Birthday Sushi

 Joshua had a birthday last week.  It was a very hectic day, so I can't say I was too disappointed when he asked to go out to sushi for his birthday dinner.  I had been assured that there was plenty of variety and one did not need to like seafood or sushi to enjoy it.

We went to the Sushi-Go-Round, where you sit at your table on the perimeter of a conveyor belt of little plates.  The plates go round and round and you grab what looks good.  You can also make special requests, ordering from the menu.  On the conveyor belt, each plate has a different color edge and that denotes the price.  So all yellow plates might be 129 yen (around $1.15) and the black ones were a lot more, something like 540 yen ( around $5).

Joshua had a great time and very much enjoyed it. Marian tried some new things and hearing her recount trying to choke down the large bite of fish that had tasted good in small quantities but not in large, was a hoot.  I was impressed she tried new things.  Delaney was not very adventurous, but had a good time.  I did not see much of anything I would eat.  The kids promised me one dish was full of chicken, but alas, it was fish.  I did find some delicious squash sushi and it was sufficient.  Joshua tried lots of things and was pleased with his experience.  Callie did not go because she did not feel well, and Rylee kept her company. Dan was out of town in Tokyo and missed all the fun.

My favorite pick on the night.  Squash tempura on rice.  Yummy!

Marian and her raw fish sushi.  Yummy by the nibble, but not by the mouthful. 

We did special order the udon noodles, and Delaney tried a fried rice ball.

Deep fried rice balls with fish eggs.  Too fishy flavored for me, but Joshua and Delaney loved them. 

Check out this dish!  We did NOT try it. 

We did have dessert.  The kids loved the triangular shaped cones. 

And the ice cream came in this awesome cone stand.  Apparently it was delicious as well. 

But Marian and I had opted for cake.  It was decent. 

After we got home the birthday boy  enjoyed his loot-fest.

Ryle wanted a photo too, 

He was pleased with his awesome new water bottle. 

And then we all had birthday cake- lemon cake.

Kindergartener

 After 14 years, I finally have all my children in school!  It is glorious!  Well, mostly.

Kindergarten starts a week after the other grades, so I had Rylee all by herself for a week before she got to go.  It was enough to make me very happy to kiss her goodbye.  When it is just the 2 of us, she expects me to entertain her and it is a bit exhausting.  It was with great rejoicing and not a single tear that I walked her off on Tuesday Sept 8, for her very first day.

 My big girl, all ready for her first day.

I love this sweet photo. Delaney was very solicitous and worried about Rylee .

Rylee and her best friend Milly.  They were so happy to be in the same class. 

Rylee was excited right up till they lined up to go into class. Then she was a little uncertain.  But she trotted right off and had a fabulous day.

Impromptu Road Trip and Cross Country Meet

Joshua has been running with the Cross Country Team.  It has been rough, considering he has never run 3 miles before in his life and suddenly 3 weeks ago he's been running 2 hours a day!  He has been amazing and his coach said when he comes to practice (no matter how enthusiastic he may or may not be) he always brings his best, and runs his little heart out.  With school starting, having 2 hour practices after a full day of school has been brutal, and I'm proud of him for running this past week.

They had their first meet on Saturday.  The boys left school on Friday before lunch, rode the 5 hours to Sasebo, put in a run, hung out, slept in the Sasebo HS gym and library and then had to be on their way off to the meet at 0645.  I had an impulse to go out and support him.  An impulse that suddenly occurred on Thursday.

So Friday after the girls got home, I loaded them up (Except Callie, who managed to get a sleep-over invite so she wouldn't have to go) and we drove off.  I had expected we would just show up at the gym and see the meet, but I was sadly mistaken.

I had to have 3 girls up and checked out of the hotel and at the school by 0645.  Yikes!  We had to follow the bus and 2 other vans in a crazy caravan.  It was a 30 minute drive to some other housing area to pick up the other school's runners, and then another 30 minutes on to the site of the meet. It was incredibly stressful and we did get separated from the bus.  I had no clue where we were going, because the address they sent was not recognized by my gps.  Fortunately, one of the cars stuck to the bus and texted directions as they made the turns, so we were able to find them before turning up a windy narrow mountain road.

We arrived a little after 8 and the kids did a walk through over the course.  The girls team started at 9:30 and the boys were off a bit after 10, I think.  Joshua beat 2 of the kids on the other team and seemed to have had a good race.  He finished strong and looked good.  We were out of there by 11:30.  It was an hour drive back to Sasebo for lunch, some shopping and gassing up the van.

I headed for home just before 3pm with the girls and Joshua left with the bus about an hour later.  We all arrived home safely, me at 8pm and Joshua about 90 minutes later. It was a whirlwind, exhausting weekend, but a good one.

When the bus missed it's turn and had to make a youey,  I snuck in behind it.  This is the road we were following it on to the park.  Crazy!

This is the lovely park.  The running route went around that lake.  It was really pretty. 

Delaney and Rylee were delighted with this dock, and the adorable ducky-shaped paddle boats. 

Rylee was posing for me.  Shoulda cropped it.   

If it can be climbed, then it must be. 

This is Rylee's new face whenever I take a photo. 

Josh, just after the start! 

Coming round the last bend. 

Sprinting to the finish. 

Posing with the team. 

And I decided I needed a selfie at the lake before we left.

Happy First Day of School!

 School officially started for 4 of the 5 kids.  Rylee has another week to go. I am quite pleased with myself because, despite the chaos of the morning and the rain coming down, I managed to get pictures!  I know, I'm pretty impressed myself.  I even got them uploaded and then the computer wouldn't let me find them to post.  Fortunately, it managed to find them for me today.  Josh is starting 9th grade, Marian is in 7th, Callie is in 5th and Delaney is in 3rd.  Rylee is messing up my every other year plan and is starting kinder next week.

All ready to walk to school.

Just look at those happy, smiling faces!