Gymnastics

We started Erik in gymnastics and he loves it! Who wouldn't love swinging from bars, dropping into foam pits, jumping on trampolines, and jumping in bouncy houses? Should I be concerned that he shows no fear and can go across a balance beam all by himself? The instructor even took him to the owner today and told her that he's destined for the boy's team. Well, we all knew basketball wouldn't be his sport, so Yeah Gymnastics!

Husband must love me an awful lot because he bought me my dream car. :) My Mini Cooper Clubman drives like a go-cart, has a trunk that can actually fit groceries, and enough head room that I can stand up in the back seat to buckle up Erik. I dream about driving it. Erik cries when we have to take to truck. He always wants to drive "mommy's small city red car". :) Thanks husband. You're the best husband ever.

Church, Jesus, and song

For those who care- we found God. God is good. We go to church. We like it. Erik likes it. He also likes to sing. He likes to sing about Jesus. We like it. Here you go!

So, I know, I'm a slacker. It has taken forever to upload some of the house pictures. :) Bear with us- I will give you an idea of what we have been up to for the last couple of months. We remodeled the kitchen and added a half bath to the house. TJ is ever so handy, and I have even pitched in some. TJ learned how to run plumbing and gas lines, move heater ducts, make walls, make doorways, cut tile, install cabinets, and set doors. While he was busy doing that, I learned how to tile and grout. With a little paint, we have somewhat finished. There are still some finishing touches, but we thought you might want to see our progress.

The House!

So, after a successful week of house hunting in the United States, this is the house we picked. TJ was sold on the 2 car garage and I was sold on the built-in bookcases. We hope you can come visit!

Happy Birthday!

For my birthday, we had my Kodaira (Japanese military English school) students over for a graduation/birthday party. We had a great time having a cookout at our house. TJ even made me a cake. :) It was oishii- even if it was a little upside down. After the BBQ, we took the guys bowling and Erik showed them his favorite game, Foosball. It was a great day and 34 is a great age!

The Ome Train Museum

Thanks to our friend Amanda, a caravan of moms and kids drove to the Ome train museum for a fun filled day. Unfortunately, the directions from the base weren't very clear, and we ended up getting lost. So imagine, 6 vans filled with moms and kids pulling into a construction parking lot. Thankfully the Japanese workers took pity on us and after many attempts of trying to get directions, one man decided to escort us to the train museum himself. That's me in the picture, trying to decipher the map in Japanese! Anyway, thanks to the wonderful hospitality of Japan, we made it to the train museum. :) Erik loved sitting in the real train, watching the model trains, and riding the train rides, and even sitting in the play fire truck. All in all, it was a great day!

River

So, I am not the most "outdoorsy" person you will meet. So what if I prefer a bed and breakfast inn to camping in the woods? I don't know why my friends had bets on how long I would last at the river. I had a great time and stayed until 2:30 thank you. A respectable amount of time since we got there at 11:30. 3 hours is plenty of time to have Erik in the sun. :)

Tanabata Festival

The Joyner-Davis-Martyniak clan are at it again! We loaded up the six kids, plus two extra just for fun, and headed to the Tanabata festival in Fussa. We had a great time eating, drinking, eating, watching drummers, and eating some more. :) Fun, fun, fun!

New bike!

Erik and I went to Toys R Us to find a Thomas bike. You should of heard him when he saw the bikes. "They have them mommy, they have bicycles!" He picked out the Thomas tricycle. Now if we could only get the batteries to die, because I am sick of the Thomas song already. :)