The Stockers in Tokyo

Good looking Noah!

2011-05-08T13:31:00.002+09:00

Here's Noah's new outfit.

ノアのおニューのフォーマルウェアです。

When we bought it, he was taking a nap in the stroller, so we could not try on him. So, we just guessed his size. And of course, it was too small on him!!

He is a BIG BOY!!

このスーツを買ったとき、たまたまノアはベビーカーでお昼寝中でした。シンガポールで購入したので、サイズがいまいちよくわからず、「このぐらいかなぁ。でもちょっと大きめを買おうよ。」と言いながらえらんだスーツでしたが、やっぱり案の定。ちょっと小さかった…。というより、ノアが大きすぎ…。

But he is happy so all is well. (Don't look at his socks...)

でも本人はご満悦なので、良しとしましょう。（靴下は見なかったことにしてください。）

Arab Street

2011-05-04T14:07:00.003+09:00

While Mike was in school, kids and I had a final adventure in Singapore. We went to visit Arab street.

シンガポール最後の週、マミーと子供達だけで、アラブストリートに観光に出かけてみました。

Kids were so excited to see the Mosque because it looks just like Princess Jasmine's palace. Well, they still think that was Princess Jasmine's palace...

イスラムのモスクを見るなり、ガールズは大興奮！ディズニー映画「アラジン」のプリンセスジャスミンのお城だと思ったようです。まぁ、屋根が似ていなくもないですが…。未だにそう思っております。

We were lucky that we arrived just before they closed the mosque, so we got to see inside.

12時直前に滑り込み、モスクが閉まる直前に中も見せてもらえることができました。

Then, we walked around Arab street. It was a fabric district and it reminded me of Nippori in Tokyo. It was fun walking around there.

その後、アラブストリートを少々散策。シンガポールの繊維街のようで、東京の日暮里繊維街を連想させられる町並みでした。

Last Days in Singapore

2011-05-03T13:32:00.003+09:00

Cannot believe it is already time for us to leave Singapore. We made such good friends and they were so nice to us. We will never forget our stay in Singapore.

シンガポールに来て、早一ヵ月半。日本への帰国の時期です。短い間でしたが、色々なお友達を作ることができ、海外退避とはいえとても楽しい滞在になり、皆さんに大感謝です。

Since we stayed such long time in our apartment, we became good friends with Sara, the security lady. She was there almost every day and we would see her all the time. She was the one who rescued JuJu when she when down in the elevator alone. (We had the door open so long and it decided to close and JuJu was the only one happened to be in the elevator...) She gave kids so many gifts. Everyone LOVED her!!

1ヵ月半となると、短い時間ではなかったので、滞在先のビルのセキュリティーのSaraと、お友達になりました。彼女はほとんど毎日ロビーにいたので、子供達が特に仲良しになりました。ジュリアが、エレベーターに閉じ込められたときも、救ってくれたのは彼女です…。子供達に、たくさんのプレゼントをありがとう！

Mecham family helped a lot while we were in Singapore. They are the one who welcomed us on day 1 of our Singapore visit and they invited us to the activities all the time. Thanks so much!!

シンガポールに到着して第1日目に、食事に誘ってくれて、その後色々助けてくれたのは、何と言ってもMecham家族でした。シンガポールで必要なものも手配してくれ、アクティビティーにも誘ってくれました。本当に感謝です。

And our wonderful friends, Cheryl, Samara, and Lizzy! On our last outing together, we went to Kidz Amaze!

そして、シンガポールでとても仲良しになった、お友達！最後に一緒に、Kidz Amazeへ行きました。

They have a huge maze for kids. Everyone just went in and played hard! Noah was taking a nap first and he was grumpy getting woken up, but he eventually joined in and played hard too!

こちらは、子供向けの大きな迷路で、子供達は大はしゃぎで、迷路内をよじ登り、ボールで遊んでおりました。昼寝から目覚めたばかりのノアは、最初はまったく興味を示さなかったものの、その後次第に興奮度が増していき、最終的にはガールズと一緒に遊びまくっておりました。

Thank you everyone for the wonderful memories! We love you all!!

たくさんの友情に大感謝です！

Dinner at Dozo

2011-04-29T13:20:00.001+09:00

Before we left for Singapore, Mike took me to the wonderful place for dinner.

Since he did such a wonderful job on our anniversary date, I didn't think he would do anything better than that. (I mean, that is how excellent and beyond my expectation he did on our anniversary date.) But this date was pretty darn close.

The restaurant he took me was really really REALLY wonderful. Everything tasted SOOOO good that I can never forget. Every dish was presented so beautifully as well.

Thank you, Mikey, for the wonderful date! I love you so much!!

Jurong Bird Park

2011-04-26T12:34:00.001+09:00

Another family outing to Jurong Bird Park.

シンガポールのバードパークへ家族で出かけてきました。

There were so many different kind of birds there. It was really awesome!

たくさんの種類の鳥達が、私達を出迎えてくれて、子供達も楽しんでおりました。

There were really good bird shows also.

鳥や動物達のショーもすばらしく、みんなで楽しみました。

At the bird park, there was a bird sanctuary and we get to feed the bird. What was so cool was that when we started holding up the bird food, these pretty birds come really close to us. Some of them are on our shoulders and arms eating food.

パーク内に、バードサンクチュアリがあり、この中では南国の美しい鳥達に餌をあげることができ、餌を持ってじっとしていると、たくさんの鳥がとても近くまで寄ってくるのです！鳥達が、腕や肩に乗ってきて、間近で鳥達と触れ合うことができました！！

Kids were scared first (especially JuJu and Noah) but they started get used to it. Ellie LOVED having birdies on her arms.

子供達は最初、怖がってはいたものの、徐々に慣れてきたようで、エリは積極的に鳥を探して餌をあげておりました。

Julia tried it but her face was pretty serious the whole entire time.

一方ジュリアは、とりあえず鳥さんを腕に（というよりカップに）乗せて見たものの、かなり緊張気味…。

Noah never let birdies come onto his arms. He just watched birdie on Mommy.

ノアはというと、鳥を腕に乗せること自体嫌がり、エリの手を離しませんでした。

We had a fun time at the bird park!!

あいにく、お目当てだった子供用水遊びエリアは、工事中のため閉まっていたのですが、それでも十分楽しんできました！

Turtle Park

2011-04-25T14:39:00.002+09:00

One beautiful thing about visiting somewhere even it was an evacuation trip from earthquake and radiation is that we make great friends! Cheryl is one of my wonderful friends I met in Singapore and she has been helping us a lot. Girls became really good friends with Samara. Cheryl and Samara (and Lizzy of course) has taken us to the zoo the other day. They have been showing us around a lot and it has been so much fun hanging out with them.

海外退避という理由にせよ、別の土地に来てならではの素晴らしい出来事といえば、新しいお友達ができることです。今回シンガポールに来て、エリとジュリアがSamaraと仲良しになり、Cherylという素敵なママ友ができました。

They took us to the Turtle park this time. The turtle park was right in the Chinese Garden. We got to see nice Chinese Pagoda too.

以前は、動物園につれてってもらったりしたのですが、今回は、タートルパークに案内してもらいました。
チャイニーズガーデンの中にある、ちょっとしたカメの博物館です。チャイニーズガーデンを通っていくので、ガーデン内の五重塔も見ることができました。

There were so many turtles in there. There were several big turtles, but there were sooooo many little ones and these little ones started coming towards us as soon as we started feeding them. It was almost scary.

さすがカメ博物館。たくさんのカメさんがおりました。大きいゾウガメもいたのですが、なんといっても小さいカメが盛りだくさん。餌をまき始めると、わんさか寄ってきて、ものすごいことになってました。

These little Buddha were also inside of the turtle park. It was cute that kids blended in the Buddha, especially Noah being so chubby just like these Buddhas.

こちらの小さな仏像くんたちは、パーク内にあった石像です。子供達が混ざると、なかなかいい絵になってます。特にぽっちゃりノアは、おもいっきりブレンドしてます。

Here's Noah on the turtle.

こちらは、少々お疲れのノア。カメの上でひと休み。

After the turtle park, we played a little bit at the Chinese Garden also. We had a wonderful time!

カメ博物館のあとは、チャイニーズガーデンでピクニックをし、おもいっきり遊んできました。

Julia is 4...

2011-04-24T13:55:00.001+09:00

Well, we didn't forget. It sounds like an excuse (and it probably is) but there were too much going on last several weeks and we simply didn't get to it...

Originally, she requested a Tinkerbelle party. So I was going to make Tinkerbelle cake. I even bought Year Book from Wilton and had a design all picked. Cake base was supposed to be green and 2 cakes with vine bridge. And Tinkerbelle right by the little water... As you can guess, this whole idea just got tossed in the garbage when earthquake happened and we evacuated from Japan. I had to pack living necessity and of course my cake tools were not in high priority.

So, on her birthday, we had playgroup and I baked a cake. It wasn't a fancy cake since I had almost nothing in our temp apartment. I had a baking dish, so that was all I could do.

Then, we decided to celebrate with just a family few days after. I didn't have a cake mix, so I made a pie out of what I had in my kitchen (which is almost nothing...)

Anyway...
Happy Happy Birthday, my sweet Julia. We love you sooooo much!!!

Universal Studio Singapore

2011-04-21T12:46:00.001+09:00

We visited Universal Studio Singapore in Sentosa Island. Since they have been seeing Shrek's castle from Harbour Point, they were so excited that they actually got to visit Shrek's castle.

子供達のリクエストに答え、ユニバーサル・スタジオ・シンガポールに家族で出かけてきました。

以前、ハーバーポイントのショッピングモールに買い物に出かけたとき、シュレックのお城が屋上から見え、それ以来ずっとせがまれていたので、今回実際にシュレック城にいけると聞いて、興奮しまくりの子供達です。

Of course first thing they wanted to see is Shrek's castle.

一番最初に見たかったのは、もちろんシュレックのお城です。

We tried to visit Shrek's swamp, but when they tried to open the door, it was locked and Shrek yelled at them.

シュレックの沼地にも行ったのですが、ドアを開けようとしたら、シュレックに怒られました♪

Kids had a lot of fun with bunch of rides.

その他のアトラクションも、もちろんしっかり楽しんできました。

It was such a hot day just like regular Singapore days. We were sweating so badly while waiting for the rides. Just like regular days when he gets tired, here's Noah's strike saying, "I don't want to do anything anymore!!"

シンガポールは年中蒸し暑いのですが、やっぱりこの日も暑かった。アトラクションの待ち時間に、結構汗だくになってました。そしてこちらが、通常通りの疲れ始めたノアのストライキです。

The park was built compact, so it was easier for us to move around one place to the other. We visited on weekday, but it was still a lot of people there. But we got to ride on pretty much everything we wanted. So, it was really good.

Towards the end of the day, lines for the rides were getting smaller and smaller. We rode on Mummy ride right before we left the park. Normally it is at least 80 to 120 minutes wait for the ride, but it was dead empty and we went straight to the ride. I even got lost on the way to the ride going through all the roped path... And sure enough, the ride was sooooo scary (and fun). I have to say we were really lucky that we didn't have to wait at all. Mike and I both enjoyed sooooooo much!!!

パーク自体、かなりコンパクトに設計されており、子供連れでも簡単に回ることができました。混雑を避けて、ウィークディに行ったのですが、それでも結構混んでました。でも、目的のアトラクションはほとんど制覇できました！

パーク閉園時間直前ぐらいになると、かなり空いてくるんです。通常少なくとも80分から120分待ちのアトラクション、「Mummy」が、閉園時間直前、だーれも並んでなくて、ラッキーとばかりに、マイケルと2人で交代で乗って来ました。本当に人っ子ひとり並んでなくて、逆に気味が悪いぐらい。建物自体、行列を見越して設計されているので、入り口からライドまでの距離が長い長い。おまけにミイラのライドなので、不気味な雰囲気で、一人でライドまで歩くのがとても怖くなって、結局気づいたら猛ダッシュしてました…。ライドにたどり着いて、スタッフの人を見たときに、とっても安心したりして…。（でもその直後、すさまじい恐怖ライドのおかげで、大絶叫してましたが…。）

We had so much fun at Universal Studio. Kids had a blast time!!

家族みんな、とっても楽しい一日が過ごせました。子供達も、疲れ果ててましたが、楽しかったようです。

We ate at Hard Rock Cafe Sentosa on the way home. Well, that was our only choice without a long wait since we were starving. Kids ate whole a lot!!

帰りは、ハードロックカフェ・セントサで、お食事です。（近場で待ち時間なしのレストランはここだけだったのです…。）
よほど遊びまくって、お腹も空いていたのでしょう。すごい食べっぷりの子供達でございました。

Tott Cooking Studio

2011-04-20T22:13:00.004+09:00

Playgroup this week, we went to ToTT Kitchen Store. It is a store with bunch of wonderful cooking items, and inside of the store, there is a little cooking studio for kids to bake cookies.

プレイグループ、みんなで、ToTTキッチンストアに遊びに行きました。こちらは、シンガポール一の品揃えのキッチングッズ販売のお店なのですが、お店の脇に子供用に、クッキーを焼くことができる小さなスタジオがあるのです。今回、みんなでお邪魔したのは、こちらのクッキーベーキングスタジオです。

Ellie chose vanilla flavor with chocolate chip and Julia choose strawberry with chocolate chip. Ellie knew what she needed to do, so she needed very little help. But JuJu needed to know that cookie dough and chocolate chips are to mix and bake cookies and not to eat straight.

Noah was too busy exploring around, so he lost interest on baking cookies...

エリはバニラ生地とチョコチップ、ジュジュはストロベリー生地にチョコチップ。エリはしっかりクッキー生地を練る所かはじめたのですが、じゅじゅはそのまま口へ…。焼かないと食べれないのよぉ～。

ノアは、スタジオ探索に忙しく、結局クッキーは断念。

Their cookies turned out pretty good. They were delicious too!!

出来上がりは最高で、とてもおいしいクッキーに仕上がりました。（旧型iPhoneで撮影したので、どうも写りがよくないですが…）

After baking, we had lunch together. They also had a playground for little kids right next to the food court. Kids had so much fun there!

クッキー作りのあとは、みんなでランチ。フードコートの横に子供のプレイエリアもあり、子供達はお友達とはしゃぎまくりでした。

Singapore Zoo with Daddy

2011-04-19T01:20:00.005+09:00

Singapore Zoo was so awesome that girls decided they need to take Daddy there too. So, here we are again at Singapore Zoo and this time with Daddy.

シンガポール動物園がとてもすばらしかったので、ガールズが「ダディを連れて行く！」というわけで、シンガポール動物園 withダディです。

This time, Daddy is the camera person and we have better picture of animals.

今回はダディのカメラで、動物達のいい写真が撮れました。

We watched elephant show! It was really cool to see elephants doing many tricks!!

ソウのショーも見てきました。たくさんのゾウさん達が、色々なトリックをしてくれて、とても楽しいショーでした。

We got to feed the giraffs too! It was really exciting for Ellie to hold carrot sticks and let giraffe eat off of her hand. JuJu was a little too scared, but she tried with the help from her sister and Mommy.

