Apr 14 2019

Day 8 travel to Hiroshima

Posted on April 14, 2019 by Karin

Today we said goodbye to Kyoto and hello to Hiroshima. We rode the shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto to Kobe and then switched trains and rode the shinkansen from Kobe to Hiroshima. All trains were about 20 minutes late because someone was walking along the tracks. By the time our train arrived at Hiroshima the weather changed and it started raining. Lucky for us our hotel is adjacent to the station. We only had a short walk and we were there.

Corey and I are both tired and really just wanted a break from site seeing. Since it’s raining it seems to be the perfect time for it. Once we got to the hotel we ate some pre-made bento lunches that we bought earlier. Mine was a chicken and rice, and Corey’s was a tonkatsu and rice. We ate and rested and walked around the station a little. We found a mister doughnuts and decided to try some. Unfortunately they didn’t last long enough for me to take a picture. They were yummy. Tomorrow we have a planned day trip to Fukuyama where we plan to meet up with some of Corey’s friends from his mission. It Should be fun.

Apr 13 2019

Day 7 Kyoto

Posted on April 13, 2019 by Karin

Today we decided to take it easier on our feet. So we went to the top of Inari Taisha. It is a big shrine with a bunch of orange Torii that line the walk all the way to the top of the mountain. The hike was about 5km or 3.1 miles. We climbed a bazillion stairs and gained in 1000 ft in elevation. Ok so maybe we didn’t take it too easy on our feet. The shrine is a huge tourist attraction and there were a lot of people there. At one point as we were starting the hike I felt like we were a bunch of cattle being corralled through the orange gates. It was hard for me to not start saying “Moo” while hiking but I was a good girl and didn’t. I don’t know if I would have offended anyone if I had. Something about being in Kyoto I’ve noticed is there are a lot of tourist and every where you go you can hear a number of languages being spoken around you. It’s really a neat experience.

After the shrine we decided we wanted to get some lunch. We headed to the city center train station in Kyoto by train. Once there we found a little restaurant in the Kyoto station. I remember reading online before coming that many times the best places to eat are in the train stations. This one was definitely some of the best food I’ve had here. I had a tonkatsu meal and Corey had udon. We decided to give our feet a rest for a little while and head back to the hotel to do some laundry.

After our laundry was done we walked back to the train station and headed out for dinner. We had some little hickups today getting on and off trains. Mostly not getting off at the right stop. It’s not a problem since we have a train pass for two weeks but only minor delays throughout the day. We had some ramen for dinner. In total we have walked over 11 miles today. Tomorrow is a travel day we head to Hiroshima where we will stay for a week.

Entrance to the Inari Taisha and beginning of the hike.

The shrine is a place that enshrines the god Inari. The messenger god of Inari is the fox so you see the statues of foxes all over.

We made it to the Top! This is part of the shrine on the top

Coming back down. There weren’t as many people at the top. Many just stopped half way.

My Lunch. Tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet), bowl of rice, cup of miso soup, bamboo shoots, and something pickled(not sure what it was but it was good)

Apr 12 2019

Day 6 Kyoto Japan

Posted on April 12, 2019 by Karin

We woke up to a perfectly beautiful day. We headed out by bus to visit Chionin temple. The buildings on the temple site are so amazing. The architecture of ancient Japan is so different from anything you would see in the United States. While visiting the site we sat down to take a rest for a couple of minutes and eat a small snack. Later we realized Corey lost the coin purse we just bought the day before to put our coins in. We had to hike back to the place he left it. Unfortunately it wasn’t there. It only had between $5-$10 of Japanese coins in it but still a loss. I was worried that he had put his credit card in there and his bills but luckily it was just coins.

After spending most of the day at the temple site we walked to the old imperial palace. It was really neat to walk around and see the ancient palace.

We climbed so many stairs today and walked over 12 miles. By the time we were back at the hotel my feet were so tired and sore. Hopefully tomorrow has less walking to do.

Chinoin Temple and some of the many stairs we had to climb

Lion statues at a shrine in the Chionin temple site

Tourist all over were dressed in Kimonos. The girls with the white faces are actual Geisha. They couldn’t walk two feet before someone would ask for a picture with them. We snuck this photo

Really pretty walk to the Palace with this neat canal and lots of cherry blossoms

Apr 11 2019

Day 5: Traveling to Kyoto

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Karin

I remembered to take a picture of our breakfast at the hotel in Tokyo. The pastries were delicious. You can see how much I liked them by the amount of them I had on my plate. Actually I probably could have eaten more but I didn’t want to look like a pig. The salad is a cabbage salad with some dressing. That was good too. Also they had some eggs. They were a weird texture that I didn’t really enjoy but Corey seemed to like them.

