Japan - Day 4, Part 2b: More Touring with Cousin Jun

Renewed from lunch we set out to explore much more of the big city.

Jun treated us to a riverboat cruise starting near Asakusa down to the Odaiba Seaside Park.  The cruise would take us long the river under 14 bridges, unique in engineering and color.

The glass windows on every side and through the ceiling provided a "360 degree experience".

These cutouts are from one of Jun's favorite anime as a child. 

 We disembarked on a island called "Odaiba Seaside Park".  Tourism is the main draw of the island: amusement parks (including an indoor amusement park by game maker Sega), museums, shopping, and restaurants.  Our main reason to come to Odaiba, though, was that the only "souvenir" my brother Mark asked for from the whole trip was to see the giant robot "Gundum" come to life.  He hadn't been able to see it when he came to Japan a couple years earlier.

Lady Liberty's little sister apparently resides here, too.

To get some idea of scale, here are his feet.

We waited a long time trying to find any sliver of shade to see him come to life on schedule.  I'll spare you the 4 minute video.  But imagine this: dramatic music, mist coming from the chest and shoulders, lights flashing, eyes lit up, and the head rotating side to side coordinated with theme song music and sound clips from the cartoon.  You're welcome, Mark.

There are so many things in this picture that represent the infrastructure of Tokyo - tall buildings in various styles, radio towers, the various types train lines for public transportation.  We were riding a mono-rail on the right side, as I remember. The train coming toward us below in the middle of the photo is a high speed rail shinkansen, and other city lines are further to the left.

 Next we went to Meiji Jingu, a large and beautiful shrine in the middle of the big city dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his son.  It's amazing to step off a crowded subway and sidewalk into this quiet and peaceful forrest.

This gives you a better idea of the enormity of the entrance gate.
Fun fact for LDS friends, this emperor's family crest is also found inside our Oakland Temple.

Beauty and order everywhere - this was just the side of the gravel pathway, but still beautiful.

These were a more modern touch of art.  There were candles inside which weren't lit, but I can only imagine what they look like glowing in the dark.

 I love the large trees in and around the shrine.  Even the trees are given utmost respect and care.  Their shapes are each unique and beautiful.

Attention to detail everywhere!

On our way out of the shrine, we happened upon a showcase of talent.  Youth from the northern country, including the area my family is from, were performing traditional dances.  It was very crowded so we didn't stay long to watch, but the costumes were a treat in and of themselves.

After seeing so much of the big city over the last couple days we were curious where Jun's favorite places to go were.  Where does he unwind?  Where was his favorite restaurant?  He took us to Inokashira Park (where the Studio Ghibli museum happens to be - which requires tickets days in advance, unfortunately).  We chatted as we watched the coy fish in the pond, locals walking dogs, and families enjoying time outside with their children.

And then we headed to Jun's favorite restaurant for Korean BBQ.  It was in this giant covered shopping center of sorts - several dizzying blocks of restaurants and shops.  The restaurant was a hole-in-the-wall sort of place, but the people were authentic and the food was good.  As great as guidebooks and key tourist attractions are, we also really enjoyed seeing a few real life parts of Tokyo, thanks to Cousin Jun.

Tropical Orange Julius

It's nearly 100 degrees outside. The kids asked for ice-cream as an after school snack. I made this instead. I don't have a picture because we all had seconds and drank every last drop. But here's what we used for 1 adult & 2 kids. 

1/4-1/3 can 100% orange juice concentrate

1 whole chilled orange, pealed 

1/2 C almond milk

1/2 C 100% pineapple coconut juice

1 tsp vanilla

10 ice cubes 

Blend! Done!

The kids said it was the best smoothie ever and we all agreed we were glad we didn't eat ice cream. 

Japan - Day 4, Part 2a: Touring with Jun

(I'm still catching up on writing about our fantastic vacation in 2012.  Let's just say I had a baby last year and get a break.  Sorry for the delayed travel notes!)

