A swimming trophy and reaching level 1 for Noah!!!

Noah received his swimming trophy September 9th! When he tested and passed level 2 and became a level 1! All of us are so happy and proud of Noah! It's quite an accomplishment, if you really think about it. : )

August 5th, Noah tested and passed to a level 2. He was only a level 2 from August 5th to August 9th! Hahaha. So a very little time to be a level 2. From level 2 to level 1, you need to swim a medley, back and forth a few times and show quite a few different swimming styles. When he reached a level 2, he knew he could do the medley. It's just basically every move he's been learning since age 3, and so he felt ready. And I knew Noah could do it! However, I did sew level 2 onto his swimming cap and then onto his bag. 

And then August 9th came.  And he did it! : )

You earned this kiddo! We're so proud of you Noah!

Noah's silly pose!

One happy kiddo! : ) 

Noah's very first swimming lesson ever! And according to the date and time stamp on this, this was taken, July, 19th, 2008. At 3:40pm. The swimming levels type swim club start at age 3, at "our" swim school. Sure they have baby swim class. But I wanted Noah in the flowers and numbers type levels, so I waited until he hit age 3. And as soon as Noah hit age 3, July 7th.  We went the next day and signed up Noah on the spot. They had a campaign/deal, that said he could swim all summer long as many days and he could without swim uniform. And then at the end of the summer, they would give him the swim trunks and bag for an even cheaper deal/price then usual. So we signed Noah up for that. Branden already swam for that swim club. All that summer, I would drive both the boys. And I would watch Noah through the glass window upstairs. He was so small and so young, you guys. Very nervous to be away from us. So he would wave at Branden and I through the glass every time he'd get nervous or unsure of himself. Poor thing. : ) Some days it felt he waved at us abut 50 times. : ) And by gosh, that's okay you know! And every time he'd look up, I'd wave and smile real big and give him the thumbs up sign! Branden would give him an Ultraman pose, I remember and wave and smile also! Sometimes he'd have a very worried face or look like he was on the verge of tears, but only out of nerves. But Noah never cried. He just waved huge amounts because of those very nerves. He wanted to make sure we were still there, we weren't going to leave him and we were watching. ; )

Noah took to water so fast! Both Branden and Noah have a complete and total love for the water. Which is a good thing, since Noboru and I love the water too and enjoy spending beach time or pool time. So having our boys have a love of the water like that is really great. As time went on, Noah waved a little less and less.  When he was 4 or 5, he would wave about 10 times during 1 lesson still. So it did dwindle. And even now, if I go watch the boys, Noah will still wave a few times. Way more waves then Branden will though. And that's okay, it's just Noah! : ) And I still smile and wave. : ) 

August 15th, 2008! Is when Noah received his swimming bag for the very first time and his first swim trunks and swimming cap!

My little one, you look so unsure! Your mama, was and is so proud of you. And she knew you could do it and you did it! : ) And I knew you could Noah! Even way back then! : )

Two swimming bags. When Branden was downstairs in the water swimming, Noah would be with me upstairs. And when Noah was downstairs swimming Branden would be with me upstairs doing Kumon homework or having a snack or playing with his friends upstairs. 

Snacks I'd pack for the boys at swim school. Pretzels, granola bars, and peanuts with the clip. I'd bring water or juice box also. : )

This is how little Noah was when he first started swimming, you guys! Age 3. And he is now 8 years old! Still just as silly as ever and very kind. He is much more confident now as he has gotten older, but I still see those twinges or moments when he's still just a little unsure or a little nervous perhaps. Anyway you did it Noah! And we sure do love you! : ) 

Typhoon

A typhoon is supposed to be heading our way. Now, for the most part where we live meaning the location of our town.... about 97-98% of the time they lose all their power by the time they get to us. By the time they get to where we actually live in our town, they are downgraded to just “tropical storm” or what have you. : )

However, I get emails from the US Embassy, since myself and the boys are registered there and my email is also registered with them. I registered with them online years ago. The reason I mention this is because, I get helpful and important notices and information. Anyway I received an email from them a couple days ago saying a typhoon was coming to the Chiba area and to be aware. @_@ So, not sure if it will actually lose it’s punch by this time it gets to our area again, as usual or if it will actually hit us medium to hard. Gee, I really hope not.

