New Friends, Birthdays and Double Dates

This weekend was packed full of fun, the normal weekend boring times and all of those cool things in the title

On Friday we got together with my new friend Ashley and her husband Mike and headed out for a double date. It was our first time meeting each others husbands and their first time meeting each other as well. Sidebar: Isn't is crazy how when you hang out with a friend for the first time it is like going on a date?! You get nervous, you hope that you get along and that you get invited to hang out again. The first time I hung out with Ashley that's how I felt and I thought we clicked but you never know so when we got invited on our double date I high fived myself, called my husband and told him we got a second date! lol The second we brought our husbands to meet each other we both had that feeling like we had set two people up and we were hoping they liked each other and would click like we did. It was soooo nerve wrecking! They clicked and I think we both secretly did a happy dance so now we can hang out as a group too!! I hope other people out there feel the same way and I'm not completely crazy!

Anyway Ashley's parents are in town and so they graciously volunteered to watch the kids while we headed out. Remember when I made my goals for 2015 and I said I wanted to be more intentional about making sure I have kid free time with Isaac? Well Operation Date Your Husband is off to a good start! It is still January and I was determined to not let this month pass by without a date night. This was our first Logan free date since June (I know, I know that's a long time but to be fair he was in Korea until December and we did move to a new country so I get a little bit of a pass) and so I was really excited. We headed out to a noodle place (I'm not sure what it was called) They had benches where you could sit and watch them make the food or tables. When you walk in they had a machine to place your order and it gives you little tickets (a different one for each thing you order). You give the tickets to your waitress and she brings you your food. If you ever go make sure you hold on to your own little tickets because if they get mixed up you will get all kinds of extras that someone else ordered haha

I ordered noodles but since I am learning I am not much of a noodle person I also ordered fried rice and a coke (which they looove here and have everywhere haha) My dislike for noodles was confirmed (I am going to try thin noodles next time and see if that changes) and so thank goodness I got the friend rice which was super yummy and I ate with my chopsticks with minimal food dropping between bowl and mouth (HIGH FIVE FOR ME!)

We hung out had some awesome grown up kid free conversation and then did what every super awesome kid free group of parents does on date night. We went for ice cream!!!! I got my usual super adventurous flavor of Vanilla, Isaac got some banana and chocolate fudge mixture that he devoured and Ashley got this gorgeous concoction.

I didn't taste it but it was too pretty not to take a picture of!

Saturday we went out to shop for a car and that was a bust! It didn't work out but that was fine because we went shopping instead which always makes everyone feel better. Later that afternoon we went to (Ashley's daughter) Kami's Blues Clues Themed 2nd birthday party! I love a good kids birthday party. I know to most that sounds crazy but I love to see a bunch of kids running around together and the joy on their face because they are eating things they don't normally get to eat. Plus I can eat as much cake and ice cream as I want without being judged. It was super fun and we had a great time and BONUS there were hardly any toddler fights!

 

Sunday was the regular Cunningham Family rest day filled with movies, popcorn, lots of relaxation and lunch at Chili's so that I could get their Cajun chicken pasta which I have become addicted to in only a short time here ( I know I know I'm in Japan and should eat more Japanese food...I'm working on it) Oh and guess what? We got a car!!! It was unexpected but a last minute base Facebook swap page search worked in our favor and we got a cool little car that is perfect for the three of us for $1000 under budget from a nice Chief and his wonderful wife. (Seriously she was so nice! I instantly wanted to become best friends but that totally didn't happen. There's always tomorrow right? Maybe I'll have another awkward first friend date planned soon)

That night Logan, who is going through a growth spurt which is awesome for him but not awesome for that money I just saved on the car, went to bed at 5pm and I went next door to watch a movie with another new friend Nikita and her boys (Isn't it cool how many new friends we are making here?!) After being there for half an hour Logan sensed he was missing out on the fun, woke up and joined us. There was pizza, popcorn, pretzels, yummy chicken and chili sauce and girl chat, super sweet lovable polite boys and the beginnings of a couple of awesome friendships. Fun Fact: Nikita's son is also named Logan so I just call them Logan squared when they are together and they call each other Big and Little Logan

Monday was a bonus day off since it was Martin Luther King day and we used it to pick our new car up from the nice lady who I want to be friends with, grocery shop and watch a marathon of Disney fairy tales that came on AFN. Logan actually got really into Beauty and the Beast and was really sad when it ended. We will have to watch it again soon. We ended the night with Homemade pizza, Jeopardy where I was doing well enough that I  thought it was important enough to share, and the first round of the Australian Open Men's matches were on which I dread because they seem s o much slower than the Women's. We watched anyway because we can't ever go a year without watching every major, no matter how boring it seems. We are hoping to head to Australia before we leave Japan so that we can hang out at the open

Soooo that was our pretty regular weekend not filled with the Japan adventure I am sure you were hoping for. We move into our house next week and should begin to get some semblance of normal, or as normal as we can be without our furniture, so hopefully you will get a super fun weekend recap next time!

