Kenshin Leaves for Las Vegas

Saying goodbye at the bus

This was the hardest part of Kenshin's visit: saying goodbye! All the children and me drove him down to BYU to catch his bus. We tried to be happy and think of all the fun he is going to have in Disneyland, but it is still a sad occasion. After having Kenshin with us these last few days, it's like one of our own family leaving! Eliza is still his little sister after all!! We hope that he remembers us fondly and will keep in touch. The boys set him up on Facebook so they can be a friend on the computer. Hopefully when he gets home, he will let us know how the rest of his trip went.

Gathering all his bags before heading off

Kenshin looking over a few gifts we had for him to take home. (He brought some gifts for us that he gave us the very first night he was here. All the kids loved the presents and Mike really liked the Tokyo Olympic coin he was given. I thought the papers and purses were beautiful. We appreciated all the nice gifts and Kenshin was very good to bring them out as soon as we were home last Monday. )

Relaxing with Voodoo last night before going to bed

Playing with Voodoo and Copper last night

Last night:

The rest of our evening last night was spent playing games on the Wii and watching AFV (America's Funniest Home Videos) show on television. The boys looked up some things on the computer together and played DS games too.

I made a banana cake and we had some ice cream to go with it. It was a nice night to be at home and relax before Kenshin had to leave today. He had to get up really early but we hated to go to bed before we all had enough time to visit. The boys and myself stayed up and visited with him for a while after the girls went to bed.

I don't have more time now, but will try to add a few more pictures later or tomorrow that we've missed.

Sunday in Salt Lake

Last Pictures of the Day:

We had a beautiful sunset tonight!
Eliza watching her best buddy play a game.

Earlier today:

"Music and the Spoken Word"

Kenshin and Seinosuke in the Tabernacle with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the background. The whole group of students was invited by the spokesperson for this program and the spokesman had them all stand up as we clapped. His family has been a host family to the students as well which is why he invited them to come as special visitors. It was recorded while we watched. It was a beautiful performance and it was interesting to be there in person. Many people watch this weekly program on television or listen on the radio.

Outside of the Salt Lake Temple




Waiting for the train in Salt Lake City

After we got off the train, I noticed we could see the Kennecot Copper Mine from the parking lot. It's a huge copper mine and can be seen from space!

Ready for a lunch of soup and rolls. We will be relaxing and playing games in the afternoon and evening. If we take any more pictures, I'll post them later. (See first two pictures.)

Games, Tricks and Treats!

Kenshin carved the Jack-O-Lantern this morning. (Right after a game of "Sorry" with Eliza and a quick breakfast. ) He did a great job and was pretty proud of it I think!
I needed to pick up Kirk and Zachary after a Boy Scout meeting at BYU this morning, so the rest of us went to the BYU Science museum. There was hardly anyone there so it was like we had the whole museum to ourselves!

We met up with the boys and took this picture on the rocks at a lovely hillside garden on campus.

We couldn't pass up ice cream at the BYU creamery! Even though it was before we ate our hamburgers. I really wanted to let Kenshin try some of the best ice cream around, so they had a small cone while we were there.

A very quick stop at a park on the way home from lunch.

All the boys in their costumes for Halloween. The cousins and their student, Sinoske came to our house to trick-or-treat.(They are a little old to be going trick or treating but they all went with Seth, who is still young enough this year to go and of course for the students to have a real Halloween experience.)

Playing games with all their treats close by. They didn't eat too much but they had a few goodies.


It was a fun day with plenty of time to just relax and not have to hurry anywhere! Tomorrow we take the boys up to Salt Lake City for "Music and the Spoken Word" at Temple Square. It is a broadcast with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and has some beautiful music. Hopefully we all sleep well tonight and can get up on time in the morning!

BYU Day and Dinner

BYU Day:

Today Kenshin spent the day at BYU (Brigham Yound University in Provo). They had some interesting science classes and other activities at the school followed by the big social (dinner and entertainment). All the host families and the students were together for a very nice meal and some fun. We all especially enjoyed seeing the students perform some songs and dances. Some of them are very talented! Kenshin seemed a little embarassed by some of the silly groups but he really like seeing it I think. I bet he knew the dances but didn't want to be up in front of everyone. I can understand that! Here are some pictures from tonight...

