Kinkasan and More.

Last week was a holiday weekend so Lane had Monday and Tuesday off. So we decided to go Hiking on Kinkasan Island (golden flower island) about One hour north east of us. I have wanted take the girls to this island because it is suppose to have semi-wild deer and wild monkeys on it. Well it was a beautiful day and we had a good time. I also included some pictures from a BBQ we went to on Saturday and me on mother's day.

Here we are almost at the top. It was a 1km hike up. But this spot had a stunning view of the ocean

Lane and Maria at the top.

So I don't have a good zoom on my camera so click on this picture and you will be able to see the monkeys. I didn't want to get too close because I am unsure of how wild monkeys behave.

View from the top.

Maria carrying Sophia. My little girls are not so little anymore and I can't carry them anymore unless I want an aching back. Thanks to Maria for carrying her.

Here is the picture of some of the deer. They are called semi-wild because well they are wild, but they are very friendly at the same time.

We went to a bbq on Saturday night and here is a picture of the grill. They cooked clams right on the grill and a bunch of meat and veggies. It was really good food.

At school Grace drew a picture of me for mother's day. I think she did a great job. She even drew tulips. My favorite flower.

Grace and Sophia got some fish from a game they played at a children's fair last week. They named the fish Mican(Japanese for tangerine) and Rapunzel.- Rapunzel already died. And Grace took it well.

Brilliant colors!

I can’t believe we are almost half way through the month of November and I have not posted anything. About a week and half ago we decided to go and visit a popular spot in the area for checking out the trees as they change colors. This spot is also home to the only 5 story pagoda in Northern Japan.

We invited some friends to come with us and we had a really good day. The air was crisp and fall was everywhere. The leaves on the trees were brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges. It was so beautiful. All the kids had a lot of fun playing together. Our friend Maria who came with us took really great pictures. While I have not been able to locate my camera since, she was able to take hundreds of pictures of the day. So the pictures I have posted are from Maria. I have to give a big thanks to her.
A Happy Sophia!

All the Kids playing in the Koi fish pond.

Rock, Scissor, Paper.

Grace and Her friend Akari jumping. These two girls are best friends at school.

This tree was so beautiful, we just had to take a group photo in front of it.

Just as we thought the day was over, we came across a park with a huge roller slide. These things are so fun. Lane took all three girls down at the same time.

Here is a picture of Mika, me, and Maria. We all had really good time together. I am grateful for the good friends we have here in Japan

Three day weekends!

We love three day weekends. The past two weekends have been three day weekends and so of course it gives us time to do day trips. This last weekend we did some sight seeing around the area. About a thirty minute drive from our house is Zao Mountain. We can see it from our house and it is home to all the local ski resorts in the winter. So before the snow comes we decided we better make the drive to the top. At some point Zao was a volcano, but I don’t think that is still active. At the top is a huge crater with a beautiful blue green lake in it. It was really nice to visit up there because it has been really warm down below. Up at the top of the mountain it was nice, cool, and refreshing. At the top there are a few Shinto shrines, which Lane told me are covered in snow with just the tops peaking out during the winter. He was shocked to see them with out snow. The girls had a lot of fun climbing all over the rocks and playing with other kids that were up there.





At one point a group of 20 or more elementary age children came up to us and asked us for our autographs. I was shocked and I thought it was funny, but apparently we westerners have pretty neat signatures. Grace who can write her name even signed a few. In return we took their pictures with Grace and Sophia. It was a short trip just a couple of hours. But it was enough to wear out the girls so that they took three hour naps when we got home.