Lions and horses? and COWS! Oh my!

The base has been blessed with a wonderful holiday weekend. The 3rd and 4th were the weekend. When a holiday falls on a weekend we usually get Monday off. Our commander (or maybe it was Air Force wide) declared Tuesday a Family Day.  The head of our family is missing. I felt the mopes coming on - in myself and in various children.

Sunday night I determined we would NOT do school Monday and Tuesday and that we WOULD go do something fun and new to take our minds off of Michael celebrating America's freedom in the rock pile.

The littles wanted to go to the zoo....inspired by Debbie's zoo pics from Nebraska (::snort::) I agreed. For a brief moment I forgot I live in Japan. I went to google maps, typed in directions from Misawa to Morioka Zoo and got this......

GPS units here are fairly pointless. Streets have no names. Our hand held work as we mark places when we ARRIVE and so we'll be able to find them again in the future. Maybe we'll sell the GPS with it's wayoints, when we leave, to a new family coming in. ::snort::

I had some directions that looked far to simple. (They were). I found some that looked VERY complicated (no toll road, lots of back roads). I have found the directions here to be better than ITT - and I usually end up where I'm going if I combine his driving directions with ITT directions.  We decided to head out.

The Stephey family, dear friends that they are, decided to go with us. Evidently they worried it was a rather long and uncertain trip to break in a new van. I learned the thing does NOT do hills as will as the other van.....and the AC dies when it gets going up hills....and the gas gauge I still can't quite figure out....but it was GREAT to get out on the roads and DRIVE. (Psst....don't let Windy tell you Rodney drives slow ::snort:: and they DID want to see the Zoo too.)

We followed Rodney. This gave me permission to drive over the speed limit. ::snort:: Honestly, the Japanese Gent, who taught the driving class for Jared, said the limit on the toll road is 80 kmh but they drive 110 kmh. They do.  We nearly did. OK - in some spots we did. ::grin::  It also allowed for various new driving adventures, such as:  u eys in busy intersections (I'm known to turn right and drive around the block rather than mess with a busy intersections - so a u ey in the midst of an intersection was an adventure). Windy rightly reports hearing a "terrified scream" as I flawlessly executed one such turn. ::snort:: I also drove on a sidewalk - with the kids encouraging, "Mom, that's the Japanese way."

At the toll booth I tried out my Japanese, "Zoo wa doco desu ka?" Of course, he didn't recognize the word Zoo. I tried various things......"Rrrrooooooaaarrr wa doco desu ka?" Finally, we simply drove on and trusted. We got there. Thank God for bi-lingual traffic signs.

Can't doubt you've found the zoo with a parking sign like this.

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It's very common in Japan for ticket vending machines to be outside the "pay booth". You buy your ticket and in you go. Jared and I were y500 each, all else were free.

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Oh the MONKEYS we saw!

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I lugged the Nikon DSLR only to discover the battery was DEAD. Good thing for my pocket camera. Arielle and Noah

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Animals of all kinds

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Notice the joey

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Petting Animals

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African Animals

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American Animals

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American Children

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It was a GREAT zoo. Bigger than the zoo in Anchorage (bigger animal variety too!), smaller than the San Antonio Zoo (Thank HEAVENS). The landscaping was gorgeous, there were no crowds, it was delightful.

This sign cracked us up. As Tony on FB noticed...good thing it didn't say no "snorting".

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We had packed a lunch (still trying to eat clean and it works best when you can't read the menus and ingredients). We stopped at a mall's food court - well -

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....and headed home.

The tolls are 50% off this summer...maybe they'll extend the rates forever?  It was y3400 total for tolls.

We were able to see the base's fireworks as we drove back into town....all in all a perfect day. I was thrilled that Rodney, Windy and kids were able to laugh about all the "adventures" and that we were able to make this memory.

Catch up and Father's Day Gift

Friday - The chapel staff met at Lake Ogawara to welcome a new secretary, a new priest and to say farewell for a deployment of one of our chaplains. It was a fun time to relax and enjoy each other. The kids enjoyed playing. They were especially happy when Windy and her kids met at the lake too....then Twyla and her boys...all in all it was a very fun afternoon for them.

Saturday - I tied up a few ministry details - regionally. I researched more solutions for a local ministry issue. Jared played paintball with a group of friends all morning and much of the afternoon. The rest of us cleaned house.

Sunday - A day to focus on spiritual and physical freedom. A wonderful day of worship in Word and song. Bit of a neighborhood issue to deal with....these are the times I wish Michael was home. He seems much better at calming waters than I. He DID Skype and we were able to all gather around. He even prayed for and with us and that makes life better.

