Whirlwind

Life is pretty crazy when you find out you are moving with a little over a month to get ready for it. Each day we try to tackle another one of the logistics of moving from one foreign country to another. My days have been so busy that I have to stop at times to do the breathing exercises that I used to teach the teens in tobacco cessation. Since so much has happened in the last few weeks, I will use this post as a brief recap.

On November 18, we went to Tokyo Disneyland. Luckily this outing was already planned before the whole moving thing came up. My good friend Jodi Jensen watched Isaac the whole day, so we just had Cailey and Bryant. The kids are the perfect age for Disneyland.

Cailey's favorite ride was Pooh's honey hunt.
Bryant loved the Buzz lightyear ride.

On Saturday the 29th we did our Thanksgiving dinner with the Jensen's. They invited us to their house along with another family that they are good friends with that live a couple of hours from here. Our kids ended up getting along really well with their kids and the Jensen's have 4 boys (ages 8-15) that my kids just love. We ate dinner in the early afternoon and kept eating and talking until around 4:00 (isn't that the great thing about Thanksgiving?!). We went on a walk around Minato Mieru park and Yamashita park which are both famous parks right on the ocean in Yokohama (the Jensens live about 5 minutes from these parks). After the walk we went back and played games. Is was such a fun day and a break from all the stress that I really needed.

Sunday was our primary sacrament meeting program. Somehow the kids always pull it off. Two Sundays before I was not sure it would go too well. After an emergency primary presidency meeting and lots of prayers, they did a great job. There were even many tears during the last song (I am a Child of God). Here is a picture of the Yamate ward primary.

The next day, December 1, I did my final cooking/english class with the yochien moms in my neighborhood. At their request we baked a whole chicken and I showed them how to make gravy from the juices and mashed potatoes. Luckily, this meal was second nature to me thanks to my mom and dad. They absolutely loved it. Since it was our last class, all of the women also brought a typical japanese side dish to share with me. We went around and they each had to explain to me how they made it in English. They also gave me a really nice cookbook of Japanese dishes with English translation and lots of pictures (I think Josh would be jealous). I am going to miss these ladies so much.

One last outing to tell about. This was yesterday. My friend Jodi knows a lot of the English speaking members in Tokyo because she teaches seminary to her oldest boy and meets with some of the moms in the Tokyo wards for support. One of her friends took us to a dish shop that was really a warehouse with some of the coolest Japanese dishes that I have ever seen. I now have a setting for six of all the Japanese dishes I need for a typical meal. With my new cookbook from my friends, I am all ready to host a Japanese dinner. Anyone want to try? Another fun thing about this outing was the company. There were 7 of us American Mormon gaijins shopping and having lunch together. Among the women were Sister Evans and Sister Stevenson (wives of the area presidency). Jodi knows sister Evans really well from when they lived in Nagoya years ago. The Evans were mission presidents and in the Jensen's ward. Needless to say, these were all very nice women, and we had a great time.