Sakura's Tokyo trip (Already halfway?)

先日、銀座にお買い物に行ったついでに、前々から気になってたラーメン屋「五行」に行ってきました。素敵なお店でした。
翌日はジョシュの同僚だった岸川しゅうきちゃんと福生でお昼ご飯を。その後、ジョシュはしゅうきちゃんと一緒にベースに。日本で買った荷物をオマハに送ったり、両替したり、職場に行ったりと。。私とさくらはベースには行かず滞在する立川グランドホテルに向かいました。
しゅうきちゃん、車を出してくれてありがとう。本当に助かりました。
夜はジョシュが以前教えていた英語教室に顔を出しに行ってきました。その後はホテルに戻り一泊して、翌日は実家に戻りまた夜は家で焼き肉。。。（どんだけ焼き肉、、好きなんだって感じだけど）

This past Monday, we went shopping in Ginza & ate delicious ramen at Gogyo. For Tuesday, we headed for Fussa (near Yokota) to eat some hamburg steak at a place named Bikkuri Donkey. It brought back memories of being stationed in Tokyo. We met a former co-worker, Shuki, for lunch then drove Takako & Sakura back to the train station as they headed for the Tachikawa Grand Hotel. Shuki & I went on base, as I needed to get some packages shipped back to the US, exchange some $ for ¥, and say hello to former co-workers and the rest of the telephone shop. He then was generous enough to drive me back to Tachikawa to meet up with Takako & Sakura. Thank you so much Shuki. Later that night, we met with my former English class and introduced Sakura to them. The next morning we headed back to Hideko's place to relax. Later that night we ate Yakiniku again.

Sakura's Tokyo trip (Next couple of days)

先週の木曜日の昼間、焼き肉を食べに行こうと思ったんだけどお店が夕方からしかやってなくて、急遽、お家で焼き肉。久々の焼き肉、ジョシュは凄い嬉しそうでした。夜はジョシュは渋谷へお出かけ。横田時代の友人に会いに行ってました。私とさくらも一緒に行きたかったけど、平日の夜って事で、お家でお留守番。翌日は久々の美容院に。今度はジョシュとさくらがお家でお留守番。
土曜日はお墓参り、今日も皆でお出かけ、、、と殆ど毎日１万歩近く歩いているけど、やっぱり東京は楽しい。

Thursday night, the 24th of September, Josh met with Justin Luke in Shibuya. They worked together as Wiredawgs back at Yokota 4-5 years ago. It has been a while but it was great to catch up. Friday, Takako went to Shibuya to get her haircut as Josh & Sakura stayed back in Higashi-Oojima. Hideko was working a lot during the day and into the night. When Takako returned in the afternoon, they headed for Daiei grocery store to get some beef & pork for Yakiniku later that night. Saturday started with all of us waking up, getting ready for the train bound for Fukiage. It is where Takako's Grandmother/Grandfather are laid to rest. We also visited with some of her relatives that live near the train station then headed for home. On the way home, we stopped at Sugamo as Takako & Hideko wanted to do some shopping. Today, Sunday the 27th, we went to Shinjuku for some more shopping at Uniqlo and a couple more stores. For a late lunch we headed to Saint Marc (a restaurant with all you can eat bread) in Nerima-Kasuga, just north of Shinjuku. Now, back home, relaxing and updating the blog.

Sakura's Tokyo trip (1st couple of days)

１９日はオマハからミネソタまで国内線にのり、ミネソタから成田空港まで国際線。乗り継ぎのミネソタ空港では、ジョシュのご両親が会いにきてくれました。さくらにとって初めての飛行機でしたが、問題ありませんでした。
２１日は早速、親と一緒に新宿にお買い物。乳母車を持って行ったんだけど、完全に失敗でした。東京は乳母車は駄目だね。階段多いし、とにかく大変でした。２２日は、またお出かけして、友人にあって、昨日もまた出かけてと。
足の指、骨折してるにも関わらずかなり出歩いているけど。
でも改めて東京はいいね。お買い物も楽しいし、やっはり便利、でも子連れにはあまり便利じゃないけど。

