Sam came in 4th place at his school's Spelling Bee today! They provided a livestream link to the show, and as long as they leave it up you can watch him at the link below. His words are at:

24:40 subway
37:10 bronze
46:45 howdy
53:45 pantry
1:02:56 stroll
1:06:17 drawl
1:09:40 vision
1:13:10 furniture
1:15:36 composition (miss)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ueW9pq3pA

We are so proud of Sam! He didn't prep much, just wanted to play "for fun." He said afterward "Now I know how fast my heart can beat!" For real. I can't stand the stress of Spelling Bees. I'm glad he is satisfied with his performance. Way to go!

Ben is playing his new Yakuza series video game and Freddy receives scratches during cut scenes. Looks like a cozy way to spend a Saturday morning.

Here are some of the things we did leading up to Christmas 2023 (these might be out of order).

We had a picturesque Christmas with the Waterhouses this year. We puzzled together, talked together, and opened many fun, generous gifts. We had snow and went sledding, and we went to the Nutcracker Ballet. I LOVED it! That silly show is so close to my heart. We ate lots of great food and the kids had the novel experience of waiters and table service. (Our dining habits have changed a lot since 2020!) We talked with the Masons and generally had a very jolly Christmas!

Sledding videos! I can't believe my parents didn't break any bones. They were really going for it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV8-QTxKXdI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG3JlcNZWfM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBJEmJ2BIE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxvucb0yhQg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOkdWNVty8Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiTHviyxljo

After we bid farewell to family on Christmas night I downstairs to fetch an item from the basement, and lo, an unexpected pond.

Thanks to our work the previous winter, the drain overflowed as designed and the water didn't cause any further damage. We bailed it out with buckets and towels and squeegees and set up fans overnight. Luckily I was able to get a plumber out the next next day, so we only had to live without drains/flushing for a short time.

The plumber diagnosed tree roots in our main sewer line. He cut through them and cleared the clog, but warned it would grow back soon. We had the plumber back later in the week for a full scope. As expected, the main sewer line had several problems that will lead to frequent clogs, and the kitchen line was in terrible shape too.

After some research and pondering, we decided to replace both lines completely. Yes, it was very expensive. Yes, it was annoying and loud. Yes, the damage control was bad. But we should we set for decades of functional drains now. This job was inevitable, given the age of the house. In fact, we saw a neighbor getting trenched for the same job on the same day with a different company. The basement drain even flooded again between the scope and the replacement job.

The big day - the cats were secured in our room and the faucets and toilets taped off. They told us it would be a one day job and despite some setbacks they were true to their word. The plan was a trenchless replacement of the main sewer using a "pipe burst" method. But they figured out the angles of the lines wouldn't work, so they had to do the old trench method. They laid down plywood before piling up the dirt. I think most of my gardern survived, thanks to Ben's planning when we laid out the garden. I'm very curious what it will look like this summer.

I wanted to do all the post-replacement repairs myself to keep costs down. After the concrete dried I patched the floor around it to even out some gaps. Then I vacuumed and vacuumed and vacuumed. There was SO MUST concrete dust everywhere. Every wall had to be wiped, every trinket and book and picture had to be dusted. Every blanket and couch had to be washed or beaten and vacuumed. Then I replaced the carpet as best I could and gave it several turns with the vacuum. I had to replace some carpet tacks, use carpet glue and tape, and try to mend the tears from pulling it out.

Now I could work on the walls. I learned the basics of drywall repair and stubbornly brought home an 8 foot sheet of gypsum in my minivan (it BARELY fit). I cut and drilled the patches. I applied 3 layers of mud, sanding and texturing as best I could. With the repairs mostly done, I could focus on putting the room back together.

However, I always disliked that orange color from the previous owners. We had had to remove everything from the walls for safety while they jackhammered, and now the walls were bare and clean. It was the perfect time to paint.

The kids helped with the first coat. We picked a rich, dark green. After two coats and touch-ups, we set to work rehanging all the speaker wires and casing. The speakers used to be on janky shelves that was nearly broken. I swapped those for invisible wall hanging hardware. I replaced all the baseboards. We re-hung the theater screen and re-set the projector. I rearranged the artwork and shelf displays. I made a new storage system for all of Ben's video game disk collection (out of sight and his Amiibo/Disney Infinity figures (proudly displayed). Finally, we replaced the hand-me-down couches for new theater seating. The new couches have cupholders, a drop down table, power access and lights, and are not beige.

Final Reveal!

After a short break I tackled the spare room - no changes there. Just meticulous dusting and vacuuming, and fitting everything back in it's place.

I haven't gotten around the repairing the kitchenette area. That's a future Rachel problem.

Here are some videos from Jack's recent orchestra concert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJmftVSrUjY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydJeMF3ipzc

Jack also finished learning Fur Elise last month. He made a few mistakes and said it wasn't fresh anymore, but I think it sounds great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTSxXV9FrPA

Just a quick post to share our quiet birthdays at home.

Ben celebrated his 43rd year with cake and presents.

And I did the same for my 42nd! We also went out to dinner at Red Robin - hot fries and burgers are a special treat! I busted out a puzzle gift and worked on it all week.

Here are lots of photos of other moments this year so far. Ugh, it loaded them in reverse-chronological order. Oh well! We'll go backwards in time, and I'll mix some up to match photo orientation, so it's totally out of order!

Sam has been working hard and growing his music skills. In orchestra, they had the chance to perform a song of their choice. Sam worked on the Godzilla theme for his cello. He performed it as a solo in front of a packed auditorium! I wasn't able to attend, so Ben took this video for me. He did amazing!

https://youtu.be/dLnZHsTxtS8

On the piano, Sam has been practicing a piece called "Village Dance:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxmDVmb1yvI

Lastly, his whole 5th grade had to perform a mini musical. It was a very corny musical about zombies. Sam did a great job! He put his costume together and did the choreography very well. He had a featured part where he "tangos" with his friend. I took some close-up videos of him:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzDkSU4yJzw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7wREoNobpE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-SxxEM4gAU

If you want to watch the whole 30 minute show, his teacher uploaded it here:

https://youtu.be/IMMdhTNoWbA?si=7URbZSfO8nakxBov

Jack has finished the spring musical Guys and Dolls. Once again he was a part of the build crew - constructing the sets. He also got on the running crew - doing the set changes and acting as usher before the show.

It was a busy busy two weeks leading up the show. The last few days he didn't even have time for dinner between school and show, so I met him in the parking lot to say hi and get food.

The show was great! The sets were beautiful and the scene changes smooth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIG14P2ebOI

Here are some of his photos from friends after the show.

Sam had the final orchestra concert of the year. It's all the elementary classes, orchestra and band, combined into one giant concert. His assigned seating didn't give me the best view - I chose high up on the opposite side so I could see him facing me. Closer down he would have been hidden by others, and the other side would be behind him. So in these videos I tried to point him out each time. That explains the giant blurry finger that pops in and out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfmPS-VkSYg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq3AIElPwHw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE7Insg25V4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dszxFLL7hI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAyAusX9Pfk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1REI5cVt_Aw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N421lQS_T44

He did so well!! He's excited to join the middle school orchestra and continue studying the cello.