When. It was originally expected Monday/tomorrow. Which is fine because as I said in my last post, Branden and Noah don’t have school tomorrow since it’s a holiday here in Japan. Respect for the Aged Day.  However the new updated weather news as of, this morning, it said it would come somewhere between this evening and also tomorrow as well.  So sorta between this evening and tomorrow is when it should get to us,

What’s the weather right now? It’s raining. Light to medium type rain. So, it’s not here quite yet. But you can definitely tell something is definitely brewing weather-wise. : )

Not to worry. We do have flashlights, candles, and a lot of food in the house, just in case the storm is a doozy, I really think it will mellow out though by the time it gets to us though...but famous last words right? Can never be too sure either though.

Today’s plan? I have a nice medium sized piece of beef, I cubed and then skillet fried and it’s been in the crock pot all morning. We’re having beef stew with lots of veggies tonight. Some rice if you want and I’ll also buy a loaf of French bread today too from the bakery, I'll run there real quick and come straight back.  The boys are playing Wii, as I type this. Also good thing is, yesterday was a nice sunny day because I washed their gym clothes, sneakers and inside shoes and school stuff basically outside. I knew it would be raining today so I made sure it got done yesterday. Today I have a load of underwear and socks of everyone’s in the dryer here at home, as I type. : )

Anyway, for friends and family back home or anyone reading, I just don’t want anyone to worry. : )  Hear typhoon on the TV or online news and go, gee I hope they’re all okay. We're all okay. It hasn’t hit us yet. I hope it’s nothing. And it just eases on by, like it usually does in our neck of the woods. But, we’re also getting ready in case it’s bigger then we hope too. Oh yeah, just remembered, I better go and take the wreath down off the front door. That’s all for now. : )

Update just now as I am about to post this. It is officially coming down HARD! The rain is going stir crazy right now. It should mellow out in a bit hopefully so I have time to run to the bakery. Catch you all on the flip side, after it’s over with. : )

Commercials

Anyone have any favorite commercials right now? These are a few of mine. This first one cracks my family and I up, every time we see it on TV. At first, you assume they have a teenage daughter in the house. The dad's coffee is rippling and everything, because of the loud music! : )

This one cracks me up too, because well he's just so happy and excited! Meanwhile, it seems everyone is for the most part, blowing him off! MikeMikeMikeMikeMike!!! What day is it Mike!

This one came out during the 2013 super bowl as one of the new commercials. And it just got me so much during the super bowl! You see him raise this Clydesdale horse, the day the horse leaves and then the man sees the paper and goes to see. You can sort of tell by his face, at first, he thinks, well, the horse forgot me. And then he didn't. The horse remembered! Anyway, it still gets me every time, I see this, even now. : ) And the song they chose for this was perfect too.

This one is a little old, but it's still hilarious. It came out in 2012, but it's just so darn funny. Anyway, have a great weekend everyone! : )
 

Going to the movies (Star Trek Into Darkness) and lunch with my good friends

Tuesday, of this week September 10th, I went to the movies with 2 of my closest girlfriends. We first met at yochien when our children went there, so we've been friends for quite a long time. I met one when Branden was going to yochien and wow Branden's in the 6th grade now and my other friend, I met when Noah started yochien. So yeah we've known each other for years and they both have 2 older daughters both 7th graders who go to the same school and same class even, and we all 3 just really click well together. So yeah wow... we've been friends for a very long time.  The week beforehand, I got an email saying basically, "hey let's go to the movies next week and have some lunch afterwards" And I was like "cool, see you both next week" : ) So the plan was to go and see Star Trek Into Darkness. I keep wanting to say...Star Trek Into the Darkness. @_@ Anyway. ; ) I clearly really want to add a "the" in there. : ) Anyway. Here's the movie poster for that. 

