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

so, a couple of days after my previous post, i spilled wine in my precious macbook air. i suck. so, anyway, i have been missing my computer and fainting over the repair costs (taking it to the apple store will cost nearly as much as just buying a new computer!) and waiting for a wireless keyboard to arrive. finally, the one yoshi ordered came and i can use the computer again! so far it seems only the keyboard is affected, though it *is* wine so who knows what's going on inside. we should probably have it inspected somehow. or, just save up for a new computer. again. *unhappy face*

anyway, we had visitors that week, B and her two lovely girls came over for a play date. i tried to BBQ, but the charcoal i had would NOT cooperate, i actually had to run out (and leave B with 5 kids!!) to get some of the good stuff. i think it was worth it, though, because we had hamburgers (hot dogs, too!) which were pretty fantastic!

then, the kids and i took a mini-vacation just before obon. my work schedule at the juku was all messed up, but in the end we straightened it out (and, only one more class next week!) and on the 10th the kids and i drove to yufuin in oita-ken. we were lucky to have a free night at the youth hostel, though i was pretty tired by the time we got there (sasha HATES long car trips) and just tried to relax and prevent the kids from bothering the other patrons! the food was great (but, of course, the kids hardly ate anything, so i had plenty to eat! blech--it was good, but i got so full) and the room was comfortable. being in yufuin, the youth hostel has an onsen and we were able to have a private bath. that was very nice. the next morning sasha and i went again to wash and comb her hair (such a job!) and then after breakfast, we went to kijima kogen, mainly for the pool they open in the summer, but also for some of the rides.  even hiro isn't quite tall enough to go on all the rides, but they did get to go on a fair amount!

after lunch (and a couple more rides) we got in the car again to drive to gaijin wife's house!  rachel also came over with her girls and you would think that having 9 kids in the house would be chaos, but it actually worked out rather well.  it helps that rachel's older two are just old enough to be responsible (and mostly quiet), but young enough to want to play.  rachel told me before hand that each of them had divided up the kids and decided what they were going to do with them before hand!  smart girls!

so GW, R and i had a bit too much to drink and talked far into the night.  it was awesome.  the hangover the next morning, not so much.  i felt pretty useless, but i did manage to get all my stuff together and then we went to the beach with R and her daughters.  sadly, GW had obon visitors coming (sorry, GW, i didn't realize the weekend before obon would actually be a bother, for some reason i thought the weekend after would be busier!  i blame my head, i never remember when obon is!!)  after lunch at the beach, my kids were pretty exhausted and i finally lost my patience with them, while trying to pack up and get back to the car.  they fell asleep almost right away, which was nice, and we actually got home at a decent hour.  i got most of our crap out of the car and that was the end of our holiday!  many thanks to GW for letting us stay over, and for inviting R over for some weekend fun.

so, sasha tommy and i went to rachel's house last sunday for a BBQ. here are some photos from that!

sasha and dress-up

setting the scene

sasha in the dress amy put her in

playing with bugs

rachel has DJs at her parties!

all the little kids got a chance to play DJ (notice sasha's dress change.)

here we are, in the middle of golden week.  i didn't take any pictures yesterday, sorry about that.  we had a great time!  two lovely friends and their families came over for grilled hotdogs and yakiniku, with salads, veggies and a scrumptious dessert.  the biggest hit was the hotdogs, which i didn't even have to buy!  thanks, kuri!

tomorrow hiro has school, but tommy and sasha are off.  and wednesday they are in school, but hiro has the day off!  what a pain!  i am soooooo looking forward to next week, where it's basically smooth sailing until summer vacation.  *sigh*  wish me luck!

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!

hiro starts school tomorrow, although sasha and tommy do not.  i confess, i am so ready for them to be in school again.  of course, sasha and tommy still have about a month of half-days, but three hours to myself in the morning is better than none at all!

today we had plans to meet up with kuri and mrs. n, but not until lunch.  the kids were so ready to go by 10 so i took them to global arena to play at the playground.  we really love this place, so much grass and the playground is a lot of fun!  i also enjoy the bakery they have there, and someday i'd like to try the buffet restaurant they have there.