I'm a nurse again!! I got a job at a local hospital on their Orthopedic/Surgical/Trauma floor. I'm working PRN, so that should give me a lot of schedule flexibility after orientation is complete. I think it will be the best fit for our family. So far I'm feeling very positive about it. Applying, waiting, negotiating, and waiting for the job to start earlier this month was very stressful. Now that things are settled and I'm easing in, I'm very excited!

Last week was my first time on the clock. Monday was corporate orientation. T-Th was hospital-specific orientation and a LOT of computer training (I'm not even done! But I have a long time to get all the modules completed). Everyone I've met on my unit has been very nice and welcoming. The floor seems chill - a good fit for me these days. I'm looking forward to getting some solid med/surg experience. I spent a few hours following the PT, taking patients down the gym and talking about how nurses can coordinate and support their PT work. Late next week I'll start my actual shift orientation with a preceptor. I'm looking forward to it!

The boys took part in the music school's spring recital this weekend. They both played beautifully! They have come so far in their musical skills. We are very proud of the effort and progress they have made, and it was a treat to hear them play outside of the house.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-GpfsiVx3A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdZxMbTVYs0

You would think they would be better behaved for photos by now 😜 Ah, my beautiful boys!

So many things have been happening this spring!

We finished the Seussical musical. The kids did great! I feel the whole show season went very well! I'm happy with most of the dances I created. Like most years, I wish I had had more time to rehearse the dances with the kids. It's so fun to teach them. But they did great with the time we had. Amanda secured mirrors for the theater department and oh my gosh, they were so great! I really think that's part of the reason they did so well with the choreo this year.

Sam graduated from fifth grade with a ceremony. We are officially done with elementary school after nine years! I think he's going to have a great time in middle school. He's gotten really close to his pals this year and they are all going to the same school.

Jack graduated 8th grade! I had to work the night of their ceremony, so Ben took these photos.

I had the pleasure of picking up Jack on his final day. Very unceremonious :-)

The Waterhouses came for a quick weekend visit. It's always nice to spend time together! Mom and I did some serious plant shopping.

Jack had a party here with friends for his 14th birthday! Can you believe it? These kids are growing up so fast. They successfully played an escape room, then came back to our house for pizza and cake. The next day, on his actual birthday, he made the most ridiculous plussed-up sandwich ever.

And here's an adorable photo Ben took of their music picnic while I was away at work. My boys!

Jack joined a school sponsored EF Tour in June. It sounds like they had an amazing, if at times harried, trip! The whirlwind tour included London, Paris/Versailles, and Rome/Vatican City in just one week!

He says he and his friend are working on photos/video logs. I hope to eventually see those! For now, here's a picture dump of images I swiped from the group chat. I don't know why these are mostly out of order - sorry!

After years of dreaming and months of planning, Ben and I travelled to Japan! Overall, it was an amazing trip and ended too soon. We feel like there is so much more we would have liked to see and do and eat. Ben is already thinking about a return visit!

We had a direct flight from Denver to Narita. The fancy seats definitely made our long journey more restful. Immigration at Narita was a total mess - hot, unorganized, confusing, and packed with sweaty, over-tired tourists. After we got through immigration and customs we had to wait in a super long line for Pasmo train cards. I used my yen for to first time to get a cold drink from the vending machine, something I would do over and over the rest of the trip!

After a long train ride to Tokyo, we arrived in Ginza! The hotel was beautiful and comfortable the best shower I have ever experienced. I immediately fell in love with Japanese toilets too.

Refreshed, we struck out on the town to see our neighborhood. I could have spent a lot longer browsing a stationary store called Itoya. I got a cute limited edition fountain pen and some pens for the kids too.

Prior to the trip I had wanted to eat at the Vampire Cafe if we had time. We realized it was now or never (our itinerary was packed!) so even though I had little appetite, we dived into the quirky theme restaurant.

Ben got an early start each day while I took longer to wake up. He usually walked around our neighborhood and ate a local-style breakfast. Here's some photos he sent me from this morning:

I had a 10am cafe reservation in Harajuku. We had a couple hours to kill before then so we went o Shibuya before the crowds arrived. When we arrived at the famous scramble I was sure we were in the wrong place. It was so small! Ben found the Hachiko dog memorial and confirmed that indeed this was the famous Shibuya scramble. Not so impressive without crowds!

We popped into a konbini for drinks and curry bun before looking for nearby shrines.

Next stop was Harajuku.

It was too early for shops, so we walked and looked. We took some truly cursed photos at the Purikura booth shop where the noisiness was on another level!

More peaceful wandering:

The time has come . . . for the pop-up Seventeen Cafe!! Yes, I got to attend a real k-pop collab cafe for my FAVORITE group!

The cafe was running from May to July this year. It was very difficult to purchase tickets. The websites were all in Japanese and required a Japan-specific web account from hubsynch, which required a Japanese phone and address entered in a specific way that was hard for us to figure out (our local pal Koichi got on video chat to help spot errors!).

After all of that I was nearly turned away at the door when I couldn't login to load my reservation live on the site! Luckily the cafe worker kindly took my email confirmation and my passport and compared it to their list. It really looked like I was going to be denied at first and I was panicking so hard. But we got in!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0B0l1aJono

The cafe soon filled up - mostly middle-aged women. It was so surreal to see them comparing their card pulls, talking about the group, seeing the group members as their phone lock screens. I saw some show off merch they bought at the recent dome tour in Japan (that's why the pop-up shop occurred). I tried to make small talk, comments to invite conversation, but was brushed off. So I was surprised to see my neighbor pose for the selfie! I laughed and got her permission to keep the photo.

After eating, if you still had time in your reservation allotment, you could browse and purchase merchandise. I spent too much money - I blame their blind pack system! I wanted to be sure I got a couple favorites and I DID, so it was worth it ;-)

Day 2 will be continued in a later post. We did so much and it was barely 11 am!

After the Seventeen Cafe we took the train to Shinjuku, where I found more idols! NCT Dream were plastered all over the station shopping mall to promote their tour. We stepped outside and saw the adorable cat billboard. It was just as cute in person! I didn't know it made noises, somewhere between meows and baby-talk.

Just across the street we entered the real life streets of Ben's beloved Yakuza game series. He seriously knew his way around the whole neighborhood because of those games!

My main objective was a proper, icy diet soda. I navigated us to a McDonald's for Coke Zero drinks (they don't have diet coke in Japan). It was cold and sort of coke-like, neither as sharp as a Diet Coke nor as rich as the US Coke Zero. Their "L" is slightly smaller than our US medium. Good think I ordered two! It satisfied well enough and bought us time in an air conditioned dining room. My "be prepared" motto paid off when they served me terrible, thick paper straws - ha Ha! I had a plastic straw from home! Yeah, I love diet coke, and I have strong preferences for how I imbibe. Those first few sips are the best part of every day. I missed it in Japan.

A little beyond Kabukicho is the neighborhood Shin-okobu, aka Korea-town. You could tell right away when the writing all switched to Hangul and we heard k-pop pouring out of every store. I could have spent a lot longer browsing the shops here, but it had been a LONG day by this time.

