The Watts Family

How to say goodbye?

2009-06-01T22:19:00.005+09:00

As many of you have been reading, we finally have orders, and we are heading home to Peoria. I have been absent from my home town since 1992 except for a summer here and there and of course vacations. Unfortuneately our arrival home will be 15 days too late. We received news last week that my Grandma was not doing well. She had been in the hospital for a minor surgery, but when you are 90 nothing is ever minor. She did well and recovered and was even going to start to receive real food when she started not feeling well. Needless to say she didn't do well after that and joined my grandpa in heaven at 0225 Friday May 29th. I am at peace with her death and though I wish I could have been there to hear the stories that everyone tells at funerals and see all the family, the trip would have been a difficult one for me since we are leaving Japan on June 12th. So I was left with the difficult decision of what would help me get through this difficult time. I was also left with the idea that leaving for the funeral wouldn't allow me to say a proper goodbye to my friends here in Japan and all the experiences we have had here as a family. I would have missed coffee after church with our friends, going to Tokyo for the day and just enjoying the roller slides with the girls. Then Sunday at Mass, it came to me. Grandma needed to go to heaven so she could see where I have lived, given birth to Julia, worshipped and grown so much as a person. I couldn't be happier for her to see our house(though it is a disaster),see the girls with all their friends and know we have been truly happy here. So now that I must say goodbye I will remember all the good conversations we have had, the advice she has given and the love she has shared. I know it was your time and I have no choice in this but it gives me peace to think you finally got to see Japan.

Let the wild ride start!!

2009-05-21T11:14:00.005+09:00

We are so happy that we received Orders on May 14th! Harry had them sitting at his desk when he arrived at work, and we couldn't be happier. We have sent a special thank you to Congressman Schock and his office for there help. The orders say Harry has to be separated from the Navy no later than June 30th. We couldn't be happier to finally have a date. We immediately went to Personal Property on base to set up our move. They needed 12 business days so we did just that. Our move is scheduled for June 4th and 5th. We are then moving into the Navy Lodge, cleaning our house and checking out of it, then turning over the keys to our car. We are so happy to be going home but it is definitely bittersweet. We will miss all our good friends here in Japan and just life in general in Japan. We will not miss mayo on our pizza though. Luckily for me my good friend Diane has been planning on leaving for the past couple of months, so I have been doing things with her for our last time. We went to Tokyo Disney, the Anpanman Museum again, the beach and shopping in Kamakura. I feel like we have done a lot in Japan and will really miss living in this wonderful country! Thank you Japan for being an excellent host to our family for 3 years but we can't wait to be home!!!

Limbo Sucks!

2009-05-21T11:02:00.006+09:00

Well, if you're leaving things up to the Navy, better plan for the worst while you're hoping for the best. We were planning on leaving Japan in May, but due to a mistake that took place with Harry's orders to be discharged from the Navy, we are stuck in limbo. We don't know when we will get orders or once we get orders how long it will take to leave Japan. As you know, traveling 5000 miles does take some preparation. This is giving us much stress but we are doing the best we can. Sydney asks Harry every day, "Daddy when will the hospital let you go work in the United States?" It is hard to not be able to give her an answer. Julia has relied on taking things into her own hands as in this picture. She figures 2 pacifiers are better than one!

Sanrio Puroland

2009-04-27T13:06:00.007+09:00

We dropped Julia off at the CDC and boarded a bus to take us to Sanrio Puroland! I decided this would be a better trip if I didn't drag Julia along, there are no strollers allowed inside the park and it is mostly shows. I am glad I made this decision because it was an enjoyable day having a child who mostly listened to me. Many of our friends went with us, so Sydney had plenty of friends to play and watch the shows. I never knew Hello Kitty had such a big family and a boyfriend, it was a learning experience for everyone. We saw several shows that were enjoyable though they were in Japanese, watched a parade that of course had Hello Kitty in a beautiful princess dress and of course bought some Hello Kitty souviners.

Tokyo Disney

2009-04-27T12:46:00.004+09:00

We finally made it to Tokyo Disney! We have tried to go a couple of times since we arrived here but the weather always seemed to put a damper on things. The Norwood family minus Brian(who is IA in the Phillipines) joined us for our day with the Mouse! The girls were excited for the day and Sydney enjoyed all the rides that we went on. We all really like the Buzz Lightyear ride, but we also did the Teacups, Small World, Dumbo, Space ship thing, and Race car! Julia's favorite part was the big tub of caramel corn that I bought and kept refilling to keep her happy! She enjoyed the rides she could go on but mostly enjoyed the popcorn and riding in the stroller next to her good friend Miranda! This was the first day for the opening of the Monsters Inc. ride but we skipped those long lines but bought a tub of popcorn that has the date on it for a good souvenior! We have a great picture of all of us in front of the castle but I can't get it to load! I will try to put it in the photo gallery!

The Family in Kimono!

2009-04-04T07:26:00.006+09:00

We scheduled a day to take our family photo in Kimono. This adventure took all day with driving up to Camp Zama, following the photographer to her house and then getting dressed in Kimono. I was nervous about Julia and weather or not she would get dressed up and smile for pictures but I was pleasantly surprised. She had no problems letting Meiko dress her in the kimono and then smiled well for the camera. We will receive the professional pictures next week and the bonus is we will get a CD with all the pictures on it to do what we want. It was an experience that I was aprehensive about doing but am so glad we did. The girls looked adorable and Harry was able to wear swords! Here are some preview pictures that we took!

Last day at Seika!

2009-04-04T06:41:00.005+09:00

Sydney has completed her Japanese preschool education. The Japanese school year ends in March and starts in April so this year we didn't restart Sydney in the new school year. She has really enjoyed Japanese school and has made some really good friends. Here are some pictures from her last day at school and her last time saying sayonara to her Sensei!

Happy 35th in Tokyo!

2009-04-03T19:04:00.004+09:00

I was once again fortunate to spend my Birthday in Tokyo. We did this last year when my parents were here and with the beautiful Cherry Blossoms this time of year it was perfect again. This year with the help of a very good friend, Harry and I were able to go to Tokyo overnight alone! That is the greatest birthday present one could ask for but to be in one of the most interesting cities in the world added its own charm. Harry and I enjoyed a quiet Italian lunch in Ginza and did some window shopping on the first day. The weather then turned rainy and cold so after another great haircut at the New Sanno we stayed at the hotel and went to the Wellington's for another great 5 course meal! The following day we slept in til 0630 and then enjoyed some coffee and pastries. We stopped by the Pearl lady for a birthday treat and the took in the sights of Roppongi! It was a great birthday!

Tokyo Marathon....not!

2009-04-03T18:58:00.005+09:00

Well we did go and watch the Tokyo Marathon and some of us ran some of it this year but only 10k of the 42k. I signed up last fall for the 10k race that is in conjunction with the Tokyo Marathon. With 50,000 people in the race I thought for sure this would be on for the record books and I was right. It was a mad house and I couldn't believe all the people. The Japanese in general are quiet, you don't honk your horn, talk on the phone in train or restaurant and never have your ringer on in public. I was quite surprised by the cheering that they did on the race course, I am sure it is nothing compared to a marathon in the US but for this country I was impressed. The race was good for me and no hills which made it even better. I enjoyed the challenge of a 10k, since a year ago I could barely run a mile, and think that distance is perfect for me. I hope to do more races soon and looking forward to running with Stephanie, Sarah and Angie when I return home. You gals pick the races and I will be there!

Yokohama St. Patrick's Day Parade

2009-04-03T18:49:00.006+09:00

We enjoyed the St. Patricks day parade again this year and dragged along our very Irish friends the O'Connors! We have seen this parade every year since we arrived in Japan and it hasn't changed much but is always a crowd pleaser! The parade itself lasts only 20 minutes or so but it does circle back around so you get to see it twice. Julia really got into it this year and enjoyed every minute of it. The other kids had a great time also. It was a beautiful day and another fun parade! We hope that the Peoria parade can compare next year to Yokohama's!

Ice skating

2009-03-03T06:45:00.009+09:00

This past weekend we were invited with one of Sydney's friends from Seika, Mila to go ice skating! There are 3 girls Sydney, Mila and Lani who are best friends at school and also the only English speaking girls in their class. It was going to be Sydney's first time and she was really excited once I told her we were going. I waited until the day before to tell her because you know how many time kids can ask the same question! Sydney and I headed off to meet our friends at the train station. Daddy and Julia stayed home and enjoyed the day together. Sydney and I joined in on a free lesson in the morning that of course was in Japanese but who can't just follow what the others did. Then we tried it out on the ice. She was pretty wobbly at first but after some practice and watching her friends she got the hang of it. This was definitely something that was much more fun with fiends there. If it would have been just us she would have gotten discouraged fast but with her friends there she saw they were falling also and really didn't get too frustrated. The girls all skated for a lot longer than we expected and we started heading home when the meltdowns developed. That was one other nice thing was to see several 4 year olds and know that mine was not the only one melting down! I found this vending machine with gloves. Here in Japan they have vending machines for everything you would ever need at that location! Quite unique to us Americans!

Sapporo Snow Festival

2009-02-19T16:04:00.003+09:00

We finally made it to the Sapporo and I am finally getting around to blogging about it. It certainly was a memorable vacation but not for good reasons. Julia threw up before the plane landed in Sapporo and was sick the rest of that day. We still managed to go to the Sapporo Beer Brewery and enjoy a nice lunch and beer. Then we checked into the Sapporo Grand hotel that was 2 blocks from the snow sculptures. That night Sydney and I went out to see some of the sculptures lit up and that was great. Syd even got to go down an ice slide many times. On Friday we went to the Tso-Dome which was another site for the snow festival. It had more ice slides, tube slides, snowman building area and boat ride behind a snowmobile. I grew up with the experience of riding on a sled or taboggen behind the 4 wheeler at the farm so it was interesting to pay for this experience but it was a great time. Harry and Sydney then went down the tubing hill with our good friends the O'Connors and they all had a great time on the tubes. Unfortunately that night Sydney started throwing up and continued to do so all night long. The next morning we extended our stay at the hotel as long as possible. We let the tour group leave us behind and we headed to the airport by train so that Sydney could just sleep on the chairs. We arrived at the airport at 2pm, the tour arrived at 7pm and by then Sydney was feeling better. We boarded our plane a little after 9pm but with the deicing and snow coming down really hard we sat by the gate for a while. Then a little after 10 we were told to deplane and take all your belongings with you. That is never good to hear. Luckily for us both girls had fallen alseep so we just carried them out to the airport and layed them down on the ground with some blankets under them. We had never spend the night at the airport before so we make the most of it! We made it home the next day and were really happy this vacation was over. We will try the next one to Tokyo next weekend, wish us luck!

