Lions, Tigers, and Panda Bears--Oh My!

Yes.  That's right.  The Mosman Family found yet another zoo to go to.  Today's zoo was actually the largest in Tokyo--Ueno Zoo.  It is one of the lucky zoos in the world to have Giant Pandas.  It also has lions, tigers, gorillas, elephants, rhinos, hippos, monkeys, and a bison, among many other animals. 

The zoo has a bit of a weird history, too.  During World War II, all of the ferocious animals (lions, tigers, etc.) were killed by zoo officials because they were afraid that if the zoo were bombed and animals that survived got loose, the animals would kill citizens of Tokyo.  Ooooookay?  And, an American POW by the name of Ray Halloran was put in the then-empty tiger cage, naked, so that the citizens of Tokyo could show their contempt of the American bomber pilot.  I guess it was a good thing that they decided to kill the tiger first. 

On to more pleasant things...

The panda exhibit is so popular that they divide people into three lines.  We were in the second line--people with children.  The first line was non-existent most of the time, as it was for VIPs.  Then, wouldn't you know it?  We finally get to the viewing area, and a "VIP" comes in to my shot.

I don't know how Jip coaxed RJ into being up on this cast elephant, but this was in the first few moments of glee.  The shots that followed this were of a boy wanting down.

Don't they make you want to watch re-runs of Miami Vice?

A shoebill stork.  This picture doesn't really show it, but this bird is huge!!

Hippos were difficult to catch today, as they were busy keeping cool in the pools.  This pygmy hippo finally let us have a glimpse of his backside.

RJ kept saying that he was afraid of the gorillas.  But once he saw how far away they were and all of the glass that was between him and the mountain-dwelling creature (RJ kept telling me that gorillas live in the mountains, so I had to throw the reference in here), he was quite okay with them.

Outside the zoo, we saw a street performer doing some pretty cool juggling tricks.  RJ was quite taken with him at this particular moment.

Ryleigh was quite taken with everyone today.  And, everyone was taken with her.  I've had many people take pictures of my blue-eyed, blonde boy before--some ask before they do, some don't.  But, today, a guy came up and asked if he could take a video of her.  If anyone sees her pic or her video on Japanese TV, be sure to tell me so I can collect some royalties!!

This pagoda was originally built in 1631.  It burned down, but was rebuilt.  In 1958, the owner of the pagoda, a local shrine, gave the pagoda to the City, and the City incorporated it into the zoo and the zoo maintains it.  Zoos are virtually the same in every city--the animals don't care where they are and you can't tell what city you are in while you are in the zoo.  But, this reminded us that we really were in Tokyo.

I missed the memo where we were supposed to dress like the animals and wear high heels for walking about the 34 acre park.

I know it is obvious what this sign means, but the Engrish is still pretty amusing.

Both kids had a blast and proved it to us by sleeping the entire ride home.  Since RJ had such a late nap, we let him stay up and watch Cars for the nth time and eat a little popcorn--he had been begging for it since we smelled the freshly popped yumminess at a little kiddie amusement park outside of the zoo's gate.  So, he had a late bedtime, and thus the rest of us did, too.  But, now we all are finally off to get some rest and recuperate from our fun day in the sun with the animals.

Finally made it to the weekend

Friday is finally here!  Today was fairly busy for me at work, but not overly taxing.  I was pretty much tied up from 0900 all the way to about 1600 in meetings, but nothing required much mental or physical exertion.

Speaking of exertion, there's supposed to be a family fun run in the morning that I intend on participating in with RJ in the jogging stroller.  He's too young to run by himself, but they have different length courses set up for different ages.  He's good about sitting in the jogging stroller, though, and enjoying the ride.  Hopefully, he'll be up in time in the morning (we have to be at the starting line by 0645).  This is RJ we're talking about, though, so I'm not too worried about him being awake early enough!

After work tonight, I went out to More's City, a nine story mall at the end of Blue Street here in Yoko, for a farewell to a Master Chief who worked for me.  I drove out to it since I wasn't planning on drinking anything.  It's been a while since I parked in that garage.  It has to be on of the narrowest parking garages I've ever been in.  It is tight, tight, tight in there.  Thank goodness for folding mirrors...

We all met at a Hawaiian restaurant on the top floor called "Aloha Table."  The food was good.  At one point they brought out some spaghetti, though, which seemed out of place.  My coworker put it best when he said, "I find it odd that I'm at a Hawaiian restaurant in Japan eating Italian food."  Very true...

I made it back in time to help put the kiddos to bed and now I'm just trying to stay alert and awake enough to finish this blog entry.