See, for us in Japan, it barely came to the movie theater September 2013. : ) And under the date it does indeed say Star Trek, in English. : ) Anyway the movie was so good! There were funny parts, and then there were many "have you at the edge of your seat parts" After the movie we headed to lunch, Saizeriya. Cheap lunch specials and drink bar, and none of us had to leave until 3pm anyway so we could have a nice long chit chat. The movie started at 9:50am let out around 11:40-50am. So we sat at Saizeriya (Italian chain restaurant) from about noon to 3pm. : ) We caught up with each other... how every one's been doing since we last got together. Gardening. Anyone planting anything for Fall? You know that sort of thing. We talked about the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Psy Gangnam style and Gentleman. LOL. Benedict Cumberbatch (who played Khan, the villain/ the bad guy in Star Trek Into Darkness) and the fact he is so easy on the eyes. : )  And they also talked with me about junior high, a bit. I am a little nervous about Branden entering junior high next year. And sure, I don't want to stress too deeply or dwell now, especially since it's a half year away and all. But the fact is, they are my sempai's. And not only do they have experience going to a Japanese junior high themselves, their daughters are going right now. So, they see it from 2 different ways/perspectives, from a "having done it themselves" perspective and also are currently doing it as a mother having a child in it now. Where as I was educated in America and so I have no experience about junior high here at all, that I can draw upon, if that makes sense, so I am going to be going in uncharted territory and they are so helpful to me for information and trying to reassure me, but they are also super honest too and they tell me how their daughters schedule this summer was very tight and I appreciate their honesty, because I really don't want to be blindsided either, if you know what I mean. : ) Anyway....we also all want to see another movie together. A new one with Matt Damon and Jodie Foster in it called, Elysium. We saw the trailer for it and we sorta said we should go and see that. It comes out in Japan last week of September, where as it's already out in the US. : ) It looks good though.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I do have a misc type... bits and pieces post coming up soon. Today is Friday and I am glad the weekend is here. Plus this coming Monday, there's no school. Yay! 3 day weekend very much appreciated. I have the laundry hanging outside. And the treadmill is calling my name right now. So, have a fantastic weekend everyone! : )

Back to school for both of the boys and Branden’s science project this year

This picture was taken last week. Last Monday, first day back at school, September 2nd. 

This was Branden's science project for this summer 2013. Branden made a volcano that could ooze out "lava"

Close up! The white plastic holder actually came from the Daiso/100 yen shop. It is/was a bottom piece of a dish drying thing.  We bought 1 square of fake grass also from the Daiso and cut it to give his project a little something extra, you know what I mean, I hope. : ) People running for their lives cut outs and a sign that reads "dangerous" dundundun.... came with the volcano kit. And the dirt came from the empty/vacant lot next door and Branden also took a few rocks to add. Branden's project won first place for his entire school this year so he was pretty happy about that. : )  And besides the $12.99 kit, everything else either came from the Daiso or the empty lot next door. And he did work hard and he did it entirely himself, though, Noah and I watched and gave our opinions on his "lava". : )

In September we worked on what combination made the most foamy type "lava" and he worked that out pretty good. While Branden was washing his hands, I also did quickly jot down on the ziplocks what he finally came up with, that way if he needed to perform this in front of his class, which yes he did. : ) Branden could do it no problem. Also after watching a few volcano eruptions on Youtube, we all decided it was best to add the coloring to the vinegar beforehand, that way it was already done. Some videos we watched they added the food coloring after and we saw lots of white foam and the color came out after the foam. So, after running a few experiments and run throughs, Branden did think it was best to add the coloring to the vinegar and I totally agreed. It came out like real lava, by added the food coloring beforehand.

Baking soda. 2 scoops, hahaha. : ) 

We really enjoyed this kit and the next time I go to Guam, I will buy a few extra different kits to keep handy. I know Noah will need these for his elementary school summer projects also. : )

All of the instructions are/were in English and both the boys have no trouble reading English at all, so I just sat and watched. Kinda of exciting actually, to watch. : ) 

About to start painting.

