The Quarterback

...a.k.a. "little guy", "QB", or "cube," and every once in a while, "Isaac". Since we don't live close to family, whenever we visit home both of our families always seem interested in what we call our kids. Their nicknames always seem to start with a story and then they evolve, until we have a hard time remebering how we got the name. Isaac has been no exception. It started in the hospital after we had just decided on the name Isaac. We were saying the name and then Isaac turned to "I-sack" which then became "I-sack the quarterback" which then shortened to "quarterback", then "QB" and when that is too much to say, just "cube". And since he is the littlest member of our family, we often just call him "little guy." So, when we go home in a few weeks (yeah!!!) you may choose any of those names and at least Cailey and Bryant will know who you are talking to.

Little guy is now over 7 months old and he is doing great. He has been neglected on this blog lately so I thought I would post a few pics. At this age they change so much. It seems that each day he starts doing something new. Here are a few of the recent changes.

Crawling and climbing a few stairs (No...not the stairs!!)Clapping

and standing in the crib

We love our quarterback!!

Shigoto wa nan desu ka

...which translates to "What is your job (work)?" Lately I feel like my job has been full time yochien (kindergarten) mom. As I look at my calendar over the last month most of the days have been filled with something to do with yochien. Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. Some of it has been really fun, like the lunches with the moms. There has been the walking group mom's lunch, the lunch for the moms in Bryant's class, then another one for Cailey's class. I have had fun getting together with some of the moms for language exchanges. One girl named Emiko is helping me with Japanese and in return I am helping her start running. But then there are other things, like going to observe them in class. It really is interesting to see what they do, but after 30 minutes I feel like I have seen enough. And then when every other mom stays for hours you feel obligated to stay so that your kid isn't the only one in the class whose mom isn't there. There have been two observation days in the past month. One was for PE (with a special PE teacher...now that was interesting, I couldn't believe some of the things they made them do, I swear there would be lawsuits if they did those things in the US) and another day to watch them during the day in the classroom. But times that by 2 kids and that is 4 observation days in the last month. I took a few videos and pictures so that you can see a day in the life of a yochien student in Japan.
This is Cailey's class singing a song together in the morning.

Here is Cailey working on an art project.

This is a video of Bryant singing the song that they sing right before they eat lunch. They sing about being happy about eating lunch."Obento, obento ureshii na..."Obento" is the lunch they bring to school in a lunch box (not that you can understand what they are saying...)



I was trying not to laugh while Bryant was doing this art project, because they gave them these pre-cut faces and they were supposed to draw on the eyes, nose, mouth, etc. Notice how nicely Bryant's class mates have done theirs and he was just happy to use every color in his marker set on his "face."

Oh yes...I do have a third child and Isaac has been a really good sport joining me for all of these Yochien activities. There have been a few days when it has just been Isaac and me at home, and oh how nice those days are.

Travel Log: Day 1

From May 14-20 we took our long awaited family vacation to Kyoto and Kobe, Shane's misssion. I absolutely loved our vacation. The weather was perfect, it was so nice to be together as a family, and we got to see some really neat things in Japan. Kyoto was Japan's capitol before Tokyo, so a lot of great cultural things are in that city. We left Yokohama at about 8:00 am and arrived in Kyoto around 3:30 pm. That time included an hour stop for lunch and some terrible construction traffic just before we got to Kyoto. When we arrived we checked into our hotel and headed to Kiyomizudera. The picture below is actually one I found on the internet because in our excitement to start seeing the sites, we left the camera at the hotel.
It was beautiful, up on a hill overlooking the city of Kyoto. It was one of those places that you just want to sit down for a while and soak in the beauty and the atmosphere. After Kiyomizudera we went back to the hotel and found a restaurant for dinner.

Travel Log: Day 2

This was our big day in Kyoto and we tried to pack in as much as possible. We woke up to a free continental breakfast at our hotel. A bit different than the donuts and coffee you find in the US. Miso soup and onigiri (rice with stuff on it). Our first destination was Fushimi nari. These red tori gates line the trail as you hike through the mountain side. The whole hike is about 2 hours, but we did a shorter version. Of course there were also Jinja's and shrines along the way. This is the kind of thing that I LOVE, but I wasn't sure if the kids would like it. They seemed to enjoy running through the gates though.

Next we went to Toji Temple. This was a 5 story pagoda, beautiful ponds and gardens and 2 other buildings (temples). In the temples there were a lot of golden buddha statues, but we couldn't take pictures inside. Shane and I both really liked this place. To give you an idea of the size of the pagoda, I am the small person standing in front of it.
After lunch and some bribery (ice cream) for our kids to keep going, we went to Kinkakuji. This is a golden temple, and we hear that it really is covered with gold.

Kinkakuji is a must see in Kyoto, but while we were there there were a million students on school trips, so it was very crowded. We had to wait for a chance to take the above family photo for about 15 mins. By the time we got done with Kinkakuji we were ready for a break. We decided to drive around and Shane tried to find where his old mission apartment in Kyoto was. We got close but never found the exact building. While we were in the area Shane remembered about an old bridge, Togetsu kyo, that is famous for some reason and is a popular tourist destination.

