Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm not sure if they celebrate Mother's Day over here or not, but I'm smart enough to know that whether Japan celebrates it or not, we better...
Avery and I got up this morning and cooked up some pancakes for Deana, then we took her to Ebina. Ebina is not a major or a famous city, but it has a very large and nice outdoor mall (Vina Walk) with an Outback Steakhouse. It has been longer than I can remember since we have had authentic American food, so we were looking forward to lunch. I had a chicken sandwich and Deana had a burger and it was SOOOO GOOD!! Just like back home - I mean just like home. I'm glad we don't go to American places often because I think it would make us more homesick. Not going often also helps us REALLY appreciate the times that we do go.

Here is a view of the out door mall from the second level. As usual, the picture really doesn't do it justice - there is a large mountain range in the background that you can't see in the photo. It was a very pretty area.



After lunch, we did some window shopping. Deana and Avery found a doggie boutique. This country is nuts about their dogs. It is completely common for 80% of the dogs you pass to have on outfits or booties or to be sitting in a doggie stroller (seriously - they have doggie strollers). We were out in the rain last week and passed an owner walking his dog and the dog had a rain jacket on! Here is a couple photos from inside the store.

We later found a shoe store and decided to outfit everyone in new summer kicks. Deana got a new pair of tennis shoes and me and Avery got a pair of beach shoes. Avery had hers on within 2 minutes of leaving the store and about 2 minutes after that she was trying them out...

The weather was gorgeous today (75 and sunny), so it was a good day to goof off with family. We didn't do anything major, but we had a great time spending time together.

Now, for the fun photo of the day. This one is going into the scrapbook for sure. Unfortunately, they only had small and medium sizes and wanted $40 for the shirt. If not for that, I would have bought one or two. CLASSIC JAPAN...


I wonder if Carifornia is anywhere close to California?

6 comments:

Aunt Pat said...

I gotta give you credit, Curtis...you are a smart husband. It looks like it was a really fun day, as always. I bet y'all ate really slow so you could savor every bite. Isn't it amazing what we take for granted? Keep up the fun & the blogs~ xoxoxo Love U all!

Unknown said...

Happy Mother's Day Deana! I can't believe they were selling that shirt for $40 bucks with it mispelled and I can't believe they dog clothing boutiques, geez. It sounds like you guys need a new camera, since it never captures the background very good and you lose pictures!

Curtis said...

The funny part is that they truely don't realize that it is misspelled (unless they are really good with English). The Japanese have a horrible time differenciating between L's and R's because they all sound like R's to them. This shirt was on a display sitting just outside of the front of the store. They were PROUD of it apparently.

Unknown said...

that's right, reminds me of the "fra ra ra ra ra".... from The Christmas Story!

Betty Ann Brewer said...

How funny! I was just telling a co-worker today about our trip and remembering some of the fun stuff we did - which was a LOT! I am so glad y'all are making the most of your time there. We will be talking about this for years to come! Love you bunches and miss you! Mom (Nana)

Teresa Steel said...

Happy Mother's Day Deana - looks like you were treated right. Glad you got a little bit of American cuisine! Avery looks precious and older every time I see her! Love you all - Aunt Tessi