How did you spend your weekend??? OH and before I forget CONGRATS to the Seahawks and the Patriots!!

Click here to see  which awesome ladies I am linking up today!

Imperial Palace and the Emperor's New Year Greeting

Our first two weeks in Japan have been full of holidays, new friends, exploring Yokota and getting settled as much as we can in a hotel room. This week we were determined to get out and venture a little further away from base. The New Year greeting at the residence of the Emperor of Japan and his family was the perfect opportunity to not only explore but take part in a cultural tradition for many of the Japanese people. Each year thousands of people gather at the Imperial Palace to offer good wishes to the Emperor and Empress of Japan as they (and other members of the royal family) gather on the veranda to receive them. The Emperor also addresses the people at this time and offers a New Year's Greeting. The Palace is only open in this way twice a year (The Emperor's birthday on December 23 and New Year's Greeting January 2)

The royal family was only going to appear five times (10:10, 11, 11:50, 1:30 and 2:20) so we wanted to make sure we got there on time. We figured that the last two after lunch would be the most popular so we wanted to make sure we got there before the crowd was too crazy. After all more than 81,000 people attended last year! I'm not going to lie we were so nervous because when asking around people kept "warning" us not to go, it'll be too crowded, you won't get a seat on the train, it'll be way too crazy, we don't recommend going...then we remembered we were going to the most populated city in the world according to the UN so we snapped out of the negative funk and decided to go anyway. Everything we ever do in Tokyo will be crowded!!! Why should we let a little bit of a crowd and standing up on the train stop us from having once in a lifetime adventures?! Besides I don't come from a itty bitty town somewhere in Idaho (sorry if you do live in an itty bitty town in Idaho..don't mean to offend you! *hugs*) A crowd doesn't scare me!

We took the base shuttle from our building to the stop as close to the front gate as we could get and then walked to the train station, which is about 15 minutes. During the walk my wonderful husband so kindly pointed out that Logan was gloveless and it was a chilly morning (I mean Isaac even had a beanie on and he's pretty tough weather wise!)  basically meaning I, and apparently I alone, forgot his gloves haha Luckily there is a department store right next to our train station so we missed out first train option and headed to grab Logan some gloves. We made it out and to the platform just in time to catch the next train 

After an hour train ride we arrived at Tokyo Station and I was surprised at how big and beautiful it was. The station was opened in 1914 and renovated in 2012. It turned 100 years old in December and it is awesome (and busy)! 

 

 

After wandering around the station just taking it all in we ran into a wonderful family from Australia who was also headed to Imperial Palace and it was a nice reminder that we were actually there to see the Emperor and not to roam Tokyo Station haha We headed out of the station and followed the crowd to the palace. What we had assumed would be a chaotic and large crowd was actually a well controlled but still large crowd. The wait was minimal, we were constantly moving and got through pretty quickly. We cleared security and a bag check and it was up to the veranda area for us! The route up was a little steep since it was gravel and we couldn't push the stroller (and someone decided it was too crowded for him to walk) but I almost didn't even notice because the grounds of the palace are just amazing.

 

 

 We got to the top where the veranda is 5 minutes before the 11:50 appearance of the family (perfect timing!) We got a pretty good spot since we are both short and even though it was off to the side we were able to see the royal family perfectly. Before you get there they hand you small Japanese flag to wave when the family comes out. It was so cool to see everyone get excited and wave their flags and trying to get the family's attention. Even Logan got in on the flag waving action. They were only out for about 5 minutes and then headed back inside (I assume to eat lunch....I mean they had some time to kill and who isn't hungry at 12 lol)

 

 

After the steep walk back down we took a minute to hang around the grounds, take some pictures and just admire the amazing architecture of the temple and other buildings around. I can't imagine how long it took to get the buildings built. We were all in awe, even Logan.

 

 

I am so glad that we got the opportunity so early in our journey to visit the Imperial palace and see the royal family. It was amazing for both Isaac and I but a memory that Logan will hopefully have forever (and if not I took plenty of pictures). After leaving the palace we decided that it was best to head back home and grab something to eat that Isaac has been asking us for since we got off of the plane....CoCo's Japanese Curry!!! Isaac has actually eaten at CoCo's in 3 countries which I think is pretty cool. He ate there when he was stationed in Korea last year, we went to the Torrance, California location on midtour and now the Fussa Japan location.

