Noah's 6th grade Sports Day 2017...

Friday, September 15th. Whoever wanted to go and save a spot for the next days Sports Day was more than welcome to do so. I am happy our school with huge grounds and low population of kids and towns people, means we can actually go a day ahead to save a spot. Because that makes the day of actual Sports Day... just loads easier with the spot saved the day beforehand.  We laid the leisure sheet down and made the tent structure. And left. With the spot saved. We could all go home relax. Eat a quick and easy supper that I made in the daytime (curry is usually my go to meal to make... the day before sports day) and I could concentrate on the next days sports day obento. Also, this years sports day was a little bittersweet meaning this would be our final Sports Day at this elementary school ever ever ever. 

Hi Noah! Hi kids! Good luck all of you and have fun!!! The weather was nice and cool. Not cold. But not hot. And that was wonderful that... we didn't have a sweltering day at all. Gray and overcast the entire time. And that was really nice. Nobody beaten to death by the harsh sun rays. Phew. : )

It always cracks up my husband. Because as he always says.You see all these gorgeous Japanese faces on kids that we have known for ages. And then you see one *extremely* western faced kid in the bunch and you just know immediately...oh yep...there's Noah! LOL. : )  Hi gorgeous Noah! : )

Noah smiling and laughing with his friend. Noah has so many friends. And the one thing we always hear from teachers. When Bran was a 6th grader, this one lady was the other 6th grade teacher, she now teaches the first grade. Anyway she told Noboru during undokai prep since Noboru was in the undokai PTA, she told Noboru, "Noah is always so kind to everyone" It makes Noboru and I so happy to hear that... the 1 thing folks will remember about him, is that Noah was so kind. 

Are you ready for one of your races? You have fun out there!

The boys are in position.

On your mark, get set, go!!!

Noah running...

Aha, I spy with my eye... your big brother. Hello Bran. You're a good brother to always always always come and support your little/younger brother. Speaking of support. Uncle Jun had mentioned that he would like to come and spend his day at Noah's undokai too with my nephew. His wife/my sil is super preggars right now and recovering from a cold. So she and my niece stayed home. Which is understandable. However we were all very excited that my brother-in law and my nephew came.  

Meanwhile, you know the 3 legged race? Well this is sort of like that, except long-ways. This event is called the centipede. And lol...Noboru was chit chatting with his fellow Father's Club papa. Meanwhile looks like Noboru is about to unscrew Noah's head like a jar of pickles? @_@ What's up with that? Hahaha. : )

Okay Noah's team was winning. But only by a hair. This is clearly a lot harder than it looks. You could also hear them saying in unison...1..2...1...2.  It was hilarious watching this from the sidelines though. Hahaha. : ) 

When Noah wasn't running a race or event. I was happily busy with my nephew K. He is such a sweetie pie. He's not shy. He's a little chatter box, which I love that about him! And most importantly..he loves his auntie Gina and he thinks she's the coolest auntie ever ever ever. My brother in law has only spoken to him in English. So he's comfortable speaking in English. And see that rusty platform? My nephew was walking towards it. They have a new platform on the other side of the field. Anyway my nephew tells me..."auntie why does this look so old?" I told him, "because it's rusty. Old. And it looks very very dangerous." He told me immediately..."they should buy a new one"  Branden was walking around with us and he just started cracking up. My nephew also brought his ball with him to undokai. : ) Anyway as we walked all around the field when we got back...there were 2 boys playing on that old rusty platform. And my nephew without missing a beat told me..."auntie look, they're on there...it's dangerous, they should get down auntie" I told K right away..."well honey they're being naughty boys right now, hopefully their parents will come find them and have them get down." My nephew told me right away in a hushed almost whispered voice..."they should go to the naughty place." I'm not sure if he meant a time out or what. Hahaha. But...again. My nephew is such a card. He's so funny. And I can talk to him forever and ever and ever. For being just 3 years old...omg his vocabulary is huge. #best nephew ever 

One of Noah's last races. They all had their serious faces on. : ) 

