The Beginning Of The End?

Seems this blog might have run its course. Living in Lakeville just isn't as unique as life in Tokyo.

Thanksgiving

We had a fun time in Rapid City over Thanksgiving last week. The weather was beautiful and Cole and Kaori were able to go to the park with Grandpa and Grandma a couple times. Of course the food was good and plentiful, until I got done with it anyway. Then not so much.

Robyn and I ran in a turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning. It was a 5k run/walk. The highlights were that I won a cherry pie in a drawing (they had 350 to give away) and that Robyn ran another personal best in her time. She keeps getting faster.

Finally, an observation: we got our yard aerated this Fall. You know, when they take the little dirt plugs out of your yard so the soil isn't so compacted. Anyway, I'll not be doing that again as long as I have a dog to clean up after.

Christmas Lights

Dishwasher and disposal unit break down in the same week. What are the odds of that? Pretty good I guess, especially when somebody who is old enough to know better is putting rocks down the sink. But if you look at the silver lining you see that when you are unable to do dishes then you get to go out to eat more often. No dishes, no cooking!


I'll not be complaining about this weeks weather as it offered me the opportunity today to put up Christmas lights wearing just a t-shirt (on top, of course my bottom was covered). Of course going through my mind the whole time was that somebody out there probably tracks injuries from ladder and roof falls this time of year. Actually my worst accident was backing into the outdoor coffee table that we had. Could have been bad though since it has a glass top but luckily it didn't break. Anyway I think I've fulfilled my precarious position on ladders and roofs quota for the season.


Oh yeah, nog has been out for a few weeks now. Did you know?

Separated At Birth?

These are all people I've been told that I look like. I didn't say it; others have told me. What do you think?

More Art Pictures

The weeks have been flying and the art pictures piling up. Here are the last month's supply. Kaori's 4 are on top, Cole's below.

Happy Halloween

We had a kitty cat and Harry Potter visit over the weekend. It was nice to see them but they brought way too much candy.

Washington DC

A few pictures from our trip to Washington DC. We had a great time and saw a lot of monuments and memorials. Cole especially enjoyed the Air and Space museum where we saw the Spirit of St. Louis and the actual Wright Bros. plane. You know the one, it was the first manned flight. The Natural History Museum was way too crowded. We had a private tour of the Capitol which was nice.

I did enjoy the marathon, just enjoyed it a little longer than I wanted to.

One thing about Washington, there seems to be a severe lack of signage for driving and the subway. I swear, the Tokyo subway system is easier and more intuitive that Washington's and that's even for someone who doesn't read Japanese.

Art Class

It's that time of year again, art class has started up. It is kind of busy since it is on Thursdays after school; the same day the kids have soccer practice. But we only have to deal with that for one more week before soccer is over. The top two pictures are Kaori's and the bottom one is Cole's. If we ever find Cole's picture of the pelican I'll post that one too.

Congratulations to Robyn as she ran another 5k last weekend. She finished in a time that was about 3 minutes faster than her previous personal best. I knew she had it in her; she wasn't so sure.

I continue to train for the Marine Corps marathon. I'm about ready to be done with that but don't want the race to be yet because I'm too nervous for it still.

A Good Weekend For Soccer

Both Kaori and Cole opened their soccer seasons last Saturday. We had great weather for Kaori's game at 9 AM but Cole's was pretty hot and the boys were wiped out by the end of the game. I brought a bottle of gatorade for Cole but it was almost done at halftime. He poured the rest on his head to cool himself down. I told him that you usually only do that with water. He said "See, I told you this bottle wouldn't be enough."

This was Kaori's first athletic endeavor of any kind so we were happy when she first said she wanted to play. She did really well and had a lot of fun. But I suppose it is hard not to have fun when your team wins 13-0. After the game she said she didn't kick the ball too many times but is going to try to do more in the next game.

Cole's game was much closer and therefore more exciting. It was scoreless for a long time and then we started to score. However it seemed whenever we scored they did too 30 seconds later. Finally we got a one goal lead late in the game and were able to hold that advantage, winning 3-2. Cole played really well and seems to be a defensive stopper.

It turns turns out Tristen, my niece's son (great nephew? super nephew? second nephew?) also started his soccer season last Saturday. Not sure if he won though.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for Cole and Kaori. Kind of late this year, I wonder how late they'll be going next June. Anyway, they were excited and looking forward to it. Cole got some homework but didn't really think he should have on the first day.

I have to add a completely unrelated note because I keep thinking I should blog about it but keep forgetting. Unless I remembered it once and actually did write about it and in that case you'll have to remind me. Anyway, here goes: when we moved into our new house we brought a bunch of stuff from storage. In that stuff the kids found my old, packed away gumball machine that I got for a gift when I was in college I think. It was filled with jawbreakers at that time. It still is. Except now they are getting eaten. Twenty years old and they are still good. You know what? All this sounds really familiar and I do think I wrote about it before.

Last Sunday we went to the Wilderness Resort at Wisconsin Dells. It has lots of tubing, swimming, sliding, putt-putting, video gaming and eating. Kaori even went on The Hurricane, a big scary waterslide funnel thingy. And just like the Wild Thing rollercoaster she looked like she was almost in tears, but then went on it again. She's hard to figure out. Of course Cole went on any and every ride and loved them all. After being constantly wet for three days straight Robyn and I were ready to come home. I don't think the kids would have ever reached their limit though.

This week started soccer, a new experience for both kids. Cole did play with the YMCA when he was about 4 but that was so long ago. I'm trying to help out coaching for both teams but I am officially an assistant coach for Kaori's team. They both did great and had fun. We are now taking suggestions for team names. Current favorites are Orange Crush and The Bluebunnies.