We took the train back to the hotel to rest and refresh. We decided to split up a little. I wanted to check out the mega flagship store of Uniqlo. Ben wanted to see a shrine on top of the nearby department store/mall. After admiring the stranger walking his cat through Ginza, we split.

Uniqlo was crazy crowded. I got slightly lost when I crossed over a suspended pedestrian bridge for a Uniqlo extension that blended into the designer shop Dover Street Market. I got sorted out and met Ben for dinner at a nearby noodle shop filled with salarymen. We walked by the Kabuki theater, beautifully lit for the evening, and went to another konbini for a sweet finish. Remarkably, Ben knew of a park bench where I could SIT and enjoy my shaved ice at my leisure.

Ben and I realized that we both had activities the other was not very interested in. Rather than drag one along, taking up a whole day abroad, we decided to split off for individual itineraries!

Ben rode the train with me to the Disney Parks to make sure I got there safely. I also made the most important purchase of the day at one of our station transfers - an umbrella. Leading up to our trip the weather was forecasted to be warm and cloudy. As the time approached the forecast changed to heavy rains. Indeed, most of the day was spent racing under beating rain and hard blowing wind. Quite unpleasant.

Yes, I was scared to be alone. I would have preferred the split day happen later in the trip after gaining more experience in a foreign land. But this is how the schedule worked out, and I did it! Well, a Disney Park is probably the easiest place to manage without speaking the native language, but I'll still take the win!

Tokyo Disneysea is a unique park. It has a completely different landscape and many rides that you cannot ride anywhere else. Everyone says the atmosphere is insane, and you need at least a full day or two experience Disneysea to the fullest.

Phooey, I said. I only care about rides - no shows, parades, or character meetings for me. I don't even care about the special food items that fans love to post on social media. I'll eat whatever I can find. I ONLY want to ride the rides that are unique to Disneysea. I figured I could easily do it in a day, and possibly squeeze in Disneyland next door in the evening. All the online folk said it was impossible and ill-advised. Spoilers - that's exactly what I did! When it's pounding rain you don't care about soaking up the ambiance, you're already soaking! I sped through both parks in a single day and even left before closing.

I queued up an hour before the gates opened. We were up with jetlag anyway, and I wanted a chance in the lottery for access to the new Fantasy Springs section of the park. One can only enter there by gaining a virtual ticket after entering the park - so the sooner you scan in, the better your chance of getting a spot. I succeeded! I got a priority pass for the new Peter Pan Neverland Adventure and a standby pass for Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey (supposedly the best ride in the park).

Brief aside - Disney toilets are legit! Aside from the standard bidet/privacy noise options they had so many kid accessories! USA you gotta step up!

I went to the back of the park to "Indiana Jones: Temple of the Crystal Skull," planning to blitz through the single rider line. As soon as I arrived they shut it down for maintenance! So I went next door to "Raging Spirits" and did my first every 360 loop on a coaster!

I was already cold and wet. I needed some time to plan the next moves and arrange more virtual passes. So I ducked into the "Mermaid Lagoon" for shelter. The inside was beautiful! The rides in there are mostly little kiddie rides, along with lots of dry seating and a gaggle of youths posing for the gram. I squeezed into a less favorable selfie spot, rather than wait for the prime location that had quite a crowd.

I was excited for a Potato Churro - silly me assumed it was sweet potato and cinnamon sugar. Instead it was savory and smooth with a "demi-glace" filling. Weird. A good precursor to the eerie ride "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."

I had a priority pass for the big E-ticket ride, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" right next door, so I didn't want to wander far. I got some famous popcorn (just caramel corn, not too crazy like their soy garlic, curry, or roast beef popcorn) and a regular Coke, texting my dismay at Japanese Coke options to my family while I sheltered from heavy winds under the volcano cavern.

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" was AMAZING. I was not prepared to be blown away like that! The theming and story-telling were great, the effects were all working and exciting, and the final animatronic was insane! Then the ride shoots you out of the volcano into the sky before racing to the finish. Totally awesome.

At this point I was mostly waiting for Indiana Jones to open again and for my time slot in the new Fantasy Springs. Another famous unique Disneysea ride "Sindbad's Storybook Voyage" was closed for renovations. So I booked a pass for "The Magic Lamp Theater." It was a stage show with some magic tricks by humans blended with 3D animation on the screen above. Not bad, mostly a good way to step out of the rain. It gave my shoes a chance to leak out in puddles at my seat.

Indiana Jones was operating again, so I headed that way with a short stop for a "Tipo Torta."

This Indiana Jones ride is a little different than the version in California. Also, the ride is famous for actually keeping in good mechanical working order, unlike their USA sibling where the ride is coarser and many effects have been broken for years. I had a great time! Very spooky and thrilling! Seeing animatronic Harrison Ford talk to me in Japanese was a treat too.

Despite the fun rides, I was feeling a little lost at this point. Had I really done most of the park? Everyone said you need 1-2 days...the rain really dragged me down. Literally, it started pounding and pouring even more. I sheltered in a restroom for the worst of it, then darted across the park where rumors said I might find some Coke in a bottle.

It was fitting that I found my caffeine fix at the "American Waterfront." Not only a coke, but a fountain coke zero and a sheltered table! I camped here until my time slot at Fantasy Springs.

Fantasy Springs was very beautiful, with shimmery ponds and gorgeous plants. The Peter Pan ride was cute. The theming in the queue was great. Most people said this was their most fun ride of the new area, so I was excited. It turned out the bobbing vehicle, the 3D glasses+screens, and the flying simulation made me to motion sick to fully enjoy it. Ah well.

I walked to the Frozen section around 3pm and eyeballed the 130 minute queue. I had a choice. Do I wait over 2 hours for this ride, then call it a day? Or do I delete my standby pass and switch to Disneyland? Obviously I chose the latter.

Tokyo Disney Resort doesn't offer a park hopper ticket - you have a to buy a full day ticket for each park. Lucky for me, the yen is super weak so the cost of two tickets was still less than the cost for a single day pass to California's resort.

Welcome to Tokyo Disneyland!!

The rain was letting up a little and staff were guiding the street rivers down the drain!

Straight to Haunted Mansion!!! I haven't been on this ride since our trip to Anaheim in 2015. It was the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay during our WDW visit in 2016 and closed for renovations in 2020 at Disneyland (and currently closed for renovations AGAIN). This version was very close to the original. I love it still.

I wanted to ride Splash Mountain but the queue ballooned from 30 to 60 minutes while I was in Haunted Mansion. I also wasn't keen to get wet again, as the rain continued to abate to a drizzle. So I just looked for the shortest lines for classic rides.

Pirates of the Caribbean was fun like usual. I liked hearing the ride safety information given in pirate accented Japanese, Chinese, and English. Behind me a girl whimpered "kowai kowai!" to her Dad the whole first half of the ride. Interesting that they updated the ride to include Jack Sparrow, but not to replace the wench auction as in the US.

Next Star Tours. Everyone took selfies with their glasses so I did too. Fun seeing the Force Awakens cast dubbed in Japanese. The flight video was the new version that ends in Batuu - the Star Wars land in Anaheim and WDW, but missing from Tokyo.