Sakura did great on the 1+ hour flight from Omaha to Minneapolis where we saw Grandpa Wes & Grandma Vicky. From there, she also did great on the 12 hour flight to Tokyo. We are finally over the jet-lag and ready to snap pictures from Sakura's first time in Japan. On Monday, 21 September, we went to Shinjuku for some quick shopping with Hideko. Pushing the baby stroller around in Shinjuku was a challenge, a mistake that we won't make again. Tuesday the 22nd, we headed out again, only this time with the baby carrier. Later in the afternoon we met Sachi & Taku at Shinjuku station, headed for Takashimaya department store to visit & have some dessert. Yesterday we headed for Suitengu & Honganji temples near Tsukiji station. Suitengu is a temple where people come to wish for a child and return to after trouble-free delivery. Honganji was a temple that was visited by a family friend back in 1954-1955 and I wanted to get a comparison photo. Later that afternoon, we visited with some of Hideko's friends about 10 minutes away. Then hopped in a cab that brought us to Ginza where we ate Kamameshi. We then headed for home.

Off to Japan!!!

明日から３週間程、家族で日本に里帰りします。
デービスとクロはお友達家族にお願いしました。お友達家族、ご迷惑かけると思いますがデービスとクロ、宜しくお願い致します。

Tomorrow, we leave for a 3 week vacation to Japan. It will be Sakura's first time to meet her Japanese grandmother.
Day-bis and Kuro are being taking care of by Dan, Yuki, Zoe, Amelia & Teada our Plattsmouth friends. We can't wait to share new experiences in Japan, with Sakura.

Takako broke her toe

火曜日の朝、足を椅子にぶつけてしまい、あまりの激痛そしてお昼近くになっても腫れが引かない状態だったので、近くの病院に行った所、骨折してるという事でした。固定してもらい、そのままお家へ。夕方、また病院に行って、局部麻酔をしてもらい少し曲がって折れてる骨を伸ばす処置をしました。全治一ヶ月いったところかな。まだ痛みも強く、歩くのも不便だけど。

Just yesterday morning, Takako hit her fourth toe on the dining room chair. She thought she could walk it off as she has 'jammed' her toe before but as Josh came back for lunch, it was still hurting as bad as the initial jam. We ended up heading to an Acute Care Clinic where they took x-ray's of her foot that confirmed, it was broken. We gave them some contact information for when the orthopedic surgeon looks at the x-ray to see how bad it really was. They called later in the afternoon where they stated it was a 'minimally displaced fracture' and that they may be able to pull, then re-set it in but this is 'iffy' for small toes. As I returned home from work, I talked to Takako about the procedure although she agreed it would be for the better. We headed back to the clinic that evening as they injected some numbing medicine into her toe to pull & re-set. They retook an x-ray as it had moved slightly but they said that it may slide out of place. She now has a 'post-op shoe' that she will be wearing during our trip to Japan. It may take up to 3 months to fully heal. Funny how life happens.

The many faces of Sakura

さくらももう４ヶ月半、この間に沢山の写真を撮りました。毎日違う表情をしてます。
これからも撮り続けていこうと思います。

Takako loves taking pictures of Sakura. Funny faces, contemplative faces, really cute faces. Just thought we would post a couple of the faces of Sakura. Our beautiful baby girl. We really want to capture her in all stages of her life.

Happy Birthday Josh!

今日も朝からいいお天気。今日はジョシュの３５歳のお誕生日。昨日、一昨日と出かけたので今日はお家でリラックス。ジョシュの好きなチョコチップメロンパンを初めて作りました。杏仁豆腐も作る予定だったけど、作らず。
お誕生日おめでとう、ジョシュ。

What beautiful weather, all day for Josh's 35th Birthday. As we've been traveling around the past 2 days, we thought it would be good to just relax at home today. Takako made some Melonpan although we couldn't find any melon essence in the grocery store. Either way, very good! She also wanted to make annindofu (almond pudding) for him however, she will do that another day. Sakura has also been showing us how high she can push herself up, off of the ground after flipping over. She is growing fast.

Labor Day Weekend continued...

今日は、昨日のお祭りの後に行く予定だった公園に皆で行ってきました。お家から車で３０分の所にある公園でとにかく広かった。その後は、公園の近くにあるサファリパークに行ってきました。あまり動物がいなかったけど。今日も沢山歩いた日でした。

Today, we woke up early once again, then headed for Mahoney State Park to do some hiking/dog walking. The temperature topped out in the low- to mid-80's (~26-29°C). We climbed the 70' (21.3M) metal-frame, Walter Scott Jr. observation tower (Day-bis & Kuro too). As we reached the top, you could feel it sway in the breeze. We went on a 30+ minute walk around some of the campgrounds then headed for the Simmons' Wildlife Safari Park. It was a nice, leisurely drive in our Highlander through different animal exhibits/open plains. By this time, we were exhausted and headed back toward home. Only two more days left to the weekend.

