December is Here!
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
I cannot believe another year is nearly over. Where on earth did the time go? December has been such a great month.
From December 1st to the 10th I spent a blissful 9 days in Japan! Going back was simply wonderful. I wish we could move back! I had a great time visiting with my Japanese family, Michiko and Masako. I met up at the Narita Airport with Jacquie. (She's another non-related sisiter of mine! tee-hee) From there we headed to the M&M B&B :) a.k.a. Michiko & Masako's Bed & Breakfast. From touchdown we hit the ground running and the entire trip was like that. From Tokyo to Kyoto we had a fabulous time. We ate TONS of delicious food and shopped like mad women! But the best part of the trip was simply being IN Japan again. Simply wonderful. My only wish would have been to have the kids and Jeramis there to enjoy it with as well! But Jacquie and I made the best of our time.
I loved having an actual AUTUMN! The colors in Tokyo and Kyoto were so vivid and bright. We were very fortunate. For me it was a breath of fresh air to have all the lovely foilage around. We were also blessed with fantastic weather. Long sleeves, sweaters, scarves and occassionally gloves and a hat were enough to keep us warm both day and night. There were two days that had a bit of a chill but it wasn't enough, with all the walking, to keep our sweaters on. The last full day of our visit (Saturday the 9th) we did have some rain but with umbrellas in tow we headed out and saw Kamakura anyhow. The rain only enhanced the beauty there.
Kamakura Daibutsu (Buddah)
But as much as I'd like to gush about Japan I know that you are all far more interested in the doings of the family hah.
During my trip the kids were super good. Jeramis told me on several occassions that they had been so well behaved he could hardly believe it. They spent a lot of time together but of course the kids still had school and pre-school to go to. So Jeramis got some quiet time during the week but he also had to do the "motherly duties."
I returned to a typically nice day here. The weather was mild. The next week went super quick. From school Holiday parties to a Piano Recital for my students (Jordan and Jade included) to Christmas shopping and present wrapping, before we knew it, Friday was here! Friday marked Jordan's last day of school for the 'year' and Jeramis' last day of work until '07. While that sounds just peachy... we all know what that means! haha 2 weeks with EVERYONE home. .... I was still a little jet lagged up until the weekend but when my packages from Japan arrived mid-week I felt a little pick-me up!
On Saturday we had a wonderful day. Brett and Anna (our cousins) came over to visit for a late lunch. We had a great time chatting with them. It was so nice to spend time together with family. The kids really liked having them play in the rooms together. They are also really enjoying the fantastic Christmas presents that they brought. They were allowed to open them before Christmas and the gifts have been a definate hit :) (THANKS you two!) That night we took the kids to see Santa Claus. They were very excited to go and see him. Jordan asked for the Littlest Pet Shop Get Well Center and Love & Play Center. Jade asked for The Biggest Littlest Pet Shop (like Jordan's) and a trampoline! haha. She's a riot.
Jade and Jordan with Santa.
We were really enjoying getting ready for the Holidays. The house was decorated to the hilt (by Jade's birthday actually!) and so we only had time to enjoy singing Christmas songs, reading holiday stories, wrapping gifts, and being together.
This past Tuesday we woke up to another wonderful Christmast gift:
SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's true!
I woke up at about 5am and I looked out the window and saw a blanket of white. I was surprised and disbelieving at first. So I grabbed my camera and took this picture... Just in case it was gone when I woke up for the day.
At 7:30 in the morning the children ran into the room and woke me up with screams of excitement. "There is snow outside." "It is winter!" "Can we go outside?" I of course was half expecting this. So I climbed out of bed and put on some warm clothes, dug out the kid's snow clothes from Japan (which thankfully still fit... barely) and found their gloves, scarves and hats. And we trodded outside.
By all the news reports later I found out we'd received between 3-5 inches in our area. I would say we probably had the 5 inches but by the time we got outside to play it had already started melting. The sidewalks and street were clear but the snow clung around the yards and cars. I took a ruler outside and, despite the slosh, we had 1 1/2 inches of snow on the cars still.
So, despite the snow being a bit wet we actually had a great time! Jade and Jordan both had a snowball fight... Jade got tired of that pretty quick and so Jordan kept playing with some neighbor kids. So I don't have any good pictures of him in the snow.
Jade and I made a snowman :) I will admit that it isn't the biggest snowman we've made but the snow was PERFECT for making a snowman. It stuck together really well and formed into a ball easily. We had a lot of fun putting it together. We used rocks for the eyes and buttons but Jade was determined that we use a carrot for the nose. So we got a carrot and a slice of an orange for the nose and mouth. She used some pencils for hair but then decided the snowman looked cold so she gave it her hat and my scarf and gloves.
After an hour in the snow we headed inside and the kids promptly headed into the backyard for more snow fun. I was ready for a hot shower haha.
The snow didn't last long though. By the end of the day the mass of it had melted. There were traces in trees and bushes, in shadows and of course across the mountains around us but there wasn't any more to play in. Even our sweet snowman was not immune and began to melt some... although we still have the bottom ball left today :)
This week has been fun as we've prepared for Christmas. We've made mason jars filled with goodies like Santa's Peppermint Chocolate Mix, Malted Hot Cocoa Mix, Sugared Nut Mix, and of course a variety of snacky type mixes with lots of yummies inside.
Christmas is approaching fast and it will be here before we know it!
Check back soon for more updates!!
