Cherry Blossoms

We made it through our first cherry blossom season. The blossoms are beautiful and fragile and don't last very long. The season seems to last about a week. The blossoms try to peak out and then it seems like all of a sudden they are in full bloom and about three days later they are beginning to fall off of the trees. We did manage to make it down to the Nagoya Castle on Sunday towards dusk and walked around. It was a really fun thing to do for a Sunday afternoon. We managed to get a fee pictures and we thought we would share.


Enjoy

A splitting day to remember

Had an unforgettable experience at work. It has even taken awhile for me to get to the point where I could post it. It started off innocently as most events do a few days prior. April asked if I needed any new pants. I confidently responded that I was in great shape and proceeded to list off all of the pants that had. A few days later as I was going through my closet I came across a pair of pants that I had not worn for awhile. The conversation that I had with April fresh in my mind I decided to wear that pair of pants. They had been through a number of battles, various trips, and I don't know how many washings but they had stood the test of time and I wasn't about to abandon them now.

I dressed and talked April into letting my take the car to work that day and I was off. The day went along totally uneventful. We decided to head out for lunch and since I had a car I was volunteered to drive. Not a problem. We all went out and I got everyone seated and then I opened the door to van and swung in and ............... I heard a pop and what sounded like something ripping. I wandered what it was, everyone else was talking and hadn't seem to notice anything so I drove on still wondering what happened. As we got to lunch I was being a little cautious and let everyone get out of the van first. As I got out I did a quick double check, my coat was fine, my shirt was okay, my pants...........not okay. Needless to say it was a little breezy on my way into lunch.

For a logistics check for those who aren't familiar (which is probably everyone). It takes thirty plus minutes to drive home from work, it was already early afternoon and no one else had noticed yet (or least let on that they knew). We only have one car so April couldn't help I was on my own. I had a decision to make, do I try to hide it, or acknowledge the windy challenges I had and go home. I thought for awhile and decided I would work on getting through the day.

Once inside the restaurant I excused myself to the restroom, while most everyone else was off getting themselves some water to drink. I ducked in the restroom and took a look at the mirror, I thought might be able to pull it off, my jacket was about the same color as the pants and the rip was low enough there was hope. Lunch was uneventful and we headed back to work, throughout the rest of the afternoon it was an exercise of careful positioning. Making sure that I didn't lead any procession as we went through the various meetings of the day. I leaned against the walls as I talked to those that I needed to talk to and remained seated as people came to talk to me. As the afternoon wore one each time I would stand a sit you could a hear a little pop.

The day ended with at least no outward acknowledgement of my predicament and as we headed out the door to go home as I climbed into the van one last time and sat down the last final stitches let go. I was now completely unzipped from the waistband all the way down to the middle of my pants but luckily the day was done. I dropped my riders off and luckily pulled into the house without anyone in the building in the garage at the same time and I think I escaped into the house only to be meet by the laughter of April. However, I think I escaped the day. The only thing in question is what did the security cameras for the building see????????

Bridget's Fast Shoes

Bridget was proud to put on her new sandals the other day for the first time. As we were walking to the bus stop she had to stop and ask me where the fast mark was on her new sandals? She proceeded to tell me that her inside shoes (the shoes she wears indoors and school) have a slow mark on them, so that even though she is fast those shoes make her slow in PE. However, her new sandals have a fast mark and now she is very fast. Which was a very good thing since we had to run the last 50 yards to catch the bus.

Ashlynn out shopping

Bridget had the opportunity to star in the elementary assembly. She gave a talk about how caring is important and told the story of when she helped one of her classmates with their coat when she was in preschool. She did a good job standing tall and talking to the whole class. I was lucky enough to not have anything pressing for work so I went in with April and Ashlynn to see Bridget perform.

After the assembly we had to stop and the local grocery store because we were out of diapers (she is working on potty training and I think we are making progress). You could tell that Ashlynn had been taught by one of the best. She immediately walked over to where the baskets are kept (they shop with baskets here not necessarily carts which makes it awkward to shop for five at once). She grabbed the basket that was here size and promptly walked up to the fruit section, calmly grabbed a carton of strawberries and she was off. Before she was done we had to put back soda, ice cream sandwiches, sweet bread, rice toppings (she thought they were candy). Not to mention that she did manage to make out with the strawberries, potato chips, and two different flavors of yogurt (I told her they were treats, she didn't know the difference).

Potty Training Trials

We are currently engaged in all out war with Ashlynn over potty training.  It is a battle of wills.  The score today is Ashlynn 2 and parents 1.  We started off the day with a bang and it has been downhill ever since.

The battle hasn't been without its moments though.  Some of the more memorable moments are

- As Ashlynn is going to be on the opening night of the campaign "You be mean and I go peepy in the potty"

- Later after she had been allowed to wander naked for awhile she disappeared for-awhile and suddenly proclaimed that she went poop-poop.  Sure enough there some in her potty and her pull up was no where to be found, but you can guess what really happened........

- Still later after April had thought she was making progress.  Ashlynn had gone a number of times in one day, but only with April out of the room.  Upon further examination (peeping through the door one time) it was discovered that Ashlynn was dipping her hands into the toilet and splashing water on her bottom and claiming she had gone peepy to get candy.

Wish us luck.........

