The Last Two Days

The last two days we walked all over Tokyo from train station to train station, we averaged 14,000 steps each day until my pedometer broke.  (Cheap pedometer!  I only dropped it 3 times and now the display won't work.)  I am sitting here this morning with swollen legs and feet.  I have cankles.  It feels like someone sliced of my heels.  I can't walk another step.  But at noon I will have to lug our 50 lb suitcase and two carry-ons through the streets of Tokyo, down to the busy subway station, take 3 different trains and then through the airport to baggage check.  But I'm not complaining because we're going to Beijing China!

Zack and Steve went out to find the fish market and eat one last excellent meal.

This is what we have been up to the last two days:

Monday: 

-Two Beautiful Shinto Temples: lots of clapping, bowing, coin throwing and incense lighting.  While there you are not to sit down on ledges in the temples and apply band aids to your feet or linger in front of the gates; and when you pour the cleansing water over some one's hands (Zack) make sure the dirty water does not go back into the clean water.  For these things you will be scolded.

-The Great Buddha Kamakura: the coolest Buddha I have ever seen.  Big and green and hollow inside.  We even went inside it.  Made in 1252.

-Katsu Curry for lunch, breaded pork cutlet served over curry rice with lettuce and pickled something.  Delish. 

-Yaki Niku for dinner.  All you can eat meat and veggies cooked over hot coals by us at our table.  Best 'salt salad' I have ever had.  I ate two.  Zack slept through dinner.

Tuesday:

-Giant Poke Mon store.  Zack spent an hour deciding what to buy only to discover he lost his 1000 yen note ($12.00 USD).  Good thing his daddy loves him and gave him the needed money. Have yet to find missing money.  Steve and grandma said "I can't believe he lost his money!"  I can believe it, welcome to my life.  Poor kid, cursed with the 'lose things syndrome'.

-Museum and park.  Walked around a huge park, saw some shrines, performers, etc.  Then we went to the National Museum and saw ancient Japanese relics, art and a special exhibit on the life of Buddha.  One of my favorite things we have done.  I love museums with ancient relics!  And I really enjoy all things Buddha.

-Electronics district.  Loud and bright with floors and floors of electronics and other wonderful inventions.  Rice cookers, personal beauty products, feather light suitcases, gadgets I'd never seen but need, game and music gadgets, ear phones...I could have bought everything!  Steve and mom had to hurry me out of the store, I had that crazy look in my eyes!  But...I bought a new pedometer!  Yea!

-Festival.  We heard there was a festival but really it was just a long street with food and shopping.  We ate more octopus balls, some pancake thing that was gross because it had fish flakes on it and ice cream.  I bought some sockletts.  Some guy gave Zack a huge apple for free.  He was selling them for 1000 yen!  Everyone is very nice.

-Shabu Shabu for dinner.  Our favorite.  All you can eat meat, veggies, noodles, tofu and gyoza that you cook yourself in 3 different kinds of hot broth.  Delish!

**I just found out it is recommended that everyone take 10,000 steps each day.  I guess I am beyond lazy because it's right around 10,000 steps that I start to die.  Also, 2000 steps= 1 mile (approx, everyone is diff).  So that means we walk about 7 miles per day.  Yikes!

The Giant Buddha.

Inside the Giant Buddha.

The gardens were so beautiful!

It pretty much rained all day, good thing we had our umbrellas.

The giant Buddha was in a coastal town, as was the temple.

Steve and Zack washing up.

Sharon:  "That man is a MACHINE!"

Resting and eating some delicious katsu curry.

A famous statue in downtown Tokyo of a dog.  The story says that the dog always met his master at the train station, even after the master died, the dog would show up every day.

So many lights!  Vegas has nothing on downtown Tokyo at night!

Pokemon store!

So happy!

Performers in the park.

A giant whale at one of the museums.

Samurai uniforms.

Lots of beautiful old kimonos.

The "festival" street.

Steve makes this for us at home.  This guy made it super gross like we had never had before.  Too many fish flakes!  We could barely eat it.

Octopus balls!

Biggest apples we had ever seen.  This picture does not do them justice at all!

Steve loves these burgers and even though we had just eaten and it was almost dinner time, we all had to try one.  It has a rice bun and was definitely delicious!

Before Shabu Shabu.

After Shabu Shabu.  We are exhausted!

20,000 steps and a Japanese Bath House

Today I walked 20,000 steps.  I know this because my place of employment gave me a pedometer a few weeks ago and I brought it on the trip.  Right now my legs and feet are throbbing!  It is 10:30 pm and we are going to bed but first I had to recap our day. 

