Labor Day at Oirase Gorge (with a visit to Lake Towada and Momoishi Beach)

You know how people tend to get sad around the holidays when they're away from their families?  Well, I get that way on Labor Day.  Weird, right?  I know.  I have this great reunion with my Grandpa's family and I miss it, every year.  This year, we decided to be proactive and make plans ahead of time so we made sure to get out and enjoy the day.

What a spectacular decision that was.

Our neighbours and friends decided they could join us for the morning.  That made the kids really excited for our day out.  They had been there once before so they lead the way and we were thankful to follow!

The kids were all excited to see this little squirrel home.  You can see that 10 year olds are all alike, right?

Abe picked up these acorns and held on to them for almost the whole rest of the day.  As we were walking he said, "These are Japanese acorns."

He also spied this little bug and wanted a picture, you know me, I aim to please.

With friends around Bryant was in top showing off form.  When their oldest suggested that his 14 year old brother should climb out across this tree Bryant was only too eager to try it.  I don't think he got any farther out than this, though.

Our first little water fall!

Beautiful and beautiful.

The kids probably would have been happy to just stay and play here all afternoon.

But we urged them on.  Bryant was seriously considering jumping across this divide between the road and the walkway.  But the quick current below proved too intimidating.

When the kids found a totally fallen tree across the river it was too much to resist.  Jonas was the first one across.

And Bryant was quick to follow.  He even did a little booty shake at the other side and then sprinted back to us. It wasn't long after this that our friends had to hit the road back to Misawa so it was just the Woody clan.

When Abraham picked up his hiking stick he said, "This is a Japanese stick."  He continued, "These are Japanese trees.  This is a Japanese hike!"  And after thinking about it for a bit, "But we're not Japanese."  He walked with the stick across this bridge long enough for me to record a short video of him with it and then just as we got to the end of the bridge he tossed it in the water.

Jonas wanted to be Tarzan.

Then everyone got restless waiting for Abraham and decided to just jog ahead.    I was happy that Bryant stuck around with Abe and me.

Abe was especially glad.

Once we all met up it wasn't long until we reached this lovely sight!  Kumoi Falls

Jonas told me he was trying to give us bunny ears in this one below.  Silly kid. There were a couple cute Japanese young ladies who took some pictures for us.  They really liked Abraham.

Ethan got right up next to it and it really impressed me with how large these falls were!

Bolton wanted his picture taken with it.  That face!

I suggested that we send Ethan to jog back to the car and come pick us up at the falls and he thought it was a good idea.  Jonas and Bryant opted to join him.  The rest of us waited and were almost as much of a sight to behold as the falls behind us.  Our cute little friends who took our picture even made sure to say goodbye when they were picked up by their bus.

When they got back to us, Jonas wanted Ethan to tell me about their run.  I guess Jonas was jogging along with them but getting tired and thirsty and started feeling like quitting.  So he started walking while they others ran on.   Then, he told Ethan, he remembered something his mom had told him (that's me!) that "running is more of a mental sport than a physical sport" and he decided that he could continue on and so he started running.

Meanwhile, Ethan kept turning back to see if he could see him and he couldn't see him any more.  Then one time he turned and out of nowhere he sees Jonas just booking it!  He caught up to them and ran the whole rest of the way.  He was even the first one back to the car.

Loaded up in the car we decided to drive the rest of the length of the gorge.  Along the way we stopped to behold another beautiful gem of a water fall, Choshi Big Falls.

I loved this.  There are mushroom growing on the handrail.  And then this little caterpillar crept over to say hello.

This water fall was right across the street from the Choshi Big Falls, but I didn't see a sign with a name for it.  But it was beautiful!

 I'm only including this picture in case someday when I'm gone it will bring a smile to Levi's face remembering what a silly momma he had.

The water Jonas drank up once he got to the car coupled with all the water falls didn't bode well for his bladder.  He's going to kill me for posting this!  Ha!

At the end of the gorge we were blessed with this incredible view.  Lake Towada.  Wow.

Five boys all mesmerised by the crystal clear waters of the lake.  You could see right down to the bottom.  It was pretty incredible.

This kid has no fear.  Much to his parents' chagrin.

The ferry was just getting ready to depart.  Once it started on its journey a bunch of the folks on board waved at us.  The kids thought that was pretty funny.

