Summer Fun at Tama River

Last weekend Tracey, Amy & I packed up the kiddos and headed to the Tama River for some fun. When we got to the parking lot it was full and we waited 20 minutes for other cars to leave. The river was packed with families. The boys had fun in the water and throwing rocks (as usual). The best part of the day was when I looked up to see 10 Japanese people setting up Tracey's tent and she wasn't even there. They made her sit in their tent because it was "too hot for the baby". The same family cleaned up all our tents & held Scarlett & Katie while we packed the rest of our stuff. The lady holding Scarlett didn't want to give her back. Oh did I mention they were feeding Quinn edamame? I just love Japan.

Sprinkler Fun

Quinn, Sam and Jack had a blast playing in the $2.00 sprinkler. It was summer fun that took up the whole afternoon and early evening.

Scarlett's 1st Swim

Scarlett loved the pool! She loved splashing around and watching all the action.

Week-ends at Tama River

One of our favorite easy week-end entertainment stops is the Tama River. There are so many different things to do along the river depending on what section you decide to go visit. We have locations to fly kites, ride bikes, swim, throw rocks, and cook-out. The boys even found a section to ride bikes & then go for a swim/frolic at the same spot (I just don't know if it's legal to swim/frolic in that particular water source.... but no-one said anything to us directly about 3 boys in their underwear running around. I'm sure the locals were whispering about the crazy gaijin! My favorite photo is of Quinn's Oscar worthy performance after falling off his bike.

"The Eating Machine"

Neal often refers to Scarlett as an "Eating Machine". Scarlett has decided that she can't waste any more of her time with baby food. She only wants the good stuff... big people food. So here's a few photo's & videos of her favorite past-time.

Tama Festival

We and the Davis family headed to Tama Hills for yet another festival last month. Horseback riding, jumpy castles, mini golf and food. Oops I almost forgot about the Japanese Beatles cover band...words could never describe how funny. I may have to get a copy of the video from Tracey. Check out the video of Quinn mini golfing with a little help from a friend.

Scarlett, just because....

Smack Down

Quinn loves to wrestle with his Daddy. Here's one impressive take down picture.

Birthday Party Times Two

On August 2nd, we had a double birthday party for Quinn and Jack. There were many different separate plans to celebrate both birthdays that the Air Force some how made impossible....no big surprise to us military spouses. So we had the great idea to share all responsibilities & costs and throw one hum-dinger of a shindig. Quinn was so excited to invite his Yochien friends and of course for the Spiderman pinata (i'm bummed that I didn't get a picture of him with the pinata). It was supposed to be at a park but got moved to a party room due to down pouring rain. Fun was had by all and in the end the old adage holds true: sharing is more fun.

J is for Jimbe

Tanabata 2009

Yes it's that time again...summer festivals in Japan. This year we went with our friends the Davis & Joyner families and even included a few extra kiddos. It was hot & humid and the kids looked cool in their Jimbes.

New Tricks

Scarlett has begun to climb onto, under, over and in everything! Sometimes she gets stuck and starts to scream like a wild banchee. Here's a few photos of an easy escape trick.

Quinn turned 4 years old!

It's hard to believe but Quinn is 4 years old today. The day started with him waking me up with pure excitement to tell me that today was his birthday and he was now 4 years old. We then had blueberry muffins made in Spiderman cup liners and he opened his gifts. Grammy & Pepere gave him a spiderman hat among other things Spiderman. He wore the hat all day! Then he opened his Mario Kart for the Wii - which he played for an hour this morning. We even tried to set it up so he could play his cousin Evan online but it didn't work. The day continued with Quinn's first movie at the cinema...UP. Finally we ended the day with a special birthday meal at the Fujima Restaurant. They bring out a plastic cake with real candles along with a Peko doll that sings and dances on the table (and take a picture of the birthday boy with it). And you get a free ice cream sunday to end the meal. Quinn loved it all. Check out the video. The fun continues tomorrow for his birthday party with friends from the base and yochien. Otanjoubi Omedetou Gozaimasu! Quinn is yon-sai.