Friday! : )

Our neighbors, the nice elderly couple who live right next door. The ones who have the two dogs. The ones I used to call "cujo and cujette" ha ha ha, remember that last year? Well, turns out the dogs are really nice. They must not have known us last year, because they completely know us now and they don't even let out a "ruff ruff" if they see us. So they are really nice dogs actually. Anyway, those neighbors usually go to the onsen for a few days every summer. They did this last year too. Well this year, they took off again. And guess who baby-sat the 2 dogs? I did! Yup, dog food and dog bones and water a plenty, I gave them during the past couple days! I also was the chief protector of their house, while they were away as well! Ha ha ha! Anyway they got back today and they brought me back some butter cookies. Oh man they are really good cookies! Last year they brought me back some black eggs from the onsen. They are pretty good neighbors! And since I am a total dog person, I love dogs, grew up always having a dog, I am really happy their dogs turned out to be so nice. : )

After yet another day of the boys frolicking in the backyard. Today they brought out some plastic cups/tumblers to play with in the pool in the backyard. They also brought out one of their water guns they usually keep for the bath tub. From about 9:00 am to noon they played. Around noon is when I brought them inside and we all had lunch. Noboru was home today, like I said. His days off work this month are Thursdays and Friday's. Yup, sadly he works Saturday and Sunday this month! Oh well, we will survive, ha ha ha. Anyway, after lunch, we had a bit of quiet, relax down time. They got changed from their swim trunks, which were totally dry by now. And changed into some regular clothes. They laid on the couch. Watching cartoons. Branden actually managed to watch one cartoon completely upside down. What's up with that? Then Branden took about a 30 minute cat nap on the couch. At 3:00 pm, we left and headed to the swimming school. Side note, Noah finally outgrew his smaller sized green Crocs. And now he is wearing the larger sized green ones. This picture was snapped right before we headed off to swimming school. Hence the swimming bag! Ha ha ha! : )

Aha, after a day of fun and play. And since Branden took himself a small cat nap at home, Noah didn't. So he was taking a small 10 minute nap in the car on the way to the swim school.

Aha, there's "Mr. Green Goggles" right there! Third person from the left! We have white cap guy, then blue cap guy with no goggles and then finally we have blue cap and green goggles kid and that's Branden! Ha ha ha! : )

There's Branden, AKA, "Mr Green Goggles" in the pool with the coach right there! Meanwhile, my dearest good friend Rieko/Rie-san came upstairs since her son, Aoi-kun and daughter, Itsuki-chan were swimming as well. Remember we had wanted to have that BBQ, right? Well, even though rainy season is still hanging around in Chiba some more (what's up with that already, sheesh!). We figured, let's not put off that BBQ not, one second more. So she whipped out her day planner and since I must be the only person in the entire country of Japan without a day planner, lol. I whipped out my keitai and started checking the calendar and we set up a day for the BBQ. We will be having it exactly 1 week/seven days from now. So August 10th, is the day of our BBQ. We will be heading to Costco next week sometime together as well, to get some things for the BBQ, that we will be needing as well. We might be heading to Costco with a few other girlfriends as well. So for right now, the 2 of us will be heading there together for sure.

That's Branden swimming in the swimming pool right there in this pic! By the way, Rieko told me (this is such a cute thing, she said) anyway she said that, she has *never* been to Costco before and she is ready!!! She's pretty excited about it! She said she has a feeling she is going to buy a bunch of stuff, ha ha ha! Then after swimming, we left, I said good-bye to Rieko, she said she would send me an email, some time this week and we said good-bye.

Just because we stay home most of the time in the summer, doesn't mean we are exactly being bored to tears. There's lot's of fun to be had at home. This evening, I thought it would be a great idea for Branden and I to make chocolate covered bananas. These little packs are sold everywhere in Japan and are also quite cheap, by the way too. I bought 5 bananas, but I only wanted to use 3 of them for the choco bananas. Besides that's all the chocolate really allows for anyways. So when we got back from the swimming school, Noah fell asleep and took himself a good long hour, nap. He needed his nap and it gave B and I time alone to make these.