キリンさんに、餌をあげました。エリは、ちょっとおっかなびっくりしながらも、しっかりニンジンをキリンにあげることができました。ジュリアは、最初は怖がっていたのですが、エリとマミーに手伝ってもらって、ようやく餌をあげることができました。

Noah didn't even get close to the giraffes at all. So, Mommy had to hold him to get picture taken.

ノアは怖すぎて、近寄れませんでした…。

With Zebras.

シマウマと、一緒に記念撮影。

With big snake! It was way bigger than anyone!!

ニシキヘビと撮影。

Since Ellie was a cheetah on her school performance, she was really excited to see the real cheetah. Unfortunately it was their nap time and we only got to see them from the glass, it was good enough for her.

エリは、1月に幼稚園の子供会でチーター役を演じました。という経緯もあり、エリは本物のチーターに大興奮。どうやらお昼寝の時間だったらしく、ガラス越しに寝ている姿しか見れませんでしたが、エリにとっては十分でした。

Inside of the zoo, there was a water splashing area for little kids. This time, it was open (last time we were there, it was closed...) So, kids quickly changed into swim suits and went playing. They were having so much fun there and it was nice for us to rest a little and watch them play.

動物園の中に、子供用の水遊び広場があり、子供達は水着に着替えて早速遊びに出かけていきました。（前に来たときはしまっていたのですが、今回は開いていて子供達はさらに大喜び！）めいっぱい遊んでくれているあいだ、大人は木陰で憩いのひと時をすごさせていただきました。この写真は、かなり遠くからズームで撮ってます。

We played so hard all day long, so kids were tired by the time we were about to leave. This is Julia throwing a fit but basically saying "I am too tired to do anything!"

一日みっちり遊んだので、帰るころにはみんな疲れ果てており、ご機嫌も斜め。

At this point, she does not use words, but it is obvious what she is trying to tell us.
"I am not walking anymore."
"You need to carry me."

こちらは、じゅじゅの無言の訴え。
「もう歩きたくない！」　「だっこ～！！」

As we are walking out of the gate, we got to have a family picture taken with the pretty birdies. Ellie got to hold the bird. She was so happy!

帰り際に動物園のゲートで、鳥さんと一緒に家族写真を撮っていただきました。

Oh, did you notice we were missing someone? Well, this is why we were missing Noah.

はい、家族写真一人足りません。理由はこちら。

We had so much fun at the zoo!

家族でとても楽しい一日を過ごしました！

Singapore Sight Seeing

2011-04-14T22:53:00.004+09:00

Since we are in Singapore, we decided that we need to hit the famous touristy places in this town/country.

せっかくシンガポールに来ているので、シンガポール観光に出向いてみました。

We took MRT train to see Merlion at Fullerton Place.

MRTと呼ばれるメトロに乗って、フラートン駅で下車。滞在中のオーチャードからは、そんなにかからず到着です。

Then, we got on the river cruise. It was a very hot day so it was nice to get on the river and feel the little breeze.

リバークルーズです。とても暑い日だったのですが、水上に出ると心地よい風がふいており、とても気持ちよくクルーズを楽しめました。

When we visited, the real big Merlion was turned into a part of hotel room. So, we got to see the room and we were even closer to the big Merlion. I thought that was really cool!

ちょうどこの時、本物のマーライオンは、ホテルになっており、ホテルのお部屋を見せていただくことができました。実際のマーライオンの顔付近まで階段で登ることができたので、より近くで見れました！とっても感激です！！

Singapore Zoo with Samara

2011-04-12T12:15:00.006+09:00

Ellie and Julia's Singapore friend, Samara invited us to the zoo. Singapore Zoo is famous on "open concept" having less cages and gates so that animals can naturally and freely move around. We were really excited to see all the animals!

シンガポールで仲良しになったエリとジュリアのお友達、Samaraに誘っていただき、シンガポール動物園に行ってきました。シンガポール動物園は、柵がなく、できるだけ動物が自然に近い状態で動けるように設計されているので有名なのです。子供達は行く前からウキウキです。

We met Sarama at the zoo and went in. The first thing kids liked was the cow in front of Ben and Jerry's...

動物園前でSamaraと待ち合わせて、いざ動物園へ。そして、まず、子供達がおきに召したのは、Ben & Jerry's（アイスクリーム屋さん）の前にあった牛たち…。

There are so many different animals there and kids were so excited!

いろいろな動物達がいっぱいで、子供達も大興奮です。

Orangutans area was awesome. Of course there is no cage so orangutans were freely climbing up the trees. Noah was looking up the trees staring at orangutans.

柵がないので、オラウータン達は自由に、周りの木に登っています。そして、それをじっと見つめるノア。

We got to ride on the elephant too!This was one of kids' favorites!!

ゾウにも乗せてもらいました。ゾウのライドは、子供達のお気に入りで、とってもはしゃいでおりました。

Unfortunately, kids water splashing area was under maintenance and was not open. We will have to come when it is open. But kids had a fun time even without it. Thanks to Samara and Cheryl (and of course Lizzy) for the fun day!!

残念なことに、この日は整備のため、子供向けウォーターパークがしまっていたのでした。次回、あいているときにまた出直します。それでも、十分過ぎるほど楽しい一日でした。

As we walked out of the park, there was an ice cream promotion and Ben & Jerry's were distributing ice creams for free. Of course kids had to get it...

帰りがけに、なんと、Ben&Jerryのプロモーションで、アイスクリームを配っていたのでした…。真っ先に跳びついたのはやはり子供たち…。ノアは一口もくれませんでした…。

Noah says...

2011-04-11T13:19:00.000+09:00

Since we got to Singapore, Noah's English is getter better.

シンガポールに来てからというもの、ノアの英語での文章がかなりはっきりしてきたような気がします。

"Noah No toabomekaa (troublemaker), Daddy toabomekaa. Noah NO toabo!"

Pointing at Daddy's or Mommy's iPhone, "Noah i-tone (Noah's iPhone) Noah need it bat (back)!!"

At the traffic intersection, "Wed, tao top! Dween, Go!!" (red, cars stop, green, cars go.)

He tries to feed us by sticking his snack into Mommy or Daddy's mouth, "Eat it!"

We got into the taxi one day and Noah said to Daddy, Daddy tu-pid (Which Daddy thought that Noah was questioning his intelligence, but it was Daddy too big.)

After Daddy puts the kids in the tub and gets a little wet because of Noah. Noah will tell daddy that he is "Daddy dirty, dirty pants" Meaning that your pants are wet (from me! hahehe)

Trying to say a prayer, "Dea... Hea..... Fa.... ......food ..... Mommy Daddy........ Jesus Jesus Amen!!"

When Mommy and Daddy are talking, "Mommy, Daddy, shhhhhhh!"

He is a punk, but certainly a cute little punk!

This is Noah sleeping. He was watching TV, but fell asleep on the coffee table...

ノア、TVを見ているつもりが、いつの間にか、テーブルの上で、この状態で寝てました…。

Anniversary Date

2011-04-09T11:37:00.003+09:00

My sweet husband gave me a wonderful, gorgeous date ever this year!!

2011年の結婚記念日、とても素敵なデートを用意してくれました。

He arranged a babysitter and we went out for dinner. He took me to Clarke Quay and picked a wonderful restaurant called IndoChine Forbidden City. Our table was right by the river. Food was great! I really enjoyed cruising boats floating by in nice breeze.

結婚記念日の夜、あらかじめベビーシッターを用意してくれていたので、二人でディナーへお出かけ。クラークキーの、IndoChine Forbidden Cityでお食事です。

席はもちろんウォーターフロント。心地よい風にあたりながら、おいしいタイ料理をいただきました。リバークルーズのボートが付近を行きかい、亜熱帯の植物に囲まれながら、大好きな旦那さまととても楽しいひと時をすごさせていただきました。

After dinner, we sat by the river and talked. I have to say it was such a relaxing and wonderful time (almost forgot about kids.) It was such a perfect date and everything was gorgeous. I cannot recall what I didn't have.

お食事の後は、ほかのカップルに混じって、川辺に座って二人でお話。まるで、新婚気分です♪

I love my husband so much and I will love him forever!!

設定も食事も、何から何まで素晴らしすぎで、非の打ち所がないくらい。

マイケル大好き！これからも2人で、ずっと一緒にがんばろうね♪

Singapore Science Center

2011-04-07T11:18:00.001+09:00

Wonderful Mecham family invited us to go to Singapore Science Center.

Mike was busy so it was an adventure with just me and kids.

シンガポールサイエンスセンターに行ってきました。

こちらで出会ったMechamファミリーと一緒です。マイケルは忙しくしていたので、マミーと子供たちだけのアドベンチャーです。

There were so many displays and shows for little kids and girls had a lot of fun.

子供向け科学実験や展示物があふれていて、とにかく楽しく回ってきました。エリは、手当たりしだいすべてトライ。ジュリアも負けずに遊んでました。

Noah wasn't sure what they were, but he was having fun trying everything out anyways.

ノアにはちょっと難しいものばかりだったけど、それでも姉達の見よう見まね、とりあえず手当たりしだいボタン押しまくり…。楽しんでました。

There was a water park for kids too. They were having so much fun especially with water.

中には、子供向けのウォーターパークもあり、もちろん水を使った科学実験ディスプレイも充実。とてもすばらしい施設で、滞在中にもう一度来ようと思いました。（結局いけなかったけど…）

Easter Egghunt

2011-04-06T13:19:00.001+09:00

We went to the playgroup Easter Egghunt. We usually go to the primary activity egghunt, but because of the earthquake, we were not in Tokyo and not able to attend and kids were really sad about it. It was really good that we got to do an egghunt here in Singapore.

イースターエッグハント。

毎年プライマリーで開催されるエッグハントに参加しているのですが、今年は震災の為、家族で海外退避。というわけで、参加できないかな、と思っていたのですが、ここシンガポールで参加することができました！こともたちはハッピーです。

First, kids had craft time.

まずは、クラフトタイム。塗り絵、たまご染め等、クラフトステーションがたくさんあり、子供たちは大満足！

Then, Egghunt! Kids really enjoyed hunting for eggs. Noah was having a tough time finding one because older kids gets them before he does, but he was able to get 1 or 2. Ellie got a lot so she was sharing with Noah. Good girl!

そして、エッグハント。みんなで一斉にスタートだったので、２歳のノアはなかなかタマゴをゲットすることができず、苦戦しておりました。でも、２個ぐらい見つけたかな。５歳のエリはたくさん拾っていたので、ノアとシェアしてくれました！

Singapore!!

2011-03-20T13:16:00.000+09:00

We are in Singapore!
It's so nice and warm here!!

シンガポールにやってきました！
寒い日本から来たので、空港のビルから出た瞬間、暖かい！（というより、暑い！）

Our flight was night flight. The plan was to have kids asleep during the airplane ride so they are good the next day. No time difference (only 1 hour) and no jet lag. That is what we thought...

Our plan completely failed. Flight was delayed and it ended up taking off at 2am. Kids were having too much fun in the airport lounge picking up treats, juice, food, etc. and running around everywhere! I think they were too sugar-high by the time we boarded that they didn't even fall sleep for a long time. It was a horrible flight... So, we were so happy when we arrived!!

搭乗した飛行機は、夜間便。子供たちは、飛行機の中で寝てくれるだろう、と思っていたのですが、甘かった…。

当の搭乗便は機体の不備で、出発が3時間遅れ。結局離陸したのが、午前2時。

その間、みんなでラウンジで待っていたのですが、子供たちは興奮しまくり。ラウンジのおやつ、ジュース、食事を堪能し、食べ過ぎ、飲みすぎ、走り回りすぎ…。結局飛行機でもその興奮が続き、なかなか寝ない…。大変なフライトでした…。

We are away from radiation fear and many strong aftershocks! We love and miss Japan. I do feel bad for escaping away since there are so many people working to recover the damage. But with little kids, we are glad to be away form any fear.

The place we are staying is right by Orchard MRT station, next to Hyatt Hotel. It is a very convenience location and should be easy for us to get around.

今回は、国外退避、ということで、とりあえず、必要そうなものだけ詰めて、出国してきました。でも、せっかく来たので、滞在中できるだけ楽しく過ごそうと思います。マイケルはどうせ忙しくしているので、子供達が楽しく遊べる場所を探さなくては！滞在している場所は、オーチャードロードのすぐそばなので、立地としてはかなり便利な場所です。

The week that we just got in, we found out that our dear friend family, Lawries, are in town for a week. They used to live in our neighborhood in Tokyo awhile ago. So we decided to get together.

When they were in Tokyo, Sabrina was just born. Now Sabrina is Ellie's age. Kids played together and had a fun time. It was REALLY nice to see everyone too! Thanks, Cathy, for taking time for us!

以前東京に住んでいて仲良くしていた家族が、現在はマニラに住んでいるのですが、今回たまたま一週間シンガポールに滞在しているとのことで、一緒に遊ぶことになりました。

東京にいた時は生まれたばかりだったサブリナが、もう5歳。久しぶりに会えて嬉しく、子供たちも、とても楽しんでいました。

This is Children's park at Botanic Garden.

Singapore is so hot that there are a lot of places with splashing water area for kids. Our kids LOVE these places and they won't even want to go home!

ボタニックガーデンの一部の、こども向け公園です。こちらは、プレイグループで来ました。

シンガポールは、なにせ暑い。というわけで、このような、子供向け水遊び広場が、いたるところにあります。子供達には絶好の遊び場です。

Hard to believe what is happening...

2011-03-18T13:15:00.000+09:00

Earthquake. Japan experiences quite a lot since we live on volcanic islands. We have had many destructive earthquakes in the past. However, the one we just experienced on March 11, 2011, was the largest, most devastating ever in Japan. Not only a M9.0 large earthquake, but a large Tsunami swiped almost everything in Tohoku shore. Many died. Many are missing. And add to it, Fukushima nuclear power plant is having an issue that many people who live around the plant are still evacuated... We were in Tohoku a year ago on our Golden Week trip. It was beautiful everywhere we visited. One place that we visited, Matsushima is one of the most beautiful places we've ever visited. People were so nice to us. We love Tohoku. We pray every day and night for a quick recovery.

Many sad stories and devastation. Too many large and scary aftershocks. Too hard to keep the TV on especially for kids...

Japan is strong. We can overcome and will be a better and more beautiful country than before.

With the small children. our little family decided to leave Japan for awhile and stay in Singapore.

3/11 Earthquake on Our Family

2011-03-17T13:13:00.000+09:00

It was Friday, March 11, when it happened.

We dropped off kids at schools and went to the temple in the morning. It was ironic that nice calming moment and total huge chaos were experienced on the same day.

We came back from the temple a little before 1pm. We thought about eating out lunch, but Ellie's school pick-up was 1:45, so we decided to just have lunch at home.

Around 1:40, Mike went to pick up Ellie. I was going to go, but Mike offered and I took it. And I am so glad he did. Mike got home with Ellie around 2:15. If I were to be the person picking up Ellie, she usually wants to play with friends and I would chat with Moms, so we would still be at the park in front of Ellie's school when it happened.

