Make your own fun

Luke has been interested in characters lately, and his imagination is growing everyday. So with nothing else to do on a cloudy Saturday afternoon, we all helped him design a Super Hero outfit.

Okay, it started out as just a simple pair of bat wings to "fly" around the house, but once the mask was cut out and we found the old Dracula medallion from a past Halloween, it became more and more about "saving the world" and posing on the porch.

Ian even joined in as the sidekick.

Luke is three

Yesterday was Luke's 3rd birthday. He had a party with his friends in the morning, and then with his family in the late afternoon. I was teaching an evening class at the university, so we decided to open gifts and have a piece of cake when we could all be home in the afternoon. Yukari, as always, did a great job with decorating -- this time with an Anpanman theme (a Japanese cartoon show). She also made a very interesting, and tasty, jello cup -- made of layers of jello and yogurt. Yum!

He took a couple of phone calls and online video chats from relatives, and received many nice gifts from his aunts, cousins, grandparents, and - yes - from his parents too! Ian got to play with the life-size "Diego" balloon -- so he had a wonderful day too.

Blowing bubbles

We have been enjoying the early fall weather here in Boone, this past week, with cool evenings and warm sunny days. The boys like to spend time on the porch blowing bubbles -- or at least, in Ian's case, watching them blow away.

They love the water

Luke has really started to love being in the ocean, or at least in the Bay, here in Virginia Beach this summer. The past two days have been perfect beach weather, and you can't keep Luke out of the water -- jumping over the waves is his favorite. Ian enjoys the water too, and also a good nap under the beach umbrella.

Okay... now I can't wait till these boys are a bit older so we can go surfing in Indonesia during the summers :)

A week at the beach

After arriving back in the US early in August, we had a few days in North Carolina to rest, and then we off again to spend a week with my (Paul's) Mom and Dad in Virginia Beach. First of all, the flight back from Japan was so looooong! It was supposed to take just 13 hours from Tokyo to Newark, and then another couple of hours from Newark to Charlotte -- but there was a storm around the New York area and we were diverted to Washington DC to wait there (on the runway and refuel) for about 6 hours. So of course we also missed our connecting flight to Charlotte. In all, instead of 16 hours from Tokyo to Charlotte, it took about 30 hours... And when arriving in Charlotte, Yukari and I hadn't slept in nearly 40 hours! So it did take a few days to recuperate.

We have had a wonderful week here at the beach. The weather has been perfect! No rain, lots of sun, and temperatures over the past few days are not so hot. Also, my sister Liz, her husband John, and their 3 kids were here for a few days with us, and we had a nice time on the beach and around the house. Luke and Ian have been so lucky all summer to spend so much time with their cousins.

We enjoyed a lot of time at the beach and Luke now really loves the water and building sand castles with  his cousins.

I also took a few photos of Liz' family for their Christmas card... What do you think?

Ian is now six months

In keeping with Ian's development, he is now 6 months old (as of Monday) and it seems every week there is something new that makes me say "Wow! When did he start doing that?". This week I noticed that he is sitting up beautifully, can entertain himself with toys, and can move easily from sitting to crawling and back to sitting again. Way to go Ian!

Sometimes they don't get along...

With four kids in the house, from time to time, they don't always get along. Ian has no problems with anyone, but Kie, Yuma, and Luke have times each day when they are just not happy. From a few photos of a barbecue yesterday here at Yukari's house, these two are classic examples of their personalities, exemplified by how each interacts and reacts:

Beautiful day for a walk

This morning I had to sneak out of the house without the kids seeing me, as I wanted to take a walk up the mountain behind Yukari's family home. The road is narrow, winding, and a bit steep -- so I didn't want the 3 little ones following me. Today was a rare clear and dry (i.e. not humid) day in the summer; and I suspect the typhoon that was skirting up the east coast of Japan today had something to do with the dramatic change in weather here too. Anyway, perfect weather for a walk in the mountains.

I have always loved walking up this road, as it has many overlooks to the town of Muikamachi below. Yukari's house is the last before the mountain -- nothing but woodlands (and insects)! Today I was struck with the contrast with living in Boone, NC -- another town in the mountains -- and Japanese towns. In the US, everyone wants a house perched on the side of the mountain overlooking the town. Here in Japan, as you can see above, there are no houses on the mountain sides at all. Part of it could be the sheer amount of snowfall here in winter -- which can see a good 4 to 8 feet on the ground at times. Yukari offered another explanation: "we don't want to spoil the beautiful natural scene".

On one overlook just off the mountain road there used to be a Japanese Shinto shrine. You can still find some of the common symbols, such as a pair of Komainu (lion-dog) statues, which traditionally stand guard outside of most Shinto shrines, as well as rock lanterns. The building structure is gone now, I believe because there were too few young people in the local area to do the upkeep -- as shrines are generally built and maintained by each neighborhood.

Summer festival

Two years ago, Yukari was here in her hometown of Muikamachi with Luke during the local matsuri (summer festival). Each town in Japan hosts its own summer festival during either July or August, and they generally feature local dancing and customs. And, like festivals everywhere, there are plenty of food stands and carnival games that line the streets of town.

This year we were happy to have several children around to enjoy the evening walking through the festival area of town. Unfortunately, Ian is too young to go, but Luke had a few of his cousins to show him the way this year. They also each wore a yukata -- a light cotton kimono, that is the traditional summer dress for walking around town in the evening.

Memorial service

Yukari's family had planned a memorial service for deceased relatives this summer, as it was a time when many of us were either in Niigata or could travel here easily. The service was held over the weekend, which also coincided with the local summer festival in town, so those who wished to stay could enjoy that as well. Buddhist memorial services in Japan are usually held during the 1st year, and then subsequently in in the 3rd and 5th, 7th and 13th years after a family member passes.

There were several relatives that came from the Tokyo area, as well as from Fukushima -- some of whom stayed at the house here in Niigata after the earthquake and events in that area this spring. There was a traditional ceremony with the Buddhist monk in the morning, followed by a feast that lasted most of the day.

The next morning we visited the family grave site to clean up, burn incense, and to leave some flowers and other items at the tombs. Many family members left for home after that, and though it was nice to see everyone again, it was a sad to see them go so soon.