Japan Continued!

I am determined to get all of our Japan travels down in our Blog before we post pictures from our Paris and Portugal trip (Which we just got home from yesterday afternoon, thus, the 6:00 AM posting).

We left off when we were in Kyoto, exploring the various temples and shrines there including impressive Golden Pavillion. The next day we went to Nara by train to visit The Largest Wooden Building in The Entire World! This building is called, Todai-ji Temple or the Great Buddha Hall, and it houses a HUGE Buddha but the main reason for us going to this place was not for the Buddha. We wanted to see this huge wood building! The coolest thing about it though is that it was originally much wider but when it was rebuilt twice since the original was erected between 710 and 794 AD after it burned down. The one we saw is 33% smaller and was built between 1615 and 1860. No small feat even then!

Nara is known for its gardens and small, little "messengers of the gods" (aka: miniature deer). These deer roam free through all of Nara Park and are very friendly. Almost too friendly because they will come right up to you and steal your snack out of your pocket if you are too close! (These guys that I am hanging out with were too tired to be interested in me)

The gardens surrounding the Todai-ji Temple were very impressive as well. From one, Nanzen-in, were were able to catch a glimpse of Todai-ji. (Or what we thought was the Great Buddha Hall but what was actually one of the massive gates leading up to it)

Sometime before we left Kyoto for good, we also visited Sanjusangendo, the LONGEST wooden building in the world! (I guess we were interested in the wooden buildings for a while:). This building is also famous for what it houses as well (1,001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy) but again, we were more interested in its length.

On June 24th, we headed back to Tokyo and had dinner with one of Matt's friends, Ryan, who was working in Tokyo. We went to dinner with him, since his wife was with her parents who had come to visit, and we ate at the Ginza District, which is the high end shopping area in Tokyo.

The next day, we went to Nagano by train to see Matsumoto Palace, which really wasn't as spectacular as Himeji Castle but we still had to go see it. This was also the area in which Matt spent some of his time while on his mission in Japan and one of his favorite areas.

This is Matt Blogging again. Danielle and I had the opportunity to go to Utah and spend time with Kelly, Clint and the girls. It was a great trip. I'll just pretty much let the photos speak for themselves, with short captions.

We got to take Callie ice skating at the South Davis Rec Center. Callie and Danielle both did great. Callie really enjoyed being pulled around and jumping up and down.

On Clint's last night in the Bone Marrow Transplant unit, Danielle and I got to spend a few hours with him. He was more than ready to get home.

Clint waving goodbye to his hospital bed on the 17th day after the transplant. The day that he got to go home after almost six weeks in the hospital.

As we walked out of the University Hospital it was already raining pretty hard. As Clint got up to move from the wheelchair to the car, it started hailing really hard. None of us cared, it was just great to be taking Clint home after a successful transplant.

Danielle and the girls on the front porch waiting to see Clint. Callie made a "Welcome Home Daddy" sign. It was such an amazing feeling to drive around the corner and to see the girls waiting to see their Dad. I can't even describe the emotion and excitement that I felt in that moment. Clint is home where he belongs.

Tessa wasn't sure about the mask her Daddy had to wear.

Callie was so excited to have her Daddy home that she didn't stop talking for a couple of hours. She wanted to tell Clint about everything she had done and show him everything new that she had or had made. When she ran out of new things to tell him or show him, she simply would lean her head against his shoulder and say "I missed you Daddy. I love you Daddy. Daddy, you went to the hospital and now you're better," over and over again. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. I loved Tessa's face in this picture and so had to post it. Being in Utah for over a week, I got really close to the girls. It was so hard to leave them and head home to California. I miss them so much everyday.

Danielle and I stopped for a photo on the Salt Flats on our way home.