Happy Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween from the Hudsons!  The kids were excited to wear their Halloween shirts this morning.

Blair's preschool had trunk or treating this morning and Will was all set to help pass out candy.

Want a sucker?

Blair was all smiles with her class:

Blair's preschool class this year with Ms. Chris:

This evening we hosted a pizza party with family before heading out for some trick or treating.  Here are Blair, cousin Audrey and Will:

The kids made out pretty well:

Irvine Park Pumpkin Patch

I think we skipped the Irvine Park pumpkin patch last year, but we made a trip today to get our fill of fall fun.  The train, as always, was a hit.

Waiting for the pony rides:

Blair's pony was named Dan:

Will loved riding Dinky:

Here are a few posed pics around the patch:

This is probably my favorite one:

Growing babies:

Haircuts!

The kids got haircuts this morning and were very much needed.  Here are the before shots:

Will sat very patiently during his cut and helped by holding the comb:

All done:

Blair got a grown-up shampoo:

She looks great with her big girl cut:

Halloween Party

We went to our first Halloween party of the season tonight with our church small group.  The kids had a ball dressing up and playing.  Blair was Snow White and Will was Jake, the Neverland Pirate.

Brack dressed up as Hugh Hefner and Jenn was Hermione from Harry Potter.

The girls: Jenn, Cheri and Kelly:

Japan Days Five and Six

On Friday, we headed to Ueno Park in the morning, which is kind of similar to the National Mall in Washington DC.  They have a zoo and museums and public park areas.  We walked around and saw several shrines and a pagoda.  

Here are some of the buildings in the Tokyo National Museum complex.  We saw many collections, from both Japan and also other Asian cultures.

On our last morning in Japan, we had a few hours before having to leave for the airport, so we went to the Imperial Palace (which had been closed the day before).

The actual palace is inaccessible to the public, but the gardens and grounds are open and are beautiful.

Japan Day Four

Today was our day trip to Mount Fuji.  We were so excited to wake up and see the mountain from our hotel room window.  This is very rare because normally you can only see Mt. Fuji from Tokyo on very clear days.

After our bus ride to the mountain, the clouds started rolling in.  We were able to catch a few glimpses of the summit.

The summit is behind us here, I promise:

At the 5th Station on Mt. Fuji:

Shrine at Mt. Fuji:

We took some fun pictures on the hiking trail at Mt. Fuji:

Our tour included an authentic lunch:

Lake Yamanaka:

We took a boat ride on Lake Ashi:

 Our last stop was a gondola ride up Mt. Komagatake:

Once at the top, we were completely fogged in and couldn't even see ten feet in front of us:

 

We ate dinner in Shinjuku again and found a trendy restaurant in one of the big department stores.  It was filled with young professionals and the food did not disappoint.