Yochien Picnic

 Rylee's Yochien had it's annual picnic last week.  There was no school that day, just an event where they all went to Kintai for a picnic and games.  Ryle was very excited about it.  I didn't know enough to pack a treat to share, and was a little self conscious, as little kids came up to pass out little candies, and we had none ti give in return.  I also didn't know it would be wise to bring a swim suit or spare pair of clothes as the kids ran rampant in the fountains.  It was fun and Rylee had a good time, and walking back to the car soaking wet and bare-foot was not a big deal to her!

Getting ready for the class photo.

This is nearly all of Rylee's class.  I think 15 of the 16 kids are here.

Each class has a different hat color, so it is easy to tell where they belong when they are all running around the playground. 

 That's my girl!

Picnicking is serious business here.  Everyone has a ground cover and shoes must be removed before sitting down.  This is Rylee's spread.

Yummy. 

 There were bubbles, which provided untold delight!

More bubble blowing. 

Still blowing bubbles! 

Then it was racing around the fountains and in the fountains and it was a glorious and delightful time.

 There were tadpoles in there and Rylee really wanted to catch one.  They were too fast.

Posing with the pretty flowers. I love all the blooming things here!  Spring is so glorious! 

And if we are at Kintai, we must take a picture of the bridge!   

 And Rylee wanted a picture of her with her ice cream cone.  She chose grape flavor this time.

That time again....

 It was the quarterly Award Ceremony at the High School again. Josh had an above 3.5 GPA, so he rated a certificate for High Honors.  Dan and I both attended and sat in uncomfortable folding chairs for 90 minutes so we could enjoy the 90 seconds of cheering for our boy.  Why on earth am I sharing this with you?  Well, I rarely get photos of Joshua.  And he is at that stage where he's shy and growing like a weed.  (Growing like a weed meaning he has outgrown the size 30 waist pants I JUST got him 2 months ago!) I feel a need to document his growth with some pictures and the opportunities are few.

Super zoom across the gym.  There's my kid!

Aack!  He's spotted me!

 Walking down to receive his award.

Going in for the handshake.  

Love this kid!

Eating Out

 What is more fun than getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick?  Eating out with a passel of kids, that's what!   We went out to a yummy restaurant in town with the girls while Joshua was on a scout camp out.  It is really hard to judge how much food you are ordering when it is all in Japanese.  So we ended up with a wee bit more than we could consume.

Delaney with her awesome chopstick skills.

Delicious gyoza. 

 So. Much. Food.  Marian felt the need to recline while eating.  Silly pickle!

And Rylee is just adorbs!

Playing with Dolls... The "Flat Stanley" Project

 My niece, Charlotte asked if we would take her "Flat Stanley" doll around with us and keep a journal for her.  I love that project and we had a good time with her.  Her name is "Kitty" and we introduced her to Japan in style.

She made new friends with some dolls.

She tried on Kimonos. 

 But they were too big.

She went to school with Delaney and hung out during Delaney's Class Read-a-Thon. 

She learned about Japanese currency.  Right now, $1 is equal to 100 Yen.  So the Y1000 bill is really worth a little under $10. 

She tried yakisoba.  It is delicious!   She did have a little trouble with the chopsticks.

We took a little trip to the Kintai Bridge.  She was impressed! 

The blossoms are blooming!  Ooooh!

Kitty celebrated Pi Day with us.

She got a selfie at the famous Zen garden in Kyoto. (It was apparently arranged this way in 1525 and hasn't been changed since.)

She photobombed my picture if the Golden Pavilion which was built in 1397 and is covered with $7 million of gold leaf.

She posed in front of the largest wooden building in the world.

She got her picture taken with a giant Buddha statue.

 She tried out a squatty potty.

And she fed deer.

What a fun trip!
(And yes, Kera, I did put her back in the mail to return home!)

Oh, Yes I did!

I got myself a new mode of transportation on Monday!

I am very excited.  A moped can park in bike racks and can scoot along in the bike lanes on the roads.  Plus, it will fit in even the narrowest of roads.  So I have high hopes for some adventures with this!

Sadly, it requires me to take a class before I can be licensed to drive it. I know, crazy.  It means I now have a moped I can't actually ride for another month.  But rest assured, there will be moped riding in my future!

Yochien!

 Last Monday was Rylee's Opening Ceremony for Yochien.  The Japanese school year ends in March and begins in April.  So Rylee leveled up to the 5 year old class.  She was not excited about that.  She said that teacher was mean and she wanted to stay with her old teacher.   I mentioned that if you are a good and obedient child then you should have no problems with the teacher.  Then I realized who I was talking to.

Sitting and waiting for things to begin.

Lining up in the big room with everyone.  One of these things is not like the others! 

It was all in Japanese, so I have no idea what they said.  Those are all the teachers and administrators standing in the front.

Sitting in her classroom.  The teacher played a couple songs on the piano and the kids all sang.  It was adorable. 

Getting together for the class photo. 

My cute kid there on the end!

She's doing fine in her new class and hasn't complained about the teacher.  

Lovely Afternoon at a Park

 Last week was spring break for the kids.  We didn't go out much with the rain and other things.  But on Tuesday, or friends invited us to go out in town to a little park we'd never seen.  We spent a delightful afternoon playing there and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  The "King of the Mountain" structure was a favorite, especially since it had a variety of ways to traverse it- a chain on one side, a set of climbing holds on another, a rope and other things as well. The little girls thought it great fun to slide down on their bottoms, and that was permitted until it was discovered that Noemie had shredded the knees and seat of her leggings, and they hung together by a single seam.

It was a lot of fun for all!