Grandmother Rene, Aunt Cheryl and Cousin Andrew at the banquet

Seinosuke and Kenshin at the banquet

Kenshin and some of his good friends having fun

All the students singing the school song

Some of the students performed a "girl group" song that was hilarious! They had skirts and hair barrettes and one boy had "pony tails".

Jr. High Day and the Corn Maze

Kenshin with 2 other students after their day at the school. He actually had fun! The school pairs them up with an American buddy from the school. Then they stay with their buddy and go to all their classes with them. Kenshin's buddy was a girl and he said he went to science and music. Lunch was pizza, so that wasn't too exciting. He had a good day at the school.
Eliza and Olivia at the corn maze tonight. It was so much fun, Eliza didn't want to leave.

We met the cousins family and had a great time at the corn maze. They couldn't resist sitting in the princess carriage!

Kenshin with our cousin's student at the corn maze. The corn maze had wagon rides, hay bale stacks with slides, 2 big corn mazes and a big inflatable monster you walk through. Some of it was spooky and some was just fun!

Tomorrow is BYU day and should be a good day too.

Snowy Day!

Kenshin and Eliza in front of our house this morning

We woke up to lots of fluffy snow! This was not a great day for us to have snow since Kenshin was going to visit a farm. It was pretty cold too. I'm hoping it will warm up tomorrow like they say it is supposed to! Eliza really like Kenshin after he made her some origami and played against each other on the Wii game. She's going to be sad when he goes home! Dressing up for the Church Halloween Carnival: Nerd (Zachary), Gaucho (Kirk), Cowboy (Kenshin), Zorro (Akiharo)
Akiharo is another student from Japan who is staying with my friend's family. They live very close to us and it is their first year hosting. We have tried to let people know how fun it is to host and I think I have another friend who will be hosting next year too!
Cowgirl Princess (Olivia) and Indian Maiden (Lauren-a close friend)


Jasmine (Eliza) and Witch (Grace)

"I'm so cold and tired!" Kenshin trying to stay warm and awake but not too succesfully! We were in line for the Halloween train ride. It has been too cold for him but I told him it is cold for us too! Just a couple of weeks ago we were swimming in our pool and now it is snowing!! It changed very quickly this year.

Kirk with Eliza and Kenshin right behind him on the train car. Type in "stringtown.us" (or google stringtown railroad)to look at some great pictures of the train. It's called the "Nightmare Express" and is really close to our house.

It's something fun we like to do this time of year, along with 1,000's of the local kids and their families too!

Kenshin Arrived Last Night!

Watching the donuts cooking at Krispy Kreme Donuts in Orem

Playing Wii games after a day at Park City and Salt Lake City touring

We made homemade pizza and then played some games together:

Kenshin and Kirk playing Chess

We picked up Kenshin last night. He was very tired but in good spirits. Last night we had a hamburger at Fuddruckers after we picked him up. It tasted really good to him and we all enjoyed eating with the cousins. (Doug and Cheryl's family decided to host a student this year too.)

Today Kenshin toured with his group in Park City at the Olympic Park and This Is the Place Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City. I drove and picked him and our neighbor's student up in the afternoon. He said he was very sleepy today, which I expected. We wanted to relax a little more tonight, so eating at home and playing games seemed to be the perfect choice.

Tomorrow he heads off to a local farm for a visit and then we have a youth party tomorrow night that should be fun. We will all be wearing costumes, so the pictures should be really interesting!

Europe Cruise Pictures

1st Port: Stockholm Sweden

On the ship and leaving Copenhagen!

I'm sitting in the dining room waiting for the delicious food! Don't worry, we definitely didn't starve on this trip!

Heading into Stockholm: The ride into the city was georgous with lots of these little islands with homes on them. They use boats for transportation instead of cars. What a different lifestyle, but it sounds kind of nice to me!

Stockholm Sweden: on our way to the palace through some side streets.

Another Japanese student coming soon!

2 years ago, Takuya:

Takuya really loved our cat Voodoo (the black one in the picture above). He had a great time visiting with us and seeing all the sights too. Some of the funnest times were at home playing games with the family. We will always remember him and hope he's doing well.

Last year with Hinata:

Last year we had lots of fun with our Japanese visitor Hinata. He was very good at speaking English and was easy to have in our home. We hope we can keep in touch with him too. This year we will be hosting Kenshin who is from the same school in Japan.

We are all looking forward to his coming in just a few weeks!