Here is what we have been up to in March! Catching up on the blog now since the rest of March we will be vacationing in Okinawa!
For culture group this month we hosted the Japanese ladies on base. We organized a school tour at Hayden's Elementary School. It was also Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss week so I read Fox in Socks to all the 2nd grade classes. One of the Japanese ladies told a story in Japanese using Apron Theater. The kids really seemed to enjoy it.
Reading Fox in Socks in Hayden's classroom
Apron Theater
Hayden and his classmate giving us a tour of the school. He took the job very seriously.
Hayden's class took a field trip to the Tachikawa Fire Museum. I was unable to attend but another mom snapped this photo of him for me.
His school also had a spaghetti dinner that night. They had Taiko Drum performers and Hayden got to try them out.
Little Drummer Bo
The biggest event of the month was Hayden's 8th birthday!
He was able to facetime with Grammy & Pops the morning of his
birthday. While he was talking we surprised him with their gift....a new bike!
We had a pool party at the Natatorium. Hayden loved his Splatoon cake.
Party Goodies
Let's get this party started!
Hayden loved having all his buddies there
Hayden challenged daddy to a race. Eric made it halfway before falling off the float.
Lincoln had a blast too!
Family photo
Happy Birthday to you....
8 is going to be great!
The next morning Hayden was able to facetime with Nana & Papu. He opened his gift from them and was so excited for his own snorkel gear! He hopes to put it to good use in Okinawa and Hawaii.
I ran a 5k race off base on a Sunday. The whole family joined the base running club called Striders and this was my first race with them.
The boys came to cheer me on!
And I placed 7th in my group to receive a certificate and medal
For culture group one of the Japanese ladies hosted us in her home and gave us a calligraphy lesson. It was my first time being in a traditional Japanese home. It was very beautiful. They also provided a delicious lunch after our lesson.
After a lot of practice we did our calligraphy on nice cardboard squares. The one on the left says God is Love and the one on the right is the symbol for An for Angie.
Kampai! Cheers in Japanese.
Lincoln had his last day of the school year on March 17th. The Japanese school year starts in April so he has a long Spring break and then will return to school with a new class and teacher.
Last day cheese! They had to wear their formal dress for the farewell ceremony.
Bus stop photo!
Here is a video the school sent us. The kids are playing a name game. Wait for the end to see Lincoln. We think he maybe spoke Japanese? He has watched it about 100 times.
There is an obstacle park not too far from base that Eric took the boys to with friends. They enjoyed it so much they wanted to take me back the next weekend. We packed a picnic lunch and took a long walk on the surrounding trail after playing on the obstacles.
Hayden wanted me to see him do every obstacle
Lincoln could do most with a little help too
Bouncing Bo
Lincoln climbed the hill to do this slide about 25 times.
Hayden enjoyed it too
On our walk we came to a little overlook where we could see base from afar. It was a nice family day!
A couple weeks ago we took the boys to a nearby mountain to hike. We had heard Mt. Takao was doable for kids, and it was only about a 40 minute drive from base. We started out at the museum at the bottom of the mountain where we saw a variety of stuffed animals. I guess the mountain is known for its flying squirrels! We started to hike up the mountain but quickly turned around when we saw how steep the initial climb was, and Lincoln was already complaining. We took a chair lift up the mountain instead which turned out to be a great choice for us. The boys enjoyed the long ride up, and there was not one complaint. At the top we walked around the viewing areas and then entered the monkey park. We enjoyed watching the monkeys interact and bought food to feed them. After feeding the monkeys, we fed ourselves lunch on a bench at one of the overlooks. We then hiked down the mountain which was paved the entire way. Some spots were pretty steep but we made it down the mountain in about 40 minutes with a couple short stops. It was a great little family day trip. We enjoyed it so much, Eric and I decided to go back on a date day we had already planned about a week later. It was a much cooler day and a little wet but we were determined to go back and hike to the top of the mountain. We hiked up the steep trek we had taken down with the boys and had lunch at a restaurant with a nice view. After lunch we continued hiking up to reach the highest point of the mountain. We took a different trail down which was a little tough in spots but a good challenge. We saw a small temple with waterfall on the way down and some other interesting sites. We hiked a total of about 5 miles and it was so nice to have the quiet time with Eric to chat and just enjoy the beauty of the mountain. Here are some pics from both of our trips to Mt. Takao.....
Flying Squirrel!
A wall of stuffed animals
Starting to hike up...you can see Linc is already over it.
Chair lift it is!
E & L
Souvenir photos are a must!
What is this face??!!
At the top!
Photo opp entering the Monkey park
Large enclosed area
With lots of silly monkeys
Monkey watching
Monkey food
They were fighting over the food
My monkeys
Hiking down the mountain
The boys
Ice cream at the bottom!
Linc and his flying squirrel
Date day with this stud
If the Japanese see you trying to take a selfie together, they offer to take your photo!
But we still got a date day selfie
Check out the statue behind me....love the red beanie.
Hot Macha tea at the overlook restaurant
E's massive burger
Back on our trek to the top
We made it! It was so cloudy there were no views. 599.15 Meters!
And now we go down
Cute little temple
With small waterfall
Cherry blossoms are starting to bloom close to the bottom
