Category: Diary

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

I was looking back at my old posts from a year ago, when I went to Japan the first time, and I was struck by the similarities between what Emiko did for me when I was missing my family on Lily Day, and what I did for crystal.  It was actually almost the same!!!  A year ago, I was crying and Liz comforted me, and this year Crystal was crying and i comforted her.  And then Emiko took me to a shrine to do an ema, and I Crystal did an ema too.  And Emiko took me to a Japanese garden and that’s when she became my family, and then I took Crystal to a Japanese garden and that’s where she found some peace.

Maybe Japan is a magical place… or maybe that’s the power of family.

Or maybe a bit of both.

Katie did get some sleep, and she’s doing better now.  And I know (a little) how to take care of a baby.  It’s easy.  Make sure what goes in is healthy and timely.  Make sure what comes out is quickly removed.  And make sure to listen when she fusses.  I mean, I’m sure there are advanced classes, but that’s not too bad, I guess.  Except, like I said, dirty diapers are FOUL.

Oh well.  Comes with being a woman I guess.  I’ll have my share of diapers someday.

Today I took Allison and her friends school shopping.  Her parents were really busy, with their move and everything, and I was glad to do it.  Allison has three neighborhood friends (that i know of!), two pretty Indian girls and one, well, pretty non-Indian girl.  All three of us and Sabby (just to be careful) went to the school supply store and they loaded up.  They all had papers saying everything they needed, and by the time they were done, I think they bought up half the store!!!

Allison’s a bit nervous about her new school, though.  I told her that she’ll make lots of new friends and find lots of fun stuff to do.  She told me she’ll miss choir, and I said maybe she should see if she can start her own!!!  I hear choir is fun.

Then I took them for chocolate frozen yogurt.  Did I mention it’s hot!!!

After I took them back, Jack and I went on a date.  Usually I’d put subscriber content here, but it’s enough to say that there would be subscriber content if I wasn’t lazy, so fill in the blanks.  It was nice to spend some time with him, though, and I saw Grace too, who was chittering and chattering just like the rest of my sisters do!  She’s starting school too, and she’s looking forward to it!  I bet she’ll make lots of friends!  Everyone loves Grace, did I tell you that???

I think I’ll sleep well tonight.  Jack always has that effect on me.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

I…  It’s been a day.

Katie asked us to come over to visit today.  She’s still taking care of her baby and she’s really exhausted – even with all the help she’s getting – which is a lot – she’s still having a hard time of it.  She said something about… umm… what did she call it?  Postpartum depression?  Yeah…  she wasn’t doing very well.  I mean, she could still function, but she was a little weepy and teary and, well… wasn’t taking care of herself very well.

Sabby took the baby and started rocking it and told her to go take a shower.

She did.  She came out looking a little better, but still a little weepy.

No one blames her for that – don’t get me wrong.  It happens.  But it’s still sad to see.  She’s usually pretty happy and chipper, and, well, now she’s not.

But then she dropped a huge bombshell on both of us.

She wants Sabby to be her godmother, and for me to be her godsister.  That’s why she named her Sabrina Lily.

I was pretty speechless.  Sabby wasn’t.  She never is.  She asked why.

“Ever since I met the two of you,” she said, sniffling a little, “I’ve seen how much family means to you.  Sabby, you’re like a lion.  You’d tear people apart if they got in the way of your family.  I’ve seen you come close a couple of times.”

Sabby blushed a little (yes, she can blush, it’s just a little harder to see), but nodded.  She knows it’s true.

“And you, Lily… I’ve seen how much your sisters mean to you.  You have so many friends, and you treat them as your own.  You’re not like Sabby, you’re not a lion…  you’re a..  I don’t know what animal you are.  But you’re always protective.  Every time you interact with them, they come out better.  I… I want that for my baby.  I… I don’t know if I’ll make a good mother.  But between the two of you…  you’ll make sure she’ll come out okay.  Even…” she sniffled.  “Even if you have to smack me around a little.”

“We’re not going to -“

“No!”, she said, a lot more forcefully than she intended, because she kind of cringed back a little.  “No,” she said, quieter this time.  “I mean that.  I don’t mean smack me smack me, but I mean…  I mean this is my baby, and I…  I don’t know if I can do this.  I need…  I need…” and then she broke down crying.

Aww.

