Sa-wing Batter!

We had a little taste of home a few weeks back. Nothing says America like... BASEBALL!!! Nothing says Washington baseball like The Mariners!

The first pitch set the stage for the rest of the game:




Yup. He's in the ground...


The Mariner Moose made up for a lot in chuckle, though!


Ichiro is a baseball sensation in America, but here in his homeland of Japan, he is a HERO!!! 

Good luck.  Good life.

Baseball games in Japan are like attending college football games in the States. They have yell leaders, rowdy rags, and a BAND!!! No kidding!!!

And keg girls. They wear their neon outfits with their baseball caps perched and pinned on their heads like a shark fins. These teensie-weenie girls carry a keg-backpack and serve up cold ones up and down the stands. Now that is a workout!!!

All sorts of vendors are roaming the stands. You can buy any drink you like and get nearly any food from bentos to peanuts. It is like a drive-through without going anywhere!


The Mariners played the Yomiuri Giants, the oldest and most popular team in Japan (apparently): Yomiuri Giants Official Website.  They are patterned after the SF Giants...  The stadium was a sea of black and orange. Except for the three rows of Mariners fans. Our group was one of those rows.

Tim Putaansuu, Dona & Tom Connor, Jaye Sullivan (on phone with Gabe), Me, Allie & Dwayne Strand (Erin Strand taking pic, Liesl Strand "conveniently missing")  Other M's fans behind us - see the hat on the left?!?

Behind us sat another third of the M's cheering section; a family of three boys and a little darling girl. A highly unusual number of kids for a Japanese family, not just for its size. Even numbers are unlucky. Four is a VERY unlucky number - "four people" translates to "dead person". So, you can see why it has a bad reputation...


This family was fabulous. The boys were as cute as could be. The older two wore M's caps. As the Dad went to get a jersey for the youngest boy (had no idea), I gave him our Mariners ball cap. From Safeco field. From Henry Smith to Stefan. We knew we could always get a new cap, from Safeco Field. And we knew how cool Henry would think it was to pass his cap on to a boy here - a fan of the Seattle Mariners! The dad tried to give it back to be polite.  I refused. They were all estatic over the hat. Such a simple pleasure! Henry, you would be proud!

Crowd control...

Final score was more embarrassing than this...


But it was sure fun to watch our home team, at our home away from home!

GO MARINERS!!!

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Boom! Boom! Kah Kah Kah

Friday, Stefan's taiko group performed for the Global Volunteer Conference of USA Girl Scouts Overseas West Pacific at the Officers' Club in Yokosuka Naval Base.  It has been about six months since the kids have performed and they did pretty well, in spite of that!  Stefan is ULTRA enthusiastic and passionate, making up for any inattentiveness and/or rhythm challenges... click on the links for the You-Tube videos

Dougie also takes taiko at Seika, however it is standard snare & bass drums and other percussions (cymbals!).  Ironic, being that it is at a Japanese Yochien...  At his Christmas pageant, he was the sole snare drummer.  

Eric was proud!

That performance is on DVD - I have to get more savvy before I can pick through and post it...  BUT, I can post his cymbal work from the Entrance Ceremony.  The pictures of Dougie reeling while playing the cymbals are from this performance.  Keep in mind, these kids are all approximately five years old...

Ian imitates nearly everything - for better or for worse.  He likes to sneak off with Dougie's melodian (like an accordion, only no bellow - you blow through a tube).  He'll "hide" (this time he sat down in the front entry), open the case and assemble it...

Like his brothers, Ian likes to play taiko, imitating the rhythms: Boom! Boom! Kah Kah Kah


He also likes to play in a more "traditional" style - the buff.  Here, he plays taiko in the traditional way, but with unconventional sticks/drums: croquet stakes and garden accouterments.

The Finger

During a recent ¥100 store run, I broke my mold and let Dougie and Ian pick one thing out.


Dougie picked out a spinner/helicopter toy made of bamboo. Very cool! They had lots of fun with it.


Ian picked out... A hand... On a stick. A pointing hand. Like a yellow, foam, pointing, Mickey Mouse hand on a stick. OK, maybe Jaye helped a bit ;)






He was super excited about giving us the finger...






Until it fell off...


Lasted only about a block.


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Easter Dinner

After our awesome Egg Hunt, Tim Putaansuu and Dwayne & the girls joined us for a gathering of friends to celebrate Easter!  A celebration of New Life - Relationships.  Relationships in the hear & now and the everlasting.  Thank you Lord!

 Chefs' du Jour: Eric and his Sous Chef, ME!

Incredible Porchetta (slow roasted pork) - succulent! Porchetta-Style Roast Pork Recipe

Looking through our kitchen into the dining room where we all stuffed our faces.  Thank you Dwayne & Co. for making ham!  It was delish!  Tim, the porter was Di-VINE!

Ian & Dougie chill on the couch with Liesl - and adorn her head with their conductors hat.  Now that is being a good sport!

Carlyn & Emi 

Maggie (are you wearing some mashed potatoes?!?)

The boys show off their Easter hats...

And their individualism!

What a fun afternoon and evening.  The laughter and chatter was incomparable - thank you one and all!

Easter Day Hunt

After church on Easter Morning, Eric and I were joined by the Frasers and the HansonSmiths for some Easter Bunny Fun.  The men played Easter Bunny...

 and hid the eggs in the park...

then stood around drinking wine and got in touch with their inner Bunny...

The kids all made a break for it as they head for the park, dressed for the hunt... Run Jack!  Maggie stopped for a photo op - thanks Mags!  Ian was pretty sure this basket was to bring good things... but he stopped to check what was inside first, before putting anything in... he may have even eaten the goods first...

Eaton checking out the playground while making his rounds, Emi took Ian's lead and checked out the goodies before committing...

Some of the kids (perhaps my elder two...) even re-hid some eggs...  When I suggested to Dougie that he could give them to the little Japanese girl who had been "playing the game" as well,

he ran the "non-Dougie approved" eggs (pink things or candy he felt was undesirable...) over to her, stared, and then did a total dump and run.

This little girl was SOOOOOO very excited to find the eggs - and was so much more surprised to find out they had goodies inside!

They looked high...

Thanks for the help, Daddy!!!

They looked low...

They looked under the bushes...

They went in the bushes... 

They found eggs in the bushes!

They ran over hill... 

They ran over dale...

The climbed the highest of trees...

And went even further...

And then...

Hung up all their eggs in their basket...

They competed for eggs... (notice the hand on the bottom right?  Sorry Eaton!  Jack beat you to it!).  Eric just gave Maggie a hand ;)

They chilled...


Turns out cross-body bag wearing is genetic...

The kids all posed for a line-up: Stefan, Alex, Ian, Matthew, Dougie, Emi, Eton, Maggie & Jack (Ian was not too sure about standing up there....)

The gals all posed for a line-up!  Thanks Melissa and Carlyn!

Did they have fun?  Well... their lips were sealed... and don't let the ears fool you :)