Eliza and Asami...

Dear Asami, I don't know if you can get e-mails right now so I thought I'd make this post just for you! How are you doing? We aren't sure if you are able to go to school right now or if you are even in your own home. Are there still problems with gas and food shortages in your city? We are all still praying for you and hope that you and your family are safe and comfortable. We know it is a difficult time for all of you and want you to know that we care! Love, Mom, Dad, Kirk, Zach Grace, Olivia and especially Eliza!!

Carl Bloch: "The Master's Hand"

BYU Art Museum exhibit of Danish artist Carl Bloch. Most are religious and feature stories from the life of Jesus. We were very impressed by the detail and beauty of his work. Most of the paintings were on loan from churches in Denmark and have never been in an exhibit before now. We especially loved the altar pieces, which are huge paintings and are filled with light and emotion. If you are in the area, go see this before May 7th. You won't be disappointed!

"Seeking What's Good"

I love this uplifting song!

Asami, Eliza and friends...

Still finding more pictures of Asami's visit!

Eliza just LOVES Asami. Can you tell from their pictures together? It's no wonder that she did, Asami was very sweet and kind to her. Nao, Asami, Eliza, Haruka and Asuka after their high school day. They came over for a little while and played games. Eliza had a great time, of course!

Wife of LDS apostle reaching out to people of Japan - ksl.com

Wife of LDS apostle reaching out to people of Japan - ksl.com

The best onion rings!

A few more pictures from Asami's visit:

Blowing bubbles on the deck Sunday afternoon.
Zach, chewing his food, and Asami, behind her big hamburger! The onion rings are HUGE and really tasty! We had a fun time with just the four of us at Apollo Burgers. (Me, Mike, Asami and Zachary).

Closing Social Pictures

Asami and her best buddy Eliza
Receiving her certificate from her teacher

All the students at the social after performing their talents. We especially liked Asami's dance and "Peach Boy"!

Only a week ago...

but it seems like so long! I can't believe it was just last Monday that Asami headed off to California. I was rather nervous about her heading back to Japan with all the problems after the tsunami. Fortunately, all went well and after a few anxious days (for me), she made it back home. When you send off someone you care about, you have to hope that you will see them again. We will make sure of that, somehow! Eliza says we have to go see her in Japan :)

Shopping at the supermarket on Saturday

Playing in the front yard

Relaxing and playing on Sunday

Heading to church


Saturday night after the dance

We have so many pictures from Asami's visit. They make me miss her when I look at them!! We all had so much fun. I will keep adding any that I've missed.

Eliza being silly at a toy store after lunch (on Saturday) at the Brazilian Barbecue, Tucanos.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

The wearing, and eating of the green...

I was told by several of the kids that they didn't like corned beef and cabbage, or at least the usual boiled type we cook every year. So, I looked through some recipes on Allrecipes.com and found a couple new ones. They were a hit! Colcannon is a mashed potato dish with bacon and sauteed onions and cabbage. They had a little crunch and lots of flavor. Also, I did a baked version of corned beef with apple cider, beef broth and brown sugar. It was yummy!

Praying for the people of Japan...

Church Update on Response to Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

It's a terrible tragedy and my heart goes out to those who lost loved ones and their homes to the tsunami.

Hard to say goodbye!!

Seeing Asami off at 5:30 am.

These were taken before we started crying! We will really miss Asami.

Eliza says: " I wish we can see you again. I can't stop thinking about her." She is sad that Asami had to leave.

Dear Asami,

We had a wonderful time with you, Asami. You are such a sweet, kind and pretty young lady! We agreed that you fit perfectly with our family. You will always be our daughter, and sister. Have a great time in California and let us know when you arrive home safely. We want to hear from you often so we will never forget our time together!

Love,

Your family

(I have many more pictures of the last few days, so I will be working on adding them very soon.
Check back for pictures from Kirk's birthday and more.)

More fun with Asami!

Adventurous Asami at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants on Saturday. Most Japanese people don't care for beans and she didn't either! But she really loved her taco, enchilada and rice.

(Notice Eliza with a camera. That is Asami's and Eliza is always taking pictures with it! Asami is really good to her.)
Thanksgiving point animal farm after lunch on Saturday. Asami had never seen a turkey before and these boys really put on a show for her!

The llama's are so pretty! We had fun feeding it and the sheep, goats, chickens, etc. Since Asami likes animals, it was a perfect place to visit. We considered the zoo, but I think this was a better choice. They have some animals she probably wouldn't see anywhere else.

Eliza and Olivia on the pony ride.

At cousins house that night with Jesse's bunny. Asami really likes bunnies and thought it was fun to hold.

After visiting cousins, we stopped by Krispy Kreme for fresh donuts.

Monday night was family skate night. Grace learned to skate without the help of the skate aid that
young kids like to use. With some help from Zach and then Olivia, she started skating all on her own!

Tuesday was Asami's high school day. She had a great time and Eliza and I picked her up after school. Her friend Nao came over after school and played games and watched Toy Story 3.

Asami and I went to a dinner at church last night for the Relief Society birthday party. There was another girl her age there and we had a nice time eating and visiting.

We are starting to get close to the end of Asami's visit and we hope to have lots more fun before she leaves!

Ice Skating and more fun with Asami!

Going for a walk Sunday afternoon

Ready for school! (Monday) Asami went to her classes in the morning and then shopping with the other students at the mall.

Dinner at Fuddruckers, one of our favorite places for hamburgers.

Ice skating at Seven Peaks Monday night.

It didn't take Asami long to learn how to get around the rink! Olivia was a great teacher too.

Tuesday, we were all happy to stay home and relax a little after Asami got home after a day of classes and a tour of BYU. I made Hawaiian haystacks for dinner and then the girls played the Wii for awhile. Eliza loves having another sister to play games with her. She already loves her and doesn't want her to leave ever! Asami is really a sweet girl and is such a delight. It's fun having her stay with us.