“I need to know my baby will be safe and protected.  Even…  even from me.” She wiped her eyes.  “Don’t let me ruin her…  not like…”

“Katie?”  Sabby put her arm around Katie, who sighed gratefully.

“She shouldn’t be here,” Katie said quietly.  “I’m glad she’s here, but she shouldn’t be.  She was a mistake.  Her father was a mistake.  Maybe… maybe if I’d made a better decision…” she hiccuped.  “But I didn’t, and here she is.  She needs better than me.  I’m not asking you to take her.  I’ll still be her mother.  I’ll still feed her and clothe her and take care of her.  I’ll always feed her and clothe her and kiss her owies.  But…  she needs more than I can give her.  Do… do you understand?”

Sabby looked at her, and looked at me.  “We’ll be right back,” she said, and handed Sabrina to Katie.

Then she took me out into the other room.

“Lily…  are you okay with this?  She’s… she’s asking a lot.  She’s asking for a commitment, from both of us…  to her and her baby.  Can you do that?”

“I…  If I go to live in Japan…”

“Not like that… just… to always be involved in her life, to make sure she doesn’t come to harm… in your case, to mentor her and be her big sister.  I know how good you are with your other sisters.  But if you make this commitment, you have to follow through.  You have to.  You can’t back out, you can’t drop her, you can’t leave her when it’s not convenient.  Can you do that?”

I nodded.  “Never too many sisters.”

Sabby wiped her eye.  “I knew you’d say that, Lily.  You always say that.  But what makes you special is…  you mean it.  You have a lot of sisters, and every time you call someone your sister, you live it.  You have… no idea how special that is.”  She gave me a big hug.  “No idea at all.  Beth’s not like that.  I love her, but… she’s not like that.  She’s grown so much since she got to know you.  They all have.”

I sniffled a little too.  She patted my head (heh) and we went back into Katie’s room.

We sat back down on the edge of Katie’s bed.

“Katie,” Sabby said, “You’re asking for a big commitment from us.  If we’re going to do that, we need as big a commitment from you.  You’re asking us to make your daughter, in a very real way, a part of our family.  We take that seriously.  You know how seriously Lily takes it when she accepts someone as her sister.  ‘Never too many sisters,” she always says.  But that means you can’t take her away from us.  You have to actually let us treat you like family.  That doesn’t mean we don’t disagree, that doesn’t mean we don’t have fights, but it means you will never take her away from us or hold it against us.  I don’t think you would, but…  but I want to make sure you know what you’re asking for.”

Katie nodded.  “I know what I’m asking.”

“I want you to make one more promise to us,” Sabby said.  “If you’re serious about this.”

Katie nodded.  “Anything.”

“Well, we’ll see.  I want you to promise that, when you find another man, that you will take our opinions of him seriously.  You…  already made one bad choice, and…  I will not have my goddaughter having a, well… you know… as a stepfather.”

Katie’s face contorted a little, but then she relaxed and nodded.  “I hate that.  It makes me a little angry.  But…  you’re right.  It’s best for her.”

Sabby blew out a breath.  “That was not fun to say,” she said.  “I know I have this reputation as a lion, and Lily likes to say I ‘go all Claire Huxtable on people'” – I giggled and she shot me a look – “but it’s not an easy thing to do,” she said, rather softly for her.  She looked at me.  “I hate doing it,” she said, “and if you tell anyone else, I’ll deny it.  But I hate having to say these things, I hate having to be a lion.”  She actually deflated a little.  “But I’ll do what I need to do for my family.  For family I have, and…  and for family I chose.”  She reached down, and in an uncharacteristic gesture for Sabby, she stroked Katie’s face a little.  “This makes you family too,” she said, softly.  “And I’ll be a lion for you too.”

Katie broke down again.  I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to her.

“But,” I said, trying and mostly succeeding at keeping a giggle out of my voice, “that doesn’t mean you can slack off at work.”

Katie giggled.  “If anything I’ll work harder because I know you’ll take care of me.”

Sabby sighed.  “Lily’s got a point.  Work is separate.  It has to be.  I can’t show anyone favoritism.  That could get me in a lot of trouble, legally.  But…  no matter what happens at work…  it won’t change this.  That’s all I can promise.  Do you understand?”

Katie nodded.  “I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t.”  She held out her arms for Sabrina, and Katie gave her back to Sabby.  “Now, you sleep, and I’m going to teach Lily how to take care of a baby.”

