In Other News

In May the cherry blossoms finally bloomed! We were able to partake in the Japanese tradition of picnicking in the park under the beautiful trees, Mark and I also had some photos taken of new family as a whole.

In other news we have been staying very busy! I have taken a job as a English teacher at a preschool/kindergarten off base. Yes, I am teaching Japanese kids. Yes, it is the most mentally exhausting job I have ever done, and yes, the kids are ADORABLE! 

Lunch time!

Typical bento lunch.

We wear hate when we go for walks/to the park.

I have started a garden, it is very hard to find good produce for a reasonable price here in Japan, so I decided to grow my own. After much research  I decided to forgo the traditional garden and plant in containers. I had most of my containers donated to me and shopped at the Japanese Hardware/Home Store for my soil, fertilizer, plants and some of my seeds. It was kind of a guessing game deciding on what to purchase because I really had no idea what exactly I was buying (because it is all in Japanese!). But the pictures looked good, the numbers on the fertilizers looked good and it seems to be working. Everything is growing and flowering. Mark and I have been eating lettuce and herbs already! We ate our only strawberry the other day, and I hope to have more soon! I am also growing tomatoes, squash, peppers, carrots, garlic, cucumbers, beans and a variety of herbs. I have had some insect problems but everything is growing and flourishing.

grow tomatoes, grow!

On the long Memorial Day weekend Mark and I were able to get out of Fussa and head to Tokyo. We went to the Edo Tokyo Museum and the Tokyo Tower. We were also able to head out to Fuji Five Lakes, which is the are around Mount Fuji. It was a beautiful day and we were able to picnic in a small park area by one of the lakes. Fuji is huge up close, I realized that I better be training harder if I expect to climb that mountain in July!!!

Famous Sumo Wrestlers!!! Random walk by shot.

Tokyo Tower.

We also have an upcoming trip to Hawaii and then I will continue on to California. I cannot wait to see all your smiling faces, eat good American food and shop in a store where I am not a XL.

Until then we love and miss you all, better post this before my lap top runs out of batteries!