3 5 7

In Japan when your 3 5 and 7 and a boy you go to the a temple and your father gets blessed and well that is about it really. As always almost every family outing is filled with some tears. But thankfully this time it was only a couple of intense minutes. Next we had a quick lunch at Mos Burger and off to the photo studio. Wow! Like most things in Japan it involved cramp spaces waiting, and trying to get Eric to do as he was told. It was terrible really, the place was really small packed to the hilt with parents and kids and almost no place to sit. I thought I was going to go crazy really CRAZY! After a bit came Eric's turn to get his pictures taken. He was all dressed up in a kimono and they set him up to have his picture taken when they did the STUPIDIST thing I ever seen..... they gave him a sword! NO not a REAL sword but a authentic looking replica. Of course he thought it meant it time to sword fight. The women in charge struggled to keep him posed just how they wanted but every time they snapped a photo he moved and another woman would rush in to fix his positioning and he would hit her with the sword. After about the third time I convinced him that it was in his best interest to stop hitting people with the sword and moving it. He was ok with that cause he moved after that and the woman tried to adjust him .... he reached into his belt and pulled out the fan he was wearing and smacked her with that. I wanted to kill him, but inside I could not stop laughing. 17 hours later he got his pictures taken with a suit and this stupid hat. After every flash he threw the hat on his head and moved around. It took allot of time and patience to take his photo but some how they got through it. I was upset at Eric because he misbehaved so badly and told him that if he was good he could play his favorite video game. Well I didn't think his behavior warranted any games which devolved into screaming and crying and eventually ended with some time out with DAD. I hate that more then anything but the only thing that ever seems to make him understand I mean what I am saying is a red butt. It was a experience I do not want to relive any time soon and to make it all worse ..... WE only got one set of prints and you cant see them! I am working on digitizing them so look out for them soon. E./