Golden week in Japan

Today was a Japanese holiday and Ashton went to the aquarium  in Shinagawa with a friend. While he was out on his adventure, we thought we would go and check out the Ueno zoo.  We took the train and of course the babies made fast friends and were entertaining everyone.
All Weston wanted to see at the zoo was the lion. We saw other animals also, but the lion was a highlight.  After that, we decided that ice cream would be a good treat to accompany us on our walk back to the train station. The babies, especially Nixon, loved the treat!
We were happy to join back up with Ashton in the late afternoon and spend the evening together as a family at the park. At one point I turned around and Nixon had climbed to the top of the 8 foot tall metal slide. Tom and I both spotted him at the same time and I think both had heart attacks!
It was a fun day for all:)

More from our visitors

Fun toys!

We found the whistles!!

Homemade fudge! Yummy :)

The boys were happy to have our Aunt Kathy and Uncle Randy here (even though they called them Grandma and Grandpa). They loved showing them their toys and rooms. They were so excited that they brought gifts and homemade fudge with them! The light sabers were a hit and it only took a couple of days for Ashton and Weston to figure out that they had whistles on the ends of them :))

Kathy and Randy visit Tokyo

We had a great time with my aunt and uncle last week. It was so nice to show them around and where we live. The boys kept asking when they were coming. In fact, the morning before they got here Weston asked Ashton "is Shar coming too?"(Kathy is Shar's sister). He is so sweet. 

We did so much while they were here. But really it was fun just to visit and catch up. We rode the trains around and walked a lot. I was so sad to see them go and wish that they could have stayed longer!

Thank you guys for coming! Come back soon!

Our week while daddy was away

Monday: The boys had a modeling obligation, so we ventured out with the ipad for entertainment

Tuesday: The weather was beautiful so me and the babies spent the morning outside

Wednesday was Ashton's Canon shoot in Hayama

It was a treat to model with Ashton for this shoot!  This isn't the official shot, but one of the stylist was taking pictures on her phone during the shoot, then sent them to me :)

The photographer was letting Ashton look at his pictures

Me and Ashton checking out the beach

Thursday night Weston got in the bath with the twins. They had a blast...

...but I got SOAKED!!!

Friday we rode bikes outside and played at the park. Sakura everywhere!!

Our week with Tommy away flew by. Of course the week was packed so we were constantly going from one thing to the next. Monday the boys and I ventured out and about for a modeling thing. On Tuesday after school, Ashton had a friend over. Ashton and I went to Karate then came home and finished homework. 

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about how Ashton booked a big modeling commercial with Panasonic. Just one week later he auditioned and got another huge job with Canon. This shoot ended up being on Wednesday in a town about an hour away called Hayama. It was near the beach. Ashton and I got up early and went to the Canon studios to meet the car that was taking us to the location. He did a great job and had a lot of fun that day. I was able to model with him during one of the shoots and that was exciting :) They even brought a puppy for him to play with for a little bit of the day. 

On Thursday the boys had soccer and then Ashton and I went to karate again. 

Friday I was able to go to lunch with a friend. It was nice to just visit and have some adult time(with no kids) after such a busy week. After lunch we went shopping at the Toms store. We both only went in to try on some shoes with the intentions of ordering them online. But we both talked each other into paying way too much just buying the shoes and enjoying them now(everything is double the price here in Tokyo)! It was a nice treat. The boys got home from school that afternoon and we enjoyed the weather riding bikes and playing at the park. Then, daddy arrived that evening. 

We were all tired from our busy week, but glad to have him home!

NIS book parade

Max!

"Let the wild rumpus begin!"

 Headmaster Christian

Elementary Principal Demnar

Nishimachi has a fun tradition of putting on a book parade. The kids and teachers make costumes (the kids are suppose to do most of the work and come up with the ideas) of one of their favorite book characters. Ashton chose to be Max from the book Where the Wild Things Are. He cut out the crown, put buttons on his shirt and crafted a tail out of one of Tommy's old ties. I thought he did a great job!

Tommy was able to come and I picked up Weston early from school so that he could watch (he thought it was boring). 

We are already thinking about next years costume!

Easter pictures 2013

Spring break is over and the kids are back at school. We had a fun week enjoying some cool things around Tokyo. I think our favorite part of the break was staying up late to play legos or watch a movie, and then sleeping in late. 

All of the kids had colds at some point, most recently the twins but we are all on the mend.

The boys enjoyed dying easter eggs and then of course finding them Sunday morning. I stayed home from church with Nixon and Cooper but the older boys enjoyed telling me all about Jesus and the Tomb when they got home. And of course they got good at sneaking candy from their baskets all day!