Riding a bicycle!

2009-01-24T14:39:00.003+09:00

We all remember the first time we rode our bike. My first bike was yellow with a banana seat and basket on the front. Harry's was brown with a banana seat. Well Sydney has been asking to have her training wheels off for a couple of weeks now so we finally agreed she was ready. We have been out about 6 times with Mom and Dad holding on tightly to her seat with only stretches of open road but today she was going it alone. She needs help to start up but I am sure that will come soon enough. I was finally able to catch some video of this since she was able to go off more by herself today. She is truly enjoying learning to ride her bike and it is a fun process to watch! Click here to watch our girl in action.

Coming of Age!

2009-01-22T07:30:00.007+09:00

This year for Coming of Age day I ventured out to Kamakura with my friend Diane and her family. With all the kids in tow we walked through Kamakura looking for girls dressed up in there beautiful Kimonos. On this day, girls who turn 20 during the year dress up in elaborate kimonos and attend festivities with their family and friends. The girls all had a good time playing in the rocks and running around. They were the center of attraction for some Japanese photographers too. I think it was more the Norwood's kids with the blond hair, but oh well!

Sharing clothes at such a young age...

2009-01-22T07:17:00.006+09:00

Last Sunday, while I was getting the girls ready for church, I moved Sydney's clothes to the couch because she wanted to get dressed by herself. I left the room to go get something and came back in to Sydney looking like this! I guess this is the new look, if she wanted to dress like the Japanese with tights and boots then this would be totally in style. She wouldn't have to tell anyone she is 4 1/2 and in pants for 12-18months! I guess maybe I don't have to give all Julia's old clothes away, Sydney can just wear them again!

Ikebana celbrates the New Year!

2009-01-19T07:12:00.006+09:00

We had the pleasure of joining many of our friends at this year's celebration of the Japanese New Year! We would first like to thank the Bryant Family for allowing us to attend this event without our 2 little girls in tow! We had a great time with the mochi pounding, taiko drum performance and just enjoying the nice weather at the private grounds next to the Great Buddha shrine in Kamakura! I talked to Mrs. Purdy, whose husband our new gym on base was named after, and also the Vice Ambassador of Spain. I also tried this mochi pounding for myself with my friend Nicole. This was a great time and it was fun to see all the traditional Japanese New Year. Harry is going to start Taiko drum lessons on base, so maybe he will demonstrate for all of us next year.

New Years in Venice...actually Tokyo!

2009-01-01T19:23:00.003+09:00

Though Julia's chicken pox did make us ask our sitter a couple more questions like "have you had chicken pox?" we still ventured up to Tokyo with our friends for New years! After all we booked these rooms a year ago and we have been looking forward to it. The New Sanno hotel hosts a great New years package every year and this year it was "A night in Venice", that explains the Mardi Gras like masks in many of our pictures throughout the evening. We headed up to Tokyo with our friends the Nelson's and after quite the fiasco of getting a parking place, we only waited 45 minutes, we got checked into the hotel and the celebration began! The Norwood's joined us soon after we arrived at the party and we all had a great night. We attempted to go to the Absolut Ice Bar after midnight but they were closed so we caught up with some a friend from Harry's clinic and had a few drinks in a nice little out of the way bar! We had a great time and started off 2009 by sleeping in which I can honestly say I haven't slept that well in 4 1/2 years! It was awesome! We wish everyone a Happy and Healthy 2009, ours will be full of chaos but we are looking forward to it!

Pizza with a side of pox!

2009-01-01T19:13:00.004+09:00

Last weekend we had our good friends the Norwood's over for pizza. Little did we know that we actually having a chicken pox party. When I took Julia in for her year old immunizations they were out of the varicella shot. What is one to do, they were out! I did think in the back of my mind that if chicken pox got out it would spread like wildfire. So Julia woke up Monday morning with several pox in her diaper area and one on her shoulder, as the day progressed she developed more which only confirmed our diagnosis. The good news is that Julia has been really good though sick, she is not scratching or crabby. We are stuck staying around the house though but see the end of our confinement in sight. It looks like one less shot that Julia will receive, I am pretty sure she doesn't mind! Good Luck to the Norwood's because unfortunately Miranda and Julia are only 10 days apart and she didn't get her shot either! I am sure chicken pox will be affecting there house in 7-10 days!

Mt. Fuji

2008-12-27T09:08:00.003+09:00

We decided to go to Kamakura for the day on Friday, and with the girls behaviors before we left the house, I decided we would drive instead of take the train! We sure are glad we did. The view of Mt. Fuji from the beach was awesome. We had a good time having lunch and walking the streets, but the best part was the pictures we got. On our way home we went by the base to buy a new lens for our camera (thanks Grandma for the Christmas money!) The reason for the new lens was so we could load up the girls in the early morning and get the sun coming up! Have a wonderful Christmas weekend!

Anpanman Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T19:22:00.004+09:00

We had a wonderful Christmas though you in the US are just getting up to unwrap all of Santa's deliveries we are going to bed with all the days events behind us. We had a very quiet Christmas this year. We spent Christmas eve at the park with our good friends the Norwood's. Then we went to meet Daddy at work to have lunch, and kept the office entertained for a while in the afternoon because though they didn't have any patients they were not able to leave work. Merry Christmas! Anyway we awoke Christmas day to Julia at 0530 crying so she came and laid down with us until Sydney woke up at 0600. Sydney didn't remember that it was Christmas until we reminded her. We headed downstairs and opened presents. Sydney had been eyeing the presents for days and even said that Santa didn't need to come because there were enough presents under the tree from her grandparents! Santa did still come but only because he had already gone shopping and for him to return things to a Japanese store would have been more work. Anyway we now have many different things that sing the Anpanman song, wooden blocks, water cups, stacking blocks and Mario cart! It was a fun filled day and we even got outside to enjoy the weather a little bit because the sun was out and it was in the 50s. We hope everyone is waking up to presents under the tree and a enjoyable day. We are off to bed!

Jet Lag, Its a good thing they are so cute!

2008-12-04T19:18:00.006+09:00

Everyone has experienced jet lag so they know what I am talking about but here is how it works with kids. We leave O'hare Airport at 1045, the plane is in the air for like 11 hours or so and we arrive at 2330 that night CST or 1430 the next day Japan time. Once we retrieve our luggage, get through customs and find our van that is picking us up it is 1530 Japan time. We arrive home to our house, get fed and ready for bed by 1800. First night: Julia Bedtime 1830 Awake 2245 Back to sleep 0100(next day)Awake 0400 and up for day. Sydney bedtime 1900 Awake 2330 Back to sleep 0130(next day) Awake sometime after 0500 Kathleen bedtime 1830 Awake 2245 with Julia Back to sleep 0130 Awake 0800 Harry bedtime 1930 Awake 2400 Back to sleep 0015 Awake 0400 with Julia Second night: Julia Bedtime 1800 Awake 2400 Back to sleep 0130 Awake 0430 Sydney bedtime 1700 Awake 0030 Up rest of night Napped at daycare that day Kathleen bedtime 1830 Awake 2400 Back to sleep after 0230 Awake 0530 Harry bedtime 1930 Awake 0015 Back to sleep 0030 Awake 0430 with Julia Third night: Julia bedtime 1830 Makes noises at 2400 but sleeps til 0330 and up for day Sydney bedtime 1900 up at 2300 for few minutes 0300 up for day Kathleen bedtime 1930 up with Sydney 2300 sleep til 0300 and up for day Harry bedtime 2000 woken up when everyone else awake 0400 up for day Fourth night: Julia bedtime 1830 sleeps til 0530 Sydney bedtime 1830 up at 0330 in our room back to bed til 0530 Kathleen bedtime 2000 and sleeps all night Harry bedtime 2100 and sleeps all night By the fifth night we are all pretty well back on track and enjoying good nights sleep. I know this entry has a lot of numbers and may not make sense but I wanted to have something to remember the jet lag when we traveled with the kids. I know people that only go home for 2 weeks and since it takes 5 days there and 5 days when you return to sleep normal that is just too short. We had a great time at home and it was worth all the sleepless nights I can think of. Miss everyone!!

Earning more frequent flier miles!

2008-12-04T19:07:00.005+09:00

We have returned to Japan and are happy to be home. The girls were good travelers once again and we are trying to get over the jet lag. Sydney has enjoyed seeing all her friends since we have returned home but keeps talking about her cousins back in the United States. We had a busy time back in the US and enjoyed ourselves. We saw a great football game, best Iowa has done all year! We visited with family and friends. Julia learned to walk and speak a couple of words. I think both girls grew because they just look bigger in our Japanese house. Julia has to watch her head now with many of the tables. The weather is warmer here getting into the 50s during the day but once the sun goes down it gets cool. We missed our heated toilet seat and it is nice on those cool mornings. I have been out shopping a couple of times since I have returned home and am in the "I may not have another chance to buy this" mode. I have bought several Obi's and one kimono. We are already talking about going to Kamakura this weekend because we feel we have not explored this beautiful city and it is so close. I guess I should get off to bed. We miss everyone back in the US but it is nice to be home!

Happy Brithday Julia!