We had to get some ice cream, we are Woodburys after all.  As the kids got their cones we sent them outside, when we (Ethan and I) finally got our apple pie pieces (instead of ice cream) we came outside and found the kids all line up like this.  I had to snap a picture.  Ethan says it will be the album cover someday.  Cute little stinkers.

When we got back to Misawa we decided to join some of our ward family at the beach for a bon fire. Trouble was we didn't have food for a cookout and the commissary was closed.  We stopped at the shoppette and paid way too much for hot dogs and marshmallows, but we were prepared!

We only got a little lost trying to find the beach but I'm glad we did because otherwise we wouldn't have seen these awesome things!

The ocean was kind of angry that evening.  Abe, who usually keeps his distance actually got swept over in one big wave.  He was soaked!

We also found some big shells that were in tact.  First Ethan was the Phantom of the Opera with the shell on his right.  Then he added the one on his left and tried out a new kind of vision therapy.  Ha!

The evening was as splendid as the wonderful day.   I didn't have time to miss my family I was so busy having fun!

We found another park... and a mall!

Last Saturday we decided we desperately needed to get out as a family.  The base has an arts and crafts shop that was having a grand opening that day complete with free food and a bouncy castle.  We stopped to see what the base had to offer.  It was pretty small, but they have some fun stuff.  It was hard to get the kids to leave (even though they didn't want to come in the first place).  Then we headed off base.

As we've driven around Misawa we have seen this park a few times and the kids have been itching to stop.  It has a zip line!!!  What more could you want?

There were a couple different parties happening at the park, but it seemed like we were OK to stay out of the locals way and play on the zip line and playground.  The kids just lined up and took turn after turn.  They had so much fun.  

There was a big strip of mud that made it even more fun.  Nothing like trying to avoid an obstacle to keep things interesting.

In true monkey form, this guy was going down the line upside down and every other possible position he could come up with.

There is also an old train engine on the grounds that the kids got to explore.

I love this guy.

The water fountains in Japan are so different.  The water shoots straight up, no arc.  Its been really comical to watch the kids try to figure it out.

I liked these little birdies just outside the park.

Ethan is such a cute kid.  Always getting in on the action.

Jonas even found a tree to climb.

After the park we headed out of town to the Shimoda mall.  The mall is different here, there aren't really walls to the stores, they are all open to one another.  We came across this awesome toy store where people were digging through bins like it was Black Friday.  I have no idea what the deal was, but it was fascinating to watch.

The store had lots of little stations set up for kids to play with some of the toys.  We had a bunch of fun and ended up staying here for quite some time.

After we left the toys we went on a hunt for the pet store... we couldn't see it anywhere, so I decided to try asking someone.  With my incredibly limited vocabulary I asked one of those kiosk salespeople who shoppers try to avoid at all costs where it was.  He knew what I was asking, but he didn't know where it was!  But he found someone who did and pointed us in the right direction.  We went in and oohed and aahed at the puppies in the windows.  Then we headed home.

It was a fun day.  The kids were all happy that we'd gone exploring, despite the tears they shed before we left our house.

First Day of School 2016-17

Monday, August 29 was the first day of school for these kids!

Its hard to believe that Jonas is starting 6th grade!  I remember his first day of kindergarten like it was just last year!  We were able to briefly meet their teachers on Friday, August 26 and they were all excited to get going!  Funny enough, by the time we reached the 5th grade section of the school at the sneak peek we had forgotten the name of Levi's teacher and met the wrong one!  But thankfully his teacher sent an email that evening to the class parents and I was confused but able to figure out the mistake before sending him to the wrong class on Monday!

While Eliza was at the bus stop the bottom of her cheap backpack from last year totally popped out.  She was going to lose all her school supplies so I had to run back upstairs to get a different bag for her.  Unfortunately her bus pass was zip tied to this old one with our last zip tie, so she had to keep track of her bus pass which proved impossible with the replacement back pack (the zipper is finicky) so she lost her bus pass on the first day!

I was so busy running around I didn't get any good pictures of the kids that I wanted to get.  But its somewhat documented.

I'm thrilled that they get to ride a bus!  The past few years have been so much driving for me!