Outside I saw a crowd overflowing from the theater to watch the stage show. I heard they were super popular in Japan and it's true! People were lined up on this far balcony to catch a glimpse. I skipped the Baymax ride, but walked through his large gift shop and fancy vending machines. They are CRAZY for Baymax in Japan. He seemed to be the most popular character.

A quick stop for a caramel apple churro - the closest to the original cinnamon sugar churro I could find. Then a quick pop into Pinocchio's Daring Journey because it was nearby and had a short wait.

It's a Small World was charming as usual. The guests had fun pointing out all the Disney IP characters that had been added to the ride in the last decade. I think the Japan dolls were expanded from the US version.

https://youtube.com/shorts/6mYnfVqH_2M

Now it was time for the big moment! As soon as I got in the park I had booked a priority pass for The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. This is widely touted as one of the top rides of all Disney parks worldwide in terms of theming, story, animatronics, tech, and general enjoyment. Boy oh boy did it deliver! This ride was incredible. I know I'm a theme park nerd, so it might not win over hard hearts. But everything I had read was true. It's a plussed up dark ride that tells the movie story. The tea-cups swirl you around in an exciting but smooth (and not nauseating) dance. The animatronics are impressive. The story-telling and pacing is perfect, from the moment to enter the queue to the end. I got teary eyed, perhaps because I realized how close to my heart this movie is. I went to see it in the movie theater over and over, I performed it as a young ballet student, I saw it at the Denver Buell, and I choreographed it for a high school. I remember seeing the previews of this ride back in 2018 and thinking it looked amazing, but I'll never see it unless they duplicate it here. And now here I was on the other side of the world getting to ride it! Well, that's enough gushing. Here's some photos.

https://youtube.com/shorts/90aeTLRozyE

That felt like the right note to end on. I looked at the 45 minute Splash Mountain wait and, as much as I wanted to see the original version (replaced at both US parks now) with Japanese-bayou accents, I couldn't muster the energy.

I did some quick shopping on the way out - a Baymax keychain, a rose hairclip for Beauty and the Beast, and a Haunted Mansion purple wallpaper patterned towel for dance classes.

Ben patiently repeated the train directions over and over so I could get back to Ginza. We reunited and collapsed into bed. Gotta sleep well - tomorrow's another big day!!

On the morning of Friday, June 21st, Rachel and I boarded the Hibiya line at Higashi-Ginza station.  We rode to Hatchobori station and switched to the JR keiyo line bound for Maihama station.  It was not very crowded and was a smooth ride!  Rachel bought an umbrella at the Maihama station Newdays store and then I walked to the entrance to the Tokyo Disney loop train and said goodbye for the day.

I realized that the unicorn Gundam statue was on the way to Kamakura city, so I found a route there.  I took the JR Keiyo line back to Shin-kiba station.  It was very crowded!  I began to be concerned that I would be causing problems for commuting people and started looking for routes to Kamakura city that would not be used by commuters.  From Shin-kiba, I took the Rinkai line to Tokyo teleport station, which was also busy, but not commute level crowded :-D

From there, I walked to see the unicorn Gundam statue!  I was very impressed 😀. It was still early, so no shops were open.  I was hungry, so I walked across a long pedestrian bridge to eat at Yoshinoya.  I had a breakfast set with raw egg and natto ;-)

From there, I took the Rinkai line to Osaka station and switched to the JR Shonan-Shinjuku line bound for Ofuna station.  By now, it was raining a lot, but the train was quiet and I had a nice seat to watch the city pass by!

I saw train pressers with boards on the opposite platform when stopped at Yokohama station.  Honestly, I was afraid of experiencing that while in Japan, but I didn't.  Having spent so much time on Japanese trains, I am a lot less afraid, but I still imagine it is unpleasant!

I arrived at Ofuna and switched to the Yokosuka line for Kamakura.  When I arrived, I was happy and amazed to see a giant Torii over the city!  I walked down the street a little, then moved over a street because I liked the look of an alley I passed 😅. I'm glad I did because I found another large Torii gating a beautiful tree lined walking path toward Tsurugaroka Hachimangu.  Even though the rain was heavy, I was amazed at the shrine.  It was very beautiful and peaceful despite many people being there.  I climbed the stairs and offered gratitude at the shrine!

I then wanted to eat しらす/whitebait since I heard it was a Kamakura specialty, so I started walking to "わさいやくら" (wasaiyakura).  Before I got there, I saw a shop selling small ceramic dishes, so I stopped to buy one for Amanda :-D

わさいやくら had a small line, so I chose to wait.  My meal was very good!  I had しらす and miso soup.  I also had a type of pudding I didn't know.  My friend Akiko later told me that it was called "Chawan-Mushi".

After lunch, I wanted to ride the enoden train,  and decided to visit the 大仏 (big buddha) at Kotoku-in temple.  The enoden was cute and fun!!!  But the walk to the temple took a lot of energy.  The narrow sidewalks were very crowded and I often had to move my umbrella and I got very wet.  I enjoyed visiting 大仏!  I thought it was very impressive and beautiful, as were the temple grounds.  

By the time I got back to the enoden, I knew I was too wet to continue my adventure in Kamakura city... I expected I would get a blister since my socks were wet. I had one last mini adventure as I loaded onto an enoden car with dozens of elementary school students. I was impressed how well behaved they were, as I only saw one potential "minder" for all of them.

I took the JR Shonan-Shinjuku line to totsuka station, transfered to the ueno-tokyo line for shimbashi station (where I saw a beard papa store) and finally took the ginza line to ginza station and walked back to the hotel.

I changed clothes and dried off and let my feet rest while the rain died down a bit.  Once the rain was lighter, I went out to explore Hibiya park. I was still tired, but it was a neat park and I saw lots of interesting plants. It was also nicely empty and peaceful.

From there, I explored Ginza some more and I found Yasuhira shrine in a small alcove.  It seemed to be a popular shrine for worship!  

From there I walked to the Hatchobori neighborhood and enjoyed the quiet neighborhood feel.  I also found a small shrine there called Hatchobori Tenso.  I liked the tan colored Torii there.  

I met Rachel at Hatchobori station, and I honestly can't remember what we did after that, but I think we got a simple meal at a Lawson.

I was disappointed that I didn't do as much in Kamakura city as I had planned, but writing it out, I see I did a lot! And I enjoyed my time exploring the quieter areas of Chuo city!  

Today we played tourist with some locals! Ben has been penpals with Koichi for years. We were thrilled that he and his wife Kaho wanted to meet us. Not only that, they planned a whole day of fun together!

They wanted to show us the Asakusa district of Tokyo. We took a cab to a kimono rental shop to play the part. We saw many people wearing rented traditional clothes in many cities during the trip. I think we would never have been bold enough to try it without our friends as guides. Ben knows some Japanese and Koichi speaks English very well. But Kaho and I were completely at odds with language! I wasn't sure how it would go when we had to separate by gender to get dressed. Luckily we both had translator apps, and mine had a strong signal in this particular building to cover when she lost her signal. She was very friendly and fun. We helped pick out colors for each other and got our hair done.