Katie smiled, murmured a thank you, rolled over, and was snoring within minutes.

And I learned how absolutely foul dirty diapers are.

Ewwww.

But it’s what we both signed up for.

But I also learned how absolutely adorable a sleeping baby is.  Now I want one.  Sabby shot me a look, like she knew what I was thinking.  Crap.  Now I’m going to get another talk.

We came home after a few hours, and now all the girls are over, but I’ve been thinking all night about what Sabby said.  How I always say “never too many sisters”, and how I treat my sisters once I’ve accepted them as a sister, and how Crystal’s mother said “thank you for giving me back my little girl”, and…  and now I’m watching Beth and Liz and Crystal and Diana playing games in their pajamas and chattering and chittering about everything and nothing, and there’s a group video call going on on my tablet with the Aidols and Rebecca and her friends…  and they’re my sisters.  They’re all my sisters.  And I love them so much.

And now I have another, new sister.  Who’s so little she doesn’t even know I’m her sister.  I guess I’ll be Auntie Lily or something as she grows up.  And I love her too.  Just as much.  I love them all.

They just said they want “onee-chan” to come over and be a part of the group.  Onee-chan.  I… maybe I wasn’t fair to them.  Maybe that was their way of treating me like a big sister….  maybe… maybe I’m a jerk.  Maybe I’m the biggest jerk in the world.  I…  I think I’d better go apologize to them.  To all of them.

They’re my sisters.  But I’m their sister too.  Their big sister.  Their…  their big sister.  Their onee-chan.

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

School is starting up again!!!  I start the 21st, Jack starts next week, everyone’s doing their school stuff!!!

For those who don’t know, I homeschool, but a part of that is that I go to Austin Community College, and take some courses.  They’re hard but not too hard, and I’ve been doing pretty well, though Beth is smoking me.  Haha!  It’s okay.  She’s always been smarter than me.

My birthday is in less than a month and it’s time to start thinking of things to do!!!

What a summer this has been.

I guess after Japan, I don’t really feel like going many places right now, I’m just kind of being an introvert.  But that’s okay, sometimes it just is what it is.  Oh well.  I’m usually a pretty extroverted girl but sometimes it gets to be too much.

And it’s still hot outside!!! It’s been like 105 for the past month!!! And it’ll be 105 for longer. Aww.  This is one thing I don’t like about Texas.  I wonder if I can talk Sabby into taking me to Ohio or Maine.  Probably not.  We already spent too much in Japan.

Anyway, short entry today, I guess.  Time for bed!!!

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

And… I hit a wall today.  Aww.

I was just tired all day.  I didn’t feel like doing anything.  I just wanted to sleep.  So… I did.  Sabby didn’t mind, she knows that the vacation took a lot out of us.  And it’s so hot outside, just unendingly hot.

I don’t think I ever left my pajamas today.

Crystal’s mother called me today and asked me why Crystal seems… different.  So I told her.  Everything.  She just listened and when she spoke, her voice was breaking.

“Thank you for giving me my little girl back”, she said.

I didn’t… know what to say.  I wasn’t trying to give her a little girl back.  I was just… trying to be a good big sister.  But maybe that’s what good big sisters do… right?  I asked her to let her wear her kimono when she wants and to maybe see if she can find a peaceful place for her to zone out.  She said she’d see what she could do.

Crystal’s parents did fail her.  I can’t sugar-coat that.  They did.  But they weren’t trying to.  They didn’t set out one day and say “We want to mess up our daughter, muahahaaha” and twirl their mustaches like some cartoon villain.  They did the best they could and it ended up severely damaging their daughter.  That’s just how life is, I guess.  Maybe my adopted parents before Sabby were the same..  The Rittenhouses?  I don’t remember.  Maybe they just found themselves in a situation that they couldn’t easily get out of, and…  Crystal was hurt.

They really do want what’s best for Crystal.

I hope they help her hold on to the peace she found in Japan.

Peace is fleeting.  It really is.

Anyway, the group chat is really hopping right now.  Everyone’s talking about the trip or how their parents and siblings liked their presents or picking on me about being onee-chan (sigh)…  and Ai’s friends English isn’t that good but they’re asking all sorts of questions about America.  They want to go to a Buc-ees.  Big surprise there.  Everyone seems to want to go to a Buc-ees.

