One Fine Day

It's been a busy month as we started preparing to move house and getting ready for the baby! Aki is getting very big - actually, I've been getting very big since our marriage too, but at least she has a good excuse!! Her pregnancy is going well and the baby has started kicking a lot. I love putting my hand on her stomach and waiting for a little kick, just to say hi :)

I think she's pushing her's out and I'm sucking mine in!!!

We've been spending a bit of time at the new house to see what needs to be fixed before we move in. There's quite a lot of work to be done, but it's going to look really nice by the time we're finished. We're going to get new wallpaper in the Lounge/Dining/Kitchen room, toilet (it reeks of stale cigarette smoke!) and 2 bedrooms. We'll also put in a new kitchen and get a door frame replaced that was ravished by termites. In the tatami room, we'll be replacing floorboards that were broken and getting new tatami mats. The roof is a little rusty. so we'll be sanding it back and painting it fresh. When all that's done, we'll be getting it professionally cleaned. And finally, outside we'll be getting stuck into the very small garden to make it a place we can enjoy (hopefully a small outdoor living/BBQ area andmaybe a vegetable garden). Here's a few pics of the place to show you what it looks like before the 'Extreme Makeover!'

The front door; Our huge backyard!!; The throne - nice royal red colour don't you think?

Tatami room and one of the bedrooms

I had to dust off the tent as we went camping for only the 2nd time in three years. This time we went to Lake Motosu, near Mt.Fuji, with Hajime, Kei, Ryo and Nagi (Kei's sisters family met us there). It was the last long weekend of the summer, so it was quite busy as cars lined up early for the 8:00am open time. We got in early so were able to get a prime location, overlooking the lake with Mount Fuji in the background (when it wasn't too cloudy). The weekend was great as we enjoyed swimming in the lake, lazing in the hammock, playing with the kids, going to onsen and enjoying a non-stop banquet of delicious food!! Hopefully when we get our own car, we'll be able to go camping a bit more often in the next few years.

The lake shore was popular, but sloping and rocky - we camped back a bit in a much better spot; Me and Nagi going for a row, while Ryo catches fish; Me towing Ryo and Nagi in the boat; Dinner time - Yummy!; Nagi playing with sparklers; Me and Hana-chan got on really well; "Which one of you kids took my iPod!!!!!"; Relaxing round the campfire; Aki taking it easy

Last weekend, Ryo celebrated his 10th birthday. We had a great feed of sushi and he loved his present from us - a remote control helicoptor....it was so fun I think I'll have to get one for myself!

Make-your-own sushi style; Hajime and Nagi get ready to launch; The birthday boy

This month I'll be checking out Liams sportsday, spending a few days with Mark before he heads back to NZ and start packing for the big move. Tune in next month for all the latest news and pics. 土曜日は日本語の勉強します。すごい難しい、でもがんばれます!