It wasn't difficult at all and he actually had a great time making this. 

A close up of Branden's new glasses they're sorta like tortoise shell frames. Sorta cool. : ) 

Volcano is looking good Branden! : )

Let's see, what else. Both Branden and Noah needed to show up with 2 new cleaning rags. I buy the 3 packs from Daiso and since neither of them would dare take the pink, : ) I always keep the pinks for cleaning the house hahaha. : ) Also name writing pens, they need for school. And the other pack I keep for home use for writing their names on their inside shoes, etc type stuff. And tape. 

I also made sure all of Branden and Noah's stuff was freshly washed and dried. Seat cushion/disaster cover. School bags and gym clothes got a refreshing. 

Inside shoes were washed and sun dried. They were ready, come September 2nd! 

Pencil box was filled with new pencils. Gari gari glue and Noah needed a few extra paints. And that was it. September 2nd we were ready for you! : ) 

The first week back to school has been good for the boys. Thankfully, uneventful. They were happy to see their friends, the ones who don't live near us. Oh yeah, Branden brought this order form for sewing class home. All kids in his class with be sewing gym bags, this Fall! They had to pick one of these. The kids were excited which to pick. Branden picked the Piko one in this picture. And so that's been ordered. So the teachers wants every child to sew a gym bag. But also she asked them to choose another item on the order form and that choice was entirely up to you and your parents of course. Genki is making a pillow pictured here. And he will sew it at school all by himself. So he's excited. So 2 sewing projects for each of the 6th graders this year.

Branden meanwhile picked an apron pictured here. He picked the blue Piko apron. Because our school cooks a lot. And there are so few boy aprons for older boys. So I think he picked a great 2nd project. So now the 6th grade class is awaiting their sewing materials to come in. The boys also had English again their first week back at elementary school also. And that's about it. On the starting school front for now. We're in the swing of things now. : ) 

Our Last Hurrah of Summer! Heading to the Movies to see “Man of Steel” and Summer Wrap Up

School was set to start for the boys, September 2nd, Monday (Labor day for us Americans) So, Sunday, September 1st, I took both Branden and Noah to the movies. Every 1st day of the month, it's only 1,000 yen per each person. So it is the cheapest day to go to the movies in our area if you would like to go to the movies. : ) I checked the movie schedule online a few days earlier, in hopes that something was playing that we'd enjoy. Man of Steel, was showing. It would play in English (Japanese subtitles) at 9:20am and at 3pm. The rest of the showings would be in Japanese (dubbed.) So, we decided to go to the 3pm showing. We also bought our tickets the day before since you select your seats at this movie theater, and I just so happened to be in the area anyway since I was buying meat at the cheap meat store which is right near the movie theater anyway so I was happy to get the tickets beforehand. So, we picked our seats. Which is a good thing because it was a little packed. Not packed like sardines type packed. But about 40 people were in the same movie as us, and I was glad we picked our seats beforehand. : )

Noboru was at work. The boys homework was long done and finished... gee a month beforehand or so (math and Japanese packets were done in July and the rest was done first week of August including diary on Guam and what have you, though they did write their daily "tweets" it was a 2 line blurb each day (Noboru calls them "tweets") (they're just really good at self study since they both had been in Kumon since age 3, so they excel at that part really well actually, sorry don't throw tomatoes or anything ; ),  anyway so no worries. Weatherwise, it was a gray day and sprinkled when we came out of the movies. But, I just wanted to wrap up summer in a fun way for them. : )

