Spring break fun! Family backyard BBQ, Family game night (Monopoly) and more...

Did everyone have a nice Spring break? For us in Japan, it's technically the end of the school year break. : )  Either way is fine with me.... but since it's technically Spring here anyways. I'll just call it Spring break. : ) This post is going to be the perfect spot, to jot down in 1 spot everything we did during our Spring break 2016 this year. : ) These first few pics you have seen before, so no...fear not...you are not losing your mind. Yes you have seen the first few pics before. : ) These are some things we did over the spring break from school. : ) The 4 of us flew to Guam. It was a quick but very fun trip. We got to even go to a movie while there. We also got to watch some movies on the airplane. What did I see? Memory.... don't fail me now!!! : ) I saw Paper Towns, Paranormal Activity Ghost Dimension. And Trainwreck (loved this), the kids enjoyed the Good Dinosaur and other movies too. 

We ate some good things. We enjoyed the nice weather. 

It was so nice to be able to get away as a family for a few days. And wonderful to see my dad too. We definitely came back feeling refreshed and recharged.

What else did we do over our Spring break? We celebrated Easter!

Colored eggs...ate lots of jelly beans and chocolate...

Had a lovely simple Easter meal as a family...

We enjoyed homemade taquito night... covered/smothered in sour cream lettuce and cheese. OMG, are these so good!

Every morning during spring break, minus when we were in Guam. I woke up and while everyone slept, I jumped on my treadmill and walked on my treadmill for 30 minutes every morning! Fast paced walked. I walk as you know 5 days a week... year round anyways. 60% of the time, I do at home and 40% I will do outside in my town and neighborhood. But like in rainy season, I am glad to have a treadmill and I can switch and do 100% of my walking in the comfort of my own home. So depending on the weather,...then it depends on if I am walking outside of my home or inside of my home. I'm flexible either way. I also love that during spring, summer and winter breaks I can get my walks outta the way early... while everyone sleeps. That just sort of rocks and scratches...DAILY EXERCISE right off my list for the day. However..while it is doable for me... during school breaks. It's not possible for me...during when school is in session/during the school week. But that's just me personally...because given, I make breakfast and obento during the school week. And I already wake up at 5:20am as it is and time wise...I am cutting things quite close, some days and other days I am ahead of schedule...and that varies...how much time I have to spare from day to day...meaning is the lunch easy that day or is it more time consuming that day...or did I wake up on time or did I hit the snooze...just so many variables. Depending...how with it...I am on a particular day. So when schools in session/during the school week... for me personally. I get my walks in...while my laundry is washing in the laundry room upstairs and after the boys have already been driven to school. That just works best for me. Because my house between 5:20am and 7am, I am like a busy twirling tornado of busy-ness. I can't possibly fit anything else in that time frame. I just can't. However...after the boys are at school and while my laundry is washing up...I have 38 minutes exactly, until it beeps, the amount my laundry takes to run through the regular wash cycle. That is for me...my best time to get my walk in. However...during spring breaks...when I have no crazy busy morning tornado thing happening. I can just wake up..in the quiet of the house...strap on my music and hit the treadmill hard.  

Everyone in our house is big time... loving these choco banana ice cream cups. These are 88 yen at Cainz/Besia. And such a great price. 

Pic from making dinner one night during spring break. I was making an Indian dish. I use a sauce, I buy from Cainz/Besia and it's really good. I will try and post a pic of the bottle next time. I skillet fry some chicken breast. Like 2-3 minutes on each side and flip. 

I made this in quick little batches and let any few dots of oil drip down because I really want this to be as healthy... as can be but *without* sacrificing the flavor. Sacrificing good flavor, just not something I am willing to do.

A very very light dusting of flour. 

This dish is so good and I like how the bright green broccoli just pops in this dish, colorwise. My family really likes this dish a lot. And the flavor is totally on point.

What else did we do during our spring break? We had our first family backyard BBQ of 2016! Branden likes to start the fire/grill now. Since last year, he's liked lighting it up. Noboru is always back there with them. But Bran loves getting the BBQ grill all nicely set up. And because he does, little brother now does too. : ) The bright side is, it is a good skill for the boys to know how to do. : ) Their future wives will be totally appreciative of all the good useful things they can do. Like change a flat tire or switching summer to winter tires. Start the BBQ grill. Good useful skills to know. : ) 

Noah taking a little soccer break. Noboru meanwhile telling Bran, "always remember to never put your meat down when the fire looks like this." Always wait for it do die down some and the coals get really hot and then he pointed out what the charcoal SHOULD look like...when it is time to start laying the meat down. And now Bran knows. : ) 

Tong in one hand and a soccer ball at Noah's foot. 

