Wednesday, September 8, 2010

more pix from the grand tour...

After we left Tokyo, we headed south to the resort town of Hakone, which is in the foothills of Mt. Fuji. It was too late in the season to climb it to Greg and Dad's chagrin... we really enjoyed the cooler weather and change of pace! We took a ropeway/cable car ride to view Fuji-san, but he was a bit "shy" so our pictures don't do much justice. We also took a boat cruise which had some nice views!
Mt Fuji in background (you can see the peak through the clouds, really.....)
The relaxing ropeway
Enjoying a burst of wind on daddy's shoulders

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

hello, Nana and Duke!


Here's a preview of our Tokyo segment of vacation 2010
@ Hase-dera temple, Kamakura

with Hachi-ko (remember that story from Greg's visit a few months back?)
Dinner at Wellingtons for Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary ( a couple of weeks late)
trying out a comfortable ride at the Tokyo Edo museum

riding a Tokyo bus like a pro

strolling with Nana and Duke
stepping stones
inside cool caves at Kannon Shrine
family shot in front of big Buddha
rubbing Buddha's bellly from his insides
washing hands (playing in water...) with Nana
sharing Daddy's treat
chocolate ice cream goatie!

Friday, August 27, 2010

On the Road again...

We hope your summer has been wonderful, it sure went quickly! Sorry for not posting more regularly, but honestly we didn't want to bore you. The last couple of months have been filled with a LOT of work and not much play. We are leaving this weekend to pick up Greg's folks in Tokyo and bring them back to Sasebo via Shinkansen (bullet train). It should be a fun trip, albeit challenging with our VERY active daughter, who's running and climbing on everything.

Speaking of her, Cora continues to shine and is forever keeping us on our toes. She took swimming lessons this summer and loves the pool! Her 15 month appointment statistics are as follows: 27.2 lbs and 33 inches. She's trimming up and looking even more like her tall daddy. A bit more hair, but not enough to hold a bow YET...
"stalin" on daddy's lap at a re-enlistment ceremony
working on her molars (a more than 2 month process thus far)
napping with Bonny
playing tug-of-war with Bonny
wishing it'd cool down outside so she can go play!

Friday, July 30, 2010

funny picture

so here's the pre-pool calisthenics at Cora's school. As you can see, she didn't participate in the stretches but watched her classmates (we can only imagine what her face looks like...) Gotta love this culture! We can't help but giggle at the poor kids who have their diapers on the OUTside of their swimsuits :) or that Cora appears to be about 2/3 the size of her sensei!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I suppose it's been awhile....

since we've blogged. We don't have much news to share other than the rainy season MAY be over and the summer HEAT is here. So far, it's felt more humid than last year. We're trying to get out when it's coolest, which proves to be a challenge. You know it's bad when even Finn and Bonny won't walk :)

Cora's been enjoying any water she can find..... while I water the flowers, in the shower, at the pool on base and hopefully the beach soon. Here's a cute picture featured on her school's blog yesterday.
Greg's been fighting a fever for about a week now with no diagnosis made. Poor guy! He's a trooper, indeed. Thankfully we have not caught whatever it is and we are happy to have a guestroom during times like these. I think he's bummed that the rain is over yet he's not been able to "practice" his motorcycling that much (Cora and I disagree)...

Work's been busy for me and I'm picking up one more shift a week for the month of August since I'm looking to take some leave in Sept and October. I had my first sexual assault forensic exam last week, which was challenging. The meticulous details were tedious and I hope that I did okay as I'll likely be called to testify when this goes to court martial. We are doing some pre-joint commission inspections now, too, which means we are being inspected in our patient care, infection control, documenting and protocols... more stress!
check out C's couture denim diapers! She's taking her baby for a walk in the hallway here, like the cape she created from a hand-knit bib from Obaa?
Cora picked up "Aka" and handed her off to me, then proceeded to run down the hall and look for something else to do... if only it were that easy for us!

We hope your summer is going well -- can't believe how quickly time flies!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

BioPark!

The rain FINALLY stopped for a day, allowing a family trip to BioPark which is located about 45 min south of Sasebo towards Nagasaki. Greg and Meg both had the day off, so we kept Cora from school and did some family exploring. It wasn't raining, but it was a steamy 80+ degrees with air so thick you could cut it with a knife! Oh well, the hilly terrain allowed for some extra calorie burning :)
a spider monkey tries to beat the fish at catching some treats
Riding in style
Eew, that bat is real and about 2 feet behind them!
A wallaby approaches Cora who thinks she's buying some treats

Sigh, "mom rules are meant to be broken"

Feeding a kangaroo and mighty proud of it!
"what the...?"
Cora gently pet him like she pets Finn and Bonny
A capybara -- so cute and cuddly, they remind us of the dogs at home!

wash, wash wash
the monkeys (squirrel monkeys and lemurs) LOVED Greg!
apparently his coat feels better than our dogs -- he surely enjoyed Greg's pat!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

happy birthday, America!


Waving the "stars n stripes"
not worms, it's seaweed in her rice. Great picture, huh?
Nice picture of those teeth.... this is Cora's "heh heh heh look what I just did" shot!