Fall in Japan 2018

With every new season this year it is our last in Japan.  This was our last Fall in Japan so we kicked it off with a visit to Mt. Fuji's 5th station.  We knew the leaves would be starting to turn and we wanted to fit in one last trip to the base of Mount Fuji.  It was a little cloudy but the clouds parted long enough to catch a couple glimpses of the mountain with its new snow cap!

The family had fun this year for Halloween, dressing up in two different costumes.  First we had the Medical Group Halloween party so Eric did some disturbing make-up on Hayden to make him a patient, while Lincoln was my cute little Doctor.  Eric didn't have to prepare much for his costume.

The next night we had trick or treating on base.  Our family theme this year was The Karate Kid.  Lincoln got the most attention that night with people yelling "Get him a Body Bag".  I can't say I had the best role but it was the only female I could do from the movie.  I found the complete costume at the Japanese Hard off for under $20.

Hayden continued to play on the Samurai 12U baseball team through November and had the opportunity to play off base with a Japanese team for practice and games.  He had the chance to start at pitcher in one game so I caught some photos.  The league also had a professional photographer capture some great shots.  Eric also continued to help out as a coach.

 Hayden also played flag football with Youth Sports this Fall.  He had a great season on the Lions team.  Eric also helped coach this team when he could.  I was Team Mom and took photos of the players and team at the end of the season.

I enjoyed a few day trips with my Japanese Culture Group.  I was able to walk around the Imperial Palace gardens, visit a new local Buddha, and shop in the Tokyo Fabric District, Nippori.  I am grateful for these unique experiences with the Japanese ladies and friends from base.

In front of Tokyo Station

Imperial Palace Gardens

Hiking up to Buddha

Picking out fabric in Nippori

Eric and I were able to attend the Marine Corps Ball in late November.  It was our first military ball and we had a lot of fun.  It was nice to get dressed up and enjoy a night out with friends!  Thank you Amazon Prime for your fast delivery of a formal dress!

Eric and Floy

We had professional pictures taken...in case it was the last ball I can talk Eric into attending.  

 

In November we also celebrated Lincoln's 6th birthday at Legoland and took our 3rd trip to Okinawa for Thanksgiving.  Blog Posts coming soon....

Lincoln's 6th Birthday at Legoland!

Instead of doing a birthday party this year, we decided to celebrate Lincoln's 6th birthday with a  family trip to Legoland, Japan.  The Legoland resort was about a 4 hour drive from base so we booked an overnight stay with a two day pass for the park.  We didn't tell either of the boys where we were going so their anticipation built on the long car ride.  As we pulled in, Hayden quickly figured out where we were from the look of the hotel.  Until we walked right up to the entrance of the park, Lincoln was unsure.  Once he figured it out everyone was excited to check in and go explore the park.

Day 1 at the park was great because it was not busy at all.  We hardly had to wait long in line for all the rides and we did many more than once.  The boys favorite was a bigger roller coaster which we probably rode close to 30 times over the 2 days.  They also had building centers all throughout the park.  My favorite part was Miniland where they had all the iconic areas of Japan built to look like a real city.

About to enter the park!

Legos everywhere!

Miniland

There goes the bullet train

Mt. Fuji in the distance

Linc in front of Shibuya Crossing

Tokyo Station

Ready to hit the rides

Submarine ride

Lego City

Building a boat

Racing brother

Salt and Caramel popcorn buckets

The moon over Lego City

The park closed at 6:00pm so we headed back to the hotel to checkout our room.  The boys were surprised and excited to see we were in a Ninjago themed room.  We had dinner at the hotel restaurant and then had booked a special birthday celebration in the party room for Lincoln.  It was all in Japanese so he was a little hesitant but it was worth it for the birthday surprise they gave him and a photo with Legoland guy.  We spent the rest of the night watching The Lego Movie in the room on the one English channel which played all Lego shows and movies.

Pretty cool lobby with building walls

A room only for Ninjas

The boys bunk bed

Mommy & Daddy slept under the Ninjago crew.

Birthday Party

He couldn't sing the Japanese song but he could do the motions!

Heading back to the room we enjoyed dancing to the elevator Disco music!

He opened his lego gift box to find a Legoland man mini-figure

Day 2 we had breakfast at the hotel and then ventured back to Legoland park.  The 2nd day was much more crowded than the first day so wait times for the rides were longer.  We took a break from the rides to go to the Sea Life Nagoya exhibit also on site.  It was small but we were able to see a lot of cool fish and sharks.  We spent a couple more hours at Legoland park and Lincoln spent his birthday money from both grandparents.  He picked out a big Harry Potter lego set!  We left the park by 3pm since we had a long drive back to base.  We all had a great time and it was the perfect way to celebrate Lincoln turning 6!

Breakfast at the hotel

Ready for another day at the park

Sea Life Nagoya

Here come the sharks

Touching some Sea Life

They had computers to color your own fish and then you could watch your design swim through on the big screen

Thank you Grammy, Pops, Nana, & Papu for my gift!

The big 6 year old!