his family. We have wanted to take a trip to Japan for a really long time and we're so excited we were able to go spend time with the Tokyo Frost's. Getting to Tokyo from here wasn't too bad. We flew to Dubai and then had a 7 hour layover before boarding our long flight to Tokyo. With such a long layover in the middle of the night we decided to rent a room at the hotel in the Dubai airport. It was so convenient and worked out beautifully. You don't have to leave the secured part of the airport so there was no traveling through customs or security. Everyone got several hours of sleep before boarding our next flight. The funniest part of the trip is that there were 4 twin beds in the hotel room. We put the little girls in one bed together, Carter took the couch, Makenna was in a bed and Allen and I each had a bed. By the end of the night all the kids were in their own beds and Allen and I were sharing a twin sized bed. Ugh. You just have to laugh about these things!

Once we got to Tokyo, it was a crazy scramble to get everyone and our luggage to Nate's house. We took several trains, ran through a few stations and ended up having to change trains 3 or 4 times before we got to where we needed to be. Needless to say, it was a very abrupt introduction to life in Tokyo! 8 people, 3 suitcases, 6 carry-ons, a stroller and 2 carseats. I'm sure we looked crazy traipsing through the stations. 

A few us before boarding the first train.

 Elizabeth was waiting to pick us all up from the train station and then we headed to the house where we had a yummy dinner and time to visit with the cousins. Nate and Elizabeth live on a military base and we were able to stay in the military hotel during this trip and it worked out great. We had our own space but it was just a 5 minute walk from their home.

The next morning was Sunday so we went to church with Nate and Elizabeth. It was fun to see their ward and love that the church is the same no matter the country. After lunch I was tempted to take a nap because I was so jet lagged but we decided to go visit a plum blossom festival that was happening in a neighboring town. I'm so glad we skipped the nap!! We were really hoping that our trip would correspond with the 10 or so days a year that the cherry and plum blossoms are blooming in Japan and we could not have timed it more perfectly!! Breathtaking does not even begin to describe the amazing blossoms we saw! The festival was in a little valley surrounded by gorgeous green mountains. I was so amazed to see all the different kinds of trees and blossoms.

Makenna and Katherine - thick as thieves:

 We were able to do quite a bit of hiking around the park and the views were stunning.

 After walking through the festival for a long time we stopped at a little park attached to the festival grounds. The kids played and played and got so muddy that we had to throw a couple of items away when we got home. They had such a great time. We saw our first Shinto shrine at the park.  It was quite beautiful and reverent.

All the shrines in Japan have a cleansing pool right outside:

I'm so glad we decided to visit the festival! We found out after the fact that the day we went was not only the last day of the season but would be the last day for a long time. All the trees are diseased and were being ripped out and replanted. What a blessing we were able to see it! We really lucked out on the weather while we were in Japan. The weather is similar to Seattle and is typically quite rainy at this time of year but we only had one day of rain the entire week!

Dhahran Flower Festival

 Every year there is a big flower festival in our town. The workers spend weeks getting ready for the weekend of festivities and the camp looks amazing with gorgeous flowers everywhere. One of the great benefits of living somewhere that doesn't freeze that the growing season is 9 months long so the flowers are stunning. The festival kicks off with a parade. It is a big parade with incredible, intricate flower floats.

 ALL of the workers from around camp get involved in the parade and learn dances and wear costumes. It was such an amazing thing to see.

Instead of throwing candy the workers passed out leis and fancy party hats. My girls were in heaven.

 The rest of the week hosts the flower exhibit on the main part of our compound. The workers put together incredible and elaborate flower displays. I should have taken more pictures of everything because it was amazing. There were huge fields of flowers in patterns.

 Different displays of famous movie characters for the kids. This is the Alice in Wonderland display:

The Aladdin display

I love this peacock with the flower feather tail!

We had such a great time at the festival that we went back a few times during the week to look again. I love that it is a big tradition here and that so many people get involved to make something beautiful in the community!

Kids Birthdays 2014

The theme of the birthday celebrations this year can be summed up as: low key.  Since we were in the middle of another move (you know, the 3rd one in a year!), I just couldn't add much more on my plate. The kids seemed totally fine with our toned down celebrations and I have promised them all parties next year to make up for it.

Carter's birthday was a few days after we returned home from our Christmas trip. He requested Krispy Kreme donuts and bacon for breakfast. He got some fun gifts including new Boy Scout gear and tons of BYU attire since he had outgrown all his other stuff.

He wanted to have dinner at Chili's and was thrilled when we allowed him to get his very own dessert. 

Exactly 3 weeks later we celebrated Addison's birthday. She got a bunch of American Girl things for Saige. We had waffles with blueberry syrup and whipped cream for her birthday breakfast.

 Addison really wanted to have lunch with a few of her friends on her birthday. (A little known fact is that the kids all go home for lunch every day here). I took them over to a little outdoor restaurant near the school for pizza and ice cream and let them play at the park. It was easy and fun!

 Our school is a no treat school so we decided to bring balloons for Addison's class. The kids were so excited and Addison loved all the attention.

 Miss Addie with her cake. Pink cake with pink frosting and sprinkles. We also had pink ice cream.

Emery's birthday is 2 days after Addison's. Emery's favorite thing is talking on the phone to her grandmas. She was thrilled to talk to both on her bday.

 Emery got the Calico Critters camper and car (still the best toys we have every purchase) and spent the entire rest of the day blissfully playing with her new toys. In fact, ALL of the kids had a really great time playing together. It was really cute.

 Emery wanted the exact same cake as Addison so I baked 1 cake mix in two pans and the each had their own cake. So completely ghetto but no one seemed to notice ;)

Makenna turned 9 at the end of February . She wanted to have monkey bread for her birthday breakfast. Her favorite gift is the disco ball we got for her room. The kids have had more fun with that thing than I ever imagined.

 Makenna wanted to have lunch with her bestie so I took them to a restaurant on camp for lunch and they had a playdate after school. Kenna is in love with her friends guinea pig and begs daily for one (so not happening). These two are cute friends!

Makenna also picked Chili's for her bday dinner and insisted on getting her own dessert but she barely touched it because she was full.

I know I usually do a bit of a recap about each of the kids at the time of their birthdays but I decided to spend the time writing in their journals instead. I only have so much time these days and that seemed more personal and important. 

We have great kids that have diverse and interesting personalities. I'm so grateful to mother each one of them with their own unique attributes and strengths!