First off we found an awesome bakery and had a hard time choosing from the many options.  I got a sandwhich thing and a cream filled croissant.  Soooo good.  I will lobby to go again in the morning.

Best bakery in the history of bakery's.

Next we were off to see a Shinto Shrine.  While there we were able to catch a drum show and a traditional wedding.  

You could FEEL the sound from the drums.  These drummers must get a great workout! 

The main gate to the shrine.

Entrance to the shrine.

Several seconds after sitting down to patch up my blistered feet,  we were shooed off this ledge and told we could not sit there.  Japan is strict!

The wedding.

The Bride.

The thing about this Japan is:  very few places to sit, everyone walks a ton and all the women are wearing high heels.  Also, the fashion is awesome.  These ladies are all about the socks.  Tons of cool tights, thigh high's, fishnets and leggings.  All paired with short shorts.  It's like their all on their way to roller derby!

No where to sit but on the ground.

Then we walked down a street that is the Japanese Champs De Le Elysee's.  Lot's of high end shops, etc.  Zack found a toy store and bought a Bay Blade and he is very excited to show his friends at home.  We also found a little stand selling octopus balls which we all love so we sat and ate 2 orders.  It was a beautiful sunny day.

Octopus Balls! (Tiny pieces of octopus meat with a breaded coating and sauce)

Fancy cars on a fancy street.

We had been told that there was a good revolving sushi bar in the area so we spent about an hour trying to find it and then ate there.  It was fun, you sit around a circular bar with sushi chefs in the middle and a conveyor belt circles in front of you.  You just grab a plate of whatever you like and at the end they add up your plates and you pay by the plate.  Steve ate 15 plates, I had 7!

The revolving sushi bar.  You can see the drinks on the plates right there.  They don't have rolls like we do.  It' s all just fish.  It was delish.

Even Zack partook of some sushi.

Next we were off to the Ghibli museum, which Zack was excited to see since we love Hayao Myazaki movies at our house.  When we came out of the subway it was pouring rain and cold.  So much for the beautiful day.  The museum was fun, but everything was in Japanese so we didn't know what we were looking at all the time.  Steve says his reading skills have waned.

The museum gardens.

The Ghibli Museum in the background.

**Post-Edit Warning:  The following may contain TMI, read at your own risk.
Now for our bath house adventure.  Steve has been wanting to take us to an authentic bath house.  I was not so hip on the idea.  First of all it's totally nude.  Second the men and women are separate.  That is good and bad.  Good because, well, you know, it's nude!  Bad because my translator and guide would not be with me to tell me what to do.  Thirdly, we were all jet lagged and exhausted.  Do you know what I do when I'm exhausted and stressed?  I cry.  So yes, there were a few tears shed.  I got over it quick and Steve asked a worker to help my mom and I. 

We went in and rented a towel and wash cloth, stowed our shoes in a locker and then to the women's locker room.  You're supposed to shower and clean up before you soak in the hot water baths.  We just bit the bullet and stripped everything off, just like everyone else did and headed in the direction everyone else was going.  I tried not to stare, but at the same time I needed to see what the others were doing so we wouldn't commit any no no's, so I stared alot.  We got into the bath area and there were little stools in front of shower head things and soaps and a big bowl.  Everyone was soapin up and scrubbing down so we sat down and did the same.  After a while I realized my naughty bits were touching the same plastic stool that everyone elses had touched.  I tried not to think about it. 

After we were thoroughly clean, we couldn't decide what to do with our washcloths.  So we stared and noticed everyone was carrying them around with them and some were covering their bits a little so we did the same.  This made me feel better because I recently had some laser hair removal done and there is nothing covering my whoo hoo, if you know what I mean.  Annnnyway...We enjoyed our time flitting from pool to pool, some indoor some outdoor, some salty, some scalding, some freezing.  At one point we were told by a nice Korean lady who spoke English that we were not supposed to put our wash clothes into the baths, just to keep them on our heads or on a nearby rock.  Ooops. 

After we were sufficiently dizzy and overheated, we decide to go back to the locker room and change.  While changing, the valet lady from the entrance came in holding my mom's backpack. She had left it in the cab on the way there and the cab driver realized and brought it back to us.  We were very surprised and happy that he was so caring and honest. 

So, it was a bit awkward of an experience but not as bad as I thought.  Sorry, no pictures of this!

Now we are nice and clean and relaxed and going to bed!

We're in Japan!

Zack's first ever plane ride!

The Plane

After a super long day of flying, which started at 6:30 am, we arrived in Japan yesterday (Saturday) at 2:30 pm.  (Can I just say that I envy people who fly first class?  We were like sardines in a plane!)  We took a train into Tokyo and then had to drag our luggage through the busiest subway stations, up and down stairs, and then down the streets of Tokyo to our hotel.  It's a good thing I do roller derby because my awesome skillz came in handy.  I just had to literally push through people because they do not move for you!  I did a couple of hip hits, took a whip from Steve and rolled my suitcase over some guys feet.  No problem. 

