Goodbye to Jones Beach

Saturday we tried to get in one last day at Jones Beach and were very saddened to find out that once the lifeguards stop working they post swimming prohibited signs and make it illegal to go in the water...Anna was fine with reading her book and Madison got a great nap in as always, but the water was still warm enough to go into and I was so bummed (still am) that I wasn't able to get back out there...luckily the waves weren't good at all so that helped the healing process, but I am trying to figure out how far south we need to drive to find water we are allowed to go in because that might be next weekends adventure :-)

おまけの写真とビデオを紹介/Bonus pics and video

お母さんとあすかは無事に日本の家に到着したと報告が来ました...今の時間は１０時１８分だからちょうどこっちで買って行ったパンを食べてる頃かな〜？お母さんがマディソンに本を読んであげているビデオをブログに載せるのを忘れてたので今日ここに載せたよー。ビデオの途中にマディソンの口からミルクが飛び出すのをお見逃し無く!!　あとその他にもおまけの写真や妹の子供、煌絆(こうき)を写真で紹介しま〜す！！
So my Mom and Asuka are safely back at home in Japan now... It's 10:18pm here right now so I'm pretty sure they are enjoying the bread they brought back with them right about now... Dave reminded me to put a video of G-ma Iwai reading a book to Madison on the blog so even though you won't understand what my mom is reading about I hope you will enjoy it! Oh about half way through the video Madison throws up really quick and really funny so try not to miss it;-) Since I made this a bonus blog thought it will be nice to put some more pictures from the visit and also some pictures of my family that I have in Japan:-)

教会に行く準備をしてます...マディソンの髪型とドレスがいいよね！
Getting ready to leave for Church service... I love the hair and dress on Madison!

ボストンとコネチカット州に行った週末の帰りの車の中で...あすかが撮ってくれたんだけどあすかとデイブ以外はみんな寝っちゃってたらしい：）
Driving back home from a fun weekend in Boston/CT... I think the only ones awake at that time were Asuka who was taking this picture and Dave who was driving us home:-)


下全部はあすかのカメラに入っていた写真、ほとんどは煌絆の写真です...
All the rest of the pictures are ones Asuka took in Japan, mostly of our nephew Kouki...

多分これは２年ぐらい前にあすかが警察学校に行っている時に撮った写真...あすかは今刑事になって２年目になるのかな？すごい！
Probably about two years ago when she was in the Police Academy... I believe this is her second year since she became a Detective. Yeah, all the CSI stuff!





煌絆のパパ、克ちゃんとママ(杏奈の妹)、さやか。
The mother and father of Kouki, my sister Sayaka and her husband Kachan.

これが一番最近の写真のはずだけどバーバパパのスリッパが可愛いでしょ？１８ヶ月になったのかな！？
I believe this is the most recent picture of Kouki... Love the slippers! He is about 18months then.

最後の３日間.../Last Three Days...

まず水曜日に行った所は来た時から約束していたターゲットとビージェイズ...マディソンが良い子にしていてくれたからゆっくり買い物ができました！特にあすかはお土産用いろいろ山のように買ってたよ：）買い物の後はデイブの学校へ...あすかは前に来た事があると思うけどお母さんには初めてのデイブの職場体験、一緒に働いている先生/友達に会える事ができました。あとあすかの彼氏候補の体育の先生ジェイにも...；）
As I promised them from day 1, we drove to Target and BJs in College Point on Wednesday to finish up shopping to take back to families and friends in Japan. Madison was happy in her car seat the entire time so her G-ma and Aunt had plenty of time to go around Target and BJs:-) Thank you Madison! Then we went to pick up Dave at his school/to show my Mom where he works. We got there just when the school was getting out so they got to meet our close teacher-friends... We were hoping something romantic might spark between my sister and a certain gym teacher but I think we are going to have to wait to see that;-)