2009 Nebraska State Fair

８月２８日から９月７日までリンカーンで行われているお祭りに今日行ってきました。２年近くネブラスカに住んでてリンカーンに行くのは初めて。ヤギや豚、牛やキリンの赤ちゃん、ラマやカンガールー、そしてダチョウなど見ました。そしてバドワイザーのコマーシャルに使われてるクライズデールっていう馬も見ました。豚レースでは私は応援団として参加しました。
お天気もよくてとてもよい１日を過ごしました。

Today was Veteran's Day at the Nebraska State Fair. I showed my ID & the whole family got in for free. (It was our first time going to Lincoln as we have been here just over 1 year & 9 months.) It was something that we just needed to experience. We saw everything from goats, sheep, pigs, cows to baby giraffes, llamas, alpacas, kangaroos, emus. The Budweiser Clydesdales even made a showing! We also saw pig races from Hedrick's Pig Racing. Takako was a cheerleader for the blue, number 3! We ended our day by watching the high diving show. One of the guys even dove from the 80' (24.3M) platform! We enjoyed our time at the Nebraska State Fair.

Walnut Creek Recreation Area stroll

朝晩だいぶ涼しくなってきて過ごしやすくなりました。週末はベースでエアショーがあったんだけど、去年、お友達夫婦と見に行ったので今年はベースには見にいかず、お家から見ました
土曜日は、近くの湖に皆でお散歩しに思った以上に広くて、湖一周１時間ちょっとかかってしまいました。午前中だったので空気も新鮮で美味しかった。

This weekend was the 'Defenders of Freedom' air show on base. We didn't go because we went last year. I think the only thing that was different was some of the static displays and the Navy Blue Angels were there instead of the Thunderbirds. (I have seen both before.) Yesterday. we went for a 1+hour stroll around a nearby lake. The Walnut Creek Recreation Area is about 10-15 minutes away from our house. Day-bis & Kuro didn't get tired as the day was not very hot. Then headed home as we were tired. Snapped a few pictures of Sakura as she loves to push herself up, off of the floor after flipping over now.

Greek Festival Omaha

金曜日の夕方ダウンタウンで開催されてるギリシャのお祭りに行ってきました。（お祭りは金曜日の夕方から日曜日まで）
サラダやピタ、ギロピタなどを食べました。
本当はもう少し滞在して、ギリシャの踊りなど見たかったけどその日は風が強くて、ギリシャ料理を食べてお家に帰りました。
土、日は、デービスとクロのシャンプー、長距離のお散歩、そしてお家でリラックスといつもと変わらずの週末を過ごしました。

This past week, Takako heard about a Greek festival that was going on in Omaha and she wanted to go. We found out that it was this weekend, downtown near Rick's Boat Yard restaurant. We went Friday night as it was a beautiful day, except for a little windy. We shared some Gyros, Greek Salad with pork Souvlaki & Pita's to dip in Tzatziki Dip. It had traditional music and later (we missed it), dancers came out with traditional costumes. Today we went on a walk (a little over a mile) around the housing area while pushing Sakura in the stroller & walking Day-bis & Kuro. Then relaxed for the rest of the day. It was another relaxing weekend.

Wes & Vicky's 40th Wedding Anniversary

ジョシュのご両親が結婚４０周年で（結婚記念日は８月９日）、パーティをするとということで週末は実家のミネソタに行ってきました。パーティが始まる前は曇り空だったけど、始まる頃には太陽も出てきていい天気でした。
オープンハウス形式のパーティで１４時から１７時の間だったらいつきてもいつ帰っても良いという形式だったんだけど、とにかく人が沢山で、さくらも私も途中疲れてしまったけど、とても有意義な時間を家族の皆と一緒に過ごせました。ジョシュのご両親が出会って結婚しなければ私達もこうして出会う事もなく、またさくらも産まれる事もなく、、、とにかく４０周年おめでとうございます。

This past weekend, we drove up to MN to celebrate my parent's 40th Wedding Anniversary (Ruby). The 4-J's had been planning it for quite a while. Their actual anniversary was August 9th, but we celebrated it one week later. The weather forecast called for rain at first, then it changed to mostly cloudy but by the time the party started, it was a beautiful sunny day. Everything came together as the party was designed to be an open house style where the guests could come & go as they pleased. Overall, it was great to spend time with family & friends and ultimately celebrating the 40 beautiful years of Wes & Vicky's marriage. (Jen, Jared, Jill & myself wouldn't be here if it weren't for them.) We need to include the line from Brad Paisley, "All because two people fell in love." Once again, Happy 40th Anniversary and here's to another 40 more!

