An International BBQ

On Sunday, we were invited to join our friends Dai, Azu, Zuka, Faviola and Kimi for a BBQ. The weather was perfect so we were very excited. Dai picked us up and took us to his house. When were arrived, Azu immediately encouraged us to go to the park so the kids could play. While we were walking there, Kimi arrived and joined us.



Not sure who enjoys the teeter tater more, Mitch or Sara...
At school, Sara has learned how to put her brakes on when going down the slide. She would slide all day if we let her.
Kimi brought a bucket for the sand. Sara was happy to help her fill it.

Isn't she the cutest!! Don't you just love her outfit (thanks Amelia).

Then we decided it was time to head back to Dia's house. I saw Mitch through the cheery blossoms and thought I would try to capture him. click on the picture if you need to make it bigger.

Like three peas in a pod!!

On our walk back I was thinking to myself "wow, that smells amazing. I wonder what lucky soul gets to eat that food?" Imagine my surprise when I discovered I was the lucky soul!!!
Waiting back at the house was some amazing food! Azu is from Spain and Faviola is from Mexico, so when they cook, they tend to have a Hispanic flavor to their food.
This is smoked chicken wings and smoked eggs. They were pretty good.
Some kabobs with onion, green bell peppers and beef. The sauce was delicious!!
Azu had a cute little table set up for the kids. They loved having their own space. Not sure if Kimi liked being stuck in the middle, but she managed to survive Sara.

Mitch captured this cute picture of Faviola and Zuka.

After lunch, the kids went back to the park. many times Mitch has told me how he is sure that he is noticeable to everyone in Himeji. I wasn't quite sure I really got it till today. When I got back to the park, Sara had already met a new friend (4 legged one). The mom was asking "where is your mom?" as I was walking up. She then said hello in English and we proceeded to have a conversation. She asked why we were here, I told her I was teaching English at Himeji High. (no mind you where we were for the picnic was about 15 mins by car from our apartment) She asked how old Sara was and I said 2. Then I pointed out RJ and told her he was also my son and he was 4. Then she asked if my husband was here, I said yes (he was back at Dia's house). She then asked me if I got my hair cut in Shikama at Lovely Jubblely, I said yes. She then told me she knew all about us and how my husband takes care of the children and rides a bike with both of them. It was quite funny.

Now back to the pictures...

I saw this pretty contrast of flower colors while at the park

We let the kids play for awhile, then went back.
RJ convinced Dia to make him some yakisoba. Yakisoba is a fried noddle dish with cabbage, pork, bean spouts and sauce.

I noticed how well RJ was using his chopsticks. He has become a pro at it
He uses chopsticks everyday at school

Kimi and RJ just resting and chatting
A pose by the flower garden
Dia and Azu's house. They have lived there for about 5 years now.

We decided to take a group walk after yakisoba. RJ and Kimi each had a plastic bag and were collected cherry blossoms. I have no idea why, but they were having fun.
Favi put some in Kimi's hair for her...maybe in 2 more years Sara will have enough hair for some pig tails and flowers...here's to hoping!!
Azu, Faviola, & Me
The guys, Mitch, Zuka and Dia
The Hammes Family

Kimi's family
Azu and Dia (yes we liked that cherry tree that much!)
This is the path we walked down.
A bamboo forest
I took this picture to show off the wild cherry tree growing in the middle of the big green trees. But if you take a closer look you can see something orange inside the trees....
Those are Tori gates leading up to a shrine.

This was the entrance to the shrine complex. It does not appear to be well taken care of, but they assured me it is still in use (I thought it was abandoned)

We walked for about 45 mins then headed back to their house. The kids played some more.Just Sara being cute.

It became a bit chilly, so we headed indoors for coffee and tea.
Sara loved this huge massage chair (well, maybe not as much as mommy and daddy, but she sure did have fun sitting on it.)

We made an RJ S'more sandwich with their floor cushions.

We had a great day!! The food was fabulous but the company was perfect!