Kyoto

We took a day trip to Kyoto, Japan's former capital. We got up really early and headed out on the train to Osaka station where we met our guide who took us by train to Kyoto. Once in the city we met up with the rest of our tour. We got a few looks as we arrived with the babies in a sling and a bjorn and Gabriella in tow. However, everyone was absolutely perfectly behaved during the trip. We had three stops during the morning portion of the tour. Our first stop was the Kyoto palace, it was beautiful with many hand carved rooms. The floor was called the Nightingale floor because of the sound it made when you walked on it. According to legend the emperor had it made so he could hear his enemies coming. Other theories is that it's old and squeaky. The second stop was the golden pavilion. It was a lovely walk through some beautiful gardens, the pavilion was shiny gold and in the middle of a green water lagoon. The last stop was the royal residence, we weren't allowed to go inside, just walk around the outside of the building. It was still very impressive. Our stop for lunch was the Kyoto Handi-craft center. We had to hurry and eat before our afternoon tour to Nara left.

Nara is the ancient capital of Japan, it's home to many sacred deer. The one pictured above was very interested in the deer crackers we purchased, however most of the deer would happily snack on paper or anything else you happen to have hanging out of your pockets. I saw one eat pages out of a magazine that was hanging out of a ladies purse. The first stop in Nara was a Buddhist temple, the Buddha inside was giant and awe inspiring. There was a hole in a pillar which is the same size as Buddha's nostril, if you can fit through the hole you can be admitted into heaven. I have a little work to do to fit through the hole, but Gabriella could easily fit. The next stop was a shinto shrine, it was located in a wooded area and Gabriella and Greg took Julia with them while I sat on a quiet bench with Genevieve. We watched the deer wandering around the area, eating people's magazines. When Gabriella returned we took turns feeding the deer crackers before it was time to get on the bus. Our trip home on the train was fairly uneventful. The twins and Gabi had a few new friends on the train and we learned the Japanese word for cute.

Universal Studios Japan

The theme park in Osaka is a Universal Studios. We took a day to explore it, because we can't pass up an opportunity to ride some rides. The park is pretty small but it had a lot of cool areas to explore. My favorites were the Peanuts land and the Wizard of Oz land. Gabriella was able to ride all but one roller coaster. The food choices were really impressive and we had lunch at Cinderella's cafe, which was delicious. Just like at Disneyland Japan the popcorn stands were very popular with lines that far outstretched the lines for some of the attractions. They had a new rock and roll roller coaster that unfortunately Gabriella was too short for, but Greg and I enjoyed riding it. You got to select the song you listened to while you rode. All in all it was a very fun day. Gabriella showed us her sense of adventure by happily trying all the rides she could, even Jurassic Park the ride. The babies and I left early and because of Universal's no reentry policy we were unable to return. We relaxed in our room and watched the action in the park from the hotel window. Gabriella and Greg returned a little after 6 and we watched the light parade from the window together. All in all it was a very nice theme park experience. The day at the theme park was probably the day we did the least amount of walking.

Osaka

We checked into our hotel at Universal Studios late Saturday night. The whole place was decorated for Halloween and Gabriella even got to trick or treat while we checked in. Our room was really spacious with separate rooms for the toilet and shower. There was only one channel on the television that was in english, so we watched Monsters vs. Aliens at least 20 times during our stay. Gabriella is still quoting from the movie a week later. We settled in and ordered room service and then went to bed, or tried to anyway. The next day we toured Osaka on our own, checking out Osaka Castle and the Hard Rock cafe. Osaka castle was surprisingly not located high on a hill, but it was surrounded by a moat. We walked up the 8 flights of stairs to the top of it. I'm very proud of making it to the top while carrying Genevieve in the sling. Greg carried Julia in the baby bjorn and Gabriella carried herself. The little girls love being toted around and slept most of the day. The castle was located in a beautiful park which we walked through enjoying the sounds of someone singing Bruce Springsteen at a post sports day concert and an impromptu Stevie Wonder song played on the harmonica. The subway in Osaka is just as timely as the Tokyo trains which made it easy to navigate our way around the city. With our shot glasses and pins in hand we headed back to the hotel for an early evening. We needed to rest up for our big day at Universal Studios on Monday.

