Martin Luther King Jr Memorial

National Cherry Blossom Festival

April 12, 2015 By Misono in Family and Friends, Local Gems, Recreational Fun, Seasonal Celebrations, Videos Tags: Cherry Blossom Festival, cherry blossoms, Dad, dan, DC, Elisa, family, festival, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr., Mio, Mirei, misono, MLK Memorial, Mom, National Cherry Blossom Festival, parents, sakura, Sakura Matsuri, Ted, tidal basin, Washington DC

It’s DC’s most beautiful time of the year… sakura season! â€ On Saturday, we went out to DC with my parents, my brother and my sister-in-law to go see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin in DC. I’ve gone every year since returning to DC, but last year we went a little late and missed the peak bloom. We had better luck this year, though, and were able to catch the blossoms in full bloom, just in time for the main Sakura Matsuri weekend event during the National Cherry Blossom Festival! Mio was so excited to go from the moment we told her we were going the night before, and she kept exclaiming, “We’re going to see the cherry blossoms! My name means ‘beautiful cherry blossom!’ We’re going to go see them!!!'” I love that she loves the meaning of her name, and can get so excited about the flower that is her namesake.

Riding the Metro to DC — Mio on the Metro to DC

Mio eating onigiri — Mio eating some onigiri that my mom made for the outing

Family outing to see the cherry blossoms!

Blossoms around the Washington Monument — Blossoms surrounding the Washington Monument

Mirei and Mio in the stroller — Mirei and Mio riding in the stroller

My parents with the cherry blossoms — My parents under the sakura

Me with the girls and the sakura — Love our girls â™¥

Mio giggling her way through the cherry blossoms:

Mio & Mirei at the MLK Memorial — Arriving at the MLK Memorial

Family photo, photobombed by Ted — Yet another family photo ruined by a photobombing by Ted

Ted & Elisa at the Tidal BAsin — Ted & Elisa at the Tidal Basin

cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin — photo by my Dad

Catching the end of the parade — Catching the end of the cherry blossom parade

After seeing the cherry blossoms, we had lunch in DC together (we wanted to eat at Daikaya, but we ended up going to Full Kee instead because the wait was two hours!), and then took the Metro back home in the afternoon. DC was so crowded and we got a lot of walking in, so we were exhausted! All of us took a nap when we got home. We’re so glad we could see the cherry blossoms together with almost the whole family this year!

Grandparents Visit from California

April 20, 2014 By Misono in Family and Friends, Local Gems, Videos Tags: DC, FDR Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, grandchildren, granddaughters, grandma, grandpa, grandparents, Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, Mio, Mirei, MLK Memorial, singing, song, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, video, Washington DC, You are My Sunshine

Dan’s parents flew over from California last weekÂ to visit us from Tuesday night to Saturday morning. Mio’s face broke into a huge smile as soon as she saw her grandparents on Wednesday morning, and they were nearly inseparable for much of their visit! It was so sweet to see Mio interacting with her loving grandparents, and they got to meet their new granddaughter Mirei for the first time, too! Here are some photos and video from their visit.

Mio & Mirei with grandparents — Mio & Mirei with their grandparents

Grandma with granddaughters — Mio has been doing this funny thing lately where after she touches or comes in contact with Mirei, she smells her hands and often goes to wash them afterwards. Kind of mean, but I guess Mio doesn’t like the baby smell! lol

Mio's scrunchy face — Mio’s scrunchy face of joy!

Mirei with Grandpa — Grandpa with his newest granddaughter

Such sweet moments! — Such sweet moments â™¥

I captured this video of Grandpa and Grandma singing to the girls on my phone camera. Unfortunately the lighting is a little dark, but it’s still a very sweet video nonetheless!

Sisters in Grandpa's arms. — Sisters in Grandpa’s arms.

On Friday, Dan took the day off so that we could spend the day together with his parents. Even though they used to live in Maryland and are familiar with the sites, there were some new memorials that were built since they moved away 19 years ago, and they wanted to visit the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in particular.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial — By a statue of Eleanor Roosevelt. Mio kept pointing and asking, “Who’s that?”

Mio and I at the fountains by the FDR Memorial.

Mirei is asleep while at the FDR Memorial — Mirei was asleep for most of the time we were sightseeing the memorials in DC.

Mio with Grandpa — Mio was all smiles with Grandpa

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, always impressive! It’s definitely one of my favorite memorials.

