Where the Wild Things Are

We hada weekend away in Yamanashi last weekend. Leaving on Saturday morning, our first stop was at Gotemba for the outlet mall. While Aki and Kei went shopping, the rest of us went to the kids playground where Joshua, Ryo & Nagi had fun on the cars and trains. We then continued to Lake Yamanako and had a quick game of tennis before it got dark. After a delicious feed we (I) had a few drinks and played table tennis where I got my ass whipped by two boys, aged about 13 and 15!! I wanted payback, but they weren't keen for a basketball challenge the next day! After a bit of karaoke it was off to bed. The next day we left after breakfast and started heading home. Somehow I managed to convince everyone we should stop to see some wildlife and it was off to Fuji Safari! This was a really cool detour as we drove past bears, lions, tigers and many other animals. The highlight for me was watching a tiger throw up a few metres from the car, while Josh slept the whole time and missed them all. However, there was a walking zoo-like area at the end, so Josh woke up and checked out some monkeys, hippos, kangaroos and other wild beasts. No one got mauled so a very successful trip and a good place to go back to in few years when Josh is bigger and can stay awake.

At home I finished planting all our veges today, so now it's up to the sun and rain to feed us. The last week also saw the cherry blossoms blooming, but it's been raining a bit so it was difficult to see them and enjoy a picnic. That didn't stop me and Josh going for an early morning walk today to check out the sakura before they finished.

Joshua is still taking his time to practice walking. He can take about five or six steps before deciding to sit down, but I'm sure he can walk more if he wants to! He's also got a great bedtime routine going now, as we get him into bed around 7:30-8:00, where he enjoys reading a book before going to sleep with no crying. He's not waking up too often in the night and he gets back to sleep really easy, usually just wanting a hand to touch or a sip of water.