You guys are doing such a fantastic job! 

Noboru does all the actual grilling outside. We had 3 types of meat. I had chicken breast, the boys had rosu (red lean) beef. Noboru had a different cut of meat, his personal fave. It was just a nice simple family backyard BBQ. Smiles from Bran as he talked with his brother.

We baked a yellow cake together, the kids and I.

Yellow cake and chocolate frosting.

What else did we do during Spring break? We played Monopoly! OMG, you guys! This was such a hard fought battle! Noboru sadly couldn't join us, he had work. But the kids and I played for what...6-7 straight hours! We played this, the day we baked the cake, we played this from afternoon to near 9:45pm at night.

Noah smiled so much during this game! Enjoying the family board game night!

I hate to say it. But, I won! And I won big! By the time we were done, the kids were so bankrupt, you guys. They fought a good match! They tried their best! I felt so bad! But it's just a game. Usually one of the kids wins. But, on this day/evening, I won, go figure. 

But the fun we had playing this game! Such fun! Such good quality time spent with my boys!

Gee, even Noboru returned and we were still playing. He changed into his comfy clothes and used his tablet while watching us. 

Because April means a new school year for us in Japan. I made sure Branden got a new pair of school shoes for JHS. Our school rules want... pure white without any dot of color at all. Different schools have different rules. 

Japanese size 28cm. American size men's 10. My 14 year old is a growing boy!

Noah meanwhile always gets new wash rags from me every April and every school break. I make sure to buy the ones with the area/spot... where you can write your name. Not all rags have that area. I always make sure ours... have the name label area. 

Not all hats have a name label already on the hat. Most do, but not all do. I make sure our hats always have that name label area. 

Noah's new school items. New inside shoes, cleaning rags and hat. Branden got new inside shoes in late February 2016. So he recently got a new pair. : )

Kids in elementary school must have a handkerchief and a small pack of tissues on them daily, while at school. So, Noah has hankies already, but I liked this one when I saw it and added this one to his collection. A very popular character in Japan. 

Noah's things...

Noah's 5th grade Japanese (kokugo) textbook.

Noah's 5th grade math (sansu) textbook. 

Noah's 5th grade social studies (shakai) and science (rika)

Appreciating and learning what farmers do. They do a lot! : ) 

Learning what the fisherman do.

The beautiful and gorgeous Japanese countryside.

These textbooks are so cool. So informative. Which parts of Japan does the rice come from. All of the kids in Noah's class know that our town grows lots of rice. In fact, our area is listed on this map as a "rice growing" area. Maybe they can read this and have a lively discussion about this in class.

A very nice picture of a rice farmer. Just tons and tons of respect for what they do!

Gosh, Noah is going to learn so many cool new things this year! This map I also LOVED seeing! A whole map of Japan and where does such and such vegetable come from, fruit, peaches, grapes, apples carrots, cattle, pigs, fish. Again...just a super informative map! The 5th graders this year are going to have such fun in social studies class! 

Typhoons! Weather! Noah will be learning so many new things in science class this year!

The life span of a morning glory.

Noah's class already had the birds and the bees talk in class in the 4th grade. However after looking over his science textbook, I see they will delve a little more. Here we have, human mothers.

And here is an elephant mama. : ) Cool, again Noah will be enjoying this 5th grade quite a bit, I am sure. Just so many cool things to learn.

When I saw this page, I instantly remembered when Branden's class did this! Bran's class walked to a nearby rice field since we live in the Japanese countryside and they each collected some water with their teacher. The week before, everyone in the class brought home a note... we each knew our child had to bring a cleaned 2 liter bottle of tea. Rectangular in shape of a bottle. So it doesn't roll. They collected the water sample. And brought it back to the school and checked the water and looked under a microscope of all the little organisms and things you can't see with the naked eye. But wow...I remember clearly Branden loved that in science class. He came home telling us... how many things were moving under the microscope. How many things were alive in the water. Then the week after Bran's teacher took the kids to a slow moving stream and with the same used 2 liter bottles they collected some small fish. And again they checked the water under a microscope. So yeah...seeing this in Noah's textbook. Makes me...sort of know...what's coming up. : ) 

So anyways as I was flipping through Noah's science book. I saw this page. Super smart robots. And a very cool 100% electric car/ EV car. And I knew right away, that's a Nissan Leaf! That's like Olive's sister, in the picture! I told the kids that and they laughed! Noah said, he can't wait until they hit this chapter. Because his classmates can learn how cool his family's car is. : ) I thought that was cute that he thought that. : ) 

All of Noah's new school textbooks.

Noah's Home EC (kateika) textbook.

