First day of school!

One year ago we started school in Japan (sniff).
Today we started school back home. We were ready for the bus kind of early, so we chatted about the year.
First day Porch Picture. I ask you: Do I have the most photogenic boys on the planet?

Ultraman's friend went to school on Hugo's backpack, next to his bus tag.
Up they go....

The bus was really late.
But finally it roared around the corner...

Same driver as last year!! She read our blog!
Bye kids....so many blond heads.
Back home this afternoon we got all the important notices :o)
That was the first day so far.

Last day of school :o(

Last Friday was the last day of school.

We're sad.

Partly because now we parents will have less time to work.

But mostly because we loved school!

The night before, Alek and Hugo were literally crying about it. It was hard to say good bye. (They are in the 2 week summer program right now, but it's not the same).

The last day of school was just as hot as the first.

That's right--time to start complaining about the weather again. It's humid.

Off they go....

The last afternoon, there was a concert for parents...the kids showed off their musical lessons. Grade 1 did a Frere Jacques round, with handbells.

Max's grade did an arrangement of a song that, according to the music teacher, Max wrote the melody for, and the class did the arrangement. Max has a tendency of Not Telling Mom and Dad Important Things like, "Oh, by the way, I wrote a song for the concert."
The dance club did a dance to Thriller. (Alek is on the far left.) Same costumes as Maypole. But, the girls looked a little too scary. .. I had some Ring flashbacks.

(Hugo was in this club, but he preferred to read manga rather than practice the dance...)
In between acts, there were awards, thank-you gifts to the teachers, and slide shows for the 2 teachers who were leaving. (Max's teacher was busted for looking like Orlando Bloom.) Our boys shared a special prize, given to a kid at each of Japan's international schools who did the most to promote Japanese culture. The teachers decided that our boys were great explorers of food, travel, manga, language, and everything. And they're right--our boys really have jumped in with both ashi! We are so proud of them.

Then we had to say good bye to the amazing teachers and friends!

Alek still has his Thriller game face on.
Here's Alek with S-san, the man who gets your bike out, puts it away, sweeps the sidewalks, and gets your soccer ball off the roof. He's the best.

What's better than a little soccer in the dirt when it's 95, and your parents won't stop talking?
Bye-bye school....we'll never forget you!

School Festival....

Something we learned recently: A typhoon does not make ideal conditions for a school festival.

Set up the day before was a little rainy, but we all knew the forecast.

The indoor events went off as planned, including the flea market.

I wanted this big Cuisinart, but I held back.

Despite the fact that it poured all day, we sold all the food, including 80 hot dogs at the American booth. Some with chili and cheez. (We beat the Australians, who were still selling steak sandwiches an hour later.)

We enjoyed some quality entertainment.

The girl behind Alek is his fiancee, C. A lovely girl from a lovely family. A moment after this, she started pulling on his ears. (Affectionately.)
Rain boots make a good retaining wall, as it turns out.

Our next challenge: Laundry during rainy season. Care to join us?

May Pole!

We've heard nothing from Alek lately but "three days 'til May pole!" "Two and a quarter days 'til May pole!" The kids at school have been working hard and we got to see the final product today in the gym.

First we helped the Grade 1 kids get ready. They were dancing to "Thriller....

Look who's MJ!

Max's group is ready, too. They danced to "black and white", and decorated their shirts with their native countries.

Grade 1 was a little bit excited before things started.

First was ECP, dancing to "Rockin' Robin." This was the cutest thing I have seen in my life.

Sorry--lots of blurry photos here. I was giggling .

Then Grade 1's turn! MJ and his date came in first. (I know--the pants should be shorter! My one regret.)

Then the zombies lurched in. There will be a video of all this by that guy with the camera, so let me know if you want to see it.

Grade 2/3 did a really great weave to "Soul Sister."

Who's this teenager?

These guys did a "spider weave", which is very difficult apparently.

After weaving and then unweaving everything, they did a little shaky shaky thing at the end.

So....that was a fun time!

What we've been up to lately (catchup post)

Today we said goodbye to MM and her friend G, who have been visiting for about a week. GP and GD left a week ago, and they had been here two weeks. We have enjoyed showing all these guests around Kyoto. And today, we have been quite happy to sit inside our house and rock back and forth.

Here are some things we have been doing the past few weeks.

Three of us finally visited the inside of the Imperial Palace, which is only a few hundred meters away, but which we had never seen. This is a kind of throne.

Here's the emperor's garden.

Some orange parts.

Here's my favorite form of translation help. See? This is the "kemarinoniwa."

Mum mum and I made sure we matched the trees.

Last-last Friday night we went out for dinner.

These three fellows all have birthdays a few days apart.
We ate shabu-shabu.
Darrin took MM and G to see Maruyama Park, a famous place for cherry trees. This may or may not be the "big famous one."

About 10am, people were reserving spots for their hanami. Still lots of good spots open! But this guy must have been there earrrrrly; he's taking a nap.
We're getting toward the end of the blossoms here.
MM and G were ready for their hanami.

For Max's actual birthday last week, we ordered two chou cream cakes.

Max is just growing up so fast. I swear he looks different every day.

Max got an e-reader for a birthday present.

Today we went to school for "student led conferences." I took a few shots of the stuff on the walls.

In Japanese schools, including this one, kids clean their own classrooms.

And today, Alek ran through a cloud of falling sakura.