"Out of the Mountain of Despair, A Stone of Hope." — “Out of the Mountain of Despair, A Stone of Hope.”

Washington Monument across the Tidal Basin.

Mio was in such a great mood while she was being pushed by Grandma in the stroller as we were walking around the memorials that she started singing! I’d sang this Japanese song to her a few times, but this was the first time I’d heard her sing so much of it on her own so I went a little overboard with recording it on video:

Take 2:

Take 3:

Thomas Jefferson Memorial — Dan’s parents wanted to see the Jefferson Memorial again, so we stopped there before leaving DC.

This was one of my favorite pictures from the day. — This was one of my favorite pictures from that day.

Lunch at Niwa no Hana — Enjoying a Japanese lunch before heading home.

We’re so thankful that Dan’s parents could make the trip out here to visit us and the girls! Though their visit was short, Mio and Mirei both got so much love from them and were able to make priceless memories with them. We look forward to the next time we’ll get to see them!

Cherry Blossoms in DC

April 12, 2013 By Misono in Local Gems, Recreational Fun, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: cherry blossom, cherry blossoms, dan, DC, family, Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr., Mio, misono, MLK Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, sakura, spring, tidal basin, Washington DC

Since moving back to the DC area, one of the things we’ve looked forward to most is going to see the famous cherry blossoms that bloom around the Tidal Basin every spring. The annual National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the gift of 3,000 cherry blossom trees from Japan to the city of Washington, DC back in 1912. 101 years later, the beautiful cherry blossoms and festival celebrate the continued friendship between the two countries. Growing up minutes away from the nation’s capital and this spring spectacle of blossoms, cherry blossoms easily became one of my favorite flowers. I hadn’t seen them in years since I went off to college and then moved to California. Even while on the West Coast, I’d always wish I could visit during cherry blossom season so I could see the Tidal Basin surrounded by sakura, so I was really looking forward to being able to see them for the first time in over a decade! The initial forecast of peak bloom was at the end of March but those dates came and went without any signs of buds nor blooms due to the cold days of this year’s lingering winter. They finally came around, though, almost two weeks later when the weather jumped into the 80s, making it feel like we’d skipped spring and went straight into summer. It made for a gorgeous few days of sunshine that were perfect to walk about and see these magnificent blossoms in full bloom. Our family went on Wednesday afternoon, right after Dan had flown back in from the NAB Show since he didn’t have to go into work the rest of the day. It worked out perfectly because we could go right during the peak bloom period!

Our family with the cherry blossoms in DC — Our family of three by the stone lantern, with the cherry blossoms behind us.

Admiring the cherry blossoms hanging over the water.

Family picture with the cherry blossoms and Jefferson Memorial — The Jefferson Memorial and cherry blossoms behind us.

Daddy's girl with her namesake. — Mio with her namesake. Her name means “beautiful cherry blossom,” as she was born during cherry blossom season.

Cherry blossoms encircling the Tidal Basin

Mio looking into a hole in one of the cherry blossom trees.

Sweetheart. — Sharing a giggle with Daddy.

So many people were out to enjoy the blossoms and the gorgeous weather! — It seemed like all of DC was out to enjoy the blossoms and the gorgeous weather!

Making our way through the blossoms. — Making our way along the Tidal Basin.

Mio and I under the cherry blossoms. — Mio and I under a canopy of cherry blossoms.

By the new Martin Luther King Jr memorial that opened just a couple years ago. — By the new Martin Luther King Jr memorial that opened just a couple years ago in 2011.

Our family with the DC cherry blossoms — With the Washington Monument behind us.

The cherry blossoms were definitely in peak bloom!

Mio and I with the DC cherry blossoms — perfect weather + perfect blossoms!

DC is beautiful this time of year. I love this city! — DC is so beautiful this time of year. I love this city!

Taking a rest at the Roosevelt Memorial.

A happy Mio! æ¡œã®ã‚ˆã†ã«ã—ã£ã‹ã‚Šæ ¹ã‚’å¼µã£ã¦ã€çš†ã‚’å¹¸ã›ã«ã™ã‚‹å„ªã—ã„åã«è‚²ã£ã¦ãâ™ª Our hope is that just like these cherry blossoms, you’ll grow up to plant your roots firmly in the ground, and be a gentle and compassionate girl who brings joy to all those around her.

Goodbye magnificent blossoms! — Goodbye gorgeous blossoms! We hope to see you again next spring. 🙂