Earthquake hit at 2:45pm. Fortunate that Mike, Ellie, and I were all together at home. Ellie and I were about to leave house for Ellie's music school. I'm glad it was before we left, otherwise, we would be stuck on the train or be at the train station...

When it started shaking, Mike noticed first. We wanted to find out the details and turned the TV on to collect more info. Then, it started shaking stronger. China closet cover opened and dished started to fall. Our plasma TV is shaking really badly and it was about to fall. Many things fell from everywhere. We heard big noise upstairs. We all moved to the open space where nothing would fall onto our head. Mike, Ellie and I are all holding onto each other really tight.

First big quake stopped. We noticed that every TV channel had stopped their show and switched over the news. By then, large Tsunami warning was already out for most of the Pacific coastline in Japan. Tsunami will come.

Then, second quake shortly after the first one. Ellie started crying. I was freaking out. Mike went over trying to hold the china closet, which most of the dishes already broke form the first quake.

Once it stopped shaking, we started to investigate on damages. As I already mentioned, many dishes broke...

This is upstairs kids room. This chest of drawers is the only thing that was not earthquake protected in our house, and it completely fell on Noah's crib and all the stuff like jewery box, stuffed animals, and toys all fell right on his crib. Sooooo glad he was not sleeping on the crib because this would have been right in the middle of his nap time. Scary...

We knew the Palette evacuation plan. We are glad we checked it when we first put them in. We knew Noah and Julia were taken care of nice and safe.

So blessed that lifeline is all safe and no problem on gas, electricity, and water.

We soon learned that epicenter was in northern part of Japan. As it was warned, huge Tsunami hit. It was really devastating what news were all showing to us.

We went to pick up children shortly after. We were really blessed that we were able to get family all together. Train completely stopped and there were so many people who were out and could not get home.

Tokyo is wonderful on public transpiration. Trains are all over. Bus system is quite nice. But the problem is that when this type of disaster happen, public transportation all stops and there were many who are not able to get home. Roads were all jammed and buses didn't even move. Ellie's friend was still at school. He and his Mom took a bus home. It is usually 20 minutes ride, but took them 2 hours to get home by bus. There was a huge line going on for bike shops where people are trying to buy a bike.

Later in the evening, one of our friend came to our house. She has a child about Ellie's age and she worked in Shinjuku near our home. She lives in Hachioji (1 hour away by train from Shinjuku) and she was not able to get home on that night. She has 2 little children waiting near their house to be picked up, but didn't know what to do. So, she came over to get help. She had dinner at our house and we let her use our motorcycle so that she could get home.

Going to Palette

2011-03-10T11:33:00.001+09:00

Here's our children on their way to Palette.

パレット保育園へ行く途中の道すがら、日常の一コマです。

They picked flowers on their way. It is almost spring and we can't wait!!

途中でお花を見つけました。まだまだ寒いけど、小さな春、発見！

Zao Ski Trip

2011-03-03T23:12:00.001+09:00

We've been going quite a bit of ski trips this year. We went to Yunomaru, Inawashiro, Hakuba by ourselves, Fujiten with Lisa's family, and Tateshina, and Zao with Folsoms.

今年の冬は、色々なスキー場に足を運びました。（もちろん私たちはスノボです。）近場で湯の丸、連休を利用して磐梯山、そしてやっぱりお気に入りの白馬。さらに、今シーズン初めて行ったところで、ふじてん、蓼科、蔵王。こちらは、お友達家族と出かけました。

It seems that we've been going almost every weekend from January to beginning of March. Ellie is taking lessons this year, and she can ski quite well now. She can turn snow plowing. She is working on parallel right now, we think. (well, we usually drop Ellie off and go up to the top and don't come back until pick-up time. So we really don't know how good she skis...)

1月から3月前半にかけて、ほとんどのあいてる週末は、雪を求めて遠出しておりました。去年からスキーを始めたエリですが、今年はエリ専用スキーセットも購入。（スキーに出かける頻度が高いので、買った方が安いことが判明…。）だいぶ上達して、現在パラレルを練習中みたいです。（マミーとダディーは、エリをスクールに入れた後、エンジョイしにさっさと出かけてしまうので、エリのスキルがどの程度なのか、実はあまりよく知らなかったりするんです…。）

Last ski trip of this season was Zao Onsen Ski Resort in Yamagata. This resort was wonderful. It was a huge resort and snow condition was wonderful even it was the beginning of March. We enjoyed so much in powder. We LOVED the resort!!

今シーズン最後のスキーは、山形県、蔵王温泉スキー場まで、足をのばしました。このスキー場、本当に広い！！そして、雪のコンディションはパウダー盛りだくさん！！最上級の雪の上をボードで滑走することができ、とっても楽しむことができました！

Zao is famous of Juhyo, also known as snow monsters. It is a snow-covered trees that look like monsters. It only happens when it gets to the certain level of altitude and the temperature drops really low. I think Zao is the only place that we can see Juhyo in Japan.

In Zao, We can go up all the way to the top and ski down between snow monsters. We were lucky that cloud cleared up and we could see all the snow monsters. It was an amazing view. It was really cold, but it is definitely worth seeing them.

蔵王といえば、樹氷。このスキー場では、樹氷の間を滑り降りてくることができるのです！天候が良ければ、抜群の視界。あたりが全て樹氷の中を滑走できるのは、スキーヤー、スノーボーダーにとって、最高のひと時でしょう。

この日の視界は抜群ではなかったものの、適度に雲が途切れて、美しい樹氷を見ることができました。本当に圧倒されるぐらいの素晴らしい景色です。（本当に寒いですが…）

We went up with Ellie the next day. We wanted to ski down with her, but it was too cold for her to ski down. So, we all went up together and girls came down by cable car and boys skied down to the bottom.

次の日、エリと一緒に樹氷を見に行くことにしました。本当は一緒にスキーで降りてきたかったのですが、本当に寒かったのと、午後でおそらくエリがつかれているであろう、とのことで、女の子チームはケーブルカーで降り、男性陣はスキーで降りることに。

Here's Ellie being happy on the way up.

上っている間のケーブルカーでは、とってもハッピーなエリですが…

When we got there, it was too cold that she didn't even care about snow monsters. She just wanted to get inside...

頂上に着くと、寒すぎて、まったく樹氷どころではないエリです。

On the way down, Ellie's hair was all frozen...

本当に寒すぎて、エリの髪の毛、凍ってました…。

We LOVE Zao! This resort became one of our favorites. We definitely want to visit this place again!

初めて行ったところですが、とても気に入りました！蔵王、また是非行きたいです！

Palette Presentation

2011-02-19T20:01:00.004+09:00

Palette's presentation day. It used to be Christmas presentation, but they decided to do presentation towards the end of the school year in February. This is the big day for Noah and JuJu.

パレット保育園の生活発表会です。今までは、「クリスマス発表会」だったのですが、今年から「生活発表会」ということで、2月に開催されることになりました。

This year, Ellie was involved also. So, all of our kids are in and it was a fun presentation day for our family!

今年の下半期は、エリもお世話になったということで、発表会参加です。というわけで、エリ、ジュリア、ノア、3人で参加できました♪

Ellie was one of the oldest kids in Palette, so she performed blow-organ. She did a wonderful job playing it.

5歳のエリは、ピアニカの演奏です。

And singing too. She LOVED wearing the big red bow!

お歌やパーカッションの楽器も、もちろん演奏しました。赤い蝶ネクタイが、とっても気に入っていた様子です。

Then, presentation time.

It goes from youngest class to oldest. Noah came out first. His class performed singing and dancing. There was an interview time and he did a great job answering teacher's questions!

そして、クラスごとの出し物です。

まずは、ノアのクラスから。ノアのクラスは、お歌を披露し、一人一人のインタビューがありました。ノアは、お遊戯はど真ん中でご披露。インタビューも、しっかり堂々と答えてました。

Here's Noah standing like a soldier. The teachers made the costumes. It looked so good on Noah and he was sooooo CUTE on it!!! (Well, he borrowed his older sister's socks as you can tell. Requirement was white long socks and he didn't have one...)

「気を付け」姿のノアです。お衣裳は、先生方の手作りだそうです。これがまた、とてもかわいくて、ノアによく似合っているのです！！頭にちょこっとのっているお帽子も、本当にかわいかったです！！（ちなみに、お姉ちゃんのハイソックスを借り、フリルを隠す予定が、しっかり見えてしまってます…）

This is the interview. He did great on all the questions.

こちらが、インタビュー。
先：「おなまえは、なんですか？」
の：「すとうかー　のあ　でしゅ！！」
先：「なんさいですか？」
の：「にしゃい　でしゅ！」
先：「すきな、たべものは、なんですか？」
の：「ぶとう　パンパン　でしゅ！！」

Julia was next. Her class presentation was "Three Billy Goats Gruff" in funner version. She was the smallest goat. The teacher was the troll. Instead of scaring the goat, the troll asked questions like "what is your name?" "How old are you?" Julia was shy and it took her awhile to get an answer, but she did good.

The last question was "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Julia's answer was "Tinker-belle!!"

次はジュジュの番です。ジュジュのクラスは、「3匹のやぎのガラガラドン」でした。でも、トロルは怖いトロルではなく、インタビューをするトロルで、上手にアレンジされていました。

ジュジュは、いつもながら、恥ずかしがりで、クネクネしてましたが、一応質問には答えられたかな。

先：「お名前はなにかな？」
じゅ：「すとうかー　じゅりあちゃんです…」
先：「何歳かな？」
じゅ：「さんさぃ…」
先：「大きくなったら、なにになりたいのかな？」
じゅ：「ティンカーベル！！」　（ここだけ大声）

And Ellie. She was wonderful. First, she performed a dance.

そして、最後にエリのクラス。やっぱり5歳のエリ。頼もしく堂々としていました。

まずはダンス。

Then, her class presented Gorilla's Bakery from the children's book. She was a bunny with her friends.

エリのクラスは、3学年混合で、「ゴリラのパン屋さん」の絵本のストーリーを劇にしていました。先生は、最年長のエリたちに主役をやって欲しかったらしいのですが、本人の強い希望で、ウサギの配役となりました。

It was a great presentation and teachers did an excellent job. It's sad that Ellie and Julia will be both graduating from Palette this year and they will not be part of the play anymore. But Julia is excited to start pre-school with her big sister.

素晴らしい生活発表会でした。先生方に大感謝です。

Kodomokai (Yochien Presentation)

2011-02-06T23:35:00.003+09:00

Ellie's pre-school Presentation Day called Kodomokai. Ellie has been preparing for this day for a long time.

幼稚園、エリの2回目のこども会です。エリ達は、この日のために劇や合奏を一生懸命練習してきました。

This is the picture board that Ellie's frind's Mom made.

こちらは、お友達のママが作成した、素晴らしい子供会用ウェルカムボード。素晴らしい出来です。
And this is Ellie's face that she draw which went onto the board.

そして、こちらがエリのお顔。自分でしっかり描いた力作です。

This is right before the presentation started. Ellie was so excited.

エリは、始まる前から興奮気味です。

Julia and Noah were dressed up to see their sister.

ジュリアとノアも、お洒落して応援に駆けつけました。

First part were songs, rhythms, and instruments. Ellie did a wonderful job!!

まずは、お歌やリズムの披露。続いて、合奏です。エリは、グロッケンやパーカッションで、とても上手に合奏できました。

Then went onto the presentation. This year, children performed "the Lion and the Mouse" from Aesop's Fables. In case you don't know the story, here is the brief version.

そして、お待ちかねの劇です。今年の子供会の劇は、イソップ童話の「ライオンとネズミ」。こちらがストーリーです。

Ellie was a cheetah, one of the animals in Savanna lived with lions. Ellie was a leader of cheetahs (there were 3 of them). She had her cheetah outfit along with her other cheetah friends. During the play, she was swinging her tail as she danced. It was really cute!

She was also a narrator with her friend.

エリは、ライオンやねずみと一緒に住むサバンナの動物、チーターの役を演じました。3匹のチーターのリーダーを任され、さらに同じ年中さんのお友達と、ナレーターも任されました。

During the play, I wanted Ellie to speak louder, so I gave Ellie my usual "LOUDER" sign that I always used when I was conducting primary presentation. Ellie did notice my sign, but she did not like it. And Ellie gave me "Mommy, shhhhhh!" sign back from the stage right in the middle of the presentation...

Of course people laughed hard on that...

劇の途中で思わず母心が出てしまい、いつも使っている「大きな声で」サインを客席から出したら、舞台の上からエリに、おもいっきり怒られてしまいました。

「マミー、しーっ！！」

もちろん、観客は大爆笑。マミーは、少々恥ずかしい瞬間でした。

Overall, play was wonderful. Ellie did a great job. It was so much fun watching the children do presentation.

Next year, Julia will be on the play. I can't wait!!

劇は、本当によく練習してあったせいか、とても素晴らしい仕上がりでした。子供達も頑張りました。

来年は、ジュジュも劇に参加。楽しみです。

Setsubun (Evel-Out, Hapiness-In)

2011-02-03T01:32:00.008+09:00

February 3rd is a Setsubun Day. It is also known as "Bean Throwing Festival". It is the day before the official beginning of spring in Japan. On this day, we throw roasted beans saying "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" meaning "Evil out! Happiness in!"

In most of the cases, someone wears Oni (evil spirit) face mask and act like Oni, then people throw beans at them.

So, these are our little Oni's. Ellie made 2 of them, so she was switching around. They sure are the cutest Oni's I've ever seen!

子供たちが、節分のオニの面を作ってきました。エリは2つ作成したので、交互に2つのオニに変身です。

Afterwards you eat the number of beans, which corresponds to your age. But of course Julia wants more than 3. Noah doesn't think it is fair that his sisters are eating more than him. They ended up eating way more than they should. But that's part of Setsubun fun!

歳の数だけお豆を食べるはずが、ジュリアは3個ではとても足りず、「もっとぉ～」と叫びまくり。ノアは、お姉ちゃんたちがノア（2個）より多いお豆を食べているのが不公平で叫びまくり…。

結局、歳の数よりずーっといっぱいお豆をほおばっていた子供達です。

Ellie Shishi-Mai (Lion Dance)

2011-01-29T01:22:00.001+09:00

Japanese traditional Shishi-mai (lion dance) is often performed during New Year.

Ellie made her own Shishi-mai at her pre-school (Yochien). She made it out of a tissue box.

エリが幼稚園で作ってきた獅子舞です。ティッシュの空き箱で作ったのですが、とても上手にできました。

Ellie is 5!!

2011-01-08T22:55:00.004+09:00

Happy Happy 5th Birthday to Ellie!!!

エリがとうとう5歳になりました！

For her 5th birthday, we just wanted a small family birthday celebration. But that is definitely not what she wanted. So, last minute call, we invited her neighborhood friends and had an easy-going birthday party at Children's Hall in Shibuya.

