ohanami means flower viewing, usually it means looking at cherry blossoms.  people gather together under the cherry trees while they are blooming, usually because the weather is warmer (but it's usually still quite cold, especially if it's cloudy or windy!) and have picnics.  some people will drink, but this year i did a lot of driving, so i didn't!

our first hanami was a bit of a last minute tack-on to an onsen trip we went on.  march 20th was a public holiday (spring equinox) and yoshi booked us into a hotel in the middle of fukuoka prefecture.  the hotel was really lovely, and the onsen was especially nice.  i didn't get to enjoy the onsen as much as i would have liked to though, because the kids were horsing around and hiro hurt himself.  somehow, he locked his knee and couldn't walk.  the kids were very trying that day and i just lost my temper, and forced him to go to bed.  i had to stay with him in the room, so i told sasha and tommy to go with yoshi.  sasha refused to go without me, so she didn't get to go to onsen.  when she finally realized there would be NO bath with mommy, SHE threw a temper tantrum which resulted in HER going to bed, too.  ah, so much fun, so much drama.  the onsen opened early in the morning, though, so she and i got to go to onsen.

after leaving the onsen we went for a bit of a drive.  there were lots of cherry trees near the hotel (which is on a riverside), so i suggested we go to a place i knew of in asakura-city, because i used to live in that area.  first we went to a sakura park, which was ok, but not the place i was thinking about.  we got some tourist information there, and i found what i was thinking about:  akitsuki.  very nice.


in amagi









our next hanami was with kuri and her kids, at kokura castle in kitakyushu city. it was a cloudy and somewhat cold day, but it was nice to meet up with our friends, and the blossoms were gorgeous!













our next hanami was with kuri again, this time at uminonakamichi. of course, the kids and i went to the aquarium first.



at the park, we rented bikes and went around that way. there were some gorgeous trees along part of the way.







our last hanami was with one of my japanese classes. the blossoms were nearly finished, but it was a nice day for a picnic!

ok ok, i am getting tired of the christmas post, too! sorry, it's been a crazy few weeks. so much to do these days!

sasha has 'graduated' from kindergarten. so unreal! soon i will have two kids in elementary school. it's kind of a relief, really. we are nearly ready. i want to make her some bags, for her sports clothes, library books, mask and maybe a bento bag if i have enough material left over. i also need to get her name on her sports clothes, but everything else is pretty much ready. hm, that reminds me, though, that i need to find her pencil box and get her pencils and erasers ready.

i had an easter party for my students here at the house. it was QUITE an adventure. i certainly learned a lot, what NOT to do next time (if there is a next time!) classes are going well, otherwise, and i have a couple of new students starting in april.

sorry that i don't have any new photos for ya. i can't find the nikon, i guess i better ask yoshi where it is.

i usually blog in the evening, but yesterday i went to a drinking party and made sure to get the most value from the 4500 yen i spent on AYCE and AYCD yakiniku and draft beer.  so.  i didn't blog yesterday.  i do hope you'll forgive me as i have photos today!  so nice to have a new (fast) computer with LOADS of memory, and the newest iphoto, so the photos uploaded quickly from the new P&S camera!  to recap, we met up with kuri and mrs. n, but before that we went to the park.  enjoy!

hiro started second grade today.  i would say it was nice, but i still had sasha and tommy at home, and i am, quite frankly, burnt out.  i am so over having the kids at home all day.  every day.  and it's still not over.  sasha and tommy have a holiday on monday, and hiro has a holiday on tuesday.  i will finally have a few hours peace on wednesday.  finally.

i haven't done any spring cleaning yet.  just not happening.  i will try to do a big push tomorrow, and then get things done as the kids go back to school.  what i want to do is a purge, throwing out things we don't need or use any more.  then i need to do a lot of dusting, window cleaning and just general cleaning that hasn't been done on a regular basis.  *sigh*  and who ever thought it was a good idea to live with animals??  ugh!  the mess and mayhem they cause.  so far, not worth it. 

well, here we are, the first day of april! don't worry, i'm not going to try to trick you. yes, i'm the type of person who hates practical jokes and anything that makes other people feel embarrassed. i know that there are some people who can just roll with it, so playing a trick on them is fun for them as well, but, well, i'm not one of them. anyway.

spring is well and started here in kyushu! my first mini-daffodils are definitely on the way out, and the crocuses have all bloomed and gone as well. my big daffodils are so ready to open, and the grape hyacinths are nearly all up and purple! summer is my favorite season, but there's something to be said about spring!

although today is quite cold, the sunshine is beautiful! i finally took in my christmas lights at the front of the house. now i just need to do some weeding. i also need to do an overhaul spring cleaning. we have so much CRAP! the main culprit is yoshi. he has so many books! and other things! but mostly books. i have no idea what we're going to do with all of them!

because of the sunshine, we are going to BBQ outside. the first BBQ of the year! but, we no longer have a table outside, so i'll probably just cook outside one of the doors and hand food in for yoshi and the kids. IKEA is opening in fukuoka next week, so i may go and see if they have any outside furniture! if not, there's always costco or nafco.

this past week was a very busy one for me! the first really nice days of spring were last monday through thursday, but i had to work for the first three days of the week! i mean, work all day, i actually worked every day last week. and had trial lessons for my home teaching! phew! i have never been so busy, even when tommy was an infant. will be good for the wallet, though, so i'm not complaining!!

well, it's the first of the month. let's see if i can blog every day!

it's late, don't have much to say. we went to uminonakamichi today and here are some photos from that.





























more here.

