Edie

Meet Edie the newest Kever.   Stanley has been wanting one of these delightful stag horned beetles for quite some time.  So when he had memorized the first 10 verses of John 14 ( I give them a small prize at every 10 verses for motivation) this is what he chose.  How could I say no?  At less than 500 yen, it was within my price limit.  I did however find out later from Japanese friends, that if I had put maple syrup on a spoon some night I could have saved myself the money.  Good to know for next year.  Anyway, this is Edie (named due to the fact that Stanley believes he eats alot).  He is much loved, handled and thankfully I have gotten rather used to him.

School's out!

Another school year has evaporated into thin air it seems.  But I am not sad, I love having my children home with me all summer and I look forward to it as soon as school resumes in the fall.  Its been a interesting year.  We have had many ups and downs, tears and trials, friendships made, and without doubt we all learned alot.
Molly had a wonderful year in kindergarten, her teacher Mrs. Fitzpatrick, was exceptional.  Molly wept when her husband was moved to Georgia at the end of May and a new teacher finished out the year.

On her last day

Stanley grew up alot this past year.  He really thrived with Mr. Delacensarie as his teacher.  They did countless science experiments, dissected a squid and a fish, and I was really impressed with what they did in science and math in first grade no less.  Mr. D spent most recesses and lunch playing football with the boys, and Stanley has decided no more female teachers for him.

Tommy's teacher left before I was able to get a picture of them together.  It was a tough year, and perhaps that speaks for itself.  

Tommy's happy

 Last day of school, Molly is in pyjamas because, well, it was pyjama day

Japans version of Sweet Frog, Lemsons for a end of year treat.

Audrey was in school for all this.  On Saturday though, her school hosted a sports day.  These are pretty big deals at the schools here, and the entire family is expected to attend.  It felt like a Sunday school picnic, and was alot of fun.

 Playing with friends.  Each class has a different color hat

 My little monkey

 The Japanese love their cameras

The parents happily participated

 Like I said it very much felt like a Sunday school picnic...but I was very impressed with how involved each parent was.  A very cultural experience though.

The treats were alot of either green tea or tuna flavored snacks.  Audrey loved them, Molly gagged.  The boys liked them pretty well.   

No question we are on a Japanese adventure!

Our week

It was a pretty exciting week for some in our family here in Japan.  The big news was that Stanley was given the all clear by his doctor in Tokyo.  In many ways I was so very relieved to not have to make this weekly trip as it was a tremendous time commitment, but it was so nice to spend the one on one time with Stanley.  Its been 4 months since his accident, and the doctor was very pleased with the speed in which his arm healed.

This is Stanley with our translator Sachiko Cort, who met us there each week to translate for us.  The base provided this for us and she was an incredible help.  She also became a great friend.

Audrey and Molly had their second ballet recital this past week, and though I didn't manage many good photos of my own, the base posted some to their website that I have used here.

Audrey and her good friend Sidney before the show...

Molly

Molly

And Audrey....

On Sunday afternoon I met up with my friend I meet with to help her with her English.  She was a friend of Beth Thonneys in university and she put us in contact.  Every month or so we meet for the day.  We spent the afternoon in Yokohama, Japans second largest city which is just south of Tokyo.  It was a prefect day weather wise and we had a wonderful time.

landmark tower

The sights and smells of Yokohamas Chinatown were amazing...

Tommy was the only one with a relatively uneventful week.  But hands down the big news was Stanley!  Swimming here we come!