Day at the Beach

Earlier this month we finally made our way down to the end of our peninsula for a day at the beach. (about a 25-45 min. drive depending on traffic) In July and August the beaches are crowded during official beach season. They actually set up temporary buildings right on the beach that serve food. Depending on the location, some beaches have quite the scene of young, good looking people dancing to music.

When Japanese people go to the beach they bring everything but the kitchen sink. Most families will have a tent to provide shade from the sun, a large vinyl sheet to sit on, their own BBQ, and a cooler to store food and drinks. When we went to the beach we brought an umbrella (for shade), towels, and a bucket and rake for Ian. We have a lot to learn from the Japanese.

We made our trip after the official beach season, so it was definitely more low key.

Here Ian and Ryan are checking out the waves:



As they got closer to the water Ian wasn't so sure he wanted to actually get in the water.


He was much more content to play in the sand. (and reach for the camera with his sand-filled hands)

Mommy Juice

Earlier this year Ryan and I had a wine and cheese party. One of our friends brought the following to the party:






That's right, it's wine in a juice box container. Now I can send Ian to play in the park while I relax on a bench and sip some of my 'Mommy Juice Box.' Or, better yet, I can give this to Ian on an upcoming flight to help relax him to sleep and no one will know the difference. Brilliant! I must admit I haven't actually tried it yet. It's hard to imagine that wine in a juice box could actually taste good. ...but I like the possibility.

Ian's Walker

Ian is 15.5 months old right now and is still not walking. I'm thankful that he wasn't walking for our recent flights to/from Minnesota, but since we don't have any flights in the near future now is a prime time for him to start. ...except for the fact that he really isn't interested in walking. He'd prefer to climb up stairs and furniture rather than walk.

So, we decided to get him a walker to give him a little encouragement. We found this 'Kata Kata' walker at a used clothing/goods store for 200 yen. (about $2.50) Perfect! Ian loves it. I'm not sure that this will get him any closer to walking on his own, but who cares. He'll walk when he is ready. For now, he can enjoy using his walker to get him where he needs to go.


The walker came with 3 dogs that move up and down as Ian pushes the walker, but 2 of the dogs tend to fall off all the time. So, he spends most of his time taking the blue dog for a stroll.

Natsu-Matsuri

The day after we arrived home I stopped by our local French bakery. I always chat a bit with the woman behind the counter. (although with her limited English and my limited Japanese it's usually a short conversation) She told me about a festival that was happening that weekend. Based on our conversation I knew it was taking place between 2-3 on Sunday and it was located at our grocery store, Seiyu.

So, I showed up to the grocery store just before 2 and observed the celebration. According to our Japanese instructor, the Japanese have a lot of Natsu-matsuri (Summer Festivals) in August. Each community has their own festival. During the day, they carry the Mikoshi (a portable shrine) in the neighborhood and in the evening they have Bon-odori (Bon dancing) in the park. Mikoshi parades are held to pray for the good health of the people who live in the neighborhood.

This picture below shows people carrying a Mikoshi. They were dancing and chanting in place.



Here are a couple close ups of one of the Mikoshi:




This festival also had floats with drummers and flutes. Here are some boys drumming (I somehow managed to take the picture right as they were in the middle of the strokes, I guess, as it looks like they're not doing anything):


After the festival was over the floats were carried back to the neighborhoods. This man below helped to direct traffic:

A pose like this is definitely meant to stop traffic!

...and it only gets better...


I ran into Ryan's boss at the festival and he said he's seen this man at numerous celebrations. I think he relishes his role of jester for the day.

Here are a couple short videos of the day. Let me know if they don't work.

For the love of fruit

One of the reasons I love summer is the wide variety of produce that is available. I noticed this summer that the Japanese take very good care of their fruit.

Here is an example of a mango from the Philippines:



That's right. Each mango is presented in its own snugly Styrofoam wrapping. It's not just mangos that receive this much care, though. I've found extra wrapping/cushioning on peaches, apples, and cantaloupe.

Is really necessary? On the one hand, my fruit is always in really good shape. This demonstrates the way that the Japanese appreciate and take care of their food. On the other hand, this Styrofoam adds to the already excessive amount of plastic that I throw away each week. (which is even more noticeable since we have to separate the plastic out of our garbage)

Wisconsin Fun

We spent 5 days down in Wisconsin at Oma and Opa's house in early August.


Karen found these great kid-sized barn animals. Ian was a little nervous at first, but quickly realized how fun it is to pet animals that can't move!


Ian loved the pig - it was just the right size.

In fact, the pig received many kisses throughout the week.


We arrived a day earlier than Ian's aunts, uncle, and cousin, so we drove over to a nearby city. We first made a stop at a toy store and Ian got a ride on a moving horse. Yes, the week was filled with farm animals. (and cheese, although we all ate it fast enough that there wasn't time to take pictures)


After the toy store we went to the park. Ian loves the swings.




And Ryan and Bill loved the teeter-totter.


All in all it was a great week. We're thankful for the time together.

Cousins - Part 2

It's been a hard to capture a picture of Ian and his cousin Paul where they're both still. (much less looking at the camera!) Paul is 3 months younger than Ian, but they're both at an age now where they're on the go most of the time. Here they are meeting for the 2nd time. (the first time Ian was 4 months old and Paul was about 1 month old)


Although they didn't have a ton of interaction together, they did seem to like the same toys. Ian liked to put the salad spinner below on Paul's head. Notice that Dave and Britta's dog, Bleu, is in a bit of the picture. Paul has the best laugh when he sees Bleu do just about anything.


The boys had some good time in the pool at Dave and Britta's house. Paul seemed to admire the "hat" Ian had on, so...

He decided to try it out himself! (well, either that or Ian decided to put it on his head)


The boys also spent time together at their Oma and Opa's house. Here they spent some time admiring a big pig. (more on that to come in the next blog entry)