The Perfect Day

Have you ever had one of those days where everything just seems to go RIGHT??? Rare, I'm sure, but today was one of those days for me. Erinn had the kids for the night so I woke to the sound of birds chirping instead of kids fighting....and got ready without fuss for work. Today was the exam day for my students at the College. I was nervous as it was my first time to supervise an exam...but it all worked out well and it was good to see my students again. The highlight of the day was being taken out to lunch by Rebecca and Anne-Marie...my superiors at work. They are a lot of fun and super people! They have made life so easy for me since I started there. We had a wonderful time at lunch and the food was superb! (Pics below). We then spent the rest of the afternoon marking papers in Anne-Marie's cool air-conditioned office.
I picked my kids up around 5 and they were so pleased to see me Jo came over and gave me a big hug! They both said they missed me....so that was sweet!
Then I came home to a 5 page letter from my cousin in Oz, waiting in the mailbox! How fun! When was the last time you got mail? I mean, REAL mail??? It is very exciting! I sat in the garden with the sun going down behind me laughing to her funny remarks!
When I turned on my computer later...I had 13 personal emails waiting for me! 7 of them photos from my 'other' cousin!!! How special is that??!
What a great day! How is it possible to work so hard and yet feel so good??!!

Rebecca and I

Yummy, tender, rich, Beef Stew...!

Anne-Marie and Rebecca in front of the restaurant.

Row row row your boat....

Yep, we went to the river AGAIN!! Last Tuesday we bundled up the kids and headed for the river. I made a quiche, mini hot-dogs, beef rolls, beans, and fruit, and Erinn made mini hamburgers, rice balls, egg roll, and apple....quite a feast! We lay on the rocks under the umbrella while the kids played in the river. It was so hot we would have to jump in the river every now and again...but it would take our breath away it was so cold!!! It was a relaxing day in the sun with good friends.

Baby on a leash.....??

Julia and Jordan enjoying the water

A day by the river...

Sorry about the glare...I hate showing my legs for obvious reasons...but Erinn MADE me wear those shorts she gave me! hehe...

Such a beautiful day....the river was so clear and refreshing. There's something about being in nature to lift your spirits! This place is about 30 mins from home by car. The flow was just right for the kids, they could ride down on their boogy boards then the river slowed down so they could come back, and it was up to their waists most of the way.

Come on Dad...hurry up!








Oh mum! Not the NOSE!!







Skimming rocks

Serious fun!!

Hands up....?

Hands up those with a frozen shoulder.....! .....OUCH.....me!! Actually, not so much any more. Today was the first day in 2 weeks to wake up without being in pain. It's still there, I can still feel it, but I didn't wake up and think, 'If I could just sleep in this position...ouch ouch', for the first time in ages. Thanks so much for those of you who were thinking of me! Right at the height of stress in my job I woke up with my left shoulder in excruciating pain and I couldn't lift my left arm or turn my head to the left or the right...but still had a few days of teaching left! I thought it would go in a day or two but it hung on for 2 weeks. Yeah, I know, I should have gone to the doctor and got a cortisone shot, but I am a big wimp...
I have been under a lot of stress recently with work and homesickness. The mess around the house has just piled up over the past few months of work and that makes me feel as if I can NEVER get out of here to go home! Shibby has been working so hard with trips to Berkeley, California and Tokyo...and now it looks like he might be off to NZ..! (can I come???). But the bottom line for me is that he is never home. On top of that I have had some disappointments with family that just topped it all off, and it all came to a head last week. I was surprised myself how much it affected me. I wanted to throw everything up in the air and just take off somewhere! But as we have no money....I can't! Boo hoo....poor Renee, yeah, I know... but the stress of living here is just too much these days. I need to go home. I really don't know how I can thank those of you who have been there for me through all this! Yes, you know who you are! Thanks for listening to my continuous dribble and for encouraging me...I'm sorry I have been such a burden and bad friend...but I couldn't have done this without you! You have been such a strength to me and helped me to keep a healthy perspective when my mind turned to mush. (I would love to name you, but if you have heard the words..'Thanks for listening...thanks for today...thanks for being there...thanks for understanding...'... then YOU are it!) It is going to take me a little while to get out of this one, but waking up this morning without shoulder pain gave me a little hope that things are going to get better! Also, today is Shibby's first day off in 3 weeks so we are off to the river...a little nature to refresh the soul always does the trick! I'll post photos later. Love to all!