We met up with the guys who looked just as good! Ben and I both had trouble getting shoes to fit. Our friends were shocked to hear our feet are pretty average sized for Americans. Then we met the rickshaw driver who would be giving us a tour. A rickshaw!! Another activity we would never have booked ourselves, but ended up being so fun! The guide Mako had heaps of enthusiasm and said he was also a photographer. He took a lot of fun shots for us. We waited a little for our special guide who knows more English. We felt bad when this tiny woman appeared! Sion was more than capable though, and kept up a casual banter while huffing and puffing us through Asakusa.

And take-off! First we stopped at part of Sensō-ji Temple.

https://youtube.com/shorts/43rHBpMcql0

Next we rode to the Sensō-ji Gate for photos.

Then we rode a bit longer to a park with a good view of the Sky Tower for photos. I was enthralled by the rows and rows of hydrangea in bloom.

Our final stop was the Matsuchiyama Shoden temple. I hope our guides had time to get water and catch their breath. Mako didn't rest long, he took us on a whole tour of the temple with instruction for entering, washing, and praying. Once again, he enthusiastically took a ton of photos, directing us where to stand and how to pose. I was surprised to find later he even took video! I definitely would have been uncomfortable dressing and play-acting worship while filming. But the locals seem to encourage it, so I guess it's ok? This temple was known for its daikon motif.

https://youtube.com/shorts/SxpYkf-j29A

Then we rode back to the start.

After our ride we walked over to Sensō-ji to get a closer look on foot. This temple felt like a busy tourist trap with heavy crowds and market stalls. Very unlike the temple we visited via rickshaw. We washed ourselves in the incense smoke and I touched the giant shoe for prosperity.

We were all hot in our robes and sore in our feet - even Kaho and Koichi admitted the geta and zori shoes were uncomfortable. So we went to the rental shop to change into our regular clothes before eating.

Lunch was tonkatsu. It was nice to sit and talk a little more about what we had seen so far. I made a terrible faux pas by eating my katsu curry with chopsticks. This launched an interesting discussion about how Japanese food is served in the US - including chopsticks with curry!

A short walk to the covered market arcade got us some delicious taiyaki! Seriously, it was so good, much better than any I've had in the states.

Time to get out of the heat - Koichi led us to a Japanese cafe to sit in the aircon and enjoy some cold drinks/shaved ice. They were interested to hear about our adventures the previous day in Kamakura and Disneyland. We were getting pretty good using our translator apps by then.

In the afternoon Koichi has booked a class to make traditional etched glass. We were all surprised and delighted at our success with the craft. It looks quite complicated, but it was surprisingly easy. It was a nice change of pace to sit and work on a project after the hustle of the last few days.

That was the end of our visit to Asakusa! We went back to Ginza and briefly stopped in our hotel to freshen up. Then we walked to dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant. This was one of the best meals of the trip - high quality food guided by friends who could translate the handwritten specials on the wall and communicate with the waiter. And by now we knew each other pretty well and could talk about the differences in our day-to-day living.

Filled with delicious asparagus, egg, beef, veggies, noods, and octopus (well, not me!) we spilled out of the restaurant. We gave them our gifts, including American snacks, Colorado art stickers, and beer from a local brewery in a portable cooler. We said our good-byes and promised to be safe on the rest of our journey. I think they were really worried about us, so cute!

Ben and I wanted to walk off the meal and talk about the big day, so we wandered over to the Imperial Garden, by Tokyo Station, and back home to our hotel. Oh, after I stopped for dessert at a shop we had been passing every day. It was my last chance to try it!

Tomorrow we leave for Kyoto. Good-bye Tokyo! Thank you Koichi and Kaho!!!

Today we said good-bye to Tokyo and hello to Kyoto. I was sad to leave our nice hotel in Ginza, but I ended up loving our Kyoto hotel too! Overall it was a bit stressful this day. There wasn't quite enough time to plan activities in either city, so it was awkward at times. Also it was raining during our travels, which made walking with suitcases and umbrellas between stations and hotels difficult. But you'll see we still had a good time!

Here's what it looks like on the train. Ben was glued to his window the entire 2 hours. I tried to nap. My folks sent a funny video showing us zoom across the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuLLKRlqelM

Blowing wind and rain greeted us in Kyoto. We scampered to our our hotel and dropped off luggage (to early to check-in) then went to McDonald's for drinks and Shaka Shaka fries. (It's fun to try unusual products not sold in your own country, but I was underwhelmed.)

Kyoto Station had a skyway where we could survey the whole city. We spent some time exploring the station while hiding from rain.

As the rain lightened up we took the train one stop over to Tōji Temple. We didn't go in, just walked around the grounds. We made a pit stop at a conbini to fix blisters and wet socks, and smiled while passing a group of high school boys. (We saw school-aged kids in uniform everywhere, every day, at all times of day! Why are they always out and about??)

I wanted to try a traditional mochi confectionary shop on the walk back to our hotel. Ben helped me communicate my purchase politely with the elderly couple who spoke zero English. On the way back we found an interesting "Witch House," a small shrine, and the PHP building.

Finally it was time to check into our hotel! I booked their largest room with a view of the Nishi Hogan-ji Temple. I loved this view! It was a pleasure to see every morning and night. I changed into dry lounge clothes provided by the hotel and tucked into my sweets. So good! Seriously, the soft mochi with adzuki wrapped around the outside was one of the best local treats of the trip. The soybean powder dusted mochi was pretty good too.

After a refreshing rest we walked to Yodobashi Cameral mall food court for omurice.

We hurried back to the hotel for a shiatsu massage in my hotel room! One of the best decisions of the trip! Holy cow, was this good for my aching muscles. It was super cheap by American standards and kind of weird (fully dressed, laying on my side in bed, she used a towel instead of lotion/oil). It was so great though, I did it again two days later! During my massage Ben went wandering in the atmospheric rain. Here are some of his pics.

After the massage I bravely dipped in the public bath. I specifically chose this hotel because it had an attached onsen. We were both curious to try this classic Japanese pastime. I figured wandering down from our room would be easier than packing up and picking a random place in town. To our shock we LOVED it! A quiet, hot soak was such a relaxing way to end the day. The hotel had two baths - a larger one with an outdoor tub built with rocks from Mt. Fuji, a sauna, and a cold dip. The smaller bath had a basic indoor soaking pool. The hotel swapped gender assignment each night, so we both got to use both rooms twice (yes, we went all four nights!)

We woke up refreshed with good weather, ready for the day! Ben got up earlier than me (like usual) to eat breakfast and wander on his own. Then we took the train together to Fushimi Inari Taisha.

Fushimi Inari is the famous Fox Shrine with "10,000" Tori gates. Famous and crowded, but everyone said it was worth it (they were right. ) We arrived early, before the crowds and the heat. It was still a sweltering walk uphill. I didn't go as far up the mountain as Ben. It was absolutely stunning. The woods were as magical as the gates and shrines. Here come a ton of pictures:

https://youtube.com/shorts/q2NpFjw1lsA

https://youtube.com/shorts/U4ESx7Y2e78

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZMbZno5R4-Y

This upper landing shrine had many mossy alters near a pond. I decided to turn back here while Ben continued onward.