2008-11-04T04:07:00.004+09:00

Julia celebrated her first birthday and had a great time. She is a little crabby these days since she has some teeth coming in but we tried to have a fun day. We missed daddy but we were able to talk to him and we will have another cake once he arrives. Julia really didn't like her cake much though I did let her put her fingers in the icing and she didn't really care for it to much. Maybe she will do better with eating once Daddy gets here. We spent some time outside enjoying the 70 degree weather and the girls enjoyed all the leaves in the yard. I can't believe that a year has gone by already and we have a one year old. She is still trying to walk but not all the time yet. She has conquered the stairs though and enjoys going up and down. Happy Birthday our little one!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-04T04:00:00.004+09:00

We had a great Halloween and thought I should share some of the pictures. Sydney was Tinkerbell on Thursday when we went to a party with all our cousins but then decided to be Anpanman on Halloween. Sydney had a great time at the party and Julia was the perfect pumpkin. Sydney went trick or treating on friday night and got lots of candy that she doesn't care for but Luckily Uncle Ron and Aunt Deborah gave her starburst so she was happy all night long. Believe it or not she doesn't like chocolate. It was a great Halloween!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-10-28T04:39:00.005+09:00

Wow we can't believe that we are missing Daddy's birthday especially since we are missing out on big birthday hugs and cake. We really miss Daddy and can't wait to see him next week. We didn't even get to celebrate with him before we left Japan, but we will celebrate with Monical's pizza when he arrives in Peoria. We love you and miss you Daddy! Happy 34th Birthday!!

We made it!

2008-10-25T03:49:00.005+09:00

Well, we made it to the United States without any big issues. For traveling with 2 kids under 5, they did incredibly well and even slept some. Julia got a total of 5 hours sleep in all our travels and Sydney got about 6. I got none, but what do you expect? The free time I had while they both slept I watched "Sex and the City". Once we arrived in Chicago and got through customs, we stopped and had a milkshake which Sydney accidentally knocked over on the floor but without getting it on anyone, so we didn't need to change our clothes. We then found the play area at the airport, and the girls had a great time playing there for almost 45 minutes. Julia was all smiles at the airport with all the stangers who talked to her, she was just facinated by all the people. Sydney was able to push Julia in the stroller/car seat contraption that we borrowed from Dr. Kim. It was a life saver and I recommend it to anyone traveling a lot with someone under 2. I now know how Kim gets back and forth to the US so easily, though she does have a shorter trip that I do, but nothing is short with a toddler. It took us almost 5 days to adjust to the time, but now finally we are on our feet and enjoying the fall. The weather is 20 degrees cooler here than in Japan, but Sydney sure enjoys playing outside in the crunchy leaves. I will put some pictures up soon, but I have to download them first.

Undokai (Sports Day)

2008-10-13T19:10:00.010+09:00

A day in history!

2008-09-25T19:15:00.005+09:00

Well today was a day in Japan/ American history. The USS George Washington arrived to be the first ever forward deployed nuclear powered aircraft carrier. The Japanese have been protesting its arrival since it was approved last year but the protests have increased this week. They are marching in front of the base at a regular basis but it is all scheduled. Here is one of the many e mails that have been sent out to prepare people to avoid getting caught up in the mess that will be surrounding the ships arrival. ***With the arrival of the USS George Washington in weeks to come,CFAY will remain at the current Force Protection level for the time being. However, they will be ramping up Random Anti terrorism Measures (RAMS) around the installation. You may see additional patrols around the installation and additional Japanese Police at are gates and perimeters. Upcoming Demonstrations... 15 September 1200-1300, Verny Park (next to Daiei) Rally to Main Gate 19-25 September 1300-1600, Flyer Distribution in front of Yokosuka-Chuo 20-24 September 0900-1800, Sit-in protest, Verny Park 21 September 1300-1400, Verny Park (next to Daiei) Rally to Main Gate 23 September 1100-1300, Seagoing demo, Yokosuka Harbor,25 people & 3 boats*** I think you all get the idea. The part of this that I find interesting is that this country has the fourth most nuclear power plants than anyone in the world and a couple are built on the fault line. I must now remind you that Japan has earthquakes almost daily so how safe is that. You can read this newspaper article to see what the Japanese are protesting is the accidents that can happen with having a nuclear ship in the harbor. Yes there was the little problem of the fire aboard the ship but many people were relieved of there jobs after that so that should be cleared up. I have to say that I am concerned about the ships arrival but not because it is nuclear because it brings 5000 extra people to the base and with that many people you know someone will get into trouble. It also causes trouble when traveling around base and making sure the grocery store has food. They run out on a regular basis so add 5000 extra mouths and see what happens. The one thing that I was able to do upon the ships arrival today was go and get a copy of the Magna CVN 73. This is a comic book that is about a Japanese American sailor whose first ship assignment is the USS George Washington. The extended hours at base establishments have been entertaining to those of us that arrived in Japan without a welcoming committee, banners all over base and things set up to make our transisition here easy. These people had houses waiting for them on base and stayed only 8.5 days in the Navy lodge on average. I think the shortest I had heard of before this was 4 weeks. So welcome to the USS George Washington and enjoy your time in Japan!

What I miss

2008-09-24T06:47:00.011+09:00

With traveling back to the States so close in my mind, I often think about what I miss the most. Many of you reading this live here with me, and if I forget anything please comment because Japan definitely is a different world. First on the list is our family and friends, but here are the other things! 1. I miss shopping at stores that I can read all the sales and ads. It is amazing how accustomed I have gotten to not being able to read anything at the shopping mall or some of the restaurants I go to. Many of the menu's just have pictures so you pick the picture you want. 2. I miss the simple things in an American house that I don't have here in Japan. I miss a dishwasher, disposal(the cleaning of the net job sucks!), central heat and air. I miss a decent size washer, though I have really taken to drying my clothes outside, the sheets especially smell awesome. 3. I miss having an American grocery store that is not out of things all the time. We were out of cereal and butter after Thanksgiving because everyone was baking. The yogurt Sydney likes was gone, apple cider disappears every fall when it is perfect time to have cider. We will get our Christmas cookies put out here before Thanksgiving, and if you don't buy them when you see them, they will not be there the next time. I am sure we already had the Halloween ones and I missed them. Since we have a small freezer also this makes buying in advance difficult but we do it. 4. I miss being able to go to all the stores you would like to in one day, and not just shopping online and then waiting a week for the product that you so wanted/needed to arrive. Then that product takes 2 weeks and you have forgotten what you needed it for anyway and send it back. Ok well this blog is going to go 2 different ways because I would also like to mention what I will miss when I leave Japan: 1. Heated toilet seats, for those of you who haven't tried it, I am sorry because it is definitely one of the perks to living in Japan. Even Sydney notices when we are at a bathroom that doesn't have a heated toilet seat. What a spoiled little tush she has. 2. The kindness of our neighbors. Though I can't communicate with our neighbors very well here in Japan, when I see them we greet each other appropriately. My neighbors in Iowa rarely talked to me, and we spoke the same language. 3. The fruit and fresh bread. The strawberries are some of the greatest you will ever taste here. They cost close to $4-5 a quart, but they are worth it. There are bread bakeries on every corner and fresh french bread, croissants and many other great treats. 4. Safety! I don't have to worry about my daughters everywhere I turn and think someone may come and get them. It is a safe country and most of the crimes committed are by the Japanese Yakuza (mafia group) or foreigners. There are many things that will need to be added to both these lists, but for now you get the idea. We look forward to seeing everyone in a couple of weeks and introducing Julia to everyone back there.

Julia takes a step!

2008-09-24T06:40:00.003+09:00

OK, so it was only one little step towards me, but both hands were free from other objects, and I see walking in our near future. We were at the Norwoods' house, and Julia had been pushing Sydney around in this wagon. She then took a step from the wagon to me. It was fun and Diane saw it out of the corner of her eye so I wasn't hallucinating. She has stood with her hands up for over 10 seconds because when she does this I count, so it was just a matter of time. This means that she will be more on the move than ever on the plane home, but maybe she will wear herself out more doing laps around the plane. It will also be more sanitary walking than crawling. Julia is quite the climber. She has climbed the stairs, she stands almost every meal in her high chair, she will try and lift her leg over everything. She has also figured out that she has to get off the couch feet first. Harry saw it the first time and I thought it was just a fluke but she did it twice the next day so I guess she gets it. We keep thinking maybe we should try weights in her diaper to keep her down but I guess we just have to go with it.

Seto Pottery Tour

2008-09-14T18:24:00.006+09:00

Over a month ago I signed a couple of friends and myself up for the Seto pottery tour for a day with no kids and some good shopping. The bus ride is not for the pottery non-lover(5 hours each way), and though I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into I thought, what the heck! The other bonus of this trip was the tour guide is a good Japanese friend who I knew would not lead us down the wrong path. Well I must say that this was a much better choice than my first day away from Julia. Kim accompanied me on this trip too, but we didn't have to call anyone for directions this time. I was ready to go with my suitcase, which I lugged with us through the closed-off streets to fill with all my little treasures, and as you can tell by the photo gallery there were many treasures. I did manage to find several Anpanman things that Sydney just had to have, luckily for me she is not into Hello Kitty because that cat was everywhere. I was determined not to go home empty-handed, and I didn't want any buyers remorse either, so I was careful with my choices. I think all and all I did well. I fell in love with the green pottery and bought a couple pieces. I did some bargaining though it was not my forte, I only used the cute Japanese phrase Kazumi taught us, but with a little sign language I got a couple of Yen off most things I bought. The day was not without any drama though. About 45 minutes before we needed to start the climb uphill back to the bus, Mimi started to feel a little woozy. We got her some water and a cool cloth, but as we all know from our great AFN(Armed Forces Network) propaganda commercials, Heat Stroke can affect anyone. We got her cooled off, a seat in the shade and called Kazumi to help us get a cab. Many of us still believe it was all staged so that she wouldn't have to walk up the hill lugging her suitcase. I have many memories from this day and had a great time with the girls!

School back in session!