These kits have everything you could need right inside. 6 sticks, sprinkles and all. : )

Cutting the bananas in half makes them the perfect size for kids to munch! Just looking at the face on Branden, you can tell, he really enjoyed himself, by getting to make these! : )

Yes, we use cups to stand the bananas in while they dry. Reason? Well, last time we made these, we placed them wet on a plate and when the kids picked them up the chocolate ripped off the backs of them. Talk about learning from experience here! Ha ha ha. So now we lay them in the cup and they dry okay. It's not a perfect system we have set up here. But again, we aren't professional choco banana makers or anything and we did have fun making them though! Ha ha ha! And that's what really counts. Next time we will lay them, the opposite way and lay them on the stick side into the cup and hopefully that will work even better! Who knows! : )

That happy face just about says it all! He got one on one time with mommy. We got to be a little creative with the sprinkles. And yup Branden even ate some sprinkles as he made them. Fun definitely accomplished here! Ha ha ha! : )

Noah woke up right as we were putting the choco bananas into the fridge. Noboru then sat in the living room with the boys, while I prepared dinner. Tonight's menu, karaage, salad, corn on the cob and rice. Now I really like crispy lettuce for my salad (imho, nothing worse then soggy lettuce in salads). So, to make it even extra crunchy, I usually place it in iced cold water and a handful of ice on top and then just chuck it into the fridge, until right before supper is ready!

This is our spicy karaage. All white meat, no funky bits or fat hunks of any kind. There's 1.5 kg here. So yes, we will be having this same meal for tomorrow nights dinner as well. But of course I will fry more fresh tomorrow. This will keep in the fridge nicely for tomorrow as well.

And here is what we had for dinner, this Friday night. Karaage, rice with butter and soy sauce, corn, with butter, salt and pepper. And a simple salad with goma dressing on it. With a nice glass of iced tea/Kirin straight tea. And yes, like I said since there's so much extra, we will be eating this same thing for tomorrow nights dinner as well. : )

A very happy Noah eating a choco banana! After eating a very filling dinner! : )

Geeze, what a huge bite of choco banana, he is eating! These kids will never starve that's for sure! Ha ha ha! : )

They tasted so good, because he made them! Branden really enjoyed them, he ate 2! Ha ha ha! I ate 2 as well. Noboru ate one. After dinner. We all took showers and baths. Then we all got settled into the living room. Popped some popcorn and watched some TV! Yet another uneventful day, happily spent at home! Have a good weekend everyone! : )

PS, Happy 60th Birthday today dad! I wish, we could have been there and spend your special day with you! But we love you dearly and you were in my thoughts all day long! You are so loved! : )

Thursday evening! : )

Well after a full morning of the boys playing their hearts out in the backyard, mostly splashing in their paddling pool and sliding down the slide into the pool. Meanwhile, the hubby has off today and tomorrow, so they like having daddy home with them. And an afternoon, spent in the house. Having lunch, just having some down time. Laying on the couch, getting a good rest before Kumon started. Then at 3:00 pm. All of us, dropped off the little guy at Kumon. We went back home and in 30 minutes we went to go and pick up Branden!

Now, Noboru likes to cook. So, about once a month, he will cook dinner for us. And since 99% of the time, I cook all the meals. I totally do not mind him cooking us dinner once in a great while. Ha ha ha. Nope I do not feel guilty! I love it and find myself chatting with him in the kitchen, while he cooks. It's nice! He can cook mostly anything and he's a pretty good actually. But, I most often ask him to cook ebi chili for me. The way he makes it, ahh, delicious. I've actually never tasted better. So that's what he made for us tonight.

His tempura battered shrimp was very light. The kids couldn't eat the ebi chili, since it's a bit too spicy for them. So, he made them tempura shrimp, and they had steamed broccoli with butter, salt and pepper, and rice. They enjoyed the shrimp a lot.