木曜日：明日は起きて空港に向かうだけになっちゃうから木曜日の今日が最後の自由に出歩ける日。やっとあすかが買いたかった万年筆を買いに行く事に...どこにでもあるかと思っていたら結構見つけるのが難しくて少しびっくりだったけどやっと売っているお店にたどり着く事ができました。クロスって言うメーカーなんだけど外国のメーカーで良いのが見つけられてあすかは満足そう！万年筆を買う前に寄ったお店はディーゼルと言う杏奈の好きなお店...そこでお母さんとあすかがデイブに何か買いたいって言ってたからすっごーい高い時計を選びました。杏奈はすこーし安めのを見てたんだけどあすかがどうしてもって、でもそれにして良かったーすごいかっこいいもん！あと３人姉妹でお揃いでお母さんがベレー帽も買ってくれました。可愛いでしょ？家に帰った後マディソンに前に買っておいたベレー帽をかぶせて写真を一枚：）最初は何もいらないって言ってたんだけど最後の最後にお母さんに押され負けて自分にも何か買ってもらう事に...マディソンを抱っこして出かける時に使えそうな可愛いリュックを買ってもらおうと思ったら自分だけが使える物じゃなきゃだめって...結局はティファニーでネックレスを買ってもらう事に：）やったー!!欲しかったのあったんだけど何か特別な事がなきゃ買えないなーと思ってたのです。１時間ぐらいうろうろして悩んだ結果前から欲しかったのプラス、ハートのチャーム付きのを買ってもらう事に決めちゃいました！ありがとう！お母さん、お父さん!!　大事にするからね：）

Since we knew we wouldn't get to do much besides going to the airport today, yesterday was the actual last day for them to do stuff so Asuka was finally able to purchase a fountain pen that she needed for her work. She wanted a non-Japanese brand so we found a retailer that carries CROSS brand pens. Asuka got to even try out the pen she wanted(which was a no, no at a certain store in Boston) so we were very satisfied with their service:-) and she was really happy to finally get it! Our first stop was at Diesel which is one of my favorite stores... My Mom and Asuka insisted that they buy something special for him so I suggested a watch from Diesel. I had my eyes on one that is on the cheaper side(it's Diesel so still not too cheap!) but their eyes were on something else... and I agreed, they wanted something special for him and I wanted him to have a really cool watch so we went with that. Mom also got us(3 daughters) matching Berets so that reminded Asuka and I of Xmas traditions. I don't want to take up too much blog space telling this story here but my Mom and Dad always got us something matching for us to use or wear for Xmas and they usually came in different colors so we don't mistake or fight over each others. Then we would get one big gift that we would have to share, Xmas is not huge in Japan so that's all we got, but we loved it and that's why I'm not a big 'bunch of gifts' person:-) Anyways, so my mom wanted to get me a very special gift today even though I said I didn't need any. I told her "Okay, maybe you can get me a backpack that I can use when I go out with Madison in a Baby Bjorn." Then she told me that's not personal enough that only I should use what ever she will be getting for me so I said "Okay, I've asked Dave for a matching necklace that I can have with Madison, do you want to get that for me?" Then she said no that's something Dave should get for you and Madison so then I said "Okay, I have a necklace that I've been wanting from Tiffany's... Can we go look?" Then she said sure so we went and after an hour of looking/trying on I was able to get rid of my guilty feeling and let her buy me a super cute necklace. I went back and forth between the cheaper one(again still expensive) but it had such a weak looking chain and I was thinking about Madison and how she will be grabbing onto everything she can get her hands on so I am 120% happy with our final decision:-)

今日はいつも使っていた地下鉄の代わりにバスに乗って行く事に。渋滞のせいで１０分で着くはずが一時間かかってしまったけど町中を通りながらいろいろ見れてかえって良かったみたい。
We decided to take a bus into Manhattan which ended up taking us an hour instead of 10mins on a subway but they enjoyed going through the streets at slower pace...





