Before and After

Oops, I forgot to take BEFORE pictures but I don't think I want to show them to the world how bad they were before.....

Okay, I have decided to clean and organize our house and we have been working on this project for about two weeks. I threw away shoes boxes and replaces them with dollar tree containers. These are some picture of mine and the kid's bathroom drawers. I cleaned them while they were at girls' camp. They were very excited and happy to see the drawers.

I also finished ( 95%) painting the kid's bathroom walls. I have started this project about 3 years ago. I painted blue and light tan colors but I was putting off all the details till now. This is a scene from Lanikai beach in Oahu, Hawaii where we visited many times. I want to add something on the top left corner but I haven't thought anything yet. I also drew our favorite flower, Plumeria on top of the tub wall. Yukino wanted to add another palm tree by the corner . Erina also wanted to add her art on the wall, so she painted a whale's tail, a crab and a star fish. They did an outstanding job.

My nephew,Corey, power washed our front porch and the back deck before he took off to collage, and Yukino and Erina finished staining them for $10/hours. It took them about three hours. Another project was done! I'd like to paint our piano/Russ's office room next. Since we have three gorgeous portraits of girls, I will paint the room in rich and dark color. To be continued......

日本 (Japan)

Happy 15th birthday, Yukino!

I haven't written any family updates and there were so many things we have done these last two weeks. I don't remember them all. I met my friend, Tomomi and her family the other day.

She hasn't changed much since junior high school. She is very kind, smart and polite, she became an elementary school teacher. ( To become a teacher is much harder in Japan than that of U.S.) She was very fast runner and I always saw her back from far, far away when I run. It was so nice to see her and her kids. I hope I can keep in touch with her.

Shopping is always fun in Japan but they are so expensive. If you don't have any family members or friends, you will spend fortune here. We went shopping with my family and ended up spending over $300. Gas cost about $1.20 for one litter. ( 1 gal = 3.8 l) One movie cost about $16. I think beef and milk products are very expensive here. I almost got heart attack to see the price of sliced cheese. It was over $2.50 for 8 sliced of them. To go to the next city by train ride cost us $44. It was a big mistake that I didn't get an international driver license in U.S.

Crystal had her 15th birthday. She celebrated her 14th birthday in Paris last year and 15th in Japan. She asked me where she can cerebrate her sweet 16th birthday. "How about at the North Pole?" I said. My sister took her to a hair salon in Kagoshima city for her birthday. She got a cute hair cut. Do you like it?

We are having fun here in Japan but I'd like to let you know that we are not playing around everyday. We helped paint my mom's house. (just two days but.....) I love talking with my sister the most. We talked about our childhood, our kids and pretty much everything. I will miss that soon. How lucky you are to have your own family and friends in a same country. I wonder when I can see them again but I won't miss over 95% humidity weather for sure. I feel like I am in a sauna all the time.

I didn't like Onsen when I was younger(Hot spring). Not only I but also all my girls learned to love Onsen. When we stayed at hotel, we went to onsen 3 times in less than 18 hours. It is too bad (or good thing) that I can't show you some pictures how wonderful and fun Onsen is.

I am gaining weight and passed 50 kg. Hahaha!!! Morgan and Sabrina will have hard time going back to gymnastics because of their luck of practice and additional weight. We will deal with that later when we go back U.S.

After we were at a hotel swimming pool for 8 hours, I couldn't get in a Onsen because of sunburns. I have never been sunburned this much since I was in junior high school tennis team. People think that I am crazy because nobody wants to sunburn and suntan in Japan. They avoid sunlight just like Michael Jackson did. They (women) use higasas which is umbrella made out of fancy fabric to avoid sunlight from getting dark, age spots and skin cancer. They wear arm over with t-shirt in very hot and humid days and I should take some picture of them. Does anyone want them for souvenirs from Japan?

We went beaches all most everyday and got sunburn badly. Crystal and I found three giant maki-gai near a beach by my sister's house. They were not only beautiful but tasted good.

I was planning to send my kids to Japanese schools for at least two weeks but because of my kids' luck of Japanese speaking and understanding level, they were allowed to go school for just TWO days. We were very disappointed about that but my kids had wonderful time in school. Morgan and Crystal tried school track team and volleyball team.　Both of them enjoyed Japanese calligraphy class and taiko　(Japanese drums) in music the most.

　I didn't write weekly family updates so I have too many things to write about us but pictures tell all.

See you all in U.S.

Sayonara、

千賀子　(Chikako)

　

Family Update

Hi all,

Russ got in Oregon safely today and celebrating father's day by himself.

It was so sad to see him off and all of us were crying except Crystal and Takehiro, my 5 years old nephew.

Russ left his pillow (old, dirty and smelly) and Sabrina and Andrew are fighting over it since then. It reminds of him

Kagoshima, Japan is very hot and humid, temperature will not drop even night time.

Day time high was 32C degree the other day and the night time was still under 30C degree.

It is rainy season here in Kagoshima but it

rained just once since we got here.

We have been eating Japanese food and yummy junk food everyday and I know that all of us

need to work hard after we get back to U.S.

We went many places and took many pictures but I can't post them all.

Here are some of them at:

Tousenkyo-- Somen nodle restaurant

Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots-- Base for the Japanese Army toward the end of the Pacific War.

Chiran Samurai Houses-- like a miniature Kyoto transplanted into heart of Satsu

ma (Kagoshima). Those houses are more than 260 years old.

Sakurajima-- The most active volcano in Japan. Because

of that we have many hot springs in Kagoshima.

Kirishima Shrine

Mahoroba-no-Sato-- Kids did grass sledding and rode go carts.

Kirishima-- Famous for hot spring and we stay at

Sengan-En ( Iso-Teien)-- 50,000 square meters and it commands a splendid view of

Sakurajima. It was constructed as a villa in 1658 by Shimadzu Mitsuhisa, the 19th head of the

household.

Sayonara!

千賀子（Chikako)