Here was my meal. Ebi chili, not soggy, very crispy shrimp. The noodles below were super crunchy too and the cabbage was crunchy as well. Hmm, what a really crunchy meal, huh? Ha ha ha! It was really yummy though!

And since that lady had given us 2 cantaloupes about 5 days ago or whenever, and they were quite large. We barely just, finished off the last of them tonight. I really love fruit of any kind, so does Branden. So, we really enjoyed this after our dinner. Then we all took our showers, no bath tonight. Got into our PJ's, all of us. And went to curl up on the couch and watched a movie! Just another uneventful day and night spent at home, you guys. : )

Movie reviews! I haven't done this in ages, so I thought it would be fun! : )

I'm a sucker for movies. And like most expats, I always stock up on many movies, for both the kids and I, whenever I get my feet in the US. I used to always do movie reviews, but for the last 2 or 3 trips I went on, I didn't show the movies I brought back and I also neglected to review any movies in quite a while. So I thought it might be fun, so without further ado, here's some of my thoughts on them. : ) (and of course, as it's my blog, it's my opinion, of course some of you might have different takes on the movies altogether : )

Hannibal. Now I like the Silence of the Lambs a lot. I found it to be a great thriller. The second one was so so. And not surprising Anthony Hopkins wasn't in this third one, can't say I blame him. This movie was just okay. The first half was interesting. But they lost me at the last half. The last half, I found sorta boring.

The Holiday, with Jude law (OMG he's so hot!), and Cameron Diaz, and Kate Winslet. I found this to be a really good movie. I liked it a lot. I will definitely watch this again!

Miss Potter, with Renee Zelwegger. It's about the life of the author who wrote the Peter Rabbit books. Very great movie! I really loved this one actually. Will definitely watch this one again and again!

Night at the Museum, with Ben Stiller, OMG! I love Ben Stiller movies anyway. He's so darn funny. Down right hilarious actually! This was a cute film. I also was happy to see, Dick Van Dyke take a small role in this as well. Really good comedy film!

The Little Einsteins and Dora movie, the boys both love them! They watch them again and again! The Little Einsteins movies are great because they teach kids about classical music. And art by famous people. Plus they learn tons of stuff. So, I never mind buying the Little Einsteins movies for the kids. Very educational and keeps their interest! : )

Bridge to Terabithia. I bought this one for the kids. It wasn't so good, I am sorry to say. Didn't keeps the kids attention at all. The little neighbor girl died in the end. Again not a horrible movie, but just okay. Even Noboru said, "this movie is losing me here".

JSA, Noboru picked this one, it's about the DMZ in Korea. He said it was a pretty popular movie in Japan but since my Japanese stinks. He got this in the US, so we could have choice of dubbing in English, which we didn't use. We used the English subtitles instead. It was a really good movie. Very sad.

Music and Lyrics, with Hugh Grant (so funny) and Drew Barrymore (love her movies), however I really didn't think this was a very good movie at all really. Hmmm.

Come Early Morning, with Ashley Judd, I like her as an actress a bunch. But this movie wasn't so great either.

Not so bad. 3 duds outta the bunch isn't so bad, I guess! ha ha ha! These are what I brought back a few weeks ago. : )

Now, these ones I brought back, on my second to last trip to Guam. Here's my thoughts on these.

The Black Dahlia. I had been dying to see this movie. However, I thought it was pretty horrible. It didn't really talk about the real life murder mystery of that lady at all. It really focused on some fake plot or story of 2 detectives and them being in love with the same lady, who was not even the black dahlia, by the way. I wish they woulda just stood with the real story instead of some funky, way off plot, way in left field. Grrr!

Flushed Away. This was an awesome movie! It's about a snooty pet rat. He gets flushed down the toilet and is now mixed in with the riff raff rats of the sewer and all he wants to do, is to make it home.

Arthur, this has voices of some big wigs in Hollywood. Snoop Dogg was a voice. So was Madonna and David Bowie as well as many others! This movie the Blockbuster lady really pushed me to buy. She told me "if you get one movie, make sure this is it" and of course I took it with a grain of salt. But I bought it just in case, she was right ha ha ha. It is a really good movie. Really, really good!

