Kintai with Grandma

It was so wonderful to have Grandma Ila come to visit.  We did our best to show her around our little part of Japan. 

Here is Ila with the boys under one of the many Torii gates on the park grounds.

 

A shrine (temple?) also on the grounds.

 

 

In Kikko park.

 

 

These two!  My little buddies during the day.  Watching their relationship grow since all of the big boys have gone off to school has been one of the sweetest things ever.  They love each other so much!

 

 

On the bridge.

 

 

 

 

2016 Color Me Aware Run

This year, we were able to participate in the third annual Color Me Aware Run on base.  It was a week after I broke my toe, so I couldn't run it, but the babies and I walked it.  Ken and the big three ran ahead.  This year, Ken had to help with the event, so we were among the last to leave.  A good chunk of the color was off by then, but we had fun.  Still lovin' life in Japan!

 

 

ouch!

So this week was kind of a hard week.  The rain.  Oh, the rain.  It never stops lately.  Every soccer practice and game outside was canceled due to rain (and we were scheduled for six days of soccer!). I don't do so well in the rain.  I miss getting out and feeling the sunshine on my face.  Luckily it wasn't raining for two of the mornings when we got up so I was able to go running.  On Friday, I was frantically trying to clean my house because I had some repairmen coming to fix our kitchen light and as I was doing the last thing (closing my closet), I caught my right pinky toe and heard an audible snap.  If you look closely in the picture, you can see my right pinky is not touching the rest of my toes (I took this picture before the bruising settled in).  Anyway, I couldn't hardly walk and Ken came home from work so I could go to the doctor.  They x-rayed my foot and I fractured the second pinky toe bone down in my foot.  So much for running.  Of course, being only a toe, all we can do is buddy-tape it and wait for it to feel better.  So there goes my running for the next six weeks.  Sad. 

 

Soccer!

It is that time of the year most beloved by my boys.  Soccer season!  This year the three older boys are playing.  Because of all the typhoons and rain, most of the first two weeks were canceled, but FINALLY on Saturday the sun came out and all three kiddos were able to play. 

 

Stone scored his first goal of the season!  I was so bummed that I missed it because all of the games were scheduled at the same time.  He has come so far!  This year is his third season playing.

 

 

Ollie is the goalie in this terrible picture.  He managed to block a handful of goals (some of them he blocked accidentally)! This is also his third season playing and we are thrilled that he seems be a bit more engaged and is no longer twirling in circles out on the field!

 

 

Grover is playing for his very first time!  He is kicking the ball in after it was out-of-bounds.  He is by far the smallest player, but he runs so hard he can keep up.  Because of the rain, his first time playing soccer was actually in this game.  He did pretty good!  We can't wait to see how he likes it.

 

 

And these two monkeys just fight over who gets to sit in which seat.  Love them!

 

This is life for the next while!  So glad to be here and enjoying the lovely weather and season of soccer.

 

 

 

Three Falls

There is a great little swimming hole not too far from here.  The nickname is Three Falls.  It had been awhile since we'd been, but friends invited us and we were happy for an excuse to go back!  It is a beautiful little hike past three separate waterfalls.  At the third falls, the water is deep enough to slide down and jump off the rocks.  I was finally brave enough (or stupid enough?!) to do it myself!



A terrible picture, but proof I jumped! (I jumped off the rocks MUCH higher than this looks.  This was taken upon entry into the FREEZING cold water. This was quite a feat for me.  I hate the cold and I'm not a huge risk-taker.  It was so much fun!)

 A trip down the slide.

My cheering section.  They kept counting me down trying to get me to jump.

The man takes any chance he can to rock climb.

Grover jumping off the rocks.

Stone jumped.

 

 Ollie jumped.

Even Grey insisted on jumping.  He is, after all, one of the boys.

 Grover's slide

 Ken's turn

 Stone's go

And Ollie too

And let us not forget my little Miss P.  She just ate rocks the whole time.
 

Japan in September

Some random pictures of life recently...

 

We all know that Japan is famous for rice.  In the spring, we see the paddies being planted, but up until we took this picture, I don't think we had ever seen the rice matured to harvest.  This isn't the best picture, but the farmers in this neighborhood were harvesting their crop when we drove past.

This picture makes me squeal with joy!  In Japan, they send the children to school at 3.  The first school the kids attend is called yochien.  Most of the yochiens around here have the cutest busses you have ever seen.  I always want to snap a picture, but rarely do I have my camera ready to go.  I was stopped at a light for this picture and was able to get it!  To date we have seen pandas, trains, cats, and dogs.  So fun and so Japan!

 

It's no surprise that we love living on the water.  About a month ago, we decided to take our love a step farther.  We got a kayak and a paddle board.  They are so much fun!

 The kids all love to go out in the ocean.  The water is frequently so calm that they are able to take the kayak and board out by themselves.  We love it here! 

 

First day of school!

The big boys started school!  Stone and Ollie started on August 29th and Grover started Kindergarten on September 6th.  It is so strange being home with just the two littles.  So far, the school year seems to be going well.  I still can't believe that I just sent my third baby to school (who still wears 3T clothing!) but thus it is.

Ollie--First grade with Ms. Johnson

Stone--Fourth grade with Mrs. Wilson

Grover--Kindergarten with Mrs. Fisk