Konichiwa from Japan!

I'm in Japan for a week of work. This is my fourth trip to Japan in the past 3 years.
Well, last week was very busy at work preparing for this trip as well as my VP's visit to Japan the following week. In addition, my director informed us on Friday afternoon at 4 PM, that he resigned and he no longer works at Seagate. So that really caught me off guard.

I left on Saturday afternoon after spending the morning with Riley (getting car wash at Paradise Car Wash - it has a parrot and popcorn machine and buying flowers and donuts for Vicki - a tradition when I travel overseas). We all had lunch together on Saturday and then was wisked off to the airport by Vicki and the kids. I got to Japan after a 12 hour flight and landed on Sunday evening.

I have a flying routine that I adhere to when I travel to Asia. I start the trip by watching two movies (Juno and American Gangster this time), eating dinner (usually chix or fish - chix this time) with white wine, and then stand for about 30 minutes looking out the window at either Alaska, Canada or Russia. This time, I was over Alaska. I never think about bringing my camera with while I stand by the window. This trip, I planned ahead and took a couple of great pix as you can see below. I then have a double Bailey's on ice and then sleep for a couple hours. The guy next to me took a couple pills (probably sleeping) and he was out for at least 6 hours. He was from Houston and was heading to Shanghai.

Once I arrived at Narita Int'l Airport, I headed through immigration and customs. Picked up some cash (the US $ is really low compared to the Yen even from last October. Last October the exchange rate was $1 US to 116 Yen; now its $1 to 96 Yen). I took the bus to the hotel and it usually takes 1:15 but with the rain/traffic, it took close to 2 hours. Now its 10:30 PM on Sunday night and I have to go to work in less than 10 hours.

I usually get up early (around 5 AM); do e-mails, talk to Vicki, go for a run, shower and have breakfast in the lobby restaurant prior to going to the sales office. Well, I'll call it a night and will be updating the blog probably one more time during this week.

For those that read this blog, give Vicki a call to chat since she'll need some grown up discussions (not with Brooke/Riley) with me being out of town.

Have a good week!

Easter Lunch

Happy Easter! Here is Brooke in her Easter dress and headband.

We went to Scott and Angie's for an Easter lunch and Ali was decked out in this Easter Bunny apron. I thought it was the cutest thing I had ever seen!

Here are Eric and Riley with the dogs, Bella and Hunter.
It has been a busy and fun week with all our company and activities. I probably won't have anything to post for weeks after all this!

Easter Morning

The Easter Bunny brought Brooke and Riley big bouncy balls! They had a blast bouncing around this morning. Maybe it was too much candy or maybe they were just having fun!

Saturday Night

Here are cousins, Riley and Max in their matching shirts. Aren't they cute?


It was Marc and Shelly's last night in town and my parents came in for the weekend too so we all got together at Scott and Angie's. Here is Angie reading a car book to Riley.

Here is my dad meeting Scott and Angie's horses.

And here is Marc riding the goat, Flower. It was a fun night!
Next post will be Easter photos!

Saturday was a perfect day for fun in the snow. The whole gang went sledding. Brooke was a brave girl and went down the hill all by herself. When I said, "Just one more time." She said, "Ten more times!". She loved it that much!

Here is Uncle Scott and Riley going down the hill together.


The whole group of sledders- Marc, Eric, Scott in the back and the Coral, Riley, Brooke and Ali.
We sure had fun. The guys built a jump and there were plenty of snowballs!

Skiing and Snowboarding

On Wednesday, we went to Buck Hill for a little dowhill action. Riley does really well on his skis and Coral took a snowboarding lesson. Brooke skied too and had fun playing with stickers in the lodge with the ladies (Aunt Shelly and Mommy).



Max was a good baby all day at the ski lodge. What a happy guy!

Easter Eggs

On Thursday, I decided to get out the Easter egg dye and let the kids make eggs. It was both fun and challenging. It started with Riley eating an a tablet of dye (notice his blue lips in the photo) and then trying to crack every egg he got his hands on and Brooke dumping one bowl of dye into another which overflowed everywhere. We got the hang of it though and ended up making some beautiful eggs. Coral is so creative and made quite a few eggs! It was fun! Happy Easter.

Here are all the cousins (Ali, Riley, Coral and Brooke) having a decadent dessert on Saint Patrick's Day. Death by Chocolate was a hit! The grown-ups enjoyed some Irish beer and Miller Lite. No one thought to take a photo of us. :)

Here is the youngest in the brood, Max, wearing a winter hat. Isn't he the cutest!

On Sunday, we took Coral, Brooke and Riley to the Como Zoo and to the Purim carnival at our synagogue. This first photo was on the way home. They were all pretty tuckered out!
Coral shoots a basket at the carnival. We won lots of tickets and had fun!
Here I am with the kids in front of my favorite exhibit at the zoo- the polar bears.

We've been having a great time with our company. Eric's brother, Marc, and his family (Shelly, Coral and Max) are here from Houston, TX for a visit.
These photos are from the first day they were here (3/15). The kids thought it was pretty funny when big cousin Coral jumped in Riley's crib. Uncle Marc read the boys a story too!

Snack Outside

The thermometer said 54 degrees and the deck was clear of snow so out we went for snack this afternoon (3/13). It was great to get some sunshine and run around for a while. The kids insisted on wearing their boots!

-Vicki

kids will be kids

Here is Brooke enjoying her latest passions- pretending to pack her clothes to go Grandma's house (she brings more than I do!) and playing with cupcake liners and pretending to bake cupcakes. She is a busy girl. Riley got a new helmet for one of his (Eric's :)) many sports on Friday night (3/7). He didn't want to take the helmet off. Too funny!

-Vicki

To the Zoo

We went to the MN Zoo today! The kids favorite part of the zoo is the room with puzzles, puppets, costumes and books. They could spend hours there!
Riley is busy doing a puzzle and Brooke wore butterfyly wings and was checking herself out in the mirror. Is it spring yet? We are most certainly bored with winter.
--Vicki

We had a busy and fun weekend. I spent Saturday painting our family room a lovely shade of green and Eric was in charge of the kids. He took them to see the Easter Bunny at the Burnsville Center and then kept them busy with computer games. They printed off these masks and made them. Brooke is the elephant and Riley is the lion. The had a blast--except for the paper cut! :)
--Vicki