Tokyo in July

If you ever wondered what Tokyo was like, imagine hot. Then imagine really, really hot. Think of New Orleans on the most humid day and then raise the temperature and humidity level. I couldn't believe men were in suits and women were wearing tights!!! But anyway, everyone slept on the plane except mommy so the trip wasn't bad. We arrived in Japan and took a car to the hotel. The ride in was great and I was looking forward to our weekend to get some site seeing in before my week of work.

On Saturday we started by walking about the city, but Riley wasn't feeling well and given the heat we decided to split up. I took Riley back to the hotel. Daddy and Cameron went to the Imperial Palace without us. They walked through the gardens and looked at the buildings and took lots of pictures with the locals. Cameron was very popular but since she is shy she didn't really like the attention.

Riley continued to get worse so early Sunday we took him to the emergency room. Japan is not keen on sick foreigners who just got off a plane. They gave him every test possible but everything was clear. After more than 12 hours of tests they determined it was just the croup probably triggered by some virus.

The care was excellent (and relatively cheap) even though we could not understand most of what they were saying and not anything they gave us to sign. Luckily there were pictures for the important stuff. Riley had about 8 breathing treatments and when he was finally breathing normally we were able to check out of the hospital. He was pretty traumatized, when any young Japanese woman approached he would just cry (suspecting they were a nurse).

After a few days of being stuck in the hotel, Jeff took the kids to Disneyland. If you ever wondered what Disneyland Tokyo is like, imagine Disneyland California and stop. Everything is exactly the same including the stores and restaurants (except the food is really terrible!!!) After a day long adventure in the park by himself with two kids he called me for help. My boss helped me figure out the trains and I met up with everyone to help with the travel back to the hotel.

Given the rough start, the kids had a good time. Cameron learned to say "Konichiwa" arogatou" which was really cute.

Recipe for a great playdate...

Hannah came over for a play date while her parents went on a real date. The kids, PJ, Cameron and Riley were very excited. So they made sure they had everything they needed....

Ball Pit? Check!

Safety Goggles? Check!

Princess Dresses? Check!!!

It was a very fun night for all..

Congratulations Aunt Juliet!!

This is Crenshaw. Cameron has had this little horse since her birthday, but we haven't really seen him much until today. She insisted that he needed to go with us. I agreed to let her "horsey" in the car and was informed, "This is not Horsey, it is Crenshaw." It was the first time I can remember that Cameron has named any of her toys and cannot for the life of me figure out where she got the name. Regardless its a great name for a horse.

We went to the Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival with Tim and Turtle before heading to the city. Riley enjoyed exploring all of the exhibits, which was scary, but Tim was great at keeping him away from most of the glass. Cameron was pretty mellow and stayed in the stroller with Crenshaw most of the time.

Next we headed to Golden Gate park to see Aunt Juliet reach her goal of finishing the San Francisco Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. We missed her crossing the finish line, but caught up with her celebrating. She looked awesome even though she had just walked 1.5 marathons in two days. She trained for months and raised more than $5000 in memory of her mother. Her accomplishment was amazing and we are incredibly proud of her. Congratulations Aunt Juliet!!!

First Camping Trip

We headed to Mendocino for a fourth of July camping trip with several of our neighbors and friends (one and the same). The kids were super excited as this was their first camping trip. The drive up took a lot longer than we remembered. Cameron got really tired of the car and insisted we stop about a half hour from the campground. We obliged and had a snack at a rest stop along the way. Mendocino is a little town on the Northern California coast.

Our first outing together was to the riverbank which had a great beach. We played in the sand and planned out some other outings. We decided we would take a canoe trip (Jeff, Tims, and Riley opted out but we had a great time), explore Mendocino, check out the Stanford Inn, and of course stay for the parade.

The beach was really nice. The dogs especially loved it. There was a leash law so PJ obliged. He carried his leash around and enjoyed swimming and rolling around in the sand. It got pretty cold at night so we didn't mind the sand as long as he kept us warm. Although the days were comfortable, the nights got really cold. It was going to be a rough couple of days.

The kids had fun. I couldn't believe how dirty they would get. I thought about trying to keep them clean, but realized that was a lost cause. I don't think they have ever been that dirty before. Besides the fun in the dirt, and the running between campsites, there were things to explore. One of our favorite discoveries were the banana slugs. They were everywhere. It was pretty surprising how big they actually get. Besides the slugs we walked down to the Stanford Inn and saw theire gardens, horses, and llamas.

Each night we took turns cooking and enjoyed each other's campsites. We especially enjoyed the Tim's, which happened to be at a Bed and Breakfast near downtown Mendocino ;-) That was our pizza night and the restaurant was very cozy and warm!

On the day of the fourth we went downtown and watched the parade. We expected it to be very quaint, and was surprised how political it was. The displays varied from the fire dept's trucks, and people dressed as the Mendocino founders, to the local farm animals and SPCA animals in costume, to a float of several teenagers dressed as the Statue of Liberty wrapped in chains being pulled down by the media.... It was fun...interesting... and hot dogs were great. For more pictures from the camping trip check out our Picasa and Sonya's Kodak album.

Who is Riley Onufer?

Riley is in major Discovery mode. He is everywhere and trying everything. He typically leads the way with his fellow classmates. He was the first to try balancing on the cable spool. He had to step off the deck up on the spool and balance. He had no trouble and of course, no fear.

He is also exploring paint. He is not quite the painter that Cameron was/is, but he occasionally gets into it. This is him painting a gift for Father's day. He made a great picture and attached a photo of himself with a poem. We don't think he made up the poem on his own, but we believe he shared the sentiment.

Seems he is intrigued by everything. The best part is he likes things orderly. He loves to clean and that makes Mommy and Daddy very happy.

Cooperation is the key to good friendships

I didn't plan on having Cameron and Riley 2 years apart. I thought 3 was a better split, but things work out for a reason. These two are a good set of sister and brother. Tonight they were playing in Cameron's room. They decided to make dinner together. There was a bit of a scuffle over the utensils but they worked it out.

They set the table and then sat down together to enjoy their feast. It was really fun to watch them play together. I thought it was interesting that they did not sit next to the plate they set. I'm not sure what that means but I'm sure its sweet. Jeff and I didn't get any food served to us because there was "no room for you." Bon appetite!

Little Gym Graduation and the last B-day

This week was Cameron's last gym class. After 3 semesters we've decided to take a break. Cameron has gotten a little bored and we are going back to swim class. On graduation day it was time to show off the skills she had learned. Cameron did her rings, tumbles, and flipped on the balance beam.
Riley joined her for the celebration and was very interested in the swinging and uneven bars. Cameron showed him all her swinging skills including the basket and flips (with help of course). Riley was so into it we started to think we were going to have to sign him up instead (but he will be in swimming class too so maybe later).

After all the skills and running around was done. Ms Sarah gave each of the kids a Red Ribbon. Cameron enjoyed the celebration and of course had her dismount pose down!

We also finished the last of the trio of birthdays this week. While Mommy and Daddy were tired of the parties the kids loved having another chance at presents. It was time to celebrate Daddy's birthday. Everyone got to open more presents and we had a nice dinner with daddy at home. When we asked Cameron how old daddy was she said "not too old, he's just big."

Happy Birthday Daddy!