The Ant Bully, such a good DVD. Really good movie for the kids. And with a clear lesson to learn in the end! My boys loved this one.

Charlotte's Web! Oh man! I loved this book as a child. Loved the movie even more. And it was awesome to see the movie come to life in a real movie. Julia Roberts was the voice of Charlotte. She did such a great job! And that little Dakota Fanning girl is so cute! I have loved her since I saw her in the movie with Sean Penn, "I am Sam" The mouse btw, is too funny! : )

Anyway, those are some of my movie reviews as of late! I've been checking out Target.com and Blockbuster a bunch lately trying to get some idea of the movies that I will be bringing back with me the next time. We really enjoy watching movies in the evenings, as a nice way to relax, kick back with the family. And with rainy season and thunderstorms still expected in Chiba, the rain can make the satellite TV go out once in a while (not all the time though), so it's helpful to have a nice stash of movies, that way if we can't access our satellite due to the rains, we can still watch some good stuff. : )

I made a new friend! : )

I made a new friend. An irl/ "in real life" one. Her name is Elena. She started going to the swimming school about a month ago on Wednesday's. She's from the Philippines. Now, I've been going to the swimming school for a little over a year. And I have never seen her before. I noticed her looking at me a few times, but I never said or acted on anything. I think I am a bit more shy that way. Last week, while I was chatting with some of my fellow yochien mom's I saw her again. She was sitting a bit far away from us. So anyway at the end of class last week, as I bent down to slip Noah's Crocs on, she came over to introduce herself. She was really nice. She said "Are you from England"? I said, "no, I'm from America", We chatted for a bit and I said good-bye.

Then at Branden's swim class yesterday. My regular good friend Kaya who I usually hang out with, on Wednesday's, wasn't there at the swim school (Her child goes to the same school as B) So I found a seat and wouldn't you know it, the lady from the Philippines, who was already sitting someplace else, came to sit down next to me. I am always happy to meet new friends. So, it was nice. I was looking at the window watching Branden swim. She was watching her daughter swim. Noah played with some friends of his. And every couple minutes she would ask me some question. Or, talk about something. She asked questions like..."Can you eat sashimi"? or "can you eat natto", ha ha ha just stuff like that. So we actually had a really good chatter the entire hour and a half. I asked her how old her daughter is, she said she's 7 years old. I told her that I hadn't seen her at the swim school too much and if she just started going. She said yes, her daughter started a month ago and she doesn't know how to swim yet, I told her not to worry she will pick it up quickly and we both smiled. After the class, I said good bye. And the boys and I were back again on our way home.

Not really sure if our friendship will grow or what. But either way, it's always nice to meet a nice, friendly person in real life. And she will be another good person for me to hang out with, at swimming school on Wednesdays, ha ha ha. Heck, you can never have too many friends in this world, right? Ha ha ha. Ah well, nothing too major you all, but I did meet a new friend. Just thought I'd share. : )

Monday! : )

Monday morning, a typhoon was supposed to be hitting Chiba. Honestly it seemed like some medium grade rains in the morning and early afternoon and then it all just fizzled out and not a dot of rain come 6:00 pm. Hmm. So with it being an indoors type day. I decided to put some non adhesive liners down in my drawers in the kitchen. I had been wanting to do this but it was something I was putting off. So today was the day for it. I did this while the boys were both still asleep by the way.

I didn't want to use the sticky tack type paper, that my mom used to use for hers. Sorry mom if you're reading. : ) I just wanted the kind, I could replace, but without gluing it in there, is all. : )

I purposely let the sides and corners over lap a pinch because I didn't want a chance of the drawers to ever be scraped or scratched. Yup, I'm a dork, what can I say. : ) I finished up all the drawers, and drank a hot cup of caramel machiatto while I worked on my little morning project. Listening to an old Prince CD.

