Tokyo Temple & Park

I know, this is a lot of posts for the past few days, but I've got just one more. I just want to post some pictures I took today while on my trip to the temple. I didn't actually go into the temple while there, although I would have loved to. Denise (my buddy) and I babysat while a couple from our branch did baptisms for family members. It's such a sweet feeling just being near the temple.

Looking up at the temple.

Looking at the temple through the trees of the park across the street.

Just some really pretty flowers.

There were tons of turtles in the park, all sitting on the rocks in the sun.

And a picture of me just outside the temple. Not my best pic, but it will do. =)

Q: How Many People Can You Fit On A Train?

A: I'm still counting. Let me get back to you on that...

I don't know which is worse- rush hour on the roads in cars or rush hour on the trains. We had Youth Conference down at Yokota yesterday and I decided to take the train down instead of trying to find my way in the car. I know it's an easy drive, but I've never done it on my own and I hate driving in Japan anyway, let alone by myself when I don't know exactly where I'm going. So I got up nice and early so I could make it to Yokota by 830. It's an easy route and takes about just as much time to get there by train as it does by car. So I make it down to the train station and everything starts out ok. Not too crowded. But within just a few stops the trains were packed. It was pretty much crowded the rest of the way there (it's about an hour train ride). There is no such thing as personal space when riding the trains in Japan. People aren't afraid to get cozy. Just when you think you can't get any closer, 5 more people jump on. Granted I had to be one of those last minute squeeze-in's at one point. Not saying that every time I get on a train it's like being in a can of sardines, and most of the time it's not. But even coming home last night afterwards (which took FOREVER), I was still surprised to see how full some of the trains were. You would think it would be pretty empty at 1145 at night, but it wasn't. But then you have to remember they don't run as many trains at night (which is part of the reason it took me so long to get back home), so the trains that do come are going to be a little fuller. The trains today weren't as bad. One of the other leaders and I met the youth down at the temple this morning. That's a pretty easy train ride and wasn't too crowded for the most part. I really do enjoy taking the train more than driving. I just enjoy a little breathing room too. =)

And He's Gone Again...

It's hard to believe our two weeks is up. It went by too fast. During those two weeks was great, because time almost did seem to slow down, until the last couple days when you realize your time is up. It was sooooo nice having him home. We really didn't do anything. He got home about 1230 Sunday night (the 22nd), a couple days earlier than planned which was ok with me. We spent most of the time just at home relaxing. We slept in, played World of Warcraft, played games on the Wii, did some shopping, went out to eat, and really just kind of hid from everyone. We had plans to go do stuff, like going to the zoo in Tokyo and the park not too far from here, but it was kinda rainy and cold most of the time that he was here. That's the weather he wanted though, coming from the hot desert and all. We did have one night where we had some friends over for a BBQ. That was fun. We've got some great friends. I'll have to make another post sometime about how great my friends are. =) Anyway, so that was really all we did. It wasn't much, but it was what we needed. We both just needed a break from it all. Him from work, me from my crazy schedules of always running around. And now that he's gone, it's picking right back up where it left off. I've got Youth Conference the next couple days, General Conference this weekend (yeah I know it was last weekend, but they are rebroadcasting it here in Japan this weekend), and then I'm scheduled to work 4 days next week. It is so hard to say goodbye again though. I know we've made it over the brunt of it. We've got less than 5 months left, but that still feels like forever. Yesterday was really hard for me. Today was slightly better. Tomorrow I'll be so busy I won't have time to cry about it. So here's hoping the next 4 months and 22 days just fly by. (Not that I'm counting or anything...)

Spoiled?! Not Our Dogs!

Okay, yes they are. Just a lot. Especially when Dad comes home. I don't know who was happier to see who- Ben seeing the dogs or the dogs seeing Ben. They were sleeping when he got home, so naturally they had to "sound the alarm" and went off on him until they realized it was him. Then they got all excited, jumping up on him, tackling him on the floor. I wish I had gotten my camera out faster. But with Dad home, they were able to get away with a little more. Much more than when he's gone.

Like getting on the bed. It drives me crazy to let them up on the bed because of all the dog hair. But Dad lets them up there. Okay, Mom lets them up there too, sometimes. They are actually on the bed now. We'll see how long it lasts before I start saying no again.

They got new pillows too. Even though we got two, they still think they need to share one. They are pretty cute when they are all cuddled up together though.They got all kinds of treats too. Misty loves these bones. She would carry them around with just the end in her mouth, her head tilted so she wouldn't drop it. She'd bring them upstairs to bed too. Silly girl. I would have to throw them outside the door so she wouldn't chew on them all night. Dad bought them stinky canned dog food too. I can't stand the smell of canned dog food, but they love it.