A beautiful day at the river...

It finally stopped raining after 2 and a half weeks straight! It was so nice to see the sun again, so we went to the river up the mountain behind us. It is in the woods so the temperature drops a couple of degrees when you walk in there. The water is icy cold, but very refreshing on a hot day. This is our favourite place because it is only 10 minutes from our house and no-one is ever there. The kids can play for hours and I can relax and enjoy the scenery.
After eating lunch I noticed a long black snake slithering up a rock out of the river beside the stroller...the kids ran over to have a look and it started to move towards them...so I got up and yelled at it and it turned around and headed into the bush quick-smart! Wow, even I was impressed...!
After a few minutes of, 'I'm not going back in the water...I'm too scared, let's go home...', the kids were right back in the water yelling and screaming again. Summer has truly begun....

Time for a laugh

My aunt sent me this today and I thought it was funny! I have seen it before but this time I must have been in the mood. Yep, I am a mug...! I think I have done ALL of these things. The cell phone thing especially....I feel naked without it! The ipod comes in second...I think I would rather forget my wallet!!

The thing in our house is when something BEEPS we have to check the bath/rice cooker/cell phone/fridge/door bell/washing machine/kids game/heater/stove/toilet/microwave to see what it is we have forgotten!!!There is usually a few second lapse while we stare at each other until one of us says...Oh, I left the water on the stove...!. It actually took us 10 mins to work out that the fridge door had been left open the other day cause we couldn't find the BEEP! At least the new bath actually TALKS to us now it says, 'Your bath is ready'...so it is a little better than a beep....
If you agree...read on!...only true cyber-freaks will understand...

You Know You're Living In 2007 When .......

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own drive and use your mobile phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your mobile phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no number 9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a number 9 on this list.

And Now You Are Laughing at yourself.

Classes have ENDED!

The girls in classes are very cute! We had a lot of fun...when they weren't sleeping or putting on their make up!

Earthquake

On Monday 16 July there was an earthquake in Niigata Prefecture with a magnitude of 6.6. Many of you have been worried about us, but we are fine. I didn't even know there was an earthquake until the next day when I turned on the news. The map above shows where we live. The earthquake is shown by the red cross above us.

Park in Ikoma

We spent the long weekend with Michael and Chris out in Ikoma, Nara. After a week of rain it was nice to get outside and go to the park. This is a park near their house, it is up in the mountains so the view was beautiful. Jo and Luke had fun playing together.

Julia's Birthday

Wednesday night was Erinn's 2nd daughter, Julia's, birthday. It was a great night and we all had a lot of fun..but for some reason the only picture I have is of the food! This is one of the pizza's Erinn made for us...just before she put it in the oven. It looked so colourful....and tasted great!

Time out for the mums....

Yum!! Erinn and I went to a family restaurant 'Joyful' on Monday. It is really cheap...399 for lunch...and for an extra 199 we got dessert...! Usually we expect some dried out old cake for that price, but this was a very delicious rich Chocolate cake. Mmmm......

Our new Gas Water Heater

CLICK HERE to read about the latest 'toy' in our house!

Wanna see a baby smile...???

This kid has perfected it! Such a smiley boy....
Ken reckons he is yelling 'Help!'.....

CHECK OUT THE NEW BLOG!

I've started a new blog just for Ken and Jo! If you want to read about some of the cute things they have done or how I am surviving parenthood, take a look!
CLICK HERE

Buyo Dance

Sunday we went to see 'Obachan's' (Grandma's) Dance show. We were very proud.
CLICK HERE to see more shots

Sweet moments...

Erinn and I had a very relaxing day on Saturday catching up on Desperate Housewives' episodes. Guess who was the most relaxed?? Little Jordan is such an active boy who just wants to walk NOW! So he tires himself out trying to crawl, sit, jump and slide backwards....what a sweet moment when he crashes on mummy's chest. 'No better place to be', he dreams...

My favourite season!

'Tis the season for summer FRUIT!! I can't explain how much I LOVE fruit, but this picture should give you some idea....'hands off Jo! They're all mine!!'...he he.
Living in the country has it's advantages...the cheap fruit in plentiful supply. This huge tray of around 24 very large peaches was only 800 yen. They had trays for 400 yen..but these looked yummier..and I was NOT sorry...! My friends in Osaka are very jealous...they pay around 200 yen for ONE! ouch....we are off again on Wednesday to get some more..yep, they are all gone already!