In the early afternoon, after the boys woke up and they ate. While they watched some Little Einstein DVD's. I meanwhile went into the kitchen and baked an homemade apple pie. I watched the rain fall, from the big patio glass door. Had myself another cup of coffee. And threw the pie into the oven.

I had bought Branden's pencils and little pencil case and eraser and sharpener from the local little drug store. Since it's the country side, the selection was so slim. They had either Mario (you know the character from Mario carts and other Nintendo stuff) or Hello Kitty. Yup basically one set for girls and one set for boys. Well, good thing we don't care in the least, what our pencils look like, because Mario was just fine. I had sharpened them and put his name on everything. And got his little study bag all set for when 3:00 pm rolled around. But that was hours ahead still, so we were fine. In the afternoon while the pie baked. The kids crayoned some pictures and in some of their coloring books. I made a really good lunch for them. Turkey and swiss cheese sandwiches. Potato chips. Fresh melon cut and sliced into cute little squares. And we also had some peanut butter celery sticks. They were stuffed. Branden and Noah watched one more episode of Tom and Jerry by this time (the Little Einstein DVD was long over).

The apple pie was done. I let it cool, on the counter. I had Branden go pee one last time before we left the house. And at 2:50 pm we left the house. The thing of the Kumon we go to, is you can go any time between 3:00 pm and 9:00 pm. We will always go at 3:00 pm though, because he's little and it's good for him to get it over with and then come home and enjoy the rest of the night. By the time we got into the car, they got into their car seats and such. We were driving down the road. We got there in front of the building at 2:56. Not counting the 3 minutes to get settled in the car. It took us only 3 minutes to drive there, wow that's close! LOL! I saw a little girl about 6 or 7 years old walking into the building all by herself. I was really happy to see her, so I said okay Branden, there she goes. So, you should go into the building as well. He was happy to go. He waved and I stood, until he gave me a wave from the window inside. Then I drove off. Got home really fast. I started to prepare dinner. I made chili tonight. You know chili con carne (sp?). Chili beans basically. I fried up some ground beef. I had the chili packets from the store that I got in the US. So, I made a whole pot of chili, perfect for a rainy day. Baked some corn bread and buttered it, oh man dinner was great. And we had homemade apple pie for dessert. At 3:30 pm, though I headed out of the house, turned off the stove and I drove back to the Kumon. I parked my car right in front. I waited. I had emailed the teacher the night before telling her I would be dropping him off at 3:00 pm and return at 3:30 pm and I would happily wait in my car,, no rush, and my car was white. That way she would know. When Branden was finished, they both looked out the window and when she saw my car, she let him go down the stairs and she looked at the window, waved to me and saw he got into the car. When Branden got into the car, he was talking a mile a minute. He said he *loved* it. That the teacher is really nice. He said, he told her, he has some beetles/kabuto mushi's. He also said, that the 2 little kids, which was Branden and the little girl, were seated widely apart and away from the older kids. And the teacher works with the little kids the entire time. Versus the older kids who are working quietly by themselves. He said, she claps for them when they get it right. He really had a great time. He said he wants to go back.Also, I have been studying right along with Branden as well. So when Noboru tests Branden on letters and words, I ask the hubster to quiz me too, ha ha ha. I have been trying to learn it as well. So, hopefully I can learn. I hope I can! : ) I came home, Branden flopped on the couch. Started playing with Noah, right where they left off. Oh and it doesn't last an hour, like we thought. She said because they are so young it lasts between 30 minutes to 40 minutes. Anyway the kids played after we got home. I finished with supper. We ate. Noboru was still at work. I loaded the dish washer, cleaned up the kitchen. Then the kids got showered and so did I. By that time, Noboru got home. He ate, the chili con carne, corn bread and had a tall glass of iced tea. For dessert, I made some coffee and we all had pie together. Noah zonked out as usual. Noboru asked Branden all about Kumon. Then he went through the homework with him. We watched TV for the rest of the night. Just relaxing. Just a nice, "do nothing" type day! : )

Another family Saturday BBQ! : )

