Summer Lovin'

We have been having a blast this summer. Now that everyone is healthy we are making the most of getting outdoors. We only do excursions twice a week since Jason and I are both working on projects that require us to be home. Also, these excursions are a little exhausting and require a bit of recovery time. Like yesterday's trip to the beach. Without a car, getting four littles and their reluctant father to the beach was not an easy feat. We left early and came home late with countless station transfers in between. The sunburnt shoulders are proof that we not only made it to Utsumi Beach, but that we played in the Pacific Ocean for as long as possible.


One of the reasons we are enjoying summer more this year is due to the recent acquisition of the long sought after Family Bicycle. It makes getting around so much easier that for a few days it was hard to keep us indoors (and working on those projects I mentioned earlier).


We have a few more excursions before Nico has to return to kindergarten (for marching band practice of all things). Science museum, zoo, Pokemon movie, and the city fruit park. Sebastian is really excited about the last two things. The lull between the excursions are deemed boring but I think he also likes the lazy days too of reading comic books and building monsters in clay.

Summer is now ranking as the number one season on our charts. How's it going on yours?

Heat Island

This is what Nico looks like on the way to school. And on the way home. And, well, pretty much all the time now.

It is hot. Like, really, really hot. Nagoya is nationally famous for being one of the hottest places in Japan because the mountains curve into a pocket to trap heat, with the Ise Bay as a wall so that air cannot escape. Humidity, concrete, no wind plus geography added together equals misery. So we broke down and laid a fairly large amount of yen on the department store's counter and proceeded to whine and beg until they agreed to bring us an A/C. Sorry Al Gore, but it isn't optional this year. We feel bad about it, we do, but perhaps worse about sweating in our sleep.Starting July 11th, our footstep will be just a tad heavier. We said we were sorry.