after a while, i got the kids together and we drove to nogata.  there we met our friends at the mall and had lunch.  then dessert.  then we went to a small play area in the middle of the mall and the kids went pretty crazy.  hiro and tommy fight a lot these days.  i'm not sure if it's male bonding or what, but i am so over it and now just let them to it.  fight it out, boys!  *sigh*

after a while we gathered up the kids again and then i popped into vanguard village to get some milk tooth boxes, as zorro has chewed up all of ours.  these are little things in which you place a tooth for the tooth fairy.  a 100 yen coin fits perfectly in the box!  then we went to the game center because i had promised hiro he could try for a bouncy ball (he lost one at global arena), then had to suffer through my kids whining about playing more games!  eventually we got them to starbucks for our last treat of the day.  then it was time to head home.  sasha was particularly tired and whined most of the way home.  eventually she fell asleep and we were all relieved!

well, that's pretty much it for our day.  i did take pictures, but haven't had time to upload them.  perhaps someday...

on sunday, we had a lazy morning, and then we went to lunch at the omuraisu restaurant. this was very yummy! after lunch, we stopped by the au shop, because my phone had seemed to die while i was away in kansai. turns out it was just a very dead battery, but i remembered that the screen didn't work a couple of times a few weeks ago, so we asked them to check it and give us an estimation (if we needed to pay for repairs.) i got a loan phone instead. then we went home and got ready to go to rachel's house.

sunday was rachel's birthday. she was having mini celebrations during the weekend, but as i was in hyogo until saturday, i could only make it to the sunday gathering. we got there in the late afternoon, just in time to see S and her husband. then we waited until almost 7, and then we all went to the river, where the festival was. the main attraction (for us) was the fireworks, but the festival itself was very interesting. i don't know the meaning or the stories about it, but i do know it's very noisy. it was also quite dark, so the best 'pictures' i got were actually video! for your viewing pleasure:







we sat to watch the fireworks, but to be honest, they were a bit disappointing. but we were at a festival and that was fun! we met a lot of friends there, and enjoyed festival foods. yum! after the fireworks, the 'floats' with the drums and flutes packed up and left, each to its own shrine. then the crowd began to thin and we soon left.

after getting back, we got the kids ready for bed and then they all went to sleep. it was a very late night for my kids! then rachel and i went out by ourselves, to have a cocktail and then to enjoy karaoke. we had a great time, we both love karaoke! it's great having a friend at karaoke because you can select a song while your friend sings. but since it's just the two of you, you don't have to wait long for your turn! we also did a couple of 'just punch in a lot of numbers and see what comes up' songs, which was great fun.

then we went back to her house and had a lovely late-night chat. eventually, i went to bed at 4, because i knew hiro, sasha and tommy would be up early! monday morning started soon enough, but we mostly hung out and watched videos. after lunch, the kids wrapped up all their games and then we were on our way back to munakata. i know that i had a great time and the kids really enjoyed themselves! thanks for having us, rachel. i hope you enjoyed your birthday!

so, the kids (and i) were invited to a birthday party last monday. the pinglet is now four! it's kind of hard to believe that we met kuri in person just after the pinglet was born. my, how the time has flown!

even though i remembered to recharge the battery for the nikon, i didn't take many pictures of my kids (and none of sasha!!) i did get quite a few done, but mainly during the cutting of the cake. i spent the rest of my time chatting my head off and trying to avoid running and screaming children! it was a lot of fun. happy birthday, pinglet!!

yesterday morning i set out easter baskets for the kids. they were pretty excited about it (because they love chocolate!), so that was nice. (sorry, no photos of the baskets.) then we got ready and drove to karatsu for a kyushu-AFWJ family BBQ. the weather just managed to cooperate, though it was a close thing (it nearly rained a couple of times! but i defied it, stupid rain.)

there were a lot of kids, of all ages, but mainly elementary school kids. my three had a blast, running and playing.

first we had lunch (though there was plenty to eat all day), and then the my kids wanted to dye eggs. others joined in and there were loads of fabulous eggs! then some of us filled plastic eggs with goodies while others kept the kids occupied. then the bigger kids hid eggs for the little ones, while the dads hid eggs for the bigger kids. then it was easter egg hunt time! that was loads of fun.

next it was time for dessert so we headed inside for plates of cakes and cookies, coffee and tea. afterward i got out bubble stuff and let the kids go crazy in the garden. while they were distracted, i started collecting all our stuff. i certainly had brought a lot! and if you know me, you know that i always forget something. this time, we left tommy's shoes behind. unfortunately, these are his only pair of shoes. *sigh* luckily, kuri and family brought them home for us (though they are at kuri's place) so hopefully we'll get them back soon. in the meantime, tommy will just have to wear boots.

i got the kids to leave fairly pain-free, and hiro and sasha fell asleep fairly quickly. stubborn tommy wouldn't sleep at all! even though we weren't very hungry, i stopped at hirai for some dinner so i wouldn't feel so guilty about letting them eat so many fun things at the party. then we were home, in the bath, teeth brushed and on the way to bed when yoshi got home (yoshi had a softball game yesterday so he didn't go with us to karatsu. he was done by the afternoon, but he must have gone out to talk to neighbors before we got home.) after telling daddy about their day, the kids went to bed.

i have been to karatsu a few times before, but i forgot how nice a city it is. i hope to visit again soon!


