After Tsukiji Market, we met my dad's cousin Jun Ebisawa at a train station to explore the city with him.  Jun was easy to spot with his long hair and Hard Rock Cafe shirt on - or, more likely, we were the ones that were easy to spot for him.  Jun has traveled a good amount in his lifetime and his English was very good.  With a shared love of guitars and a good sense of humor we hit it off right away.

Jun hid his dissapointment that we had already been to see the SkyTree because it would have been a good excuse for him to play tourist there, too.  But he took us to some great places we wouldn't have seen ourselves and was an excellent tour guide answering all our many, many questions.

Jun first took us first to one of his favorite temples in Tokyo: Asakusa.

I'm always impressed by the attention to detail in both the artwork and cleanliness of the temples.

Waving the smoke from the incense over your head is supposed to help your mind & intellect.  Before entering the temple, you are supposed to wash hands and mouth symbolizing being clean enough to enter.

If you come to the temple with a wish or a question you can get a written fortune.  The instructions say to shake a box of sticks (the sticks have the numbers for a drawer written on them), one stick will fall out with your drawer number, then you open the drawer to receive your paper.  Mine said something about the person I was waiting for would be a little late but would come - fitting since I was thinking about having baby #3.   

After the temple, Jun taught us how to eat soba (buckwheat) noodles properly, dipping individual bites in the sauce.  Afterwards I was surprised as he asked the waiter to bring us some water that the noodles had been boiled in.  The waiter came back with this red tea-pot of sorts.  Jun poured the hot water into our sauce bowls.  I was shocked at how simply adding cooking water to the sauce turned it into a flavorful soup to sip.  Delicious!

2013: In Review

Here are our 2013 HIGHLIGHTS via PICTURES:

1/5/13 Anson just wrote his name & self portrait!!! He's 2 1/2 years old. We've been writing his name together, but fun surprise tonight!

1/11/13 Mae's birthday party in progress. I'm trying to keep a respectable distance. Claire is not.

1/14/13 Anson's and two things he loves: his best friend Jack, and trains!

1/28/13  Mae is a wonderful self-motivated student.  She works hard on her homework every day as soon as she gets home.  Her teachers love her.  She's been on honor roll every semester.

3/22/13 Blake was in a barbershop quartet to sing for a scene in the Church musical.  We made fan signs, of course.  The kids loved seeing their Dad on stage and were eager to meet him after the show with their signs. 

3/31/13 Gramma makes Easter egg hunts a lot of fun!

4/4/13 I spent this year's tax season pregnant.  But at least it gave me plenty of time in empty elevators to track my belly growth in it's mirrors.

4/21/13 Even when life gets busy, we try to take time to remember what matters most.  I hope our children grow up loving the peaceful feelings at the temple and know that their parents love it, too.

4/26/13 On Easter Sunday, Claire fell in love with a song about the Savior Jesus Christ called, "Gethsemane".  She listened to it over and over and we finally bought the music.  She sang it for Grammy & Papa's family talent show in May.  She also is learning about lettering and likes to make fancy letters for special occasions.

4/27/13  Beach season officially began for us on Blake's birthday.

I took lots of these profile pics in my office elevator to document my growing belly.  Honestly, finding time at home with two other kids was hard to come by - so much that the 1 minute ride in the elevator was a great photo op.  Plus, the mirror doesn't have finger prints and my unmade bed isn't in the background. ;)  This was 30.5 weeks along in my pregnancy (with only 9.5 weeks to go).

We took a last minute trip to Utah to see a friend get married and see family.  We originally declined thinking I would be "too pregnant" for the trip, but we decided to go for it.  But with a pregnant body and with two little kids, we made lots of stops along the way (like Donner Summit, CA above), enjoyed the ride, and sat down for real food along the way instead of the normal fast food fare.  It was a fantastic drive.

We love staying with Grammy & Papa.  They also have a great window showing the valley below - and, to our boy's delight, the airport.

We saw Temple Square with friends who used to live in San Jose.

We sat for a good while under the Christus statue at the Visitor's Center at Temple Square.  We love the Savior and His gospel and love that our family love it, too.

