A Quick Getaway!

We love Yokota Air Base!  We have such an awesome network of friends here.  But even with all of that, it is nice to get away from here every once in a while.  The problem is that when you live in Japan, there aren't very many places that are close & cheap enough for an overnight trip.  EXCEPT...the awesome military hotel in downtown Tokyo!  We love the New Sanno!!!!  It is a very nice hotel that we get at a great price!  Well, last week, I was able to convince Kenny to take a day off during the week so that we could go to Tokyo without the weekend crowds.  It was just what we needed!  On our walk to the hotel from the train, we noticed a new winery that has opened a tasting bar right next door to the hotel.  After we dropped our bags off, we went back for a wine tasting.  It was great!  It is Kenzo Estate Winery.  Their vineyard is in Napa Valley, but it is a Japanese company.  We got to meet Kenzo himself & his wife while we were there.  They were so nice!  After the wine tasting we went back to relax at the hotel.  We then treated ourselves to a 4-star 5 course dinner at Wellingtons.  One of the restaurants in the New Sanno.  It was delicious!!!  They have a regular menu as well the course menu that changes monthly.  We went there when Mom & Dad came to visit & just had to go again.  We are so lucky to have the New Sanno to go to for a quick escape from the base. 

Worst.Blogger.Ever.

So, I was just noticing that I haven't blogged since August....That definitely earns me the title of the Worst Blogger Ever!  So, since there is no way I can possibly post all of the pictures and every detail of all the things we've done since August, I'll give a quick recap & try to add a few pictures.  I promise to do better!

September:  I spent all of September at home in Arkansas.  It was awesome!  I loved spending time with my family & friends.  Kenny even took some time off work & met me there.  It was the perfect timing for a trip home.  I got to go to a Razorback game, the lake, and and OU game with Kenny.  We love college football at our house!  We also had a retirement party for Kenny's dad. 



Caroline & I at the lake



Kenny & his dad at the retirement party

October:  We started the month off by leaving Arkansas & going to Seattle for a week.  One word...GORGEOUS!!!  Neither one of us had ever been there before, and we loved it!  Kenny had to go there for some training, so I got to tag along.  We celebrated our anniversary a little early with dinner at the top of the Seattle Space Needle.  Such a fun night!  It was nice to have a relaxing night there with him because he was going to have to be gone on our anniversary.  Probably our favorite thing that was did was drive through Mount Rainier National Park.  It was breathtakingly beautiful!  We also got to take in a Mariner's game.  We like baseball at our house too.  Probably the best thing about going to Seattle was that Kenny & I got to fly home to Japan together.  It's such a long flight to be on by yourself.  I loved having him there to lean on to fall asleep.  =)

Kenny & I at Mount Rainier

November:  We've decided that while we can't be with our families for Thanksgiving, it is a great time to take vacation.  We went to Saipan for Thanksgiving.  It is a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  It is one of the Northern Mariana Islands.  Saipan is a very important historical sight from WWII.  My Pa (my dad's dad) was actually on the island during the war before being on the 1st ship into Tokyo Bay after the bombing of Hiroshima.  Kenny & I had a great time taking in the historical sites & relaxing by the pool and beach.  It was probably the  most relaxing vacation we've ever had!

The view from our Thanksgiving dinner in Saipan

December:  Well in case you don't know... I LOVE Christmas!!!!  Spending time with family and friends, decorating, the smells, the lights & most importantly, celebrating the birth of Christ!  Unfortunately, I had a nasty cold that lasted about 3 weeks which put a little bit of a damper on the fun.  But, we still had plenty of fun!  We spent Christmas Eve & Christmas day with our Yokota family.  We are so blessed to be in a place where we are surrounded by such great friends!  God has definitely taken care of us!!!



Kenny & I at the base Christmas tree lighting ceremony



Amanda, Me, Michelle, Melissa & Lynn at the 36th Christmas party

And now here we are in January.  I thought things were supposed to settle down after the holidays?!?!  They definitely haven't!  We have been so busy, but I love it!  We just went snow skiing with a group from base.  We had such an awesome time!  Our dear friends the Miner's were on the trip with us.  We had so much fun laughing and skiing our way down the slopes.  We definitely made some lasting memories on that trip!!!  Kenny & I are hoping to hit the slopes one more time this month before he has to go on a trip for all of February.  It is so beautiful here in the mountains of Japan!  We love getting out of the city and into the mountains here.  It makes us feel a little more at home without so many buildings around.  But don't worry, there are still millions of Japanese people around to remind me that we aren't in Arkansas anymore.  =)   

Whew! I think that about sums up the last several months. I know I missed a lot, and I'm sorry. I will try to do better!