Last Day in Japan

We were suppose to do an entire day tour. The morning portion was great and we saw three different palaces, temples, and pagodas! We have seen quite a few now in the orient being in China and Korea...but we both agree that the ones in Kyoto were our favorites! Our favorite with our tour group was this Gold Pavilion called the Rokuon-ji Temple, built in the 1220s. (Excuse the floozy showing her bra strap please!) :) After our morning tour we ended up at this 7 story shopping center. We had lunch here and that is when I discovered that the 7th floor was a Japanese Craft center where you could make your own Japanese crafts! I asked Marc if we could cancel the second part of our tour and stay and play! So we did. :) I WAS IN HEAVEN! I TRULY have the most patient husband ever.

While Marc held Ana so she could take her nap, I made this "gold dusting" picture. (For 1.5 hrs)

I made a cherry blossom picture with the Gold Rokuon-ji Temple on it AND they helped me write STITZEL in Japanese. SOOOO cool!

That symbol on the top means "love". I had a BLAST! I could have spent all day there. There were 6 different crafts you could make. I talked with one man who had been there for 4 hours and had made 7 different things. FUN!

Then we used Barasch's rusty trusty Frommers "Japan" guide book and did a walking tour by ourselves after Banana woke up. We saw our most favorite temple ever! The Kiyomizu Temple. It was a BEAUTIFUL area that had amazing views of the city of Kyoto. This temple was built into a cliff and you just have to be in awe of the craftsmanship of people with NO MODERN TOOLS. This area with the temple and pagoda and shrines etc was all built in 798. AMAZING!

This is the view of Kyoto and that building in the upper right hand corner is the "main hall" of the temple. This was a great vacation and if you ever have the opportunity to travel to Japan, don't pass it up!!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

This is the video I was trying to post when our computer died! Then we went to Japan for a week. We now have a new computer and are back into our routine and I can start posting again! Sorry for the delay...we've missed you guys too! :) Enjoy Ana's sweet voice!

Everyday Life...

The base is in the middle of a two week exercise right now and Marc has the night shift of 7pm to 11ish am ....LONG days. He then sleeps all day and we wake him for dinner. So in order to be out of the house and not bother his sleeping these are some of the things we do.....

Fill up a blow up pool and let her get naked and just splash...(We are at the Bremer's here!) If it isn't raining it is HOT and HUMID outside. So we are getting creative now a days....

Run around in the post office...it's air conditioned and they can't bother anyone. This is her friend Olivia!

This is our bible study group. Moms take turns watching the kids and this was my day...

Cuddle up with her duck blanket that her Grandad gave her. EVERY night, "wrap up duck peas?"

Do a "shelf check" at the BX. I was looking at the clothes and turn around and she had climbed up there! She is a great climber...just wish I could get her to know where it is APPROPRIATE to climb!

Play "Tiger Sword Fight" with Joshua!

Run around our living room with "bouncy balloons" her Grannie sent her. This is only when daddy isn't home yet! :) I'm telling you...the wild and crazy times we have!

Black Eyed Peas Concert

Marc and I got a sitter and went to Seoul with an ITT tour (yep, pretty nerdy...but efficient!) to the Black Eyed Pea concert. We had a blast. I knew about 5 of their songs and Marc knew MAYBE 3...but we still had fun!

This is a Korean beer..."Hite"...now you have to say it with the accent to get the full effect! :) It taste like Coors Light to me. But I'm not a beer drinker...

Freaky Pepsi guy giving out free Pepsi's...kinda funny. One of the Black Eyed Pea dudes was talking to the audience and he would say..."where are we?" and we would answer "Seoul" and he would repeat it in a funny voice so now when I see the people who were on our bus (ITT tour) just around base here and there...we just smile and do the "Seoul" voice. FUN!

First BIG SCREEN Movie!

We decided Ana was ready to go to the movies! We skipped her nap and went to the matinee. And she LOVED it! We went to see Ratatouille. TOO cute for those of you who haven't seen it yet. She was nervous at first when it went dark, said she said she was scared...loud noises were freaking her out at first THEN she was hooked. Every time we pass the base theater now she says, "T.V. Movie Peas?"

We didn't take the picture before the movie and when we left they had already changed it out with the next movie showing for that night. (I promise her first movie wasn't PG-13). So in our best pointy talky Korean..."could we see the poster please...just for a picture?" Then these two guys helped us out and held it up for me...I know what your thinking...BUT HEY...it's a "FIRST"...we gotta get it on the camera! :)

This is after the theater cleared out. The chairs swallowed her so she sat on my lap most of the movie. She ate the entire bag of pop corn! I wasn't watching her eat, I was watching the movie!

THEN they GAVE us the poster to keep. We hung it up in her room and when I asked her what she thought of her first movie...it got "two thumbs up"...quite the movie critic already!

Yummy Mini Mart!

This would be your typical mini mart here in Korea. Lots of snacky things like we have only it's not so much the chips etc. we are use too. If you look closer....

IT'S FISH THINGS! Nope, I haven't tried any of it...just in case you were wondering.

YUM! :)

Busan or Bust!

Marc and Pipes had to do a briefing in Busan this past Friday. Busan is as far south you can go in Korea, about 4 to 5 hours south. Right on the beach! SO Ana and I decided to tag along. :) The McKee's also went. We followed each other down to Busan and stayed at the same hotel Thursday thru Saturday.


The Novotel Hotel was right on the beach and it was a very nice hotel. We were familiar with the Novotel because that is the chain of hotels we stayed at while in Moscow!

Friday morning Me, Kathee, and the kids all went down to the beach while the guys had their briefing.

Ms. Olivia and Banana playing in the sand!

The Koreans have a thing for American children. LOVE to touch them and take pictures of them. It was kind of freaky at first when we first moved here, but now it happens so much that it's no big deal. Sometimes we will be somewhere and the Korean's will just swarm in on Ana and we have to "save her" from the crowd that starts to form. The guys got home around lunch time and we went to the Busan Aquarium!

Ana's got a new thing for octopus's now!

There was a Mermaid show that we caught the end of...very fun!

Olivia and Ana with this monster crab!

There was this car that was a fish tank! It was so cool!

Doesn't even look real huh?

So after the aquarium we did dinner and put the kids to bed and the McKee's and us sat in the middle of the halls in our hotel so we could play games. We sat so we could watch the doors of our rooms...I know the Korean's had thought we lost our mind...but it was too early for bed for us and we wanted to play! :)

Saturday morning we got up and went down to the beach again! Here's a fun family picture! Can you find Ana? :) The waves were crazy but SO fun to play in!

This was our "base" we all meet at. Kept me in the shade which always makes me happy.

This was in the hotel...when Ana saw it she said, "Look Mommy, violins!" Now where did she learn that? She's so smart!