Summer Picture Dump

School's out for summer!  This summer we worked on our mind, body, heart, and spirit.  We had a ton of pool/splash pad/water park time, went to the horse races, explored Dongdaemun's fabric market, celebrated the fourth of July, and we enjoyed our visitors, John and Euni in June and Matt in August!  Jamil, unfortunately, was traveling for work and missed our first visitors by just a couple of days.  However, he was fortunate enough to pass through Texas for some R&R with family, friends, and of course Plato.  He even got to meet our sweet niece, Dorothea!  In addition, the boys synchronized their front flips off the diving boards and even braved the 10 footer.  Gabriel busted his eye at the pool and spent the evening in the ER, Abraham lost his first tooth and squeezed into his favorite costume a few more times, and Mariam discovered cupcakes covered in artificially colored frosting, dumpster diving for a little yellow car, and jumping in muddy puddles!

Toyko, Japan

And We're Off...like a heard of turtles...swimming in PB!  If you couldn't tell by our blog already, we LOVE to travel!  It has been eating away at us to explore more of Asia since moving to Korea January 1st.  We figured Tokyo, Japan was a great jumping off point for travel since it's such a short plane ride from Seoul and we could hit some main attractions in a long weekend.  Therefore, here we are in August, on my birthday, and we're running onto the airplane before Jamil gets a call to come back into work!

Japan's capital is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, and the system of government is a constitutional monarchy run by the Prime Minister who is appointed by the Emperor.  The city is booming but has a nice balance of green space scattered throughout amazing architecture.  We enjoyed the Mori Tower and Roppongi District, Meiji Shrine and views of Tokyo Tower, Senso-ji Buddhist Temple and the Nakamise in the Asakusa District, Tokyo Imperial Palace and East Garden, Hama Rikyu landscape garden, Mt. Fuji, Disney Sea, and gazing out the window as we taxied through many of the other bustling districts of the city.  Let the journey begin!

We stayed in the modern district of Roppongi and walked to the Mori Tower for their observation deck and the Mori Art Museum.  Unfortunately, their sky deck was closed due to the wind, but we still enjoyed the view from inside.  We got a kick out of the signage and pop culture's anime and manga around every corner.  

How clever...a seat for your baby in your bathroom stall!

Meiji Shrine (above)

I loved seeing young women embracing the traditional kimonos.  They are such a work of art.  We purchased a kimono belt, called an Obi, to hang or display in the house as a table runner.

 

Above, our favorite part of the city was the Asakusa District where the city's ancient history is celebrated and women can be found wearing beautiful, traditional kimonos.  The Kaminarimon Gate leads to the Senso-ji Buddhist Temple and Nakamise Shopping Street.

Tokyo Imperial Palace and East Garden (above)

Above, a highlight of our trip was escaping from the city for a day to visit Mt. Fuji!  We planned our itinerary around the best day for visibility.  Evidently, no matter what time of the year you visit, it is rare to actually see the mountain.  We lucked out with a beautiful day on top of the mountain and even boarded a ship to a gondola ride for breathtaking views!

Above, we capped off our trip with the kids and my very first disney experience, Tokyo Disney Sea!  The boys even braved the Journey to the Center of the Earth and Indiana Jones roller coasters!  Mariam enjoyed the Mermaid Lagoon and got her first set of Minnie ears.  All you need is faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust, right?  It was magical!