Knowing how all kids, the world over, love to blow bubbles. Our kids really love them as well! So when we were in Guam a few weeks ago, this is one of the things we brought back with us. It was actually Noboru's idea. So, all week long the kids have been using this. It's really neat, a non spill bucket and we can refill it with bubbles we buy in Japan! And it has 3 wands so the kids won't have to fight over just having 1 wand, ha ha ha! I'm sure my fellow mommy's know what I am talking about because that really could trigger something. But with the 3 wands, it's a non issue, phew! And the wands make bubbles in cool shapes, so it's super cool! : )

Our extremely well used pool! Have had this for a few years. We will probably replace it next year! But it still works, so it's all good! I have mentioned we have been spending a great deal of time in the backyard now that summer is here. So, I thought I better post *what* we are actually doing back there! Ha ha ha! Nothing major or anything. Just having fun in the privacy of our own backyard. Here's the boys blowing their bubbles! They do this every single day provided it's not a rainy day! Yup, the rainy season is still lingering here in Chiba. Ha ha ha.

Blowing more bubbles! Good thing we have about a 1 or 2 liter size of extra bubbles, lol! I imagine we will use them with summer here and in full swing! : )

There's daddy talking with Noah, there! For us, one thing we love about living in the country side here. Is that there is just so much greenery and so many trees and hills around, that there's always a nice cool breeze back here! A really nice way to spend the summer for the boys! : )

We are planning to buy new patio furniture and stuff this summer! Hopefully we can find something we like. We'll have to check out Costco and the local DIY's, to see if we see something we like. I also want to put some nice flower pots on the terrace as well. Sorta splash some color in there.

We also want to lay down some sod/grass. But with the large size of our yard that is going to be expensive and in Japan it's even more expensive then it is to do in the US. So, it's going to be quite costly. Gulp. But, we will do it. But so far, we are thinking....when. Hmmm! Ha ha ha! : )

I also think we will eventually have privacy bushes put up on both sides of the backyard. Just for some extra privacy, is all. But we will leave the back view that shows the rice field wide open forever. Because we love that view! Again though, all this stuff takes time. We will do things slowly a bit each year! : )

The boys giving their "cheesy grins" face, yup, they are nerds! Ha ha ha! : )

Noah, talking and smiling at daddy!

Noah, waving at daddy! : )

Noah, kicking his feet! Yup, he loves the water just as much as his brother does! He starts swimming lessons next July, ASAP! LOL! Ha ha ha! : )

Branden being a silly billy! And Noah submerging his face in the water and blowing bubbles and actually and honestly, he can hold his breath under water without pinching his nose already! : )

Noboru, puts the slide into the pool. And the kids love it. They can slide down that thing all day long! We were just watching them as we sat on the patio. We were also BBQ'ing at the time as well. : )

Branden sliding down! With rice fields and lot's of greenery and nature all around, like I already said. Plus there's bunches of those big giant Totoro type trees around where we live as well. Very refreshing with lot's of nice breezes and plenty of fresh air ! : )

Branden making a splash, literally, ha ha ha! And next it was Noah's turn! : )

Old blankies put down so they won't track dirt from their feet into the pool. Also, yes that's our dinner on the bbq, there. And same as usual, we don't get all fancy or go all out. We BBQ, every week, sometimes even twice a week. So we don't make a point of it being all super duper special or anything. We just figure we have to eat dinner anyways. We might as well make/cook it outside since we are hanging out there to begin with, which makes sense. Tonight we had baked potatoes, veggies (onions, button mushrooms, bell peppers) chicken, grilled and marinated yakiniku style. And we also had beef. So we had yakiniku basically for dinner. And it was awesome! : )

Here's my meal that I ate. What do we have here? Well, we have, marinated grilled chicken, grilled onions, and mushrooms and bell peppers, baked potato with butter and salt and pepper. Lettuce leaves for wrapping the chicken and rice. And a nice Coca Cola with ice for washing it all down with. Oh and extra yakiniku sauce for dunking my chicken in with. Yup this is what we were doing on Saturday folks, simply staying home as usual, hanging in the back yard again and having another yummy BBQ! : )

Noboru ate tons of yakiniku. Had himself a beer, geeze, he was all set! And there's Noah, shoveling the beef and chicken into his mouth right there! The kid sure likes to eat!