The kids at our elementary school have been sewing and cooking for years, you all know that already. But this year... it's official and Noah will get to order a sewing kit and the whole kit and caboodle basically. : ) He's very excited about it! Because when Branden was in the 5th grade, he really liked Bran's sewing kit a lot. Branden had a lot of choices to pick from and he picked a really cool surf design. So, Noah hopes to get a cool sewing kit too. 

A picture inside of the Home EC book.

Kids learn so many useful things at school here in Japan! : )

The back of the Home Economics textbook. I love that the kids will be learning the correct/right/proper way to hold a knife and the right ways to cut different veggies.

I also put name stickers on every single one of Noah's new textbooks, I did that to Branden's too. I did white out our last name. But you get the idea. : ) Anyway, that's what we did during our spring break 2016. : )  And some of the prep we did before both Branden and Noah started a new school year. : ) Like putting name stickers on new textbooks, etc. : ) 

Throwback Thursday. Branden's Elementary School Entrance Ceremony...

Since this is April and for those of us in Japan, we know April means Entrance Ceremony season. : ) I thought April would be a fantastic time to show some Entrance Ceremony's that our kids have had. So I think this month's TBT's should have an entrance ceremony theme. Or "starting school" theme at least. : )  And I think this sounds fun and like a really great idea, especially for those of you, living outside of Japan. Back to the picture. : ) Branden started the first grade in April of 2008. 

Branden now days towers over the kid in the shorts and white socks on the right of Branden. Our right when looking at this picture. The other kid in capris and Branden are pretty much head to head height wise now days and he and Bran are really good friends, the kid in capris. : )  

What did I know about elementary school entrance ceremonies? Not much back then. However from all the shopping malls and suits on kid mannequins. Basically what Noboru said was, every little boy wears a mini version of a "salaryman" suit. Shorts, pants or capris. but think mini "salaryman" suit and you get the idea. I thought that black outfit was really umm. Funeral-y.  Or, I'm not sure how to put it. I didn't really care for it. I wished he would have been able to wear a different color or something. And it turns out for the most part Noboru was right, every boy wore the same boring thing basically. The girls wore really cute different colors and styles of pretty dresses. And then there was Genki. He wore this, this is him from the back. His outfit was so cool. So different. I whispered to Noboru, "I thought you said every boy needed a mini black suit?" He said "they do." I said "apparently not." I said, "I wish I would have known this. I would have dressed Branden differently or at least in a different color." Last thing I said was "Noah's going to wear something different when his time comes, than a boring old black suit." Yep, I was totally in awe of Genki's cool outfit. And the bright side is, I bet he got more than the 1 time only...usage out of it too. : ) 

Noah waiting for the kids to come into the room escorted by a 6th grader. Noah needed to be quiet for the ceremony. Check, he was totally quiet! Good Noah, good good Noah! : ) And yes all the kids were staring, as were all the new first grade parents except Genki's family who knew us already. @_@ OMG! Little story tidbit. The year I first moved to Japan. There was a foreign wife in Japan and was on a group I used to belong to, anyway she was dearly wanting and ready to move back to her home country. I was a Japan newbie. And I had no advice to give, but I have never forgotten her or how nice she was. Her one thing she hated most and why they did move back to her home country the year I moved to Japan... was as a western woman. She could not stand the constant staring. She was shy and the unwanted attention was driving her nuts. Understandably so. Again, I was a newbie. So, never commented on the staring issue, because I had no advice I just moved here. And I at times... years later...every now and then. Think about her, think about how wise she was, she had so much more Japan under her belt at the time, than I did...but yeah..I think of her every now and then fondly...and wonder, how's she's doing. : ) But yes, she is/was totally right. The stares never end, if you are a western woman in Japan. They are just endless. 98% of the time, I don't even notice anymore. But yes, it's never ending. And if you have hafu kids that sort of amplifies the stares to the extreme-o. Especially with Noah who looks super western.   

Hi kiddo. You're doing a good job! Are the kids still staring? Let me see.  Yep, they're still staring. I feel your pain kid...I feel your pain! : (  Oh and that's my MIL right next to Noboru. : )

