A Japanese Garden

Our favorite Japanese garden, crisp weather, beautiful fall colors, a tasty onigiri picnic, and a content 2-and-a-half-year-old. What a lovely day!

Lovely to Meet You

A year ago today, November 10 at 11:15 AM, we met Denis. I'll remember that moment for as long as I live - that little boy standing in the doorway, wondering what on earth was going on. Here are a few shots from that first meeting.

It was so nice to meet you, Denis! And it's been even better getting to know you. You're a lovely boy, and we're so proud to be your parents.

Back from the Beach

We're back from the Philippines, where we spent a relaxing week on the beach with some good friends for our fall break. As luck would have it, everyone was healthy, the typhoons steered clear, and the weather was fabulous!

If two little boys I know were to tell you how we spent our days, their story would go something like this:

Breakfast time

Beach time

Pool time

Cocktail hour!

Lunch time

Boat time

Down time

(video coming soon!)

Dinner time

If my feet - yes, my feet - could relate to you how wonderful the week was, they would undoubtedly say:

Ooooh...

La...

La...!

Happy Halloween!

Nothing quite like trick-or-treating with friends! D's first Halloween was spent with a bunch of friends in CA's Back Yard. Having never eaten much candy or gone trick-or-treating before, he wasn't exactly sure what all the fuss was about. But he still had a good time. His favorite thing was a glow stick - go figure. Mine? The M&M's and the candy corn!

Kissed by a toad frog! Or is he Prince Charming?

Fifty Years

Happy 50th Anniversary, Mom & Dad! Not many people reach this milestone anymore - congrats! Hope you're celebrating the day. Happy Halloween, too!

One Year Ago Today

October 24, 2008. It was a Friday morning. A Friday morning I'll never forget. We woke early that day and checked our email first thing, as we'd been doing first thing every morning for the past few months. No, nothing there. That day wasn't going to be the day.

Jon left for work ahead of me, as usual. Just as I was about to leave the apartment, the phone rang. "Cel, check your email. There's a photo."

"What? We already checked. There was nothing there, and Inessa would have gone home by now."

"Well, there's a picture there now and I think it's our referral. But I'm not sure. I haven't opened it yet."

"Don't open it! Wait until I get to school! Don't open it without me!"

My mama-san bike has never flown so fast! Out of breath, and shaky in the knees, I ran to Jon's office. Maybe it was going to be the day. As soon as I walked in, Jon opened his email... and there he was. This little boy was looking back at us. We knew instantly that he was going to be Our Little Guy.

The next day we received updated pictures (the one above had apparently been taken months before when D was being treated for a skin condition) and a detailed report regarding his health and development. And, well, you all know the rest of the story.

Look how much Denis has changed in one year:

October 2008

October 2009

Denis the Frog

Peter Pan celebrated Halloween today since the school's on fall break all next week. Denis and his classmates went for a walk and a bit of trick-or-treating along the River Mall this morning, and I was lucky enough to be able to join them for a while. We'll be back from break in time for the big Rokko Island Halloween on the 31st, so this was just a warm-up. He makes a pretty cute frog, no?

Typhoons and rainstorms and flu! Oh, My!

Philippines or bust! That's the new mantra at our house. Is it too much to ask that 3 healthy Schatzkys and 3 healthy Lemleys board that Thai Airways plane on Saturday morning and touch down in Tagbilaran on Saturday afternoon? And that the typhoon that's been lurking around the Phillipines blows back out to sea? And that the rainstorms predicted for the week won't be as bad as the weatherman says they'll be?

The cards do seem to be stacked against us at the moment. I'm ok with a holiday being hard-won, as long as it's won in the end. Perhaps some positive imagery will do the trick. Let's see... I can picture myself...

going for a dip here...

enjoying a massage here...

dining alfresco here...

Yes, I can picture it. Philippines or bust!

(photos from http://www.panglaoisland.com/)

Curry Rice

I thought Nazca and Pisco were clever pet names. But this pet turtle wins the name game, hands down. Its name? Curry Rice.

Jack-o-Lantern

Denis and I carved a pumpkin the other night. A pumpkin I wish we'd picked from a pumpkin patch and not purchased from Price Club. But no matter! We now have a jack-o-lantern that lights up our nights, not to mention a little someone's eyes...

For those who want to watch the excitement, click below. Again, this is a long clip. I do know that's poor web etiquette, but the grandparents love every second of it! As does D.

Howling at the Moon

What do you get when you mix together three little goblins, a botched trip to China Town, and some Andean music on a busy Japanese street corner? I do not know!

Last weekend we set out with high hopes of viewing the moon (as is customary in Japan this time of year) and enjoying the sights and sounds of China Town. Well, it turned out that the skies were overcast and the sounds of China Town were much too loud. "Big boom, Mama! Big boom," sobbed Denis as a gong rang out. So we packed it up and headed home.

On the way back to the train station, we stumbled upon a man playing some Andean music - of all things - and the night was saved. The little goblins danced their pants off and howled at the moon - the moon that couldn't be seen for all the clouds in the sky and the neon signs of Japan.

The three little goblins

The botched trip to China Town

The Andean music on the busy Japanese street corner

The dancing and the howling

Warning: this clip is over 3 minutes long!

Typhoon Tomorrow

Update 2: We survived! The winds came whipping in a little after 11:00 last night and stopped sometime after 4:30 (the last time I looked at the clock). By the time we woke up at 6:30, it was over. Denis slept through the whole thing. Jon and I and the cats, not so much. But then, I've always loved a good storm. I kept hopping up to look out the window! Now then, what should we do with our day off?

Batten down the hatches! A typhoon is headed our way. Kobe, the little red star, is about as close to a direct hit as you can get... We're enjoying the calm before the storm, at the moment, expecting that the weather will turn quite nasty this evening with the worst of it hitting tomorrow morning. We'll keep you posted.

Update 1: school's been called off for tomorrow. Perhaps I should be a bit more concerned about the actual storm that's headed our way, but all I can think of is how much this feels like a "snow day" (my only point of reference since I haven't experienced a typhoon before). Nothing quite like an unexpected day off, no matter how old you are! You should have heard the teachers students cheering this afternoon when the headmaster made the announcement just before school was dismissed!

But now it's time to bring everything in from the balcony, fill the bathtub with water, locate the candles and matches... and weather the storm.

Sunny Saturday Morning

Is there anything better than a Saturday morning? Possibly the only thing better than a Saturday morning is a sunny Saturday morning, especially after a string of rainy days. Denis and I are up early this morning while Papa sleeps in. We've read two I Spy books, played a few rounds of Pengoloo (a memory game with an egg-finding twist and beautiful all wooden pieces), and enjoyed our morning cups of coffee and milk while listening to some Mozart. All in pajamas, I might add. Nothing better than a Saturday morning...

A Sookie Junkie

Anyone reading/viewing anything good at the moment? Me? Well, you could say I've been bitten by the Sookie Stackhouse books and the HBO show True Blood. Who knew I had a thing for vampire stories? I never picked up the Anne Rice books... and I've only read the first Twilight book... But the Sookie books? I'll be sinking my teeth into all of those. Anyone else feeling sucked in by these two series? (ok, I'll stop!) Some might argue that they're just a few steps above a trashy beach read, but I think there's some great humor there. Like referring to a vampire groupie as a 'fang banger' (Cover your ears, D!). That's hilarious!

Glad you mentioned Sookie in your last comment, Kim!