The little box on the bottom  left is all of us in Japan....we've come to love this view of Michael....and if you look over his shoulder, you'll see the promise of his Father's Day Gift.  As well as the results of Stacia's (nearly 5)  goal to cover the bare walls with artwork.

I asked Rick at Organized Doodles to do a family doodle for Mike. I've followed his work for a couple of years and had planned to have one done many times....but never hit on the right occasion. We sent him ideas. He came up with Ninjas instead. Ninjas were a big hit around here.  I'm amazed he could do this from a few snapshots.  This turned out to be quite a lot of work for him...lots of subjects to fit onto the paper...in fact, we ended up earning a bigger piece of paper. I've not seen the finished product, but he sent an email with a photo of the finished project. We emailed that to Michael. Rick's mailing the finished project here (as Michael can't hang things on the walls anyway LOL - tape is where it's at), and we'll have it framed and ready for Mike when he gets home. In the meantime, Michael already printed out the newest family photo. 

It was fascinating to watch this take shape - At the first sketch, I thought, "Hmmm...Ninjas...." and the little boys said, "YES!"

The color really makes it come alive.

I had thought I was the one in the center - but it turns out I'm the one on the right with the bow and arrow... ::snort::

I'll have to copy a finished shot later..... Check out Rick's work. Visiting his blog always brings a smile and watching a portrait take shape is great fun.

Choosing Joy!

©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Murasaki Imo Chocolato

This should properly be labeled "interesting" sights in Japan.

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Akikosan brought us a new type of chocolate to try. "Crunky" chocolate....and believe it or not it IS purple....see the bowls at the top of the photo?  It's murasakiimo chocolato....Purple Sweet Potato Chocolate....Yum....

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Games Galore

Jared has blessed my heart by playing Chess with Nolan the past two nights before bedtime.

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Akikosan brought "Fukuwarai" for us to learn tonight. She left it with us...great way to practice Japanese...play a Japanese game.

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Zander and Stacia enjoyed their own game.

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Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Our Second Outing This Week

We had scheduled our second outing of the week to Towada Horse Park today. Those who had been there knew that when it was wet, the slide was closed....so we opted not to go. It turned out to be a beautiful day, but who can tell? LOL

Instead, we headed to the Misawa Aviation Museum.  This is ALWAYS a lot of fun. There is an outdoor park area where we had a picnic. It turns out some moms from one of our squadrons was meeting there as well....all also PWOC and/or MOPS moms...so we ended up with eight moms, twenty-two kids, and a lot of fun.

Stacia was so VERY excited to try this...she was tall enough this time.

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Not a second of hesitation as the "ride" began.

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The famous spinning room.

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Zander told me he was "taking over the Japanese Internet" at this station.

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He and Colton spent a lot of time in the cockpit of an airplane. It was fun to listen to the scenarios they constructed for each other.

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I love sitting with those who have explored more than us and picking their brain. I think I have some new ideas for the rest of the summer...if I can remember what they are. ::snort::

Rain....Rain...Rain

After complaining about rain a few weeks ago, I'm really enjoying it this week. It's a great break hot and humid summer. LOL  I LOVE the weather changes in Misawa. Texas seemed like one long summer - with a week or two of winter thrown in.  There were no long, cold, winter nights in TX.....I don't know that we need THIS MUCH change within one season, but there you have it.

Today I spent quite a bit more time on base. I ran to pick up the parking permit and show it to Pass and ID. I haven't a clue WHY, but they wouldn't let the previous owner out-process until I did this. They ASSURED me he'd be able to out-process now.

I visited three locations looking for a spot for our PWOC Fall "Rally".  Not sure we'll settle on that name, maybe. I hadn't realized it would be so hard to find a venue for a chapel event.  The complication is a congregation meets in the chapel on Saturday, so we can't use the chapel facilities as planned. I think it's going to be great, if I can get one of the locations on the North side...wooded, nice views....all in all it will be a blessing.  Although, at this point, none of those spots are open for our dates. I'll keep knocking on doors.  ::snort::

I continue to nurse my aching, itching legs....one swollen. They look better than yesterday....I'm taking Ibuprofen and putting as much Benydryl lotion on as allowed.....


Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Sushi Shrine????

It's so tough learning how to be a Japanese Belle.

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I've been wanting to share some comments I've overheard....

Stacia - "There's a lot of tripping and hiccuping in Japan."

Stacia - "You are being totally difficult, Mom!"

Zander, as we stepped out of the car and smelled a the pungent fish fertilizer, "There's a Sushi Shrine nearby!"

Zander - "In the movies Sumo Wrestlers are ok, but in real life, oh boy!"

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...