The Japan subway turned us into devils!

Our room.  The futons were surprisingly comfortable and the guesthouse was very clean.

We are at a cool hotel with futons on the floor.  Last night we found a Ramen shop and had Delicious ramen and gyoza.  We were going to go to a bath house but Zack was falling apart so we'll try and go tonight. We slept well and were all up at 5:30 this morning feeling much better!

The Kimi Ryokan - our guest house hotel while in Tokyo.

The Delicious Ramen shop we found.  The two cooks were very friendly.

Zack only asked to go home 4 times last night.  We'll see how he does today, having slept.

Robes and slippers were provided by the Kimi.  Zack's is a little big!

It's a good thing that Steve speaks Japanese or we would be completely lost here!  It's funny to see people's reactions when this tall white boy starts speaking their language to them, they are usually quite surprised.


We are having a great time and I will post when I can!

Zack was exhausted by the time we got on the train from the airport into Tokyo.

The bathroom area of our hotel with showers on either side.  The toilets were around the corner, as was a wooden bathtub.

Zion National Park

I found this post that I never finished because I was waiting for pictures! It is from October 2010.

Over UEA weekend we wanted to go camping and Steve came up with the idea to go to Zion's since we have never been there together and Zack has never been. We found a really neat place to stay called Zion Ponderosa. You can camp, trailer camp, rent a cabin, rent a covered wagon or rent a room in the lodge. They have a really nice pool, hot tubs and spa. They also have tons of activities you can do like miniature golf, rock wall, zip line, 4 wheelers, etc. It was great and I would stay there again. The best part...showers! Nice, clean, private, hot showers!

Steve planned our whole itinerary and it was full of hiking, and more hiking! He did a good job researching hikes in Zion and had the GPS coordinates for the more obscure ones. Unfortunately we forgot our camera! Big bummer. Fortunately, Steve took a few pics with his phone.

No pics of Steve since he was using his phone camera! :(

The highlight of the trip was our 5 mile hike up to Angel's Landing. I wasn't too worried when he told me we were going to do 5 miles because we did 4 miles in Glacier 2 years ago and we all did fine, Zack is a good little hiker. I SHOULD have been worried. Angel's Landing? Ever heard of it? Apparently I am the only one who hasn't because every time I mention it people's eyes get big and they say things like: "You hiked Angel's Landing with Zack!!?" When I told my mom we hiked it she told me people die all the time on that hike. (Upon further googling, I found that about 6 people have died on this trail in it's history. I am surprised it's not more!)

On our way up, I look like I'm dying.  I was!  Zack loved climbing in the drainage system.

Good thing I didn't know about the deaths before we started. It was a really hard hike for me as I am pretty out of shape and you gain 1500 feet elevation, but I was really proud of myself for doing it. It was nothing at all for Zack and Steve, I probably held them up. It took us 4 hours and that included a half hour break at the top to eat lunch and look around so I feel like that is pretty good time.

After 4 1/2 miles of hiking we got to a spot where a bunch of people were sitting and eating. I thought that was it and was ready to dig into my lunch when Steve informed me that we still had a half mile to go and then he pointed to where we were going. I literally got sick to my stomach and asked him if he was joking. I thought about staying put but my pride wouldn't let me. That, and I wasn't about to let Zack go without my protection.

The last little climb to the end of the hike, treacherous!

The last half mile of the hike is literally along a thin (thin as in a few feet wide) spine of rock with 1200+ foot drops offs on both sides. There is occasionally chain drilled into the rock to hold onto and pull yourself up with but when you are going up and dozens of people are coming down, sometimes you have to let go to let someone pass. It is really hard to describe how scary this path is. If you want to see for yourself this is a good video.

Can you see the narrow ridge I'm talking about?  This photo is a view from the end of the hike, that is what we walked over!  It is as small as it looks.

We made it to the top and were rewarded with fabulous views all around us. It was truly beautiful and I was so proud of myself and Zack (and Steve) for completing the hike, ALL THE WAY! On the way back down, people kept commenting how they were amazed at Zack and his hiking skills. We were all proud.

I highly recommend this hike to everyone. Just be care full!

Here we are at the top!

After the hike down we waded through the river and Zack got pretty wet. It felt good! Then Steve wanted to go on a couple more short hikes. Ha! We had to break it to him that we were done for the day, I was dead and Zack was shivering cold, so we went into town and got some pizza and shopped for rocks. Zack was in heaven with the rocks, but who knew they could be so expensive?

