Vaillant Family Blog: Spring in Japan 2018

Spring in Japan was beautiful and we tried to take advantage of seeing the plum and sakura blossoms before we left for Hong Kong. Here are our Spring adventures from March through May in pictures....

We visited the Umeno Park plum blossom festival not far from base. The trees were new and small but the blossoms were pretty. We walked around the grounds and had a little picnic.

I ran a 5k race with the Striders running club called the Pansy Marathon. It was a beautiful day and the course was pretty easy. Afterwards we went to Hasegawa berry's farm for timed strawberry picking and eating. 30 minutes as much as you can eat! I was full after 10 minutes but they were so good!

3 weeks after visiting the plum blossoms we made a trip back to see if they had bloomed any more. They were still on the small side but we took a hike through the nearby forest and found a geocache.

In late March we trained into Kichijoji with friends and had a hanami at Inokashira Park. We also checked out the swan paddle boats for the first time.

We will miss the sweet Hsieh family!

Two days before we left for Hong Kong we packed a picnic and headed to Showa Park for one last chance to see the Cherry Blossoms in bloom.

Once we got back from Spring Break we kept busy with baseball and t-ball season. Eric was able to co-coach Lincoln's t-ball team. Hayden played in two league's, Youth Sports and Samurai little league. He had practice most nights between the two teams but loved every second of it. He was excited to join the little league team this year which plays against Japanese teams from off base. He has started pitching and mostly played 2nd base or Short Stop. Eric has also been helping to coach that team.

Lincoln Vaillant #5

Hayden cheering his brother on. Lincoln broke his arm after the 1st game but kept on playing the rest of the season!

Hayden Vaillant #10

Playing against two Japanese teams

Hayden at pitcher

I took photos of the team...this was our favorite shot. :)

Lincoln's school does a fire drill twice a year. In Japan parents are expected to walk to the school to see how long it takes from their home in case there ever happened to be an emergency situation such as a major earthquake. This was the first time I walked it and it took me exactly 43 min 20 seconds. I was going at a brisk pace down the streets of Tachikawa. Once there you wait in line to give your name, method of transport, and how long it took.

Tachi Kawa - Healthful City

Fuji Kindergarten

Linc waving and smiling at me in the distance

Eric and I met up with my old high school friend and his wife in Tokyo. We had drinks and an awesome dinner in Shibuya. It was so great to catch up with Micah and Anna!

Lincoln's school had a family field trip to Showa park. The kids prepared a poster showing the things they like and were expected to present it to the class. He was a little shy so I helped him out a bit.

Getting ready for family games

Picnic lunch after

My culture group took a trip into Ginza to check out the Mikimoto Pearl and Jewelry store. This is where Melania Trump visited with the Prime Ministers wife when she came to Japan. The jewelry was very beautiful and very expensive! No pictures were allowed inside. After, we went to a unique coffee shop where you can get your picture in the foam of your coffee.

Lincoln broke his arm in early May playing on the play ground. We think he fell from the monkey bars from what friends described. Luckily daddy was just out of surgery and fixed him up quick. He had two weeks to let it heal in a cast before our trip to Australia.

We took a family trip with the running club to Ashikaga Flower Park in early May. The popular wisteria flowers they are known for were past peak but we enjoyed the beautiful flowers still in bloom.

It still amazes me he eats Turkey Legs now

Eric and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary on May 12th. We celebrated with dinner out at our favorite local Italian restaurant. The only man I'd stay in Japan for. :)

For Mother's Day the boys spoiled me with gifts they made at school. Eric surprised me with a trip to a Fuji flower festival followed by a stop at a winery. The winery ended up being closed but we took some photos on the grounds. The boys always know how to make me feel special.