Time for lunch. Sorry...I forgot to take a pic as soon as I opened all the lunch stuff. Heck...I'm just glad I managed to take a pic at all. Noah came back to our tent. He was so happy to talk to his brother and cousin K. He loves cousin K. And so we were all 6 of us chattering away. Eating. Chattering away again. See that Qoo? And those grapes near cousin K? I was preparing for my nephew days in advance. I had bought 4 of those frozen drink pouches a few days beforehand kept them in the freezer. Enough for Noah, Bran and K. I made sure, I had cookies and cake, enough for 6 peoples and for seconds. Grapes and pineapple. I had Kirin straight tea, plus lemonade. I brought 3 of the mini sour cream and onion Pringles enough for the kids. Lunch was awesome. So much karaage, so much macaroni salad, potato salad, regular salad with Olive Garden dressing. So much buzz and chatter from all 6 of us. Because a typhoon was coming Sunday. The Sports Day was hurried. Meaning it usually ends around 4:30pm and everyone cleans up and so you get out of there around 5pm-ish. However, because of the typhoon coming the next day. They kept all the events. But didn't have 10-20 minutes lag between each event. This entire undokai was done by 2:20pm. And by the time clean up was done, we were all out of there by 3pm. So that was awesome. My nephew stayed the entire time. But when he left, we blew each other air kisses from across the field. As they were walking back down the hill towards their car. : ) I love my nephew so much. He's amazing. And love my BIL and SIL and niece too. They're such a fantastic family. 

I always buy my kids a treat from the 2 vendors that sell stuff. I would have bought something for my nephew but he had left about 5 minutes before we did. There is always the same person who sells french fries and another person who sells shave ice. Branden picked fries and Noah picked a shave ice. I love you Noah. I hope you felt so super loved and supported on your final Sports Day at our local elementary school. We love you! : ) 

We all went to dinner around 4pm. It's about a 50 minute drive to our nearest Jolly Pasta. Such is life for living in rural Japan...which is fine. : ) Didn't arrive until around 5pm, perfect time for dinner. We all had a fantastic celebration dinner. We all had pizzas and pasta and drink bar. The kids and I had a flight to catch to Guam the next day. Good thing, I had packed for us all on Wednesday morning. I did that...because I knew how busy I would be with picnic prep and stuff. So, I had to pack for us early. Anyway...that's Noah's 6th grade Sports Day 2017. : ) 

Throwback Thursday, Sports Day 2008...

With Noah's final elementary school Sports Day coming up this Saturday. I thought it would be nice to go back and look at Branden's Sports Day from elementary school in 2008. We've had hot and sauna like... type Sports Days. We have also had 1 extremely chilly Sports Day one year... where it started raining buckets from around 9am and continued for most of the day. So much so...omg that they considered stopping it and rescheduling it for the next day. @_@ They did not...we all just powered through and completed the undokai/Sports Day. Which is what I wanted. Because no sane person wants to make a picnic lunch from scratch 2 days in a row. So for me...after making the picnic lunch. I'd like to just heave ho and...let's finish this sucker! Type mentality for me. We have also had cooler weather Sports Days without rain and basically every type of weather you could imagine happen to us...since we have clearly been going to these for many years. : ) How was Bran's undokai 2008 weather? It was super hot. Melting hot. Sun was beating everyone down. We had plenty of drinks to keep us hydrated. The beach umbrella was only mildly shielding us from the unforgiving sun. Which that... plus the rain storm we had the following year during undokai...is when we finally said...enough is enough. And we went out and bought a full huge big tent-y tarp thing... that most families in Japan use. Looking at this pic and remembering how hot it was. Stay hydrated my gorgeous Noah. And be sure to cheer for your big brother. I tell ya...waking up at 4:30am to make obento/picnic lunch. Then arrive at the school around 7:30am. Behind the scenes make sure everyone is dressed and ready. Make sure the camera and video camera is charged. Slather sunblock on my arms and everywhere else. Watch a 3 year old toddler. Plus walk the perimeter of the field to make sure I snap and capture every shot of my child. Did I mention I had been up since 4:30am. @_@  Neither of us have extended family living in our town. Noboru's from Osaka and I'm from America. So we managed to handle everything ourselves. And I think we did okay. Were we perfect? Nope. Did I maybe miss a few shots? Or maybe a few came out blurry? They might have. But, I tried my very best. I cheered so loud. And couldn't have been prouder of Bran. : ) 

Picnic lunch. This means it's half over. Eat up everyone. And let's power up and finish this thing!

