SLIDES, BIKES, RALLIES and MOPS

Wednesday I went to the gym,  worked on Rally details, did some shopping and then we went back to "the Park" and slid a bit more while Jared was at football.....this time Twyla brought PACHINKO the wonder dog. 

Today was MOPS. Always fun to meet new young moms....this year I'm a Mentor Mom and on the steering committee. Our program was on fitness.....great topic.  I also went to the gym, worked on Rally details, went to lunch with a friend, took friend back to the chapel to help me work on Rally details, went on a bike ride with the four youngers, had Japanese lessons and picked up Jared from football.

A bit more about that bike ride. I believe FALL is here. I think that watering our yard during that hot snap in the middle of the day, resulted in the huge thunderstorm on Labor Day and inadvertently changed the tilt of the cosmos breaking the hot snap. We're loving the 80* weather and cool evenings.  We decided to take the bike ride to the farmer's market to buy some lettuce. I had a sneaky plan to buy ice cream cones for them too. In a land where bicyclists are common, I don't know why we received so much attention.....

We were able to ride on farm roads most the way...but I am wondering yet again why there are no BIKE lanes in Japan....but then again our car lanes are VERY narrow with light poles in the lane.....guess we can live dangerously without bike lanes. 

That's it....time to go to bed and wake up energized.  

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

Thirty-one flavors

This Baskin and Robbins is only 7 minutes from our door. We aren't always sure what we've ordered, but so far, they've all been great. Thirty-one flavors for 31 days????? Another countdown in the making? Should we? 

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

Thirty-two!

White hot coals...I counted. Grilled for lunch and that will free up the evening for last minute rally details and baking for tomorrow's MOPS brunch. 

32 fence posts......the house on the left corner is ours....and I guess THIS is what Ms. K meant by "landscaping is the owner's responsibility". ::snort:: They sort of mow in a haphazard manner. 

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

"The Slide" - Misawa Citizen's Forestry Park

We've been waiting for a cool day to explore a few parks in the area.  Today was the day. I spent the a.m. working on Rally sessions. We called Twyla to see if she and the boys could play while Jared was at football. They came!


This  tall slide is found at the Misawa Citizen's Forestry Park. The park features nature trails, cabins, sports fields, an onsen, a playground and a giant Astro Turf slide. ::snort:: 


The slide is made up of green, broom-like panels....zip tied to a frame over astro turf. They do slides WELL here. 

After the first climb to the top and slide down, several kids were heard to say, "This is hardly worth the climb." That changed as they experimented with various sliding platforms and positions. 

View from the top of the slide - though I didn't climb that high!

Twyla did, but I won't share the video without her permission....I did go up 33 steps...next time the top. 

Tips we learned in case you want to visit the slide: bring plastic to slide on.....carpet squares on top of the plastic provides a bit of comfort....take your shoes off and you can more easily control your destiny....

This is going to be a great winter hill to visit. 

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

Thirty-Three Steps......

Six friends on the THIRTY-THIRD step of a 118 step climb.....I'll write a post next about this awesome slide. 

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

Weird Grasshoppers out here - Michael

This little guy came hopping through the camp the other day.  Quite a different sort of a look to it.  It is hard to see its face in this picture.  You will need to double-click on the image to bring up a larger view. 

Blessings - Michael

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

More Backyard Construction

This is the continuing saga of my once-open "backyard" becoming the home for twenty conex hooches.  Yup, the trees are gone, and it is quite a mess.  The construction workers are all muslim.  Middle of the day working in the sun during Ramazan (Afghan version of Ramadan) - they were pretty much wiped out.  During this time, they neither eat nor drink anything from sun up to sun down.

Blessings - Michael

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