ここに書くのも辛い出発の日がとうとう来てしまいました。空港に向かう前にお母さんとあすかが気に入ってるパネラブレッドで日本に持ち帰るパンをどっさり買ってしょうがなくJFKへ向けて出発。思ったり道路は混んでなく楽々到着、荷物を預けてお昼を食べてとうとうお別れの時間が...マディソンが眠れなくってちょっとぐずってたから涙が出ないように頑張っていた私の気がまぎれて良かったけど、最後の最後で出て来ちゃいました...でも、２週間本当に楽しかったなー。マディソンにもやっと会えてもらって一緒に遊んでもらったり、抱っこしてもらったり本当に良かった：）来年返って来れるように絶対頑張るからね！

It's too painful to write about today...
Before we headed out to the airport we stopped by Panera Bread(Mom and Asuka loved this place) to buy a bunch of pastries to take back home. Grand Central Parkway wasn't as crowded as I expected so we made good time and were able to check in and get rid of the luggage right away. We had lunch together and as I tried not to cry the whole time sleepy/fussy Madison was very helpful to get my mind off of good bye moment to come... and it finally came, the dreadful moment to say bye... I've done it so many times but it never gets easier and I suppose it never will. It's a lot harder this time because we had such a great time together and they got to meet Madison. It was so precious to see them playing together. I was so glad Asuka got to come along since she has such a crazy schedule being a Detective over there I did not think she could take any time out so it was really special that she was able to come too.

Night in Manhattan

Tonight we had dinner near Bryant Park and were able to show Times Square after dark...which has now been turned into some sort of sidewalk cafe with benches and tables in the middle of street and cars only allowed to use one side...it makes for nice photo opportunities.

Asuka enjoyed feeding Madison at dinner...

Madison did not want to sleep during the meal, but as soon as she got home she literally passed out...

Boston Weekend/週末はボストンへ

No trip to the United States is complete without a trip to Boston, so on Thursday night we headed up to my parent's house near Hartford where we enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner at the Chowder Pot! My Dad enjoyed demonstrating his lobster skills for Anna and her Mom...a yummy time was had by all!
Then on Friday we headed to the Hampton Inn in Cambridge, Massachusetts where we had reservations for the night.
東海岸に来てるついでにボストンまで週末を使ってちょっと行ってくる事に：）デイブが金曜日休む事ができたので木曜日に夕方リンダとスティーブに家に向かって出発、そして次の朝にボストンへ...

It turned out to be a perfect location for our Boston adventure as the Green Line was right across the street and took us straight to the Prudential Center where we ate at the Cheesecake Factory for starters...
ボストンで泊まったホテルの場所は緑線の駅も真正面となかなか良かったです。ついて早速プルーデンシャルセンターにあるチーズケーキファクトリーって言うレストランにお昼を食べに...食べ過ぎてお母さんとあすかには夕ご飯にもなっちゃいました...

and had fun with the mirrored booth.
鏡の壁でちょっと遊んでます。

After lunch/dinner we headed to Newbury Street where we enjoyed the stroll through all the shops...while the ladies were in H&M daddy put on Madison's new sweatshirt and got her to go to sleep...it was awesome!!
お昼/夕ご飯の後はニューベリー通りを歩いて少し買い物...H＆Mで女３人が買い物してる間にパパはマディソンに新しくバアバが買ってくれたパーカを着せて寝かせる事に成功!!やったー!!

After the shops we went through the Boston Commons and enjoyed the public gardens, which I thought I took some pictures of, but I couldn't find them, so just picture us with pretty flowers behind us.
買い物の後はボストンの真ん中辺にあるボストンコモンズって言う公園を通りながら花がたくさんある庭を見たりしました。デイブはここで写真を撮ったと思ってたみたいなんだけど、あれっ、あすかが撮ってたのかも...

