Interesting Tree Topper

Yesterday was the first Thanksgiving we've celebrated without the "boys" at home. It is probably inevitable that I'd be noticing a lot of firsts....

For instance.....THIS is the first time....

I've seen HIM on top of a Christmas tree. ::snort:: No, it is NOT our tree.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

First Geocache in Japan

YES!

With all our decorating finished, we decided on another first for our family in Japan. We went Geocaching. Gracie (Arielle's friend) is sick. Mollie (Gracie's sister and also Arielle's friend) came with us. It was her first time geocaching. Hand-held gps units and a book on geocaching was a family Christmas gift in 2005 - one of the best gifts we've ever done. LOL

Mollie took the lead

Even *I* didn't need to read the sign to know it would be silly to venture this way. ::snort::

OUR FIRST FIND IN JAPAN!!!

Jared tries out his reading skills - this is a bass pond which we will visit in the future

Jared found some lures LOL

As we drove off I saw a white goose, no a SWAN. I rushed to get a photo....obviously I RUSHED. ::snort:: I didn't realize that the swan were nearly tame and will eat "moss balls" from your hand. There were three Japanese nationals on the lake shore with some of those HUGE camera lenses....they got quite a laugh out of my little point and click.

I tried out a few elementary Japanese phrases and they were glad to chat with me. The lady asked if I was from the "asylum" - base. ::snort:: She was happy to hear I lived in the city. She told me to come back with a nice camera and that the Swans STAY HERE for the winter. I sense it will be a winter project to catch some nice shots. I haven't a clue why they come here in the winter when it is cold....

We attempted one more find. I've written before about the Train Park. It was here that Stacia decided to make my photo at an inopportune moment. ::snort::

It's the perfect place for a cache...and we couldn't find it. Part of geocaching is not letting on to outsiders what you are doing. This is always a challenge with a large family.....in some of the spots you find yourself...we discovered being a large, American family, in Japan, trying not to call attention to yourself, as you geocache, adds a new dimension to the fun. We'll probably look for out of the way caches in the future. I think we managed to give the impression that Americans are simply crazy about trains. LOL



It was too dark to really eyeball this one....we tried. We didn't find it. We'll try again.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

First Slumber Party in Japan

For years our kids would all watch movies late into the night on Friday night. They would drag out blankets and sleep in the living room. As the older ones left home, this tradition seemed to wane. Then the boys were working late Friday night and early Saturday morning and were content to sleep in their own beds.

After our practically perfect Thanksgiving (totally different than usual but so RELAXING), and after the tree was up and decorated....we pulled out The Muppet's Christmas Carol. This is a tradition that I love.



The littles asked if they could watch more movies. We brought down their futons and they were nice and cozy for the first slumber party in Japan.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...