They all enjoyed their first day and seem excited about their upcoming year.  Jonas was a little bummed that he had homework on the first day.  And especially bummed that Levi isn't going to have homework much at all. Somehow homework is a lot worse if your little brother isn't doing it too.

The kids are all enrolled in a DoDEA school which is an American school on base.  They will all have some "special" classes they'll rotate through during the week.  PE, music, art, and Japanese culture and language.  Its pretty cool.  We're excited!

Christmas in August!

Not quite the same ring to it as Christmas in July, but I have to keep it real. Our household goods were finally ready to get to us on August 25!!  We were going to have a comfortable couch we could sit on!  And a screen that was larger than 13" to watch!  The kids were going to get their toys!  It was just like Christmas.

In preparation for their arrival we had to clean and pack up all our borrowed goods.

Heavenly Father knew we needed some comfort during this time and sent this gorgeous sky one evening that we had to stop and take pictures of at the base beach.

Then Christmas came!  It was crazy!  We got rid of so much stuff before our move.  And then they stored a bunch of stuff in California.  But the stuff just kept coming and coming into our apartment!  We have one room dedicated as a storage room.  Before they came in we numbered the rooms and the storage room was number 6.  The movers we have are, naturally, Japanese, so we got really used to saying "roku" over and over (six in Japanese).  The kids played at friends homes most of the day, thankfully.  But even still, Ethan and I were both exhausted!

Once the movers left, we got right to work unpacking boxes and the kids came back and got right to work playing in the paper and box mess.  They loved it!  We have way too much stuff!

Although we were able to get a good dent in the kitchen unpacking and organising I just had to get out of the house.  So we went to the BX food court for dinner.  And, of course, took a couple selfies in an effort to entertain the littles while they waited for their food.

The next day Ethan was able to have off work and we worked hard to get more space liveable.  By that evening we were putting our feet up and enjoying the soothing sounds of Ethan's strumming.

We still have a long way to go until we feel "settled" but we're getting closer each day!

Sapporo Temple Dedication

Living in Japan is full of new and exciting adventures.  We have been excited as we become more familiar with the people and the things to see and do in our new environment.  It also has challenges, when we are out in "real Japan" (off base) we are basically illiterate.  And communicating with the people is extremely difficult.  We have tried to learn some basics, but it is a very difficult language to learn.  So, we'll continue to try and accept that we can do hard things.

Another challenge for us is our distance from the LDS temple.  As of August 21, there are three operating temples in Japan.  The Tokyo temple is approximately 10 hours away and costs $150 in tolls one way.  Of course, we could take a bullet train down, but that is $300 per person.  So, yeah, its a lot.  A big sacrifice of both time and money to get there.

The Fukuoka temple is even further away.  

And on August 21, the new Sapporo temple was dedicated.  Sapporo is on the island north of us.  I'm not quite sure how much it will cost us to get there, but it will involve a ferry and bus more than likely.  I think the travel time is around 8 hours.  

As you can see, getting to the temple while still very important to us, is just not going to be as feasible as it has been in the past.  Those of you who live close to a temple, please, please go often!  I've been trying to convince Ethan that we can still get there frequently, but we're also considering other ways to make the temple a priority in our life.  We have a day set aside each month as our Temple Day.  We'll use some time that day to study about the temple or research family names or hopefully get to actually visit one.

In August we were blessed to attend the dedication as a family (minus the youngest two).

It was really great to be able to attend the dedication with the kids.  I really felt the spirit touch my soul.  One of the sisters that spoke talked about how even though they were so far from the temple before they were still able to make it a priority and attend the temple often.  I felt the spirit tugging at my heart that it is possible if we want to make it so.

One of the men that spoke talked about how we need to not get stuck in excuses that keep us from the blessings of the temple.  Yes, it takes time.  Yes, it takes planning and effort and energy.  But it always worth it.

Bryant was blessed in California with a youth group who met at the church every other week at 4 am and went to Oakland temple to do baptisms.  He grew to love the temple.  Jonas will be 12 in six months and I want him to develop a love for the temple, too.

I know its not quite as bad as those people who are completely destitute and have to save money for their whole lives to be able to attend the temple one time.  I know it could be much harder to get to a temple.  I'm thankful that its only as hard as it will be.  But I hope that our faith and testimony will only increase as we learn to sacrifice and prioritise the temple in our life.

I love the temple.  It truly is the House of the Lord.