Before the trip I read online about a "secret" bamboo grove off to the side at Fushimi Inari. It was supposed to be nearly as good as the famous Arashiyama bamboo grove, with none of the crowds. It took a little poking around, but I figured out the entrance while waiting for Ben. He was game for an adventure, so we went for it! We didn't go off any official paths. We saw staff members on the way and no one stopped us. As promised, we were all alone to enjoy this hidden grove. We didn't walk get to walk "through" a bamboo forest, but we could see it and appreciate its beauty all alone. This was such a hidden gem. It felt like a sidequest in a video game. The landscape had such strong Legend of Zelda vibes. I would have lingered much longer if it weren't for the giant mosquitos attacking me violently, the deeper we tread.

https://youtube.com/shorts/91OAsSLsRus

By late morning we finished at Fushimi Inari and some stalls and shops opened up nearby.

What excitement! A pedestrian train crossing!! I don't get it :-D Ben was very excited about this though.

We took the train back to our home neighborhood. After a refreshing drink (with New Jeans on the machine!) Ben led me to the Shosei-en Garden. These garden grounds to the east of our hotel are part of the temple to the west of our hotel.

Back to hotel! Ben wanted to rest (remember, he started his day before me and hiked up the mountain farther!) I wanted to shop at the Yodobashi mall. I got some Japan-specific items at Uniqlo, and then we met for dinner at a Doria restaurant. Doria is basically rice casserole with bechamel sauce. Oh man, this was very tasty! Then I got a quick treat at Baskin Robbins. No non-dairy aside from sorbet, so I got strawberry macaron. Delish!

Now we walked back to Nishi Hogan-ji Temple for an appointment. Ben has another penpal in Japan named Akiko. They are not as close as his other penpal, but she also wanted to meet us! She lives in a small town nearby and had work in Kyoto this week. She was able to meet us at the Lotus fountain between meetings. Akiko was very kind and enthusiastic to talk in person. Ben exchanged gifts and we took a few pictures. It was a short but sweet encounter!

Oh my gosh, they day is only half done! WE DID SO MUCH!!

We popped into our room across the street to drop off our bags and for me to freshen up (into a new dress from Uniqlo!). Ben made the brilliant plan to take a taxi to the top of the hill in Gion so we could explore it walking downhill only. Love it!

Gion was PACKED with tourists. I'm pleased that we glimpsed a real geisha in full costume from the back of the taxi. Everyone else you might see in photos are wearing rented kimonos, like we worse in Asakusa. The tiny streets and shops were packed with people posing for photos. It was so bizarre, like, everyone came only for an instagram shoot. As we sat in a cafe with drinks we watched a random woman walk in and pretend to shop three time while someone video taped her. Then she left without buying anything. So weird!

We left the historical Gion neighborhood to do some shopping at the "downtown" Kyoto street.

Now we were in the Teremachi shopping arcade. I had a hot tip that the Harajuku Chicago store was a good place to buy jinbei. This is a men's summer garment that I hoped to get in Japan. (Koichi was confused when Ben told him I wanted one). Indeed, I found a lovely second-hand jinbei (that I'm wearing as I type this!) as well as a second-hand yukata to wear as a summer robe. Then I got a tanghulu for dessert (not nearly as good as the one in Shin-okobu) and we got a cab back to the hotel.

Ben woke up early and toured the Hogan-ji Temple across from our hotel. Once I was ready for the day we went back together look about and get stamps in our book.

The forecast said heavy rain all day. We heard that Osaka has miles and miles of covered shopping arcades and underground malls, so we decided to spend the day there. We got on the train bound for Osaka and headed to Dontonbori. I didn't know anything about the area except that it was famous for food stalls. I certainly did not expect the touristy atmosphere! The tacky oversized signs and figures made it feel like vintage Las Vegas.

Takoyaki are the famous specialty in Osaka, so that's the first thing Ben ate!

I will admit, we didn't eat as well as we expected. Due to a combination of norms it was uncomfortable to eat, plus it was a lot of fried/rich foods early in the days. You can't walk and eat, but seating is rare. Trash cans are only for use from the stall you purchased, so you can't gather several things and eat in one place. Drinks come from vending machines and were not very plentiful or cold. The serving portions were large, so we felt like we were wasting a lot of food by not finishing, but also not getting a lot of variety. It was fun to just wander around and gawk at all the Japanese tackiness.

We left the main Dotonbori arcade for an air conditioned underground mall. Another Studio Ghibli store had different displays and items than the Gion store. We also got lunch at Mos Burger to sit and rehydrate before going back upstairs to a different shopping arcade. I got a cute macaroon for later and found a k-pop themed photobooth store. This one was not as freaky as the Harajuku. Then another k-pop merch store (more fake stuff. I was so disappointed not to find authentic goods in Japan!)

Ben found a nice matcha shop that served authentic old fashioned desserts. He ordered Anmitsu and I tried a chestnut Mont Blanc. (I had to bother the waitress to bring me water. Who wants a thimble of hot tea on a sweltering day like this?? The locals, apparently.

Next we found a Parco mall with lots of character shops.

The rain really wasn't that bad, so we decided to squeeze in a quick visit to Osaka Castle before it closed. I'm really glad we did! It was refreshing after the retail overload. We took a train with a single transfer, and then walked through a long garden to get to the main castle grounds.

https://youtube.com/shorts/a5uTuchUQCI

We slowly made our way out of the garden, passing through a temple on the way.

Not pictured: that low point on a vacation when you are tired and hungry and lost and soaked in rain and just get really really mad. We were trying to find a specific place for dinner but got lost in the maze of underground streets that didn't work with modern tech map navigation. When we found it, they had nothing I could eat but a requirement that everyone order an entree. After more bumbling we came to a calm, quiet dining hall with one of the best meals of the trip. It was delicious and full of vegetables. Then I indulged in an ice cream cone and we boarded the train back to Kyoto.

Whoops, apparently I took a video of the gardens from the day before. I'm just gonna stick it here where it doesn't belong :-D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LpGYkZVlXU

Our last full day in Japan! Ben woke up early to visit Lake Biwa and the town of Otsu.

He came back to our room to meet me, and together we took a train to Nijō Castle. I was in the mood to read some placards and learn some history!

Unlike Osaka Castle, this site has mostly original or replica interiors, along with the famous nightingale floors. Pictures inside were forbidden. I was dismayed that the museum holding the original murals were closed. But the replicas in the castle were beautiful, and the woodwork and metalworks gorgeous. The gardens were beautiful too, but you were not allowed to walk through the paths and bridges. I'm glad we went to Shosei-en garden earlier, where we could wander all over.

For lunch we found local restaurant. The food was meh, but the casual, non-tourist vibes were strong and Ben loved that.

I did a little research the night before and found that the best place for official k-pop merch is in the Book-Off used bookseller stores. I wanted to try to get a lightstick or towel or any other sort of merch without paying the high taxes and import shipping. There were three Book-Offs within a reasonable range of our hotel and I tried all three! Ben joined me for two, and admired some video game stuff too.

Between shops we took a detour to cross the Kamo River Turtle Stepping Stones. I didn't know they were supposed to be turtles! Erosion has worn away any detail. We had seen this crossing in a J-drama and it was a cute place to take pics. I'm glad Ben pulled us aside!