Summer wrap up! All in all, I think our summer was a good one! Noboru and I both, tried our best to make sure both Branden and Noah enjoyed it! : ) In America summer begins in June, where as here it begins in July. But I’ll include June as well. We went to Guam and also Honolulu, Hawaii in June as a family.  We took the boys to see Monsters University in June.  In July, I took the boys to Guam to visit with grandpa and to see, Turbo and Despicable Me 2. Our family had a family stand/booth selling hot dogs and lemonade at the summer festival this year, Branden and Noah loved working that with us! They did also pull the dashi this year also. They enjoyed fireworks and a haunted stamp rally at the elementary school this summer. : ) We took Branden and Noah to the wave pool twice and had a picnic there, both times. We had a handful of summer BBQ’s in the backyard. Family dinners at the table with lots of talk and laughter. Countless family movie nights at home. We baked and also cooked together. Our entire family went to cheer Branden on at his swimming competition. We went to Nagano for an over night trip and some onsen fun. : ) And on our last and final day, I took both Branden and Noah to the movies to see Man of Steel! Where we had a large caramel popcorn and large melon soda. : )  Anyway, that was our summer 2013 in a nutshell. : )

Last family trip of summer 2013, Tateshina, Nagano!!!

Branden and Noah in Nagano, visiting with 2 horses. : ) We had such a fantastic time in Nagano, you guys. And I know I am super delayed getting this post up. But we just really wanted to enjoy our last week of summer. So I haven't been online so much. but now I have time to update. So where should I begin? How about the beginning of the trip, where I left off : ) Well, last week, we were all packed and ready to go, the MPV had a full tank of gas and we were ready. So, at 5:30am, we woke up. And we left the house at 6:30am. Last Tuesday August 27th.

Road trips are fun! We stopped at a rest stop a few times for bathroom/toilet breaks and this particular time we all stopped off for some ice cream. The boys in their comfy clothes.

Beautiful views!

When we started seeing lots of monkey signs and also deer signs we knew, that we were indeed in Nagano! : )

So here’s the plan/the run down. As many of you know, Noboru gets 4 or 5 night free stays at selected hotels throughout Japan, part of the perks for the company he works for. But in addition to that, his insurance group he belongs to, for his work. Owns actual condos across Japan also, and we can stay at these condos 12 times per year. On top of the 4 or 5 nights at the selected hotels too. So this time we booked a condo. We booked a condo for an overnight stay in Tateshina, Nagano. So that was the plan, Tateshina Nagano and also Karuizawa, Nagano also. Though the Karuizawa part, was just for sight seeing on our way back to Chiba though. : ) The majority of our stay and time would be spent in Tateshina.

Around 11am, we stopped for lunch in Saku.

Tateshina was our goal! : )

We went to Cocoichi curry. And we smiled when we saw a local curry, that was offered, cute. : )

All 4 of us, ate a lot and were stuffed from lunch and were on our way to driving to get to our destination. However, Noboru suggested we find a supermarket in Saku, first to get some drinks for the room for later that night. I agreed. : )

Seiyu just happened to be closest to the curry shop. So that's where we went.

A dear friend had emailed me a month ago? To info share and tell me, Seiyu had Betty Crocker on sale. I thanked her for the info. I love getting info share type stuff like that. Very appreciated. I was a little sad though...but only because I don't live anywhere even remotely near a Seiyu. So just my luck to be near one. Yay! : ) I didn't buy a whole lot though. I just bought 4 blueberry muffin mixes and that's it. However that 2 for 300 yen deal is a good one! Thanks for the info Kelsey. : )

There were/are some very populated cities. But also some very very small towns and villages also. This was Saku, pretty modern looking. Very nice. : )

The endless sweet potatoes reminded us a lot of where we live, minus the mountains in the distance. : )

The endless rice fields reminded us a bit of home also, but again minus the beautiful mountain back drop. : )

In winter you need chains or snow tires. Growing up, in Colorado we are used to seeing similar signs in our mountains. : ) Not sure if you can make out the sign it says 24 degrees C. Which for us Americans that's a very nice and mellow 75 degrees F. The weather was awesome!

Again Aspen trees are famous in Colorado. Ever hear of Aspen, Colorado? : ) While in Nagano we drove by, Shirakaba Lake, which shirakaba means aspen (trees), needless to say we saw many many aspen trees. They were plentiful.