Everyone ate. And then it was the half time performance by the kids. I was back on the field clicking pic after pic. Of my kiddo playing the pianica. Gee whiz it was hot. I must get another drink to keep myself hydrated. 

While another grade was doing their race. I took my toddler to get a shave ice/kakigori. Noah looked so hot. And I don't want anyone overheating. It lasts until 4:30pm. So again making sure nobody dies of heat stroke. : ) Oops time to take more pics. Then swing back to the leisure sheet. Noboru and Noah were chillin'. Now back for me to go and click some more pics and walk around the field yet again. Did I mention, I was up since 4:30am? I know I mentioned it now 3 times. But gee whiz. This is exactly why we go out to dinner after undokai/sports day. Because by the time 5pm rolls around. I'm pooped. I'm all run out of gas. I'm exhausted. Both kids are tired too. 

What I buy for one...I buy for the other too. I made sure Branden picked the shave ice flavor he wanted. And then we went to the car. Of course we dismantled our stuff (umbrella, folded the leisure sheet, blah blah blah). And lugged everything back to the car too. We dropped everything off at home. I quickly put everything into the dishwasher. And off to the restaurant we went. So nice to relax and just eat. And enjoy our dinner together. I slept in the next day. And boy did I need that. We all did. : )

Sports Day 2017, for Noah is this Saturday. I have 4 packs of sesami (chicken tenderloins) in the freezer, this evening I will put the chicken in the fridge to defrost in the fridge over night, I have my karaage marinade and a tube of ginger. A new bag of flour. Friday, tomorrow. I will be prepping everything. And running to the grocery store for last minute picnic supplies. I will also be saving a spot tomorrow at the school in the evening too. Our going out to dinner plan for dinner Saturday night is...Noah says he wants to go to Jolly Pasta. It's a family fave of ours. And I'm *so* totally on board with that. It's Branden's favorite place too. So all of us are already looking forward to Saturday nights supper. : ) How will the weather be for Saturday's undokai? I hope it's not too melting hot. And I also hope it isn't postponed. Please no rain...do not want to make obento for 2 days in a  row. So...hope the undokai goes off as planned this Saturday. Ohhh one good thing...since Noboru is in the PTA for undokai this year... that means we can park right up at the school this year... that means we don't have to lug tons of crapola up the hill like most years. And of course whoever's Sports Day it is...gets to pick the restaurant. But since we all love that place..we're all looking for to it. Anyway...that's enough for now. : )

Branden's High School Taiikusai...