A Brave New World

Seems like Kaori has entered a brave new world recently.

1) She has decided to sign up for soccer this Fall (did I already mention that?). This will be her first foray into the athletic world. It will be interesting to see how she does. I'm going to tell her to just be aggressive and go after the ball all the time.

2) Last Thursday a visit from Ellen and Kimmie took us to Valleyfair for the evening. While Kimmie and Cole became ride buddies and did all the big rides multiple times, Kaori decided she wanted to ride the wild thing. This is Valleyfair's biggest, baddest roller coaster. I was surprised she was tall enough to go. I was disappointed she picked me to ride with. I just wanted to see her after it was all done at the end but was scared of how it would be for her during the ride. After the first big drop she looked like she was going to cry and asked "how much longer do we have to do this?" Just a little bit I told her. When she was done I couldn't believe it when she said she wanted to do it again!

3) The training wheels have come off the bike. Now Kaori is truly riding a bike and is pushing for daily family bike rides. She also wants a new girl's bike as she has been riding a hand-me-down from Cole for the last year. I suppose she deserves one but it just makes much more sense to wait until her birthday next year.

Don't Wash Your Crocs

At least not in the washer and dryer. If you do they'll shrink up like a thing that shrinks up really bad when it shrinks. I really didn't know it went in with the load of clothes. Some how I missed the transition from the washer to dryer too. Maybe if it wasn't dried in the dryer it would still be okay. Now it is smaller and looks even more duck-footy. We already got Kaori a new pair.

National Night Out

Isn't national night out some thing that is supposed to get people out and chat with their neighbors? I don't know. That's what we did anyway. Our party was further enhanced by someone in our neighborhood winning some drawing that brought KDWB (local radio station), Timberwolves and Crunch (local basketball team) and 100 Subway subs (national sandwich shop) in attendance. I didn't get to meet the winner but her last name is Keebler. I'm almost positive she isn't an elf.

The other picture is just because I like it of Cole and Kaori taken at the lakehome.

July

Another 5k for Cole and Robyn last week and they both reached their goals. Both of them ran the whole way without stopping and beat their last time. I paced Cole to a 28:26 time. He really wanted to walk towards the end, he was working really hard. He did great though. Robyn came in about 10 minutes later.

Last week Cole was in golf camp while Kaori was in girl scout camp. She rode a bus with friends to the camp that lasted all of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. She was excited that she got to pet horses, sheep, chickens and other farm animals. They also did crafts, sang songs and cooked things. This week they are having fun in rock climbing camp.

Over the weekend we camped with our neighbors from our Savage neighborhood. At least we didn't get rained on but it was a bit chilly. We spent a lot of time driving back home because Cole also wanted to play in his baseball tournament. In the future I think we'll have to choose one or the other and stick with that. By the way Cole's team won their first two games but lost the next two and were out of the tournament.

Coming up this month: soccer camp, packing food for hungry children, getting together with friends from grad school, vacation at Wisconsin Dells and more...

Here it is...

...my big screen debut. The first video is the full screen as seen in the theaters. Can you play "Where's Anthony?" The second video draws more attention to my positioning on the screen. Can you see me now? You might need to push pause and search the background.

Well, there it is. Long awaited I know but it was worth the wait for me, I hope for you too. Autographs upon request. Let the comments begin. Also, in the courtroom I was not smoking. They put a cigarette in front of me to make it look like I was though.

A 5k And I Didn't Even Get To Run!

Robyn and Cole ran a 5k a couple weeks ago as I'm sure many of you already know (Robyn was so excited that she rushed home and sent out an email!). They did very well and were very proud of their performances. Cole was going to stick with Robyn the whole way but after a half mile into the race Robyn could tell she was holding him back. She told him he could go on ahead if he wanted and off he went. He ended up finishing about 10 minutes ahead of her. Robyn beat her time goal by about 5 minutes. Of course they were so happy with how they did that they have the running bug and can't wait to do another and we're all signed up for another one in a couple weeks. Yes, I'm running too because Cole wants to try and go even faster so I'm going to be his pacer. Results to follow.

And while we were waiting for them to finish Kaori and I hung out and played some of the games that they had set up for the kids. Then they brought out the hoola-hoops and that's all she wrote. Kaori picked one up and after she got started she didn't stop. People picked some more up and tried their best but just couldn't get the hang of it. They came and went and came back again and couldn't believe she was still going. They took pictures of the little hoola girl. She ended up going for 26 minutes!

Summer, summer, summertime!

Summer is fully underway now. Camps, playdates, sports, swimming, races etc. have been going on for the last couple of weeks. Right now Kaori is going to Kamp Kermit twice a week with several of her friends. She also has been busy almost every day with playdates.

Cole has been keeping busy with tennis camp, chess camp and baseball. He's recently discovered golf but not how expensive it is. He has golf camp later this year.

Robyn is still working out like a fiend (more hours per week than me!). Is there a race in her future? She has added job searching to that and helps me play chauffeur with the kids.

Me? I recently added to my shirt collection by doing another triathlon and am currently resting and recovering. I too have rediscovered golf. It's way easier than marathons and triathlons.

A couple things...

This is an article about my running club in Tokyo. You might not find the story so interesting but you should look at the pictures. Hint, hint.

This is a picture of Hiroo, Kaori and me tubing at the lakehome in Wisconsin. It was fun.

Watashi Wa Kai Ni Naritai

Okay, if you look real close and maybe get a little squinty, you can see a torso in the middle of this picture that could more or less resemble my general shape. The guy on the far left in the first row of people sitting behind the table of lawyers. No, not him, the other guy; right behind the box of charts and papers.

This picture is from a publicity brochure for the movie I'm in. My friend Chiba-san brought it to me. We think the DVD is coming out next month. Stay tuned.