When things don't go your way....

Do some shopping!

We made plans to go to the Yokohama Museum of Art today. To prep the girls for a trip to an art museum, we spent last night looking at pictures of art online, talking about how people can see different things in each piece, how colors and pictures can make you feel happy or sad, and how there will usually be a piece that becomes your favorite. The girls were very excited. They were even more excited that they would get to ride on the train again. So, we headed out this morning to meet a friend who was coming along with us.

The trains were pretty full this morning!

Thing 1 found a seat beside some Japanese girls. 

When we got to the train stop where we were supposed to meet up with our friend, I was very confused about where to go next - the train station was a large, crowded one. While I was texting my friend, a very nice, older Japanese man came up to me and said, "Can I hep you?" He looked at the directions I had printed out and told me he could help me find where to go. He took me all over the place! All I could think, as we were walking down stairs, up stairs, through shopping areas and ticket counters, was that I would never be able to find my way back home. But he was so cute and helpful that I couldn't tell him I would be okay on my own. He left me after I told him that I thought we had made it to my meeting location and he wished me a good day. I called my friend and we FINALLY found each other in the crowded station. We hopped one one last train and got off at the next stop, exactly where we had intended to go. Yay!

We walked to the museum entrance and let the girls sit and have a snack. It wasn't long before some of nature's best scavengers found us....

There was some construction going on in the front of the building, so I used my Japanese phrase app to ask a construction worker where the alternate entrance to the building would be. He motioned for us to go around to the back of the building and since the girls were already wanting some lunch (not just a snack), we decided it would probably be best to fill up their tummies before touring the museum. We popped into a McDonald's that was close (hey, a Momma's got to do what a Momma's got to do) and had a bite to eat. 

Both of the girls were so excited to get to the museum. We walked to the back of the building, walked in the doors and were told by a security guard something that we didn't understand. He was holding his arms in an "X" shape, so my friend asked, "Closed?" and he said, "Ahhh, hai!" (Yes.). We turned around and walked back out and Thing 1 had a horrible look on her face. She said, "What?? We can't go in?!" I explained to her that it was closed because they were doing work on the building and she BURST into tears. Through her sobs, she said she was so excited to go see all the paintings and she was soooo disappointed. She even said she was too sad to walk, so I picked her up and carried her for a bit. She just kept crying and crying about how she had really wanted to go see all the beautiful art. I felt so bad for her!

But... I might have also been jumping for joy on the inside. My 4-year-old is disappointed because she can't go an art museum? Score 1 for the arts and art education!! I promised her we would try to go back again one day, but it definitely put a damper on the rest of her outing.

Until... we did some shopping. She wasn't keen on it at first, but when I offered to buy some hair clips and jewelry, she was back in a great mood. We made it back home safe and sound, with no train hiccups this time around. And, as soon as we walked in the door, both girls were wanting to try on their new things.

That's right. In Japan, you can buy My Little Pony hair clips - complete with a  tail.

And yes, we got some clip-on earrings. Think she's excited?

Her picture poses are epic.

Then Thing 2 had to pose as well.

Looking snazzy with MLP hair clips!

Thing 2 told me that the previous two pictures were not as good as this one. Wonder why?

We had a fabulous day together. No, it didn't go as planned, but it was one of those days where I'm truly thankful to be able to spend my days with these two kids. They are freaking amazing.