2008-09-06T07:49:00.006+09:00

Sydney is back in Japanese school, and that means we have a routine again, which is wonderful. Sydney started back on Thursday, and we can't believe that she has been attending Japanese preschool for one year now. She is singing songs in Japanese and does understand Japanese, but she really doesn't speak it much. She has grown a lot in the past year as you can tell by the pictures. Her teacher or "sensei" moved away during the break, so she has a new sensei and seems to like her also. They have started practicing their dances for Sports Day so we will be ready to go when October comes with cameras ready.

Dog days of summer!

2008-08-29T06:58:00.008+09:00

We spent most of the weekends in August at the pool. Sydney has become quite the little swimmer and can jump off the wall and swim back by herself. That has been a big help so that I can feel comfortable with taking the girls to the pool when Harry wasn't able to join us. Julia loves the pool and the water so that helps. She just enjoys watching Sydney and her friends play at the pool.

Fuji-san

2008-08-25T08:37:00.007+09:00

Fuji-san kicked my ***! We climbed Mt. Fuji and though the weather beat us down, we made the most of it and had a good time. Kim Bryant and I did our best to get to the top and would have made it if not for the horrible rain storm that pounded on us for close to 8 hours of our 10 hour climb. We were told by a mountain guide to turn around because there was a bad storm coming in. So we went a little further but finally turned back. Our husbands have admitted that they would have turned back "for coffee" quite some time before we did! From what we understand, if the weather was clear we would of easily seen the summit, but since we could barely see in front of our faces that was not possible. We have many pictures to share that I have posted in the photo gallery, and we are both really glad that we did it. Climbing Mt. Fuji is on the list of 100 things you should do before you die, so I guess we can check that one off. One of the coolest things that we came home with is our climbing stick. You buy a wooden stick at the 5th station, where you start, for about 12 dollars then you pay about 2 dollars at about 10-15 stations and get a brand put on your stick. It's quite a nice little keepsake.

Summer Swim School

2008-08-20T06:49:00.007+09:00

Sydney had one week, actually 4 days, of swim school at her Japanese school. We went shopping and bought some stuff that she needed for these 4 days. She needed a swim cap or she would not be allowed in the water, she also needed a ring to play with in the pool. I was told by a friend that the water is only a couple of feet deep but the kids want a ring because everyone else has one. We bought an Anpanman one because we love Anpanman. She colored her hat at school before the end of the school year. She arrived home off the bus the first day and told me the pool was too cold. It was about 88 degrees and 90% humidity but leave it to Sydney to be cold. So she got to go inside school and watch Anpanman which was better than swimming for her. The next couple of days she did get wet, and the last day she told me she put her head under the water. With swim lessons every day for the past month I am not concerned about her swimming. She is doing well this year and can swim the width of the pool by herself. She really wants to go off the diving board, and before the end of summer I hope to get her there to let her do it.

What good friends we have!

2008-08-05T07:17:00.004+09:00

Our friends Robin and Kazumi came over yesterday with a gift for Sydney. Sydney has just returned home from school and wasn't in the best of moods, but they had bought her a kimono. It is adorable and though she wouldn't put it on while they were here, she wanted to put it on when we got home that night, and we took pictures. I can't wait to have Kazumi over again to show me how to really put the kimono on properly. I will have to take pictures of every stage so that I remember this for years to come. I'm sure after Sydney outgrows this one it will fit Julia. Sydney sure liked to smile for the camera though.

Bear crawl!

2008-08-01T20:06:00.010+09:00

Julia has officially started to bear crawl. I guess she was sick of doing the 3 legged crawl that she has perfected. The bear crawl is a good way to get around in a dress and since it is in the 90s every day she wears them a lot. Sometimes Sydney will race her, and of course she wins but they have a good time. The girls do love to cuddle and have great time together.

First Haircut!

2008-08-01T19:40:00.008+09:00

Yes, can you believe it? Sydney finally got her first professional haircut. I have trimmed her hair in the sink probably about 3 times but, I finally thought it was time to get it done right. I am not great at doing hair. Many of you probably don't know this past spring, I was so sick of my hair. It is so difficult to get into our beauty salon, and then once you do, you don't always get a great haircut. I took matters into my own hands. I put my hair up in a pony tail and cut. After a couple adjustments it didn't look too bad, and Mindy came by two weeks later to fix it up a lot. So this last time she was here at the house to cut my hair--isn't that great she comes to me!--and I had her cut Sydney's too. Sydney was a little scared at first, as you can see by a couple of the pictures, but all turned out great and not that you can really tell with the curls but it is cleaned up so much.

Find a penny...

2008-07-26T17:59:00.006+09:00

Pick it up, and all day long you will have good luck, unless you live on a military base overseas. The only place on the Naval base where we are given a penny in change is at the post office. All other places where we use US dollars, the transaction is rounded up or down. The reason for this is it is just too expensive to ship the pennies over here to our banks. This is a strange thing to find out when you get here. I have to admit, I don't miss all the pennies in my wallet. I do have a lot of yennies (what we like to call them) which is the equivalent to a penny in Japanese yen. There is a lot of talk back in the states about how it costs more that a penny to make a penny and what would we do without them. Though I would miss that Lincoln face on the coin, Illinois is the Land of Lincoln you know, but I can say that life is not bad without them.

Let's Do Lunch...

2008-07-17T08:20:00.005+09:00

...Or in Julia's case lets wear lunch! Yesterday we were without a car so Diane and I decided to have breakfast at the bread place with the little girls. It ended up that the bread place was too crowded, so we decided to go by a bakery and have some bread in the car. Then, since we were out in the area, we had lunch at Cantina. Julia and Miranda looked quite the part, enjoying there rice crackers, pizza crust and some pasta for lunch. They had their own table and conversation and were very good and allowed their moms to also have some nice conversation. For those of you who don't know Julia is 10 days older than Miranda, but they both have big sisters named Sydney. Miranda just needs to get her groove on and then there will be no stopping them. We were at their house the other day and Julia was showing her stuff, crawling all over. Little Sydney's comment was, "She moves", boy is she in for a rude awakening when Miranda moves.

Sydney's drawing!

2008-07-17T07:39:00.008+09:00

All the parents were invited to school one day so that the kids could do a drawing of them. Julia and I walked down to the school one morning, in the heat and enjoyed watching Sydney and her classmates sing and draw. It was fun observing Sydney in her class environment. She will not always tell us what she does at school that day, but she is enjoying herself. While I was watching her I found that she does understand what her Sensei is saying in Japanese, though she doesn't speak much. Julia is quite the hit with the Sensei's; they all just love on her. This is Sensei Yuko or as Sydney calls her, the Sensei we can talk to. She can speak English and is whom I contact with any questions. Sydney's best friend is Loni, who is also one of the only other Americans in her class. They have lots of fun together. Sydney did a great job of drawing my picture. She also added little heads for Daddy, Julia and Sydney. This is Kondoh Sensei, Sydney's main teacher holding up her artwork.

My wife, the war hero...

2008-07-13T18:14:00.004+09:00

OK, not so much a "war hero", but rather the recipient of a very nice award. We recently had the change of command for my commanding officer, CAPT Krentz--loyal readers are, of course, familiar with his wife, Kathy--at which the guest speaker was the Surgeon General of the Navy, Vice Admiral Adam Robinson. Why the Navy's top doctor isn't called the "Surgeon Admiral" is beyond me, but I digress. Kathleen and two of her friends and cohorts, Diane Norwood and Melissa Bradley, were presented with the Navy's Meritorious Public Service Award by VADM Robinson for their extensive efforts reinventing the way new members to Yokosuka's Naval Hospital are welcomed. There were many hours spent personally welcoming new families, escorting VIPs and creating a new welcome packet to help those who arrive here find everything they need. Of course, if you ask her, she'll tell you that the most remarkable thing she's done here is to continue to raise our 2 beautiful daughters (not my opinion, it is a verifiable fact). Those award recipients are always so humble!

How long can it take?

2008-07-09T07:27:00.005+09:00

Well, after living her for 18 months we learned that our mirror in the bathroom has a heated area so if the light is on, the mirror will not fog up. The area that doesn't fog is still a little low for Harry to shave, but I guess he is not the typical height for a Japanese man. The other thing that we finally learned after 2 years of living here is how to work the bath tube. You are not allowed to use soap in the bathtub so I figured it would be too hard to get Sydney clean in the shower and then what is the point of the tub. The idea of how to use a Japanese bathtub is that you wash yourself in the shower and get clean then you reheat the water and soak in the tub. The entire family uses the same tub of water and you just reheat the water when you are going to use it. I learned from a Japanese friend that if you turn the tub off once it fills up you can use soap and wash the kids in there. So a couple of weeks ago I asked our neighbor if she knew how to use the tub and found out she had learned from one of her Japanese students. She came over that morning and taught me how to use it. Julia and Sydney were in there soon after that and Sydney asks regularly to get in the tub. Harry and I have both tried it since we have learned, and it will really come in handy in the cold winter months to warm you up. The water will recirculate and keep at the same temperature. You never have to get out because the water is too cold.

Angie's Bloody Mary goes International!

2008-07-08T08:07:00.009+09:00

Whoever said you need to speak the same language to have a party was so wrong. We hosted a party with our American neighbors for all of our Japanese neighbors. Cathy asked her Japanese student to write some invitations, and we gave them out to our neighbors. To our surprise, everyone came and of course, in true Japanese fashion, they all had gifts and food. We had quite the spread by the time the BBQ was ready. We had squid and celery salad, sushi cones, hamburgers and hot dogs, pulled pork and octopus balls with mayo on them. I had some bloody mary in the fridge and brought it out and it was a big hit. They wanted the recipe, which I gave to them but I am going to get them some of the ingredients on base because I don't think they can get them all out in town and they would be 10x the cost of what I would pay. When everyone first arrived we just all sat around, but then once Sydney was showing everyone her rolly polly's and learning the bugs names in Japanese the party got started. The party went on for close to 5 hours, and we learned many things about our Japanese neighbors through our little Japanese and their little English. One of our neighbor's daughters is studying English in school so that was helpful. We learned that one of our neighbors has a restaurant close to base, so we will be heading there soon. Another neighbor competes with his son in lifting competitions and can bench press 140 kg. Ooga came with his parents and he is so cute. He is only a little over a month older than Julia and I thought Julia was a big baby but he has her beat. He weighs 15 kg, which I think outweighs Sydney. Sydney had a great time playing with everyone. She went to the park twice: once with our neighbor's son-in-law and once with the 11 year old neighbor. Harry and I both checked on her when she was with the 11 year old, but they were just looking for butterflys at the park. She also ended up inside someone's house playing on their learning piano, which I would like to see sometime. Harry and I may have figured out a way to get a Nissan factory tour from our neighbor who works at Nissan. He had a model in his pocket of the new Nissan Skyline GT-R (finally sold in America). Harry and I have already said we should have done this earlier, but I am sure we will have another get-together before we leave.