100 days for Sakura

５日水曜日はさくらのお食い初めの日でした。さくらはアメリカ人と日本人のハーフなのでマクドナルドのハッピーセットでまずはお食い初め、歯固めはハッピーセットに着いていたおもちゃで。
後は、お赤飯とお魚（鯛じゃなかったけど）と梅干し、煮物、みそ汁（汁じゃないけど）などで（和食の写真が逆から撮ったので変だけど）
正式な形のお食い初めではなかったけど無事に１００日をむかえられました。

This past Wednesday, as is the custom in Japan, Okui-Zome is the celebration of 100 or 120 days old for children. It marks the time that babies can 'begin' eating food by themselves. As Sakura is half Japanese & American we thought to have her pose by both 'children meals'. I always think of McD's Happy Meals when I think of an American meal for kids and Takako prepared the customary meal for the Japanese meal. We ended up eating the food for her as we haven't started her on rice or anything other than Mom's milk yet.

3-day Weekend & Our Summer Cleanup

先週の金曜日は家の庭でデービスとクロのシャンプー。土曜日と日曜日の朝は、皆でお散歩、朝のお散歩は気持ちがいいね。
日曜日は、車庫、網戸、家の周りの掃除をしました。とても疲れたけど。
最近、さくらは寝返りをしたいみたいなんだけどいつも写真の体勢で寝ちゃうんだよね。

Friday, we gave Day-bis & Kuro a hose shower in the front yard. Saturday, we went on a very long walk around the housing area we live in, then relaxed with Sakura & the boys. Today, we went for another long walk, only a different course. By the time we got back, Takako suggested we sweep out the garage. We then thought, why stop there? Lets hose down the garage floor, then hose down the screens on the windows, then wash the windows, then wash the car, then...you should get the point by now. We kept adding on until we were tired. It was a nice day to clean the house. We even had time to snap a few photos. We love these 3-day weekends & relaxing at home! (Have we mentioned yet that Sakura loves to try and flip herself over from her back while laying down?)

Sakura is three months!

今日でさくらは３ヶ月。出産前から女の子だったら早い時期にピアスをあけようと思っていて、早速今日行ってきました。
私も既にピアスあいているんだけど、記念にもうひとつピアスを開けました。一瞬だけど、痛かったわ。さくらはというと、大泣きでした。

It is hard to believe that Sakura is already three months! While Takako was pregnant, we were thinking that if we had a baby girl, we would get her ears pierced as a baby. We brought her into Claire's at Shadow Lake Towne Center and Takako even got her ears pierced a second time. They both did a great job but as you may be able to see in the pictures above, Sakura's hurt a little bit more. We also bought a 'read-to-me' book at Borders, that Josh will read to both of them tonight, "The Giving Tree".

Baby Shower, our walk, & Dog Show 2009

先週の土曜日はお友達のベビーシャワーでした。皆でお祝いしました。来月出産だそうです、元気な赤ちゃんを産んでくださいませ。
ベビーシャワーの後は、風があって涼しかったので、家の周りをお散歩、でもお散歩した途端、風は止まり日差しが強くなっちゃって、デービスもクロもヘトヘトになってました。
日曜日は、オマハでドッグショーがあったので、ボランティアに行ってきました。３時間のボランティアだったけど、楽しい時間を過ごせました。

This past Saturday there was a baby shower that the Japanese wives group held for 156-chan. Everyone had a great time. The new baby will be welcomed into the world next month. After the baby shower, Takako returned home as it was a nice cool day. "Let's go on a walk with the boys!" As we started on the walk, not even 5 minutes into it, the sun came out and warmed us very quickly. We ended up cutting out a lot of the walk because of the heat. (Takako was holding Sakura this time.) Today, we woke up early, headed to the Qwest Center for the Nebraska Kennel Club's 2009 Dog Show to volunteer at the Pug Partners of Nebraska's booth. We had a great time chatting with anyone that wanted to know more about the rescue organization.