Tuesday, May 2nd was Branden's first ever high school Taiikusai, which basically just means Sports Day. It's basically an undokai, but you apparently can't call it that in high school. @_@ But, in Japan we called it undokai in yochien and we called it undokai in elementary school. At our local JHS we called it an undokai. But at the high school level, it's called something completely different. But it's the same thing really. Which is just Sports Day. To even confuse you further, I have a friend who lives in Tsukuba and her daughter's JHS they call it taiikusai. So to be safe, just check and see how your child's JHS calls it. It could go either way. But high school it should all be switched to taiikusai. This is why in America it's easier Field Day can be any grade and so can Sports Day. But here...apparently not the case, lol. : )  Anyway this was 1 day before Golden Week would begin for us. And after this 1 Sports Day, we were off for the next 6 days. So Sports Day was going to be awesome and just something for us to sit and enjoy and watch. And then 6 days off in a row. I asked B, a week before...what he would like for me to prepare for lunch for his first ever Sports Day in high school. I usually always make karaage obento, rice balls, fruit, a garden salad. I pack some lemonade. Anyway...this time he requested sandwiches. It caught me a little off guard. Since I usually make karaage obento for Sports Day. But with **so** many foreigners at his school now. So many hafu at his school now. There are 2 sisters with red hair, now you know in Japan you can't dye/color your hair so this is 100% natural as in...naturally red hair as in Nicole Kidman red as in Anne Of Green Gables red. 1 is a 12th grader and her little sis in a 10th grader, new student same grade as B. It's so multicultural. Kids from all sorts of countries. Many from so many different western countries. Like there are families from seriously... everywhere. It's like..."It's a Small World After All" this school. You walk and you hear English as you walk down the hall. And with living in rural Japan and sending my kids to regular Japanese school before now. It's sorta an adjustment for us all. In rural Japan... when I go to observation day for example... I was always that 1 western face in the crowd. That 1 western/American mama at observation day. That 1 mama whose native language was English and not Japanese. Here....so many foreigners. So many westerners. So many hafu. So many different religions. And I love it! I love not sticking out. My kids love not sticking out. It's a welcome change. It's just such a new different thing for us. And so...5 days after school started for Branden. He asked me to just make him American lunch for his school lunch from then on. I used to make him sandwich twice a week in JHS and Japanese 3 times a week. Western-ized Japanese...like chicken teriyaki obento. Not traditional Japanese obento. But since high school started. He asked for just 100% American lunches now. And I do "get it" ....because now he's with others like himself. And he wants to have American lunch. The 2 Chinese students bring traditional lunches from their country. The hafu Thai boy brings Thai lunches. The westerners bring western lunch. Here everyone can be what they want and bring what they want. There is no huge pressure to conform to Japanese traditional ways at this school. Individuality is really respected here. And other cultures are also respected. One of Bran's best friends is Muslim and that's so totally cool and fantastic. The diversity here is so good. And so yeah...if Branden feels for "right now" he wants to bring American lunches or more western style lunches okay. Not a problem. Besides sandwiches are way easier anyways. So that's fine. But yeah...he asked for sammy's for Sports Day. And I didn't mind. Because #1...do you know how time consuming it is to make a karaage obento from scratch? So a sandwich obento is 10 times easier. And since that's what he asked for. No problem. Oh also there's an 11th grade girl who looks like Noah so much, it's funny! She's hafu but she's really western looking... just like Noah is and she has soft medium brown colored hair just like Noah does and she has long girly hair but yeah she looks exactly like Noah. And every time she sees Noah she just stares at him, lol. @_@ So anyways...I bought 3 fresh loaves of baguette from the bakery in the small city nearest us the day before. 

I made a huge baguette sandwich for Branden, Noah and Noboru. I had a salad instead. 

The kids like their ham skillet fried a bit in a pan. Noboru likes his ham cold right out of the package. That's okay I can make both ways. : )

We were in a huge gymnasium with stadium seating. Branden had a pounding headache around 10am. But I did give him 2 Advil and he took them and he was back to normal by lunch. He enjoyed his lunch. And we enjoyed ours. This was my salad. It had lettuce, cucumbers, mini tomatoes avocado, cheese and a few pieces of chicken on it. This is the chicken you can buy at Mini Stop it's called "crunky chicken" not crunchy chicken. lol. It's a very filling salad. It's a whole meal. I thought the sandwich would be a bit too carb heavy for me. And the sandwich was so delicious and filling like I said, I didn't feel deprived or anything. I enjoyed my lunch very much. 

Macaroni salad and potato salad. Branden had his very own little mini container of it and it looked just like this only smaller. This one, Noboru, Noah and I enjoyed. Branden ate with his male classmates. 

I also baked a nice American dessert. I baked brownies with walnuts. I gave Branden a nice big brownie. And we were seated right next to the English course kids. All in all it was a really nice Sports Day. Branden came home with us as soon as Sports Day ended. We went out to dinner after Sports Day was finished. We went to the Ohsho (a delicious Chinese restaurant that's a chain throughout Japan) for dinner along the way from the school to home.

What did I learn about high school sports day? And again I only speak about our *particular specific* high school. So just keep that in mind.

The seating for us parents and families sucked. Everyone sat on the hardest metal seats on the planet. I was fine. But Noboru complained so much about the seats. "They're so uncomfortable" he said. He said that about 20 times during the day. Noah said it like 2 times. And at that point, I snapped at the both of them and said..."look we are here for SUPPORT of a family member, not for plush comfy seats. Yes, the seats are uncomfortable, but whining won't fix it. It just aggravates me to no end" I rarely get snappy. So, after I said my peace. I heard not a peep about the seats again. So seating...eh not fantastic. But to me...acceptable. And besides how picky can a person be, really?

