This is what happens when Godzilla is chasing you...

You fall down and your ankle goes, B_O_O_M!! 

So, the little tumble down the stairs resulted in a majorly injured ankle for Aunt Tisha.
:(
Time to make some changes!  

We tried to offer any help we could, while getting the house ready for Aunt Tisha's return.  The kids enjoyed seeing Uncle Clayton each evening and desperately wanted to know when Aunt Tisha would be coming home.  Finally, finally, we get word that she's making an escape on Saturday!  Woot!  Now, time to make a few crutch-able adjustments to the house.  Move the rugs, pick up toys, find a bell...(of course!), and make some cute paper flowers.

Once we got brother and sister (aunt and uncle) back in the house, we settle in for a relaxing few days during the time we have remaining.  Let some healing begin!

Clayton was able to squeeze in an evening of soccer practice.  First an hour participating in Mackenzie's team practice.  Then, an hour watching Garytt's team run around like maniacs!

 Time was coming to a close and we all decided that we weren't going to let those Harajuku stairs get the best of Tisha!  She would make it onto Mount Fuji!!   So, we got her as comfortable as we could in the car and made our way toward the Mountain!

Man, was it foggy up there!  The weather has been different every single time we have set foot on that creature.

Barely can see a few feet in front of the bumper.

Once we got to Fujinomiya 5th Station we headed over to the Hoei Crater trail.  Well, Kris, Clayton and the kids made their way over there.  Tisha and I read books and people watched from the car.

Bear sighting!!!!

On the way home we ran into a bit of traffic.  What do we do...hmm...pick an exit and lets see if we can make it quicker this way!  What a twisty turny drive we took through the countryside.

 Once we were safely at home, we made ourselves comfortable and had an exciting game of Go Fish!

What a trip!  Things didn't quite go as we planned for the majority of the visit.  We adapted.  I (may have cried as I) rearranged a perfectly organized touring schedule.  We experienced things we probably never would have experienced in our time in Japan (underground parking garage, Japanese hospital).  There were natural disasters of every kind...5.0 earthquake, tsunami, typhoon, torrential downpours resulting in disastrous flooding a few hours north of us.  Then, we also were able to check a few awesome things off the list...castle, sushi-go-round, ramen, Giant Kannon, Giant Buddha, Japanese onsen (including a coffee spa and a wine spa!!), men in white gloves shoving just one more person onto an already unbelievably packed train, many  many food experiments at konbini (Japanese convenience store), lots of vending machine experiments, and then there was that day we encountered Godzilla!  

It was a memorable trip, to say the least.  Even with the little mis-adventure we were able to spend a lot of time laughing and telling stories, walking, climbing (lots) of stairs, and just enjoying the time we had with each other.  

Now, we just have to figure out how to make up for five days! 

Mackenzie:  Do you want to know the worst part of their trip?
Me:  What's that?
Mackenzie:  Them leaving