Whoa, this zoo is amazing.......

Akita has an amazing zoo. Yes, we were really this close to the lions, their heads were on the glass and I was touching their faces. The only thing between us was a thin piece of glass. I guess the Japanese don't worry that the lions or tigers might get pissed off and try to crash through the glass, which they obviously could if they wanted to. Noi had a lot of fun playing on the little stuffed animals with this boy. He asked me "How do you say 'Mango' in English?" That made me think, is Mango an English word or a Spanish word or what language is this word? One thing that surprised me is Noi loves the snakes. Right after we got there, she said, "I want to see the snakes." Next to the snakes were these star turtles from India and Pakistan and they were eating these super yummy salads!

Futon Days coming to an END

Thank God!!!!!! I have been rolling and unrolling these things everyday for almost a year. They are a nightmare. Totally uncomfortable and sleeping on the floor sucks. I can't wait to have a bed! We already picked them out. BUT, look at this photo....this is the one great thing about this whole house-building journey, seeing Hideto and Noi together like this. Here they are watching TV on Hide's mobile phone. All phones have TV on them in Japan...........I skipped TV on mine and instead purchased a Global phone. Anyone can call me from around the world and I can call from any country I visit.

Fireworks

Noi thought this was fun. She did it with Ryu after the day at the beach. I thought it was dangerous for her to be doing it, but Hideto's family all said it was okay. You can see how I feel in the photos, in one I'm smiling for the camera, so Hideto will not feel bad, in the other one, I'm holding my hands up with a shocking look on my face thinking "Watch out!" It was one of those times when I couldn't make my opinion heard, so I stood there praying one of those sparks wouldn't go into her eye. It seemed so obvious her arms are still a little too short for this activity. Well, once I have my own house, I can control what goes on, these days I just try to do damage control. For example within the last two days, I have picked up a small sharp bobby pin off the bathroom floor, a safety pin off the bathroom floor, caught Noi starting to take the cap off the nail polish her grandma left on the small table you sit at without a chair (very low to the ground), killed a bee flying near her bed, because the screens are left open, moved a toolbox that was left on the floor....and other things too.......All of these things left laying around by a woman that thinks I'm not a good mother because I don't wash Noi's lunch box the minute she comes home from daycare.......And yes, she bought the fireworks without asking me if it was okay first...........Well, in the end, I know she does love Noi and that is the reason we are here, just can't wait to be about 15 minutes away everyday!!!!!!

Yaki Niku - A meat BBQ

In the house.........Noi was loving it, her first try and devoured a lot of meat. Up until now, she wouldn't eat meat, although she loves fish. Again, she had a blast with Ryu..........

Our Car- Nissan Serena

Here is our new car, it's extremely comfortable. Okay, I wanted a Prius, but as Hideto put it, there is no space for loading anything, including people.......Comes with a great Navi system, which is standard now for all cars. Started driving again after almost a year! Noi forgot I know how to drive, she said, "Is Mama going to drive?" Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summer at the Beach

This is Miyazawa Beach, one of the top 100 beaches in Japan, about one and a half hours from our new home. Okay, it's not white sand, but after living in SF where you can't swim in the ocean, it was amazing!!!!!!! We had so much fun with our nephew Ryu. Noi loves him and they enjoyed playing in the sand. I had a blast swimming in the ocean, it's been almost 5 years. There are other beaches within 20 minutes from our home, but this one is the cleanest.

Japanese Blessings

Shinto, the Japanese religion, it's a custom for the priest to come and bless your home. They built an altar inside and I put my own little blessing signs on it, maybe you can see them in the photo, the little white rectangles. The priest said it was a good thing. I have a lot of hopes for living here. I believe they can all come true. The fun part of the blessing was throwing rice and sake all over the house and outside the house!