August 3 - still feels like vacation

We have been in Japan for 2 full weeks now. Yet, it still feels like we are on vacation. We had a conversation over dinner the other night about why that is. Here is what the kids had to say: we have to take an elevator every day; our apartment is only one floor; we are doing new activities every day; it is just our family. Pretty good comments, I thought!

We did get a rental car on Saturday. Phillip went down to reception to meet the rental car driver. However, at 10am, the phone rang here. I could only understand 2 words: Maloney and Orix (the rental car company name). I finally got him to give me his phone number. (I now know "denwa bango" means phone number). I called the front desk to call him to get him to our building. One of the "guest liaisons" at front reception helped to translate between Phillip and the rental car driver. (These folks are so important. I need help from them almost every day.) The van smelled so much like smoke - even just opening the door. We used Febreze and kept the windows down much of the time. We had requested a non-smoking car which has proved to be very difficult to get. The rental car driver plugged phone numbers into our Japanese GPS for the aquarium, Costco, Ikea, and our home. It speaks to us in Japanese, but we can follow the pictures!

The Osaka Aquarium was amazing. It is known for being one of the largest and best in the world. It lived up to that expectation. Our favorites were the whale shark, giant Japanese spider crab, and the beautiful mommy and baby dolphins. We then walked around the harbor shops. I continue to be amazed by the beauty here overlooking the Pacific. We then headed to Costco. Holy cow. It has its own parking garage, and it was packed. The escalator is flat so you can take your shopping carts. Hot dogs and pizza are as good here as in Cincinnati! Fortunately, Phillip drove during our adventures.

Osaka Aquarium

Giant Japanese Spider Crab

Having some fun with shark exhibit

The boys went to rugby training (practice) this weekend. They loved it. Matthew got to fully participate. Jacob's age group was a little further ahead, but he got to participate for much of the 3 hour training. We will decide this week about playing once we get all the club information. Jacob will play middle school baseball, so we will see.

The fitness center has been such a gift. We spent much of Sunday afternoon there. The kids enjoy doing laps and sitting in the hot tub. Phillip and I also get to enjoy the dry sauna as well as the wet sauna. I have not yet been able to get all the way into the cold bath (17 degrees Celcius....quite chilly!) Matthew swam 100 laps! (Each lap is 20 meters.) So, on Tuesday, I took the kids back to the pool. This time, big brother Jacob wanted to keep up with little brother. Matthew swam 132 laps. Jacob swam 120 laps. Jessica swam 10 laps. Here is the big news for those of you who know me well.... I swam 20 laps! After hyperventilating at a pool as a child (brown paper bag and everything), I have been quite nervous around water and don't like my face in the water. Jacob helped me to snorkel in Hawaii and do boogie boarding, but it was tough. Now, Matthew is helping me to swim. I did freestyle, backstroke, and breast stroke. So, I may not be up to my kids' level, but I am overcoming a huge fear. I hope to continue with the kids. We agreed that we all have to try new things on our adventure! :)

I truly believe there is a reason that we are here. Please pray for us and please stay in touch. We loved doing google chat with the Vianello family this weekend, and Facebook chatting with Dawn and Melissa. Modern technology is terrific. We miss you guys very much!

Peace and Love.
Tina