Arizona Summer Trip 2009

Ribbon Hakka Kids

Jonas had a cool job with a company called Ribbon Hakka, based in Aoyama, Tokyo.  Aside from his awesome Dorothy Hamal hairstyle, he and I shared a highlight.....

The Designer was EDNA MODE from "The Incredibles"!  Her voice and her mannerisms were just like Edna Mode.  It was as if Disney/Pixar modeled their character from this woman.  When Jonas and I discovered this secret, we could not stop cracking up.  She was very tiny, spunky, and opinionated.... yup, Edna Mode.

The clothes were cool...

not as "girly" as some of the clothes Jonas has to model.

Okay, well maybe the owl patch is girly, but I did like it.

We only had to remember one thing... "NO CAPES".

Dr. Do More

We had an amazing "Japanese" experience. One night Shailey’s hamster, Stewart Little, was sick. He was not eating, his eyes were closed, and his sides were caved in. It was nighttime and we agreed that there probably was not a "24 hour emergency hamster vet".  We said our goodbyes, held Stewart, and offered a little prayer thinking he probably would not live through the night. In the morning however, Stewart was still alive.

So after a lot of work, we found a "small animal veterinarian" nearby. I was very worried it would cost a million dollars like everything else does in "takai" Tokyo. The doctor spoke a little English and explained that Stewart had an impacted cheek infection and he was dehydrated. So he injected him with an antibiotic and gave him a prescription. He asked us to come back in 4 hours and he would give Stewart another injection (I think of just water) and we did.

2 doctor visit , 2 sets of shots, plus a prescription = only $25.... WOW. I was shocked.

He also asked us to bring Stewart in the following day so he could give him one more injection.

Unfortunately, the next day we awoke to find that Stewart had died during the night. We buried him in our front bushes and called the doctor to tell him we could not make our appointment because Stewart had died. The nurse, in her broken English, gave me her apologies.

The next day.....................

I received a GORGEOUS basket of flowers. The card was written in Japanese, so I was not sure who it was from. I thought maybe Glenn surprised me with flowers. So I went to our apartment front desk and asked them to translate the card. It read:

"Mrs. Ostlund, we are sorry for your loss of Stewart. We send our condolences and care. Sincerely, the Small Animal Clinic".

WOW.

So, with no prior visit to this doctor, no regular relationship, he not only charged us a mere $25 but he SENT FLOWERS! My friend told me the flowers cost more than $25. I was so impressed. This is an experience I believe would not happen anywhere else in the world. The Japanese do their utmost best, not for money, but because it is the honorable thing to do.

No Dr. Doolittle in Tokyo.

Super Heros, Super Crazy

Jonas celebrated his 5th birthday the SUPER HERO WAY

I put together a cute gift bag with items I picked up in the states.

Biggest challenge... controlling the WEAPONRY.  After they tried to play with the weapons in the house, we went outside to the park to play with them.  After it got out of hand at the park, we came back to our apartment.  BUT... I CONFISCATED the WEAPONS at the door!  Next superhero party, I am getting a "plastic" detector.

The kid's favorite games were "name that superhero tune" (thank you Glenn) and "kill the super bear relay".

Jonas was a SUPER happy guy.

And Momma was SUPER CRAZY... she invited way too many boys... 12 total.... that is 11 too many.  Note to self, next year, keep it under 5. 

*This event would not be possible without the help of two special friends, Hiromi Soo and April Cook... it took them a week to recover.  And, during the chaos, one of them decided to snap the "insane party planner's" picture.  More thanks.