September in the States

Hanging out with Binks

With his other mama!

A house full of Allens

Happy Birthday, Justin! 

Mamerland

Silly Allen boys

Monterrey, CA

Papa and Ash come to town

Kamakura's Giant Buddha

Yokosuka Summer Fireworks

FujiSan

Kyoto: The Golden Pavilion

Tokyo: Shibuya Crossing

Seika observation day

Showing his "family portrait" to the class

Lunch with Mommy... Ramen, of course! 

Tokyo Disneyland Slideshow

Binks and Jay are Disneyland addicts, so we had to do Disney before they left!!

100 Yen Sushi Again...and again...and again!

Going out for sushi here can be a lot of fun. Binks loves sushi so when asked what we should have for lunch, she usually requested sushi! 

Here's how it generally works. You have a digital menu at your table. You can order from that menu or just grab whatever you see that looks good. We usually order a few bowls of Udon because Cooper always wants to eat noodles, and we (I) always try a dessert or two. Every place is different, but usually your order will be sent out on the belt and music plays when it gets to your table so that you know to grab it. We went to a not so yummy 100Y sushi place that delivered the ordered food on a mini "shinkansen" (bullet train). That part was cool (not sure why I didn't take a pic!), but the sushi bordered on being gross so we won't be back there...ever. Anyway, here are some pics!  

Pork roast! One of my faves...

He was addicted to "Binky's Mario"

One of Coop's faves

Sam was unimpressed.

"More noodles, please!"

Jay showing off his hat?

Binks helping Coop with his tamago sushi

Last trip to Uraga before they left. :(

Kamakura to Yokohama

Finally convinced them to sightsee...

Taking pics

Dim Sum

Sam wanted Dim Sum, too! 

It's always so busy here! 

When in Japan, pose as the Japanese do! 

Sumo Day

It looked cold out so initially Coop had his winter PE uniform on over his Summer one. 

Justino participated in the arm wrestling competition. He didn't take home the gold but had a good time anyway! 

Coop didn't want to stay with his class...

...and was a bit distracted...

...until he spotted Justin! 

Yup, they really had sumo wrestlers at Sumo Day!  

The older boys competed against each other. They looked pretty serious about it! 

Coop and a few classmates seemed more interested in playing with their thermoses! 

It's said to be good luck if a sumo wrestler holds your baby. We thought the photo op would be kind of fun!

Sugar Bear and Mommy :)

Hakkeijima Sea Paradise

Coop's first school field trip was to Sea Paradise. I was told that it was similar to Sea World so we were pretty excited to go. When the big day finally arrived, Coop was sick. Sick Cooper equals cranky Cooper and the overcast weather didn't really help his spirits. After a few unfortunate setbacks getting to the chartered buses, we were on our way to Yokohama. The bus ride was pretty interesting because the teachers sing and tell stories to keep the kids entertained. The parents have to sit in the back so I couldn't tell what Cooper was doing, but I hope he was paying attention.  After we arrived, Coop had a minor meltdown when it came time to take the class picture. I knew he was tired, but we couldn't exactly abort the trip so I got him excited again by promising that we'd see some animals very soon. It worked and he completely lit up at the sight of the dolphin exhibit! 

The only thing asked of the parents was to make sure that your child saw the "dolphin show".  

He LOVED the dolphins. 

Class pictures first! Hope the camera was too far away to spot his tear

We spent a few minutes watching them swim before heading over to the Dolphin show. The show was a requirement because apparently they were going to draw or color sea creatures at school the next day. We walked into a packed stadium and ended up sitting in the back. I think the show would have held Cooper's attention better if we weren't so far away. I had to feed the baby and Coop saw that as his opportunity to start jumping off of benches and such in the very back. The show looked pretty cool so we'll have to go back again one day and sit right up front! I'd like to go back anyway (with dad!) so that we can explore the other exhibits at a more leisurely pace...or he can chase Coop around while Sam and I do the moseying along! 

That look was him planning his escape. I should've seen it coming! 

Pretty gnarly looking fish, right?!

So much to see, so little time! 

I wonder if there will come a day when he actually smiles for a pic without making silly poses first. 

I think he was missing our regular trips to Sea World.

Seika Yochien

He forgot to properly greet her on his first day!

 Coop only goes to school a few days a week for now, but after summer break (in July), he'll go everyday. After 2 weeks, he finally greets his bus teacher with a bow and says, "Sensei, ohayo gozaimasu! (Teacher, good morning!)" She then helps him onto the bus. He has to bow after he gets off as well and tell her goodbye. It's pretty darn cute.

You never know what he'll do when you ask him to smile! 

The Adventures of BSQ

Auntie Tita came to visit us!! We were excited to spend some time with her...when she was awake! Jet lag kicked that girl's bottom, but we were still able to sneak in a little bit of quality time. Her trip was too short and the weather was too cold, but we miss you already, BSQ!

Stay tuned for a slide show of pics proving that she did actually leave the house at least once! hah!

I wasn't ready! 

Auntie Tita and Sam (@almost 2 months old)