The next two days we did some shorter hikes including the emerald pools (3 miles and a cinch!) and weeping rock. We also found a cool mini-narrows on one of our adventures and Steve and Zack had fun exploring and rock climbing. While in the narrow, I pointed out a dead tarantula floating in a puddle with some weird worms. Steve went to pull it out and found it was alive! We had fun saving it and watching it crawl around and then we placed it in a sunny spot so it could warm up. Boys love stuff like that!

Giardia anyone? On the Emerald Pools hike.

We did have some rain one afternoon so we went and soaked in the hot tub. It poured that night, but our new tent held up pretty well and we were only a little wet in the morning. Steve is a great cook and we had a delicious dutch oven dinner of roast with potatoes, carrots and onions and every morning we had a deluxe breakfast.

Chilin on one of our hikes

I always worry that Zack will be bored on vacation with just his old parents but he always has a good time and doesn't seem to mind. He has fun exploring and playing and has never complained about us. I am so grateful that we are able to take so many fun vacations together, it is something we make a big priority and it is good bonding time for our family. Even if I do get a little grumpy when I camp! (I hate dirt and creepy crawlies!)

Zack wanted to climb every rock and hill!

Daisy Update

A couple of weeks ago our agency rep. told me she would ask for an update on Daisy but that we probably wouldn't get one.

A few minutes ago I got an email from her and the orphanage had sent an update! They said she is doing great and gave her measurments. No pictures though. Here they are:

Weight: 8.5 kg = 18 lbs. 12 oz
Height: 73 cm = 28 3/4 inches
Head: 43 cm = 17 inches
Chest: 44 cm = 17 1/2 inches
Feet: 11 cm = 4 1/2 inches

I looked the numbers up on the growth chart and she was not even on it! So then I looked her up on a Chinese growth chart and she is 15% for weight, 10% for height and 10% for head. She is tiny!

Well, I guess those 12-18 month clothes I bought her are not going to fit! Better do some more shopping before we go!

By the way, we are leaving this Friday! We are so excited!

I will try and blog from there, but may not be able to. If I can't, I will post when we get back. Wish us luck!

We got it!

We were hoping to get our travel approval today... and we did! Right now we are making travel arrangements and hope to leave in a week and a half. We are so excited! Exactly 3 weeks till we can meet Daisy!

She has a name

If you don't want to read this whole long thing, scroll to the bottom...

I don't know about you, but I think choosing a name for a child is a difficult task, made even more difficult by my dear husband.

When I was pregnant with Zack, I thought picking a girl name would be so much easier than a boy name. I had several I liked. Steve wanted Emma, I loved Ivy and there were others too. I just can't remember them because that was over 8 years ago. For Zack, we had a short list and narrowed it down to two, which we couldn't decide on until we met him. When he was born, we knew he was a Zackary and not an Alexander.

As soon as we had a picture of our baby girl back in October, I started looking through the baby name books, even though I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to name her. I had to be sure, plus, did I mention Steve hated the name I wanted? HATED. So, every night I would read through a book and write down any possibilities. Every once in a while I would read them to Steve and he would listen and say "yes", "no" or "maybe". I made it through 2 whole books and had about 20 names. Steve whittled it down to 4, in about 30 seconds. Lilly, Daisy, Lucy and Ivy. Did I mention that the name I wanted that Steve hated was Ivy? So, really he whittled it down to 3 names. But, I wasn't crossing Ivy off yet, I thought I could still convince him.

For the next few months, when I would go to bed, I would get the list out, and stare at her picture. Trying to decide what she looked the most like. Then the time came (about 4 weeks ago) that we had to decide because it was going on the paperwork we had to send in. We would not get to meet her before we named her.

One day Steve begrudgingly told me that if I really wanted to name her Ivy, I could. Reeeally?! I don't think so. I would always feel like he hated her name every time he called her that. (Did I mention that the reason he hates that name is because of the movie "Poison Ivy" with Drew Barrymore? He hates Drew B. and although I haven't seen the movie the character named Ivy was quite the evil skank and he can't get past it. Weird.)

So we were left with Lilly, Lucy and Daisy. In the end I decided we couldn't name her Lilly because that is a trendy name for girls adopted from China (ever seen Modern Family?) and although I thought she LOOKED like a Lucy, I didn't love the name. So....her name will be Daisy! I really do like the name a lot and so does Steve so we both win! Plus it really doesn't hurt that I know 2 awesome girls with the name Daisy!

Her full name will be Daisy YuChen. Yu Chen is her Chinese name and it means morning rain and we really wanted to keep it to honor her Chinese heritage. I hope it fits her!