No 'Sex' in Yokosuka

2008-07-05T09:07:00.005+09:00

So, while talking with the girls the other night while out for dinner, we were discussing when "Sex in the City" would be arriving at our movie theatre. Then it came to us: "Wall-E" is here this weekend and "Sex" has been out in the US for over a month. We came to the conclusion that it would not be coming here. I guess the Navy has decided that we should not be given the opportunity to watch this movie. Now, I do not go to the movies often, but this was one that I really wanted to see in the theatre. We get Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and every kids' movie that comes out, but I guess the one movie that I wanted to see I will have to wait for it to come out on DVD. You would think that since they wouldn't show the movie they would not sell it here either but I have a feeling that they will sell it just to make a buck. Good thing we have a big screen TV, maybe I will even make some microwave popcorn at least it will be fresh in comparison to the popcorn we get at our movie theatre. I guess that is one more reason to look forward to moving back to the States so I can choose which garbage I subject my eyes to. Harry says: "If Star Wars: The Clone Wars" doesn't come, I'm going AWOL!

Knee high by 4th of July

2008-07-05T08:48:00.005+09:00

Grandma always says that the corn should be "knee high by the 4th of July", so this year Julia is knee high by the 4th of July. The corn in Illinois and Iowa is probably lucky if it is ankle high with all the flooding. We celebrated Independence Day with friends at a BBQ. We then took Sydney to her first fireworks show. She loved the fireworks but thought they were a little loud. Julia slept through them, so I guess they didn't bother her as much.

Sydney's 4th Birthday Party!

2008-06-28T20:05:00.006+09:00

We celebrated Sydney's birthday a little late because Daddy was on call, and we figured he would have gotten called in as soon as things got started. We invited our friends over for a little food and cake. We didn't tell Sydney about the party because we figured 5 am is early enough, and we didn't need her getting up any earlier. When we told her about her party she said, "Everyone is coming to my house?", and we said yes. We told her which friends were coming over, and she said she wanted all her grandparents here. We then had to explain to her that next year we will have all the grandparents at her party. We had a great time with our friends the Norwood's, Kim and Sam Bryant and their friend Erin and our neighbors Kathy and Wehrner. The Anapanman cake that mom made was a hit, and Sydney was really excited.

She is on the move!

2008-06-28T19:52:00.005+09:00

Thursday afternoon Julia finally figured out this crawling thing one hand at a time. She is very careful and systematic about the process. I am not sure, but this may be due to the difficultly of getting traction on our tatami mats and hard wood floors. She of course figured this out when mom was extremely tired because of Kathy and Robin, but that will be another entry. She does this thing when she gets up on her hands and feet like she just wants to walk. There is such a world for her to explore, and I am sure she wants to see it all this weekend. We will keep you informed about her moves.

Remembering cabbage patch dolls!

2008-06-20T20:16:00.004+09:00

I am sure you all remember the cabbage patch experience. I just happened to be at Venture with my mom doing some shopping, and they had received a shipment of cabbage patch dolls the night before, and I got to pick one out. Well, we finally got our Wii, but now we want a Wii fit. I keep trying to explain to Dad how much fun the Wii is and that Harry and I have to take breaks because we are so exhausted. We had some friends over last night to come play and we were close to a Wii injury when Chad was bowling, but luckily he only hit Erica in the foot. We had several boxing matches that got pretty intense and a good tennis match. So now there is the new Wii Fit and for all you who are just walking through Target looking around, how I miss Target, if you happen to see a Wii Fit, will you pick one up? I of course will reimburse you and pay for shipping. Have a great weekend and if you are thinking about getting a Wii, I definitely recommend it.

Ready to roll!

2008-06-19T08:07:00.003+09:00

I see the end of that nice quiet time when Julia would stay in the same place and we didn't need to confine her. If only she could get traction on the tatami mats or the hard wood floors she would be off. In this picture she is using the wall to push off. We have found her sitting up in her crib twice now after taking a nap and she is so proud of herself. We will keep you informed, but by the looks of things it will be days not weeks until she crawls.

Wii of a Father's Day!

2008-06-19T07:56:00.009+09:00

Well, with the luck of the Irish behind us(or the O'Connnors), we bought one of three Wii's that arrived at the Navy Exchange for Father's day. My friend Jen and I made a pact over bunko and margarita's that if either of us found Wii's we would buy one for the other. We both took to checking the video section of the store regularly, but Jen was the one who found them that Sunday. We have already taught Sydney how to bowl, but she does get tired after a couple of games. Harry and I have boxed each other 'til we needed a break. It's like tai bo, but you actually get to beat up someone. Then I took on a pretty good game of doubles tennis. I have to say that this is a lot of fun and I see why people who have never owned a game system before buy these. If I can find Wii fit someday maybe I can do yoga and other exercise things in my living room. We will probably wear out our tatami mats, but we are having fun. By the way, no, Sydney doesn't need glasses, but since Harry has them someone else just HAD to have them so she could "see better". Hopefully she'll have her mom's vision along with her mom's eyes!

School Doctor visit.

2008-06-18T07:31:00.004+09:00

We got a letter from Sydney's school talking about Health day. It stated that Sydney would get to see a doctor at school to check her out. We would need to test her for pinworm and send a urine sample. I couldn't believe it at first. Wow, why would a school do all of this? Then I thought many kids in the US don't see a doctor every year and probably would benefit from this treatment. Well, the pinworm thing went well, and we didn't have any trouble. Then the urine sample came. It was due on her birthday which of course meant she was already excited, but I had to try and explain to her that I was going to collect her potty. It took a little convincing but we finally got it. The next objective was to get it into the little container that they sent home. I tried everything and ended up with almost an inch of urine in the bottle and called it quits. Of course I found out later that I should have used the bottle like a turkey baster and it would have been fine. You would think all those years of filling up syringes in the OR would have come in handy, but I guess not. The school hasn't sent anything home saying I need to retest so I guess we are in the clear for now. Just another adventure at our Japanese school.

Happy 4th Birthday!

2008-06-14T06:27:00.005+09:00

We didn't remind Sydney about her birthday until that morning because we figure getting up at 5 am is already early enough, and we didn't need her getting up earlier because she was excited. So soon after she woke up Friday morning I read her the book, "Happy birthday to you". About half way through she was tired of the story, it is a long book, and so I then told her it was her birthday. Her comment was "I am 4 today!" Well the day started with a cupcake and some gifts, but then it was time to get ready for school. We also had a little matter of getting a urine sample, but that will be another blog entry, it was just for school. After school we went for a bike ride on base and met our friends Mrs. Diane, Sydney and Miranda at the park. We played there for a couple of hours and came home for pizza. We made pizza, played her new game Zingo (thanks to the Liedel's) and then had another cupcake with singing. It was a good 4th birthday. We will be having a BBQ to celebrate this event next weekend because Harry is on call this weekend, and we figured that he would get called in as soon as the party started. There will be more pictures to come, but this is what 4 year old Sydney looks like, not much different from the 3 year old if you ask me.

Sumo Day

2008-06-08T20:25:00.004+09:00

Sydney had her Sumo debut this past weekend at Sumo day! I don't think we have to worry about her dating a Sumo wrestler because she told me she pushed the girl in front of her because she, "didn't want to touch his bottom". The day was so much fun, and the weather was beautiful. It was an opportunity of a life time and made us both so happy that we sent Sydney to Japanese preschool. Seika has such a history, this month they will celebrate 61 years as a kindergarten. They have had an affiliation with the same Sumo stable (training organization or team of Sumo wrestlers) for 25 years. This Stable has produced several or Yokozuna the Grand champions of Sumo. There was an opportunity for the audience to join in and fight. Harry decided not to join but this Gaijin did and actually won. They had a rematch, and the Sumo wrestler won that time. They had a tournament of the boys that are in the oldest class at Seika, and that was fun to watch. Many of the boys didn't really like the outfit, and it was fun to see them "adjusting" them. This is the warm up for the tournament, and please watch out there is big Sumo bottom in this video. Sorry there are so many videos, but we wanted Sydney to remember this day. We all enjoy Sumo so much and look forward to seeing it again before we leave.

Busy Memorial Day

2008-05-25T10:14:00.005+09:00

We had no real plans for Memorial Day until Friday, but it's turning out to be a really big weekend. We started the day Saturday with a 5K race pushing both girls and had a good time. Sydney competed in her own race and Harry thought he'd just have to jog. He was wrong with that one; he had to run the whole way which was about 1/2 mile in about 3:15 minutes, so maybe she will take after her dad. Then Saturday afternoon we attended our first wedding in Japan. One of Harry's coworkers got married, and we all had a good time. Sydney was the life of the party, of course, dancing to all the songs. Julia got a little tired as you can see by the picture. It is amazing that children can fall asleep with any amount of noise. I have a picture of Sydney when she fell asleep in her high chair so I will post both so that you can see them. This is so far the funniest place Julia has fallen asleep. Sydney is about 9 months in this picture, but it is still one of my favorites. We finished off the evening at a BBQ with some friends and had a good time. We all slept well last night and are ready for another big day, though it is raining. Hope you all have a great holiday weekend.

