September 5

The kids slept in until 8:30 this morning.

All four of them.

It was amazing!

Apparently all it takes is driving over 1,000 miles over less than 48 hours, with the related messed-up sleep schedules.

Whatever - Chris and I were so tired that it was the best thing ever.

We spent the morning playing catch-up: unpacking, doing laundry, Chris did a training run. But then at nap time, Caleb and I went off on a special adventure. It is the Japanese Festival at the Garden this weekend, and that is the one time each year that a special island is open to a limited number of guests. Caleb has long wanted to go onto the island, so we decided that this would be our day. Thanks to my dad, we were able to score two of the coveted tickets.

I asked Caleb if he wanted me to bring my big camera to document our adventure, but he declined. He said he didn't want his picture taken at all.

I convinced him to let me take this picture of him standing on the Tea House Island. The special tour that allowed us access was a bit more information than he really wanted; mostly, he wanted a chance to explore the special place. Once his curiosity had been satisfied, we left.

Japanese Garden selfie!

These water plants are some of our favorites. If you run your finger down the spine, the leaves close up.

Caleb could have played with them all day, but I made him move on.

He got his face painted, and chose a picture of a bridge with koi fish swimming underneath.

We snuck off the path to visit this little pond full of fish. Caleb used a stick to play games with the fish, and had a lot of fun.

It was hot, sweaty, and involved a few disappointments (we couldn't get into a sword show, he tried green tea ice cream and didn't like it, he dropped his cupcake on the ground, his face painting smeared...), but it was so wonderful to have a little bit of time just for my big boy.