There's Branden eating all his food. He had to have a second helping of everything. He was just starved! Hmm, must have been all the running, sliding, and splish splashing he was doing in the back yard. : )

Aha! Caught him! My husband smiles and laughs and is silly all the time with the boys. However, whenever I click his picture. He always gets this straight poker face. Most people in Japan do this, I notice, they seldom smile for pictures, hmmm. But anyway, I got him here! In his natural state....smiling and joking with Branden! Ahhhh, what a good kind silly daddy he is! : )

So anyway get this, after dinner. The door bell rings. Hmmm, who could it be, we wondered? Should we answer it? Ha ha ha. Noboru finally checked the TV monitor and noticed it was the secretary at Branden's school. We went out onto the front porch and she came bearing gifts. She brought out this box and handed it to me. And I thanked her. Again, we really weren't quite sure of why she was there, so we were all a bit like. What the heck? Ha ha ha. But, I was very polite and thanked her and stuff. Turns out, her brother was running for an election in our small tiny country town and she had hoped Noboru would vote for him. Was this a bribe, I thought? Nah, it couldn't be...errr, could it? Is this legal in Japan? Many, many, things,I was thinking in my head as I stood standing on the front porch holding this box. Still smiling by the way, I might add. She then handed Branden a box of kabuto mushi. She said, she knew he likes them. Branden was beyond thrilled! She then said to Noboru, "so this is your house" "Wow, it's so beautiful, I had no idea, " For what it's worth, she is one of the ladies who picks up Branden in his school bus in the mornings and she really has never seen our house before. You can tell she was genuinely surprised about the house. She reminded Noboru to go vote and she left. Very nice lady by the way! : )

Fresh melons is what she brought for us.

This is what they looked like inside.

She brought Branden 8 kabuto-mushi!!! However, the box was slightly broken and when we left to go and buy a bigger plastic box for them, when we came back 2 of them had escaped! So Branden, now has 6 kabuto-mushi.

Her brother was elected by the way, she called us the next morning to let us know! Ahhh, things really do run differently in Japan, don't they? What might seem different to me, might be perfectly normal and acceptable in Japan (or maybe not). Ahh, who the heck knows or cares anyway! We did enjoy the fruit and are still enjoying it now even. And Branden really is happy about those kabuto mushi. Anyway that is how we spent our Saturday! Just thought I'd share! : )

Lazy days! : )

Sorry for being a bit quiet here, this week. It's just with the matsuri/festival over and now summer has officially started and under way, we are spending every waking moment in the back yard. The boys get dressed in the morning straight away, brush their teeth and they run out and play in the backyard until breakfast is ready.After I do my quick morning clean up around the house, I join the kids out back, and laze around on the patio for hours just watching the kids run, jump, dig, swing on their swing set and slide down the slides. Talk about some awesome lazy days. Lunch time is, well whenever our stomachs start to get rumbly, ha ha ha and then I go in and we fix lunch and then we take it out back and eat on the terrace. Sometimes we go in and watch a DVD in the afternoon, when the sun really hits it's high point. Pop some popcorn. Noah takes a little nap around this point, Branden might take one too. Which gives me time to prepare for dinner. Sometimes I cook inside and sometimes we crank up the grill. Either way, seems you just can't get me in front of the computer, too much these days. It's just too nice outside. Too gorgeous and there's so much fun to be had outside.

We're still going to swimming school as usual. And that is at 3:00 pm until 4:30 pm on Wednesday's and Friday's. So it's a good way for him to see his yochien friends during the summer still. And I get to socialize with my fellow yochien mom friends still. And plus his swimming is really taking off these days. And he loves it. He wishes he could go everyday actually. But twice a week is more then enough.