Lack of parents or families. You have to sign in to enter the facility. They don't want just a random person with no affiliation to this school to enter. So they have a sign in. We signed in. And Noboru and Noah have teeny tiny bladders so they went to pee often. Super often. I am meanwhile a camel bladder and I didn't pee the entire day. Not something to be proud about...just saying tho! So around 2pm-ish they went to pee again and this Sports thing was set to end at 3:30pm. Noboru apparently went to see the sign up sheet for the English course with Noah. The girl who looks like Noah was standing there. Anyways Noboru said only 5 parents in the English course grade 1/the 10th grade showed up and signed in. @_@ Only 5. That number is incredibly low. Granted to be fair... it was a weekday maybe folks were working? But yeah...out of 37  tenth grade English kids, only 5 families showed. Ours being 1 of the 5. And no..we're not saints or angels. It's just...you know how I feel about family. Family to me is my *everything*. And if you have something an event or whatnot and you're my family...rest assured, I will be there to support you...to show up for you...and to cheer you on. That's just how I roll. We sat in the 10th grade parents section. And out of 216... 10th grade kids, there was maybe 20 parents and I am being fair and generous by saying 20. I did look across the stadium and could see about...50 parents on the other side...for 11th and 12th grade. So no...not huge amounts of parents show up to these? I am still learning, still trying to learn the ropes.

Another observation. Don't expect to talk to your high school kid often during high school Sports Day. The kids are quite busy. And when they're not doing something they're on the sidelines cheering for their classmates. At undokai in rural Japan, for example at elementary school and at JHS, the kids come to their parents picnic spot. And the student enjoys lunch with their family. And the kids come by and visit or wave a few times during the day. Branden and the other boys had a specific boy place to eat their lunch at during the taiikusai.  Girls could eat anywhere. But since there are so few boys they made a special room aside just for the boys to eat their lunch in private. Spoiled boys!!! Hahaha. And though we were sitting right smack dab right next to the English course kids. I could see Branden was really enjoying hanging with his friends. And I don't want to overdose "mom" him...ykwim... so I waited until he came to talk to us. I didn't want to baby him or anything. I let him have his space and if he needed something or wanted to talk, I was right there.  Yes he did come and talk to us about 5 times during the day. And he smiled and stuff and his friends were so polite and greeted us and spoke with us in English of course, lol. And one of his classmates told Branden.."your brother looks *really* good" LOL. And yes Noah was beyond weird-ed out hearing that. The non-stop gaggle of girls who passed Noah all throughout the day saying how kawaii or kakkoii Noah was..was fine...he gets that often anyways... but the whole..."you're brother looks *so* good" comment completely weird-ed out my 11 year old. Noah was like. "What a weirdo, whoever said that!!!" LOL. So while everyone was really nice and respectful. I would say...the entire day...we spoke to Branden maybe a grand total of 7 minutes all the times we saw him that day combined. It did give me pause and wonder..."do I need to show up for this next year?" Hmm. Maybe...maybe not though. Oh and fwiw, 2 mom's absolutely loved my picnic basket and said what a fantastic picnic basket it was. Fwiw...I bought it at Cainz Home for 800 yen like 10 years ago or something like that. I remember it was at Cainz Home and I know I was in Ibaraki and it is fully lined.

Another observation. There are no parent races and no parent participation required like at elementary school and JHS. So parents at high school sports day...you are totally off the hook.

