Kristen, Brielle, and Nathan Come to Visit- Wednesay, 15th- Saturday, 18th

Kristen, Brielle, and Nathan came to visit!  It was a wonderful and packed week.  It was a bit of a nightmare for them to get here.  They had trouble every step of the way in their travels.  We are grateful they would go through all of that to be with us.  They were supposed to arrive on Tuesday evening, but their flight was delayed out of Wisconsin because of weather, which made them miss their connecting flight in Toronto.  They spent the night in Toronto and arrived on Wednesday evening.
Wednesday, March 15th

We drove out to our little Shonai airport to meet them. It is about the same size as the St. George airport.  We went out in the parking lot to watch their plane land.

So good to see them!

We checked them in at their tiny hotel room and feasted on shu cream we had purchased earlier that day.  They were exhausted and ready for bed!

When we got home late that night (about 10:30pm),  there was our dear friend Brother Kobayashi waiting for us.  He had been waiting for 45 minutes for us to get home.  He gave Ken  this beautiful cake for his birthday the next day, as well as a big box of Japanese treats.

Thursday, March 16th  Happy birthday, Ken!
We picked up the Mackrorys at their hotel and brought them back to our apartment, so they could see it and so Ken could open his birthday presents. 

Our family joined forces and gave him much needed socks, candy, and bought him a beautiful tie at the aquarium later that day. 

Nathan had fun playing with the kendama we have in our apartment. Before the week was out, he was pretty good at this little game.

A friend gave us these cute candies shaped like vegetables.  Before the kids came, we sent them this picture of them and told them they could have any of the candies for which they could say the Japanese name.  Brielle knew every one of them.

It was cute how they planned to give them to their younger siblings.

Our adventure that day was to go to the local jellyfish aquarium.  It is Tsuruoka's claim to fame (that and that we get more thunder and lightening than anywhere else in Japan.  Meteorologists come here to study thunder and lightening.)  It is the largest jellyfish aquarium in the world.

It is a beautiful setting on the Sea of Japan.

Nathan's favorite part was the touching tank.  He spent quite a while there.

In this area, they breed the jellyfish.  Brielle loved looking at them with the magnifying glass.

They were practicing for a new sea lion show, so we went to watch them rehearse.

Nathan was chosen to come down and toss a Frisbee to the sea lion.

The sea lion then gave him a big, wet kiss!  When Nathan's mom was about his age, we went to Sea World in San Diego.  She was chosen to go down and get a wet kiss from a sea lion!  History repeating itself!

They all wanted to try the jelly fish ice cream. 

Kristen was not a fan, but the kids happily downed theirs!

We then went to lunch at one of our favorite spots- Midoris.  Nathan and Ken had ramen. 

Brielle and I had katsu don.

Kristen had the curry.

We then went to a bakery and chose some cake for Rizumi.  She and Ken share a birthday.  We then took her gifts to her and everyone helped us sing happy birthday to her.

We then headed to Sakata.  Kristen and kids were the lesson in our advanced class.  They asked them questions and vice versa. 

We then went home and had chicken nan ban from Hotto Motto (it was one of Kristen's favorite foods when she was here on her mission.)  We traditionally go to Hotto Motto on Thursday nights after we get back from Sakata.  It is Japanese fast food.  Then we shared Ken's birthday cakes.  This one was from the Satohs.  They were both delicious!

When we got home, we found our front door decorated for Ken's birthday.  Hmmmm . . . I wonder who would do such a thing?  REMI!

Friday, March 17th

Our plan today was to go to the most famous shrine in the area- Hagurosan.

On our way there, we noticed many young women walking in their beautiful kimonos.  We stopped and asked if we could take a picture with them.  It was their graduation from college day, so they were dressed in their finery. 

We then headed to the shrine with Brother Satoh and Ryohei- our most recent young adult convert.  He is a college student and it was his spring break, so he had the day free to spend with us.

Brother Satoh, Ryohei, Ken, Kristen, Nathan, and Brielle.

At the entrance.  You can see that up on the mountain there was still quite a bit of snow. 

Before entering the temple or shrine, you wash yourself.

I love this picture of Brielle.

Brother Satoh loves to go sight-seeing with missionaries and their families.  He is a good friend.

Ryohei is such a fine young man.  He was so good with the kids and so kind to us all- helping me over the icy parts, etc. 

Kristen and I had fun shopping at the little shop up at the top of the mountain.  I took this picture from the stairs above the shop.

After we finished exploring, we met the missionaries at Stamina taro- an all- you-can-eat place.  The zone leaders were in town, so it was a large group.  Imi also joined us for lunch.

This is a fun place.  You can choose your meat and grill it yourself at the table.  There are a lot of other delicious Japanese foods as well.

Nathan interviewed each missionary and asked them what he should do to prepare for a mission.  They each gave him an answer: obey your parents, read the scriptures every day, read the Book of Mormon, pray, go to church, and read the PMG.

The kids loved making and eating their own cotton candy.

The ice cream and sherbet there are delicious.

The missionaries with a future missionary! (Ryohei, Elders Satoh, Pratt, Bates, Nathan, and Jensen.  Our Nathan is in front!)

Saturday, March 18th

On Saturday morning, we headed to our other famous pagoda- Zenpogi. 

We then hiked up to the little pond that we love.

Nathan loves fishing and was thrilled to see the big fish in the pond.

See the carp?

We then visited Shimo Ike pond and the children's visitor's center there.

We then went shopping and shopping and shopping!

We drove up and visited Sister Ikeda in her little misei.  She was so cute, loading a bag full of goodies for the kids.  You can't get out of her shop without her giving you a lot of stuff.  We love Sister Ikeda.

We then went to dinner at our favorite, Hanna Dining.  We had told them we would be bringing our grandchildren.  They treated us like royalty.

The kids meal was delicious!

The adult meal is the very best meal in Tsuruoka.  We go to this special place once a month.  They treat us so well and are always so pleased to see us.  Kristen loved it!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our wonderful week!