Cherry Blossom Time!

The Cherry Blossoms peaked last week.  I did not realize that they only bloom for a week or two, and then all the lovely petals fall off and are replaced by green leaves.  So the big deal is that there is a limited time to enjoy the "Sakura" or cherry blossoms.  And they were projecting lots and lots of rain for the weekend and beyond.

This year I was determined not to miss it.  Unfortunately, I had a lot of things going on last week and the rain was coming.  I finally grabbed the kids when they got home from school on Thursday and hauled them out with me to go see the blossoms.  We braved gray skies and giant crowds and dreadful traffic, but it was worth it!  We went to the Kintai, since it is famous for it's Cherry Blossoms.... and I know how to get there! 

We parked on the far side of the bridge for the first time and the girls were delighted to play on the rocky shore of the river.

See all the blossoms over there? 

Oh, they do make my heart sing! 

The pictures do no justice to the beauty.

The girls were thrilled to finally get to walk across the bridge. 

 Callie even posed for me.

Delaney decreed it the best thing ever, to be on the bridge. 

You can't even see most of the people wandering about, hanging out, and picnicking under the trees over there. 

My sweet Marian 

Silly girls having a good time. 

Working on my artistic photos!

 

Loving the blossoms.

They were so pretty.  The girls were about done by now though.  They just wanted their ice cream and chicken-on-a-stick I had agreed to.

But I can't get enough of the gorgeous blossoms! 

So pink and pretty.  Just one more photo.... 

Yep, that's me!  I was there! 

Oh yes, this angle is perfect. 

Funniest thing is you would never know, based on the pictures, that it was a mob of people and I had to wait for just the right second to click the camera! 

Taking the boats for a trial run.  

Okay, last picture of the bridge.  I promise! 

Rylee and the blooms.

No one else wanted their picture, so I took mine! 

Got a shot of Iwakuni Castle too. 

Sharing the ice cream.  We had to finish it before we could walk back across the bridge. 

Callie wanted a picture on the bridge.  You can see the castle on the left.

 

And my adorable little Rylee.  

It was a fun trip, despite the chaos, and I got my Cherry Blossom viewing done.  Good thing, because it rained most of the weekend and most of the blossoms fell like rain and the trees are a lovely shade of spring green.... but not pink blossoms any more.

Miyajima Monday

 Japanese schools have Spring Break this week, so Rylee was home from preschool all week.  Monday (March 30) was P-Day for our missionaries and I had offered to take them to Miyajima Island, and they were delighted to get permission to do so.  I drove 4 elders and our 2 sisters out to the ferry and we had a lovely day on the island.  The weather was amazing, sunny and mild and glorious.  It did mean there were a lot more people than I have ever seen there before, but it was fine.

Rylee had a blast.  She hopped, skipped and jumped everywhere.  I do not know where she gets all that energy!  It was a fun day and I practiced my artsy photographer skills and tried to get some good shots of the scenery.  The cherry blossoms are blooming and are gorgeous. The deer never get old, although Rylee nearly lost her skirt to one that was sure it was a tasty treat.

Oh, check out that second to last photo.  The sign Rylee is pointing to says "Deer Poop Ice Cream"!  Seriously!  It is actually chocolate covered rice krispies, but here, you never know for sure!

Kokeshi Doll Painting

 A talented lady here offered a "Mommy and Me Kokeshi Doll Painting" and I thought it would be fun to do with some of my girls.  I confess that I only signed up for me and Marian and Callie to do it because I really would rather have the loveliest possible outcome on the dolls, and I couldn't afford to bring all the girls.  We had a good time.  In hindsight, I should have picked a design I liked and committed to it.  As it was, I went it with several ideas, but left the options open and never really decided on anything and ended up not entirely happy with my project.

Marian knew she wanted to splatter paint hers.  It was cute and she enjoyed it, although it took her a few times to get her technique down.  Some trial runs on paper would have helped.  But she was happy with her doll.  And she really wanted me to get good pictures of her and her finished doll at the end!

Callie seemed to know exactly what she wanted and she went for it. She had some trouble with the paint though and kept getting it on the head as she was holding it.  Oops.  She ended up having to paint the face to hide the blue smudges.  Ultimately, she was pleased with her work and liked how it turned out. She did not want to hang around for pictures! She ran off to play as soon as she was done.