I picked Children's Hall so that I don't have to plan much. It was a last minute call but I completely forgot to mention that no presents needed, so everyone showed up with presents. I felt bad. I'm sorry, everyone...

エリの5歳のバースデー。今年は家族でゆっくり過ごそうね、と言っていたのですが、直前になって「パーティーやりたい！テーマはお花！」との訴え。直前すぎて、インビテーション、ゲーム等、なにも支度する時間がなく、仕方なく3日前にEメールでご近所のお友達をお誘いし、児童会館でのパーティーをすることになりました。お花のテーマのパーティーができないので、お花のケーキで交渉成立。

Anyway, I think kids had a lot of fun even I didn't plan anything. (that's why I love Shibuya Children's Hall. They have everything!) They mostly spent time on the 3rd floor running around, doing crafts, computers, mini-theater, etc. Ellie had a great time with her friends.

子供たちは、結果的にはとても楽しんでました。お友達同士での児童会館が、かなり嬉しかったようで、クラフト、遊具、ミニシアター、コンピューター等、かなり激しく遊んでおりました。

Of course Noah was having fun with big people too!

ノアも便乗して、しっかり遊んでました。

After their hard play, we went in the resting area and had a little picnic lunch and cake.

一通り遊んだあとは、休憩室でランチタイム。みんないい笑顔です。

Ellie's birthday cake was flower cake upon her request. Kids were so excited to eat flowers instead of cake though...

エリのリクエスト通り、作りいました、お花のケーキ。カーネーションが、一番時間かかったお花です。なんとか、エリのお気に召したようで、ホッとしてます。

New Year Party

2011-01-01T00:40:00.003+09:00

We had a wonderful New Year party at the Bezzant's home. Thanks to Mike and Jennifer for hosting the party. It was so much fun!

2011年元旦。お正月、ということで、お友達みんなで集まって、お餅つきをし、お正月のお食事をいただきました。4家族が集まったので大所帯でしたが、MikeとJenniferの好意でBezzant家に大集合です。

On New Years Eve, Jennifer and I cooked Japanese food together. We made Osechi (Japanese traditional New Year food).

Since it is New Year Eve, we HAD TO have Soba for dinner. It is called Toshikoshi Soba. It is a Japanese tradition to eat Soba to end the year.

This time, we made Soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) from scratch. This was our first time trying it but I think we did pretty good. Noodles were a little fatter than what we see at the store, but it tasted way better than dry store-bought Soba noodles. I think we are going to start doing this every year!

大晦日、Jenniferと2人でおせち料理を作りました。そしてもちろん夜は年越しそば。やはり日本にいるからは、日本文化を重視です。今回は初の試みで、お蕎麦を打ってみました。（写真を撮れなかったのが残念…）素人の初トライなので見てくれはよくなかったのですが、味は極上！一通り必要な物も分かったので、今年の暮れ用に、蕎麦打ち道具を徐々に揃えようかと思ってます。

On New Years Day, we started out with Mochi pounding.

元旦、まずは餅つきからスタートです。

Jennifer and I bought Mochi pounding set at Setagaya Boroichi. (Yes, we had too much fun shopping at Boroichi!) We got Mochi rice prepared and we started pounding. Kids had fun trying it out. It was fun and Mochi was so tasty!!

実は、Jenniferと私、仙台の問屋さんから臼と杵を購入。今年から、本格的な餅つきとなりました。

まずはもち米を蒸すところからはじまり、そして餅つき。ここで役に立ってくれるのは、やっぱり男衆ですね。杵を振り上げて、とても豪快にお持ちをついてくれました。子供たちも初トライ。杵はちょっと重かったけど、とても楽しそうにお餅をついてくれました。

Ellie's pounding Mochi all by herself!!

もちろんエリも、張り切ってお餅つき！

Even Bella tried it too!

ベラも挑戦です。

During Mochi pounding, this is what Noah was doing... Trying to give Makayla as many kisses as he could!!

お餅つきのあいだ、ノアは何をしていたかというと…

ひそかに（？）Makaylaに、チュウ攻撃！！大好きなMakaylaに抱っこしてもらって、さぞかしハッピーだったのでしょう…。

Mochis came out really nice and soft. We had them with Anko (Red Bean Paste) and Kinako (sweet soybean powder). It was really tasty! Ellie and JuJu loved it. JuJu kept coming back for more.

やっぱりつきたてのお餅のお味は最高です。とっても柔らかく、ほのかに甘いつきたて、極上のおもちを、きなことあんこでいただきました。子供たちにもうけが良く、ジュジュは何度もおかわりに来たほどです。

For dinner, we had a wonderful Shogatsu cuisine with 3 layer Osechi. Just a reminder, we didn't buy it, Jennifer and I made it all (almost).

そして、もちろんディナーは日本のお正月料理。おせち料理をはじめ、お雑煮、カニ、お鍋等、日本のお正月を味わいました。

（外国人の10代の少年たちには、やはりなじめなかった食材も多かったようで、今回は一応チキン等のなじめそうな食事も用意しました…。）

We had a wonderful Shogatsu with our friends! Many thanks to Bezzant family for hosting the party!!

今年のお正月も、お友達家族みんなでとても楽しく過ごせました。特に、パーティーホストのBezzant家には大感謝です！

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-13T23:11:00.003+09:00

Girls had fun making gingerbread houses. I baked enough cookies to make 2 houses, one for Ellie and one for JuJu.

今年のクリスマスは、ガールズ2人でお菓子の家を作りました。

Ellie was able to do almost all by herself. Mommy helped a little bit on icing glue, but decoration is all her idea.

もちろん土台はマミーが焼き、素材も全て用意しましたが、エリの場合は、その後ほとんど一人で飾り付けできました。

This is Ellie's work. She brought her gingerbread house to her school. Everyone liked it!

こちらがエリの作品です。エリは、こちらの作品を幼稚園へ持っていき、先生やお友達みんなでクリスマスをお祝いしました。

On the other hand, JuJu needed a lot of help. So Daddy helped quite a bit. Now, Daddy's sense of decoration is quite interesting. That is the reason why her house got this busy.

こちらがジュリアの作品です。ジュジュのはダディがかなりお手伝いしました。ですので、ダディの飾り付けのセンスが問われる作品となりました。

ASIJ Winter Festa

2010-12-04T16:06:00.007+09:00

We went to Winter Festa at ASIJ. (I hope I'm spelling it right...)

毎年この時期に行われる、ASIJ（アメリカンスクール）のウィンターフェスタに参加してきました。バスに乗る時間が遅く、渋滞等で、ついたのは11時近くだったのですが、存分に遊んできました。

Ellie, Julia, and Noah were having too much fun at kids game corner.

キッズコーナーでは、高学年の生徒達が子供向けのゲームコーナーをたくさん用意。エリ、ジュリア、ノアは、おもいっきり遊んできました。
After we had lunch, girls went to get their nails done.

たっぷり遊んだあとは、ちょっと遅めのお昼ご飯。さすがASIJ。多文化の学校の特色を活かし、各国の色々な食べ物を販売、紹介しておりました。ダディはもちろんアメリカン。マミーはタイをいただきました。

その後ガールズは、プロのネイリストさんにネールをしていただきました。
Lastly, we went to take a picture with Santa Clause. But when it gets close to our turn, we noticed that JuJu was not with us. We were looking around thinking she was playing somewhere. Heck, NO!! JuJu was toooo scared of Santa that she decided to hide around the corner. When we found her, she had a big "I'm scared" face on and sitting down with tears in her eyes...

クリスマスシーズン、というわけで、サンタさんがいらっしゃっておりました。せっかくなので、家族で写真を撮ろうと、順番待ちをしていると、気づくとジュリアの姿が見当たらない。あれ？？ジュジュは？

なんとジュリアは、サンタさんが怖くて、奥の壁の後ろに見つからないように隠れ、おびえて震えておりました…。

We took a picture anyway. You can see the face of Julia being afraid with tears.

でも、しっかり写真は撮ってきました。ジュリアの顔がこわばっているのは、そのせいです♪

Christmas Light in Shinjuku

2010-12-03T23:55:00.002+09:00

I love looking at the Christmas Lights in Shinjuku Takashimaya Times Square. They have different lighting every year, but it is always so beautiful no matter how they do it.

新宿のクリスマスライトです。クリスマスが近くなると、毎年家族みんなで出向きます。今年もきれいなライトアップ。
Kids LOVE it too.

子供たちも、綺麗なイルミネーションの中、はしゃぎまくりです…。Christmas art works were there too. Kids loved Tokyo Tower and bunch of Santa together.

子供たちは、クリスマスと東京タワーを描いたパネルがお気に召したようです。

Julia's Shichi-Go-San (Coming of Age 7-5-3) Celebration

2010-11-18T15:42:00.052+09:00

Julia is 3 years old now and she had a Shichi-Go-San Coming of Age celebration. Shichi-Go-San is a traditional rite of passage and festival day in Japan for three and seven year-old girls and three and five year-old boys. It is traditionally held annually on November 15, but most of the people in these days target around this day. So, November is a pretty busy month for Japanese Shrines.

ジュリアは今年3歳。七五三のお祝いです。

First, we went to shrine with our family in Chiba and Jiji and Baba celebrated together with us. Julia was dressed in Kimono and was looking pretty.

じぃじ、ばぁば達と一緒に、松戸神社でお祝いです。

Here's Jiji and Julia. Later on, Baba and Auntie Naomi joined together.

じぃじとジュリアです。その後、ばぁば達もジョインしてくれました。

Family shot.

家族写真も、しっかり撮ってきました。（ダディはおニューのカメラで大興奮、撮りまくりです…。）

Also, we had a fun Shichi-Go-San shrine visit at Meiji Shrine with friends. We had bunch of kids who are right on Shichi-Go-San age, so we decided to do it all together.

そして、後日ですが、今度は近場の明治神宮へ、お友達と七五三参りに行ってまいりました。

It was Stocker family with Julia (3), Bezzant family with Bella (also 3) and Cannon family with Anthon (5) all together at Meiji Shrine. They were soooo cute dressed up together!!!

我が家はもちろんジュリア、3歳。Bezzant一家はBella、同じく3歳。そして、Cannon家は、Anthon、5歳。総勢3家族、子供含めて17名での明治神宮七五三参りです。

What was so funny was that while we were there we got our picture taken by bunch of random people. Especially our kids dressed up in Kimono. I think it was more on Anthon and Bella than Julia since they were full Gaijin (foreign) face. Bunch of random Japanese people were just taking pictures of our kids. I felt like we were some super model or something. It never happens when I'm alone since I'm Japanese. I kinda wished my kids were full Gaijin. Too bad they have my side of blood.

うちの子供たちや、マイケルにもよくあることなのですが、どうも外人、特に子供たちと一緒にいると、通りすがりの日本人の方に「一緒に写真を撮ってください。」と頼まれることがよくあります。外人が着物来て歩いてるって、珍しいのかしら…。特に子供達がかわいかったようで、「かわいぃ～！！」と、黄色い声が上がっていることもしばしば…。

この日は特に激しかった…。日本人にのみならず、中国人、（おそらく）韓国人の観光客まで私たちにカメラを向ける始末…。「一緒に写真撮らせてください！」の声が多すぎて、大鳥居から先に進むまでえらい時間がかかりました。一通りの波が過ぎ去ったところで、戦略変更、表の道からではなく、裏から本堂に入りました…。

Look at these three! They are soooo cute!!!

でも、こうやって3人並ぶと、やっぱりかわいいです。（親バカも入り…）

We'll put up everyone's picture later.

また、後ほどみんなで撮った写真をアップしますね。

Noah is 2!!

2010-11-06T15:11:00.003+09:00

Happy Happy Birthday, my little sweet Noah!

I just cannot believe my little boy is already 2 years old! I guess time flies.

ノアの2歳のお誕生日です！

A couple of days before his birthday, he got his hair cut and was looking like a man on his birthday! On his haircut before, he did not sit still and we had a tough time. Daddy had to tie him up to get his haircut. Of course he had a screaming cry and it was pretty horrible. But this time, iPhone worked great.

お誕生日直前に、男らしく髪の毛を切りに行きました。以前はダディが羽交い絞めにして、やっと切ってもらったのですが、iPhoneのおかげで平和に散髪終了。

He is looking great, isn't he?

男前にしていただきました。

Grandma, Grandpa, cousins, and beautiful aunties sent his a fun birthday card and he was LOVING it!

グランマ、グランパ、そして叔母や従兄弟たちから、大好きなミッキーマウスクラブハウスの音の出るバースデーカードをいただき、ご満悦で遊びまくりのノアです。

And, this is his birthday cake! He LOVES cars, so I made a race track cake with toy cars on top. (race cars are real toys and it actually runs.)

こちらがノアのケーキです。大の車好きのノアなので、サーキットトラックをケーキであしらってみました。バタークリームがうまく伸びなかったり、シュガーペーストのトラックが切れてしまったりと、色々難はあったものの、とりあえず良しとしましょう。

But it seemed that Noah was more interested in toy cars than the actual cake...

しかしながら、当の本人は、ケーキよりおもちゃの車がとても気に入ったご様子で、ケーキはそっちのけで、車で遊んでました…。苦労して作ったのに…。

And his present was a toy race car track with cars that were on top of the cake. He LOVED it and played over and over. The only issue he had is that his sisters were dominantly playing and he didn't get to play the way he wanted. I kept telling the girls that it is Noah's, but of course they obey Mom for only 3 seconds and take over the toys right away...

そして、ノアのお誕生日のプレゼントは、おもちゃのサーキットレースです。ノアにはとっても気に入ってもらえたのですが、なんといっても新し物好きのガールズの襲撃にあい、遊んでいたおもちゃはあっさり乗っ取られてしまいました…。

Halloween 2010

2010-10-30T23:11:00.003+09:00

Halloween Party!

ハロウィンです。

Typhoon screwed up our Halloween a lot this year. We were going to have neighborhood Halloween trick or treating, but it was canceled because of the rain. We were also supposed to have a Trunk-Or-Treating, but the plan got chanced. Instead of Truck-Or-Treating, we had a party inside of the building.

今年のハロウィンは台風に阻まれまくりました。近所のトリックオアトリートも雨でキャンセル。トランク・オア・トリーティングも、結局屋内イベントに変更されてしまいました。でも、子供たちは楽しんだ様子です。

This year, Ellie was a snowflake princess. Julia being a butterfly, then Noah was a 102th dalmatian. Noah was a little cute puppy!

今年のハロウィン、エリは雪の妖精、ジュリアはちょうちょ、そしてノアは102匹目のダルメシアン（101匹さんちゃんです）になりました。ノアはなかなかかわいいダルメシアンになってくれてました。

Ellie's school friend came to the party too!

エリの幼稚園のお友達もきてくれて、とても楽しいパーティーになりました。

They got so many candies. They had a lot of fun!

アクティビティーも楽しかった様子です。おまけにとてつもない量のキャンディーを獲得。今年も楽しい（キャンディー漬けの）ハロウィンになってました。

Instead of decorating our car trunk, we had a door to decorate. So, this is our door!