Mainland Vacation

Our last big trip before moving back to California is in the books. We survived a very packed schedule with two newborns. We decided not to take a stroller since we were unsure if we could get it on and off the subways and trains easily. The flight was amazingly easy, both twins slept the entire time and Gabriella was the great traveler she always is. We arrived in Fukuoka with two hours before the Hard Rock Cafe closed. After a rather long walk, we made it to the cafe and bought our shot glasses and guitar pins. Checking into the hotel we immediately changed into our PJ's and fell into bed ready to go to sleep. The little girls however, had a different idea. They were up almost all night just like they are at home. The next day we ate a quick breakfast at the hotel before getting on the Shinkasen, bullet train, to Hiroshima. The tour of an outer island was beautiful, the Torii gate pictured above is the largest in Japan. At high tide it looks like it's floating in the water, however in reality it's on the beach. The bomb site was rather sobering and the museum against nuclear war was hard to go through. Clearly the use of nuclear weapons is terrible and the people of Hiroshima stand up and say never again. The theme of the museum was to show the suffering caused by nuclear weapons and use it as a call to the visitors to petition world leaders to get rid of all the nuclear weapons. The day was long and by the time we got to our hotel in Osaka we were all exhausted.

You don't know what you've got until it's gone...

My parents left on Tuesday and I've already considered calling their hotel in Tokyo to beg them to come back. They were here for almost 8 weeks and have been holding at least one baby since their birth. I think their presence spoiled me, they were always around if I needed something big or small. They would bring me a glass of water, get Gabriella a snack, hold a baby, change a diaper and even just let me take a nap. My mom and dad probably changed about 500 diapers during their stay, fed the babies 500 bottles and held them more than either Greg or I did. Now that they've gone the babies miss them, when I pick up Julia, Genevieve looks to see who will pick her up. Now they are forced to share me or Greg because we are hardly ever both able to hold them at the same time. Nights are harder, now instead of 4 people sharing the night shift there are only two. This is clearly my reality and the past 7 weeks have been a vacation. While I may miss their help a lot I also miss the comfort their presence brought me. In my most post pregnancy hormonal moments they were there to hug me and tell me it was going to be ok. I miss that reassurance a lot more than I thought I would. I miss the hugs and the kind words of encouragement. I even miss the random items from the shoppette. I made a pot of coffee this morning and realize that no one else is here to share it with me. I know I can do all this on my own because God only gives you what you can handle, but I wish I could share it with my parents again. We have less than a month on island and in between now and then we have 3 trips planned and two shipments to organize. My days will be busy and I will have less time to think about my parents, but for right now I'm sending out my love and thanks to them for a job well done. And reminding them not to get too comfortable because we will be back in a month and I'm going to need some help.

Collecting Kit Kats

Little children love to collect things, bugs, rocks and seashells. As adults our collections change to more permanent items, tchotchkes like spoons or pins or place mats. I however have been collecting kit kats. They are consumable but it took a lot of hard work to find them all so I'm hesitant to eat them. Why kit kats you ask? Because here instead of just being chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate there are flavors like mango, intense soybean, carrot and apple. How did these Kit Kat's get here and why are they so different. I think the answer is that the Kit Kat's here are made by Nestle whereas the ones in the states are made by Hershey. All the flavors I've tried have been pretty yummy. I haven't ventured to try my soy sauce flavor yet, but the wasabi one was good. The collection will continue to grow until I leave and then will either travel with me or be mailed home so I can share my treasures with my friends in the states. If I had to choose a favorite, it's the caramel and salt. But who knows what the next flavor will bring.

Daddy's Girls

There is a very special bond between daddies and their daughters. Greg has really enjoyed spending time with his little girls. Julia and Genevieve have graced Greg with lots of coos and smiles. He loves feeding them and snuggling with them when he can wrestle one of them away from their doting Grandparents. Once again we've decided on shift work to make it through the night. Greg usually takes the first shift and I'm sure the girls are learning all about science and soccer as those seem to be the only things on TV Greg is inclined to watch. I come down every 2-3 hours to pump and they are always snuggled up with daddy. Since they are getting bigger real estate on his chest is getting tighter, but they are learning to share. The girls are still not aware of each other but they do recognize Gabriella and love to see her. Because their eyes are tracking and focusing better they are able to watch her dance and practice her karate. She is a constant source of entertainment for all of us. Julia has started to hold a toy rattle and loves to scoot around on her tummy during tummy time. Genevieve can pull herself over the boppy pillow when given the opportunity. Both girls are very active and are starting to stay awake between feedings to play a little while. Greg loves making funny faces at the girls and both girls can raise one eyebrow just like their daddy. Greg and Gabriella are spending a special day snorkeling at the Kerama islands. Their special time together has consisted of a lot of puzzles since it's been so hot this summer but now that the days are cooling off they can start going out together. Greg is having a wonderful time with all his girls.