(yes, i let them play near water and yes, tommy got wet straight off. that's why he's in a diaper. he eventually fell into the drink and had to walk back to the car shirtless.)

no, not an april's fools joke, we did go to a hanami party today. with the japanese class. the students got a bento, but i had to get something for my kids to eat.

we went to the community center where our lesson is going to be from now on. the sakura are just starting to open up, but it wasn't much of a hanami party, as far as flowers go. the company was great for a party!

ok, picture time.

yesterday the kids and i went to costco. it's been a long time since i've been to costco this time around! and it's an expensive endeavor when hiro is with us. especially when we go to see the bunnies (petting zoo near the movie theater). but it was great to go when i actually needed to go, not just because i wanted to. and i managed to stick to my list and didn't buy anything not on my list and ended up spending what i thought i would spend. win!

after costco (and before bunnies) we hit the gap outlet shop to get some clothes for spring and summer. got five shirts for hiro and loads of things for sasha, including three dresses. sasha even picked out a dress for herself. of course, i didn't have her try anything on at the store (she'd kind of between sizes) but did when we got home. experience has taught me to do this before cutting off tags and washing things, and we found out the dresses are too tight across her chest. luckily the shirts all fit and so did the shorts (too big, to be honest. slim hips, that's my girl!) but i knew we'd have to take the dresses back and get the next size up.

this morning dawned warm, you could really tell the difference even in the house. i was so ready to kick off the feather comforter. it is also really windy here today, not only at our house. straight from the south, it is a strong, warm wind (completely opposite from the wind we had on thursday, strong and cold from the north). i am ready to say that winter is over! yipee! so, anyway, after yoshi went to work (yes, i know it's saturday. he left at nine instead of six) i somehow managed to get the kids in the car and we went back to the gap. i had sasha try on the next size up dresses, and noticed one of them had a hole in the back near the zipper. it was the only one in that size, though, so they are sending it in to be repaired and we should hopefully have it by next week. i hope so, since it was my favorite of the bunch! LOL

we had a little snack at misudo and then had to come back home, because airhead me forgot the diaper bag (took it out of the car to replace some diapers. i should know better because the diaper bag never comes out of the car!!) and we were going to go to a big 'fureai park' here in town, but the wind is crazy and i think it's going to rain soon. gotta love spring!

the first narcissus are already fading, but daffodils are still to come. the crocuses are starting to bloom. my winter pansies are growing larger.

and sasha and tommy are outside. naked. playing in water.

it's spring, right?





(sorry, no photos.)

oops!! yesterday i said that my template was designed my chelle of creative designs, but actually her site is called creative thoughts. i am such an airhead! sorry chelle! i told you i was an awful client! ;) i fixed it. :D

in other news, it's still sunny and still fricken cold. go away cold spell, we want spring! cherry blossoms are still beautiful, though. i think they're lovelier than last year, or even the year before. usually they get to about 75% open and then BOOM! rain and wind wash and blow them all away. so far the trees are getting a chance to show off their beauty and wow, they are impressive!

ohanami is flower viewing in japanese. usually it means cherry blossom viewing, but you can use the word for any special trip you're making to look at flowers. flowers are pretty, and i like going out and looking at them, but i don't think there's a specific word in english for the act of going out and looking at flowers.

of course, it usually means more than seeking out flowers and looking at them. it's a perfect excuse to get together with family or friends (or both), drink lots of juice or alcohol and have a picnic. ume (japanese apricot) usually bloom in february here in fukuoka, and it's still way too cold to go out and have a picnic (though some hardy people give it a go. and hey, after a few cups of shochu or sake, what difference does it make?) but sakura usually bloom in april, when it's quite nice during the day, and is a perfect time to go out and have a little fun after a cold winter. (there is more to cherry blossoms and how the japanese feel about them, but i just don't have the energy to try to capture that in writing....)



the past week has been pretty ding dang cold, though, and even today was too freakin' cold for ohanami. it was warm last weekend though, and the sakura are nearly at perfect bloom. so, we bought some bento, some bananas and some juice, and we ventured out in our first hanami in a couple of years. the kids didn't really understand why we were eating outside, or why we had to do it under trees, but they had fun anyway. especially when grape juice was involved. lucky them.



sorry about hiro's dirty face in the next photo. he's still kind of a messy eater. and, daddy didn't wipe his face after this morning's mochi with kinako, so...well, i still rather like the way this photo turned out, messy face and all.