After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and headed to the train station to catch the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. The train we were on travels at about 278 km/h or 165 mph! I think my sister Krystal would have gotten sick because she gets car sick so easily. The train goes so fast that when you look out the window all the stuff like trees and bridges become an extreme strobe. I just sat with my head down until there was a small town with fields or something that wasn’t so close to the train.

After a quick train transfer we walked about 1km to our hotel. It’s not actually a hotel but it’s a bed and breakfast. It’s pretty cool. There is a common kitchen and dinning area that we share with everyone else. We have our own room and we sleep on futons ontop of tatami mats. Our room feels bigger than our last hotel but we also don’t have our own bathroom we have to share like you would at a hostel.

After getting situated here we decided to explore a little by walking to the local grocery store and then getting something to eat at an okonomiyaki place. The store was fun to see. It reminds me of the china town market in Salt Lake City that we like to stalk up on our Japanese sauces. We had a really yummy dinner at a little place just up the rode. Corey had Osaka style pork Okonomiyaki. I ate pork Yaki soba. It was really good but I didn’t really care for the Bonito flakes they put on top. Bonito flakes are thin fish flakes that will wave and kind of melt with the heat of the food. It has a fishy flavoring that I didn’t really like. Tomorrow we will explore more of the sites in Kyoto and I’m super excited.

American style breakfast buffet at our hotel in Tokyo

Me with the Shinkansen arriving at the station behind me

Corey liked that it says Puncake instead of Pancake on the menu

Waiting for our food with his Ginger Ale. They turn the griddle on and set your food on it.

Corey’s Okonomiyaki. I’m not a fan of it but he loves the stuff. It’s a pancake with pork and cabbage.

I thought this bag was hilarious. I think I need a sweat tote. I may have to go back and buy it.

Apr 10 2019

Day 4 Tokyo Japan

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Karin

This morning we woke up to a lot of rain. We had a complementary breakfast in the hotel cafe. There were these croissants that were so buttery and flaky. I forgot to get a picture of them but I will try tomorrow if they have them. Our plan for today was to go to a Shinto shrine and the Imperial Palace gardens. First we had to stop at the local convenient store to pick up some umbrellas. It was just our luck that this is one of the coldest days they’ve had this time of year. Many places in Japan are seeing snow so we are lucky that we just had rain. I guess we had to bring the cold with us from Idaho.

Once we got our umbrellas we headed to the train station and then on foot to the shrine. The cherry blossoms are finishing up here and they are beautiful. There is a war museum at the shrine. We spent a few hours there. It was a good use of our time to get warm and out of the rain. It’s interesting to see the war history of Japan. Even more interesting was getting a different perspective on WWII.

After the shrine we were pretty hungry and walked to a restaurant. We both ate Mabodofu. It’s something that I’ve learned to make at home but I really wanted to taste what an authentic one was like. It was delicious. They gave us a big bowl of it. It’s about as much as I normally make for my whole family. As we look around it seems like everyone was finishing all that they ordered and I don’t know if it is unkind to not eat everything. So I ate all of it and was so stuffed by the end.

After that we walked through the Imperial Palace Gardens. On the way there we stopped at a public toilet and yes I took a picture of the public toilets in the women’s bathroom. It is definitely an adventure. The gardens are beautiful and we took our time walking around. I wish it hadn’t been so cold and wet because I know we would have spent the rest of the day there if we could. However, our shoes were squishy with water and we were freezing so after a couple of hours we made our way back to the hotel to dry off and get warm. Even though it was rainy and cold we had a good experience. Tomorrow we head for Kyoto

Toilet in women’s bathroom. It’s a workout for your quads

Standing in front of the Old Edo Castle walls

War museum. Plane behind us was what they used as the suicide planes

Apr 9 2019

Day 2 and 3

Posted on April 9, 2019 by Karin

Day 2: This day started before the sun was up. We had to catch a flight from SLC to Seattle at 7am. That means getting up and being to the airport by 5am. Once we landed in Seattle we had a couple of hours to kill before our flight to Tokyo took off. Corey was hungry so we walked around the airport and found Beechers Handmade cheese. I remember from Preston’s choir trip that there was a place in Pike’s Place Market that Preston said the mac and cheese was the best thing about his trip. It’s the same place only they have a shop in the airport too! So Corey ordered a mac and cheese and we waited for our next flight.

Once our plane took off for Tokyo they pretty much started serving us food from the time we got in the air until we landed. It’s an over nine hour flight so I was feeling pretty stuffed by the time we landed. It’s funny how much they offer you to drink and then you watch as the line for the bathroom would get super long. I wasn’t falling for that trick and only had a drink when I needed one. I only had to use the small bathroom on the plane once!

