1st Day of Japanese Preschool - (Yochien)

When we moved to Japan we wanted our girls to learn the language (just as Sean did on his mission) and since Kelea is at the perfect age to absorb it we decided to enroll her in "Yochien" (preschool). We researched various ones & found that "Mikasa" got the best recommendations from parents who had their children there. We also wanted a school that didn't have a lot of American children so that she would learn Japanese instead of speaking English. Mikasa just started allowing Americans last year so there are very few (my friend Nina's daughter who is half Japanese was the first). There is one other American girl in her class whose mom also works at the Naval hospital (she & Kelea get along well). The school is a Catholic Yochien that has a lot of very specific rules & procedures especially when it comes to the uniform, obento (lunch) & labeling every school supply in Hiragana. It's funny to think that our Mormon American daughter is now attending Japanese Catholic school! :) Yes, it's costly to start, but their focus on art, music & language combined with their adorably sweet teachers makes us happy with our decision! I also feel secure knowing that it only takes 5 minutes to drive there in case of an emergency since it's right outside the gates. Above is a picture of Kelea with her teacher Otani san (so patient and kind). We feel very fortunate to be here with our children. It's exciting to see them learning the customs, values and traditions of this beautiful country. The video below shows cute clips from her 1st day.

Rock Climbing with Melissa

I finally found a great indoor rock climbing gym in Yokohama! My friend Melissa wanted to join me so we put our kids in child care and decided to take the train north for some grown-up playtime. We had lunch at a delicious Chinese restaurant in Yokohama station, then since it was raining we took a cab to "B-Pump2". It specializes in boulder climbing which was fun since both Melissa and I didn't want to bring any gear with us. We're use to climbing vertically so we had to keep reminding ourselves that bouldering is more about crossing over and going horizontally rather than up & down. It was a great workout and we had fun laughing at ourselves when we couldn't figure out the set course. I was chastised a bit in Japanese when I accidently used someone else's chalk bag for my hands (thinking it was the gym's) but all in all it was an enjoyable mid-day adventure!

Kelea's Big Birthday Week!

Kelea is our middle child, and as such she can sometimes get overlooked. Since I was also a middle child (#5 out of 9 kids) I remember the main thing I enjoyed about my birthday was having the undivided attention of my mom & dad. So instead of planning a big party (which I normally love to do) and getting distracted with invitations & shopping for party favors we decided to give our little 3 year old a week filled with 3 special outings: 1. The Yokohama Zoo with just Sean & I. 2. Picnic with Mom under the Cherry Blossom Trees. 3. Her Favorite Play Place with her Sisters! Here are the videos & pictures from that wonderful week. Even though I was sick for part of it and Sean missed her actual birthday (because he was in Chicago taking his board exams) he was still able to go to the zoo with us before he left and helped her feel special. :)