SNOW.... A LOT OF SNOW...

It's very unusal this winter, we already have so much snow on the ground, school got cancelled twice. But kids are LOVING it.

 They had so much fun playing with neighbors. It's like a snow party.

 And in the weekend, it's even more fun when Nori is around.

Disney World

Nori had always said we need to wait for Kiharu to be at least 3 yrs old before visiting Disney, so that she can enjoy and remember some of the trip. It's really worth the wait, and Nori was right. This trip was just perfect for the Yoshi & Kiharu's ages.

 

I have to admit, I have never spend that much energy and time on planning a trip like this one. Because we were given a new tools to use in Disney, so I even planned our daily schedule, park routing.... it sure made our visit much more enjoyable and less time in waiting in lines.

 

One of the fun thing for kids were to get autographs from different characters. Our first visit- Donald Duck.

 We had watched few shows, like Lion King... but Kiharu was hesitate to watch other show that would be dark.

 I love this moment of Kiharu's facial expression.

 We had not used the stroller for so long, but I'm glad I listened to my friend's advice, it was a MUST to bring (for both of them)

 Before the trip, Kiharu had made it clear that her goal is to meet Pooh-san, so we made a special arrangement to meet Pooh & his friends. However........I think when she first saw Pooh, she was shocked , or confused?  maybe the actual Pooh size was so different than her little stuff animal. She refused to take photo with Pooh... (no matter how many times we tried)

 Kiharu had definitely fell in love with princesses during this trip, Cinderella is her favorite.

 I still remember clearly the first time I visited "It's a small world" with my parents in Tokyo Disney.

 Yoshi was very interest with Pirates.... he volunteered on stage as a student of pirate school. He had a great time.

 LEGOLAND was another highlight of our trip, it's a bit further away from Disney World. But totally worth the trip.

 When I asked Yoshi, who did you had the most fun in meeting- "Chima" (a Lego character)

 We went back into Disneyworld on the last day, finally Kiharu was able to conquer her fear and took (many) photos with Pooh. The below photo was the moment when she introduced her "little" Pooh to "Big" Pooh...

We have been back for 2 days, but we are all still in the Disney zone....Kiharu still wears her pink Minnie Mouse hat in the house. It was such a wonderful perfect trip for us. Looking forward to our visit again someday....

Mickeyland.... we are ready for you.

The long waited visit to Mickeyland (aka.Disney) will be happening soon.... cannot wait. I have made our own autograph books (used to collect signatures from different characters in the park, and adding photos later, almost like a memory book). 

 

When I asked the kids today (again), who they want to meet the most:

Kiharu- As always, her answer is "Winnie the Pooh".

 

Yoshi- have been changing from Jake the Pirate to Ninja to Curious George?!?! hm.... but he doesn't realize, there is one more big surprise we haven't told him yet.....

 

The last time I went to Disney in Florida, was probably 15 yrs ago with Nori. This time, I did a lot of advance planning, it's almost like working as travel agent. We are really excited, more because knowing how much the kids will have fun. We have waited until Kiharu is almost 4, hoping she can enjoy more and remember some perhaps. I think they are at the fun age to enjoy this trip, cannot wait..

 

 

(Nihon Okaasan & Otousan, just want to show you Chef Nori, preparing Tonkotsu soup noodles last week for us and friends.... It was a pork bone boiling marathon for more than 10 hrs... it was yummy. But Nori is already looking for new recipe to try next time)

One more week....

One more week..... the long waited surprise........ cannot wait..... (Shhh, don't tell the kids...)

Halloween

So Halloween had gone by so fast. Can't believe it's already November....

 

Last week, I volunteered in Yoshi's class, carving pumpkins with the kids. It was a lot of fun. It's my 2nd time carving pumpkins (last time, I was only watching Nori doing it). The kids even got to taste the roasted pumpkin seeds few days later.

 Last night trick or treat started alright, but very soon the rain & wind came (as predicted by weather forecast). Luckily, I was able to take some photos before it got worse. The kids had fun. They even did a second round of walking with Nori, and they came back home with candies, toy cars and even a quarter ($0.25). I should have sent Nori back again for few more rounds. ^_^

(Happy belated Halloween)

Doll house

The other day, Nori brought home an almost brand new wooden doll house. It was from someone who is moving back to Japan. We actually have a doll house from another family before, with same situation. My kids are so lucky to have such gracious friends. At first, I thought perhaps we will pass the new dollhouse to someone else who might need one, but after 3 days in our house, I have a feeling we might be adopting this new "doll" family of 5. (mom, dad, sister, brother + baby)

 This is such a beautiful wood made house. Simple but yet lovely. That might make it look more realistic and so much more room for kids' imagination and creativity. Love it.

 (2 doll houses in our house.... luckily I don't have to pay property tax on those, we would be in trouble)

 After the kids go to bed, I love seeing what they have created....and we actually have a "bedtime" routine for them as well.

 Someone got to clean the bathroom....

 The baby crib wasn't in the box, so mom and dad have to get used to the tight bed space then..

 Guess it's never too much to have...

 Even Yoshi enjoys it everyday right after school.... love seeing his wide range of interest- from trains to spiderman, to Ultraman, to doll house....