All family's got a school packet... months before school started of what was needed on the first day of school. With diagrams and drawings. You need 2 cleaning rags that have to hang at the back of your child's chair and they should look like this. You need so many little bags and they will have to hang on the side of their desks. I honestly put more pressure on myself then probably any mother at the entrance ceremony that day. Why? Because if we lived in America, I know how to do things, or at least the playing field is level, since the language there is my native language. Plus I went to school in the US and I know how to handle and do things there. However with living in Japan with  the majority of everyone here being Japanese. My biggest worry and fear is that I'll do something wrong, since I am not from here. Screw something up and my kids will get the short end of the stick for it. Does that make sense? I just don't want a gaggle of Japanese mom's whispering..."oh he didn't bring such and such? Awww that must be because his mom isn't...Japanese." In a "poor kid" sorta tone. Do you feel what I'm saying. So, because that is sort of my biggest fear and worry.....I put more pressure on myself. Huge enormous loads of pressure on myself. I never went to Japanese school. Things that might be obvious to the other mom's in my son's class... might not be obvious to me. You know? So, I tell you...I studied the crap....out of that "everything you need to know before starting the first grade at our school" handbook. I mean I stared and studied and took notes.... on each page. I used color highlighter markers. And when the time came, the day of the entrance ceremony... all us parents went into the classroom and the mothers instinctually knew to put all their kids seat cushions/safety headcovers on the chairs. Slide their trays into their desks, etc etc. And thank the lord, I started to do the same...yay!  So studying endlessly...that crazy booklet, writing notes in English on each page for stuff really important that I needed to remember helped. Because, I started doing Branden's right away. Hanging the handmade bags in their spot on the side of the desk, put his coupy and crayon and scissors and pianica in their spots. Placed everything in it's rightful place. Under the watchful eye of my mother in law and all other mom's in the classroom. I did it. The stress was real people, the stress was real! Hahaha. : ) Again though...I just don't want to mess something up and someone think..."well she's a foreigner what did you expect?" So yes...I put unnecessary amounts of stress on myself. practically "stress heart attack" types of amounts of pressure. Branden had forgotten nothing that day or should I say *I* forgot nothing. He brought everything. Shoot...I even brought 2 extra clips that hang the cleaning rags, in case we lost one along the walk from the car to the school. : ) Yes that is SO me. And seriously...I didn't want to take any chances. : ) Our elementary school gave out free child alarms, pictured on all the desks in this pic. That if you sense trouble you pull it and it emits a screeching high pitch sound. A stranger danger alarm. 

There were 4 other toddler babes same age as Noah, that would eventually become Noah's first grade classmates, in the classroom that day, years down the road. : ) The boy sitting next to Branden that first day would end up becoming one of Branden's closest good friends. They were like best friends all through elementary school. He lives in our housing community however he goes to a different JHS. That is the future "Jimbei boy" hahaha. : ) However at this first meeting. They didn't know each other yet. They weren't friends yet. That year they ended up becoming the very best of friends though. And his mom is "awesome sauce", she's a real cool lady, the Jimbei boy's mom. : ) Noah always wants to be right next to Branden. With Branden around, he always feels really safe and part of the club, as long as his big brother is near. We had Branden's randoseru made especially for him from a company in Chiba. Quilting on the sides and really nice blue and silver stars on the front. Our yochien handed out many randoseru catalogs in Branden's final year of yochien. And that coupled with my amazing good "mama friends" from yochien they told me, everything I ever needed to know about randoseru. All or like 98% the kids at our particular yochien bought "made to order" handmade handsewn... randoseru. They helped me a lot... my kind girl friends. We would look through catalogs when we'd go to our mother's luncheons and so their help with the Japanese backpacks was so nice to have. I was really lucky to have such helpful wonderful good friends from our yochien. And heck, by the time Noah needed one. I knew pretty much everything about that already. Chalk that up to experience. : )

Some family shots! Thank you grandma Mitsuko for coming all the way from Osaka, you rock! : ) Everyone ready for an early lunch? : ) Branden's pick since it was his special day. His entrance ceremony. : ) 

Branden was holding my hand super tightly. : ) Noah and his orange high top Converse. And I love that grandma M is so in love with her grandson... that she can't even take her eyes off him, while walking towards the parking lot. 

Branden picked Coco's. Perhaps he was in love with the drink bar. : ) My mother in law ohhed and awed over Branden and Noah during lunch, she was just so happy being able to spend time with them. And Noboru and I meanwhile were like...phew! Aren't you glad we survived today? Yes...we did it! We were like high 5-ing each other once or twice... during lunch. Huge feelings of relief. Oh and funny thing is....so many other family's were also at the small city... nearest our town eating at Coco's too. Hahaha. Perhaps because our town has no actual restaurants? Hahaha. : )  How was I during Noah's elementary school entrance ceremony? Absolutely zero nervousness or anxiety. I felt calm as a cucumber. I felt really zen that day. Complete calm. Branden's first grade entrance ceremony...I was at...more like an almost stress heart attack, type level, ykwim. Meanwhile, Noah's ichinensei ceremony? Complete serenity. I guess...it's just...after going through it once...the 2nd time.. was honestly no big deal... stress wise... at all. No fear of the unknown... because nothing was...unknown anymore. Does that make sense? : ) Anyway...that was this weeks TBT. Branden's elementary school entrance ceremony. : )