Just wanted to send a Happy Birthday to my old man back home – Layla was so excited it was her Chinni’s birthday that she wanted to call to see what presents he got… and to wish him a happy birthday too, of course!
After the conversation, Tamie went to meet a friend and I got to look after the girls. She was worried, I was thrilled. I took the two to the park, letting Layla get some more bike riding experience under her belt. She still loves to ride the thing so I am trying to get her on it as much as possible.
On the way to the park we saw a big snake in one of the rice fields. Despite my immediate urge to go Crocodile Hunter and make a grab for it, the smarter part of my brain told me to leave it be… that, and the fact Layla was pedaling like crazy to get away from it.
When we got to the park, I took Julia and followed Layla around as she ran, jumped, climbed, bounced, slid, etc. on everything and anything she could. Where she gets the energy, I wish I knew. The kid is also growing quite fearless, happily climbing up things that just a few months ago were terrifying for her. I’m quite happy to see that, although now feeling a bit useless. At least now I don’t have to try to squeeze in any kiddie doors to accompany her anywhere. =)
Around 3:30, we headed home to clean up, feed Julia and prepare to meet Tamie. Tamie had met her friend in Yokohama, so we went down to meet her. Once there, we decided to take Julia on her first boat ride. We took a “Sea Bass”, which is essentially a bus on the water to Yamashita Park where Layla and Tamie raced around like school girls on a field trip. Julia and I coolly followed behind taking in all the sights and sounds.
After the sun started setting, we decided to grab some grub and ended up at a restaurant in Chinatown where we had a small 8 course meal. We ate our fill and weren’t even hungry an hour later.
Today, the Canucks won so we could do anything Tamie wanted. We ended up in a rose garden in Mukogaoka Yuen, a 30 minute train ride followed by a 20 minute walk away. Despite the cloudy weather and chance of rain, it turned out to be a nice time.
Best part of the day was dinner – after much debate, we decided that Tamie would make pizza! Despite the pizza being really good, that wasn’t what I was referring to. Instead, take a gander at this video of Layla, experiencing her first fizzy drink that she didn’t immediately reject for being “too spicy.”
All in all, another great weekend with the family. For more, check out picture in the gallery!
Yokohama Gallery
Garden Gallery
