Amusement Park

Today we went to an amusement park & pool. We went swimming when we got there & after that spent the rest of the day going on all the rides. Leila was so brave even on the scary rides.
We ordered a huge ramen (noodles) for us all to share. Here's Mac pretending that he ate the whole thing by himself.

Fishing

Today we went to a BBQ with friends near a big river. Carole enjoyed fishing so much & caught 2 huge fish. We let them go after we caught them.

One more week to go

Summer holidays are over in a week. We're are enjoying the last few days of rest.
Carole lost both her front teeth, she looks so cute. Here are some recent pictures.

Fun at the Summer festival

Here we are eating Kakigori (Crushed ice with colorful syrup) at the festival. Here is the big stage with a taiko drummer on top & the kimono ladies dancing around. There is a temple right by our house & they have big festivals here every year.

Happy Birthday Sam

I thought I'd post some baby pics of Sam. He was the fattest little thing. Dad & Mom called him "Sambo", but later it evolved into "Hambone". Mom has a picture of him & me together when he was a baby but she would never let me have it. Sam was born when I was about 9. I remember it well & I remember I wrote a little poem for the new baby & I still have it, but it's really corny so I won't post it.
Anyway, don't have a scanner so I just took a picture of some old photos with my cell phone that's why they are a little fuzzy. Sam looks just like his own baby. Ha! In the first pic, here he is in the middle of Tom & I eying a cake that would only make him fatter, & in the second pic, he's holding his newborn sister Angie. (So cute!)
Happy Birthday, Sam!!

The girls

Thanks Julie for the matching outfits.

Carole's Beetle Dies (RIP)

Poor Carole had to bury her pet Kabutomushi (Rhino Beetle). She made a little grave stone with his name on it & put some flowers on the grave.

(The grave stone says "Kabuto Kun" in Japanese. She wrote it herself.)

Trip to the zoo

Since the weather was not too hot today, I took the kids to the zoo. Highlights included the vivarium (reptiles & amphibians), & nocturnal animal house (bats, molerats & armadillos). Leila got a kick out of petting the pig at the petting zoo. Kiki of course, didn't want to veer from the zebra cage. When we were done at the zoo, we went on some kiddy rides & ate ice cream.

I am sooo relaxed!

Usually a typical day is like this: trips & preparation/homework for 2 different schools, sometimes having 2 jobs in one day, 3 meals & other snacks to prepare, dishes & all the house work. But now with the kids out of school, we've been just taking it easy. There is usually just one goal for each day like: Have a picnic. Today we had a really nice time at the park. The weather was perfect. More like October than August.

Mac's new ride is...

...Not J. Lo. hehe (--He wishes).
Here is the Subaru Forester. (Sweet!) It is not as spacious as our last one but Mac likes the way it can go reeeeallly fast & has a very quiet engine. I like the interior (Black, so the kids won't get it dirty.)