My last thing I learned and probably the best thing I learned is. High School Sports day is actually fun for the kids! The kids are not mindless robots. If your kid has ever experienced elementary in Japan or JHS then you'll know exactly what I am talking about. In elementary school and JHS for example. By the time you parents actually go to undokai day and watch it. Your child has already had practice for the undokai for about 45 school days straight. They have sat out in the sun. I know of 2 girls who have literally fainted flat on the floor during undokai practice because they were kept outside for hours under harsh Japanese summer heat in our town. Coupled with lots of activity and few and far between times to get a drink of a thermos and you're just asking for kids to be fainting away. Also...the races have all been run...the kids already know after running against one another 45 days in a row who will be coming in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. They have practiced the songs on their recorders or pianica for the umpteenth time. Branden has told me in elementary school and JHS..."I hate the undokai it's so fake." "We are not having fun. And we already know who will win the races." And Noah agrees. However...Branden's high school Sports Day. It's not practiced at all. They tell you. Boys you will play basketball against each other. On that day good luck. The girls were told they will be playing volleyball. They did not practice it not even 1 time. Kids wore crazy funky zany hats, some wore wigs or costumes. 1 girl was Mario, another girl was Luigi. There was a Studio Ghibli ghost. Nobody had any idea who would win. Nobody cared about winning at all either. The entire point of this high school sports day was for the kids to have fun. @_@ I snapped over 300 pics of the kids all smiling. Genuine laughter. There's no strict robot style, like how it is in elementary school and JHS where you must be in neat straight little rows and lines. Kids were laughing. Kids brought their cell phones and were taking selfies. Half of the kids brought packed lunches from home, but half brought conbini obento or bought bakery breads. The kids were just kickin' it. And having a ton of fun. This *greatly* reminded me of my sports day experience in America. I mean..it's no big deal. There's no pressure. This is so funny but...they had a "race" where they pitted club against club. Branden did join a high school club. He's in the English club because it's only 1 day a week and is only 1 hour long. And they watch American movies, play American board games, they sang karaoke last week, all of their songs had to be in English, and Branden said everyone had so much fun. LOL. And no English club over Summer break,  no English club over Christmas break,  and not over Spring break. Because their club teacher is Canadian and he actually has a good life outside of school and would actually like to enjoy it. And believe me...I get it! And it's so refreshing. So anyways...It was an "osoji race" where everyone had a cleaning rag and it was a relay race. The girl who looks like Noah is also in the English club. So J ran with the rag and he pushed it across the floor and then passed it to Branden. And Branden rubbed that rag against the floor as fast as he could. And then passed it to the girl who looks exactly like Noah. And then to another western girl and it went right down the row. Club versus club. This looked so fun... kids were going crazy laughing and the whole gym was screaming and shouting and cheering. Noah was laughing so hard! It was *not* a Sports Day that they practiced 45 times beforehand. It was just a real Sports Day. Where the focus was on...are the kids enjoying themselves? Are the kids having fun? Again...having lived in Japan for 14 years and having observed regular "Japan style" Sports Day. This is very surprising for us.

Noboru said during Bran's Sports Day. I am so glad we found this school for Branden. He looks *so* completely happy going here.  And I agree. This school does give me a slight case of reverse culture shock! LOL! But, I'm sure I'll get used to it soon. But other then that. It's a high school dream and he's so happy going here! Anyway, that's the long and short of Bran's Sports Day.

Halloween Pumpkin...

I went and bought our Halloween pumpkin October 1st. I went the week beforehand and there were no pumpkins yet and I asked the staff and they told me, to come back, if I can October 1st. I made sure to go right away and picked this one. I buy one every year and it's just something we really enjoy here at our house! The family pumpkin carving of our pumpkin... is always a lot of fun! And the roasted pumpkin seeds too! : )

Halloween decorations and goods are starting to become really easy to find for those of us living in Japan! They sell these adorable Jack o lantern plates at the Daiso for just 100 yen, plus tax. And same for the napkins, also available at the Daiso too. : ) We usually eat something "good yummy and comfort foodie" on Halloween here at our house and we can hopefully use these plates. : ) And as for the napkins, the boys have been taking 1 each every day since October 1st in their packed lunch to school Monday through Friday. : ) Very cute napkins and the price? Super cheap! A great deal. And should be easy to find if you live in Japan. : ) 

I found these Halloween napkins mid September and these came from the other 100 yen shop called Seria. So again, super cheap and equally super cute. And easy to find, if you live in Japan! I like the ghost and Halloween kitty and jack o lantern witch. Hahaha. The kids have been alternating between taking this napkin in their lunch bag ever day for school lunch and the napkins up above. : ) Just you know..sharing some holiday fun in their daily lunch!

Everyone gearing up for Halloween? We brought back a huge amount of American Halloween candy from Guam last week, so we're ready! Halloween is a fantastic holiday. : )

Branden’s 9th grade Sports Day! His final Undokai at the JHS...