The kids enjoyed some playground time today, and here's a picture to prove it:

Well, I'm off to make sure there's nothing else I can do around the house before I go upstairs and crash...  Have a good day/night.
-Jip

Odds and Ends

It was another sunny day in Yoko, but it sure was windy at the end of the day. Our day was pretty simple, but good. We had a fun Skype/FaceTime call with my parents this morning. We hit the playground--twice! And, we waited in an insanely long line at the Post Office. It is PCS season--aka moving time for a lot of people--and it seems everyone who is moving is mailing 500 boxes each to themselves so that they have some stuff for living while they wait the 3-4 months it takes for household goods to cross the ocean. But we made it through the line with me only having to tell RJ to get his hands off the ropes that designated where people should queue up about 50 times.

Tonight, RJ was in a firefighter mood, so he donned his firefighter costume from Halloween and enlisted Dad to put out the fire.

After her bath tonight, Ryleigh scooted herself into the hallway and decided that the laundry basket was the best jungle gym ever! I held it down so it wouldn't slide out from under her, and she pulled herself up so many times I lost count.

Before I forget, I have another Japanglish funny. This was at the McDonald's drive-thru on base. I think it is supposed to get people excited about choosing a Happy Meal toy for a boy or a girl (since they ask that when you order), but something was lost in translation. In case you can't read it, it says "Are which good as for a toy?"

All of us are cheering that tomorrow is Friday. We plan on going to Ueno Park/Zoo in Tokyo on Saturday. Jip and RJ may run in a 5K fun run that morning--Ryleigh and I will hang at the finish line and take pictures. Sunday, we'll do our usual errands, but will include a visit to the home accents store on base to look at steam cleaners. If I have to earn my spatulas again like I did on Monday, I need a stronger tool to help me claim victory over the messes my children make.

Happy almost Friday!

Nice weather and nice friends

Today was beautiful.  The temperature was great.  The  humidity wasn't high.  The wind wasn't blowing--only a breeze.  It was a terrific day to be outside. 

I was actually able to enjoy the weather for a little bit today because I was outside this morning to do my semi-annual physical fitness test.  For those of you not familiar with the test, is a test comprised of sit ups, push ups, and a 1.5 mile run.   I was actually feeling pretty good this morning and had some great results.  While performing the test, though, we all kept commenting on how nice it was and how it was a perfect day to be outside.

Speaking of being outside, our friend Melissa came over to visit with her two kids.  Amy and our two joined them on the nearby playground and all of them had a good time.  Here are a couple pictures from the play time.

Don't mind the camera strap that strayed into the picture.  Just focus on the cute little girl!

Another example of Amy the Super Mom!  RJ likes to play "backpack," especially after he's played hard and is tired.

Let's hope that tomorrow is as nice a day as today!
-Jip

Emergency Kits - DONE!

We were lucky last year.  When the 9.0 earthquake hit up north, we felt it, but it was in no way violent like they felt.  Our buildings swayed, a few things fell off the shelves, but that was about it.  We were also lucky because the epicenter was not in Tokyo Bay, so although we had what was technically a tidal wave hit us, it was only a few inches--nothing compared to the many, many feet that hit northern Japan.  The hardest part for Yokosuka was probably the loss of power.  No power equaled no public transit.  Some people walked 12+ hours just to get home.  But, they had homes to go to, and I know of no one that complained about their sore feet--everyone was just grateful to be alive and have shelter. 

Where we lived in Yokosuka at the time, Kurihama, lost power from the time of the earthquake until about 2 am.  We made it through the evening and night quite well.  I had sandwich makings and filtered water for dinner and plenty of blankets for a chilly night with no heat in our sparsely-insulated home.  But, I didn't have much of anything for more than a couple of days without electricity, and I certainly didn't have the right types of food to be able to pack a bag and be able to live out of our car or at an emergency shelter or anything like that.  Shame on me. 

When the first typhoon of the season was supposed to hit Yokosuka last year, I stocked up on water.  But, again, not so much on the food.  Again, shame on me.

Now, I have finally done something about it.  I now have 4 72-hour kits ready to go in backpacks.  I have extra water in another bag.  If the time comes, we can grab the backpacks, extra water, and a packet of documents (which I do need to make a little handier to grab in a hurry--they are all just jammed in a little safe right now) and be more ready than we've even been before for disaster.