ちなみに、こちらがストウカー家のデコレーションです。なかなか楽しくデコりました。

Palette Undokai

2010-10-23T23:00:00.001+09:00

Palette Undokai (Sports Fest). This year, everyone was able to participate except for Daddy! He was gone for Singapore!!! So, Mommy had to do all the parent/child race...

パレットの運動会です。今年はダディがシンガポールに行っていたため参加できず…。親子種目は全てマミーががんばりました！！

This is Ellie and Mommy throuing balls in a basket.

こちらは、親子種目玉入れです。

This is Noah's treasure hunt. Noah was supposed to find a treasure from ball pool, but he was too interested in balls and didn't care about his treasure...

ノアの宝探し親子競技。ボールプールから宝物を探すのですが、ノアはボールが気に入ってしまい、宝物はおもいっきり無視してました…。

This is Ellie's dance. She did a great job!

エリのリズム体操。しっかりリズムにのって踊れました！

Even though Daddy was not there, kids had a fun time.

ダディがいなくて残念でしたが、でも、みんながんばりました。

Ellie's School Undokai (Sports Fest)

2010-09-26T22:49:00.002+09:00

Ellie's school Undokai (Sports Fest). It was such a gorgeous day!

エリの運動会です。秋晴れの素晴らしいお天気に恵まれました。

Ellie ran race, relay, and danced very well. She had a lot of fun!

エリは、組体操、徒競走、リレーと、たくさんの種目をがんばりました。

There was a fun race for Noah and Julia. They also had a fun time there too.

未就園児種目もあり、ノア、ジュリアもとっても楽しめました！

来年エリは年長さん。がんばって欲しいと思います。

Neighborhood Matsuri

2010-09-22T22:36:00.002+09:00

Our neighborhood Matsuri, Hatsudai Awa Odori Matsuri!

This year, we decided to be part of Matsuri dancers. Kids went to practice sessions and learned how to Matsuri dance properly. Mike also decided to be part of the dancers. (I decided to just watch these people and maybe I'll join in next year.) They all had a matching costume to dance.

町内のお祭り、初台阿波踊りです。子供たちはちびっ子阿波踊りに参加。今年はダディも、初台商盛会の一員として、踊りに参加です！！みんなでおそろいのはっぴです。ノアにもしっかりお衣装をいただきました。

Our wonderful friend, Bezzant family joined us for Matsuri dance. Makayla, Sabrina, and Matthew were great Matsuri dancers!

お友達家族も参加。とても上手に踊っておりました！

We had such a fun time at Matsuri!

楽しいお祭りでした！

Unfortunately the 2nd day was pouring rain and we were not able to dance. But we had a great picture taken and were able to receive a calendar for next year! It was so much fun and we are definitely planning on doing it next year!

残念ながら、2日目は大雨で断念しましたが、1日目にとっても楽しめたので良い思い出になりました。来年も是非参加したいと思ってます！

School Field Trip - Nashi Picking

2010-09-10T08:55:00.003+09:00

Ellie had a school field trip and she went to pick Nashi (Asian pear).

For those of you who had never tasted Asian pears (I guess the official name is Pyrus pyrifolia), you guys are missing out!! They come around this season and are so juicy and taste soooo good. You could get them in US, but definitely not as good as the ones in Asia.

Ellie went to the Nashi field and picked the fresh one. They were soooooo good! (I was a helper for teachers and went along. So I took advantage of it and bought a bunch there.)

エリの幼稚園の秋の遠足。梨狩りに行ってきました。幼稚園のお友達と一緒で、とても楽しかったようです。今年の梨は不作と農家の方もおっしゃっていたのですが、積んだ梨は全てお店のものとは比較にならないほどジューシーで美味しいものでした！！（今回マミーは先生のアシスタントとして参加しました。）

After Nashi picking, they went to the park for lunch and played. Ellie had a lot of fun with her friends.

梨狩りの後は、みんなで公園でお弁当。その後帰るまでの時間、ちょっと遊びました。

Julia's Cooking Lesson

2010-09-04T12:02:00.007+09:00

Julia tried a cooking lesson. It is called Sachiko Murakami Mini Chef Club and is targeted for 3 year old kids. They keep the group very small and only 6 kids can get in, so I was thinking it would be lucky for Julia to get in, and she did! So Julia and I went for cooking lesson 3 times on the month of September.

ジュリア、お料理教室に参加です。お料理研究家、村上祥子先生の食育をテーマにした3歳児対象のお料理教室、村上祥子ミニシェフクラブに参加してきました。3回のシリーズで、簡単なパン作り、サラダ、和食、パスタ等々、3歳時ながらもがんばってたくさんお料理してきました。

First lesson was bread making. Julia made bread from scratch. She kneaded the dough, then she shaped, and put hamburger on top and made a open hamburger.

こちらは初回のパン作り。ジュジュ、自分で生地をこね、成形します。見てくれはともかく、素敵はハンバーグパンが出来ました！

She made everything by herself (with help of course) and it tasted soooo good!!

自分で作ったハンバーグパンのお味は、格別です！

She made salad too. It was a simple salad, but she LOVED it! She taught Ellie how to do this salad and girls made this salad quite often for dinner now!　Mommy is so happy that girls help cooking!!

この回では、サラダも作りました。「かりこりサラダ」という野菜を切ってドレッシングで和える簡単なサラダなのですが、お料理教室のあと、このサラダの作り方をジュリアがエリに教え、その後ちょくちょくガールズが夕食にサラダを作ってくれるようになりました。夕食にの一品に貢献してくれて、マミーは大助かりです。

From the leftover bread dough, we made doughnut also. I think JuJu liked this one the most.

パン生地の残りで、ドーナツも作りました。（油はさすがに大人のお仕事でしたが…。）

2nd lesson was Japanese dish. JuJu cooked fish, Miso soup, and Onigiri (rice ball.)

第2回目のレッスンは、和食です。

Start out was a fish. Of course they got help from the teacher on removing scale and cutting. But once fish was cut up, JuJu added spice and cooked it.

まずはお魚。もちろん、うろこを取る作業や魚を3枚におろす作業は先生ですが、その後の味付けや調理はジュジュが行いました。

Decorating broccoli on top, fish was nicely done.

仕上げにプロッコリを添えて、お魚料理の完成です。

Julia also made Onigiri (rice ball). She had fun doing this one.

おにぎりも作りました。

Miso soup was added and great Japanese Obento was nicely done! This is JuJu's first Bento that she made.

味噌汁も作り、和食のお弁当完成です。こちらが、ジュリアの初めて作ったお弁当！

Of course it tasted so awesome!!

もちろん、お味は最高です！

3rd lesson was pasta. Julia cooked spagetti and made meat sauce with mushroom.

3回目はイタリアン。パスタを茹で、ミートソースを作りました。きのことトマトのミートソースパスタです。

To go along with pasta, she also made potato salad. Julia makes this salad also for dinner.

パスタの付け合せにポテトサラダも作成。こちらもよく夕食に作ってくれる一品です。

At the last lesson, Julia got a certification for being a good mini-chief!

お料理教室最終日、ジュジュは卒業証書を授与していただきました。ジュジュはテレテレです。

What is so amazing about this lesson is that KAGOME (tomato product manufacturer) is the sponsor for this lesson, so every lesson we go, we get some Kagome product. We only paid 3,000 yen ($30) for the all 3 lessons, but the gift we receive every time was worth more than what we paid for. For example, this is the gift we received one time. The total price for all items are about 2,000 yen which is more than one time lesson fee. I also got 2 tappawears for free on the first lesson. What a deal!!

カゴメがスポンサーのお教室ということで、レッスンに行くたびに、色々なお土産を大量に頂いて帰ってきます。これは、レッスン1回のお土産全て。絵本は、子供向け食育の絵本で、レシピもついている優れものです。その他にも、レッスンで使用したパックスタッフ（と呼ばれるレンジ仕様のタッパ）も頂いて、とても重宝させていただいております。（レッスン料金よりお土産のほうが高く、恐縮しまくりですが…）

The lesson was wonderful! After the lesson, Julia always wants to help Mommy when she is cooking. It is a great change that I saw right away. Mommy wanted Julia to continue this lesson but unfortunately there were only 3 series offered. I wish I knew about this when Ellie was 3. I will keep checking this event and we'll put Noah in when he turns 3.

振り返ってみると、子供向けのすばらしいお料理教室でした。このお料理教室を通して、ジュジュは色々学んだようです。お料理教室体験後、ジュリアは自分から率先して、マミーのお料理のお手伝いをしたがるようになりました。大進歩です！！マミーとしては、もっとレッスンしていただきたい気持ちがいっぱいなのですが、残念ながらミニシェフクラブは3回のみ。是非ノアも参加していただきたいわぁ。

Sewing Project - Again!

2010-09-01T11:46:00.006+09:00

For those of you who know me, I don't sew. But I did it again! I made Julia's apron, cooking hat, and its bag.

Well, you sewers know this is not a hard stuff and not a big deal to you, but to me, it was a big project because this time I did it without my dear friend Heather's help! (Well, technically she helped because she taught me last time what to do, so I applied all her tips.)

And you know what? I'm so proud of myself!!

ジュリアのお料理教室に向けて、エプロン、三角巾、巾着をセットで作成しました。細かい課題はまだまだあるものの、出来はまずまずかな。おそろいでエリのものも作る予定です。（いつになるかは未定…）

Night BBQ with Yu and Cha Sensei

2010-08-28T21:43:00.004+09:00

Ellie invited her friend who used to live nearby our home. He moved to Kyushu and he was just visiting his grandpa and grandma in Tokyo. It has been a long time since Ellie met him last. I thought she might have forgot, but she did remember! We also invited Ellie's old teachers, Yu-sensei and Cha-sensei to come. We had a BBQ up on our deck. It was a nice reunion.

昔のご近所さんで九州にお引越ししてしまったエリのお友達をご招待して、屋上でバーベキューをしました。久しぶりだったので、覚えているか心配だったのですが、エリはしっかり覚えておりました！せっかくなのでY先生とC先生もお招き。久しぶりの同窓会モードでした。（写真はあまりよく撮れておりませんが…）

Kids had a lot of fun and we did too. It was really nice seeing them again.

この日はスケジュールがいっぱいで、よる遅くなってから始めてしまってごめんなさい。でも、本当に久しぶりで、とっても楽しかったです！皆様また是非いらしてくださーい。

School Natsumatsuri (Summer Festa)

2010-08-28T14:19:00.002+09:00

Ellie's Montessori school Natsu Matsuri (Summer Festa)　JuJu and Noah joined in too.

エリの幼稚園の夏祭りです。ジュジュとノアも参加させてもらえました♪

School children make many items for Natsu Matsuri and they sell them there. Children take turns and be customers and store people. This is Ellie selling the bags she made and JuJu being a customer.

エリの幼稚園では、夏季保育3日間で数々の作品を仕上げ、その作品を夏祭りで売ります。子供たちは、売り子とお客さんに順番でなります。こちらはエリが売り子として、バッグ屋さんを担当し、ジュジュがお客さんです。

Julia and Noah enjoyed buying many stuff and playing games.

ジュジュとノアも、たくさんお買い物をし、ゲームで遊んで、とっても楽しかったようです。

They did shooting game and got a prize.

射的の景品もゲットです。

They played fireworks at the end. It was a fun evening.

最後に花火もやりました。ジュジュは大はしゃぎ。とっても楽しい夏の夕べを過ごせました。

Sleepover

2010-08-27T09:00:00.002+09:00

Ellie and her school friend Lisa, had a sleepover at our house. Girls had so much fun together.

エリの幼稚園のお友達が、お泊りに来てくれました。

They had fun with the pool upstairs on the deck, played at the park together, watched movie together, etc. I think JuJu was the one who was having the funnest time with Lisa.

屋上でプール遊びをしたり、一緒に公園に行ったり、映画を見たり…。ジュジュもノアも、皆でとっても楽しそうに遊んでおりました。

Ueno Zoo Outing

2010-08-26T09:24:00.017+09:00

Ellie went to the Ueno Zoo with Reina and Ivy (technically we met there, but I think it counts.) It was a really hot summer day and we were not there too long, but it was a fun outing.

エリの夏休み。お友達のReinaとIvyと一緒に上野動物園に行ってきました。猛暑のとっても暑い日で体力消耗が激しく長時間は居られなかったのですが、でもお友達と楽しいひと時を過ごしました。

Ellie being a monkey. You can see how hot it was by her sweat.

エリのおサルです。本当に暑かったので、汗びっしょりです。

Ellie holding a mouse.

ねずみさんと一緒のエリです。

Reina and Ellie holding guinea pigs.

エリ、お友達とモルモットを抱っこです。

Here's Ellie feeding a baby deer.

鹿のあかちゃんに、エサをあげてみました。

On the Way to Palette One Day

2010-08-24T14:01:00.002+09:00

Julia and Noah on the way to Palette one morning. Brother and Sister holding hands and they were cute together.

ある朝の、ノアとジュリアです。兄弟で手をつなぎ、走ったり歩いたり。

Hoji

2010-08-21T09:35:00.001+09:00

We had memorial (Hoji) service for my parents and we went down to Mishima again. My mother was a Buddhist and everything was done in Buddhist way. It was my mother's 23rd and father's 17th anniversary.

おじいちゃまとおばあちゃまの法事に、三島に行ってきました。さすがに十七回忌、二十三回忌なので、家族だけで行って参りました。

Kids were dressed nicely, so they knew it was a special occasion. But that does not mean they can sit still of course...

法事なので、と思い、落ち着いた色のお洋服を探したのですが…。ジュリアのドレスは少々小さく、ノアのシャツは少々大きすぎ…。

This is where we had Hoji service. Kids were having too much fun at the Hoji place (Buddhism temple) and they were running around during the monk chant...

It was not a quiet setting and I felt bad for the monk. I'm so glad it is over...

法要の間も、全く落ち着きのないコドモタチでした…。とりあえず、終わってホッとしてます。

On the way back, we stopped at my middle school friend's house. They had a little girl who is about Julia's age and girls had fun playing with their friends.

帰りに中学時代のお友達のおうちにお邪魔しました。ジュリアと同じ年齢の女の子がいて、ガールズみんなで楽しそうに遊んでおりました。

Lisa's Birthday Cake

2010-08-14T09:01:00.001+09:00

We were invited to Ellie's friend, Lisa's birthday up in her cabin. And I made a cake for her birthday. I had to bring the cake from home to her cabin and it was a 2 hour drive. I put plenty of ice in the cooler, but still it melted a little bit. Plus I had to divide the bottom layer and top layer for transporting purpose, so I didn't get to coordinate the color. And it was such a hot weather. So, it doesn't look as good as it should. Sorry, Lisa.

エリのお友達のお誕生日におよばれです。ケーキを作ったのですが、お誕生会はお友達の別荘で２時間のドライブ、持ち運び用に上下２つに分けての作成、カラーコーディネート出来ず、更に酷暑の夏でペーストは溶け出しまくり、人形も溶けまくり…。というわけで、出来はかなり不満だらけです。

Well, kids enjoyed, so I guess all is good.

