Hokkaido

Awaiting our flight in the funky Peach airlines waiting area

Gazing out the window of the airplane at the snow-capped mountains below, I spotted the peak of Mt. Fuji rising from the clouds in the distance!

We are always surprised by the things you can buy from vending machines in Japan.

Kiroro Resort

Plants vs Zombies was the favorite hotel room activity

The kid's new thermals make great ninja suits.

 There was A LOT of snow.  Three meters according to some reports.

It was also very cold.  Cold enough that I was worried about exposed skin being susceptible to frostbite.  So, we left no skin exposed.

Handsome boy.

Two handsome boys.

Three handsome boys!
(You'll just have to take my word about the one in the middle.)

 I was so impressed with our little Beaver.  He could really ski this year!

Mike's head got cut off a bit, but he and Bear are showing the great powder they found on the backside of the mountain.

Warming up at a grill-your-own meal restaurant.

I was feeling all sorts of anxiety leading up to our trip to Hokkaido.  I always feel anxious before ski trips, though I'm not sure why, and I guess I just had a lot of time to think about this one before it actually happened.  We really had a great time, though.  The resort was fairly small, but it was about perfect for us - with several wide, cruiser runs (so, perfect for me!) - and a nice, family-friendly feeling to it.  And the snow was great.  I was worried about the cold, but as long as we stayed covered up, it was fine.  Beaver loves hotels.  He often tells us that he doesn't want to live in our house anymore and he wants to live in a hotel.  Whenever we go on a trip, he will say that he wants to go back there and live in our hotel again.  So, he's been saying recently that he wants to go back to Hong Kong.  I suppose now it will be back to Hokkiado.  He was so sad when we packed up to check out of the hotel.  He will point out high-rise buildings to me and say, "I want to live in that hotel."  I thought for awhile that he would like to live in a high-rise apartment, so yesterday I asked him if he wanted to live in a tall building in an apartment with lots of rooms like our house, or if he likes hotels because we all stay in the same room.  He said he wants us to all be in the same room.  That would get pretty cozy before too long!

Happy days in Hokkaido!