For the car ride, the boys dressed comfortably in sweatpants and for comfort mainly, but before we stopped for lunch they switched to regular clothes. By now we were in Tateshina and we stopped along the way to say, "howdy" to some horses. : )

Horses in the distance and you can see some scatterings of a small city in the distance also.

I love this picture! They didn't even know, I was taking it! I zoomed up to take it and was actually standing far-ish away. Noah just absolutely adores his dad! Here he is just chit chattering to Noboru. And Noboru equally chit chatting right back. He loves both our sons so much. : )

I told the boys, do whatever you want, I'm going to take 2 pictures and do whatever you want, make a face, do whatever...entirely up to you though! And here's what these 2 silly boys did! Picture #1, right here. : )

Picture #2, right here. These silly boys! : )

Okay so we arrived! Yay! We were happy to arrive. It is indeed a private resort. Some people own condos/a room here. And some people work for companies who own a room. Noboru's insurance group owns 3 rooms here at this particular place.

And with the zoom off. Lots of greenery.

And on the other side of the gate is where we were headed. After being in the car for those many hours, it was nice to arrive.

Two very happy boys. : ) When we parked our car, men wearing the coolest uniforms. The guys were wearing plaid half pants. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of them.

The lobby was very big. Everyone was very nice.

The Denver Broncos. : )

Heading to our room.

The tatami room.

Sink area.

Door on the left of the sink area, is the toilet

Door on the right is the tub and shower room.

Beds.

Balcony, we kept the windows open up until we went to sleep, but for the most part we enjoyed the nice breeze. Plus the screens were super and kept out any horse flies or flying insects.

Noboru smartly putting our drinks from Seiyu in the fridge.

Living room.

Yep we opened the windows as you can see.

TV in here. Nice wooden floor hallway, I think you can see a pinch of it in this pic.

I went out on the balcony.

A sweet treat was waiting for us all. Though, I didn't have mine and Noboru didn't have his either, so the boys had 2 each. ; )

The hallways inside.

There were at least 4 golf carts. And they could drive you to your car, show the condo grounds, they're huge the grounds or...they were just at your service, so to speak. A very nice place. However we prefer walk. : ) We're just not shishipoo poo/fancy shmancy type people and we like to walk or drive ourselves just fine. However they couldn't be lovelier though and we'll be back for sures.  : )

The grape seat, I thought was neat! Oh, hey I just made a rhyme, not on purpose ,btw. : )

Us walking to our car! They even double asked us...are you sure you wouldn't prefer a ride to your car, with a cart? Naw, nope, thanks for asking but we're A-okay. A walk will do us some good. : ) So they smiled and waved and we walked to our car. : )  By the next day when we left, the staff really dug us! : ) 

We drove to the lake. To ride a swan boat! And here we walked by....many a bicycle made for two! : )

Hi Noah! : )

Decisions, decisions. Should we go for the swans with tiny fez hats? Or go for the swans with bow ties? We left it up to the boys to decide.

They went with the ones with the...bow tie! ; )

Hi boys! : ) And you know what, Noboru and I decided since we usually are the drivers and takers of places. Let's let the boys drive us around. So we hopped in the back seat and let the boys paddle and steer. And we sat in the backseat, we took a load off and just relaxed. The boys meanwhile loved the idea! They took us all over the lake. They did all the paddling. It was 700 or 800 yen for 30 minutes.

They also went for a drive! 3 laps for 500 yen. Summer was coming to a close. And we figured, why not! : )

Big smiles!

After the swan paddling boats and the boys driving a car. We decided to leave Tateshina and head to the city at the bottom of the mountain which is Chino city. And have some dinner. Also, Tateshina is a small little town on a mountain, but it is funny/interesting to know, fwiw the town we come from in Chiba is technically smaller population wise. Tateshina is a town according to Wiki, with a population of 8,492. Where our town is just under 5,000. So yeah we do come from a very rural town. : ) Chino city has a population of 56,082. Which is quite small for a city, but again just to give you an idea. The small city Branden and Noah went to yochien in, since our  town is too small for a yochien, has a population even smaller then Chino City, and the small city Branden and Noah went to school in, has a population of 47,230. Anyway just in case anyone finds it interesting that we come from an actually less populated area. Hahaha. But and however it was still gorgeous and stunning. And we did enjoy our stay very much. Heading to Chino city for some dinner.

