Sunrise walk

William has been wanting to do the hill walk to school and back at sunrise, so on Saturday he and I set out at 5:30 am.  It was a beautiful morning -- still and clear -- and we caught the sun just peeking over the hills.

With all the late spring rain we've had lately (very unusual), the hills have stayed quite green but the wild oats are turning a pale yellow and make a pretty backdrop for the wildflowers.



Not having to rush to school since it was Saturday, William had a chance to stop at his favorite rock and clamber around.



When we got to the school, we came across the school cat, Vince.  On school days he likes to hang out in the main office or in the kindergarten classes.



Then it was back up the hill to home.

Kitty versus Kraken

As most of you know, William has a vast collection of stuffed cephalopods.  A few days ago, the kittens seized one of his octopuses and made it their toy.

To them, it's a fearsome creature nearly the same size as themselves.  They wrestle it into submission, and carry the trophy around in their mouths.

Jake eyes the Kraken

Julie wrestles the monster

Is it vanquished?

I think we got it

Calamari for everyone

Japan tidbit 2 - Monkeys!

One of our favorite days in Japan included visiting a large open air sanctuary for Japanese macaques, the same monkeys that lounge around in hot springs.

This sanctuary had no monkey hot tubs; it was cold and rainy and the spa-loving monkeys were often huddled together for warmth.

We had a great time, though, because they were very tame and unperturbed by our avid photography, even when we got quite close.

MUD football - part two

Last time William was invited to play mud football with his friends, there was no mud (although he had a good time).

Those same friends had a birthday party this weekend (they're twins -- same birthday) and this time they made sure there was mud!  A family friend with property in the country agreed to  dig up a field and water it for some very muddy football.

Mud oozing through the holes in his crocs

Afterwards, the kids cleaned off in a pond.  The pond had a small raft which was hugely popular and made for a perfect summer day, even though it's only May.

For those who want to see more pictures from that day, they're at Birthday/Mud Football where the full size pictures can also be downloaded.

Restarting Blog!

Well we're back from Japan, recovered from the jet lag, and starting to go through the 7000 pictures we took there.

Now that life feels back under control and we're going through so many fun pictures, it's time to start blogging again.  We'll try to blog almost every day, and post quite a bit from Japan in the next few weeks.

To get started here are a couple of shots from the Toyko subway, which was our main way of getting around.  Tokyo also has an extensive above-ground train system, but there was a subway stop right by our hotel, so that's the system we used more often.

Apparently, it is quite rude to speak loudly or make eye contact on public transportation in Japan.  I wonder how rude it is to take pictures??!?!

The subways & trains were smooth, quiet, clean, punctual, & safe.  Buses were a lurchy nightmare proving that it is impossible to make that form of transportation pleasant, even by the Japanese.