Monster Mosquitos and much more!

This past month and a half has been unbelievable busy! Every time I seem to get a free minute, and think about writing this Blog, something comes up that has me running around like crazy. The Girls' schools are keeping them busy- Maya has joined Girl Scouts and LOVES it. This is her first "after school" activity, which means she has to take the late bus home. The late bus does not arrive home from school until after 5pm, and because Maya doesn't know anyone on her assigned late bus, she has changed to one where she does know someone...however, this bus is a bit further away from our place, which means longer walks to and from to get her, and later dinner times! Hanna has made quite a few friends at school, and many days the kids go to the park right by the train station to play before going home. She has told me now that she is going to marry both her friends Will and Alex...should I be worried? Scott's job is going 100 times better than it was in the Spring. He has a changed interpreters, has several key positions filled and everything overall is going much better than before we went home for the summer. As for me, I am keeping busy with work, as well as working out. I have decided to make this a year of getting into "the greatest shape of my (adult) life"! I attend a bootcamp class, play tennis 1-2 times a week and run/lift the other days. I feel so much better and much more in shape! Aside from that, it is life as normal- school activities, church activities (Maya is making her 1st communion this year, and there is a TON of homework each week to start preparing..much different than when I was making mine and attending Sunday school), family outings and just every day life. It is really amazing how similar our life is here!

Mosquitoes
Last Spring, we were warned about the mosquitoes here in Tokyo. We were told they were terrible, that the bites were really itchy, and that many kids had issues because the mosquitoes here in Japan were different than those in the States. We had no problems in the Spring, but this fall has been horrendous. I am talking small little mosquitoes that have fly like instincts...nearly impossible to kill on the first try. My kids have bites all over their legs...Maya even had them so bad that they became infected- had to take her to the Dr. and get her antibiotics- her legs were completely spotted and swollen..poor thing!

Toilet wipes
So I recently had another "Japan" moment. I went to an all purpose store- one that sells a little bit of everything (sort of like a Walgreen's, minus the pharmacy). I was looking for Toilet wipes for Hanna- we ran out of ours from the States, and they are a necessity for us! Of course, everything is in Japanese- some things, like Band aids, are very easy to figure out...others, not so much! So, I find the area with diapers, etc., and I choose what I thought were Toilet Wipes, including a container for them. Hanna used them for about 2 weeks and all was well...then one day, I go to pick Hanna up from school, and there are the same "bum" wipes sitting on the counter in her room...I asked her teacher why they had Toilet wipes in the classroom- only to find out they are actually anti-bacterial wipes! Hanna had been wiping her bottom with non-flush able hand wipes! UUGGH! My friend Emme, who is Japanese, started laughing at me and showed up the next day with real Toilet wipes! It is good to have Japanese friends! :)

Bike Riding

This past weekend Hanna learned how to ride a 2 wheel bike! She is 4 1/2, and did FANTASTIC!! I was so proud of her!! She is completely unafraid and cruises around like she has been doing it forever. We will now be able to go to so many more parks and ride bikes as a family- it is so exciting!! :)

Hong Kong
We have scheduled a 4 day trip to Hong Kong for Thanksgiving. We are staying at the Hong Kong Disney Hollywood Hotel, though we plan on only going to Disney one day while we are there. We have been hooked up with a tailor who we will be visiting to get some suits and dresses made for Scott and I while we are there, as well as touring around Hong Kong.

Rakuten Open 2010

On October 7th, I went to my first professional ATP Tennis tournament. I had such a great time- it is amazing how smooth and easy they make it look! The were many outdoor courts, where we watched some of the women play, as well as Gael Monfils warm up, and then we had the chance to see Andy Roddick play (and win!), as well as a few others. The bummer was that we had to leave to get our kids at 3pm...which means we missed Monfils actually play, as well as RAFAEL NADAL!!! UUGGGHHH. For those of you who play tennis, you know what a bummer that this was! Nadal won the tournament and declared he will return next year..so I will plan better and make sure I don't have to leave next October!

Japanese Sports Day

ASIJ, Maya's school, celebrates Japanese Sports day near the actual Japanese Sports day National Holiday. The National Sports day holiday was declared in Japan in 1964, when Japan was chosen to host the summer Olympics. Japan was the first nation outside of North American and Europe to be selected to host an Olympics, and they were very proud of that fact. They made the Monday closest to October 10th National Sports day, with the intention of getting people out and active! I had the chance to go out and watch the games, and it turned out to be really enjoyable. Maya's 2nd grade team won all 3 events they participated in (though the point of Japanese Sports day is just to get in some Physical Activity-and not to win!). They were separated into a red team and a white team (Maya's team), with each grade being split to make one of the teams. They then compete against the other colored team in their grade. They pushed a big ball down the field and around a cone (with a partner) and back, threw bean bags into a mesh, high net, and did the traditional tug of war. The Japanese Sensei's taught each colored team a particular cheer, so the kids were chanting and bouncing up and down- it is amazing how competitive the kids are at such a young age! I am looking forward to next year, when both of my kids will be at ASIJ and so many of their events they will both be participating in!