Tuesday Afternoon...

Saturday was fun - the ice bar is apparently owned by Absolute Vodka and everything centers around it - we had to wear HUGE coats with furry hoods which fortunately came with gloves! The drinks were made from the different types of Absolute and were served in - get this - imported glasses from Sweden which were solid ice!! Not sure how they get those over here without them melting! After about 30 minutes my feet were frozen and I was ready to go - believe it or not, I didn't bring my camera to this event - but Amy and Pattie had theirs so hopefully I can post one or two later.

Loved the Yakitori (i.e. things cooked on a stick) restaurant and can't wait to take the kids back - they will love it. Tried some saki for the first time - try a small sip - and decided that I won't be doing that again... ick -

Karaoke was fun as usual - I ended up coming home earlier than others - if I got home past 12:20 when the trains stop I would have to pay the helper an additional $50 for cab fare! OUCH - I didn't mind though, someone has to get up with Nicholas when he rises at 7!

On Sunday, soccer was cancelled so we planned to go to the Meiji Shrine (which is the biggest in Tokyo) - went outside and realized it was raining... so we opted for bowling instead. We found this alley in a hotel - 80 lanes - and everything at face value seems the same - hideous shoes, colorful balls, same scoring, and the wonderful use of bumper pads... however, when we picked up the ball we quickly discovered that things were not the same - the finger holes in the ball were too small! The one part of my body that I thought was not too big... oh well, my thumb kept getting stuck and Pattie ended up ripping off a few nails. The kids loved it - Sydney was so funny dancing as she waited the 3 minutes it took for the ball to roll down and reach the pins... The boys played two games to our one! After dinner at TGIFridays we headed home on the bus.

Yesterday I went out to Nicholas's school to meet with his reading teacher - I rode 3 trains and one taxi out and took 4 trains back. I could have used one less on each side, however, Chris taught me about the "special rapid" that doesn't stop at every station and gets you back quicker. So I switched to that one to save time.

Today report cards come out for both little ones and then tomorrow I will meet with Nicholas's teacher in the morning and Sydney's in the afternoon - fortunately, we will catch the school bus in the morning and won't have to worry about the train.

Then we are heading to TOKYO DISNEY on Thursday and Friday! So excited about that one!! It will be decorated for Christmas and hopefully will be a bit warmed than it is today! It's in the 50s now but the weather is calling for 65 or so by then - hope so!