True Love

2008-05-20T09:58:00.003+09:00

I blame myself for this accident due to the conversation that I started before it happened. While on the train ride home from a great day in Tokyo enjoying Sumo, I stated to Harry, "Wow we made it to Tokyo and back for a daytrip with 2 kids." Now as a nurse, I should know that you don't count your chickens before they hatch and just in saying that, something bad had to happen. Well as you can guess, Sydney fell alseep on Harry and had an accident. Needless to say we were laughing about it several minutes after it happened and I am sure the Japanese train people were not laughing but what else are you supposed to do but grab your stuff and run off the train. Harry then had to walk all the way back to base, about 5 blocks, and go through the main gate. We made it back without running into anyone we knew, so that was good. Sydney's only complaint was she was a little cold. We had a great time at Sumo once again and a big thank you to Kazumi for helping us get tickets. We are all ready for Sumo Day at Sydney's school on June 7th. .

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-14T11:01:00.004+09:00

Sydney returned home on friday with a mother's day present that she had made at school. I of course got some pictures then opened the present. I am sure that the school did all the wrapping. Sydney was so excited though she really didn't understand what mother's day was all about. We had a nice weekend and went out for a nice lunch. It was rainy and cold all weekend so the weather wasn't helpful to get out and about but oh well. I had a nice Mother's day none the less. We had some friends over last week for dinner and found out that Sydney and Tyler sing the same song before meals, though they go to different japanese kindergartens. Here are Sydney and Tyler singing in Japanese.

Julia's growing!

2008-05-14T10:56:00.004+09:00

Well the girls have been busy these past couple of weeks and I haven't gotten on the computer to put new pictures on. Julia went to her 6 month check up and weighs 16.25 lbs and 28 inches long. She is getting to be quite the big girl and is pretty good at sitting up. She loves carrots, sweet potatoes and bananas. She also enjoys her new high chair which is much easier to feed her in.

Japanese flowers

2008-05-14T06:52:00.001+09:00

Anpanman arrived!

2008-05-02T20:53:00.005+09:00

Every child loves to get dressed up in costume. Sydney was jealous last week when we went to our friends house for a sleep over and the boys had Superman costumes with capes on them. She didn't know that mommy already had one of her japanese friends, with Robin's help, looking for a Anpanman costume for her. Luckily for us Kazumi came though and found one. Kathy I am sorry but they do not have adult sizes, maybe I can find Peko-chan this October. I tried looking for underoos online but those don't have capes. Sydney was really excited to get her new costume and I am sure this will be a regular outfit she will wear in the house. Who knows maybe it will still fit when Halloween rolls around but since we may be in the US this halloween it may not make as much sense there. I am sure she would for sure be the only child in Peoria dressed up as Anpanman. Well dare to be different is what I say!

Julia is 6 months!

2008-05-02T20:41:00.006+09:00

Hooray Julia is 6 months old and today let me get a picture of those pearly whites. I thought these where great pictures to celebrate her 6 month birthday. Then we had some carrots which she really does like. Here is the latest comparison shot of the girls. Julia is 6 months and Sydney is 5 but let me know who you think is who?

Sydney is growing!

2008-05-02T20:30:00.006+09:00

Harry and I have been talking about how fast Sydney is growing up. She is just getting so big and so funny. The other night she ran from the table to go potty and then came back. When she got back to the table she said "I went fast so that my food wouldn't get cold", Harry and I both looked at her plate and all that was left were carrots and dip. She then stated, "Silly, carrots are cold". At this point I busted out laughing. Ok maybe not so funny typed but you get the idea. There was a certain tone to it. This past week we went to the zoo with some friends. I took some of the same pictures we took in fall 2006 when we went to the same zoo. I thought you would enjoy seeing the comparisons. Here are some pictures of her and her friends at the same bridge! The earlier pictures are taken both August and November 2006!

School Lunch

2008-04-25T14:24:00.007+09:00

One of the reason's we chose Sydney's school was because they make a hot lunch. With school starting last year and the baby due, we knew that my time would be limited and making lunch would not be a priority. In the US you can just slap a sandwich together, fruit and a cookie and you are good to go. It doesn't work that way in Japan. Japanese mom's consider lunch boxes (obento) to be comparable to chef's cuisine. They make animals and flowers with vegtables and everything. It is very pretty, but I feel the skill may be lost on the 3-5 year old child that they send it with. I talked with one of the Sensei's at school who told me that Sydney was eating more of the lunches this year. Sydney told me that she liked the cheese in the soup and I didn't have the heart to tell her it was tofu. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. Today I was invited to go to Sydney's school to meet the other moms and have lunch just like the kids do. I was only one of three American parents there. I feel it is important, though I can't communicate very well, to show that I care. It was a nice time, and the principal talked only for 20 minutes this time. I met another dad whose child is in Sydney's class and the only other American in the class. Sydney's good friend was moved to the other class so she doesn't see him all the time. Sydney was excited to walk home from school, and it only took 20 minutes and we took lots of pictures of the flowers.

Not as good as I once was...

2008-04-25T06:53:00.006+09:00

OK so I finally have gone to Karoke in Japan and I can just say that if you don't want to come here to see us you should come for the karoke. It was a blast. When I left the house that night I had on lipstick and Sydney's comment was "Mommy you look like a different girl", guess I don't get dressed up enough. I went with 5 of my friends and Diane organized it for my birthday though late since my parents were here then. Japanese do karoke right, you pay about 27.00 for 4 hours of unlimited drinks and your own little room for you and your friends to sing your hearts out. As you can see from the pictures Robin has the rock star look down! We definately sang our hearts out, and though many of us couldn't carry a tune it didn't matter. One of my favorite songs to sing was "Hit the road Jack" and "My Way". Kathy on the other hand had hand motions that she knew for "My Girl", which where so impressive I caught them on video but I will not subject you to that right now, maybe later! I must say that Kathy and Robin were really got into "Bohemian Rapsedy", Kim really took to "Baby got Back" and "California Girls". The funny thing was Mi-Mi and Kathy had agreed to come and just sing one song and watch the rest of us make fools of ourselves, but it didn't turn out that way. They looked like fools also. It was mentioned that they may need singers for the Change of Command, I am sure we can arrange our schedules to accomidate this gig. We have decided that we all need a theme song and need to come up with one before our next outing. Kathy has requested we return before she leaves and we will all be recovered by that time. I must say as a mom of young children who wake up at 6 am, getting home at almost 12 o'clock is difficult. It was worth it though. Maybe I will practice singing in the shower and get over this cold by our next outing, though I don't think it will help. At least my friends don't critic my voice or my singing because then I would have to find other people to go with.

Fun video!

2008-04-18T20:41:00.003+09:00

While Grandpa and Margie where here they had a good time and enjoyed just hanging out with the girls. Julia found Margie's Chin very appetizing one afternoon and I was lucky enough to catch it on video. Julia is getting so big and to the stage where she has quick hands and can get to everything, with in reach. She is not able to move fowards or backwards, but she has the 360 degrees thing down. It is amazing how much enjoyment Julia gets out of watching Sydney. They can entertain each other which we found surprising at such a young age. It is truely a joy to watch the two of them interact. I know they will have nasty fights some day but for now we will treasure these fun moments.

Walk of Philosophy

2008-04-13T15:08:00.007+09:00

Well, Kyoto had so many things to offer, and I think you would need almost a week to see it all. We only had about 2 days and with a couple missed turns on the first day, we had a lot to see. We went to the Walk of Philosophy to see the sakura and we were not disappointed. We enjoyed ice cream and some shopping on our walk. We also saw many women dressed in Kimono's enjoying the day. We weren't able to get to where you can find the Geisha (Maiko-san) so we didn't get any pictures. We went to the Nijo Castle, though. Nijo Castle. This castle was created by the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) and symbolized the power and riches of the newly established Edo-based shogunate. I found the nightingale floors interesting and these where carefully laid floors so that the cramps and nails below the floorboard would rub together and squeak gently when disturbed. I posted pictures on the slide show earlier from more of the trip to Kyoto. We all enjoyed the Bullet train and especially the Berry Cafe! I wish I would have taken a picture of all the beauitful berry pies. We left with 2 pieces and 4 forks and they were some really good pies. There is more to see in Kyoto, and we hope to get back sometime before we leave. We all arrived back in Yokosuka and ordered some old fashioned American Pizza for dinner.

Lost in Translation!

2008-04-13T15:00:00.002+09:00

As many of you have seen the movie, many things in Japan get lost in translation. This happened to my dad when we went out to Chili's one night. During their stay, there was a brief time that alcohol was not allowed to be sold on base or at any base restaurants. No, it had nothing to do with them, it had to do with a young sailor who made the wrong decision one night. Needless to say we arrived at Chili's to find out this information and were seated at our table. A nice Japanese waitress came to take our order and Dad ordered a non-alcoholic beer. After making sure she understood she went off and returned some time later with a root beer. Yes is was non alcoholic but not what he had in mind. He proceeded to the bar and order an O'Doul's, and when we showed it to the waitress she still didn't understand. Oh well he got a beer and a root beer, what can you do? This happens a lot here in Japan. At 2 different lunches we went to they didn't get one whole order. Dad's was first to be missed at McDonald's and then Harry's was skipped at a little restaurant we went to. At least here there is an excuse why things get lost, in the US everyone is supposed to speak English, but many things these days get lost in translation also. If you haven't seen the movie with Bill Murray it is a weird movie but many things are exactly how you would find them in Japan. I guess you have to come and visit so that you can understand the movie better.

Goodbye Grandpa and Margie!