We found a place to park and relaxed by the side of the river for a while. The kids found a drinking fountain to play in and kept turning the spout so that it would shoot strait up in the air and get them all wet. Out of all of the neat sites and famous attractions we saw in Kyoto that day, if you were to ask the kids what their favorite part of the day was, the water fountain would probably be it. After some time by the river we found a restaurant had dinner and went back to the hotel for some sleep!

Travel log: Day 3

On Friday we packed up and checked out of our hotel in Kyoto. We headed over to Nijo Castle, near our hotel. This castle has an inner and an outer mote, and two separate palaces. We were allowed to walk through the larger of the two palaces. The size of it was pretty impressive; with 33 rooms and, for those of you familiar with tatami mats, over 800 tatami mats. I thought there were two really cool things about this palace. The first was all of the wall and ceiling paintings. They were very old and the color was fading in a lot of places, but very beautiful Japanese art work. We were not allowed to take any pictures inside the building, so I don't have a picture of what they looked like. The other cool thing was the floors that you walked on. They are called nightingale floors, and were made to squeek when you walk on them. The Shogun and samuri lived in the palace and the floors would warn them of intruders. Of course there were beautiful Japanese gardens surrounding the palace.

By the time we walked around the grounds it was getting hot and, let's be honest, the kids were DONE seeing any more gardens. Shane and I ended up packing Isaac, pushing the stroller with either Cailey or Bryant, and carrying the child who wasn't in the stroller on our back. I had big plans to see one more Temple in Kyoto, but after Nijo we decided that was enough. Instead we went to a park and had a picnic lunch. The kids magically got all of their energy back and had fun playing. After lunch we went to the Kyoto eki, which is new and very modern. We wanted to go see it and get a few omiyage's (souveniers).

At about 2:30 pm we left Kyoto and headed for Kobe. Shane spent 6 months of his mission in Kobe. One of the best parts of this trip for us was that we got to stay with Kazuko and Keiji Shimizu while we were in Kobe. When Shane was a missionary in Kobe, they only lived a few doors down from the Shimizu's. The custom in Japan when you move into a new place is to go to your neighbor's home and introduce yourself and take them a gift. So after being transfered to the area, Shane and his companion knocked on the Shimizu's door and the whole family came to the genkan to meet them. This was the beginning of many meetings with the missionaries. Kazuko was baptized and has been a member for 15 years now. She is incredible in every way. She was a wonderful hostess and made us feel like family while we were there. She is a great cook and for me it was so much fun to be in a Japanese home, eating Japanese home cooking and even seeing how they set the table when they eat. This was our meal the first night we arrived: When I wrote out our daily travel log during the trip, I actually wrote down what she served us for every meal because it was so impressive. I helped her make a few things throughout our stay, so hopefully I will be able to reproduce one of her dishes. Below is a picture of Kazuko with Cailey before our meal. In the background is a display that they put up during May for Boy's Day. It is samurai armor and swords. It is to remind the boys to be strong and courageous. (I hope I got that right for all of you who are a lot more knowledgeable about Japanese culture than I).

Travel log: Day 4

On Saturday we got up and drove to the city of Himeiji where the famous Himeji castle is located. Wow...this castle really lives up to all expectations. It's size is so impressive, when I got my first view of it as we drove up I was blown away. By the time we arrived, it was lunch time so we ate at a restaurant right in front of the castle grounds. I took a picture with a view of the castle in the background. Kazuko joined us for the outing. The kids love her and think that she is their "Japanese Grandma"

Family picture with the castle in the background.

This is a view from the top of the castle.

Travel log: Day 5

On Sunday Shane got to have some more trips down memory lane. We went to church in Kobe with Kazuko where Shane served for 6 months of his mission. We got there early and looked around a little bit. He recognized a few faces, but after 15 years a lot has changed. The bishop of the ward told an interesting story during sacrament meeting. He was converted about 15 years ago and living in Kyoto as a student. When he wanted to get baptized he needed permission from his parents who lived in Kobe. Shane was one of the missionaries who visited his parents to speak to them about the church and get their permission. Shane didn't remember the visit, but it is nice to know that the everyday things you do as a missionary help others.


I have to mention what we had for dinner on Sunday night, because it was wonderful!! Kazuko made Sukiyaki with Kobe beef. Beef in Japan is very expensive, and this beef was delicious. I wish I would have taken a picture of the meal, but I didn't. Sukiyaki is a meal that is cooked in a large round electric skillet. Beef, tofu, leeks, mushrooms, onions, etc. are arranged in the pan and cooked with soy and a bit of sugar (which make a really good glaze on everything). When it is cooked each person takes what they want and (the true way to do it is to) dip it in raw egg and eat it with rice (Shane and I passed on the raw egg).
This is a picture of the Shimizu's, Keiji and Kazuko.