On Saturday we drove to Newbury Street so we could get Asuka a pair of earrings that had caught her eye the day before for her birthday and then we hit the Wrentham Outlets on the way to my Aunt and Uncle's in Townsend Mass for a family party to celebrate the graduation of my cousin from nursing school. There we played a rousing game of croquet...not pictured is me...the victor!
土曜日あすかが昨日行ったピアスのお店に戻りたいって言ったのでそこまでチェックアウトした後戻ってあすかの誕生日に杏奈達から買ってあげる事に...その後はレンサムアウトレットに寄りながら行く事になっていたデイブの従兄弟のキムの看護学校卒業パーティーへ。したの写真はみんなでゲートボールをしている様子。

Also Madison took her first ride on a swing...
これはマディソンの初めてのブランコ...

Madison did not seem impressed :-)
つまんなそうなマディソン...：）

On Sunday morning, after worship, we headed out to introduce Okaasan(means Mom in Japanese) and Asuka to fruit picking in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Recently we found out that Madison actually likes her generic Baby Bjorn carrier so Anna harnessed up for the orchards.
日曜日に朝、教会の後お昼を食べて果物狩りに行く事に...最近嫌がらない赤ちゃん用の抱っこ紐にマディソンを入れて歩き回る事に...

At Belltown Orchards they send a tractor around that takes you to different sections of their orchard for the the different types of apples...we took the photo opportunity of course...
この農場ではトラクターに乗りながら果物狩り、種類ごとに止まってくれるので採りたいところで降りたり乗ったり。もちろん写真を撮ったよー...

Poor Madison, we put her in the carrier facing outside but the head support part was totally in her face and couldn't see out unless I folded it over:-) Cute nonetheless!
かわいそうなマディソン、外が見えるようにって外向きに抱っこひもに入れたら全然前が見えない状態...　ママが押さえてないと見えなかったよ：）

The Bosc Pears were our first stop and Anna's Mom wasted no time giving them a try :-)
一番最初に採ったのは洋梨、お母さんが味見中...固過ぎって言ってたけどもったいないからって最後まで食べていたけどね ... お母さんらしい：）

Asuka had the theory that the higher ones would be better, which usually meant she called me over...here she tries it herself...
高いところにある果物の方が甘いと信じこんでいるあすか...でもデイブに採ってもらわないと届かなかったのです...この写真は自分で採ろうとしている様子...

Two bonus pics from the weekend...one Madison's tummy time...
今週末のボーナス写真...一枚目はソファの上でうつ伏せで首を持ち上げる練習中...

And two...one of my favorite pics...
そして二枚目は...僕のお気に入りの一枚...

This concludes our trip to Boston weekend...hope you had a good time!!
これでボストンへの週末旅行はおしまい...気に入ったかな！？

マンハッタンへ買い物の巻/Shopping Trip to Manhattan

今日はお母さんの初めてのマンハッタンへの買い物...お昼近くに出かけたのでまずはホールフーズでお昼を買ってセントラル公園でミュージシャンの演奏を聴きながら昼食。１ドルあげました。のんびりお昼を食べる2人、杏奈はその２人を急かしてるとこ！あすかはルイヴィトンでキーチェーンを購入そしてなんと杏奈に誕生日とクリスマスをかねて欲しかったショルダーバッグを買ってくれましたー！すごい感激！！なんていい妹を持ってるんだろー：）
一番下のマディソンの写真はギャップに行った時にマディソンが帽子を試着してくれてるところ...とーってもかわいい！将来のギャップモデルの誕生かな！？
Today Asuka and I introduced our Mom to Manhattan(Asuka was there the last time she visited us)... We left close to lunch time so of course our first stop was at Whole Foods at Columbus Circle. We took our lunch to Central Park and enjoyed our music and lunch until I was rushing them to finish eating so we could finally start our shopping:-) As per Asuka's request we stopped at Louis Vuitton and she got to purchase a Key Holder to put her precious car key in and what a wonderful sister I have!!! She got me a shoulder bag that I've been wanting for my Birthday/Christmas for the last few years and possibly a few of future years!! I tried to tell her no, but I didn't fight too hard...little happy tears here...:-) Then we moved down 5th ave a few blocks and arrived at GAP Baby where Madison got to try on a knit hat that will for sure get her into her modeling career! What a cute baby!! I know I'm not biased here:-) Well, we didn't buy that hat though... it's too tribal looking for me;-) We ended our fun shopping day at Kinokuniya, a Japanese Book store to sit down for a nice tea time... It was very nice and delicious! We have to do that again:-)

ついに到着!!/They are finally here!!