2008-04-09T10:35:00.009+09:00

Well, we knew it would end, but who knew it would go so fast? After trips to Tokyo and Kyoto and enough Cherry Blossom pictures to last a lifetime, we took Grandpa and Margie to the airport today. We had a great time with them visiting and saw many sights. I had a hard time getting a picture that both Dad and Margie looked good in, but this one is the best. As you know they have a hard time not blinking, OK just Margaret has a hard time. We took them to Tokyo, Kyoto and the fun and exciting Yokosuka. They enjoyed our neighborhood grocery store, Fhab. It has a shortage of wine after their trip. Dad would go there frequently for sushi-to-go. Our back yard looks great after Dad spent a day and a half weeding and fertilizing. I just hope that I can keep the weeds away this summer. I guess he will not know if I don't though. In Tokyo we went on a tour, so we did not have to drag the girls on the train all day. It was a good way to see many things, and we even got to ride on a boat. We spent a day at Ueno park and took many pictures of the cherry blossoms (sakura in Japanese) and visited a museum. We enjoyed some yakisoba and watched the people at the park for lunch. As you can see, Margaret is getting pretty good at using chopsticks without her cheaters. They brought some handy little chopstick cheaters with them that were small enough to carry in their pockets. We celebrated my birthday in Tokyo and went to the awesome restaurant in our hotel called Wellington's. We had an extra surprise in that Harry showed up for dinner. It was of course a great meal, and we had a lesson on the china that our meal was served on. It is made only for the hotel restaurant and illustrates the Japanese/American friendship through flowers. I have always loved the china but didn't know how special it was until then. Unfortunately you are not able to buy the plates, because I would for sure. The next day we headed back to Yokosuka to get ready for our adventure to Kyoto.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-04-07T09:46:00.001+09:00

Happy Baptism Julia!

2008-03-30T06:32:00.003+09:00

Julia was baptized on Saturday with just a small gathering of family. Our priest here wants to do baptism on saturday at 3 pm, so that is when we went. We had a nice little intimate ceremony and took lots of pictures of her in her dress beforehand. She celebrated by taking a nap while we went to a park near base to see the cherry blossoms and Japanese ship. Of course she looked beautiful and not a cry at all throughout the small ceremony.

Welcome Dad and Margie!

2008-03-30T06:28:00.003+09:00

Just wanted to let you guys know that our guests arrived will no difficulty. They have recovered from jet lag and are ready to attack Tokyo today. Dad has already weeded the back yard and put fertilizer down. I guess he was bored on his vacation.

Strawberry Picking, actually eating!

2008-03-23T20:09:00.005+09:00

Picking strawberries in Japan is very different than picking them in the States. We ventured out this weekend with some friends, and of course it was an adventure. You drive to the country, ha, that is a joke, there is no country here. At least not what I think of when I think of wide open spaces. Then you pay 1200 yen, which these days is more than $12 and you go to a nice warm green house. Once you arrive in the greenhouse you are given a plastic tray with some sweet dipping sauce and you start your 30 minutes of eating all the strawberries you want. You walk up and down the rows of strawberries and just eat what you want. As you can tell by the pictures these are some of the most well taken care of strawberry plants you could find. Luckily I didn't have to pay for Sydney because she wouldn't even try the strawberries but she sure liked the dipping sauce. These were some of the best strawberries I have ever had. I like strawberries, but Japanese strawberries are the best. You don't need sugar or dipping sauce since they are all so sweet and delicious. In the end, you leave with a full belly but no strawberries, but oh well it was a good time. We then went to lunch at the Peko-chan restaurant, and I tried my first pizza with corn on it. Since it was Good friday I couldn't eat my regular curry I like to order so I tried something new and it wasn't bad. I would prefer Monical's or Papa John's but "when in Rome".

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T19:36:00.004+09:00

The Easter Bunny arrived in Japan during the night, and Sydney was up finding eggs early this morning. After multiple Mass debacles, with time changes at the church, we all made it to Mass but at different times. Sydney was given many fun things this Easter, but one of her favorites was a Peko-chan mailbox. Peko-Chan is another big thing here in Japan, so like Anpanman she really enjoys it. She was also excited to get Anpanman Band-aids and pad of paper, thanks to Kathy! This afternoon we went to a Easter Egg hunt at the Krentz's, and Harry was able to test out our new camera. He got some really good pictures of Sydney, and Sydney took quite a hall at the hunt. It is funny that she keeps asking to try the candy, and Harry and I always say yes, since we know she will not like it anyway. She almost seems to want to keep trying it so that she will like it but we haven't found any yet she does like. She really is more of a chips and twinkie person.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We miss all the Irish back at home!

2008-03-17T20:44:00.001+09:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-17T20:10:00.003+09:00

I hope that you all are wearing your green today, because we did and had a blast. We started celebrating this holiday on the 8th of March with the Yokohama St. Patrick's day parade. We attended this parade last year and though it is short it is a good one for Sydney and we have a good time. Sydney always likes to see the parade go by and hear all the Irish music. For the actual holiday we had our good friends over and though I didn't mention it Kim knew they should come dressed for the party. So they all arrived with green on, so I let them in the house. We had a nice dinner and the kids enjoyed playing together.

I got a job...

2008-03-17T19:48:00.006+09:00

OK it was only for one day but the pay was really good. I can honestly say I have never gotten paid this well for one day of work and I don't really know if I can call it work. An e mail went out last Wednesday that a company needed a nurse to trial some endoscopy equipment. My friends Kim and Cathy forwarded it to me and I responded. I got the job, just because I was first to respond and I talked to them and asked if I could bring my baby with someone to watch her. I would have left her with friends but she is not too fond of the bottle these days so we are working on that. Anyway the company was Pentax and they needed Americans to verify that there equipment was easy to use. This is a new requirement on equipment that is sent to the US and Canada. I hope that means that I will get many more jobs before I leave Japan, because with only 2 more jobs I could fly the family home to the US. The fun thing was that it was with Endoscopy equipment, which I have worked with and they where accommodating to my baby being there. They actually set up my good friend Robin, who agreed to be my nanny for the day, and Julia in a small Japanese apartment. The other fun thing about the day is that Robin, who travels much more in Japan that I do, taught me all about the green train. I have heard about this train and I must say anyone traveling for over an hour should use the green train. What a difference. It is more like traveling on an airplane than a subway. There is even a lady that comes around selling drinks and food. What fun! We celebrated with a drink on the way home. It is a great way to travel. Dad and Margaret will appreciate this knowledge when we travel by train to Tokyo for the Bullet train when we all head to Kyoto in a couple of weeks.

New Idea

2008-03-11T14:28:00.005+09:00

OK so I read about this in one of my parenting magazines and thought it would be a great idea. I just wish I would have done it with Sydney. I have to work on getting the words on the shirt better but you get the idea.

Hinamatsuri (Doll's Festival)

2008-03-05T18:03:00.004+09:00

March 3rd is Hinamatsuri in Japan which means it is girls day. Sydney went to school extra for this day and I am sure had some kind of celebration but she really didn't tell me too much about it. She did come home with a special treat that they have for this day that looks like colored rice krispy's but not as sweet. On this day families pray for happiness and prosperity for the girls of the family. To recap, the custom mainly involves displaying dolls, which represent the emperor and empress during the Heian period, in your home. This tradition is said to ward off evil spirits. It evolved from the ancient Japanese tradition of placing straw hina dolls into water and watching them float away, symbolizing bad spirits being washed away. Dolls are usually displayed starting in mid-February up until the actual holiday, March 3rd, at which point it is important to promptly put them away lest your girls marry late in life. (stolen from Diane's Blog) One of our neighbor's brought over a little gift for Sydney and we also have some dolls from Miss Kathy that we will be able to display next year.

4 Months!

2008-03-03T16:45:00.006+09:00

Well Julia has hit the 4 month mark. She is growing with leaps and bounds but no rolling yet. She loves to watch her big sister do anything and laughed for the first time watching Sydney being goofy while dancing. Here is another comparison picture of the girls. I think you can all tell but just in case Sydney is on the right and Julia is on the left. Julia has a little more meat on her bones as you can tell. She had her 4 month appointment today and she tipped the scales at 14.3 pounds and 25 inches. I am not for sure the length was correct but I haven't had time to check it myself.

Remind you of anyone?

2008-02-26T17:50:00.005+09:00

The good news about this photo is she is singing along with the Chicken Dance. I know you all have thoughts of many other rockers that have crossed our paths but I can guarantee you they didn't perform the chicken dance this well when they where 3. Julia is so close to rolling over I keep thinking if I leave the room I will miss it. Here is the girl showing her stuff.

My running partner!

2008-02-22T18:33:00.005+09:00

Everyone needs one right? Thanks to Aunt Patti, we have a great jogging stroller that we used with Sydney, and with her in school during the day, Julia and I can venture out by ourselves. We started running last month and participated in a 5k a couple of weeks ago. No, our time was not great but everyone has to start somewhere. There are multiple 5k's on base (about 2 a month) so we will stay pretty busy. Our time can only improve.

Thanks to my friends!

2008-02-22T08:28:00.009+09:00

Yes I can cook Dad! My dad always makes fun of me when I say I am making dinner, because he doesn't think I can cook. Well, if living in Japan has done one thing, it has improved my cooking. It is not easy to order in while living here, if there is a place that delivers, which there are, it is incredibly difficult for me to order over the phone. Most of the restaurants here have pictures, and you just point at the picture of the meal you would like. I understand there are probably many dishes that do not have pictures that are wonderful, but unless I am with someone who can read kanji I have to stick to the pictures. I had some friends over for a luncheon, and once everyone was here we realized a couple things about the group. Four of us arrived in Japan at the same time and were in the same boring week long class together to learn about the Navy and about Japan. Mi-Mi(MCAT) was the exception, but there should always be an exception made for Mi-Mi. I actually have an Aunt Mary Ellen who we call ME-ME and I should really get those two together when Mary Ellen comes to visit because it would be a blast. Needless to say the meal went well, though I was a little nervous at 1100 when I wasn't ready and the ladies would be arriving any minute. The only thing missing from the meal was my china but since it is tucked away back in my grandmother's basement the Feistaware would have to do. I know you are all laughing at the idea of me using my china but since we hand wash everything here anyhow I should be using it everyday. Anyway, the benefit of meeting people in AOB class is most of them leave the same time we do. So I don't have to watch my closest friends here leave without me. We do have to say goodbye to Kathy this summer, and we will miss her. We hope that she continues the blog once she is gone because what else would I ready every morning with my coffee.

An average bookcase!

