Swimming Day

This is how we do it in Japan... a cheesy blow-up pool on the balcony! Ha Ha
But hey she loved it and "swam" for 45 mins until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer :)

Hey where did you come from?

Just lounging..

Splashy Time

Talking to Daddy on the computer :)

Hi guys! Why don't you come join me?

Aren't I just the cutest?

Now this is fun!!!

Father's Day

DJ got to celebrate his first Father's Day! He actually didn't get home until late Sunday night Japan time, so we celebrated US time :) He had all day Monday off so he was able to spend the entire day with Tessa. We started the morning with presents! Tessa helped me decorate Daddy's card by putting stickers all over. Then we ate a big breakfast. We were going to go to an African Safari Zoo to hang out all day but it rained so we stayed home and played instead. Daddy and Tessa had a great day together :) Then on Wed night all of the Americans on the team got together to celebrate Father's Day at our place. We had a yummy potluck dinner :)

The banner we made for Daddy :) And the heart balloons... haha

Daddy loves his Oreos... and a special frame

Tessa is showing Daddy all of the stickers :)

Early in the morning... can you tell?

#1 Dad Brownies

I was lucky and got to see my Dad to give him a big hug for Father's day!!! But we wanted to say Happy Father's Day to our Dads:) We hope you both had a great day and we wanted you both to know we were thinking about you all day. We miss you and love you! xoxo

Grammy and Gramps had to go home...

My parents left yesterday :( They came to visit for 2 weeks and we really had a blast! Their 2nd week here DJ had to go on the road so the 4 of us decided to venture out and go all over. Like the 1st week of their stay many of our adventures had to do with food. We went out for amazing sushi. My parents loved it. It doesn't even compare to home. We enjoyed our time there even though my Dad decided to be brave and eat baby abalone (let's just say it crawled off his plate). The next day, I took them to Sunset Beach. It is the beach on the other side of the island. It is beautiful over there and there is a restaurant that has the best peel and eat shrimp that I had to take them too. It was the most beautiful day. I got to lay out in the sun while Tessa read magazines with Grammy :) It was so relaxing. We got home just in time to watch DJ's game. He had another great game! His team won inter league after that win so everyone was really excited. The next day we went and walked around Nishijin. It is a busy little town that has many shops & booths selling anything you can think of and more as you walk up and down the streets. That night we wanted to try tempura. It took us a while to find the place... we actually had to go home to get a map, but we are so glad we found it. It was really neat! It reminded us of fondue. You order a variety of items piece by piece. They serve it to you on a skewer raw and you get to dip it in the batter and cook it in the hot oil which is on your table. It was so good but we walked out of there smelling like everything we ate :) The following night we were treated to an amazing tepenyaki dinner. We felt like kings. We took a taxi to a restaurant by a river. When we pulled in the chef was waiting for us outside! When we walked in we were taken to the most beautiful room that we had all to ourselves. We ate so much food it was crazy. Some food that we did not want to eat but felt like we had too and some food that was delicious. Our meal was 7 or 8 courses! We had our own chef and 2 other waiters all for ourselves. Let's just say we had everything we needed and more! They all spoke English and taught us so much about Japan. It was the most amazing dinner we have ever had. DJ was so jealous he missed out! The next day we went to RoboSquare. Grampy and Tess had a fun time there! So as you can see their visit here was wonderful. We were so sad to see them go. It was so nice to have them here, but seeing them go just reminded me of how much I miss my family. Only 31/2 more months!!!

She didn't really like the water :(

The Girls

Grams, Gramps & Tess

The Dancing Dog Robot

Palo the Seal

Dino Robot

Grampy and Tessa looking out the window at dinner.

Our tepanyaki room

McDonald's Fun

Complete Game!

I just wanted to write a quick little note to brag about my daddy :)
He did really good in the last game he pitched!!! He threw a complete game win, giving up only 1 run! I didn't get to watch the entire game because I had to go to bed but when I was watching I was cheering him on.

I am his #1 Fan!

Tessa is 8 months old!

Our lil' Tessa Girl is 8 months old! She is learning new things everyday. She sits, waves, gives five, gives kisses, talks all the time, scoots on her belly or rolls across the room, and eats a ton. She still has not gotten her teeth, but lucky us she has been teething for the past month!!! She keeps us busy and we love every minute of it :)

Grammy and Grampy are here!!!

My parents have been here for a week now and we are having so much fun. My parents have never been here so there have been many things they have wanted to see and try. My Dad especially has been really interested in certain foods which has sent us on many adventures! So far this week we have walked around Fukuoka, seen the beach, went to Costco, rode on the bullet train, visited Hiroshima, gone to a baseball game , and visited Canal City (a big outdoor mall). We have been busy!

Along with all of our adventures we have tried different foods and have been to new places and have taken them to a few of our favorites. We have gone to Yakiniku (Korean BBQ), Hiroshima's famous Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza), visited a popular Ramen Noodle house, tried octopus balls (no not octopus balls...they are fried little hush puppy type things with pieces of octopus in them), and have had some great seafood. My dad even was brave enough to eat a Bento Box!!!
They are still here for one more week so we will see what else we do!!!

Tessa is ready to go on the train!


Taking the Shinkansen (Bullet Train)


Tessa is getting situated in her seat :)


Grampy with his Bento Box and Grammy with her McDonald's!


Mommy and Tessa in the museum at Hiroshima.


Hiroshima's Famous Okonomiyaki. It was yummy and the beer was ice cold!

Our Ramen

We all sit in our own Ramen cubbie so you can be one with your noodles.

Tessa is learning how to use chopsticks! Ha Ha

Grampy and his octopus balls.

Yakiniku

Daddy is showing Tessa the water fountain.


Daddy spoiled Tessa in the Disney Store:)

Tessa is giving Grammy loves!

We are ready to go!


Grampy and Tess playing