This Book-Off near the main retail district had the best selection. I bought the Seventeen mini-fan from their Japan dome tour earlier this spring. I had been wanting a hand fan as well, so double win! The staff member was very helpful when I asked if they could show it worked (it did, was fully charged and had original packaging too). She asked me my bias (S. Coups at the moment) and said hers is The8! We used the translation app share our SVT love and I expressed my excitement as finding k-pop stuff, since it's so hard to find in Colorado.

https://youtube.com/shorts/RwkSuHvEWxg

We walked back through another shopping arcade where I had some delicious taiyaki with a pat of butter on the red bean. So good!! Then Ben went to try the famous Ichiran (he says it was terrible!) while I poked around Daiso.

We took a cab back to the hotel for Ben to rest. After all, he started his day with the big trip to Otsu! I wanted to do more last-day shopping. I went to the last Book-Off shop and then walked to the Aeon Mall. This was the most American style mall/shopping building I'd see all trip. They had a lot of cute stores!

I was so excited to find an American style food court, I texted Ben to meet me here for dinner. I know, I'm super lame. I was pretty tired of the same old options in Japan for non-fish, non-miso, non-mushroom eaters like me. Plus it's fun to see familiar shops in different countries! I saw the Cha Eunwoo standee at Subway and just had to eat there. He's in Astro, one of my fav groups, and Subway features heavily in a lot of K-dramas that we enjoy. The food court was fun in general - it was bustling with students studying and socializing after school.

After dinner we stopped by the gashapon shop. They had some many cute and weird choices! Ben got a random region of Japan. We both got keychain mascots from Japan (random pool included carp, tanuki, deer, tiger, and the dude Ben got). I got a Seventeen collab with Muzik tiger keychain. There were several k-pop groups represented - so fun! The shop also had little dioramas for you to take photos of your prizes.

On the way home Kyoto station had the stair lights illuminated. We got to our room and watched the most spectacular sunset behind the temple while getting ready to visit the baths one last time. I had another in-room massage to relax before our big journey home the next day.

Our last day didn't give us much time. Our flight wasn't until later in the day, but we needed to get to the airport via a long train ride that we had to specially reserve the night before. We don't like to rush when we travel, so we took it easy this morning. Just some last minute conbini snacks and shopping at the local Don Quixote.

Ben was excited for another train ride, another chance to see the landscape.

I don't have many more pictures of the journey home. We got to the Osaka airport and got lunch, using up the remainder on our train Pasmo cards. We flew Premium Economy to SFO and it was pretty comfy - not as good as business class, but I was able to sleep most of the way. In San Francisco I was ecstatic to see water bottle filling stations, and not so thrilled with the state of our country's public toilets! Almost 24 hours after leaving our hotel we arrived back home to happy healthy kids and many great memories. I took a picture of all the souvenirs I brought home (wow! I did a lot of shopping!). It only took a couple days to get over our jetlag. I think completely flipping your day/night schedule is easier than the 6-8 change for Europe. It helped to have a long travel day that sort of resets your brain too. It was an amazing journey! It's been very fun sifting through my photos to write these posts. I'm so happy we decided to take this vacation.

I started taking pictures of unusual signs on our trip. Enjoy! (BTW, wordpress always orders my photos from recent-to-oldest. It's super annoying and I have to manually sort them every time. In this case I'm going to leave them in reverse order.)

Jack and his friend made a series of video logs. They are mostly recaps from hotels and airports. It's a fun glimpse! I learned some more than what he told me at home, and Jack generally seems more cheerful about the trip. I think the heat and the long journey home kind of soured his narration to us. Please enjoy!

The Waterhouses invited us to a weekend getaway to San Francisco this summer. Ben stayed home to work and take care of the cats, while me and the boys took their offer of adventure.

We had a bumpy start when the Crowdstrike system update shut down most airline computers. With amazing luck the Waterhouses made it to Denver in time for our connecting flight to SFO. We collected our bags and took a taxi to the hotel. While every took a moment of rest I ran dashed out for a diet coke (not in Japan this time!) and took a selfie at the appropriate wall.

Amanda found a cute deli in a nearby building. The interior looked like Gringott's Bank!

We walked to Chinatown. Lots of great murals and sculptures. Fun shops and treats. There was a gashapon shop where Sam tried his luck with the crane machine. We saw fortune cookies being made and ate fresh samples. Sam and I split a strawberry smoothie (he insisted on that pose!)

We landed in Columbus park in the North Beach neighborhood. Sam played while the adults recharged on benches. I found a music shop nearby and the guys hunted for good vinyls.

We ate Korean fusion for dinner at Surisan, near Fisherman's Wharf. It was so windy afterward! The kids got hoodies and then we bundled into Ghiradelli's for dessert. Finally, we took a cable car back to the hotel. The wait was long but it was worth it! What a ride, and what views! The kids had a blast.

Day two was touristy endeavors - the Exploratorium and Alcatrez Island. I think Sam could have happily spent the entire day at the Exploratorium. The new building had many original exhibits along with dozens of new ones. Super cool place, I'm glad we went!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTtPtZSCHeM

We ate a surprisingly good lunch at the museum, then walked up the pier to the Alcatrez ferry - except Amanda whisked Sam away in a pedicab, probably for the best. I barely caught his smug face as he passed us by. We did the audio tour of the prison and it was very well made! The museum added a lot of education about America's high incarceration rates since I visited with Ben. The flowers were gorgeous and the seagulls noisy. Sam got babied again with a ride on Grandpa's back.

We elbowed the crowds to get a glimpse of the sea lions before heading over to dinner, stopping at a bookshop on the way. Delicious diner food - everyone found something satisfying, and we ordered far too much dessert!

Then we hustled to the nearby theater to watch a touring production of the Mrs. Doubtfire musical. We had mixed feelings, as expected with any movie adaptation. But over all the show was fun and entertaining, our seats were fantastic (the legroom!) and it was neat to see a show set in San Francisco in the actual city.

Day three Mom rented a car and Dad bravely drove us all over the bay. We started at Coit Tower, then down the twisty Lombard street, and over the Golden Gate Bridge.

We drove through the 6 minute tunnel to our old house, then to "our" beach. It was whipping cold for me! Again, Sam would have happily spent hours playing here. Jack played chicken with the waves, but it was Sam who soaked his feet and grumpily wore wet socks until Grandma found a pair at the Muir Woods gift shop.

As I mentioned, our next stop was Muir Woods. Dad safely completely the harrowing drive up the hills. We had lunch at the visitor center, then entered the magical woods. It was so splendid inside!

We drove back over the bridge and through the city, Andy pointing out historical sites along the way. We rested at Alamo park until it was time for dinner at Cioppino's on the Wharf.

Andy ushered us to the Musee Mecanique with a fistful of quarters, and a merry time was had by all.

Sam wanted to try these driverless cars we had seen all over town. Jack wanted to ride the cablecar again. So our party split to take different transport to the hotel. I went with Sam and was quite impressed by the comfort and (apparent) safety by the Waymo driverless cabs.

Amanda let Sam take video to document the journey, which you can view here.

That's the end of my photos, but we did so much more I failed to mention! Andy took marvelous pictures as well, you can see them at this link. I'm going to try to upload my full batch there too, more than what I shared here. Thank you so much, Mom and Dad, for all the planning and expense you did for this amazing trip! We had a fabulous time!!

