Kinkaku-ji

Sunday morning we all got ready for church and hopped on the bus to the local ward. We were greeted by english speaking missionaries who welcomed us into the building. Everyone was so kind. It was their ward conference and it was so fun to hear them sustain the prophet and apostles in Japanese. There was a musical number of a familiar hymn, and the spirit there was just as strong as if we were hearing it in english. It was an experience I will never forget.

After church, we hopped back on the bus and headed for Kinkaku-ji, otherwise know as the Golden Palace.

When we got off the bus, we got some amazing ice cream and walked by this teeny tiny little store. The skiniest store we have ever seen!

And then, we walked up to this....

It was amazingly beautiful!! Everywhere you looked, it seemed like you were looking at a postcard. It was breathtaking. Even though there were lots of people there, there was a peaceful feel to it.

 I love all the pictures I have of these two traveling buddies. They have no idea how lucky they are to have seen so many wonderful things at such a young age. I only wish they could remember it as vividly as I do.

 We all had to laugh at Denise's choice of "walking" shoes. :)

 Isn't this picture awesome?! I love seeing the gorgeous temple in the background and Denise with the Japanese girl in her beautiful Kimono.

Gorgeous!

Kiyomizu-Dera

 The next temple we went to was Kiyomizu-Dera. We had to walk up an insanely busy street to get to it. I was sure we were going to lose someone while walking through the crazy crowd. Luckily, we all made it to the top.

 From the temple, there is a beautiful view of Kyoto.

 Even though this wasn't the most exciting part of our trip for the kids, they were troopers. They walked miles and miles on this trip! 

 The scenery around this temple was beautiful. Lush, green trees everywhere. I loved the contrast of the bright orange buildings.

 We even spotted a few cherry blossoms that were left.

 Our trip was just a few months ago, but I can't believe how little Taylor looks in these pictures! That's what happens when I take FOREVER to catch up on my blog.

 Just a little stink face from Shmanderson.

 I guess they had to find a way to make our sight seeing a little more exciting for them. 

 You can never have too many pictures with pretty girls in kimonos. :)

 We continued to walk down another crazy busy street to see another pagoda, which unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of. It was neat to see though.

While walking down the street, we came across the skinniest house I have ever seen. How crazy is that??! Everything is miniature in Japan.

Looking back at all of these pictures makes me realize what a wonderful experience it was for our family to live in Japan for two years. We were having once in a lifetime opportunities almost every day!