We went to Saizeriya. Good and cheap Italian. The prices are fantastic here and the drink bar is nice. We all enjoyed some salad, and we had pizza and pasta also.

About to head back up the mountain. But reception is iffy at best. I quickly checked the weather and if you see the nights expected lows for Chino City, 59 degrees. F. And keep in mind it was cooler up the mountain. So it was a bit cooler there also. Yeah I would agree, it did dip down to 59 degrees no doubt.  Also while we were driving up the road near our condo we saw 2 deer grazing. They literally stopped like a "deer in headlights" and us too. Hahaha. We stared at them, they stared at us, and then they trotted off.

Let us in, please! : ) Anyway...the lights were so pretty at night.

We ate, we were stuffed and were back in our room. We now headed downstairs to the onsen. The 3 of them went to the guys side. And I pulled my hair up into a pony tail and then bun. And showered and washed my face and body really well and then I walked (naked, everyone was) outside and sat in the open air tub (rotenburo) and I watched the stars twinkling in the summer sky. It was really dropping in temperature by now. I chatted with 1 mom with 2 toddlers in the rotenburo. One, 30-ish lady with no kids, perhaps she has sons too, I wondered. :  ) But mostly I just enjoyed the scenery, all the trees and nature and stuff. The night sky and the quiet. You can really enjoy the stars in Nagano, I thought, while soaking. I do not think I can see them as clearly as I did while in Nagano.  I also wondered if the deer family could possibly cruise by me, and then I thought probably not with the gate and all. Hahaha. : ) Hmm, I guess I sure thought a lot of weird stuff while soaking. : )  We had planned to meet in 1 hour in the lobby near the onsen area. By now I can tell it was getting close, so I got out and walked inside and sat down and shampoo and conditioned my hair and washed my body off again, then I went and got dressed.

After the onsen snacks. I bought all 3 in Chiba near our house except the cheesecake Pocky we bought at Seiyu.

Noboru had a Fall, limited edition beer.

Two squeaky clean boys in their jammies watching TV and eating sour cream and onion chips.

Noboru relaxing watching TV.

We watched a good TV show. I was in my night gown/sleep T. And a pony tail, freshly blow dried hair. Gee we watched TV until we were all ready for sleep.

I opened my covers and what nice crisp and clean sheets. I could barely wait to jump into bed and go to sleep, except I wanted to take a peek on the boys real quick first.

Zonked out to the world. Sweet dreams kids. : )

Noboru and the boys went to enjoy a soak in the onsen the next morning. Meanwhile I got my makeup on, hair done and dressed. By the time they came back from their morning soak, I was ready for breakfast and so were they. : ) We went to breakfast downstairs. It was a buffet. I had fresh fruit, fresh bread and croissants baked on site and an omelet.

Noah had croissants and Cocoa Krispies. : )

We walked around the condo grounds a bit after breakfast.

And leaving. And yes those 2 people do stand by the door and are ready to help you, their customer service was awesome. : ) Bye you guys, and thank you and yes we will come back. : )

Hi Noah, Hi Branden!

Deer crossing. No kidding, they are definitely around. : )

Omiyage. Time to buy a present for, the grandma next door and Ayumi-chan's family. Remember, the grandma next door went to Izu and brought us back something and then Ayumi-chan's dad went to the US and brought us back some fish. Nagano is famous for apples. So we walked around this shop looking for something good for them. We decided on this handmade apple pie.

See that little bird house looking thing near the road? There was salt stops and spots all along the roads we drove. Some looked like this and some looked metal and box shaped. But they all are pretty much... very appreciated come winter. : )

A small-ish city, but wow that mountain view. So pretty! : )

There were many rivers and streams. Even near the condo we stayed at, there was a little stream and we could hear running water. Just really nice.

