Crazy Japanese Fun!

Japan is SUPER crazy and SUPER fun! I don't even know what to say about it...it is so different from America! There are a lot of things that are opposite from America, for instance they drive on opposite sides of the road, the driver is on the right side, you push the faucet down to get water, and you eat dinner for breakfast (salad and rice). There are so many great things I love about Japan though, it is soooo beautiful here! And the people are so nice. Its amazing! People never honk there horns, there's no road rage, if a bird is in the middle of the road they just sit there until the bird decides to move, and everyone says konichiwa (hello) and bows a hundred times before moving on to something else. There are so many neat things to see here! I love just walking around and seeing the houses with their beautiful clay roofs and the shrines and temples and cemetaries (their cemetaries are so cool!!) and old Japanese ppl working in their rice patties and all the colorful Japanese signs...there's so many interesting things! Yesterday Kiel and I spent the day walking around Matsumoto and we went and visited the famous castle. There's only four of them and one of them is right here! It was amazing as you can see here:

We also walked around their shops and went to this little frog town where everything was froggy. Very cute!
(Me and my frog prince)

There was a temple in the middle of this great big city and there was a couple all dressed up in their kimonos giving their baby a baby blessing budah equivalent. It was really cool to watch!Lots of ppl have asked about the food...Yukarisan (the wife of the family we are staying with) is a super awesome cook! She makes really good food! I'm not huge on sea food, in fact it makes me gag, but she tries to only make things I like. So far I've liked just about everything. They have really good bread here; we eat different kinds of breads, most of which are some kind of sweet yummyness rolls, everyday. They have the BEST candy here too! I can't believe America hasn't adopted some of their candy. They have a candy bar called the black thunder that tastes like oreos on steriods. I'm taking back a stash of those with me to America.
The family we are staying with is amazing! Yukarisan is one of my best friends ever and I love doing things with her and learning from her! I really do love them. So here are some other random pics of Japan...Enjoy! (Sorry about all the sideways pics, I don't know how to flip them on this computer...its kinda funky)

An ancient building smashed in the middle of the city

The super awesome squatter...I haven't tried it yet but I can't wait!
Above all, please don't litter.

A wEeK iN JaPaN

Kiel has now been in Japan for over a week! Time has flown for me but apparently its going a little slower for him. The first few days he figured out his way around town and how to get to his work and shopped for a few things he needed. Then he started work on the 11th. He generally bikes to work at 8 and gets home at about 5:30 and he gets Saturdays off! Apparently his first day didn't go so hot, but he is getting the hang of it! The buisness formal language is much more different than the form he used on his mission. His work has been pretty speratic--sometimes he does homework for his Japanese classes, he works on his news paper articles, goes to the library to find articles for his articles, hikes up mountains to visit shrines, and visits cool places so he can write about them. He doesn't really have a boss so he just waits until someone, usually another journalist, comes and takes him somewhere. On his second day there the President of the newspaper company's son took Kiel for a tour around Matsumoto. Kiel loves it there and thinks it is so pretty! The Igarashi's have been so kind to him and Sis. Igarashi is an excellent cook!! (notice Kiel's rounder face in the pic above :) Kiel's allergies have been ok too...he takes some allergy med every day so that works. Today he went to a park that has a bunch of monkeys so we are going to take Caleb there when we get there...how cool is that??! Monkeys! I'm really excited to go and join him...not so excited for the flight there but so excited to be with him again! Its hard not talking to him on the phone but we chat online several times a day so I'm surviving.

This is the city of Matsumoto

A cool shrine

Kiel's work

The view out our bedroom window

A sHoUT oUt tO mOm

In lu of Mother's Day I want to give a shout out to my amazing, wonderful mother. She is the perfect example to me of what a mother should be and I consitantly feel myself fall as I strive to reach the standard she has set. Now I can't truly show appreciation for all that my mother is and does without also giving a huge thank you with a cyber hug to Grandma Ray. She is an amazing example as well and I know my mom could not have turned out to be the person she is without the role model my Grandma played in her life.
I am also greatful for the wonderful mom-in-law I have...I am so lucky to have 2 awesome mothers! Suzie welcomed me as a daughter into her family and I have enjoyed being a part of their family so much. She is such a happy, fun person to be around that I really enjoy going home every time we get a chance! Suzie is a very good example of being open and inviting to everyone...I really admire that! I love that I can just talk to you about everything and know that you'll really listen and care and give me good advice. I have enjoyed all the fun times we've had together in the past 3 years! I wish Kiel were here right now so he could make a list of memories he's had with mom throughout his life but we'll have to postpone that one since he's not here. But I really wanted to say thank you for being such a wonderful, understanding, non-oppresive (lol...seriously! Some ppl struggle with that! ) yet supportive mother in law!

Here are some memories I have of my mom throughout the years:
~Mom bundling us up really good when we lived in Rexburg and letting us play in the snow for hours
~One day when none of us would do our chores instead of yelling at us she just sat at the table and cried and then all of us felt bad and got our chores done really quick
~Singing Two Little Boys and Niagra Falls to us as we went to bed
~One day when I was like 6 I went to my mom and told her that I missed her rocking me in the rocking chair so she put down what she was doing and rocked me for awhile
~Dressing us all up in matching dresses with matching bows in our hair
~Trying to get us to memorize all those poems for devotionals each morning
~Teaching me how to play the piano in Idaho
~Canning peaches, stew, apples, applesauce, pears, veggies, beans, and pretty much anything else you could think of
~Taking me to get a really nice frame for a picture I painted for Grandma
~Buying me a dalmation-Princess- without asking dad...he made me give her away that night:(
~Singing in the car on the 4 day road trips we'd take across the country

The thing that sets mom apart from alot of people I know is her COMPLETE unselfishness. Never ONCE can I think of a time where she put herself and her comfort above anyone else. I remember in highschool leaving lunches and homework at home and having to call her and ask her to bring them and she never once got upset or frusterated with me or complained of having to bring them. I remember her letting me stay home from school so that we could spend the day together because she just enjoyed us being with her. She always was careful about what she bought- and never bought things for herself- so that she could give us all music lessons and art lessons and let us participate in sports...and she always supports us in whatever we do. Thats the other thing...mom has always been my greatest fan. Anytime I accomplished something my mom was so excited for me! Everytime I finished drawing a picture she always acted so impressed (I look back on my work and know it had to be purely acting...) and she always went to support at my recitals and school musicals and soccer games and anything else I participated in. And can I say, there were dozens of parents there to support their kids at the games but mom's cheering and shouting orders or cursing out refs drowned out everyone else. It was very impressive and a little embarrassing sometimes... :) But I know I can always call mom and I can always come home and she will be the happiest person in the world because I called her or took over her house for a month. Her family is her most prized possession and everyone knows it because she puts us above, way above everything else.
Thank you mom for all you've done. You are the most amazing person I have ever met in my life. I mostly thank you for your example because I know from watching you exactly what I need to do and how to act to be a happy person and enjoy life and enjoy my family forever.
Happy Mother's Day!