And Britni’s dropped all pretense and is now trying to figure out how to be herself without making everyone else feel stupid.  She’s been acting stupid for so long she’s forgotten how to be smart.  And Rebecca and friends are already planning on how to use their anime uniforms for fun and profit…  or at least to play a huge prank on their school when it starts.

The Aidols are tentatively planning to come to the US for Christmas.  That’ll be fun.

Oh well.  I’m going to bed.  Lots to do tomorrow – every day can’t be a lazy day.

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

And we’re getting back to normal.

It still feels a little bit like we’re travelling, but.. it was nice to be back in my bed with Marie sprawled all over me.  She’s a good dog.  Just a bit overenthusiastic sometimes.  Cat even sat at the foot of my bed, purring.

So today I did my run (I’m a bit out of practice) and then Sabby and I went to the shop to see how everyone’s doing.  Baker was really happy to see us – I don’t think she likes to be the karen-wrangler, I mean, manager.  She just prefers to bake.  I don’t blame her!!!  Cat-girl was doing her thing, behind the counter in her costume selling cookies to fanboys.  I told her about that app, and she said, and I quote, “ohhhhhhhhhh.”  Yeah, she didn’t know either.  Japanese fanboys are something else!!!!

But I had a present for everyone.  For Baker, I had a Japanese kitchen gadget that did something completely incomprehensible to me, but Baker knew exactly what it was and hugged me.  Being Japanese, of course it had an animal face on it and said “KAWAII”, but I guess whatever it did, Baker knew exactly what to do with it.  For the dooters, I had some genuine Japanese cat ears, which they giggled and put on.  And for the cosplay girls… that was hard choosing something for them because they already were stocked up on everything I could think of them needing, so I got them some anime schoolgirl costumes (the same kind that the girls got – awwww), even with the bows to make twintails.  Cat-girl and skintight girl liked them and gave me a hug, but anime-girl literally SQUEEEEEED.  Apparently it’s really hard to get those costumes here at a good price, and even moreso, genuine Japanese ones.  She even went in back and changed into it right away, and when she came out, well, there was a Japanese tourist who got a nosebleed.

Hahaha!!!

Well, not really.  But it looked like it!!!

And the best part is, we wrote them off as a business expense.  Because, well, they were,  Haha!!!

And I also had some bags of multi-flavored kit-kats I put in jars at the front and told the dooters how much to sell them for.  That made it a business trip for us, too!!!

Well..  maybe pushing it.  But I’m sure we could write some of it off.  I’ll talk to the accountant.

If they sell well, I’ll put in a large import order and make it a staple.

This evening I went out with Jack!!!

I think we spent about ten minutes just kissing.  I missed him so much.

He took me out to a nice restaurant (well, an iHop if we’re being honest, which is okay but I’m not sure “nice”… but it has chocolate pancakes so I’m happy) and we talked a lot.  We even sat on the same side of the booth.

It feels a bit like Romeo and Juliet in some ways now.  And not really in a good way.  I mean…  I do want to go to school in Japan, and Sabby thinks given the political stuff going on here that’s a really good idea, but… what of us?  I don’t want to be away from him for four years, that’d be awful!  But…  then what if he went to college too?  We’d be apart exactly the same way.

I told him that.  He knew it was true.  He still doesn’t like it.

I don’t blame him.

After dinner, we went to see the Barbie and Oppenheimer movies.  The Barbie movie was a waste of time, and Jack thought so too.  The Oppenheimer one…

I don’t think I like nuclear bombs.

But they are surprisingly pretty when they explode.

Sigh.

Some of the most dangerous things are the most beautiful.

Like cat-girl!

Hahaha!!!!

Well, she’s not dangerous.  That’s not fair.  Just a bit… umm… uninhibited.

Aaaaanyway.

Jack’s not getting his very nice present until his birthday, but I gave him a slightly less nice but still nice present.  Some Japanese gadget that he really liked.  It was an anime girl figurine that, umm… bounced.  You know, boing boing,  He thought it was hilarious.

As much as I missed him, I didn’t go back to his house.  I’m still jet-lagged and there’s plenty of time.  I did send back some presents for his parents though.  Just a fancy chopstick set.  He thinks they’ll really like them.

It’s hot.  It looks like it’s going to be hot for a while yet.  I hear it’s because of some volcano that blew a lot of water vapor into the upper atmosphere.  Awww.  But hopefully it gets better soon.  The heat’s getting to all of us.