To make room for baby, Claire & Anson became roommates and they were excited to do it.

Mae's mom and siblings came out to see Amanda graduate and play in California.  They stayed over a month and we got lots of cousin time and snuggles.

Anson is loving letters right now and is getting pretty good at writing.

My view for most of the summer.

Claire lost a lot of teeth this year.

Claire graduated from Kindergarten and received the "Almond Joy" award from her teacher because Claire is so happy.

We ate dinner at Apple a lot this year.  First it was tax season, then I was very pregnant, then I had a newborn - lots of reasons not to cook....  Thank you, Apple!

Every once in a while you get a nice thank you note from a client and it makes your day.  Transitioning client work has it's perks.

Anson & Claire took private swimming lessons this year and both made progress in a short amount of time.  Anson learned to swim...

...and Claire re-learned not to be afraid and love it.  She will still tell you the hot tub after lessons is her favorite part.

4th of July at Wilder Ranch is going to be a new tradition.

We celebrated Mae's 1-year anniversary living with our family.

Burton was born July 12th!

...and Anson was potty trained ASAP afterward.

Burton's Blessing Day

Claire started first grade and loves it, but isn't such a fan of posing for pics when "it's hot out here, Mom."

Mae has been such a great help.  We love her so much.  Anson almost called her "sister" one day.  He stopped at "si..." and ended it with "zzle".  So now we have a word for our sister-cousin: "sizzle."

Claire learned to ride a bike and didn't even fall.

Anson started Joy School with our friend Mrs. Deborah. He loves Joy School days!

For the record, the best days at the beach are in September.  Shhh, don't tell anyone.  We like having a perfect beach to ourselves.

Janet's granddad turned 80 this year.  Janet and her mom put on an 80th celebration "reunion" and everyone contributed, even to color flags.

Burton is a mama's boy for now.

The beach in October is pretty great, too.

Claire wanted to be "Amber the Orange Fairy from Rainbow Magic books."  That took some putting together.  After all, you can't just buy orange fairy wings.  I showed her how to add beads to some wings and she worked on it lovingly until it was "perfect."

Claire's school costume parade - can you spot her? ;)

Anson kept calling his costume, "Fire Engine."  P.S. Burton is growing big.

The kids (both of them!) had zero cavities!  After Claire getting a tooth completely removed and coercing (read, "fighting") our kids to brush and floss morning & night, this is a triumph!

Burton learned to roll over!  (16 weeks old)

Claire has been asking for months to go "out of town" so we can search for fairies.  We finally took a pit stop on the way to the beach.  She took her fairy map and consulted it several times along the path.  We didn't find any fairies, but it was a magical walk.

After we knew Mae would be moving back to live with her family, we made a California Bucket List.  Beach was #1.

Our tree drops it's leaves in one glorious leaf-filled week.  This is as close to snow angels as we'll get this year.

After several months of Burton getting nervous whenever Anson came around, he's starting to have more positive interactions.  Oh, and Anson is telling him his first fart-jokes.

Claire & Mae, however, have always been gentle.  Burton has loved them from the start.

We took the kids, Mae, and a couple friends, to see Elephant Seals at Ano Nuevo State Park.  It was a 4 mile walk round trip.  Claire walked the whole way.  Anson, not so much.

Thanksgiving was small and quiet this year, and ended with puzzles and a movie. Nice!

Another of MaesCABucketList items: San Francisco seals, Ghiradelli, clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.  Check!

And sometimes this happens...

Anson's best friend moved away and now he talks about moving to Disneyland so we can live closer.

My mom is amazing.  Even though I don't work anymore, she's come over most mornings to help.  We love Gramma so much!

Blake already had paternity leave in December so when a friend went missing in Idaho's back country he was available to help.

The night before Mae went home to her family we had a big goodbye party.  Our kids are going to miss Mae AND her friends.

Someday soon we'll find the time/priority to sleep train this guy, but he sure is cute.

Merry Christmas!