2008-02-18T17:18:00.007+09:00

Well, I bought a bookcase for Julia's room a couple of weeks ago and finally got around to putting it together. I opened the box and found out it was the a darker color than what I wanted, but it's much easier to keep it than to try and take it back to a Japanese store. Well, here are the directions and good thing the pictures are there. After a little difficulty with finding the right way to put the part that there was not a picture for, we finally got the finished product up and put some books in it. Just because there is free space don't get the idea that Julia needs books. We have plenty more to put in there, I just got tired and needed some food. We had these spare parts left over, but after looking at the directions we found out these are for connecting 2 bookshelves together.

Year of the Mouse!

2008-02-18T16:55:00.006+09:00

Yes it is the year of the mouse, and we found out first hand at Sydney's Art Exhibition by much of the kids art work. They had a special Saturday when we were invited to the school from 10-2 to view the artwork on display. It was a nice time, and Sydney was able to ride on the "Shinkansen" at the end of the viewing. It was hard to find Sydney's pictures sometimes since we are not very good at reading Kanji, but we are able to recognize Watts so that made it easier. Julia posed for a picture that Sydney took.

What do the Japanese need?

2008-02-14T07:14:00.004+09:00

Central Heat for one! The idea of seeing your breath when going to bed isn't what I have dreamed for my future, but for right now it is something we have learned to deal with. On most nights Harry and I go to bed where the room temperature is around 55 degrees. We have a heated mattress pad, thanks to my good friend Sarah, that keeps us warm all night and so the cold bedroom isn't so bad, unless you have to go and feed Julia or go to the bathroom. The girls of course sleep in warm, climate controlled rooms at 70 degrees. Harry and I could do this too, but our electricity bill is already too high and we really have gotten used to it. We have now figured out why the entire Japanese family sleep in one room together. Now the cold bathroom is another thing. I know every one is cold when they get out of the shower, but imagine getting out of our shower. It's usually in the low 50s so Harry has a rude awakening in the morning when he gets out.

The Japanese stance

2008-02-10T14:51:00.001+09:00

The Japanese rest like this all the time. Sydney has picked it up from her Japanese school, and I caught a picture of her doing it the other day. She has also learned to slurp here spaghetti noodles because that is the way the Japanese eat long noodles. I am sure the Americans will consider her rude, but here the louder you slurp the better the cook feels about the meal. What fun!

Anpanman

2008-02-08T06:59:00.000+09:00

Yesterday we ventured out with many of our friends to see the Anpanman Museum in Yokohama. Kathy was our tour guide and the only adult without a small child attached to her, which came in very handy. Diane, Sydney and Miranda accompanied us, and we enjoyed seeing the sights with our good friends. The train ride up wasn't the best for Sydney, but once we arrived at our destination she was ready to go. I know many of you are asking who is this Anpanman, well check him and his friends out. I wish they had pictures of the characters, but you get the idea. These are mostly all bread products that fight bad guys in the world, and give food to the hungry. Anpanman is a pancake filled with bean paste and people eat his head. Then his uncle makes him a new head. Interesting concept huh! Sydney was asking for videos of Anpanman this morning and we found some on you tube for her to watch.

Look at the snow!

2008-02-05T07:15:00.001+09:00

Let it snow!

2008-02-05T06:43:00.000+09:00

Wow, what a surprise to wake up on Sunday morning to find snow on the ground. It was coming down hard and snowed for most of the day on Sunday with the final count about 4-5 inches or so at our house. Our friends, who live about 20 minutes south of us and closer to the ocean, got almost nothing that stuck to the ground. Sydney was ready to go out in it and play at 630, and we were able to hold her off until 645, enough time for me to find all her snow stuff. Thanks Moon's for the old snow pants, they came in handy. She was bundled up and ready to go. This snow was great since watching all her Christmas shows she has been asking when it was going to snow. We are currently the only family on our block that hasn't shoveled our snow. The neighbors have all shoveled the now in front of there house and in the street surrounding there house. Wouldn't that be interesting in the Midwest if we shoveled our own street, no on would live on a corner lot. Some people actually put chains on there cars, which we found amusing. Yesterday since most of this community walks or bikes to work and school, the city workers were out and shoveling snow at all the cross walks in town. It was a great snowy day and fun was had by all.

The little things...

2008-01-25T14:24:00.000+09:00

Yes, it is the little things in this world. Over the holidays, the new Chili's opened on base. We were not fortunate enough to have dined there before they were forced to close because they where under-manned and here not giving the customer service that they wanted to. So, over two weeks later they reopened. As you can guess, this is a big hit on base, and getting a table without at least an hour wait was next to impossible. We tried to take the family to an early dinner last saturday and it was a 50 minute wait at 3:30 in the afternoon. So today I finally had lunch there with my girlfriend Kim, and yes it was worth the wait. I know in the States, Chili's are a dime a dozen, but over here it is not that often that I am able to go somewhere and order chips and salsa. A margarita would have been nice also, but remember this was lunchtime. I have to say that I was not disappointed and look forward to dining there again. All you stateside are laughing at me right now but that is OK because until you have lived overseas you will not realize what comforts you miss back home. This is one place that will make my life easier for the next 18 months.

Just some new pictures!

2008-01-21T17:11:00.001+09:00

The Daddy Chair!

2008-01-21T16:29:00.001+09:00

Yes this is a reality in our house, the famous "Daddy chair", and with these pictures, you can see the girls are really comfortable here. Left is Julia and right is Sydney.

Can we keep Nikki and Crikki alive?

2008-01-21T16:15:00.000+09:00

Yes, the names came from a 3 year old in our house, and I have no idea where from. These would be our new goldfish that we bought today. We went to a Japanese store, and with our best broken Japanese came home with everything we need to make a home for our new goldfish. Sydney has been asking a lot lately about when she can get a puppy. Needless to say, we have stopped reading "Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy". We have tried to explain to her that we would like a new dog also, but we have to wait until we return to the US. For a 3 year old that is not an easily understood concept. So here we are with 2 new goldfish. Harry and I are pretty sure that we will kill them and then it will be a new lesson on life and death. What fun! So we are taking odds on how long they will live with such novice fish owners.

The year of the Mouse!

2008-01-12T13:58:00.000+09:00

So it is the Year of the Mouse here in Japan, and this being our second New Year's here, we decided to brave the crowds and head up to Yokohama for some shopping. The New Year holiday is the busiest time of year for the Japanese. They spend many days at the end of December cleaning there houses to have a clean start for the new year. As an American, I find this odd since it is also the coldest time of the year and our neighbor was out cleaning his screens one day. Though the sun was out I would rather wait until March. While shopping, we found a new thing that we hadn't seen in Japan before, shopping bags full of stuff all for one price. This is the big shopping sale that happens after the new year in Japan, and we found anything from kids' Hello Kitty clothes to jewelry to who knows how many other things. It was a fun day and we enjoyed being out with all the other people and enjoying the nice weather.

Julia talking!

2008-01-12T07:57:00.000+09:00

Julia is smiling and talking. She is getting really big and doing so much more. Sydney really enjoys playing with her and holding her, and Julia loves to smile at her big sister. Here is a video of Julia talking to her giraffe and then talking to Sydney's baby doll.

A little blogged out!

2008-01-12T07:41:00.001+09:00

Sorry for the long absence from blogging, but I can just say that life has been busy. We are finally back into a routine with Sydney returning to school and Julia getting more into a routine. OK not really a routine, but I know what she wants at different times. She is growing like a weed. She weighed 11.3 pounds at her check up last week and is 23 inches long. Harry and I don't know what to do with this big of baby. I am already putting away some of her 0-3 month clothes, and with Sydney, we didn't put those away until she was about 6 months. Funny how different they are. We had a nice New Year's celebrated with friends. We of course didn't see the New Year come in this year, but have big plans for next year. We booked a room at the New Sanno (military hotel) in Tokyo. We look forward to spending our last New Year's Eve here in Tokyo again. For those faithful readers you will remember we went there for the 2006-2007 New Year. Thanks for reading and I will try and be more on top of things. Here is a video of Sydney opening presents on Christmas morning!

Christmas!

2007-12-29T07:12:00.000+09:00

We did video tape some of Christmas morning but it has taken me all week to get to putting it online. I had the Christmas tree down by 1230 on the 26th because it was so dry, but I didn't get all the things put away until yesterday. I feel much better having the room back that the tree took up. We have filled that with a swing for Julia that we borrowed from friends, it takes up space but she really likes it so that is nice. Sydney really enjoyed Christmas this year. She was counting down naps(bedtime) until Santa came, and on the big morning, she actually didn't remember that it was Christmas. Julia was great and slept until 8 or so, which meant she missed the Santa stuff, but since the big guy didn't bring her anything I guess it was OK. Sydney of course was up at 530, her normal hour, so we were all ready to go.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-12-26T08:38:00.001+09:00

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-12-26T08:37:00.001+09:00

In Memory of Grandpa

2007-12-24T14:56:00.000+09:00

I find it funny that every time I chop onions, be them any kind, Sydney always wants to try some and usually ends up with a plate of chopped onions. This from the kid that will never eat them in prepared meals. Every time this happens I think of my Grandpa who passed away 4 years ago on Christmas Eve. He also loved onions so much that he would eat them raw all the time; directly out of the ground, if planted at the farm and on peanut butter sandwiches. Yes, I did say on peanut butter sandwiches! This was my only Grandpa growing up, and for the first 8 years of my life, I was his favorite granddaughter. I was also his only granddaughter, so that may have been why I was his favorite. Let me say for those that didn't know him, he had Alzheimer's. I will never forget my last true conversation with my grandfather. It took place on Friday after Thanksgiving of 2003. We were talking about going to the motorcycle races at the track. My grandfather loved motorcycles, which is I think why I tolerate my husband's love of them. I asked him what kind of motorcycle we would take to the races and his response was, "A Harley of course!" He asked me if my dad would let me go with him, and I said I didn't think it would be a problem. Then I asked him who I was--I liked to test him at times--his reply was, "You are my sweetie pie." I said yes, but what is my name? He said, "Kathleen of course." That was an awesome moment that I will never forget because he did know who I was, and that day in November we were going to go to the motorcycle races and have a good old time. We love and miss you Grandpa!