I guess I should go.  Marie’s whining.

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

We’re HOME!!!

We hopped on a plane this morning and got back to Austin this afternoon!!!

Oh I love love love my bed!!!! It’s so soft and warm and…  well, the hotel beds were nice too, but they weren’t MINE.

So the first thing we did was go pick up Marie, who was amazingly happy to see all of us.  I mean she had friends with all her doggy friends, but she caught a whiff of us and was bouncing up and down and jumping on us and whining, and now she won’t leave our side.  It’s so cute.  The second thing we did after bring Marie home was go grocery shopping, because we’re really low (I stayed home with Marie).  The third thing we did was go visit Katie and her new baby!!!

It’s.. a baby!!!

Sabby and Beth and I were cooing and making silly noises, and David just looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.  Katie looks exhausted but said the church was taking pretty good care of her, so that’s good.  We’re going to babysit when we can – I guess I need to learn to change diapers!!!

And then we came home and napped.

I’m going to see Jack tomorrow!!!

Anyway…  it’s good to be home.  I loved Japan, but.. it’s good to be home.  Hot weather and sparse grass and no mountains and everything.

BTW.. if you’re curious, I think Cat noticed we were gone.  I think.  Hard to be sure.

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

Jet Lagged Lily!!!

Anyway, today, we’re in LAX.  We all decided to get a hotel, well, those of us who are going back to Texas anyway, and we’re there now.  There’s Dave and Sabby and David in one room, Me, Beth, Liz, Crystal, and Diana in another room, and Emiko and family in their room.  It all works out.  It’s kind of similar arrangements to the hotel in Tokyo except Robert and family (and friends) all went home to do their own thing.  Probably sleep.  I don’t blame them.

We just kind of lounged around today.  I guess we could have gotten cabs or ubers and seen the sights, but we’re just all travelled out.  So we just hung around the hotel.  We checked in early to a hotel, they were nice enough to find some rooms for us.  They had a nice breakfast (which we barely arrived in time for) so we had something to eat, and then just crashed for a while.  This afternoon we played games and kind of had a relaxed afternoon (we did spend a bit of time in the pool), and then we ordered a few pizzas for dinner.  And that’s pretty much all we did.  Nothing big, nothing fancy, but it’s been a long (fun, but long) couple of weeks, so none of us were in the mood to do any sightseeing.  It’s only 90 degrees today, which is cooler than both Tokyo and Texas…

Tomorrow we’ll head for the airport, hop a plane, and then our trip will be over.

Traveling is hard work!!!

Ai already added her friends to the group chat, so now we have four idols on our chat!!! Hahaah!! It’s such a coincidence that they’re all named after idols, but I guess apart from Mariko they’re pretty common names.  But all four of them???  Hahaha!!! But it’s cool.  Now I can tell people I’m friends with Oshima Yuuko, Takahashi Minami, Shinoda Mariko, and Takahashi Ai!  Then they’ll say “wow, that’s cool!”, but I’ll know the truth – it’s technically true, but not who they’re thinking.

Hahaha!!!

They’ve got lots of questions and I told Ai she should bring them along when she comes to visit.

She said she’d see what she could do.  They’re not as well off as Rebecca and friends, but maybe they can figure something out.

Emiko and I spent a little time chatting today – we haven’t spent much time just the two of us.  She told me she’s really proud of me.  I didn’t expect that to mean as much as it did, but, well, it did.  Not because she’s my birth mother.  But because she’s Emiko.  I know she gave me up because she had to, but I know she didn’t want to, and, well, there’s no point in being upset about things that happened in the past.  Especially if she’s made up for them.  And she has.  I wish we’d been able to spend more time together in Japan, but it was pretty much controlled chaos all the time, I understand why it just wasn’t possible.  I mean, with twelve (up to seventeen) girls, one (sometimes two) boys, and a bunch of adults, it was hard enough just keeping everyone busy and happy!  I need to visit her more though.

Crystal has her Kimono and she put it on for a little while today and went off and just kind of zoned out.  I think her kimono reminds her of the gardens, and if it helps, it helps!

Jack’s birthday is coming up soon, and then mine is!  I’ll be 18!!!

And… I promised Sabby I wouldn’t go crazy when I’m 18.  I’ll keep that promise.  But… it’ll be tempting!!!

Anyway…

I guess I should to go bed.

Everyone else is full of pizza and snoring.