One of my friends, Rieko/Rie-san asked me if I was having a BBQ this summer. She suggested we have a BBQ at my place with some of our friends from the yochien. That way us parents could just hang out and the kids could all get together over the summer this way. She also brought up Costco. And that we should go there and buy some food for the BBQ. She said she would split the price of the food. Which was nice of her. We talked about this last week while we setting up of for the schools festival. What did I think of all this? I thought it was a pretty good idea. I mean, heck, we BBQ every week anyway. But a BBQ among friends sounds awesome! So, I said yes. So as soon as the rainy season officially ends in Chiba, we will start to put a plan in order and get things in motion. I'll get the inflatable kids pool all set up and everything. It's going to be really cool! : )

Kumon is awesome. We went there yesterday for an assessment and to talk with the teachers. We walked in there. Hmm, nothing like a gaijin to make everyone stop dead in their tracks. My gosh, I find this so embarrassing! When we got up to the door, the big sign on the door said, "studying was in progress, please be quiet" so we very quietly walked through the door. Whispered a "konbanwa" to the head teacher. There were 3 teachers in there in total. Next thing you know, the other teachers caught a glimpse. The utter shock on their faces was classic (especially in this small country town). Total open mouths and wide eyes. I could hear whispers of...."Gaijin-san, gaijin-san", it rippled through the kids who were just seconds before, studying at their desks. I tried not to care. Not to notice, them notice. And we got to business at hand. We sat down and she started testing Branden. She spoke with us. She was very kind, very friendly. She wasn't all rush rush or hurry nor sighs! She explained everything in full detail. Yes she does speak English. The 3 teachers speak English, because they teach English as one of the subjects there. So we can communicate. And yes, I tried to use Japanese first. But she answered me in English every single time. So, I thought, what the heck. And then just spoke with her in English. She told me. she can give me progress of Branden by email so we exchanged email addresses. The things Branden knew, she said, "yes yes that is right." Stuff he didn't know, she showed him what it was. Their whole base is, cheering the kids on. And encouragement. I think this will be a good way for Branden to learn. She also told me, that there is a 3 year old boy who studies there as well. Plus the other little 5 year old girl, who is a classmate of Branden's as well. So from now on, we drop the kids off, they go in alone. And we pick them up. I won't be going into the building anymore, well unless I need to talk with her about something face to face. But, I will just park the car in front, he can run out and I watch until he gets into the building and then I will come back in 1 hour. And I will again, park my car outside and wait until he safely comes back into my car. Noboru went to the Kumon as well, well because he wants to make certain of where he is sending his son. What kind of people they were. Were they nice and stuff. He really liked them as well. So Branden, officially starts this coming Monday. They already gave him homework. He has 20 pages to do before Monday.

Here are his Kumon flash cards and folder which holds his homework.

Here is his homework. And each page only has 2 things on each, to do. So it is going to be easy for him. Not grueling or anything. And it really will help him be prepared for when April rolls around next year. : )

We also bought the paint for our fence. We will be painting the fence this weekend.

What else? We are heading back to Denver, Colorado in September sometime. So back to the mainland for us, for about 2 weeks. Just so far, we are trying to work out which week is best for Noboru and such right now. Not thrilled about the long flight though. I guess I sorta got used to the short 3 hour flight to Guam. Also, NWA (the Japan region), gave out free round trip tickets for all employees and their families to either Guam or Hawaii. The tickets are only good for those 2 destinations. It's a confirmed ticket for the 4 of us, seats and all. They expire in a year, but that's because we get these tickets once a year, anyway. But anyway, we go to Guam a bunch and catching the flight to Guam is relatively easy for us. So, we are planning to use our confirmed tickets to Hawaii instead. We are thinking of heading there this Christmas (if you recall we went to Honolulu because of this, last Christmas too). But as usual nothing is ever carved in stone. But these are things we are working on at our house. But August will be spent in Japan, but it's more then okay, we are making the absolute most of our August at home, plenty of BBQ's, and such. So we are all quite happy.

Anyway, I've spent too much time in front of this computer for my liking and so I better join my boys out in the back yard right now. Have an awesome weekend everyone! : )