Ashlynn's Birthday

Ashlynn had a great birthday. You can ask her how old she is now and she will proudly extend three fingers (usually starting at one and counting up) and announce that she is "san sai". She will also tell you that she is a big girl now (but that it is still too hard to go in the potty - still working on that one)

She had a great birthday with a day at the park with Bridget and her kindergarten class, a whole chair full of presents, and some guests. Couldn't ask for more if you wanted to.

Well the youngest child just turned three and I have mixed emotions about that. She is growing up and it is wonderful to see but it doesn't make you feel any younger when the littlest one is three now. By next year all of the kids will be in primary and we wont' even have one in nursery. Where is my excuse to stay out in the hall???????

Bridget's Field Trip

Since Scott missed the two weeks prior due to a business trip we decided to leave Colleen at school (she wasn't happy about it) and the rest of us went with Bridget on her kindergarten field trip. The destination of the day was Aichi Children's Park. We had no idea where it was or what it was but decided it would be a good family outing (along with about 35 other kids in the kindergarten and preschool)

The day turned out great as it is approaching spring. The sky was clear and the temperature actually climbed above 70. The park was really fun, it had at least three separate play areas with some of the longest slides that I think I have ever seen. A couple of the slides was actually a series of rollers that you slide down. One of them was the longest slide that I think I have ever seen. It was at least over a 100 yards long and probably more. It was a lot of fun but I can tell you from experience it leaves your bottom a little sore after going down it a few times.

We ended up spending a little over an hour at each area, along with about an hour for a picnic lunch. Bridget and Ashlynn had a great time and we ended up with only a couple of minor injuries. A scrap on Ashlynn's chin just in time for her birthday pictures later that evening was the worst injuries of the day (Other than all of the sore muscles for mom and dad)

Magic Camp

Colleen starred in her first real performance. She was Zana in the local school production, a young witch with the ability to predict the future. She shared the role with her best friend Sydney. The two of them have become quite the pair and are becoming harder and harder to separate. The production was a hit and really quite impressive show with the number of scene changes and lines that they covered. Of course Bridget was not about to allow any theatrical performance to go on without a show from her, even if she wasn't part of the production.

Earthquake.............???????

We experienced our first earthquake in Japan this week. It happened about 6:45 in the morning. The kids had just finished breakfast and were putting the final touches (or attempts to proscratinate - depending on your point of view) when we heard some rumbling. We didn't think much about it until a few seconds later it rumbled again and you could feel a little bit or trembling and then all of the sudden it was quiet. At first I just thought it was a large truck or something going by but the sudden quietness afterwards said it was something different. It really was a minor quake but a good reminder all the same that we should be prepared.

Science Center Visit

We went to the science center this Saturday for something to do and to get out of the house. So we loaded all of the kids up and headed into to town. We stopped for lunch at a Korean barbeque place called Yummy's, which in fact is pretty yummy. By the time we were ready to leave we had managed to scare most of the other customers away. We then headed over to Science Center. It was our first time to the musuem, it is a nine story building with lots of places for the kids to play. We bought our tickets to the planterium and then headed up to the fifth floor to play in the dynamic energy area. The girls had fun playing with the water tools, filling the car with gas, and in general just running around. At 2:00 we headed down to the second floor for our first visit to a planterium with the family. We didn't really know what to expect since it was going to be in Japanese. We shouldn't have worried, we picked a great time for the show. Before we ever entered the planterium Ashlynn fell asleep. As we picked our seats we discovered they reclined (a nice option for watching a show on the ceiling) and then the lights went out and so did the rest of us. Fifty minutes later as the show was wrapping up we started to stir and we after a nice nap we were ready to finish off the musuem.

The next area we explored was the human body. They had a number of good displays but Bridget was drawn to the area on child development and baby birth. Needless to say different cultures have different opinions on what is appropriate to display and Bridget probably learned more about how babies come than she ever bargained for. So far she seems to have recovered well.

For a break we then headed up to the children's play area where they had fun making bubbles, playing on the musical instruments, and building blocks. Bridget wasn't so sure about the stability of her seat but she was a good sport to seat in it while we built a castle around her.

After the castle was destroyed by a giant earthquake (fitting for Japan) we decided we were hungry and stopped by the local hang out for a basket of fries and a Brownie Sunday. Sometimes you still need a taste of home.

A brand new Bridget

Bridget decided that she wanted to try out her sister's wet to straight appliance. After some serious work April was able to get her hair straight. Many people including here kindergarten teacher were grateful the next day to see her curls starting to pop out again. It is going to take something beyond the wet to straight to conquer Bridget's curls.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Even though Thanksgiving is not a holiday here in Japan we tried to keep as much of the tradition alive as possible. Scott stayed home from work and after sending the kids off to school we started out preparing the bird, trimings, and desert. The kids were picked up early by a family friend from the ward and we had dinner for fifteen and more over for desert. We were truly thankful as we had people from five different countries gather together for the common cause of giving thanks for the bountious blessing that we have received was a truly humbling experience.

Champagne Ball

We attended the local gathering of expatariates for the annual Champagne ball just before Thanksgiving. It gave an excuse for everyone to dress up and have a good time. April got to experience 3D art for her nails and toes. For many the chanpagne was flowing freely. The music was loud and the food was good. We had a good time (but when is a few hours without kids not a good time?)