tokyo 2014 :: off to nagoya

the boys are a little crooked after this weekend's fun! we had a few too many parties (ie really amazing unhealthy food) and a few too many late nights and probably not enough downtime. its really such a tricky balance sometimes!!

anyway, they're off the bed now! so hopefully they'll wake up all cheery!

during our stay in japan, we made it a point to pop out of town for a bit to see family. and turns out to be one of the highlights for blake!

cos he got to eat all of this in a shinkansen!! 

we got to ride in a nozomi, non-stop all the way to nagoya!! im very grateful that daniel does all these train bookings cos just standing at the station is a little overwhelming!

this teenager realized that after you get into a train, its just a really long ride! and got bored staring out of the window!! some days, he really behaves like an angsty teenager!!

we got whisked away by wine (daniel's sister in law) once we got to nagoya! she is such a super organizer. she got us booked into a shabu shabu restaurant to hang out with the adults during their lunch break...

blake got all the attention and he sure milked it for its worth!! 

then we went off to pick the kiddos up in school! silly blake fell asleep in the back of the car so missed out on a playground opportunity at their school! but daniel got to do school run which was such a cute thing!

and then we all went to the factory to see grandma and swung by their house to run around and chill out a bit before dinner!! 

they ate figs fresh from the tree, ran around throwing rocks into the japanese garden, kicked a ball around, ate rice from each other bowls... took turns running away from the house dog! and blake got to watch frozen for the first time... in JAPANESE!!

then we went to a local mall for sushi train!! i must say that it really made our day. because tokyo can feel very metropolitan and overwhelming for parents with kids but this sneak peek into everyday life was what we needed!! 

nothing a thomas choo choo shopping stroller can't fix right!? 

we are very grateful for our japanese family even though we dont see them enough! they are always amazingly thoughtful and sweet towards our family, inclusive of our silly boys! they are also constantly reminding us that they won't mind at all if we moved back to japan! lol hilarious! love them lots! 

xx