Now we were in Karuizawa. First we walked on the popular walking road in Karuizawa first. Very touristy of us. : ) And then we went to the outlets in Karuizawa. Again thinking about Fall and upcoming winter. 60% off sales. And stuff. We were looking for long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts. They had no long sleeve tops but they did have the sweatshirts. Noah got 3 Gap sweatshirts in size 140cm (the 130cm which is Noah's real/regular size were freakishly small, even on him and he's a skinny kiddo and average height/not overly tall or overly short). However in size 160cm, which is Branden's regular size, there were few and less choices... all sold out maybe. But Branden picked 2 sweatshirts, but to be fair, he also got a brand new pair of swim trunks for swim club, also at the outlet in Karuizawa at a sports shop, a pair he really loves. And those swim trunks were the price of 2 Gap sweatshirts put together (and no not complaining at all, we'd never : ) , plus he needed them and they are a great brand for swimmers and so worth it), lol, so Branden did do pretty okay. And he was REALLY happy with his swim trunks and his 2 sweatshirts. Both boys were happy with what they got. : ) And again just slowly getting the boys ready for the Fall.

Hi Noah! And Noboru holding 5 Gap sweatshirts in the Gap bag. Hahaha. : )  Heck that bag was heavy. : )

Nagano is such a pretty place. The views. Those mountains! : ) The summer weather was so nice.

In Karuizawa after shopping for the boys, we stopped for lunch. Pizza and pasta again? Yes! It was unintentional though  : ) We were not planning on it, but as we drove around Karuizawa, when we first arrived before hitting the outlets...we had started to think about what to have for lunch....and by gosh, we saw so many Italian restaurants with the words...pizza and pasta. The boys would read the signs and say, "another pizza and pasta sign again." : ) While we were driving around trying to think of what to eat for lunch and also make our way to the outlets. Okay not really subliminal mind messages or anything... but by the time we had seen about 10 restaurants with similar signs we said, yeah, that's a good idea, let's just do that! Let's eat Italian again. : )

They had a nice brick pizza oven. And the crust was so crisp.

Branden so happy about his swim trunks he held the bag and you can see it right next to his arm. Also to be fair we were still on foot and this part attached to the outlets so we hadn't reach our car yet anyway to drop the bags off yet anyway. : )

Spicy garlic tomato pasta.

We did not take the highway back to Chiba we drove the regular roads. We were in no rush and thought it would be more scenic. This is a pretty popular bridge see the people walking on foot and even that man on motorcycle had stopped to see it, in this picture. So many people wanted a picture of this very bridge!

We stopped for supper along the way. The Ohsho (delicious Chinese restaurant) And we also stopped at a supermarket and bought a few more ice cold drinks for the boys. And we also made a Starbucks run during our drive also. So yeah we enjoyed the scenic regular roads. Again for info wise (fwiw), for those of you not living in Japan, in Japan once you're on the highway, you can't get off and on so freely because you pay to use the highway. 2,000 yen to 10,000 yen type prices, but it varies.  Price depends, on time of day you got on or off and distance, you know... that type of thing. So you can't really just jump off the highway and pop back on like how we do in the US. So, yeah it was perfect for us to take the highway to Nagano because we were wanting to be there as quickly as possible. However us taking the regular roads back to Chiba passing all those different prefectures along the way, since we weren't in any rush, it was fine for us to drive the regular roads so we could take our time and stop and whatnot along the way.

Noah having a snack and watching a movie. Our MPV has a DVD player that plays Japanese region dvd's. That comes out of the roof of the car, however they also have 2 American DVD players, 1 per each seat and they can enjoy the American region DVD's and we have more American DVD's.  : )

Omiyage, gift for our 2 neighbors. The grandma next door and Ayumi-chan's family and we also always buy one for our family also. Anyway, that was our family's summer Nagano trip 2013!