Back in Tokyo

This was a picture from yesterday.

This morning we made our way to the bus.

Beautiful spring!

We wandered around the train station til it was time to leave.

Nice try, Nagoya.

On our bus ride we drove by the Pacific coast! I was also able to read a lot of the Hunger Games, which I found quite disturbing. Anyone else? I know it's the rage, but it's so brutal.

We're now in our hotel room listening to the winds howl outside and watching the news about the current typhoon!! Correction: I'm the only one actually just watching. I have no idea what they're saying. I generally have no idea what anyone says here. Andrew is my only hope in understanding what is going on. Seriously. :) But I am excited about this weather because I know my dad would love it!

Nagoya

One of the things I really wanted to see on our trip was Mt. Fuji. We were able to see it from the bullet train. It's the mountain with the snow covered tip.

Trying to keep up with the bullet train.

We made it to Nagoya! Not really sure what this is.

Swallowing my pride here and posting a picture without makeup. Our suitcase is still lost {which many people here have said is so unusual!... of course it would happen to us!} but the good news is that we went to Uniqlo tonight and I got a new dress to wear for tomorrow. Hooray for clean, new clothes!

I'm not going to lie, it's been a challenging trip at times and I've had a head cold for the past two days. But! We're looking forward to a new day tomorrow along with Mister Donuts for breakfast. I've heard that these are the best donuts ever. And hooray for eating donuts on vacation!

Take your pick

Well we're here in Tokyo! And it's been an adventure! We're getting ready to eat breakfast with our friends at a place that is similar to Denny's in the States. I wish Brian and Allison could join us. Then we'll catch the bullet train (!!) to Nagoya for an overnight trip.

We had a lovely day yesterday. One of my favorite parts was taking a walk through a residential neighborhood in Tokyo.

We still don't have our luggage (including clothes, makeup, etc.) and last night we finally decided that it wasn't coming any time soon, so we went to shop at a department store close by. Here are a couple shirts that were an option. Please, take your pick.

I ended up getting a red Peter Pan looking shirt. It's so much better than the shirt I'd been wearing for 3 days (I know, gross!!).

Anyway, we're about to head out. Sleep well, America!

Spring Break...

begins tomorrow, and we're headed to Japan!!

My sweet father is dropping us off at the airport really, really early tomorrow and we'll make it to Tokyo 19 hours later. :) We'll be taking a bullet train to Nagoya on Monday for an overnight trip, and then head back to Tokyo for the rest of the week. We're quite excited {and I'm nervous as I don't know the language!!}. Hopefully we can update the blog when we're over there.

Happy Birthday Lucy!!

Happy Birthday Lucy Lu!!!

This is so Lucy. :)

One of my favorite pictures. :)

Can't wait to have dinner with you tomorrow!!! LOVE YOU, LUCY!!!

Life lately

We had a really good weekend. It's the first time in a while that we've been in Charlotte for the whole weekend. We had our friends, the Macks, over on Friday night. As of 4:30pm I had no idea what to make for dinner. I finally decided that it would be good to have options. I made up a recipe for a yummy broccoli cheddar soup, there was a platter with fixings for paninis, and stuff for a salad. So take your pick: soup, panini, or salad. Or all three! For dessert I pulled out ALL of the leftover Valentine's candy we have in our freezer (from my kids at school.) We sat around eating Pixy Stix. Good times.

Then on Saturday morning we had our neighbors over for brunch. Waffles and fruit. Doesn't sound hard, right? Yes, well, they're our friends who happen to be the head chef at local restaurant, and it's them I was making the meal for back in January when I blew up and flooded half of our apartment. Saturday morning I had just started on the waffles when we blew a fuse. We had the microwave running, coffee brewing, and the waffle maker running. The SAME feeling came over me. Power is out in the kitchen and I am freaking out. (This has never happened, and I swear to Andrew that we're never having them over again because strange things happen when we do.) I tend to be dramatic in times like these. Luckily I'm married to a calm and collected person who turned on the power again and I resumed normal activity. It made for a good story when they came over. :)

I've had a really hard time thinking about my sweet Gigi. I've never had to wait and watch someone die. It's pretty awful. My heart aches a lot just thinking of her. Last night when Andrew and I were praying for her, I prayed that the Lord would give her joy as she silently waits for heaven. My Uncle Hunter wrote in his blog recently, "what a hope that this is not all there is". If anything, these past few weeks have given me an incredible perspective on life. Can't wait to see her on Thursday.

P.S. Ginnawin and Jeff's anniversary is coming up soon!!!

Happy Spring!

I'm just tickled pink that spring is here! I snapped this picture last night before a meeting at church. Still can't believe it's almost been a whole year since we got married. Love these flowers planted out front.

One of my sweet kiddos surprised me with tulips yesterday! It was such a thoughtful and unexpected gift.

When we were in Charleston this past weekend I went for a run and the little neighborhood where we were staying had a ton of yard sales. I ran back to get some money and found this little treasure. I've read reviews that say it's the "it" cookbook to have if you're from Charleston, and a must have for Southerners. After I bought this gem for $0.50, I went home to look through it. I might not make too many things from here as it often calls for ingredients I don't use {quail, shortening, gelatine ...to name a few}.

But! I did use one of their recipes for cornbread and baked it in my great-grandmother's skillet. That felt pretty Southern, but not very spring-y as I served it with a vegetarian hot soup. Oh well. Can't do it all.

Happy spring to you!!