Ok, looking through Andy's file and he had some great ones that I had to download and re-post here!

Happy Birthday, Sam!!! I feel like he's been 11 for a long time because he's so mature and young in his class. It's real now, and it was a special year - his birthday was on Friday the 13th, just like his original birthday!

He started his Friday with pancakes. This was also the first day of D&D club at school. He had a super fun time and is excited to play again before classes every Friday. He and his elementary gang are starting a new campaign. In class they sang to him in Spanish in his World Languages class.

After school we opened presents. He got a lot of cool tech this year! Not only did he get his first cell phone, but a new Kindle, a new headset, and a new keyboard. We also we set up a large monitor and organized his desk space. He loves gaming there now. We had (I forget...Chick fil A?) for dinner and then got Coldstone ice cream for dessert.

Saturday night Sam celebrated with friends at Thane's Tavern - a gaming restaurant. I booked the Wynchwood Forest private room and Ben had his friend, a professional DM, lead a custom campaign. The kids had an absolute blast! (I made a chocolate D20 cake, but we ended up not serving it because it was pretty noisy and the service was a little hectic, so we enjoyed it at home over the next week. )

The kids both performed on their cellos for orchestra class this month. Please enjoy some videos!

Sam's middle school music program is overflowing! I had a hard time seeing him in the back. After the first song I got up to film standing in the back of the auditorium. My new phone has a x5 telephoto lens zoom and I put it through its paces trying to get good shots of Sam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIdnBYnvlqg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4D2zb_RsKU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVW5V_mOSoM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCuJ0Vky2E0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8XUgI86FPY

Jack plays in the "Strings" orchestra at high school and he's first chair for cello! I'm a big fan of Mr. V so far. He's calm, organized, and efficient. He got through four separate orchestra groups in less than one hour! Jack was chosen to give the introduction speech for their second song. He says this is first time public speaking to an audience this size. He did wonderfully!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXW4SCVrpkk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpJil5fyY9w

Jack has really taken to the kitchen this year. He started baking cookies over the summer. We recreated pasta from scratch, like he made in Italy. He relishes making his weekend lunches of ramen or cheesy melts.

Sam got Covid sometime while we were in San Francisco. Luckily it was just one day of feeling very sick, then it was like a mild cold for another few days. Also lucky - we were able to keep him isolated and no one else caught it! He had four teeth pulled to make room for incoming adult teeth. He also had his 11-year-old vaccines, together with the fall flu shot and covid booster he had 5 shots. Poor guy! He's been loving video games and cat times. We spent some time cleaning and updated his room too.

The kids both started new schools - 6th grade middle school for Sam and 9th grade high school for Jack. Sam is doing great! He loves his classes. For electives he has Orchestra, Robotics, and World Languages & Cultures. For clubs he goes to D&D club on Friday mornings. He has a lot of great friends still from elementary school. Jack is having a rougher transition - all but one of his friends opted to the other high school that's farther away (and more wealthy and less diverse). We seriously considered that school, but the local school down the street seemed to have the advantage in academics, choices, opportunities, and certainly convenience. He's taking a heavy load of classes to fit in everything he wants to do by senior year, including Orchestra, Spanish, and Weightlifting for his PE credit. All his core classes are honors/AP. He's also on crew for the fall play, Murder on the Orient Express. I'm glad he got in so he can meet more potential friends and get involved right away, but this group has a HEAVY workload. Three days a week he stays until 6pm to work, and every weekend has had a work day this month. He's not enjoying being the small fry and hasn't buddied up with anyone new yet, but I hope once performances start he'll enjoy it more. At the very least, when the show is done he'll reclaim a ton of free time.

Ben and I are busy with work. I'm slowly gaining confidence at the hospital and not sweating with anxiety the night before :-D Right now I'm not working much - I only scheduled my 5 shifts for this 6 week term and they called me off on the 5th one for low census.

It's allowed me to indulge in my old hobbies - dance and crafting. I barely made 1 class a week since July. This week I've gone twice and I plan to dance tomorrow too!! I got to work on Sam's halloween costume this week. He's going to be a pioneer from the game Satisfactory. I sewed the costume from thrift store clothes and cobbled together the accessories from here and there. The helmet was a big obstacle. After considering several methods I attempted to 3D print the design provided by a cosplay build channel. After days of printing, followed by painting and gluing, today it's finished!

Because I'm crazy I started ANOTHER hobby - roller skating! A friend at Zumba told me about adult skate nights. I've been wanting to take up roller skating for years but never did because 1) I have enough hobbies 2) I'll probably hurt myself. Well, I did it anyway. I found got another new friend, the mom of one of Sam's friends, to be brave with me. We rented skates and went to the Belmar Roller City adult night and it was so much fun!! I was right though - I got hurt super bad. I fell on my tailbone harshly. I heard it crack-crack-crack up to my neck and had minor vision and hearing loss and my Apple watch dialed 911. Yikes. At least I had wrist guards that probably saved my arms. My friend helped me off the rink, we rested for a while, then skated a little longer before going home. Despite the probably hairline fracture in my tailbone I couldn't stop thinking about skating again. I had to skip dance for a couple weeks. At work I passed out tylenol, ibuprofen, and lidocaine patches - while wearing a patch and swallowing meds from my own supply during breaks! It's been a month and I'm ALMOST back to normal. I still can't sit with my feet up or roll down from a seated position to supine. In the meantime I got skates AND a full set of padding. My friend and I have gone out three more times since that first night, with more confidence, skill, and less falling each time!

I'm too shy/nervous to take my phone out on the floor, but I snagged a short video of the heel-toe-manual I was working on that night (why did I have my arms up like that??):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur-cKoXm5Uk

I scored a table for our family to try out the new remodeled Casa Bonita. It was just like we remembered - but better! The air was clean, the lights were bright, and everything was clean and happy. Divers, musicians, puppet shows, animatronics - they were all all working merrily. The food was not amazing, but tasty enough. Jack sort of remembered going to Casa Bonita before it closed down, but Sam had no memories. It was packed with millennials - not many kids! I'd say less than half the parties, maybe even only a quarter, had a kid in their group. That's a shame. I hope when the excitement dies down it can become a family hotspot again. I'm just gonna do a big photo dump to mark the event :-D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDcitzsFMpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFtBAG5AV7w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY_i357_mdY

Jack did a great job being part of the tech crew for the Fall Play - Murder on the Orient Express. They built an amazing set consisting of train cars on platforms that whirled around to show different views and compartments. He also helped with scene changes as part of the "shift crew." This high school theater program demanded a lot of time after school. He worked diligently, even when he had to paint (he hates the artistic part but loves the wood-building part). The show opened on Halloween night and did three evening performances. It was a great way to meet new students and be a part of something bigger. He's already considering applying for the spring musical, which starts in just a couple weeks!

The first pictures were taken by their photographer at a dress rehearsal. Then I got some bow pictures (poorly the first night - I was clumsy! plus more during the closing night director thanks). Last there are some post-show pics, coming out in the hall and at Denny's with the crew (I wasn't there). The last night they had a big cast party that Jack said was his first "real" party. It's too bad theater is so much hard work for weeks, punctuated by only a couple days of high emotions and friendships :-D