Day 3: At some point, because of the international date line, day 2 morphed into day 3. All I know is we took off on Monday at 11:30am and landed on Tuesday at 12:30pm. I was only able to sleep for about an hour on the plane. This means when I normally would be going to bed at home it’s the middle of the next day in Tokyo. Even though all I wanted to do was sleep Corey and I made sure we stayed awake until 9:00pm in Tokyo. My brain has stopped working and I feel like I’m in a hazy fog. Hopefully by staying awake we can sleep through the night and feel great tomorrow. It’s been a long day. I’ve had some really yummy ramen and we rode the Big O in Tokyo which gave us a wonderful view of the Tokyo skyline. Our hotel room is comically small. The bathroom is about as big as the one on the plane. This was expected and it doesn’t really matter to us because we don’t plan on spending too much time at the hotel. Well time to get some shut eye so we can explore more of Tokyo tomorrow.

The main meal on our long flight. Pork stir fry. It was actually pretty tasty.

Look how tall Corey looks compared with our hotel room door!

Really yummy pork ramen. Boy do I look tired or what!

The Big O behind Corey. It’s like a ferris wheel

Apr 7 2019

Day One of Our 20th Anniversary Trip

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Karin

This year my hubby and I celebrate 20 years of being married! We decided to celebrate by going on a trip to Japan. Corey served a mission there for our church back in 1996-1998. It’s been 21 years since he has been there. We are both excited for this adventure and wanted to keep our kids informed on what we have been up to. Corey’s mom, Nammy, is staying with our kids for a couple of weeks as we go on this adventure. We are so blessed to have her there with them!

Day 1: This is a short day because we have such a long lay over in Salt Lake City. We flew from Idaho Falls to Salt Lake which was a rough flight with lots of turbulence but luckily it’s a very short flight. We have a 10 hour lay over; it’s over night so Corey and I get to spend a night in SLC. We are staying at the Sheraton in downtown. We decided we wanted to try the Indian restaurant that’s a block from the hotel. I know that’s a little daring especially when we’re going to be on a plane pretty much all day tomorrow. The food was a very delicious. We hope it doesn’t come back to bite us later.

Waiting at the Idaho Falls airport for the first leg of our journey

Chicken Korma and Bulb Dosai with Roti and Naan

Dec 24 2018

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Karin

Merry Christmas from the Edwards

Merry Christmas! Usually I’m pretty good about getting Christmas cards out by the first week of December but not this year. I love getting Christmas cards each year from friends and family. I’ve noticed that over the years more and more people stop sending cards and I just couldn’t understand the reason for it. Well this year I fully understand. I didn’t get cards out this year. First issue we didn’t have a good picture to put on a card. Another issue my husband takes the pictures and I often need to wait for him to upload the pictures before making the cards. I’m still waiting on pictures for our Hawaii trip from June! Last issue, it gets busy this time of year and I totally get why people don’t spend the extra time on cards. I guess this is the alternative to a card this year. Hopefully next year we will be better.

Corey and I celebrated 19 years of marriage this year by going to Hawaii with my parents. This is my first visit to Hawaii and I fell in love with snorkeling. Throughout the year I’ve kept busy with various hobbies like, tennis, hiking, and sewing. Corey is still involved with the Bonneville County Search and Rescue. He has been an active member now for 9 years. Corey has also really enjoyed wood working the last couple of years. He has built many projects for me and a few furniture items for the home. His biggest project this year was building a podium for the Search and Rescue building.

Preston is now a Junior in High School. He is really involved with the music and drama program at Bonneville High School. The school has an amazing choral program and he enjoys being a member of the Bonnevaires. In the spring they went on tour to San Francisco. He is also in a smaller more elite group of apollo 6 a group of 6 young men who sing more barber shop style. This next year the choir is planning on going on tour to Seattle. He also participated in the Drama district competition where Bonneville High School took first place. He then was able to participate in state for his Musical theater ensemble. He’s a busy kid and we often don’t see him until late in the evening most school days.

Levi is now experiencing his last year in middle school. He enjoys playing the cello in his school’s orchestra. He also decided to stick with piano lessons one more year. He turned 13 this year and is looking forward to passing his mom up in height. He is only about a centimeter away! He just returned from a trip to Disneyland with Grandma and Grandpa Tiffany and 3 of his other 13 &14 year old cousins. He loves playing video games with his friends. To his mom and dad’s dismay he has also become an excellent flosser (not the teeth kind of floss but the dance from the game forte night).

