Dec 3 - Grandma is here!

Grandma Maloney was scheduled to arrive on Friday, November 19. However, her flight from Minneapolis to Seattle was a bit late, and she missed her Seattle connection. Delta sent her to Honolulu for the night to fly to Osaka the following day. Honolulu is great, but not when you are alone, tired, and do not have time to enjoy! She made the flight on Saturday and arrived in Osaka. Phillip met her at the airport, and they took the 57 minute bus ride to the Sheraton on Rokko Island, about a block or so from our apartment building. The kids and I met her there with welcome signs and lots of big hugs!

There was no rest for the weary as Matthew had a rugby tournament on Sunday. His team finished third. He scored 1 try and played amazing defense, including a game saving tackle! :) Grandma was very proud. I told him after the game that I am proud of his play, but I am more proud of his courage. I am not sure I have ever told him that before. But, once again, as I looked out at about 400+ kids ages 6-12, and saw this single blond head, I was very touched by his courage and drive to go out there and play as the only American (English-speaking) kid. This certainly must build character and confidence. He has one more tournament on December 5. Then, we are done until he moves to Grade 5 team on April 1. The team season is coordinated with the Japanese school fiscal year which starts in April. All of his teammates will start grade 5 then, so he will move up with them.

Find the blond head.

Grandma got to see Jacob as Dracula in the middle school play "Drac's Back". He was very charming as Dracula :). She also saw Jacob play basketball and sing in the choir's winter concert. She saw Matthew and Jessica play soccer, and next week she will see Jessica sing in her winter concert. The kids LOVE having Grandma here. Jessica took a picture of Grandma dressed in yukata (summer kimono) and submitted for a Japanese photo contest! :)

Jackie and I took a trip to Chinatown, Meriken Park, the Kobe Tower, and Harbor Land. The highlight of this trip was enjoying a drink while sitting in the revolving cafe at the top of the Kobe tower, overlooking the ocean and Kobe ... just beautiful. We also enjoyed the Brazilian Restaurant and ate more meat than we have consumed in weeks! Delicious! Last Sunday, the kids and I took Grandma to the Oji Zoo, one of our favorite places here. The Giant Panda was sleeping, but the kangaroos, tigers, lions, jaguars, and elephants did not disappoint. Jackie and I also went to Kyoto, the capital of Japan. The Kyoto train station alone is amazing enough to make the journey, but we visited temples and the Kyoto Tower. This is such a lovely time of year with the multi-colored leaves. This was just beautiful. And... We made this trip without getting lost one single time!

Kyoto

Kyoto

Kyoto Tower

Kyoto Train Station

Oji Zoo

I forgot to mention that we bought Grandma a Japanese bicycle. It has a basket, bell, light, fenders, reflectors, and a built-in lock. Truly Japanese. We ride our bikes a lot to get to Canadian Academy for school activities, performances, and sports. It has really been fun.

We celebrated Matthew's 10th birthday on November 23. He got a rugby ball and a new soccer ball. Does this surprise anyone? We also celebrated Thanksgiving with about 12 American couples and 1 Australian couple last Saturday. We had turkey, dressing, potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie,... just terrific. It was as close to home as we could get. We definitely miss our family and friends back home, but we are blessed to have found terrific friends here.

Happy 10th birthday Matthew!

This weekend? 60 degrees and sunny. Soccer, basketball, and rugby. Fun.

Peace and Love,

Tina