Around Oregon

This weekend my mom came up for a visit. We took her to Tillamook and visited the Cheese Factory.

We enjoyed dinner at Mo's, and our dog loved playing at the beach.

While I showed my mom around Portland, Jennifer went out to Eastern Oregon with some of the other Rainbow Grand Officers for the Grand Master's Reception.

Before Susan and I dropped my mom at the airport, we checked out Multnomah Falls. 

Rainbow Installations

Last weekend, Jennifer attended the Installation of the Hillsboro Assembly. She was introduced as Grand Faith by the Grand Worthy Advisor.

After the installation, the girls formed a friendship circle. 

This weekend she served as Installing Drill Leader for the installation of Cherry Assembly. 

The members of Cherry Assembly after installation.

More Japan Adventures

During their last couple of weeks in Tokyo, the kids attended Noh and Kabuki plays.

And tried Sushi.

They wanted to go up the Tokyo Sky Tree, but weren't able to.

The kids have been busy since they got back from Japan, starting classes at University of Portland and working as Orientation Advisors. Yesterday Jennifer went down to Salem to help Cherry Assembly initiate a new member.  She performed the part of Faith.

Tokyo Adventures

Bryan and Jennifer continued attending classes at Sophia after Susan and I returned to Oregon. 

One of their weekends, they traveled down to Kamakura.

They often checked out different shopping areas in the evenings after classes.

Besides hitting most of the Disney stores in Tokyo, they took the train out to Pokemon Centers.

They also returned to Disney Sea with some of their classmates.

Flight home

Saturday was the last full day in Japan for Susan and I. We did some shopping with the kids then returned to Roppongi for Jennifer's birthday dinner.

On Sunday Susan and I checked out of our room and we headed to Tokyo Station with the kids.

We ate lunch, then Susan and I boarded the Narita Express.

At the airport we caught our flight back home. 

Afternoon Tokyo Tour

After a traditional Japanese lunch at Shiodome, we continued our tour.

Our first stop was Hamarikyu Garden. The gardens were pretty, but the heat and humidity made it hard to enjoy.

From there we drove to Tokyo Bay, near the Rainbow Bridge to Odaiba. There we boarded a boat for a cruise up the Sumida river.

Our cruise ended at the Asakusa shopping district.

From there we walked to Sensō-ji, an ancient Buddhist temple also known as the Asakusa Kannon Temple, the last stop on our tour.

Morning Tokyo Tour

On Friday while the kids went to class, Susan and I took a tour of Tokyo. We started at the Tokyo Tower, the second tallest building in Tokyo.

Our tour only went to the Main Observatory, which 490 feet high, and not the Special Observatory, which reaches a height of 820 feet, but it still gave some nice views of the city.

From there our bus drove through Shibuya and Yoyogi Park to the Meiji Shrine.

 

We drove by the Diet building, where the Japanese Parliament meets. 

After that we stopped at the Imperial Palace grounds. On most days the tour goes to the East garden, but on Fridays the garden is closed, so we walked to the bridge to the main gate.