Last Saturday, the day the typhoon was supposed to hit us here in Kanto. And also the same day was the "last" : ( sweet potato dig and grape picking for Noah and his fellow blue badges, at the yochien. And as you can tell by the pictures. The day was absolutely beautiful! Seriously not quite sure how we managed to luck out so much. But I won't question it. : )
Big clusters and bunches of grapes. ;P These hang nicely overhead, when we sit at the tables and chairs and munch grapes or sweet potatoes.. : )
It was quite sunny and it did rain twice for about 1 minute the first time and about 5 minutes the last time, but we were luckily not outside when it happened either time. Right before we started to go and start with the morning warm up and prayer and the speech/talk the principal/enchosensei gives and the owner of the farm gives. Just as we were to leave the safety of our seats and clear plexi glass roof and grape overhang. It started raining. It lasted only a minute or two tops. And then poof, it just stopped. The sun started shining it was the weirdest thing.
So we went out, the encho sensei here in the blue shirt giving her speech and starting the prayer. You can see the ground is still wet. Then the man came out and he said, because of the unusual Summer we've had (cooler then usual). The sweet potatoes are smaller this year but sweeter! He then told us which grapes were seedless and which ones were not. Then the principal/encho sensei came back out and said, the oldest class first, as usual. But hmm, first time (for Noah) it's us! Cool!
Kids listening to either the encho sensei or the older owner gentleman giving his talk to the kids. He's a very nice man.
Blue badges up first. Class photo. Some kids looking at their mom's and not at the other sensei holding the school camera for the class portrait. Some scrunching up their faces and some kids in lalaland. It really is hard to get a bunch of kids all looking the same direction and all smiling. I think the sensei's did their best.
A few kids forgot their hats. Noah was one of them. A fact I didn't learn about until Saturday morning at the grape orchid (had a spare at home btw). I had gone through his stuff on Friday at home. Where is your hat I asked. The sensei has it. I chalked it up to....well they must be handing them out to everyone tomorrow during the dig then (they do that at undokai so not unusual). Okay I said. Saturday morning every kid shows up wearing a hat! OMG! Inside feeling mild panic. Trying best to be calm, so I walk over to the Yayoi sensei, "hi ummm are you passing out hats or were the kids supposed to take them home yesterday?" She, being just as equally nice said, I'm so sorry I should have checked to see if Noah brought his home yesterday. But not to worry she said, he's not the only one. I said, nothing to be sorry about.*I'm sorry*, I should have asked Noah a bit more about it yesterday. So while we're both sorry-ing each other to death. : ) I go and sit down. Things happen, I thought to myself, nobodies perfect. And I sort of chuckled at myself, because.... a fitting way to end the sweet potato dig and grape picking years. So fitting. : ) See the little girl in the front row with denim floppy hat? Yep, her too, and a few others. I think with school starting back on a Friday....and us sending our kids back with everything. No wonder there was confusion. : ) Oh well. And yep, I have 1 spare hat at home...their older faded ones for emergencies like this! But again, I had no idea. : (
Can't believe these kids will be ichinenseis next April. And I know it sounds corny, but seriously time just went by so quickly...too quickly.
Noah picked 2 packs of grapes. Since this was afterall, his field trip.
Noboru lending a very helpful hand. : )
Branden scoping out a big bag in the background... to cut next! : )
Using a crate just like the other yochien kids because they're too little to reach without it. : )
Branden, getting his turn and cutting his pack of grapes and not using a crate because he's grown so much! But he used to use a crate when he was in yochien. : )
Still sunny. Nice weather again and us blue badges went first. The blue badge white hats went to cut grapes first (which is us... errr minus the hat). The blue badge red hats went to dig for potatoes first. And then we switched. Meanwhile the younger classes were waiting, standing by and also taking class photos. This is why they ended up getting soaked and we didn't.
Branden digging. Each student and their family are given 5 plants to dig and keep the potatoes.
Dig Noah dig! : )
And so now we were done and walking back to our seats/tables and then it started to pour rain. Like buckets of rain. Raining cats and dogs type rain... but only for about 5 minutes. The blue badges sat nicely and dry inside. Meanwhile the younger classes got soaking wet. The mothers came in, with hair so soaked it looked like they just came out of the shower. Like slicked back type soaking wet hair. @_@ Good thing it stopped raining and they started to dry off some. Branden eating a free steamed sweet potato.
Noah also enjoying a steamed sweet potato. They keep bringing by huge trays of potatoes for us to eat.
And cups of grapes. Noah 's Pokemon thermos right there.
My Starbucks mug with iced straight tea with lots of ice in it. And Branden's Mario thermos. The camcorder we had in the plastic bag on the table, which is on my right of the pic. I also video taped this too. So Noah can come back and see his videos when he's older.
