Japan with the girls... and John.

In June I went to Japan to visit John. He was so excited to see his future ball and chain. 

My mom and sisters also came to Japan with me. John's ship had a 'friends and family' tour and cruise. One day we got to have a private tour of the ship by the ship's navigator (thats John). Then the next day we went on a 3 hours cruise from Tokyo to Yokosuka. It was super fun to see John in action. It was even more (or maybe just equally) fun to have my mom and sisters to tour around Japan with. And to have them see where I would soon call home. 

Sight seeing with the girls. 

Touring the ship with John.

The next morning before the cruise we went to Tsukiji to see the huge tuna. 

Then we cruised the bay with handsome fellow. 

Then the girls went home and I was on my own to entertain myself while John was working hard for the money. 

So I went to the happiest place on earth. 

Saturday John and I explored this area of Tokyo called Odaiba. 

Don't be confused. That is the statue of liberty. In Japan. 

Found a cat cafe. 

(Cafe where you pay to play with cats. No thank you.)

Master April

Although I officially finished my time as a Titan in December 

in May I participated in our graduation ceremony. 

I graduated. 

So did my friends. 

And my parents and future mother in law came to watch me walk across a stage. 

(my sister Amber and Kylie came too but I can't seem to find those pictures)

 I officially became a Master. 

Color me Rad

Back in April I went to Utah to run the Color me Rad race. 

Its a 5k in which they throw colors on you during the race. 

It. Was. So. Fun.

Sweatin' with Simmons April 2012

After I got back form Japan I ran another Ragnar Race.

This was maybe the most stressful of the Ragnars I've done.

I had just gotten home 5 days before, 4 of our teammates were either hurt or super sick, and it was like 100 degrees outside. 

But it still ended up being a really fun race. 

We went with Sweatin' with Simmons again. 

Before:

 Since some of our runners were down for the count we brought in some 'extras' to run a leg. 

My sister Amber came and ran the first leg of the race and started us out right. 

Jeff D was in San Diego so he ran a leg for us as well. 

It was a good race. But I was really happy that it was over. 

Life Changing Trip to Japan (back in April)

Hi! Remember me? 

It's been awhile since I have updated this old blog. My life has been a whirlwind the last 6 months. I got engaged, was working four jobs, planning a wedding, and planning on moving my life to Japan. 

So I've been a little occupied. 

But I did it. 

I finished up those four jobs. 

Took the plunge. Got married. 

And moved across the world to Japan. 

I will get to all that, but lets rewind a little and take a look at the last 6 months. 

In April, I went out to Japan for a second trip. 

This time the weather was amazing. 

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom. 

And I left the trip with a fiancé. 

I was a happy girl

Here are a few pictures of my/our adventures that week. 

We started out with a fun day in Tokyo. 

We toured through Tokyo tower which has a striking resemblance to the Eiffel tower but with a little more color. 

View from the top. 

We then walked around the Emperors palace 

and tried to get in to see the gardens but sadly it was closed. 

The next day John was back to work and I was on my own to tour around. 

So I went to the town next to where John (and I) live called Kamakura

and hiked around to visit various temples and admire the beautiful trees.

The next day I ran to Enoshima Island to find out what it was all about. 

Let me tell you, it is a super fun little island.  

In the back of the island there are caves with sculptures in it. They provide you a small candle to walk through the caves with. Definitely my favorite part of the island. 

That night John and I went to Yokohoma and we had dinner at the Raumen Museum. 

That's right. A whole museum of Ramen. 

It was such a fun place. 

They had different raumen from a bunch of different regions

(I had no idea there were different types of raumen. except maybe the different flavors of top ramen that I ate as a kid. dry. Come on admit it, you all ate it dry too. it was delicious)

And the food here was delicious too!

We will definitely come back to try the different raumens. 

The next day I went to Yokohama and checked out Chinatown and Yokohama bay. 

The next day I met John at work and we headed up to Yokohama to ride this awesome ferris wheel. 

I had been wanting to ride this ferris wheel ever since I had heard about it. 

So I was really excited. 

John was acting strange ever since I met up with him at work. 

I just chalked it up to having had a long day at work or something. 

On the Ferris wheel he was acting even more strange but told me he was just nervous because he is afraid of heights. As we went to get out of the Ferris wheel I went to put my hand in his coat pocket (because it was rainy and sort of cold outside) and he slapped my hand out of it. 

I was shocked but thought nothing of it. 

We rode this amazing roller coaster. Both of us LOVE roller coasters. It was raining. It was outside. It dove under the water. I was one happy girl. 

As we headed back to the train station, John stopped us on a bridge overlooking Yokohama bay, the Ferris wheel, and the city lights. It was drizzling rain, there were people crossing the bridge, and John told me that he wanted to spend his life making me happy. 

And got on one knee and asked me to marry him. 

I was so excited/nervous/overwhelmed I didn't even look at the ring before I grabbed him hugged him tight and said yes. 

I eventually saw the ring. 

And loved it. 

It was a great start to my lifetime of happiness with John. 

This trip to Japan was life altering. 

Probably the best trip of my life. 

The end.