We are all tired

昨日、デービスとクロを庭園に連れて行けなかったので、今日、家の周りをいつもより長めにお散歩をしました。
でもとにかく暑くて、途中、デービスもクロも散歩放棄。「家に帰ったらシャーベットあげるよ」って言って何とか歩かせたけど。
家に帰ったら、デービスもクロもクールマットの上でグッタリ。
私もグッタリしちゃって、気がついたらさくらとお昼寝してました。

My what a weekend. We couldn't bring Day-bis & Kuro to the gardens yesterday, so we thought we would make it up to them by taking a long walk around the housing area. The temperature was close to 90°F (32°C) although we went for the walk anyways. We also got a chance to try out the Chicco UltraSoft Infant Carrier for Sakura. By the end of the 30-40 minute walk, Day-bis & Kuro's legs couldn't take anymore. They ended up just laying down on the sidewalk at times, but then after a brief rest and the promise of sherbet dog snacks when we get home, they continued on. By the time we got home, we all took a nap. Day-bis & Kuro were sprawled out on their cool mats.

The 4th of July Weekend

先週木曜日の夜はベースレイクで花火があったので、皆で行ってきました。でも、花火が始まる前にさくらが泣き始めて、結局、花火をみずに帰宅。でも車中から、少しだけ花火みれたけどね。
７月４日はアメリカの独立記念日って事で、自宅でバーベキューをしました。天気もあまりよくなくて涼しかった。
５日は天気がよかったので、オマハにある庭園に行ってきました。２時間ぐらい園内を歩いたんだけど、とにかく暑くて、後半は疲れちゃった。でもいい運動になりました。お花も綺麗だったよ。デービスとクロも連れて行きたかったけど、そこの庭園はペットは駄目なんだって、残念。

Just this past Thursday, the 2nd of July, a fireworks show was scheduled at the base lake. As Josh, Day-bis & Kuro attended last years show, we thought adding Takako & Sakura this year would be great! We arrived at the lake about 9:30 PM and waited about 15-20 minutes. Sakura then did not want to stay as she started crying as it was past her bedtime already. We hopped in the car, headed home as the first fireworks started to pop in the rear-view mirror. Oh well, maybe she doesn't like fireworks. On the 4th, we had a BBQ in our backyard. The day was very much overcast. Life goes on. Then...today we set out for Lauritzen Gardens. It was a perfect day as the temperature was in the 80's, blue sky and minimal clouds. We spent about 2 hours walking through the gardens, snapping photos, enjoying the family time. If only we could've brought Day-bis & Kuro. What a great weekend!

Family reunion & Sakura's 1st trip

１８日から２２日までジョシュの実家のミネソタに遊びに行ってました。去年から計画されていた「家族大集合」のイベントというか集まりがあったので。親戚も集まったので、全部で８０人ぐらいいたのかな。
これから毎年一回、こうしてミネソタで集まる機会を設けるみたい。
さくらにとっては初めての旅行でした。車で片道６時間の道のり、途中休憩しながらだったけど、特に問題なく行きも帰りも大丈夫でした。

Just last week, we headed to Minnesota for a family reunion. (Only about a 6 hour drive with Sakura feedings intermixed in.) It was the Hanson reunion (Josh's great grandparents both of whom have passed). The reunion was on the 20th where about 76 people attended. Prior to the reunion, my immediate family had a photo shoot with Karen Thompson Photography at my parents house. We used to have reunions around Christmas time, although many families became more & more busy with life, we put them on hold for a while. They will try to have once a year from now on. It was a first for at least three of the newest members to the family. Sakura Jasmine (our daughter), Shepard Riley (my brother Jared & his wife Mary Grace's baby boy) & Noah Kenneth Drange (my cousin Paul & wife Stephanie's baby boy that happens to have the same B-Day as Sakura). We also introduced Sakura to the rest of the immediate family that hasn't met her in person until now. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip! See you again soon!

A walk around Heartland of America park

今日は天気が良かったので、皆でオマハの公園に散歩しに行ってきました。ちょっと暑かったけど、気持ちが良かった。
お家に帰ってからは、リラックス。
今週木曜日からジョシュの実家のミネソタに遊びに行きます。

Today, we (the whole family) went for a stroll around Heartland of America Park, just east of downtown Omaha. It was a beautiful 78°F (25°C) as we walked the boys around the park while pushing Sakura in the stroller. We then headed for home, had baked salmon for dinner and relaxed together. This week we will be heading up to Minnesota for a family reunion. It will be Sakura's first road trip. It is only 5½ hour drive to see the family. We will also be introducing Sakura to the rest of the family that hasn't seen her in person yet. It should be a great time!