ま、子供たちは楽しかったようなので、良しとしましょう。

Girls's Ballet Recital

2010-08-08T09:08:00.030+09:00

Girls had their ballet recital. It was Ellie's second and Julia's first. They danced so well!

エリとジュリアのバレエ発表会。エリは今回で2回目でしたが、ジュリアは今回が初。まぁ、お姉ちゃんほど良く踊ってはいませんでしたが、がんばりました。

Daddy was on his business trip until the recital day. Mommy had to be at the recital hall for setting up the place, so I got a lot of help from everyone. Thanks so much! Daddy arrived at Narita airport 2 hours before the recital started and rushed back Tokyo (about 1.5 hour travel from the airport) He barely made it to the girls' dance.

ダディは2週間の出張で、発表会の日にアメリカから帰国。発表会2時間前に成田の到着し、ものすごい急いで東京に戻り、ぎりぎりセーフでエリとジュジュのバレエに間に合いました。ふぅー。マミーは会場セッティングがあり、たくさんの方々にいっぱい助けていただきました。皆様に大感謝です。

Bunch of friends came and they were both really happy!

お友達もたくさんいらしていただいて、エリもジュリアもハッピーでした♪

The recital was a little too long for Noah. He certainly didn't want to sit still during the program. But he was happy when it was over...

発表会はノアにはちょっと退屈だったようで、途中と～～～～っても大変でした…。終わったらハッピーなノアです。

Visiting Our Friend's Cabin at Lake Yamanakako

2010-08-04T15:24:00.008+09:00

Ellie's school friend, Lisa, had invited us over to her cabin up in Lake Yamanakako. It has been so hot in Tokyo, so it was really REALLY nice to get away from Tokyo heat and go up in the mountains.

Cabin was really nice. It was in the gated area and house was designed in western style with nice garage. (I'm sure Garage part is Lisa's Dad's preference.)

エリの幼稚園のお友達の別荘にご招待いただき、山中湖に行ってきました。東京は猛暑を超え酷暑だったので、涼しい山の気候は極楽です。別荘もとてもゴージャスで、素敵な夏を過ごすことができました。

Girls had too much fun with their friend. Noah also had a fun time with the girls.

ガールズは、お友達とはしゃぎまくり…。もちろんノアも一緒にはしゃぎまくり。（後ろに見える足はノアです）

Don't ask me why Noah has no clothes... It was his choice...

We went to the park nearby. It was in the woods and kids had so much fun there.

忍野八海の近くの公園に足を運びました。子供向け遊具や広々とした芝生があり、子供たちは大興奮。

Noah was trying to be a cowboy.

ノア、カウボーイに変身！

Ellie is like a monkey climbing really high up!

エリは一番てっぺんまで登り、まるでおサルの様。

Julia being scared of everything, she of course didn't want to go too high, but she wanted to do just like her big sister was doing. So she tried her best. (and of course there was a cry involved since she could not get down by herself.)

ジュジュは何においても怖がりなのですが、でもエリのやっている事と同じことをしたい！というわけで、そんなに高い所まではいけませんでしたががんばりました！（もちろん一人で降りれなくなり、泣きました…）

There was a little pond at the park and kids had a fun time there too.

公園には、子供が遊べるちょっとした池もあり、子供たちはずぶ濡れで遊んでました。

We also drove to Lake Kawaguchiko and visited monkey park. We got to see the monkey show. Kids had a lot of fun. Noah was fascinated with it and he was staying still and watching 40 minutes monkey show.

山中湖から、近くの河口湖までドライブ。河口湖猿回し劇場に行ってきました。この猿回しのショーが子供たちには大ヒット！ノアは、40分のショーをとっても興味深そうにじーっとおとなしく見てました。

This is the monkey who performed.

こちらが、猿回しを披露してくれたおサルさんです。

This is Ellie trying to feed the monkey.

こちらは外にいたおサルさんたち。エリがエサをあげています。

Ellie and Noah got to shake hands with the monkey. Of course it was too scary for JuJu.

エリとノアは、おサルさんと握手もしました。ジュジュは、「こわい～～！！」とのことで、握手なんぞもってのほかです。

Ellie's School Camp

2010-07-15T15:06:00.002+09:00

Ellie went on her first school camp. She went up to Nikko and spent 3 days (2 nights) with her school friends and teachers. It was her first time being away from her parents for that long. (I guess it's OUR first time away from Ellie for that long too.)

エリの幼稚園の夏合宿です。２泊３日、日光に行ってきました。

I thought she was going to be a little sad to leave us at her departure. Maybe a little tear? Heck NO! She was so excited to go on a trip with her friends! She basically smiled and said "Bye, Mom and Dad! I'm going!!" Her backpack was bigger than her, but she carried it all by herself!

エリの初の親元を離れての合宿。大丈夫か？という親の心配をよそに、本人はいたって元気で、「いってきまーす！！」と元気良く出発していきました。リュックの大きさは、エリと同じぐらい！

It seems that she had a lot of fun at the school camp. She told us bunch of fun stories. We missed her but we were glad that she had a fun time.

３日間の合宿から帰ってくると、大興奮でいっぱいお話してくれました。マミー達はエリがいなくて寂しい３日だったけど、いっぱい楽しんでこれてよかったね♪

Palette Summer Matsuri

2010-07-10T00:43:00.041+09:00

Kids school Natsu Matsuri (Summer Festival). It started in the evening. Ellie was a happy girl but Julia woke up from the nap and she was a little grumpy.

毎年恒例、パレット保育園の夏祭りです。夕方スタートなので、いつもお昼寝から起こされるジュリアとノアは少々不機嫌。エリはもう昼寝をしないので、ルンルンで向かいました。

But once we get there, the kids were happy.

ただ、着いてしまえばお友達もいっぱいでハッピーな子供たちです。

We started out with Mikoshi. Julia was right in the center carrying Mikoshi. She did a good job.

まずはお神輿から始まりです。ジュジュは、真ん中で担ぎました。がんばりました♪

After Mikoshi, we went inside and played games and had a lot of fun.

その後、室内でゲームや屋台を楽しみました。子供たちはゲームに夢中。

There is always a game that parents participate in. I won 1st place and got a 12-pack of beer last year (of course I had to give away to someone else...) This year, Daddy won 1st place and got a bag of rice! That prize was better than 12-pack of beer for us! Good job, Daddy!

毎年恒例で、親のゲームがあるのです。去年はじゃんけんゲームで、マミーが優勝。ビール１箱ゲットしました。（もちろんビールは他の方にお譲りしました。）今年はダディがフリスビーゲームで優勝。米３キロをゲット！米はうれしい商品でした！

Kids had a lot of fun!

子供たちもとってもエンジョイした様子で、楽しいなつまつりになりました。

4th of July Cake

2010-07-04T21:13:00.000+09:00

I could have done a little more. This is one of my easiest, non-time-consuming cakes I've done. Not much complexity. But it is kinda 4th of Julyish. So I guess it is okay.

独立記念日のケーキです。今回はかなり手を抜き、超簡単なケーキです。時間も労力も全く使ってない作品ですが、とりあえず、独立記念っぽくなってるので、良しとしましょう。

Daddy Daughter School Outing

2010-06-06T20:51:00.013+09:00

It was pretty close to Father's Day, and Ellie's school had an outing with Daddies. It was a craft day and all kids made picture board (whatever it is called... It's a signboard which is fitted a face in. We see them at sightseeing points...)

父の日が近いと言うこともあり、エリの幼稚園では父の日参観がありました。参観日というよりは、代々木公園での造形ピクニック。みんなで、顔はめ看板を作成（正確な名称わかりませんが、写真撮るときに顔を出して絵の一部になるヤツです。）

As you know, Ellie is into princesses, so she decided to make Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

プリンセス好きのエリは、もちろん「美女と野獣」のベルを作成。

Ellie and one of her best friends, Lisa. Lisa made PrettyCure character.

エリと仲良しのお友達のRちゃん。Rちゃんは、プリキュアです。

Ellie's masterpiece amoung others.

みんなの作品です。

Hakone Open Air Museum

2010-06-05T00:28:00.042+09:00

Daddy had a business trip in Izu, and Mommy had to attend her school friend's wedding, the whole family decided to make a trip to Mishima. We haven't visited our relatives for awhile, so it was a good opportunity.

ダディの伊豆出張とマミーの友人の結婚式がたまたま同じ週末に重なり、タイミングが良かったので親戚めぐり、お墓参りも兼ねて、家族で三島まで行ってきました。

Friday, we picked up Daddy at Izu, then we made visits on that day. Then, we stayed in Hakone for a night. Then, we got to visit Open Air Museum in Hakone on Saturday. Since I grew up around this area, I remember going there when I was little, but I do not remember anything that was there.

Kids had so much fun with everything at the museum.

金曜日、天城でダディをピックアップ。三島訪問、墓参りもその日に済ませ、その日の夜は久しぶりに箱根で一泊。そして土曜日は、朝から彫刻の森美術館に行ってきました。

箱根はほぼ地元なので子供のころに行ったのですが、もう全く覚えてませんでした。結構内容も変わってたりするのよね、きっと。子供たちは大はしゃぎです。

Kids on top of an egg.

タマゴ焼きの上にて。

Kids having fun with the sculptures.

彫刻と戯れる子供たち。

After we enjoyed Hakone, we were back in Numazu so that Mommy can stay overnight at her friend's house and attend her friend's wedding the next day.

箱根の後は、また沼津へ。こちらでマミーとお別れして、マミーは次の日の友人の結婚式に備えることに。

Right before Mommy said bye to kids, we all went to Onsen nearby Numazu.

その日の夜は、沼津付近の温泉に。

Here's Noah in his little baby tub.

こちらはベビーバスにつかるノア。おもちゃを持ってハッピーです。

Favorite Breakfast

2010-05-29T23:50:00.001+09:00

It seems that our family favorite breakfast is chocolate pancakes (or waffles). This is what we do:

Make pancake (waffle) batter from scratch with coco powder, and cook it.
Put your favorite fruits for toppings. (Our favorites are strawberries and bananas)
Pour whipping cream and homemade hot fudge sauce on top and eat it!

土曜日の時間に余裕のある朝、我が家はたいていダディのリクエストにより、アメリカンな朝食です。最近のダディと子供たちのお気に入り朝食メニューは、チョコレートパンケーキ、もしくはチョコレートワッフルです。手順はこんな感じ…。

ココアを混ぜたパンケーキ種（ワッフル種）を作成し、焼く。
お好みのフルーツをトッピング。
ホイップクリーム、手作りホットファッジソースを上からかけて完成。

レシピがアメリカの物なので、結構甘くなってしまいます。できるだけファッジソースの砂糖は控えるのですが、それでもやっぱり甘いものだらけの朝食ですね…。

Kids LOVE this breakfast. You can probably tell that it is Noah's favorite as well.

特にノアのお気に入りで、豪快に食べてくれます…。

DisneySea

2010-05-28T18:55:00.001+09:00

Mike won a discount tickets for DisneySea from his work. They were set-date tickets, but it was less than half of the regular price. So, Mike got his day off and we cruised over to DisneySea!

ダディが会社から、ディズニーリゾートのディスカウントチケットをゲットしてきました。行く日は指定された日付からの選択、おまけに平日限定でしたが、その分安かった！というわけで、ダディは金曜日をオフにして、みんなでディズニーシーへ。（前回ディズニーランドだったので、今回はシーにしてみました。）

Ellie was so happy to meet Pocahontas. She was totally acting like Pocahontas pointing at people's camera saying "What is this? What does this little box do?"

エリはポカホンタスに遭遇し、大興奮！もちろん写真です。当のポカホンタスはと言うと、なりきりまくっており、カメラを指差し、「これは何？何をするものなの？」ですって…。

Tinker belle's friends were all over at DisneySea. Of course girls were so happy to meet them since they have only seen them in the movie.

イースターはとっくに終わったものの、イースターのショーが未だ続いており、結構楽しんできました。ガールズのお気に入りは、ティンカーベルと妖精たち。映画でしか見たことのないティンカーベルの友達達が、リアルにその辺にいるので、大興奮。出くわしては一緒に写真撮りたがってました。

Wonderful thing about Disney Resort is that they provide a little ticket (that is equal to fast pass) for kids who are not tall enough to get on the ride. As soon as the kid reaches the hight requirement, whole family can use the ticket as a fast pass so we don't have to wait in the line. This time Ellie is tall enough for "Tower of Terror". Since Julia and Noah are still too short, we got 2 more of these tickets that we can use for next time. This system is great and letting us get on rides without any wait. It is beautiful. Mike says these tickets worth gold.

さて、ディズニーリゾートにある、とっても便利で使えるもの。それは、フューチャーパス（勝手に名付けてますが。）いわゆる身長制限のあるライドに対して、「規定身長より大きくなったらまた来てね。並ばなくてもすぐ乗せてあげるよ。」と言うものなのですが、以前エリが102cmにたどり着かなかった当時頂いたパスが結構あった！今回はエリ、102cm余裕で越えているので、そのフューチャーパスを利用し、並ばないで乗りまくり。フューチャーパスは１回限りなので、使ってしまえば終わりなのですが、うちは下が2名程いるので、必ず次のフューチャーパスをゲットできるのです。なぁーんて使えるシステムなのかしらっ！

We had dinner at Magellan's lounge. Food was great! It was a fun outing at DisnelySea.

フューチャーパスのおかげで、かなりたくさんライドに乗ることができ、更にショーも結構見ることができました。ディナーはマゼランズでお食事。なかなか楽しい一日でした。

Palette Outing

2010-05-22T17:13:00.004+09:00

Palette outing to Yoyogi park.

パレットの遠足。といっても、今回は近場で代々木公園でのゲームでした。

These are Bento lunch I made for Ellie and Julia.

エリとジュリア用お弁当です。とはいえ、これは以前エリの遠足お弁当をジュリアが欲しがっていたので、再度作ってあげたというごくごく簡単お弁当です。

Kids had a fun time there with friends.

子供たちは、ゲームやお友達との時間を楽しんでいたようです。

Juila was happy with the little Origami medal that she got from her teachers.

ジュジュは、最後にお土産のメダルをいただきハッピー。エリもちょっと欲しがってたりしましたが…。

Golden Week Trip 2010 - Spa Resort Hawaiians

2010-05-09T13:42:00.031+09:00

At the end of our trip, we went to Spa Resort Hawaiians in Iwaki. We planned to go with our friend's family, Yoshidas. But their little girl Yua got sick and they could not join in. So we went alone. Girls were so disappointed. Next time, Yua!

ゴールデンウィーク旅行の最後は、お友達の家族と一緒にハワイアンズに行く予定でした。前日の夜も一緒にご飯を食べ、翌日のハワイアンズを楽しみにしていたガールズとお友達、ゆうあちゃんですが、次の日の朝、ゆうあちゃんは体調を崩し、残念ながら参加することができなくなってしまいました。というわけで、我が家のみでハワイアンズに行って参りました。

Girls and Daddy had too much fun!

ガールズとダディは、めちゃ楽しんでました。

Noah and Mommy took it easy. We were both tired from the long trip.