Saturday, September 10th was Branden's final Sports Day at the local one and only Junior High School in our tiny town of under 5,000 people. It was a sunny day. The weather was hot, granted not "steam room" middle of summer, type of heat. But it was hot, but we luckily had nice and cool breezes throughout the day. We had a pretty good spot to sit and enjoy watching Branden's final undokai/sports day at this school! Branden running in his first race! He came in 3rd place!

And another event. 

Branden laughing with his friends...

Smiling!

This race was for the 8th graders. And they had to blow up a balloon with a bicycle pump and then sit on the balloon, pop it and then run to another event. It was like an obstacle course of sorts! We were all laughing!

Branden and Genki! Best friends since their yochien/kindergarten days. They will not be at the same school next year! So it's good they have this final year! : )

The Tug of War! Go red team! : ) 

They pulled and pulled and pulled!!!

And then the PTA members and the Father's Club Dad's challenged all 9th graders to a tug of war battle!

Branden really enjoyed his final sports day at the local JHS. 

Pull kids pull! : )

Smiling!!!

What a genuinely happy kid! : )

This was a "father and 9th grader" event. It was a 3 legged race while rolling a big giant ball across the field. There went team red! Branden and his dad (Noboru) and Bran's classmate and his dad. This was hilarious to watch.

Love this picture so much! Love these humans so much! : )

Time for lunch! Homemade karaage. Potato salad, macaroni salad. A regular salad. Rice balls. Grapes (seedless enormous Japanese grapes, so delicious!) Lemonade. You can see those frozen pouch drinks of Calpis, I always buy pouch drinks also for undokai, my kids like those. We also had chocolate cake (store bought, but so good) Sports day picnic meals... are usually really special and for the most part, everyone always goes all out, regarding their obento. So, I try my best too. Oh and those 2 unopened boxes of tissues were gifts for Noboru for running in races. : )

Eat kiddo! : )

Noah drinking some lemonade. And why yes...we recognize that shirt! That's the OshKosh shirt I got on sale at Costco. : )  

These grapes were seriously so ginormous, they were karaage size. These were freakishly big grapes. Hahaha. : ) But they were so delicious. : ) 

Between the regular salad, macaroni salad and potato salad, hmm, I ate more salad than karaage. : )  But I like to eat a little bit of everything. The kids were so stuffed after lunch. Noboru was too. Time to enjoy the last bit of the undokai. 

There was a chicken fight. There were pyramids. There was even a girls dance team. They also danced! Square dancing! I enjoyed this very much. The kids enjoyed this too. There was a final relay race and then that was it! We all packed up. And we parents left. The JHS kids all ride bikes to school on undokai day, because there are so many school tents and stuff to dismantle. So they were leaving about 45 minutes after undokai was over. Branden rode home with Genki and a good bunch of his friends who live near our house. : )

Noah and I meanwhile had a kakigori/shave ice before leaving the JHS. I picked green apple! Noah picked cola!

Branden came home. He quickly took a hot soapy shower as soon as he got home and parked his bike in the shed. After his shower we 4 drove to Jolly Pasta for dinner. Since it was Branden's undokai it was Bran's choice for dinner. We always go out to celebrate as a family after Sports Day. Branden loves Jolly Pasta. Our nearest one is an hour away! That's far, but then we do live way out in the inaka! But...with nobody having school or work the next day, we said...okay. When we arrived we were starving. 

We all had pasta, we had pizza, we had an all you can drink, "drink bar" just sodas, juice, iced tea and iced and hot coffee, etc. But it was a truly awesome way to end our day this way.

And because the red team won! Which because our school is so truly teeny tiny... all class A's were team red and all class B's were team white (7th, 8th and 9th). The 9th grade A class, which were team red decided on Friday...if they win, then they would go out to eat together on Sunday. So, since they won, the next day, on Sunday, all 9th grade red team/class A kids...all met in the "small city" nearest our town at a shabu shabu restaurant. It rained hard the day after Bran's undokai. So we all drove our kids to the shabu shabu restaurant. : ) All us town folks met up in the parking lot, in the city nearest us... dropping off our kids. And they did have a reservation. Us parents made sure of that. : ) And then we all picked them up, when it was time to pick them up. So all in all, it was a fantastic way to end Branden's final Sports Day at the JHS. : )