Japanese Egg Molds

After we were done eating at Pepper Lunch, my friend Tammy wanted to hit up the 100 Yen store across the street. I never pass up the chance to go there, so off we went. I love to find new and exciting gadgets at these stores. My treasure this time around were these cute egg molds! My kids love hard boiled eggs so I couldn't pass these up.

It took a few weeks, but I finally got around to trying out the darn things! I think they turned out really cute. The kids loved them and now ask me to make them all the time! It was pretty easy to figure out the directions from the back of the package.

Step 1: Cook the eggs; I used my egg cooker to make it super easy.

Step 2: Peel them and immediately place into mold.
Step 3: Insert into cold water for about 10-15 minutes.

Step 4: Remove from mold and enjoy!

My friend Katie just found a Hello Kitty mold not too long ago. I'll have to hunt that one down. I want to find some Pokemon ones also. They have to be out there somewhere! I bet you could color the eggs and really have a fun time with these.

Pepper Lunch

I have to admit that I haven't been to a lot of restaurants in Japan yet. I'm starting to get out there and explore more. My first stop was to Pepper Lunch and it has become one of my favorite places to eat! The food is oh so good!! It's a very small place with just a small U shaped counter inside. You go to the machine in the front and choose what you want. Ethan and I always order #2, the Big Pepper Rice meal, to share between us. We usually get an order of extra corn as well. The potato salad is pretty yummy also. The machine gives you tickets for everything you ordered. You then take the tickets with you to the counter. Pass the tickets to the waitress who comes by and in about 10 or 15 minutes your food is out. They have long paper place mats in front of you that you use to block with. You see the plate is really, really hot when it comes out. The rice is in the middle and the meat is placed around the outside edge. The meat is raw and you cook it right in front of you on the hot plate! Hence the paper to block all that sizzle!! I have taken Chris, Dylan, and Ethan to this restaurant and they all love it also!!

The machine for ordering.

Ethan being silly.

Ethan, Ayden, and Mommy enjoying our food!

Hakone

Our trip to Hakone was a success!! I actually managed a trip with all three boys on my own. Well it was an ITT trip, but I still did it!! We started off by meeting the bus at 5:30am and settled in for the three hour ride.

The boys on the bus.

Dylan being silly with his snack of Poxy sticks. Sign in the bathroom at the rest stop!!

According to our itinerary Hakone, lying at the foot of Mt. Fuji, covers an area of spectacular beauty forming the Fuji-Hakone National Park. Our first stop was at the Woods of Sculpture open-air museum. The pamphlet stated the following information. The museum opened in 1969 as the first open-air museum in Japan. Changing with the seasons, the grounds are permanent homes to approximately 120 works by well known modern and contemporary sculptors. The museum has 5 exhibition halls including the Picasso Pavilion, as well as a playground for children, a foot bath fed by a natural hot-spring , and a variety of other facilities where you can relax and enjoy the splendor of art in nature. I know that all we made it to was the children's area of the museum. Didn't go to the Picasso area or foot bath! I have to say our favorite spot was the Jenga looking building with the nets inside. It looked like a lot of fun. Made me wish I was a kid again so I could play!!















I loved this statue.




Dylan climbing on foam 'Art'

Ethan looking pretty cute! Dylan holding an inchworm.

This is the 'Jenga' building with the nets inside. Dylan had fun swinging on the drop down balls. Both boys climbed all the way to the top of this!
















Next stop was the cable car ride across the valley to Owakudani station. Owaku-dani, Valley of Greater Boiling, which was a crater of the former Hakone volcano. We stopped and had lunch here and also tried the famous black eggs that are supposed to add 7 extra years to your life per egg. Dylan gained 14 yrs by the way while Ethan and I only gained 7. We then took a boat ride from Togen-dai Peir, across Lake Ashi to Hakone-machi Pier.

The boys showing off their eggs. Cracking the eggs to eat em!!

Love this smile!!!! Group shot with Mt Fuji in the back!

Mt. Fuji of course!! The boys at the bottom of the shrine.

Our last stop took us to the Hakone Shrine. Many believe that the shrine, built in 757, brings good luck by offering protection from evil. According to our guide it is 80 steps to get up to the shrine! I can't believe this was our last stop!! I was so tired before I even attempted the steps!! It was really beautiful at the shrine. The trees were gorgeous and just huge! I also finally picked up my shrine book and I now have my first stamp!! I can't wait to get as many stamps as possible before I leave Japan. It really was a great trip and the boys did a great job!!