(kuri's son being held by a friend)














(karatsu-jo)




(baby finally asleep--in mommy's arms)

GW and rachel have already written better posts than i could, plus they took pictures, and i didn't, so this post is going to be fairly short. after the entrance ceremony, we took the kids to a omuraisu restaurant (though that's not quite what it is...but their speciality is HUUUUUGE omuraisu (omelets over 'chicken rice') so we just call it the omuraisu place.) everyone was hungry so tempers were short but eventually we got the (delicious) food and stuffed ourselves. then we went back home to find yoshi's brother and his family waiting for us.

oh, did i mention? yoshi's brother called the night before to tell yoshi they wanted to go to costco. pretty late (after 10? i was actually asleep when yoshi came upstairs to ask me what my plan was for saturday.) let's just say that i have some resentment towards being called last minute for family obligation (because now i have some family obligation) when we were already pretty busy and had other plans. yoshi wasn't coming with us to oita but still....it was kinda hairy getting the kids to agree to get in the car when their cousins were there to play with right now. eventually the kids and i got on the road, and actually made pretty good time.

on the regular roads it take four (or more) hours to drive to GW's. one of the toll roads between here and there was changed to free (i'm sorry for that awkward sentence. some of the toll roads had their tolls removed last year; you can still go on the road--which saves time--but you no longer have to pay) and that shaved nearly an hour off the time. also, the traffic was pretty good for a fabulous saturday afternoon. in the middle of sakura-season.

speaking of, it was an absolutely beautiful day for driving, especially since nearly all the blossom trees were ... uh ... blossoming. this year has been particularly gorgeous. i don't remember the trees being so fabulous, to be honest. yes, sakura are really pretty, but usually the weather doesn't cooperate and it either rains (which washes the petals away), or a freak cold snap occurs and 'confuses' the trees (so they start to bloom, then kinda shut down, then bloom again but then the leaves come out and the trees just don't look as nice if the leaves are unfurling at the same time.) anyway, this year the cherry trees (here in northern kyushu, anyway) have been so gorgeous, and still are, nearly a week later. unprecedented (for me, anyway, and my 11 years here!)

so we got to GW's just before dinner. shou and his daddy left soon after we got there (for a previous engagement) and we let the rest of the kids get used to each other. then it was time for dinner, and GW had made yummy stuff for all of us. the kids ate first, then bathed, then watched a bit of tv and then we attempted to get the kids to sleep. hiro and tommy had actually fallen asleep in the car on the way there, and it was a bit early for my kids (7 pm) to go to bed, so we got up again and quietly played for about 45 minutes and then i tried to get them to sleep. tommy was the one hold out so we let him play for a bit longer and then eventually all the kids were asleep! GW and i had a lovely time chatting and drinking and almost-but-not-quite-crying (i hope i was a help, though!!). we talked through shou and his daddy getting home, having something to eat, taking baths and going to bed. we talked past midnight when eventually someone upstairs needed his mommy. it's so nice to have a good, long talk!

the next morning was fairly early (maybe not for the kids who went to bed pretty early!) but i wasn't feeling too bad. i haven't been drinking much lately, though i did try to do my share! after getting dressed (me and the kids) we fed the little ones and then shoved them outside to play (ok, ok, we let them watch their sunday morning cartoons) and to wait for rachel and her girls to arrive. my bunch was hungry for lunch by 9:30 so i told them they had to wait for rachel to get there. every five minutes it was, 'i'm hungry. is rachel here yet?' but i managed not to throttle anyone.

i had seen rachel a couple of weeks before, but i always enjoy her company and her girls are great fun, too! i know that hiro loves playing with the older two girls who seem to have great patience for the younger kids, and still know how to have fun like the little kids! we left GW's at 2, because i didn't want to get home too late and because (i thought) sasha and tommy had school the next day. so we said our goodbyes and gave hugs all around and then we were off. it took about 3.5 hours to get home, which is pretty good, and i have to say we greatly enjoyed our time in oita. thanks

again to GW for having us!! and to rachel for coming out and playing with us!

EDIT: i guess i did have a lot to say!!