so, the week before the birthday party, we joined some AFWJ friends at hard rock cafe in fukuoka for a halloween party. even though it's quite noisy, it's great to have a party there! and, because it was the boys' birthday month, we had the staff sing happy birthday to them, and bring them an ice cream dessert!

before the party, the kids and i walked around the hawks town mall. there is a 'trick art museum' there, which we tried for the first time. most of my pictures from that day are from that!













hiro was dressed up at iron man, sasha as cinderella (disney) and tommy as....nothing! lol

i had a lovely time in kanto.  first, i got to meet the next AFWJ membership secretary, whom i had never met  before, and we had lunch with an older member who lives in a beautiful old house in zushi.  after lunch M and i were driven to her house by C, and then the two of us got working, training her on how to be the next MemSec.  it took more than four hours, with a very short break, and i still forgot to tell her a couple of things!  no worries, and i am still on the board, and still very very available to answer questions, and i have complete confidence that she will be an awesome MemSec.

after we finished up, M and her son walked me to the station so i could meet up with some bloggy friends.  she also, very kindly, printed me some train schedules to help me on my way.  there are so many train lines in kanto!  (DUH)  rather confusing, and i find that i have to face the fact that i am a country mouse.  *sigh*  anyway, i made my way to bryn's for a bloggy-friends-in-japan get-together.

i got there rather late, it was almost ten when i walked in the door!  i had a slice of apple pie, which i bought just before meeting up with M, and then it was on to the drinks!  i also made it a point to have my picture taken with everyone, but i think the best photo was the group photo taken before some members of the group had to go home.

[photo removed by request of one of those included.  i have no problem with whatever anyone thinks of me or my appearance, this is my blog.  but that's what it is, my blog, not any of the other wonderful and beautiful women in the picture.  sorry that i can no longer show this image of love and beauty to you, my dear readers.]


yes, that's me, big and pink in the front.  *sigh*  that's what i get for leaning back, trying to fit in the picture!  didn't realize i was already in it.  oh well, motivation for fummy tummy!

so, who is here?  (in no particular order, and sorry no linking unless requested, i'm still worn out from my weekend!) nooh, shinshu life, lily, bryn, lulu, alex, cecelia, gaijin wife, chrysanthemum mum and brenda (brenda, do you have a blog??  you do, why can i not remember it??  cue fifteen helpful people reminding me in the comments....)  anyway, i had never met 6 of these wonderful women before, so i was so happy to finally meet them!  and meet up with my good friends whom i have met on several occasions.  hopefully we'll meet up again soon!

after i made an effort to catch up, ladies disappeared to bed (or comforting kidlets) until only two of us were left, and it was definitely time for me to go to bed!  sunday morning was a slow, lazy day (of which i am extremely grateful to bryn!) and after everyone else had left (my flight was for 8 pm, so i had time to hang at bryn's house, which i didn't get to do on saturday) we had a lazy day in front of the tv (the weather wasn't so nice on sunday, sadly, otherwise i may have made more of an effort to do sight-seeing!)  eventually, though, it was time for me to go.  bryn helped me figure out a route back to the airport, but sadly i got on a wrong train along the way!  luckily, it was going in the right direction *phew!* so i did manage to get to the airport in time to catch my plane!

all in all, a fun and productive weekend.  and now i no longer have the responsibility of MemSec, but am now the secretary!  wish me luck in my new venture!

on sunday, we had an easter party at our house.  it was mainly an AFWJ event, but i also invited a fellow teacher and his family.  five families came, and i think there was about 20 people in total who came (but perhaps about 16 people who were there for the whole party).  that was the perfect amount for our little house!

i roasted a lamb that day, my first, and it turned out really well.  i am lucky to live by sunny (aka seiyu, aka walmart) because they have some fresh herbs in the produce section so i could get some rosemary for the lamb.  we also have some hardy mint coming back in the garden so i had some fresh mint for the sauce (although either i didn't pick enough, or i added it to a too hot sauce, because i didn't taste very much mint).  everyone who came also brought a dish to share so there was plenty to eat!

after lunch the kids dyed eggs, i think they enjoyed it.  hiro did manage to spill a pot of dye on me, but luckily most of it went on my bare legs, and only my old, holey socks got ruined (i was going to throw them away anyway).  after that, we had an easter egg hunt with plastic eggs filled with chocolates.  the parents shared some adult chocolates, too.  the hunt was over so quickly, but the kids managed to entertain themselves for the rest of the afternoon.  all too soon, it was time for people to go home, and so we made our farewells.  i was happy to have so many friends over!

as a member of AFWJ, i get to attend quite a few events with other foreign wives of japanese men. i find our kyushu group to be a really friendly one, and i was really happy to (finally) be able to attend a mini-convention. each year there is a national convention, but usually they are held on honshu, rather far for many of us here in kyushu. so, we hold our own mini-convention to give ourselves a chance to get together and have some fun!

this year we went to hita, a city in oita-ken. i was supposed to catch a train a meet up with kuri and rachel, but yoshi had softball practice and didn't get home in time for me to catch the train. i drove myself, but with the interchange, it didn't take me very long to get there at all!

i was rather early, so i had lunch by myself at a place (and of course i've forgotten the name) that is related somehow to orange julius! they don't sell orange julius there, but i had a fabulous hamburger and salad! then i went to the hotel (lobby pictured above) and was the first one there. since i wasn't the coordinator, i just sat and read a book until other AFWJ members arrived.

first on our schedule (for some of us) was a tour of the sapporo beer factory. first they have us watch a film, and i nearly fell asleep! then we went through the factory a bit (but since it was saturday, it was a bit boring) and then on to the beer tasting! we got two glasses of beer and some snacks to nibble on. that was fun!

back to the hotel to check in, and then some of us went on a walk (there is a historical neighborhood in hita, not too far from the hotel, but as it was raining....) and i snapped a few pictures.



taking a cue from unfamiliar japan, here is a picture of a manhole cover. i guess they have cormorant fishing in hita.







our group (except for me, obviously!) walking in the rain.



many of the roads here were very narrow, so they had these signs on the road reminding pedestrians to stop before stepping into a busy street! many were painted on the road, but i liked this lovely stone sign.



a prettier, smaller manhole cover.

well, that's about all i can share! i had a great time at the mini-con, i hope i can go next year!