Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Japan--We already love it here :)

Tommy's first day of work. So handsome! 


My mom and I after our walk to the supermarket.


One of the grocery stores


Mimi and her boys!


Virginia with Weston and Nixon



My mom pretending to be homeless with her shopping cart ha ha!



At McDonald's 




Well, we have made it safe to Tokyo and honestly I can't think of a single thing I don't like so far.
It is hot and humid (but not bad at all) and there are mosquitos galore, but we have been having fun.
The flight here went really well. None of the kids had a melt down. They just slept, ate, played and watched movies. The babies did extremely great too. 
We were met at the airport by our Embassy Sponsor and taken to our car that drove us to the compound. It is really pretty here. The grounds are green and gorgeous. There are ponds and streams throughout and the kids have enjoyed finding the fish and turtles who live in them.
There is a small store on the compound with food and necessities so if you needed something and couldn't get to the military base right away it's close.
Our van is on it's way over, but walking is really all we will be doing here. We brought our van mainly because Japanese cars are a lot smaller and we needed the room and for sightseeing and church we will want to drive.
We have found a few grocery stores, 7-eleven's (and other convenient stores), tons of places to eat and even a McDonald's. 
It is like living in downtown Manhattan but it is so much cleaner. The compound is like a quiet sanctuary in the middle of the city. The second that we step out of the gates, we are smack dab in the middle of the hustle and bustle of everything.

We spent the weekend recovering from jet lag and did some sightseeing (that included a lot of walking). It is nice seeing what is near us and finding different places to go back to.

Monday morning I spent a good portion of the day at the Embassy getting my badges and checking on our shipments, car and plans to move into our apartment. It was nice to see where Tommy will be working everyday. 
We are so excited to be moving into our temporary apartment this Thursday! This is extremely unusual because most of the time, you are in temporary housing for weeks, even months before you can get into your new place. Also we found out that our air shipment is here and will be dropped to our temp. quarters on Thursday also! Lucky us! Our car and boat shipments will still take a while, but it will be here before we know it.

This post is all over the place because we have been doing and seeing so much! My mom and I walked to the supermarket to get some produce, fish and japanese cuisine. We put the babies in the bjorns and made the trek to and from. We were tired, hot and sweaty by the time we got home. While we were gone the big boys played with Virginia (Nana as they will call her) and went to the pool.

As you can tell we have been busy. The kids are adapting great and seem to have not missed a beat. I am really happy with our move. I am so thankful that Tommy is such a hard worker and that we got this job. I can already tell that these moves will be such good confidence builders for all of us. It requires all of us to be outgoing and meet a lot of new people, and of course we get to see the world.
Stay tuned for lots of pictures and updates as our adventure is only beginning! 

4 comments:

Hollie said...

Yay! you finally blogged! and even more shocking- I am commenting... (hardly EVER do that) Keep them coming so I can continue to live there vicariously through you:) Glad you are all ok, but I am still worried about tsunami trouble....can the military just put you guys on a helicopter or something if that happened? Don't laugh at me, I'm serious! :)

Rosemary said...

It's great to read your blog and get an update on what's up with your grand adventures. Happy to see your travels were safe. Sounds like all is going well. Glad to hear. Glad to see everyones smiling faces. We think of you often. Love G & G Bell.

Anonymous said...

Shayna-You truly are super mom! I am so glad that things have gone smoothly and that are having a great time. We all know that most moves have many hiccups and that is within the states. Your kids and family will be blessed for all the lessons you learn on your adventures. I can't wait to see and hear more! Love ya!!

Wendie said...

So glad you are enjoying everything! I love all of your updates. I can't wait for more. Take care!