Please do it at home.

In the subway stations, they put up these amusing posters telling passengers what they should 'do at home' or 'at the gym' and other places not the subway. We found this one particularly intriguing.

Update...Derek found a website with a few other posters...

Louis turns 3 today!

Happy Birthday Louis!
Today we celebrated Louis' 3rd birthday...fittingly enough, his gifts included a wooden sushi set. He loves his new books!


I think his favorite is a radio control helicoptor. Jamey's favorite is the Green Toys tea set Louis received!


Birthday brownie!


Louis said he wanted to go to the science museum for his birthday - so off we go!

Several friends joined us at the museum - the kids had a blast!

Lunch time!

Pearly (China/U.K. Her mom Coco is off to the left); Jim, Liam, Lynette, Kyra (Chicago)

Justine, Inara, Jason (Australia)

What a big boy :) And proud parents & baby brother!

Baking fun & Fall colors

This morning, Louis, Jamey and I made cookies for Louis' birthday tomorrow.


Later, we met friends at Arisugawa park. The colors were gorgeous!

I think this is the largest dog I have ever seen...

I can't help it...more cute pictures just because

Thanksgiving in Tokyo (and Jamey is 5 months old!)

Derek was gone the whole week for a work trip to London. A friend (from Chicago) invited us over to share Thanksgiving with her and her son (Liam - 3 years) and daughter (Kyra - 1 year). Her husband was also out of town for the week. We had a good time (although green bean casserole is slightly different in Japan than back home in the U.S....I had to improvise on the french fried onions but it was still tasty).

Finger paints

Tsukiji Fish Market, HamaRikyu Gardens, Water bus, Conveyor Belt Sushi

We toured the Tsukiji Wholesale Market this morning. This is where all the restaurants and groceries get their fish for the day - as well as fresh produce and dry goods.

Map of the market


Fish market


Awesome hover craft like vehicles that purchasers drove around...you had to be very careful as they were pretty fast and quite sneaky. I want one.


Other part of the market (produce, sushi restaurants, etc)


Next we headed to nearby Hama Rikyu Gardens for a picnic breakfast. In the lake picture, you can see a bit of railing with string over it. The string keeps the birds from sitting (i.e. pooping) on the railing. How clever!


At one of the garden entrances was a port for the water bus (hop to another part of Tokyo). Louis counted out our "options" on his fingers (movie clip below). We took the water bus up to Asakusa (about 45 minutes).



On board the water bus.


Once we arrived in Asakusa, we found a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. They are fairly common here. You sit and pick what you want off the conveyor belt, then they count up your plates to determine your bill.


Relaxing after a busy day. Jamey is sporting a shirt "The Greatest" that Derek wore when he was a baby.

Good morning hugs

Naked time!

Cabin fever

Sunday morning was beautiful - it was a nice change from the rain on Saturday. We didn't really have any cabin fever as the cabin was so comfy and made for a great escape from the city.

There were several little cabins for the kids to play in.

Jamey was a big help in packing up to go home.

Little cabin in the woods

This weekend we stayed in a beautiful log cabin near Nikko (Woodsman's Village) with friends. We had a wonderful time!