Then it was sunny again and it stayed sunny the rest of the day. Go figure.
See the mother in the back of this photo on the far left running her fingers through her hair? She was one caught in the rain. : ( So many were, that was unfortunate.And the final prayer before saying good bye at the sweet potato dig and grape picking 2011.
It ended at 11:30am and by the time we started getting closer to home. We were hungry and ready for lunch. So we stopped in the small city Noah goes to school in and went to Cocoichi curry for some lunch.
The chicken tenderloin cutlet was advertised, so Branden and I also had that, he had a half size and I had the normal/standard size one. Noboru picked tonkatsu curry or something, I forget and Noah had a kids curry lunch. The boys shared a naan and Noboru and I shared a naan also.
From September to Novemer they will sell the chicken tenderloin cutlet curry, this is so freakin' good! So, good in fact Noboru and I went there on a date this week during the afternoon while the boys were at school. : )
A very nice lunch we all enjoyed after the sweet potato dig. As you can tell by the pic outside of the restaurant again...no rain in our area. However we did hear on the news that other parts of Japan got it pretty bad. : ( Hope everyone reading is okay.
We took the big pile of sweet potaoes and rinsed them outside first. And then brought them inside and gave them another rinsing. And let them dry. A very good sweet potato haul.
And 3 packs of grapes.
Yumm.
We rinsed them, soaked them and kept them in the fridge until dessert/after dinner. All four of us ate these grapes the first night. The grapes were so sweet and no seeds. : ) Noah's last sweet potato dig and grape picking with the yochien. I think though that we'll have to look into going on sweet potato digs and grape picking on our own from now on as a family, since we enjoy these so much, hmm we will have to research that a bit for next year. : )
Last Friday, Noah had a swimming test, he had to show proper swimming strokes and technique for the level, he is currently doing and he passed! Congratulations cutie pie, we are so proud of you. I haven't done a proper swimming school update in forever...so I will do one shortly. I did so many proper swimming updates with Branden all through the years and I really haven't given equal amount of updates on Noah's swimming with pictures etc. So, I'll try to do better to chronicle Noah's swimming from now on. : ) Anyway congratulations Noah.
Ever since Noah started yochien, we've been balancing 3 undokais each year. Noah's yochien undokai, then there is Branden's undokai at the local elementary school and then there is the town undokai. With the balance of 3 undokais. And considering the cost of all those undokai obentos. It's no wonder next year we'll be happy we'll only have 2 undokais next year to deal with (the elementary one and the town one). So since we are now thinking of next year and whatnot. We decided to buy a rain/sun shade/tarp/sorta tent ykwim. The average cost of these is around 9,000 yen. We've been pricing these. We found one sports shop that is selling them for 8,500 yen, but it's no wonder we've put off buying one these past few years. Anyway, now with both boys soon to be in the same school, for next year, we decided this is the year to buy one. Anyway we were at Narita mall last Thursday looking for sneakers for Branden. And Noboru checked the 2 sports shops and priced the cover. Same price, so he wanted to check Aeon just to price compare. And we were surprised it was only 5,000 yen. However there was no boxes or extra ones left so we asked the lady working there for some help.
5,000 yen, a very good price. Anyway after much checking she said they were sold out, however they could sell us the floor model one if we wanted. And at a discount. Of course. I mean it's not like buying a floor model bra or undies, you know what I mean, it's just a tent covering...and who cares if it was a floor model. For that price, we'd take it. So she said give us 10 minutes to disassemble it and we went upstairs looking around and when we were on the escalator 3 women emerged and took it down so quickly. We gave them some time though and did come back 10 minutes later.
Price paid, 4,200 yen since it was the floor model. What a super deal! And this one was the quick folding kind, after researching these for the past month, in Japan they have the hard to unfold kind and also the easy to put together and take down kind, this is the easy to take up and down kind. So, yeah a great deal for sure.
Meanwhile while picking up Branden at school last week, it was hard not to notice a lot of the kids had new shoes. Hmm, perhaps getting ready for the undokai perhaps? We decided Branden could use a new pair too. I liked and suggested these. However they did not have his size.
Branden saw these and really wanted them. All my friends have these, he said. Can I please please please have these? Hmmm.
Personally I liked the Nike better. But since they didn't have his size. And Noboru told me and talked me into these. He said...come on...he's a kid only once and these really are popular now.
So he now has them.
High performance sports gear? Could be...although it could also be a smooth marketing ploy. : )
Hmm, we'll see. : )
Well the important thing is Branden loves them.
