Sushi, Sushi, we all scream for Sushi!

Monday's my 33rd birthday, so to celebrate we went to a sushi restaurant today for lunch (they're closed Monday in honor of my birthday - Labor Day, which according to my mother, is named that on purpose). We sat in the 'traditional' section of the restaurant where the tables are just about two feet off the ground and you sit on zabuton cushions. We ordered yakitori (grilled chicken kabobs) for each of the boys off the appetizer menu since it was cheap and they may not like the more traditional options. They did, however, say they wanted to try some sushi so in addition to my sushi order (maguro tuna and octopus), I ordered Nathan and Eli each a shrimp sushi to try. Once our order arrived, they each tried and loved their ebi (shrimp) sushi.

Curious about what I was eating, they lost interest in their chicken and started asking questions. I wasn't about to let them have my tuna since it's my favorite, but when it came time to eat the octopus, they got quite excited to see the suckers and asked if they could have some. I carefully cut each of them a very, very small piece to try. That was followed by "can we have some more?!" Yes, they loved it and even asked if I could order some octopus takozushi for them. I didn't, but the asked if they'd like to try some of my seaweed salad. "Sure!" Can you believe they loved that, too?

Noteable quotes:
"I love octopus!" - both Nate and Eli
"Let's come here for sushi next time instead of McDonald's!" - Eli
"Dad, can we go eat sushi for MY birthday instead of the train restaurant?" - Nate (mind you, the train restaurant is a family birthday tradition for the boys)

Pics:

Notice the octopus on the left side of the plate which turned out to be the most popular with my seven and four year-old kids. Wait, something about that just doesn't seem right. I'm also wearing the Property of NASA shirt, purchased at the thrift store, that has elicited so much conversation, especially at the K-Mart in Indiana.

Nathan eating his shrimp sushi. His sweet chopstick skills make my heart sing. Jenny and I were joking on the way home about our kids being half Japanese and how this makes me happy to instill in them that part of their "heritage."

Eli with his smorgasbord of Japanese delights including seaweed salad (the green stuff on the right of the plate farthest from him.

Liam enjoying his chicken. This was just before he started goofing around again and flipped the entire plate onto the silk cushion he was sitting on, sauce and all.

One last thing: have you seen the latest from Japan? If you've ever thought about owning a creepy cat, now's your chance to own (dun dun dun) ROBOKITTY.