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!!

We’re on the plane to go home!!!

We had a long family discussion and decided to just wait in LA for the plane and fly home.  Grand Canyon is a very long drive on not very good roads, we’re already very tired from two weeks in Japan, and…. we all just want to go home.

Sabby was a bit disappointed but she was outvoted and understood.  We can always take another trip.

But we have a day to wait, so we’re not sure what we’re going to do while we’re waiting.  We don’t have a car rented, there are probably too many of us for standby tickets, we might just see if we can get rooms in a hotel next to the airport for a night.  Robert offered that we can stay over there but there are a lot of us and Sabby doesn’t want to impose.  Because there are a lot of us, transportation would be a challenge.

But we’ll solve that problem when we get there, I guess.

Maybe we’ll just stay in the airport and eat junk and play games.  Hahah!!!

Anyway, it’s a nice flight.  We’re pretty much following the sun all the way home!!!

I loved Japan!!! Even though it was hot!!!  I love eating the food and seeing the sights and speaking the language and…  I just love Japan!!!  I hope I can go to college there!!! Even if it makes things with Jack a challenge.  We’ll figure that out.  I’m glad Crystal could find a little peace, Diana wants to make Japanese tacos (I’m not sure how she’ll pull that off but if anyone can, it’s her), David will probably be dreaming about maid cafes, and Dave and Sabby said they have some really good memories and really liked the trip.

Beth is usually pretty low key about things in general, but she loved Enoshima, and Liz just loved going to the konbini and pigging out.  They both loved the museums in Ueno too.

Something for everyone!!!

Rebecca and her friends had a great time, too.  Chelsi is so happy she was able to go surfing in Japan, Yu learned a lot about the culture, Britni.. well, who knows about Britni now, but it was eventful for her too, I guess, and she had a good time all told…  Kari loved the museums in Ueno, and Rebecca… well, she just had fun in all the weeby places.  I don’t know if everyone got to do everything they wanted to do, but it worked out.  Rebecca’s mother just seemed to enjoy watching everyone have fun and doing a few fun things herself, and while we didn’t see much of Robert, he tells us it was a very successful trip for him and well worth what the company paid for the flight, etc (even though we chipped in).

Emiko and family had fun too, and those of us who knew Ai and Hiroshi and Ojiisan and Obaasan (and Ojisan and Obasan too) really were glad we could spend some time with them.  Even Rebecca and gang thought everyone was pretty cool, and they enjoyed spending time with actual Japanese people.

So… everyone had a good time!!! That’s the important thing.

I still haven’t forgotten that I owe them all!  Muahahaha!!!!!

And I won’t let them forget it either.

I’m not too upset anymore but I will have revenge.

Everyone’s pretty much sleeping right now.  I guess a ten hour flight is a really good place to decompress from a vacation, especially because we have nice seats and places to actually lie down.  I don’t know if we’ll ever get to go charter again, but I wish we could!!! It’s amazing!!!  Crystal, Beth, and Diana are all clumped together, and Yu’s head is on Rebecca’s shoulder and drooling!  It’s cute!!!  But don’t tell her!! Hahaha!!!

How much did we spend?  Oh, look at the ocean!!!  It’s so pretty!!! Yeah, I know.  We spent less than we could have, but it was expensive.  We knew it would be, though.  It is what it is, and everyone got good memories.

I bought something very nice for Jack, too.

I think sleeping isn’t a terrible idea.  I think I’ll do some of that too.

Love you all!!! ❤

And thanks for sharing the trip with me!!!

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

We went to a WATERPARK today!!!!

Yaaaayyyyyy!!!!!

Everyone had a great time.  There was lots of sliding and whooping and splashing.  It was a little cooler in Tokyo today than it was earlier in the week, but it was still pretty crowded.  Full of Japanese people who were hooting and whooping as much as the rest of us.  Japanese people and Americans aren’t all that different when you’re sliding down a slide and getting wet!!!

Robert heard from the charter flight company – a typhoon is heading for Japan and they want us to leave early.  It shouldn’t directly hit Tokyo but it’s still a bit close for comfort, so they want to be safe.  And none of us want to get stuck in Japan while a typhoon hits, even if it’s in western Japan and not here.  So we’re leaving tomorrow instead.  Aww.  But it’s alright, we had two weeks and it was lots of fun.  Sabby wasn’t going to do the road trip, but if we’re arriving a day early, she thinks it might be fun after all.  She talked to Diana and Crystal’s parents and they’re okay with it.  They seem to think that Crystal and Diana are learning a lot by seeing other places and people.  And they’re right!!! But they do miss them, so we need to get them back soon.

