Returning to Fall in December

It was only 9:30 PM when we stumbled in the door, but it felt like 5:30 AM, which it was back in Utah. After staying awake during the entire trip from Utah, Marin had fallen asleep on the bus. It is a 2 1/2 hour bus ride from the Narita Airport to Camp Zama, and she slept the whole way. She didn't even wake up when we carried her in to bed. She woke at 5:30 the next morning, having had 10 hours of solid sleep! Great! I could send her to school! I hadn't planned on sending her back to school until Monday (and this was Friday morning), but she was awake and ready to be active, so heck, why not!? I, however hadn't gotten that much sleep so I was glad to get her on her way.
When we got to her school her teacher told us that they would be decorating wreaths at 2:00 that day, and parents were invited. Perfect! I was so glad to find out about that! We would have missed a great time had we stayed at home.
After a couple more hours of sleep, I joined Marin at school. She had her wreath ready. Every 1st grade student had a wreath, which they had made a couple months ago from the vines of their Morning Glories that they grew, starting back in May or June, and tended at home during the summer. Now the vines were wrapped into a wreath and dried. Ribbons, colorful ornaments, and painted nuts and pine cones covered the desks of Marin's first grade classroom. Marin was very excited for me to join her in this project, and I was so glad to be there! We had a great time decorating Marin's wreath. Everyone had a great time. Their was an energy of excitement in the room that filled my heart. I don't know what it would be like to do something like this with Marin in an American school. I am sure that would be fun too, but there is something so cool about being a part of an authentic foreign school environment. This is a dream come true for me! ...and I'm living it!!




This is Marin and her Japanese American friend, Tiffany, who is bilingual.

After decorating the wreaths, it was time to pack up and go home. All the kids got their backpacks ready to go, and their yellow hats on. It's a 1st grade thing in Japan---for safety as they walk to and from school. Next year Marin wont be wearing the yellow hat and bright yellow cover on her backpack.
Once all the children were ready, the teacher quietly stood at the front of the room, without a word, waiting for every last child to settle down and stand quietly. Once they all did, they were released to go home.

Marin is 1/3 of the way over from the left.

It was a bright and rather warm day for December as we returned home. The leaves on the trees were bright and colorful Fall colors. We just missed the peak of it though when we were in Utah. The leaves change in late November and early December here. I don't know why.

This picture may not do this tree justice. It is such a bright yellow, and we see it from all the way down the street as we drive home. I love it! But soon the leaves will be gone. Then I'll look forward to Spring, when the Cherry Blossoms come out.

We even have a rose bush that blooms even in December.

Thanksgiving in Utah!

Marin is a veteran flier. I've lost track of how many trips she's taken since she was 3 months old---several each year. As always, she traveled well. She never asks when we'll get there (unlike when we're in the car). She loves to watch the TV on the plane and stays awake for hours. She made it most of the way to Utah (about a 24 hour trip) wide awake, or seeming so. When our second flight, from LAX, was delayed, we stopped for food at a nice Mexican restaurant near our gate. Having just seemed wide awake, Marin said, "Mom, I'm tired". She laid her head on her arm and was deeply asleep and twitching in less than 30 seconds! I have never seen her fall asleep like that before! When I woke her up 15 minutes later to eat before boarding again, she looked up, groggy, and said the same thing again, "Mom, I'm tired". This time she looked like she'd been up the whole 24 hours she had been. She's a trooper! Thankfully, since our flight had been delayed an hour, most of the passengers had found other flights, leaving our flight mostly empty. Marin and I each laid down in our own rows and slept!

She's out cold!We landed in SLC an hour before we left Tokyo... LOL! Yes, we gained a whole day. Fortunately, we only had few more hours till bed time when we got to Grandma's house. I slept 11 hours and got used to Utah time pretty easily.

It was our first trip back home since moving to Japan. The biggest shocker was getting used to being on the right side of the road, and driving so fast! And oh, what HUGE roads the US has!!! And the lanes are big too! We are so used to the tiny streets of Japan, which we also share with bikes, scooters, and pedestrians. Needless to say, we have to drive very slow. The two-way roads (alleys, really) in the residential areas are just wide enough for one car. (Yeah it's a little tricky at times! Definitely humorous.) I'll have to do a post on driving in Japan some time.
It took me a few days of being a passenger to feel ready to drive on the right side of the road again. I was startled a few times by wipers loudly juddering across the windshield when I meant to sign a turn. Marin and I had a few laughs until I got used to the turn signal on the left side of the steering wheel again.
Jeff came a week after I did, just in time for Thanksgiving. He didn't give himself as long to get used to Stateside driving as I did, and made a few turns onto the left side of the road! Ach!

Utah got hit with a lot of snow while we were there, and the first dump of it was PERFECT packing snow! It was exactly what Marin had been longing for, and me too! We had a great time building a snowman in my brother's front yard. Then we went to a nearby park and had a fantastic snowball fight! We left Utah 4 years ago and have hardly seen snow since. I have really missed the snow. I felt like a kid again as I played with Marin.

We stayed at Jeff's parent's house, where they were finishing the basement. Marin and I both got to help paint the walls! We both love doing and creating with our hands. (We hadn't brought house painting clothes though, so we borrowed from Grandpa.)

The Anderson girls love to get pedicures, so we made a date of it. Marin loves it too.

My favorite part is the really good foot rub! I don't get into painting my nails though, so I didn't do a typical shade of red or pink. I had them do a shimmery BYU blue. ...It reminds me of EV-1, BYU's electric vehicle that I worked on several years ago with the race car team. I still miss my school, and study. ={

We spent our time well with family, bouncing between my dad's house and my in-laws. Family, on both sides of the family, traveled from Northern Utah and Colorado to gather for Thanksgiving get-togethers. It was so good to see everyone. It really hit us how much we miss being near family. I long to connect with family far more than we can, being so far away. Marin is growing up, and wants so much to be near family. Her best friend in the world is her cousin, McCord, who is 10 months older than her. They love and miss each other so much!!

After 4 years away I'm feeling ready to come back to Utah, next move, if the slim possibility presents itself. Utah is home base. I have moved in and out of Utah countless times through my entire life. I actually like it that way. Utah is great, but I can only take in doses!! LOL . It's not up to us though. The Army sends us where they want us. I had a vivid dream while in Utah that the Army told us that we were going to China next, no choice. sigh Anything is possible.

My highlight of the trip, next to building the snowman with Marin, was getting a night away with Jeff at the Castle Creek Inn nearby. It was wonderful to simply sit and talk, as time together is rare and brief.
We stayed in the King's Lodge room, a huge room that had a pool table.

Jeff and I love bed and breakfasts. We've stayed in 4 now, each one with it's unique appeal. The Johnson Mill in Midway Utah is our favorite so far.

In our last few daylight hours in Utah, I had to stop by The Wood Connection, a little store that sells wooden letters and wall hangings. I think it's well known in SLC, but it's new to me. I was looking to do Marin's name to put in her room. I felt like a kid in a candy store! After selecting the letters I wanted (They have different fonts and sizes) I chose pink and brown scrapbook papers and matching paints, to go on the letters. I am so excited to make them. I'll post them when I do. These are examples they had in the store.

A year and a half was too long, being away from Utah. We plan to return in the Spring for another visit. I would love to get two visits in next year, but that may be wishful thinking.
I sure hope we at least move closer to home next, but again, we could be sent anywhere in the world, which has it's appeal, but home is nice too. Cross your fingers for us!