Kodomo no Rakuen 2.0

We noticed that the playground we'd been going to had a splash pad and wading pool area, so the next hot day, we packed up the swimsuits and towels and tried it out. Zoe really loved it (and the chance to wear her Ariel!)

Getting around Kyoto

One difference to life in Japan is that we don't have a car. Sometimes, we use some public transportation (buses, trains, subways), but mostly we walk. This makes everything take longer, but you also notice lots of beautiful things along the way that you would have missed otherwise - like this little guy.

Butterfly = 蝶  (kanji), ちょう(hiragana) - pronounced "chou" 

Takaragaike Park - Kodomo no Rakuen

About 15-20 minutes walk from our apartment, we found a great playground, Kodomo no Rakuen (Children's Paradise). On the weekdays, we can play nearly alone and on the weekends, it's an incredibly popular place with tons of families enjoying themselves and a picnic lunch. Some people even bring along camping tents to provide some shade.

Vanessa especially liked the giant climbing spider's web and the hammock swing. Xavier loved the maze and the "mountain" in the middle of the park. Zoe insists the park had delicious rocks. Toddlers are weird, haha.

Art Class for Kids

Our first weekend in Japan we made our way back to the Kyoto City International Foundation which housed many of the events and clubs we enjoyed back in 2007. They were having a KoKo Kids meeting to do an art project with shrinky dinks.  There were only two families in attendance, so we all got to participate, even the "grown-ups."

Can you guess which project(s) belong to which Rasmussen?

Guess who's back?

After a five year hiatus, our blog is (temporarily) back. Enjoy!

Last month, I graduated from nursing school with the 2017 cohort of the SCSU ACE Program. It was an incredibly crazy, but wonderful year. I was chosen by my classmates to give a graduation speech at the pinning ceremony.

Next, Chris was the Best Man in Hunter & Corinne's wedding. Here's the toast.

Last week, I passed the NCLEX and we moved to Kyoto, Japan for the semester. Bit of a week, eh?

Our initial flight departed JFK at 1:45am, so that was a bit of an adventure with three kids. But, we made it to our layover in Shanghai more or less in one piece. Then, after a few hours of "patiently waiting", we headed for Osaka.  The kids were really excited about the flights since they were the first that Vanessa and Zoe had ever been on. Xavier had only flown once previously when he was a baby, so he was as excited as his sisters. They did great.

Now, we are in our apartment in Kyoto slowly recovering from jetlag. It's great to be back in Japan!

 

Time Flies...

Meriden Daffodil Festival

We met up with friends for some fun at the Meriden Daffodil Festival.

Japanese greetings from high up on the Ferris Wheel

William and family 

Mike and Sophie

Adorable mischief maker - deciding not to listen

Expert Driver of the #10 Pace Car - He was so excited to get the green one!

What you do while you wait for the big kids to get off the teacup ride

Daffodilly silly!