Sophia started 5th grade this year. She is involved in the schools drama club. They are working on the lion king jr. musical. She is also taking piano lessons and enjoys trying to make up her own songs. She is always humming around the house often times Corey and I have to remind her that she is humming. She loves anything to do with animals and was able to participate in the the local junior zoo keeper program at the zoo this summer.

It’s been a crazy year and shows no sign of slowing down for the next year. We hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love, The Edwards

Dec 12 2013

Thanksgiving 2013

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Karin

Thanksgiving this year was great! Corey needed to go down to Denver for work and so we made a family trip out of it. Since his parents live in Greeley Thanksgiving was the prefect time to plan the trip. He had to work for a couple of days in Denver so the kids and I hung out in Denver during that time. On the last day we had 5 hours to kill after checking out of the hotel. We spent three of them at Chuck E Cheese. This was a first time for my kids and they absolutely loved it. Then we spent and hour in IKEA. It takes an hour just walking through the store. By the end my kids were afraid that we were lost and never going to make it out. After IKEA we went to Toys R Us. This was a good time for me to pay attention so I could get some good Christmas Ideas.

After that we headed back to Greeley and spent our Thanksgiving holiday with Nammy and Nampa. We had some really yummy food and the kids love playing with all the vintage toys that Nammy has. We also made it to the festival of trees there in Greeley. The kids had the chance to see Santa and write their list. It was a really fun week there in Colorado. We really didn’t want it to end. I’m so grateful we were able to spend time with Nammy and Nampa.

Chuck E Cheese! We are ready to have some fun.

Sophia loved the slide.

Roller Coaster Ride

Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner. Even the Guys are in the Kitchen

Ready to eat the feast.

Writing Santa letters

Deep in Thought

Two of our favorite people. Nammi and Nampa.

Two of our favorite people. Nammy and Nampa.

Sophia on Santa’s lap

Levi on Santa’s Lap. Preston didn’t want to sit on Santa’s lap this year.

Nov 5 2013

Catch up

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Karin

Okay it’s been too long since I posted anything. So this is one big catch up post. I’ll post a bunch of pictures with a short description of the event. Hopefully that will get me caught up for the holidays. I like to keep record of all the stuff that happens in our lives and this is sort of a family journal. Not only is it good for me to have a record so I can remember all those great moments but also so we can share it with our friends and family who don’t get to see us often.

First we have to go all the way back to September. YES I said September. That is where I left off. After school started and things start to get crazy canning season starts. This has been great for my family’s food storage but also very time consuming. Corey and I love our garden and we get a lot of produce out of it. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my mom? Well I do A LOT. She came up for a week and a half, despite not feeling well, and helped me can. I put her right to work canning green beans. Everyday we did something new. The biggest thing we canned was apple sauce. We had the apples from my tree and some apples that a friend let me pick. In the end we canned 48 quarts of apples. I really did have a lot of fun with my mom and really do miss her when she is gone.

You’re seeing right that is a 5 gallon bucket of applesauce.

Mom and I with all the applesauce ready to process.

On to the next event. Our camping trip to Craters of the Moon National park. We are fortunate to live in an area where we don’t have to travel far to get to some great camping spots. We said goodbye to our tent trailer and got ourselves a new trailer. We had to try it out the weekend we got it. We joined some friends up at Craters and had a blast. We explored caves and lava fields. This was the first time I’ve been to Caters. I’ve driven past and wasn’t very impressed but once we explored I was amazed. We’ll come back again.

Our new home away from home.

Kids climbing rocks

Walking through the giant tunnel

Exploring caves

Well paved walking trails.

Even here pretty things grow

Group Picture

We have made it to October! This was the first weekend in October. We decided to take the trailer out one more time before we had to store it for the winter. We ended up going to Palisades Reservoir. Again I feel the need to express how blessed we are to live in close proximity to these wonderful places. When we arrived it was snowing. It was a pretty cold night and we only lasted one night before deciding to pack up and head home. It was beautiful. So many fall colors mixed in with the snow.

Our very snowy campsite.

All the wildlife we saw. He didn’t like Corey.

View of the Lake

Family photo

Fall Colors

Being silly on a rock wall.

Next there was a free ice skating lesson at the hockey shelter. We signed the kids up and they had fun skating on the ice. Did you know ice is slippery? It was fun to watch them skate around.

Last on the list and then I’m all caught up. HALLOWEEN! We had a blast this year at our ward’s trunk or treat. Corey and I dressed as Bert and Mary from Mary Poppins. Sophia was a ghost, Levi a zombie, and Preston a nerd. The trunk or treat was the Tuesday before Halloween. That was good because on Halloween it rained and was very chilly. Sophia and Levi went trick or treating but Preston just wanted to hang out with his friends playing games down in our basement. I guess he is growing up. If anyone knows a cure for that please let me know.