Travel (fun), Parties (fun), and Holidays (more fun)

Yes, it's true, some fun stuff going on in the Palm house the past week.

For Brian, some of this fun included a trip to Tokyo, Japan for a work conference. His trip was a quick one, but he managed to eat a few squid, drink a bit of sake, and take a few pictures. First and foremost, he was impressed with the toilets in Japan (hey, this is important stuff). As you can see from the pictures, they are a bit more elaborate than our toilets. They have seat warmers, a bidet function for women (or men who pee sitting down), and a "shower" function (which shoots a stream of water) with a dial to adjust the strength of the spray (I'm sure you can figure out what this is used for). Quite a toilet if you ask me.


Here are a couple pictures of Tokyo itself, which Brian described as busy but very clean, and full of extremely kind and gracious people.


After he returned, we had a birthday party to attend at the beach, and everyone had a great time making their best pirate faces.




Following the party, Charley and I snuck over to the movie theatre to see Kung Fu Panda. This is only the second theatre movie that Charley has been to (since Zander is still a little young to go), but she had an awesome time and really enjoyed herself (especially with the big box of popcorn that I stuck in front of her). I have to admit, I really enjoyed the movie too . . . Jack Black was a perfect voice pick for the Panda.

We wrapped up the day with the kids' favorite activity, reading a book. I love this picture because it's a perfect representation of how we end each day.

And that bring us to today . . . Father's Day!! Since every holiday around here means that the beaches and local water park will be packed to the brim with people, we decided to drive downtown and spend the day at the Hale Koa Hotel pool instead, where the kids were excited to try out their new goggles.

After wearing ourselves out at the pool, we swung by P.F. Chang's for some yummy Chinese take out, and we made it home just in time to watch Tiger Woods make the ultimate comeback in the U.S. Open in San Diego (where Brian's dad is currently vacationing, lucky guy). Brian's perfect day . . . swimming, take-out food, and golf.

So one more busy (but fun) week here in paradise. This next week we will be spent getting ready for our upcoming trip to Michigan . . . I know, I know, it is still ten days away, but hey, when you have two pets to make arrangements for, two kids and one adult to pack for (thankfully Brian packs himself), a house to clean, and a million things to organize, it can take awhile. Okay, but let's be honest here, we all know I love to plan and organize. :)