Rainy day fun

We had really hot days since we got here in Japan. But we got some rain today. 

Boys are so excited, because they were finally able to use umbrella!

Luke and Ian called me: "Mama look! We are flower!!"

Few hours later both came inside the house and  Luke enjoyed Origami most of the day.

Ian--he played with everyone's shoes!

I asked him to clean up when he finished playing. So he did.

Better then before! Thanks Ian oxox

After their rainy fun, it was getting sunny again. They went to outside and played until bath time.

Wish I could have energy like them!

Gardening

It was beautiful day. Luke and Ian helped Baba preparing vegetable garden. 

She is planing to come to North Carolina this summer, so she won't plant many vegetable, but she'd like to plant Asparagus and Ashitaba (Angelica keiskei). 

They were good helper!

 

Cousins were here!

My sister and her kids visited my mom and us. They stayed for a week and Luke and Ian met their newest cousin--his name is "Kai". 

Yuma helped Luke and Ian how to play "Oreka battle" and "Youkai watch" games.

Ike-chan, Luke and Ian liked play card games together. 

They had yummy ice cream and played at park. 

They made potato salad with Baba (Grandma).

Luke and Ian loved feeding Kai-kun and play with him when my sister need little help.

They all had fun and we promised Yuma and Kie-chan that we are going to visit them on island in June!

Snow fun

My cousin heard that we arrived my mom's house, he came see us today with his children. One of his daughter loves Origami, she showed Luke many different Origami. And they ended up playing snow! It is getting warmer here, but still there are some snow on the ground. 

Luke and Ian were playing snow everyday since they got here. They change clothes three times a day and took bath around 3:00pm for one hour. They still have jet lag, so they fell asleep around 5:00pm and wake up 4:30am. We are healthy life pattern: wake up early and sleep early!

We are in Japan!

Boys are very good traveling! 18 hours, we are now in Japan. We stayed over night near Narita last night and said good by to Paul--he is going to Fukuoka and we are on the way to my mom's house.

Narita Express: Narita to Tokyo

Shinkansen (high-speed railway): Tokyo to Yuzawa

Spring break 2015

A few days to enjoy time with family in Virginia during our spring break this year. We will be visiting Japan for the summer, so this will be our last chance to visit with Mom and Dad for several months!

Spring will be here soon

We hope that spring will be here soon! One of our favorite parks in Boone is the Greenway, and many of the same spots in this park show up in photos from year to year.

Happy 4th Birthday Ian

Christmas break with the family

We were happy to spend time with Liz and her family in Virginia during the Christmas break, including a beautiful clear winter day -- perfect for a walk along the Chesapeake Bay beach.

Merry Christmas!

Halloween Vampires

The boys dressed up as vampires for Halloween, keeping up the tradition of having the same costume as each other. They had a couple of parties early in the week, but unfortunately, we were expecting snow (again!) this Halloween night, so no "trick or treating" from house to house this year.

Bike riding

This is the first day Luke has ridden his bike without training wheels! In fact, he really went right from the strider bike to this regular one. New bicycle and helmet for Luke's birthday next week, and Ian got a new helmet as well :)

First day of kindergarten

Luke starts kindergarten today!

A few days at the beach

Enjoyed a few days at the beach in Virginia before Luke starts kindergarten and I start the fall semester at Appalachian State.

Nana and Papa

After returning from the study abroad in Japan and Indonesia, we had a wonderful time at the beach visiting Nana and Papa.

Study Abroad to Indoneisa

I took a group of graduate students in the College of Education at Appalachian State University to Indonesia this month, to work with teachers in schools in the city of Yogyakarta. We had a wonderful time, and visited historic sites, such as Borobudur Temple in Central Java, and the Green School campus in Bali. I am sure this will become a regular study abroad in our college.

Visiting schools in Yogyakarta

Touring the Taman Sari Water Palace in Yogyakarta

A wonderful day touring Borobudur Temple in Central Java

With my students and instructors from Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta

Tanah Lot Temple on the west coast of Bali

Barong dance in Batubulan Village, Bali

The Green School campus in Bali