土曜日：
今日はお母さんとあすかの来る日、外は少し小雨で寒い秋のような日。まず朝マディソンとパネラブレッドまで明日の朝用のベーグルを買いに散歩がてら行ってきました。デイブはマディソンが居ない隙に家で学校のクラスの準備の続き...予定だと３０分ぐらい早く着陸するみたいだったから２時ぐらいに家を出発。少し迷ったあげくやっとお母さん達の出てくるゲートについた後３０分ぐらい待ったら...
Saturday:
Today was the day that my Mom and Asuka landed. It was a little rainy out, but Madison and I decided to take an early morning walk to Panera Bread to get some bagels for tomorrow's breakfast and also allowing Daddy to work on his lessons for school the next week. We checked the flight status and saw it was arriving a half hour early so we left around 2:00pm and after a little tour of JFK we got to the correct gate and still had a half hour to wait until the magical inspection doors opened on my family!
Here you can see Madison is eagerly awaiting the arrival of her grandma and aunt about ten minutes before they arrive...
お婆ちゃんとあすかおばちゃんを１０分前ぐらいまでちゃんと起きて待っているマディソンだったのに...

In this video you can see that Madison could not make it :-)　
見ての通り待ちきれなかったマディソン：）　　

Still sleeping, even though sitting up...impressive!
座っているのにまだ寝ちゃってる...すごい！

Some airport pics
空港で...

3 generations in the Airtran...
モノレールの中で、３世代...

All of our goodies brought from Japan...one very large, very heavy suitcase full!
１つ持って来たスーツケースは全部お土産でいっぱい!!

This was not planned.
家にあった英語版とお母さん達が持って来てくれた日本語版。

The sisters read to Madison.
マディソンに読み聞かせ。

I think Madison is doing that sitting sleep thing again...still impressive.
あれれ、また座ったまま寝ちゃってるのかな？

Sunday:
Even though Japan is a relatively small island surrounded by water, Anna's family lives about four hours from the ocean and as far as Asuka can remember, Sunday's trip into the Atlantic Ocean at Jones Beach was her first time ever in the ocean...she said it was salty :-)

日曜日：
日本は海に囲まれてる島にも関わらず海に行った覚えがないあすかは今日初めてジョーンズ海を経験する事ができました。あすかの感想は？しょっぱーい！！

Before we left for church that morning the ladies were busy making the greatest picnic lunch for the beach. We ate it so fast we didn't even take any pictures of it.

教会に行く前に海に持って行くお弁当を作って忙しい３人。あまりにもお腹が空きすぎて写真をとるの忘れちゃいました！

Dave and Asuka enjoying a calm moment in the water...there weren't many of them.
あまり混んでない海に入っている2人。

Asuka finding out the ocean is salty and Anna apparently attempting to create fire to heat up the water.
あすかはしょっぱーいって言ってるとこでアンナはなんか変な火を焚く用意？

Mother and Daughter...a lovely pic!
お母さんとあすか...いいねー！

Devoted grandma lets all three of us play in the ocean.
杏奈達３人が海に入っている間マディソンのお子守りをしてくれたお婆ちゃん。

The waves were breaking right on shore so they weren't the best for riding and if you didn't time your ascent into the water correctly you could easily find yourself smacked against the seashells. Below is a video for proof...

波はちょっと強すぎてなかなか波乗りするのは危ないみたい...下のビデオがその証拠...