We found out they like whip cream too. Maybe not the healthiest treat, but they sure enjoyed licking out the tub.It was lip licking good. =)

I think one of the cutest things though, was watching them watch the tv. We were watching the movie "Marly & Me" and when the dog started barking on the movie the both sat straight up and started looking for the other dog that was in their house. It's so funny to watch their ears go up and their heads go to the side in that confused look.

So yes, our dogs are spoiled. They are our babies. And even though they can be annoying and overly protective, I don't know what I would do without them. They keep me company in these lonely months and keep me smiling (most of the time). These pups are great!

Redecorating

One of the things I do like about my husband being deployed is the extra money. Granted I would rather have him home with me, but the money has been nice. We've been doing pretty good lately having gotten bills paid off and putting some away in savings. So it was nice when Ben came home and we had some extra to play with. And boy did we play!

We've been looking for a new table for a while and we finally found one! It's nice and tall so it doesn't feel like your plate is in your lap. It's super heavy though. The table top alone is about 120 lbs. Ugh, such a pain putting it together. We love it though. It's a beautiful table. And we got it on sale, which makes it even better. We also got a new entertainment center. Not the most kid friendly one, but it looks really good. I've actually had my eye on it for a while, and showed it to Ben when he got home and he loved it too so we bought it. I'm not sure that I really like it in front of the window, but it's really the only place to put it and leave the front room feeling open and big. But it works, and it's gonna stay there for now because there is no way I could move it by myself.

We also got a surround sound system. Sorry, no pictures of that. It's been super nice though. Ben has wanted one for a while, and we finally found a good deal on one that we liked. It's got an ipod dock too so I can listen to my music while I clean house or whatever which is nice since there's never anything on tv and I like to have the background noise.

So that was our splurging. Ok we did get a few other things like a custom made suit for Ben which he looks way good in (wish I had gotten a picture before he left), and a new blender/mixer for the kitchen, and some games for the wii. Most of it was on sale though, and I was able to use my deployed spouses appreciation discount (which is 10% off at the PX and other various discounts around post). And better yet, we still have money left over!

M&M Bowling

For our youth combined activity this week we met down at the bowling alley and had some fun. I so wish I had a video camera! This wasn't your ordinary bowling game. We had bags of M&M's and before you bowled you had to choose a color. Each color had a different technique assigned to it, which goes as follows:

Blue: Backwards
Orange: Granny Style
Yellow: Eyes Closed (You could walk up to the line with them open, but had to close them before you threw the ball.)
Brown: Heaviest Ball (15 or 16 lbs)
Red: One leg
Green: Bowl with your opposite hand

Needless to say, most of the scores weren't very high. We only bowled the first 5 frames using the crazy styles, and the second 5 we bowled normally. It was fun though. The kids really got into it, and so did the branch president. What an entertaining night!

Little Past Due

I honestly don't know why I didn't write this sooner. I'm so excited I've pretty much told everyone, but Ben comes home in a week and a half!!!! Unfortunately it's just for a couple weeks, and not for good, but it's better than waiting until the end of June to see him. So here's what happened:

We were planning on going back to Idaho for leave the end of June because my brother was supposed to be getting married. Well that's no longer the case, so Ben and I talked about it and decided that he's just going to come back to Japan for his leave and we're going to try and go home around Christmas (hopefully we actually do). And this way with him coming back to Japan, he can see his puppies and we can have more one on one time. We haven't seen each other for over 6 months and if we were to go home we just really wouldn't have that quality time together that we need right now. I know this totally bums out everyone back home, and me too I was looking forward to going back to the states, but this is what we need right now. Anyway, so we were just going to leave R&R in June, but after talking about it I think I made it pretty clear that I wanted him to come home sooner than that if he could. So he checked into it and told me he wasn't going to be able to because his unit is full of a bunch of retards. That didn't really surprise me so I started checking into flights back home around my birthday. We talked about it, he said he'd consider it, and then started telling me no I couldn't go home. That's when the suspicions began. Then he began doing and saying other things that really got me wondering if he was coming home the end of the month. I was even telling one of my friends about it and how I thought he might be planning something. Well, that night sometime around 130 in the morning he calls me and wakes me up. He was like "Do you want me to make your day?" To which I replied "Whatever Dear." (I was still half asleep and not feeling very good) He said "Yes or No?" "Sure." "I'll be home the 25th." "Really?" Let me tell ya, I was awake after that. He was trying to keep it a secret and was just going to surprise me by showing up on the doorstep, but he couldn't wait any longer. So his leave request was approved, it's set in stone and he will be home in less than two weeks. I can't even tell you how excited I am! What a great birthday present! So sometime between the 23rd and the 26th, he will be home and I will be in his arms again. =)