I didn’t mention it but Crystal and Diana are calling back every day and telling their parents everything they did.  So are Rebecca’s friends.  All the parents are pretty happy for them, which is nice.  I think some are a bit jealous.  But they can go to Japan too if they want!!!  Sometimes we all call at once while I’m typing my diary so there’s all sorts of chatting and talking going on before bed.

We’re going to see the grand canyon!!!  Yay!!!  Even though it’s… hot.  Not as hot as Texas though!!!

We took a train up to Saitama after the waterpark to say goodbye to Ai and Hiroshi and everyone.  Ai sniffled a little, but we’ve got some new people to add to our group chat now, so it’s all good!!!

Alright.  We’re all packed up and heading to Haneda in the morning!  The pilots want to get ahead of the typhoon!!!

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

We had another free day today.

There’s lots of stuff to do in Japan, but the truth is, this is an expensive trip, and we can’t be seeing every sight every day!  the Shinkansen is expensive, theme parks are expensive, the local trains aren’t as expensive but they cost a bit too.  And we’re also kind of getting tired, with all the heat and everything.  We’ve got about four days left and Robert still has some clients to visit (he’s also working on a new account, go him!) so we’re kinda just chilling today.

Pretty much all of the non-adults went over to the konbini and refreshed our snack stash!!!

So much stuff that’s only marginally good for us but better than the equivalent American convenience store stuff!!!

Sushi!  Onigiri!!!  Even pizza!!!  Takoyaki!!! OH YUM!!!  And of course, chocolate treats like pocky.  Can’t forget the chocolate!!!

After that, we just kinda played games and did random stuff.  Some of us went over to Akihabara again, but this time with the express purpose of buying omiyage!  Souvenirs!!!  And now that we know Katie’s baby’s gender, we got her some Japanese baby stuff too from Don Quijote!!!

That was fun.  We didn’t really go over there to do anything but shopping though, it was hot anyway.  And we’re starting to fill up our souvenir bags!!!  There’s no real baggage weight limit on a chartered plane, but we can’t go nuts!!!  Thankfully the dollar is really strong right now so we didn’t spend near as much as we might have!!!

I know it seems like we have unlimited money… we don’t!  We just have some pretty well off people in our group, and the rest of us have saved for this!  It all works out.  It’s a good thing we saved all that money on the hotel, etc!!!

Thanks Robert!!!

So something really funny happened.  Sabby told a random Japanese person her name, and they said “ohhh!!!  Sabby’s Treats!!!”  We all were flabbergasted.  Apparently cat-girl is more popular there than we thought!!!  He showed us an app on his phone that showed cat-girl getting dressed up in different outfits and walking out of Sabby’s Treats to model.

Sabby actually wasn’t happy about that.  I can see why.  But that might explain why we have so many Japanese tourists coming to buy stuff and see cat-girl.

Cat-girl better not have had anything to do with that.

I doubt it, though.  She often seems about as clueless about why as the rest of us.

Maybe we need to build our own app.

Anyway, the guy asked if we knew cat-girl, and when we said we did, he started gushing and saying things like “subarashii!” and bowing and just basically Japanese-style fanboying.  It was hilarious and just a tiny bit creepy.  But…  he’s welcome to come buy stuff, I suppose.

Note to self:  do not bring cat-girl to Japan.  That’s a terrible idea.  A horrible idea.  A profitable, er… no!  A terrible idea!!!

But I bet she could do a tour here and make lots of money.

Sigh.

Anyway.

Crystal put on her kimono this morning and went to the gardens and just sat there.  She looks so much happier when she comes back.  I need to figure out how to bring that to her when we get back to the US.

Oh… don’t worry about Katie.  Remember how I told you the pastor was working with her?  She’s got more casseroles and baby booties from old ladies in the church than she knows what to do with.  Someone came by and is helping take care of Sabrina so she can get a little rest.  I don’t always understand church but they are always there for people who need them.  That’s one reason I keep going.

It’s night now.  We had a pretty fun and thankfully rather quiet day.  We’re looking for a hanabi (fireworks) festival we can go to before we have to go home!!!

Love you all!!! ❤