Japan

 We had an AMAZING time in Japan. 

We were able to see so many things and though we were utterly exhausted by the end of our trip,

 we had the time of our lives! 

We saw some stunning cherry blossoms!

Got into the anime.

Indulged in some McDonalds.

Marveled at how small our little island of Saipan is compared to the massive city of Tokyo!

Remembered what it felt like to be cold!

Met up with our favorite Japanese friends!

It got a little hectic at times.

Geisha sightings!

And our first family trip to the most magical place on Earth.

Tokyo Disneyland!

It was an amazing time. We toured 12 hours for 6 days, plus a day with our friends in Ueno, a few family days, Disneyland and endless amounts of train rides. We were completely wiped out by the time we came back but we definitely had one incredible time! 

*more photos on facebook if you're interested!

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Tinian Day Three.

                     

 

Day three was pretty mellow. We slept in to a glorious hour, hit the buffet, bought a few trinkets for the kids and headed home. I got to ride in the co-pilot seat on the way home and had so much fun. We really missed the kids by this point though and were anxious to get home.

Home Sweet Home.

Tinian Island Getaway.

We went to a nearby island called Tinian for Tim's birthday weekend. (The big 3-0!)

Tinian is only a 10 minute ride on a tiny plane away and locals of the islands get a discount. We had been wanting to go for such a long time but I was reluctant. I had never left the kids overnight before and I was worried I'd just panic the entire weekend and ruin it. I finally mustered up the courage to do it and it was SO MUCH FUN!

We definitely missed them but seriously, this getaway rocked my socks off.

We joked that this was our second honeymoon since our first one was short and cheap because we were both still in school. It was perfect that our hotel was actually a casino as well because it reminded us of our original honeymoon in Las Vegas. (We married in Salt Lake City though--no drive thru wedding in case you were wondering!)

Highlights of our trip:

-flying in a 6 seater plane. terrifying and glorious all in one. Getting an aerial view of both islands at once was amazing. On our way back I actually sat in the co-pilot seat! 

- sleeping in.

-staying up as late as we wanted without guilt or regret the next morning.

-the buffet dessert table.

-WWII sites. We got to see both atomic bomb pits and several old war buildings. It was interesting, sad and really spooky. One building we went in I swear on my life, was haunted. Like, really. 

-Taga Beach. My favorite beach I've ever been to. It was clear, rock free, deep and had a cliff jump! 

-Tim's Japanese Birthday dinner. Best meal we've had since leaving the states. 

-Dateline on TV! It was on at around 2 am and we were so excited! When Tim worked late at the pharmacy during his residencies we used to watch it together before and talk through it before going to bed.

-Alone time.

-Icon Match Game Marathon in the lobby. We went to check something online (and "come up for air," ha!) and we got a little carried away. That game is addicting! It was pretty hilarious to hear each other spewing out answers and the inevitable groans of, "I was robbed!" when our answers were wrong.

- Did I mention alone time?

-The Blow Hole at the reef was beautiful. We probably stood there for almost an hour watching huge waves come in and out of the shore line.

-Sunsets. For once we got to watch it from the actual beach, alone, without kids to push us apart when we kissed. :-)

Seriously, people, it was crazy amazing. 

I'm so glad we went, so glad my husband was born (the 11th of 12 kids! Bless Maureen's heart!) and so glad I was able to spend so much time with him.

Love you forever Tim. 

Happy Birthday.

Palau: Waterfall, Lighthouse, Monoliths

There were all kinds of expensive tours to different waterfalls and we found out that the best one was only ten minutes away from where we were staying. We had to pay a fee to hike to it but it was well worth it (and a lot cheaper than going with a group)

Owen wussed out pretty early on.

The love tree. Two trees starting growing together and now they think it brings lovers good luck.

At the middle of the hike you can see the top of the falls. So pretty with the green surrounding it.

It was beyond beautiful. 

We took a trolley on the way back. It was just as slow as hiking but the hike back up is reallllly steep and carrying all the extra weight of the kids it seemed a lot nicer.

Carnivorous plants.

The old Japanese Lighthouse was recommended to us but we were a little bummed that it is mostly just a lookout. It was still pretty fun and the kids loved looking through to the islands.

We went to see the ancient monoliths and by then the kids were bored of our sight seeing. They mostly played in puddles through it but had a blast getting soaked.

Faces in the monoliths.

This Palauan lady was super nice and told me the Palauan version of the story of the monoliths and how they got there. I thought her money necklace was really cool too.