Pools Party

Monday, July 21st

Part 3 of a busy weekend

The kids were invited over to their friend Kiri's house for a pool party. When we arrived, we realized it was a pools party (3 pools)

Sara on the slide.
RJ playing with.....water (big surprise there)
Some of their friends

The gang that had fun together!! the moms (including me) cooked takoyaki, yakiniku and onigiri.

It was a lot of fun!!!

Asagiri Beach

Sunday, July 20th

Part 2 of a packed weekend.

We headed back to our favorite beach one last time before we left. Kimi and her parents drove all of us there. It was hot, but everyone seemed to have a good time

Playland at The Mall

Sunday, July 20

A few catch up blogs...sorry

We had dinner at the mall with some friends. The kids talked daddy into a few rides after dinner.

Akemi and her daughter Kumiko
RJ, Sara and Kumiko

Mitch decided to get in on the act....I hope it didn't hurt when the dinosaur bit him...

See Ya Soon, Himeji

Saturday, July 26th at 6:30pm we had to say "see ya later" to some of the most amazing people we have meet while living in Himeji.

I was surprised at all the people who came by to say farewell.
Yes, same picture, but Dia took the first one and he is in the second one. (next to Mitch)

We had a few visitors earlier in the day. Chiaki came by for a chat in the afternoon.

Suzuna came by to see me in the morning. She was the lucky recipient of all of Sara's clothes and other small child items (high chair, stroller, plates, bowls, etc.)

Several others stopped by too, but of course I forgot to take pictures.

It was nice to see everyone one last time, but it also made me sad. It was amazing how well we got to know some of our friends in the short time we were here. RJ and Sara were given many offers to come do home stay with our new friends when they are older. And some of our friends will come see us in America...we can't wait to see you again!!!

When we left Himeji, we headed to Tokyo for 3 days. I will blog about our adventures there as soon as I can.

You Might Be a Redneck....

If you strap a HUGE bicycle box to the back of your bicycle....
I finally convinced Mitch that we should take Sara's bicycle home with us. So he strapped her bike to the front of his (I forgot to take a picture of that).

After a LONG while in the bike shop, the guys managed to get the petals off and loaded the bike into this huge box (for a man's 26 inch bike). When the guy came outside and saw what Mitch was doing, he laughed so hard!!! It was hilarious.

As I rode behind Mitch on the way home (to keep track of him) this is what I saw.
Yep, we made it home all in one piece.....then later Mitch strapped a 22 lb (10kg) box to the front of his bike and rode it to the post office. It is amazing what one can accomplish when you have no car.

July's 12 on 12

Ok, so I know I am late with this month's version of 12 on 12. Seeing how it will be my last one in Japan, I wanted to do things a bit different. I promised you 24 pictures last month and I planned to have 12 and 12. But I seem to have gone over board on one side and not the other

July's 12 on 12 -

12 things I WILL miss about Japan and 12 things I will NOT miss about Japan (in no particular order). I did not include people as that would eat up all of my available slots

I WILL miss the photo booths here. They are everywhere and once you take the photos you get to decorate them. (Click on the photo to see it bigger.)

These are the photo booths that I WILL miss.

I WILL miss seeing Himeji-jo everyday. Kind of like living at the beach..you get so use to it that once it is gone you forget how great it was.

I (and RJ, Sara & Mitch too) WILL miss the ice cream kids!

I WILL miss seeing my name in print without Christmas after it

I will NOT miss not being able to read a menu. It will be so nice to be literate again!!

I WILL miss seeing the world from a different perspective (notice how the Americas are not on the left center of this map)

I WILL miss my quiet reading place outside of Shogai...On Wednesdays I would arrive early and sit and read outside.

I WILL miss funky looking garages.

I WILL miss kid sized urinals in the ladies bathroom. (no Sara does not use them, RJ just wouldn't pose for me)

I will NOT miss a full size mirror in the shower.

I WILL miss the extra large shower area we have here.

I WILL miss all the crazy drinks they come out with here in Japan. This is Pepsi Blue (Pineapple and Lemon flavor). The kids enjoyed it.

I WILL all the great Japanese cakes. I do not have a sweet tooth therefore I like how less sweet Japanese cakes are.

I WILL miss group exercise...remember the movie Gung Ho anyone?

I WILL miss my wonderful daily bentos.

I will NOT miss Japanese style toilets!!

I will NOT miss crazy English translations albet as funny as they are.

I will NOT miss my desk. I spent way too many hours just sitting here doing nothing.

I will NOT miss rice fields. As fun as it was to watch them plant them and to see how straight the rows are...hello they harbor mosquitoes!!

I WILL miss all the great origami that is made here. My ESS club members made this for me. They used about 200 small pieces of origami paper. I can't wait to hang it in my classroom in Arizona!


I WILL miss Himeji High School's song. The students sing this at all ceremonies and it almost feels like college days at sport event when we would sing the fight song. Luckily one of my teachers gave me a CD with the song on it!!

I will NOT miss the sweat generated during the humid weather. This is my back after ONLY standing in the gym for closing ceremonies. (no AC)

I am sure that as soon as I post this I will think of a few more things that I WILL miss. I can truly say that I have LOVED living in Himeji this year. I wish all of my friends back home could have had the opportunity to visit and see what a truly amazing place Japan really is.

Goodbye Himeco

Friday, July 18th

On my last day of school, some of my favorite teachers surprised me with some VERY beautiful flowers!!! At first I was surprised because my favorite funny teacher was wearing a VERY curly wig. It was great!! And the fragrance was wonderful for our apartment.

The gang that presented me the flowers.

Thanks to all the teachers at Himeco, I had a fabulous year!! I am sad to be leaving but happy to go home to see family and friends. Thanks for some wonderful memories!

Tegara Water Park

Saturday, July 19th

Our friend Miho had a home stay student from New Zealand for about 7 days. We were invited to come along on Saturday when they went to the water park at Tegara Park. We had a blast. Think Water World but on a much tamer level (no crazy teenagers taking over the park)
Yota (Miho's nephew), RJ and Elizabeth (home stay student from New Zealand) taking a break from the water.

Mommy and Sara
Sara and Elizabeth. They were inseparable.


Almost the whole gang (plus 2 friends of RJ's from school)
Sara, Merry, Elizabeth, Miho, Yota & Akiko
Akiko and Yota. They had a lot of fun together.
RJ dunking daddy
daddy rising from the water!!

Sara and Elizabeth
Even though there were many pools of water, RJ was still drawn to the water fountains.
Mommy and RJ
Akiko (don't you just love her smile) and Yota
Mommy and Sara having fun!

Thanks Miho for a great day at the water park!!! RJ is still talking about it!! And don't worry, our sunburns have all healed!!