XOXOXO
I cannot believe another year is nearly over. Where on earth did the time go? December has been such a great month.
From December 1st to the 10th I spent a blissful 9 days in Japan! Going back was simply wonderful. I wish we could move back! I had a great time visiting with my Japanese family, Michiko and Masako. I met up at the Narita Airport with Jacquie. (She's another non-related sisiter of mine! tee-hee) From there we headed to the M&M B&B :) a.k.a. Michiko & Masako's Bed & Breakfast. From touchdown we hit the ground running and the entire trip was like that. From Tokyo to Kyoto we had a fabulous time. We ate TONS of delicious food and shopped like mad women! But the best part of the trip was simply being IN Japan again. Simply wonderful. My only wish would have been to have the kids and Jeramis there to enjoy it with as well! But Jacquie and I made the best of our time.
I loved having an actual AUTUMN! The colors in Tokyo and Kyoto were so vivid and bright. We were very fortunate. For me it was a breath of fresh air to have all the lovely foilage around. We were also blessed with fantastic weather. Long sleeves, sweaters, scarves and occassionally gloves and a hat were enough to keep us warm both day and night. There were two days that had a bit of a chill but it wasn't enough, with all the walking, to keep our sweaters on. The last full day of our visit (Saturday the 9th) we did have some rain but with umbrellas in tow we headed out and saw Kamakura anyhow. The rain only enhanced the beauty there.
Kamakura Daibutsu (Buddah)
But as much as I'd like to gush about Japan I know that you are all far more interested in the doings of the family hah.
During my trip the kids were super good. Jeramis told me on several occassions that they had been so well behaved he could hardly believe it. They spent a lot of time together but of course the kids still had school and pre-school to go to. So Jeramis got some quiet time during the week but he also had to do the "motherly duties."
I returned to a typically nice day here. The weather was mild. The next week went super quick. From school Holiday parties to a Piano Recital for my students (Jordan and Jade included) to Christmas shopping and present wrapping, before we knew it, Friday was here! Friday marked Jordan's last day of school for the 'year' and Jeramis' last day of work until '07. While that sounds just peachy... we all know what that means! haha 2 weeks with EVERYONE home. .... I was still a little jet lagged up until the weekend but when my packages from Japan arrived mid-week I felt a little pick-me up!
On Saturday we had a wonderful day. Brett and Anna (our cousins) came over to visit for a late lunch. We had a great time chatting with them. It was so nice to spend time together with family. The kids really liked having them play in the rooms together. They are also really enjoying the fantastic Christmas presents that they brought. They were allowed to open them before Christmas and the gifts have been a definate hit :) (THANKS you two!) That night we took the kids to see Santa Claus. They were very excited to go and see him. Jordan asked for the Littlest Pet Shop Get Well Center and Love & Play Center. Jade asked for The Biggest Littlest Pet Shop (like Jordan's) and a trampoline! haha. She's a riot.
Jade and Jordan with Santa.
We were really enjoying getting ready for the Holidays. The house was decorated to the hilt (by Jade's birthday actually!) and so we only had time to enjoy singing Christmas songs, reading holiday stories, wrapping gifts, and being together.
This past Tuesday we woke up to another wonderful Christmast gift:
SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's true!
I woke up at about 5am and I looked out the window and saw a blanket of white. I was surprised and disbelieving at first. So I grabbed my camera and took this picture... Just in case it was gone when I woke up for the day.
At 7:30 in the morning the children ran into the room and woke me up with screams of excitement. "There is snow outside." "It is winter!" "Can we go outside?" I of course was half expecting this. So I climbed out of bed and put on some warm clothes, dug out the kid's snow clothes from Japan (which thankfully still fit... barely) and found their gloves, scarves and hats. And we trodded outside.
By all the news reports later I found out we'd received between 3-5 inches in our area. I would say we probably had the 5 inches but by the time we got outside to play it had already started melting. The sidewalks and street were clear but the snow clung around the yards and cars. I took a ruler outside and, despite the slosh, we had 1 1/2 inches of snow on the cars still.
So, despite the snow being a bit wet we actually had a great time! Jade and Jordan both had a snowball fight... Jade got tired of that pretty quick and so Jordan kept playing with some neighbor kids. So I don't have any good pictures of him in the snow.
Jade and I made a snowman :) I will admit that it isn't the biggest snowman we've made but the snow was PERFECT for making a snowman. It stuck together really well and formed into a ball easily. We had a lot of fun putting it together. We used rocks for the eyes and buttons but Jade was determined that we use a carrot for the nose. So we got a carrot and a slice of an orange for the nose and mouth. She used some pencils for hair but then decided the snowman looked cold so she gave it her hat and my scarf and gloves.
After an hour in the snow we headed inside and the kids promptly headed into the backyard for more snow fun. I was ready for a hot shower haha.
The snow didn't last long though. By the end of the day the mass of it had melted. There were traces in trees and bushes, in shadows and of course across the mountains around us but there wasn't any more to play in. Even our sweet snowman was not immune and began to melt some... although we still have the bottom ball left today :)
This week has been fun as we've prepared for Christmas. We've made mason jars filled with goodies like Santa's Peppermint Chocolate Mix, Malted Hot Cocoa Mix, Sugared Nut Mix, and of course a variety of snacky type mixes with lots of yummies inside.
Christmas is approaching fast and it will be here before we know it!
Check back soon for more updates!!
XOXOXO
posted by Kristi McFadden at
10:21 PM
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