マミーとノアはプールサイドでゆっくりくつろぎ状態。

Girls had too much fun and they got tired so quick. So they fell asleep during the Hula show.

ガールズは最初から飛ばしすぎ。結局フラダンスショーの間に眠りについてしまっておりました…。

Overall we had a fun vacation in Tohoku. We had a lot of fun!

今年のゴールデンウィーク東北旅行、楽しく過ごしました。有名観光地（もありましたが）ではなくちょっと静かな場所を回り、パワースポットでチャージできた感じです。

Golden Week Trip 2010 - Ginzan Onsen

2010-05-08T12:18:00.020+09:00

We stayed at Ginzan Onsen, one of the famous Onsen (hot spring) spot in Tohoku. It locates along Ginzan River in Obanazawa, Yamagata. There were several wooden inns along the river and were looking beautiful. The are was very small but everything looked really beautiful together.

銀山温泉にステイ。NHK連続テレビ小説「おしん」の舞台となったことで有名な銀山温泉。小さいですが、とても風情がある建物が銀山川の辺に立ち並ぶとても素敵な温泉街です。

We tried Ashiyu (Foot Spa) along the river.

ガールズは足湯でリラックス。

There was a little waterfall nearby.

温泉街のちょっと奥に素敵な滝がありました。

Kids tried Japanese traditional pottery. Ellie (with Daddy's help) made a great bowl. Ellie also made a little grape plate (this is all by herself!.) JuJu didn't quite get there so Mommy took over her dough and made a shallow bowl and a little vase.

子供たちは、伝統工芸の焼き物に挑戦。エリは（ダディのヘルプもあり）すばらしいお茶碗を作成。エリは、独自の趣向を凝らし、葡萄の壁飾りも作成しちゃいました。じゅじゅはというと、粘土と勘違いし遊んでしまったため、マミーがその後を引き受け、浅い小鉢と一輪挿しを作成です。

The place we stayed was Japanese Ryokan (Japanese traditional style inn) and it was gorgeous. We had a private outside Onsen (spa) attached to our room. Kids had a lot of fun with with the Onsen tub.

旅館もとても素敵で、小さな子供への配慮もしていただきました。今回宿泊したのは露天風呂つきのお部屋だったので、子供たちは大喜び！みんなで大はしゃぎでお風呂をエンジョイしておりました。

Meals were wonderful also. We had our private room at the restaurant for our family. Kids had a great meal (more than they needed for sure.) Everything was so delicious and we LOVED our stay there.

お食事もともて美味しく頂きました。小さなこども3人の私たちには個室をご用意いただき、子供たち用に食事も配慮していただきました。子供たちは好物ばかり食べきれない程いただき、大満足です。もちろん大人のお食事もすばらしく、大満足のステイでした。

Noah ate a lot too! He was a happy boy!

ノアもたくさん食べました。

Golden Week Trip 2010 - Mogami River Cruise

2010-05-07T09:21:00.078+09:00

From Hanamaki (Iwate), we moved southwest to Akita prefecture, then down to Yamagata prefecture.

岩手県花巻から、今度は西へ。秋田県に入り、そこから南下し山形県へ。

We were on Mogami river cruise.

奥の細道で有名な松尾芭蕉も詠う、「五月雨をあつめて早し最上川」最上川下りへ。

It was such a gorgeous day! The weather was nice and boat ride was beautiful. I guess it is usually chilly around this time of the year, so they still had a winter boat out. It was gorgeous outside but inside of the boat was a little warm. Kids had a lot of fun.

5月も初旬だというのに、暑いぐらいのゴージャスなお天気に恵まれました。通常この時期はまだ寒いぐらいらしいので、舟下りの舟の中は暑いぐらいでした。船頭さんの説明や素敵な歌に耳を傾けながら、最上川のとてもすばらしい景色を満喫させていただきました。

This is Ellie waiting for the boat ride.

舟下りを待っている間のエリ。傘をトライ！

Around Mogami river, there were several historical sites. On the way to the cruise, we stopped at this place which displays Japanese traditional house. The roof was made of straw (thatching). Traditional style was kept inside of the house and had displays of things people used back in Edo era.

途中、昔の茅葺屋根の民家を見ることができる場所が、周辺の町、新庄にあり、ドライブの休憩がてら寄ってみました。内装もそのまま残して展示してあり、子供たちは昔の人の生活をちょびっと体験です。

While we were stopped at this place, there were several people around us who were working and happened to be taking a break while we were there. They saw we had Tokyo license place on our car and brought some food for us. I have heard Tohoku people are very kind and hospitable, and it was so true! We love Tohoku people!

民家の前の駐車場に車を駐車し、民家を観光し、ゆっくり休憩していた私たち。ちょうどその近くで作業していて、たまたま同じ場所で休憩されていた工事の作業員の方々が、みたらし団子を子供たちにおすそ分けしてくれました。品川ナンバーの車を見て「遠くからよく来たねぇ。」と声をかけてくださいました。田舎の方の優しい心遣いに感激の私たちでした！

We also stopped at the park nearby. Sakura (cherry blossom) was gorgeous there! Kids were tired of being in the car for a long time, so it was nice for them to run around at the park.

お宿の近くの公園にも足を運びました。こちらも桜が満開。とても美しく咲いておりました。子供たちは、長時間の車内に飽き飽きしていたので、公園で思いっきり走り回っておりました。

Golden Week Trip 2010 - Wanko Soba and more

2010-05-06T19:10:00.001+09:00

We drove up north to the main(ish) part of Iwate prefecture, Hanamaki. Probably Morioka would be the biggest city, but our goal here is to try out Iwate's traditional cuisine, Wanko Soba. So Hanamaki was a good destination for us.

平泉より更に北上、岩手県花巻へ。ここでの目的は、やはり岩手名物の「わんこそば」。と言うわけで、わんこそばに挑戦してきました。

For those of you who don't know Wanko Soba, it is soba noodles served in tiny cups which are re-filled repeatedly. By just hearing this, it probably sounds nothing special. What is special is the way you eat it. It follows a ritual that looks like a game. You put a special apron. Then, side dishes of noodles are served and the GAME is starts...

You take your bowl in front of you and the server behind you throws a cupful of soba into your bowl.
You must eat continuously - one cupful of soba at a time. Your goal is to eat as many cups of soba as possible.
Throw away the left over soup into the large bowl placed in front of you. You cannot eat too much if you get filled up with lots of liquid.
You can eat side-dish food too. Don't eat too much or you'll get too full. I think these are mostly for your taste change since you are eating same soba over and over.
If you want to stop, you MUST put the lid on the bowl before they serve another cupful of soba. No lid means you are still going. They will keep serving you even you say you are full. You can not put the lid on if there is still some soba left. It is a race whether you put the lid on first or they throw noodles in first.
When game is over, you count how many cups of soba you have eaten. I hear 15 cups is equal amount of an ordinary full bowl of Soba.

I hope you got an idea of this traditional Iwate cuisine. Maybe you can read more here.

Mike wanted to be among the group of top level eaters (over 200 cups of sobas.) He tried hard but he ended up having 70 cups. He said he doesn't have to see Soba for next couple of years.

マイケルは、横綱レベルの200杯以上を目指す気満々で望んだのですが、あっさり敗北。65杯止まりでした。（これだけ食べれれば結構スゴいと思ったのは私だけ？）この後、向こう数年はそばを食べたくないと申しておりました。

I tried hard, but I gave up on my 53rd cup. I thought I did better than I expected though.

マミーはというと、53杯でギブアップ。でも、がんばった方だと思うんですよね…。

We also visited Kenji Miyazawa park in Hanamaki. Kenji Miyazawa was a Japanese poet and author of children's literature in the early Shōwa period of Japan. At the park, there were places where people can be part of Kenji's story. Kids had so much fun there.

宮沢賢治童話村にも足を運びました。童話の世界に飛び込んで疑似体験できる場所がたくさんあり、子供たちは大興奮です。

Noah LOVED the train ride. He was so fascinated with it that he didn't want to get off.

ノアのお気に入りは、銀河鉄道の夜の列車ライドでした。さすが男の子なのか、乗り物に非常に興味を示しており、汽車列車は大好き！この列車ライドが終わっても、降りようとしなかったノアです。

Golden Week Trip 2010 - Hiraizumi

2010-05-05T16:24:00.085+09:00

From Matsushima, we drove up to Hiraizumi. This is not one of the Japanese most popular tourist points, but it is a very historical little town. It was the home of the Hiraizumi Fujiwaras for about 100 years in the late Heian era and most of the following Kamakura period. (I guess you can read more in Wiki...)

松島に2泊した後、松島より北上、平泉に向かいました。平泉は小さな町ですが、歴史ある場所なので、是非足を止めようと思っていた場所でした。

What we wanted to see the most is, of course, Chuzonji's Konjikido (golden pavilion.) It was pretty cool to see all details made out of gold. They also showed us how they put gold on the building.

平泉といえば、中尊寺。というわけで、まずは中尊寺に向かいました。境内は広く、坂が多かったのですが、何とかベビーカーを押しながらがんばりました！そして、目的の金色堂へ。金色堂は撮影禁止なので、中尊寺のHPからの写真です。

There was a monument of Musashibo Benkei, who was loyal to his lord, Minamoto Yoshitsune. Famous story of "Standing Death of Benkei" was here in this town too. (You can read more here if you are interested in the story.) Girls were trying to be brave like Musashibo Benkei.

弁慶堂の前にて。エリ、ジュリアで、武蔵坊弁慶になってみました。

This is Noah being happy at Chusonji. I'm sure he is happy since he didn't have to push the stroller up the hill...

こちらは、境内でのノアです。

I guess there was some sort of Matsuri (festival) going on at Chusonji. Mikoshi went right by us. It was pretty cool to look at.

ちょうどお祭りの時期だったようです。パレードやお神輿を見ることもできました。

Right outside of Chusonji, there was Mochitsuki (traditional Japanese mochi-pounding) going on, and we got to try it. It was heavy especially for girls, but they did pretty good (with Daddy's help.)

中尊寺をちょうど出たところでランチにしようと歩いていると、お土産屋さんの前で餅つきを実施中。飛び入りで体験させていただきました。ダディもがんばってお持ちつき。ガールズもトライ！おいしいお餅ができました。（もちろん美味しくご賞味させていただきましたよ。）

We also went to visit the shrine that was build against the cliff.

達谷窟毘沙門堂です。崖に沿うように作られた建物が印象的です。

This is the view from the hotel we stayed in Hiraizumi. It was around Children's Day and we could see the carp beautifully.

こちらが、平泉のお宿からの眺めです。端午の節句の時期なので、こいのぼりが綺麗におよいでおりました。

This is Noah trying to be Samurai.

こちらはノアの華麗な甲冑姿？

For dinner, we went to the neighborhood town, Maezawa, for Maezawa beef Teppanyaki. The meat was really soft and delicious! Julia was in love with soft juicy (expensive) meat and she was requesting for more constantly.

そして、夕食には前沢牛を食べに前沢まで行って来ました。とてもやわらかい霜降り肉、美味しかったですぅ。うちの肉食児、じゅじゅはどうやら舌が肥えているらしい。霜降りのやわらかい高級肉のみをリクエストしており、「（赤身肉を指差し）これやだ、（霜降りを指差し）こっちがいー」とのことでした。

Golden Week Trip 2010 - Matsushima

2010-05-02T13:39:00.085+09:00

Our Golden Week trip this year is Tohoku (northern part of Japan). Mike's good friend is in Fukushima, so we visited them and started and ended our trip there.

今年のゴールデンウィークは、東北へのロードトリップです。お友達のいる福島を拠点に、ぐるっと北を回ってきました。

So our route is like this...

今回のルートはこんな感じです。行きは直で福島まで、帰りはハワイアンズに寄ってきたので、海岸沿いを帰ってきました。

First (besides Fukushima) we visited famous tourist place called Matsushima near Sendai. Matsushima is knows as one of the Three Great Views of Japan and it is a well-known scenic point.

最初の目的地は松島です。やはり日本三景として名をはせるだけありますね。美しい島々の景色です。

First we got on the boat and cruised around. The view was gorgesou! The little islands were so pretty and amazing. The whole view was wonderful.

まずはフェリー！とごく一般的な遊覧フェリーに乗りました。やっぱり観光フェリーだけあり、かなり混んでました。景色はさすがに日本三景、極上の景色を眺めたのですが、観光フェリーだと遠くからの眺めが多く、醍醐味が感じられないのが率直な感想です。その後、宿の方の勧めで、嵯峨渓からの遊覧小型ボートにも乗船。こちらは、観光フェリーとは全く違い、島々のかなり近くまで接近するので、醍醐味もあり、数倍美しいと思われる松島の絶景を肌で体感した感じです。嵯峨渓遊覧ボート、オススメです。

Gorgeous islands like these all over... There are some 260 tiny islands (shima) covered in pines (matsu).

こんな感じの美しい島々が、260以上あるんですよ。凄いです

Right before we got on the boat we bought a bag of snack for seagulls, and we fed them during the boat ride. This was the most fun part for kids.

フェリーやボートの乗船前、カモメの餌のかっぱえびせんを購入。（ごく普通のかっぱえびせんです。）そして、ボートの上でえびせんを差し出すと、カモメの餌付けができてしまうのです！（餌付けと言うよりはカモメが手からえびせんを食べにくる、というものですが…）これは子供たちに大ヒット！エリ、ジュリアは大喜び！

We also visited shrines and historical sites while we were in Matsushima. It was really nice.

瑞巌寺にて。

Nice picture with Matsuo Basho, the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan.

松尾芭蕉と記念撮影♪

Sakura (Cherry blossoms) in Tokyo were pretty much gone by Golden Week, but we got to see the perfect Sakura blossoms in Tohoku. We went to the view point where Sakura trees were all over in front of Matsushima view. It was gorgeous!

ちょうどゴールデンウィークが桜の身頃だった東北地方。桜前線を北上して、見事な満開の桜を満喫させていただきました。満開の桜と日本三景松島をバックに記念撮影。贅沢極まりない絶景でした。

Magnolia liliiflora was beautiful also.

ハクモクレンも美しく咲いていました。

We went for a walk to the beach nerby where we were staying. Sunset was so beautiful as well.

夕方、宿の近くのビーチまでお散歩に行ってきました。夕焼けも美しい松島です。

Spring Joy

2010-04-29T13:30:00.001+09:00

It happened to be a holiday in Japan. It's spring and flowers are blooming. So we just went to the neighborhood park to take kids pictures.

昭和の日。あまりにも気持ちのいい日だったので、みんなで近くの公園に出かけました。春です。お花がとても綺麗に咲いておりました。

Noah showed us the biggest smile. He sure is a chubby boy and we love him!

Big sister, little brother!

お姉ちゃんと弟。

Julia trying to smile.

ジュリアもちょっとおすまし顔です。

Julia and her girlfriend

2010-04-18T13:06:00.002+09:00

Julia and her girlfriend Reina were born only 10 days apart. So we did a little birthday get together at Reina's house.

