Regular days

Alex, Mark and I get to go exploring a lot more around Misawa. Unfortunately, Katya misses all the action. When she gets home she has to practice her piano, do her homework and play outside. We rarely go on any "excursions" or to the park in the late afternoon because it gets dark so quickly during these autumn months. I think around 4:30 it's already dark nowadays. Japan doesn't turn the clocks back in the fall either, which is a good thing, I think.

Here are some pictures of our fun days:


John (his friend from our street and church) are trying to figure out what those ropes are for. Because John's mom speaks Japanese (she served her mission in Japan), she found out from a lady who was passing by that you are supposed to pull on the rope and the bell in the ceiling would ring. Then you should start your prayers.


Again, John and Alex (and Rebecca) are posing by this funny Buddha next to the shrine.

Mark is always making friends. He doesn't really need to speak Japanese. This boy's mom was very excited to take pictures with an American baby:)

When we go to the off-base parks, it's always fun...and really messy if it had been raining. Reminds me of my native Ukrainian playgrounds:) They are not paved or anything, just muddy and grassy. Alex fell into a huge mud puddle when he was attempting to go down a zipline. Drama...


And this is our sweet big little Alex. Loves anything outdoors. I am thinking of buying him one of those plastic playhouses and having him live there when it doesn't snow. Seriously, he would ride his bike all day on our street and play with his cars in the dirt.


Doesn't it look like so much fun? This is a playground by the Shimoda Mall, about 30 min drive from our area. By the way, everything is 10 minutes further away from our house than from regular main base people. That is one of the most annoying parts for me, but I am sure I'll get over it.