 

 

 All the "walking" that Logan did made him tired and he asked to go home after eating so we walked the 15 minutes to the base and called it a day. All in all it was a great day and I'm so happy we didn't let other people's opinions ruin a great experience for us

Our first off base adventure

Arriving to a new base the week of Christmas is as stressful as it gets. It is hard to really do anything because the hours are weird everywhere thanks to holiday time off. With the stress of not really being able to in-process the base and Logan not knowing if Santa will come it started to get to us. Thankfully Brittany saw that we were going crazy and whisked us away for our first adventure in town. It wasn't a big one but it was really fun and she even convinced us to set up a little for Christmas so that Logan will know that Santa can find him anywhere we go. Christmas fun will be posted later on so for now here is our Christmas Eve adventure in town!

First things first! We had to get some yen. On base dollars and debit cards are widely accepted since its just like being in the states but off base we can only use yen in the smaller stores and the restaurants and your card is accepted in the larger stores. The exchange rate varies (on this day it was $1.16 or something very close) but to make it easier for myself I just use $1. If something costs 5000 yen I just assume it's $50 and then if it works out to being less in dollars then I'm saving money haha Anything under 1000 yen is in change and above is paper money. It's so weird to get used to because we used to give Logan our change but now we can't do that. he can be walking around with $20 if we aren't careful! He doesn't like this new change but we will work something out for him I'm sure

Next up we headed to the Aeon Mall which is literally less than 10 minutes from the base. There is no train that goes there so you have to drive, or walk which wouldn't be so terrible since they have vending machines on what seems like every couple of blocks with everything from plastic gloves to ramen noodles. When we got to the mall I was excited and pleasantly surprised! There is a movie theater that plays American movies in English, a Mcdonalds, Gap and Gap Kids, H&M, and many more stores that were very familiar to us. Once we got there we sent the kiddos to use the restroom. Even the restrooms in the mall are cool! There is an everyone's toilet, which is more for the handicap and elderly, a women's toilet, men's toilet, and Logan's favorite the children's toilet! It is a restroom with a children's size sink, urinal and toilet just for the littles. Japan seems to be very child friendly. They even have a baby room on each floor next to the restrooms with a nursing area and changing table and in the food court they have a hot water dispenser for mom's using formula to feed their babies and a children's eating area with small tables and chairs so kids can feel comfortable eating. I wish I would've taken more pictures of it all!

Next up was our whole reason for coming to the mall....BORNELUND! Bornelund is an AMAZING play place in the mall that I now have to come to at least every other week. Logan fell in love! I of course threw away my receipt and can't remember how much it costs to get it but i do remember it was 600 yen for Logan and Isaac and I had to pay to get in as well. It was a bit pricey for only 30 minutes of play but it was so worth it. They have a dress up area, a train set (That we ended up buying for Christmas), a huge ball pit, bounce house, a rock wall, magnets, and an infant area that they are very protective over and make sure that it is only for the 6-18m olds (which i happened to love. So many times they aren't monitored) and a vending machine and drinking area for when the littles got thirsty

I was very proud of myself because Bornelund has everything that they offer for the kids to play with in the store for purchase in the lobby and I didn't buy anything! We played for our 30 minutes and then headed off to eat. We went over to the food court area and decided that the best thing to try would be the noodles since that is a very Japanese go to meal. In Japan it is not polite to substitute things in your meal like it is in Japan and so you have to order your food and hope you like it. When you can't read the menu and don't eat seafood that is risky but I am all about the experience and trying my best to live as the locals do so I'll go with it. We all got noodles and dumplings, which thanks to Ni-Hao Kai Lan Logan is obsessed with. They only offer chopsticks for adults and of course I didn't know how to use them. I learned that day!! A combination of Isaac's and Brittany's methods was the golden ticket! Logan got a kid fork and a spoon for his dumplings. (when we left he decided he was never using a fork again and we got him some training chop sticks which he has now mastered) Once we started eating there was a weird taste that I couldn't put my finger on. I mean the noodles were good and I still ate a bunch and then I got it! FISH SAUCE! I was done immediately lol It was good anyway but I couldn't get past it now that I knew what it was. Next time I am going to try something else since they had a ton of options (but not KFC which they also had) Oh and before I forget CC Lemon is NOT I repeat IS NOT Lemonade! It is more like a carbonated Lemonhead! 

After lunch we set out to explore the mall a little and ended up in the sporting goods store where the kids saw a huge moose and loved it and I saw orange coke which I had never seen before. 

On the way out once we got in the elevator Brittany told me that the elevator had seats! You know I love place to sit down in the middle of nowhere so an elevator where I can sit down...yes please! 

After that it was time to head home, drop the kids off with Isaac and head out Christmas shopping for Logan and get some last minute gifts for Savannah and Jaxon. That ended it an epic 1am present wrapping party. 

Then it was time to head home and prepare Christmas!!!