Japan Wedding Catch-Up

All my posts on the wedding are coming SO out of sequence, but today I was thinking about the karaoke and dancing at Local Hero and Local Heroine's wedding reception, so I was inspired to upload these pictures after their arrival at the reception.

"Open the door, shut the door"
Sisters-in-law!!!
Tennis is what brought them together, so this cake is completely perfect for them.

It all started with Pierce Brosnan welcoming us to South Korea

So J and I did the math: from leaving our house to walking back in the door we were gone for 120 hours. 63 of those hours we spent on airplanes, in airports or otherwise in transit. We only spent 57 hours actually in Japan with my family.

Here's where the adventure started to feel "real"--when we arrived in Seoul for our connecting flight to Japan.

We--J and I, my parents, A, M, and Geg, were all on the same flight to Japan so we met up at Incheon. The Seoul airport is actually all kinds of awesome. The only down side is that there were these periodic "smoking rooms" filled with people smoking, and walking past them you'd be assaulted with the smell of cigarette smoke.

Of COURSE There was Karaoke

at my brother's wedding. And of COURSE I plan to write a blog post about it . . . this year. There are literally 2,000 pictures to wade through, which is no excuse, because this was one of the biggest events of the year, not to mention my life, and I'm embarrassed I haven't created a blog post, or ten, about this event yet. More will come, I promise! But here's a sneak peek.

Everything is Out of Order This Month

But I'm posting what I feel like when I feel like it . . . here are some more photos, this time from our Japan trip. Remember that Friday 15 October was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day? Well, on Friday 15 October we -- me, J, Grandma, Grandpa, Geg, Local Hero, Local Heroine, A, M, and Local Heroine's parents -- were all at the shrine where Local Hero and Local Heroine were going to get married. They had a wedding run-through and had to go over some paperwork and review plans etc.
While we were walking around the grounds, we happened upon this area here. I noticed the stuffed animals and bottles of milk and formula on a shelf and asked Local Heroine what it was about. Turns out it was a prayer area for babies who have died, and you could pay 100 yen and light a candle and burn some incense and pray for their souls to go on up to heaven (or wherever). So we lit a candle, burnt some incense, and all stood and prayed for baby Alex and Surf and Cali and Little T.