I got the idea for putting the kits in backpacks from a pin my friend Jennifer had on Pinterest.  Here's the link to the blog that had the idea and a list of what they decided to pack in their kits.  http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/08/emergency-survival-72-hour-kits.html  I also consulted ready.gov and the American Red Cross for ideas for our kits.  There are some who say that you shouldn't individualize the kits, but that just isn't realistic.  I can't put 3 days' worth of diapers and tampons and lens solution in every bag when that is not what every person needs.  So, I did individual kits, each in a different colored backpack.  Here's what's in everyone's kits, but Ryleigh's:

4 bottles of water (water is heavy, so the extra water needed -- you need 1 gallon per person, per day -- will be in its own bag)
2 bottles of apple juice
Beef jerky
Trail mix
Tuna lunch kit (tuna, crackers, mayo)
Vienna Sausages
Chef Boyardee indivual tub
Soup at Hand
2 cans of fruit
2 granola bars
2 packages of Pop Tarts
2 individual peanut butter cups
2 packages of peanut butter crackers
3 packages of cookies
2 packages of Pringles
1 package of pretzel sticks with cheese
1 package of bread sticks with cheese

Glow stick/flashlight/whistle/flasher combination tool
Spoon/Fork/Knife combination tool
Emergency blanket (those foil-looking things)
Poncho (or kid-sized poncho)
Anti-bacterial hand wipes
Travel-sized toilet paper
2 gallon-sized zipper storage bags (I don't know why--I just thought they might be handy for something)
2 quart-sized zipper storage bags

Bodywash
Shampoo/Conditioner
Lotion
Washcloth
Chapstick
Toothbrush
Toothpaste

1 pair underwear
1 T-shirt
1 pair of socks

RJ's kit also has:
Wet, flushable wipes for kiddos
Comb
Sunglasses
Cup with straw
Pajamas
Sweat Pants/Sweatshirt
Pull-ups

I also stashed a few toys from McDonald's or Singapore Airlines in RJ's bag--I knew I had been hiding those away for a reason!!

My kit also includes:
Small trash bags
Deodorant
Razor
Johnson & Johnson baby wipes for faces and hands
Travel-sized Lysol
Waterproof matches
Travel-sized roll of paper towels
Adult sunscreen to share with Jip
Brush and comb
1 pair of latex gloves 

I am also the keeper of the Life Savers.

Jip gets to carry the first aid kit--we bought a 4-person kit at an outdoors supply store when we were in the States.  He also gets the 12-in-1 scissors.  12-in-1?  Here's what the package claims you can use the scissors for: knife, magnet, wrench, bottle opener, nut cracker, wire cutter, scissors, screwdriver, can opener, fish scaler, wire stripper, and jar wrench.  Basically, every tool MacGyver wished he had.  Besides the 12-in-1 tool, we channeled MacGyver and included 2 mini-rolls of duct tape in Jip's bag. 

Jip also has:
Faces/hands baby wipes
Paper towels
Lysol
Matches
Razor
Deodorant
Latex gloves 

No brush or comb for Jip (I doubt he'd notice their absence), but lens solution and an extra lens case are called for.  He is also the keeper of the mandarin orange slices.

Ryleigh's kit has:
Diapers
Wipes
Bum cream
Baby/Kids Sunscreen
Pajamas
Pants/Sweatshirt/Onesie/Socks
Poncho
Emergency Blanket
Baby Food
Sippy Cup
Extra spoons
Sunglasses
Doll/Toys
Boogey Wipes
Infant Tylenol
Body Wash
Lotion
Washcloth

I am contemplating water bottles that will filter bacteria and pathogens for each of our bags.  Another recommendation I have seen, but I'm still working on how to do it is a little bit of household bleach--it can be used to purify water in really dire situations. Maybe there is a little bottle of bleach made specifically for camping or emergency kits or the like?  I need to do some research. I know they make bleach tablets, but there are other emergency uses for liquid bleach, so I'll have to figure out what is best.

I also want to print out a little card with our designated meeting places on it as well as contact information for us, other people here, Navy authorities, and family back home and place one in each bag.  That way, if for some bizarre reason we would get separated after an emergency, help can be found and we can be reunited.

Now that the kits are finally done, I just have to make sure they stay current (diaper size, food expirations, clothing sizes for the kids, etc.).  I'm going to set a date on my Outlook calendar and check them every 6 months or so. 

I really like the backpack idea.  We can grab and go.  Of course, our kids won't be able to carry their own for a few years--these babies are heavy! 

I hope we will never, ever have to use these kits.  In fact, I'm sure now that I have them done, they will collect dust.  But, I'm okay with that.

Our 72-hour kits--I really did get all of that stuff to fit!

Did I miss anything?  I'll always take ideas on how I can improve our kits.