ジュリアとお友達のReinaは、お誕生日が10日違い。と言うわけで、一緒にケーキでバースデーお祝いを行うことになりました。

This cake is not one of my bests... I made Julia and Reina dolls but I messed up the paste and size. Plus my gluing job was pretty horrible. So legs got longer as days go by, and body got fatter... I'll do better next time, but this was a nice trial.

今回のケーキは、作品の中では、かなり品質の低いものとなりました…。ジュリアとReinaの人形を作ったのですが、ペーストとパーツの大きさを失敗してしまい、更に接着も早かったため、足は伸びるはボディは太るは…。ま、今回はトライアルと言うことで、次回の作品を期待してください…。

Besides cake, get together was quite fun. Neighborhood friends came and we had a good time!

パーティーは本当にちょっとしたものでしたが、ご近所のお友達も参加してくれて、とっても楽しくなりました♪

Annual Stockers' Strawberry Picking

2010-04-17T12:33:00.005+09:00

This even is our family tradition. When spring comes, our family goes strawberry picking every year. Last couple of years we've been to Chiba direction. This year, we decided to go on Ebina direction (in Kanagawa.)

毎年恒例になりました、ストウカー家の春のイチゴ狩りです。例年は千葉方面に向かっていたのですが、今年は海老名周辺に行くことにしました。

We planned and were so ready to go. Then we got up in the morning and saw snow outside! It's already mid April! But sky was clear and no rain clouds, so we decided to go ahead and go.

ばっちり行く期満々で朝起きると、なんと外には雪が！4月も中旬だとゆーのに…。でも、お天気快晴、雨雲の気配もなし、というわけで、決行することに。

When we got there, one group was already in. So we waited outside. They had stuff for kids to play with. It was fun playing games as a family. (Of course Noah is not quite sure how to play badminton.)

イチゴ狩りに到着。既に先に入っていたグループを待つために、お外で少々時間つぶし。遊び道具もそそっていて、ここだけでもとっても楽しめました。

Girls had too much fun picking strawberries. I think Julia was breaking the record of how much strawberries she can eat within a certain amount of time.

エリ、ジュリアはイチゴ狩りをとーっても楽しんでおりました。ジュジュはと言うと、とてつもない量のイチゴをたいらげておりました…。丈夫なお腹です…。

After strawberry picking, we went to Fantasy Kids Resort right in Ebina. We got a discount/free ticket from my dearest friend Junko, so we got a great deal! (Thanks, Junko!) There were so many things for kids to play with. I think we signed up for 2 hours but kids simply did not want to leave! They had so much fun playing with everything!

イチゴ狩りの後は、こちらも恒例、みんなで遊びに行ってきました。今回は、お友達に割引きチケットを頂き、ファンタジーキッズリゾートへ行ってきました。お友達の紹介で割引きをチケット頂き、お得に利用できました。中は本当に子供の楽しめるものだらけ。子供たち3人とも、ありとあらゆるものに挑戦して遊んでおり、存分に楽しんだ模様です。写真はほんの一部ですが、もっといっぱい遊ぶものがあるんですぅ♪

I thought this was fun. They had bunch of costumes for kids to try on. Plus they had a little background screen like photo studio. Girls were so excited to try them all out. (Noah was not much into it though.)

中でも、エリとジュリアが一番楽しんでいたのが、ドレスアップ写真のエリアでした。これまたたくさんのコスチュームがあり、ガールズは試着しまくり…。小物、アクセサリーもそろっており、楽しかったみたいです。

Julia is 3!!

2010-04-06T16:46:00.001+09:00

Julia's birthday. She is now 3 and she can pull 3 fingers out too!

じゅりあがとうとう3歳になりました！

Juju's birthday cake had her favorite strawberries. Since we already had a plan to celebrate birthday with Reina who has a birthday 10 days after Julia's, I decided to do something small for her own birthday. I made chocolate cake with chocolate cream. Strawberries are real, but I made flowers and leaves with sugar.

今年のお誕生ケーキは、ジュリアの好物、イチゴです。もうちょっと凝ったことをしたかったのですが、10日お誕生日が違う仲良しのReinaと一緒に数日後にお祝いをすることになっていたので、今回は小さなケーキを作りました。チョコレートケーキを作り、チョコホイップクリームで仕上げました。（今回時間がなく仕上げがかなり雑ですが…）いちごは本物ですが、お花と葉はお砂糖で手作りです。

This is how Noah inhaled his cake.

ノアは豪快に食べてくれました～♪

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-04T16:19:00.003+09:00

Easter Egg Hunt this year. Mom was busy attending seminar for her Koto exam, so kids went to the activity with Daddy.

イースターエッグハントです。今年はマミー参加できなかったので、ダディと子供たちとで行ってきました。

Weather was nice and kids were all excited to find eggs!

お天気は晴れ。子供たちは、エッグハントをとっても楽しみにしていたので、大興奮です。

Ellie and Julia did good job finding eggs.

エリとジュリアは、いっぱいタマゴ、見つけました！

But, Noah was not sure what to do. He wanted to get eggs from Ellie and Julia's basket. Of course girls would not let him have any. So he wasn't too happy about it.

しかしながら、ノアはいまいち何をしなければいいのかよく分かっていなかった様子。タマゴは欲しいのに、自分で見つけられないので、エリとジュリアのバスケットから盗もうとしては怒られてました…。

Easter Egghunt face paint. We always have Young Women come help us do face painting for kids. Kids are always looking forward to it. Ellie got both sides of her face and both hands. She was so happy! Thanks so much, Young Women!!

毎年恒例になりました、イースターエッグハントのフェイスペイントです。エリは、両ほっぺと両手にペイントしてもらい、超ハッピー。いつも、お姉さんたちがボランティアで手伝ってくれて、子供たちにかわいいフェイスペイントを施してくれるのです。今年もありがとう！

Julia also got her face painted, but she was more interested in candies than cute bunny on her cheek.

ジュリアももちろんフェイスペイントしてもらいました。が、どうやらジュリアの興味は、フェイスペイントよりも、タマゴの中のキャンディーでした。

Koto Recital

2010-03-23T12:41:00.001+09:00

2010 Spring Koto recital.

2010年、お箏の発表会、おさらい会です。

Our Koto teacher organize recital every 3 years and this year, Ellie performed. Ellie's Kimono was the one she wore for her Shichi-Go-San (7/5/3) about a year ago, so it was a little small. But she was happy about the fact that she was dressed in Kimono, happy enough not to care about Kimono size.

お箏の発表会は3年に一度。今年の発表会は、エリも参加しました。エリは、七五三の時のお着物を着ての参加です。ま、1年前の七五三のお着物なのでちょっと小さくなってしまっているのですが、当の本人は全く気にしていない様子でした。

Ellie performed a koto song known as "Itoguruma" and Mommy accompanied her. I thought she was too nervous, but I guess she wasn't. She did pretty good job.

エリは、「糸車」という曲を演奏しました。二重奏なので、マミーが２箏を担当。緊張しているのかな、と思ったのですが、そうでもなく、なかなかしっかり演奏してくれました。

Ellie was so happy that her primary teacher, Sister Ames came to see her. Thanks, Walt and Evelyn!! You guys are awesome!

KidZania

2010-03-17T20:08:00.001+09:00

Ellie had a school field trip to KidZania. This was Ellie's first trip there. She didn't know what it was but she was all excited to go on the field trip with her school friends.

エリの幼稚園のお友達と、キッザニアに行ってまいりました。エリにとっては初だったので、何なのかはいまいちよく分かっていないながらも、幼稚園のお友達とお出かけとあり、大興奮！

It was somewhat crowded. There were several other school there (just like us) but I think Ellie got to do a lot of activities.

平日だったのですが、適度に混んでました。でも、結構な数のアトラクションこなせたので、まずまずだったと思います。

This is Ellie being a cook. She made donuts. They looked pretty tasty (she ate them all so I didn't get to taste any. I'm sure it was good.)

仲良しのお友達と一緒に、ABCスタジオのシェフに挑戦。この日はドーナッツを作りました。

Ellie being a midwife taking care of new-born baby. Ellie just gave a bath to the baby.

病院の新生児室の看護士さんにもなりました。沐浴を行い、タオルで体を拭いてあげました。

And this is Ellie working at the ice cream shop. Her ice cream shaped a little sad but it sure was tasty!

そして、ソフトクリームショップの店員さん。形はいびつですが、とてもおいしいソフトクリームでした。

Ellie also got to ride a bus, rented a mobile phone, became a cheer leader, make up artist, etc. She had a blast time there and it was a fun school field trip.

その他にも、はとバスに乗ったり、携帯電話ショップのお客になったり、チアリーダーになったりと、かなり色々楽しんでおりました。初めてではあったものの、よっぽど楽しかったのか、遊びまくって帰りの車では爆睡状態でした。

Girls’ Train Ride

2010-03-07T22:43:00.002+09:00

This is just one of our normal days when girls and Daddy went out on the train. Nothing special, but always fun going out with Daddy.

ある日のガールズです。ダディと電車でお出かけをした1シーンです。

Girls Day

2010-03-03T22:25:00.003+09:00

All of our kids made girls day dolls at school.

おひな祭りのお雛様を、子供たちが3人3様に造ってきました。

This is Ellie. She used washi paper, clay, yarn and did quite a good job making her dolls.

こちらは、エリの作品です。頭や雪洞の土台は、紙粘土で政策してあります。お着物は和紙、髪の毛は毛糸と本格的です。

This is Julia's. Most of the parts were done by teachers. But gluing work and drawing faces are her work.

こちらはジュリアの作品です。ほとんどのパーツは先生に用意していただいており、ジュリアはのり付け作業、及び人形のお顔描きを行った模様です。

And this is Noah. His is pretty much done by the teacher. He did hand prints in pink and blue, and teachers used that for dolls' body.

そして最後はノアの作品。こちらはほとんどすべて先生にお造りいただきました。唯一ノアの作業は、ピンクとブルーの手形のみ。その手形を切り取って、人形のボディにしていただいております。

Just in case you are wondering, real dolls should look like this. This is the real one we have for our girls.

On girls day, we followed the tradition and had Chirashi zushi for dinner.

そしておひな祭り当日は、やはり散らし寿司でしょう。子供たちも大変満足のおひな祭りになりました。

Family Ski Trip

2010-02-28T22:06:00.000+09:00

Our annual ski trip to Altz. Well, last year, Noah was just born and we could not go, so we were looking forward to it.

毎年恒例の家族スキー旅行です。去年はノアが生まれたばかりでさすがに行けなかったので、今年はリベンジ。2泊で行ってまいりました。このリゾートは毎年利用するのですが、なんと言っても託児施設が充実しているのです。終日お預かりで（ランチタイムにお迎えの必要なし！）おまけにお弁当も出るのです。おまけに雪遊び保育という、なんともスキー場ならではの託児をしてくれるのです。今年からエリは半日スキースクールでしたが、ジュリアとノアはみっちりお預かりいただきました。

This is Ellie on the way to her ski school.

エリは、意気揚々とスキースクールに出かけていきました。

This is Noah after dinner on day 2. He was too tired that he fell asleep during dinner.

ノアは遊びすぎで、夕食の間に眠ってしまいました…。

On day 2, Girls had a fun time at the pool too.

2日目、ガールズはダディとプールにも入ってきました。

On the last day, JuJu played in the snow while Ellie was in ski school.

最終日、エリがスクールに行っている間、ジュジュは雪遊びを楽しんで来ました。

This is Ellie and her ski school coach. Ellie was able to come down the hill all by herself.

エリとスキースクールのコーチです。エリは最終日、リフトに乗り一人でゆっくり滑り降りてこれるようになりました。

School Skating Trip

2010-02-23T21:53:00.001+09:00

Ellie's school had a skating trip. This is of course her first time skating. It was really nice that Cindi came along with her. It was challenging for Ellie, but Cindi helped her and Ellie enjoyed so much.

エリの幼稚園のスケート教室でした。お友達のフィギュアスケーター、Cindiがエリの同伴をしてくれました。Cindi、ありがとう！エリにとってははじめての体験でしたが、Cindiが手取り足取り教えてくれたおかげで、とっても楽しんできたようです。（もちろん、Cindiのような優雅なすべりは全く出来ませんでしたが…）

Great Powder

2010-02-20T21:44:00.000+09:00

After many trial on ski resorts, I think we found the best powder resort close to Tokyo. Well, compare to Utah, I will probably have to say good enough powder place. We heard about this place from our dental hygienist, and we tried and was great. I think this will be one of our favorite & easy access resort in Japan.

Ellie's First Ski Experience

2010-02-11T14:23:00.000+09:00

Winter time! Ski season!! This year Ellie turned 4, and we decided to have her try skiing for the first time.

冬です。スキーの時期です。エリは今年4歳。初めてスキーを体験させてみることにしました。通常はお泊りで数日間行くのですが、今回はノア・ジュリアをシッターさんに預け、日帰りで行けるスキー場を探してみました。まずは距離とアクセスの良さで、佐久スキーガーデンパラダに行ってみました。

This year, we tried day trip skiing (snowboarding). First place we tried was Saku Ski Garden Parada. This was really close to Tokyo, but snow condition was really bad. (Or I should say there is no snow.)

こちらは、アクセス良好、雪質最悪です。（というより雪がない…。）ユタの良質パウダースノーに慣れている私たちはびっくり仰天！！

I guess it was a good one for Ellie's first trial though.

でも、初めてのエリにとっては、ちょうど良いリゾートでした。

Ellie's School Presentation - Kodomokai

2010-02-01T14:07:00.000+09:00

Elli's school had a presentation. Ellie started her new school in January and she has been there only for a month, but she did pretty good job on singing, playing music, and performing a skit.

１月からエリは、新しい幼稚園に通っています。そして、その幼稚園で、子ども会という発表会が行われました。もちろんエリは在園一ヶ月ですが、がんばりました♪

Elllie was a sparrow in the skit. She memorized all the words and did a good job.

そめもの屋さんの劇では、エリはすずめさんの役でした。

Ellie's old school friend and teacher.

P保育園仲間と先生と、みんなで一枚。

This is one of Noah's great picture.

ノアもいいお顔です。

Birthday for Noah's Friend

2010-01-31T13:52:00.001+09:00

Noah's friend turned 1! And I made a cake for him. I hope you can tell, it is a tiger cake.

ノアの仲良くしてもらっているお友達の1歳のお誕生日パーティーにお呼ばれしました。もちろん、ケーキはノアママのお手製。今回はリクエストが虎だったので、虎のケーキです。

Birthday party was fun. We played games, had delicious food, etc. The only thing is that Noah decided to dive right in the glass table and broke it. He got a cut in his finger and we had to go straight to the hospital... What a party...

パーティーにはたくさんお友達も参加。残念ながらカメラを忘れてしまい、写真は取れなかったのですが…。でも、この日、パーティー真っ最中でわんぱくノアが、しでかしてくれました。置いてあったガラスのテーブルをひっくり返し、ガッチャーン。ノアも指を怪我して、パーティーからそのまま病院直行でした…。男の子って、こうもやんちゃなのかしら…。