First thing, weather update. Today here in our little area of Chiba, the weather is beautiful. Clear and sunny. The playground looks dumb without the blue tarp I know, but we'll put it back on Sunday just in case something comes from tomorrow. At 6:27 am our house phone rang this morning. It was the yochien calling tree in effect and the message was "school is in effect" so pass that little diddy of information along and I did. Today is Branden's first whole day of school. Yesterday was just a half day. Today was Noah's first day and a half day at that. It did rain late last night. But again all day today... very nice weather. A typhoon is/was supposed to hit this area Saturday/tomorrow. But by the looks of this sunny day, I can barely believe it. Watch now that I said that...tomorrow will be crazy! : ) I hope not though because we really were looking forward to Noah's last sweet potato dig tomorrow. So we have our fingers crossed for that. So I am not quite sure if today is just the "calm before the storm" or if it did change and switch directions. But I'm hoping it just switched directions and we can enjoy the dig tomorrow as planned. What else...
A few weeks backs after looking at both Branden and Noah's inside shoes and seeing as they both looked in bad shape. And given they are so cheap, I bought them each 2 pair. 2 pair each because they each need one for regular school, but they also each need and keep a pair at Kumon. So, that's why. Branden also got a new red and white hat. Noah did not because his looked great still.
At my local Yacs drugstore during the Summer, I picked up 2 pencils for Branden. 1 Natchan (juice drink here in Japan) and 1 GariGari (popsicle) pencil. And a pack of pencil caps for Branden. And then I started thinking...these are really cute, I should get some for Noah for next April. And so I ended up getting, Noah the soda ones and the Japanese chocolate ones the first week of August sometime. I have been tucking things away for Noah since the Spring. Just a bit here and a bit there.
Branden's earthquake head cover/seat cushion, hung in the sun. I let it hang in the sun for a full day last week, brought it in the house in the evening and hung it again the next day. That is so fluffy now. ;P All Branden's school bags and gym clothes washed. I also went through his room, made him throw away last semester's books and things he would not need, and the things he still needed he kept of course. But I really went in there and made sure whatever doesn't belong in that room, had to go. I flipped his mattress yet again vacuumed under there, made Branden wipe his own baseboards and we vacuumed the room, he did the edging and corners with the canister vacuum and the attachments best for the edges...and I vacuumed the whole floor with the upright vacuum. Windexed his windows dusted his blinds. Wiped down his school desk.
The boys and I went to the computer shop this week and I picked up some name labels for Branden. Noah still has a ton for yochien still. But at elementary school they use name labels so much more. I go through so many packs with Branden. And I imagine next year I'll start going through the same amount with Noah.
Each and every paint needs a label, brushes. And I also needed the cloth name labels too. And every time something has to be replaced, name labels all over again.Yesterday I spent an hour on the computer making, sizing and printing labels for each and everything imaginable. Like I said, Branden had them but with so many things needing labels, we ran out. I go through a pack or two each year for Branden since he's in elementary school. For Noah at the yochien he's gone through only 2 packs the whole years he's been in yochien, ha ha ha, so way less.
A new pack of coupy. So each and every coupy had to have a name label, and then I wrapped each name label with a piece of tape, Branden most certainly helped, we did this together and listened to music in the kitchen while doing this. New pencils also got new name labels. I was quite busy the day before Branden started school.
All new and nicely sharpened. 1 marker, 1 red/blue colored pencil that is needed. And various different pencils, Mario pencil, Ultraman, Natchan and garigari and a pencil from Hawaii. New pencil caps, I made sure he was ready.
A earthquake cover/cushion so fluffy and clean. His backpack and in that Children's Place bag were...library books he borrowed over the Summer and his pianica. The letter said bring nothing the first day but your library books, renrakucho, pencil box, head cover/cushion. (the teacher has the kids check out library books over the Summer before school ends and Branden loves to read so he checked out so many he needed that Children's Place bag to lug them back to school in. He also brought all his finished homework back to school the first day as well and his stamped report card. Phew! I had all of this sitting in the genkan the night before, Branden was all ready. His outfit I had laid over the back of his chair in his room. Come the first day, he was ready! Also...there is a new boy in Branden's class. He moved from Tokyo, I think Branden said. Anyway I'll get more info on that. But Branden said he seems very nice.
While Branden was at school his first day, Noah and I had a day to ourselves. And we spent that day getting Noah ready. All his bags I washed and hung dry outside. And if it would have rained I would have just thrown them in my tumble dryer. But, I did want his stuff to be the freshest as possible. Every yochien bag and gym clothes hung outside. His school shoes also dried outside. I washed Noah's clay mat and clay art tools and put new name labels on the pieces that needed them. Packed Noah's harmonica, jump rope and everything else according to the list. And I laid Noah's stuff in the genkan last night. He was ready. : ) Anyway TGIF everyone, have a lovely weekend. Hopefully the weather cooperates for all of us. : )
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