The 80 steps! The boys & Mason cleansing themselves before going to the shrine.

The red Torii gate at the top of the stairs(see how tall those trees are!)





The boys posing on the steps on the way back down.

Above Pictures

Our guide teaching the boys how to properly bow and show their respect at the shrine. The prayers and wishes at the shrine.

Below Pictures

The boys pretending to ring the bell. This was the halfway point on the way back down the stairs. Not sure what the building is used for. The other picture is of a building next to the shrine.
The last picture is Ayden sleeping on me in his sling!! He was knocked out!!!

Easter Goodness

Easter this year was very enjoyable. Chris had to attend a ceremony on the ship for Senator McCain on Saturday so he didn't make it to the egg hunt, which was fine. I don't know why I keep going to that anyway. Every year is the same madhouse and the toys and candy have been the same for the last 3 years!! Cheap toys that get thrown away and candy that no one wants to eat!! Why do I keep going back? I guess I think that it will get better and I'll miss it or something! Saturday night we decorated our eggs. Dylan used the Star Wars sticker set and Ethan used SpongeBob. They had a good time dunking the eggs in the colors. Dylan was proud that he did it mostly on his own and even ended up with the ONLY purple egg in the bunch.
















Chris had to work on Sunday too, so it was just me and the boys. Ikego put on a Peter Cottontail race at the track field by the front gate. They also had a "guess the jellybean" contest and face painting. I tried to get Ethan to join the 3 and under group for his race, but he refused to go without Dylan. Dylan is his safety net and he normally won't try anything new without him there. After a few tears I decided to let him run with Dylan. I didn't want to at first because they were doing 4 to 10 as an age group and I was afraid of him getting run over!! Dylan was already on the track when I sent Ethan to join him, so I couldn't ask him to watch Ethan for me. Dylan was telling me before the race how fast he was going to run and I thought he might just take off and leave Ethan in the dust, but he showed me what a good big brother he really is. He stayed by Ethan's side the entire time and even held is hand to help him on the last leg of the race. It was a huge race track and I was very proud of my boys for making it around it!! We then proceeded to the face painting booth where Dylan decided he wanted to be a Ninja!! What a thing to be on Easter! Ethan didn't want his face painted or a picture with the bunny. He is almost 4 years old and has NEVER gotten his picture with the Easter Bunny!! You have to admit that this particular bunny has seen better days!! We had a great time and on the way home I saw this sign and had to take a picture. I figure it's the closest thing to the Easter Bunny that Ethan would stand next to!!

Cherry Blossoms

We had a great weekend with the Coston Family and Becky and her kids. We started off at Command Hill, where we managed to get some really great pictures of the cherry blossoms. Chris took the pictures this time since I was busy with watching Ayden and some of the other kids we had with us. I'm really enjoying the season this year. It seems that they are just everywhere and have bloomed beautifully. I'm really looking forward to a trip to Kamakura to see them at the shrines there. I talked to Chris today about him taking a day of leave sometime next week so we can all go together!



Dylan of course had to climb the nearest tree, and the result was a very nice picture of him! He gets bigger everyday. I can't believe he is turning 7 this year. We then headed out to eat lunch at the Ramen place right off base. It was very yummy. I like to order the milk based ramen and belive me it is difficult to eat ramen with chopsticks!! I wanted to take pictures but Chris forgot to grab the camera out of the car. Next time we go I will post pictures. Ethan is very good at scooping noodles up on one chopstick and Dylan is getting better at using both chopsticks. Chris of course is a little better than me since he has a little more practice with all those port visits he does.




After we had bellys full of ramen we headed out to the park next to Livin(a big department store that is rumored to be owned by Wal-Mart). The park there is right on the water and just lots of fun. There were people there with tents set up, which makes me wonder if you can camp there? I think that would be loads of fun if you could. Anyways, the main attraction for us at this particular park is the plastic hill. I know sounds weird huh!! It really is a hill with a green plastic grid on top of it. You get these little scoop like slides and go at it. Dylan is great going by himself, but Ethan needs a helping hand. Chris seemed to enjoy it too!!! I had a blast until I landed wrong and hurt my tush!! I now have a bruise to remember the outing!! We had a great time and look forward to going back.