Tsu Festival 2013

The local fall festival took place a couple of weeks ago, and we all headed down.  There were lots of folks, lots of greasy treats, and lots of beer.

Also, traditional Japanese drums, dance troupes, and fireworks to finish off the evening.

A good time was had by all.

Samantha's First Sports Day

In Japan, schools hold an annual Sports Day, or Field Day.  Children practice for weeks, learning songs and dances, marching around, and running running running.  When the day comes, Moms and Dads and Grandmas and Grandpas all show up to sit in the sun and watch their little darlings perform.

Samantha's first ever Sports Day was early in October, on a pleasantly partly cloudy Sunday.  K and I of course were in attendance, but we weren't alone.  Grandma and JiJi showed up too, and Samantha's cousin Saaya stopped by for lunch.  A good time was had by all, as the pictures will show.

Sam Starts PreSchool

Wow, my little girl is hitting milestones at frightening pace.  She hit the big 03, and will start preschool next  week.  The induction ceremony was yesterday, and it was quite a scene.  60 three year olds, all decked out in their school uniforms, half of them crying, with attendant parents and grandparents all milling about the school, cameras whirring away.

Chaos.  

Samantha was taken aback by all the new faces and big noises, and frankly, she wasn't the only one.  We got through ok, and when it came time for the kids to go with their new teachers to their new classrooms, Samantha went right along.  She'll be fine.

Cute, eh?

Its a big step for all of us, but its not the first and it won't be the last.  

Samantha hits the slopes!

     This past weekend, K's father took the girls up into the mountains of Gifu Prefecture for a bit of winter sport.  K hasn't been skiing since before Samantha came, and has been itching to get out and play.  Samantha's entire experience with snow has to this point been the occasional dustings we get once or twice a year here.  Everyone was looking forward to getting some quality time on the slopes.
     The weather cooperated, and the crew pulled out early Saturday morning just a bit behind schedule.  From the reports and pictures, everyone had a great time, especially Samantha and K's father, who didn't actually ski at all!

Judge for yourself!