Hallelujah!!!

Yes, it is true. We officially have internet set up at our house!!! It has been a long (looooong) time coming, but as of about 1:30pm today, we were live on the net (thanks to our wonderful friend Chris!).

Now, how do I even try to follow up news like that? Since it has been so long since our last blog entry, I suppose I have a few things new to share (although I still understand that none of these things can compete with the wonder of the internet in our own living room).


Most of you know that Hyatt headed down south to warm Okinawa on Monday for a few weeks, so the house is feeling kind of empty these days. (Our crib did arrive on Thursday, though, so that managed to take up some of the vacant space.) He's enjoying his time down there so far, and is studying hard. There's a chance that I may actually be able to fly down to visit him on Monday, so that should be fun! I was able to get a letter from the doctor to take with me with in case anyone asks any questions about my belly being ok to fly - so I have the hall pass until April 16th at midnight, when I turn into a pumpkin... oops, I mean I turn 34 weeks pregnant.

One of my more recent re-discoveries has been the joy of swimming. To tell the truth, my swim cap and goggles had not felt water since my university days. So, in a moment of adventure last week, my friend Tiffany and I ventured to the base pool for the lap swim. Picture, if you will (but if you won't, I won't be offended, because it was a pretty wild sight), my 30 week pregnant belly, a two piece swimsuit (the speedo wouldn't fit over the 30 week pregnant belly, and I just never got a maternity suit), and aforementioned swim cap and goggles. We had such fun, though, that we went again this week, and plan to continue!



Mom and Dad flew out for a quick visit earlier this month (I think they almost spent as much time traveling as they did with us here in Misawa). We did some sightseeing, but also just enjoyed getting to be together again. It was fun just getting to see and organize all of Mom's "finds" for the baby, and Dad helped fix things around the house and on the truck. Just some quality family time. One notable part of the week with them was our discovery of a steak house restaurant named Yoshino's. Granted, our friends had already made this discovery for themselves, but Hyatt and I had not yet tried it out. Monday afternoon we made our reservation for that evening. Tuesday afternoon we were still talking about the amazing meal that we had had on Monday. Thursday afternoon we were making another reservation for that evening, because Mom and Dad couldn't leave without tasting that goodness one more time. Let's just say that I did not realize before that experience (or should I say, those experiences) that food could do that (and I say "do that" only because I cannot find the words to explain the almost religious experience of watching the chef/artist create our meal, tasting that perfectly tender, flavourful steak, and then being surprised with the amazing spring ice roll with chocolate sauce for dessert).

For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of pictures of my blossoming abdomen (you can only call it a belly so many times - and I apologize to those who really didn't want to picture my bare stomach earlier in the swimming tale), as well as today's new addition to our family (a gorgeous cabinet from the bizarre - you can see the height one of the pictures, because the fridge is on the right edge of the photo).






Alright, now that I have droned on and on, I suppose I will try and remember what other things I used to use this living room for, in the days before I had the internet at my fingertips...

Snow Festivals and New Home

This has been quite the ordeal - trying to finally update our blog. With interesting internet access at the library, and serious issues getting our internet hooked up in our home, I have finally managed to begin a blog update (against all odds!).

Having said that, our last month has been a whirlwind of unpacking combined with exploring. We managed to take in both the Hirosaki Snow Festival and the Lake Towada Snow and Light Festival. Thankfully, we went to the Hirosaki one first (it may have been a bit of a let down had we gone to Lake Towada first). The issue was that this winter has not been one of much snow (for this area), so the Hirosaki festival did not have a lot to work with. It was still very beautiful, and the castle (top picture) was gorgeous at night time.

Abi's question was, on a scale of 1-5, how did we like the festival. We agreed that it was around a 4, but the experience of the drive there (which was close to 3 hours) and learning what a snow lantern was (that they were not hanging lanterns, but rather standing lanterns with electric flashlight type things inside), was priceless.

The Lake Towada festival was the next weekend, and it is up in the mountains. So, it was a little more treachorous drive, but also gave us the greater reward of plenty of snow (read: snow stage, snow igloos, snow sculptures, etc.).

The highlights of the Lake Towada festival included a very interesting musical performance - an odd stringed instrument, as well as different drums than I have seen before, with plenty of Japanese commentary scattered between numbers.

We're still not sure if the main performance was supposed to be the lady who was talking (maybe she was a comedian??) or the musical performers. They had a fabulous musician, though, who played a type of flute, and that was my favourite part. Also, watching Sadie watch the fireworks was pretty funny (she's 11 months old), as she really wanted to see them, but they were too bright. So, she had her head tilted back and eyes squinting and blinking often. The ride to and from the festival was also an adventure, as 7 of us (6 adults and 1 baby) all went in our Mazda Proceed (which is a Japanese Mazda SUV with a third row of seats that flips up in the back).

Now, for a couple of pictures of the house, and an updated picture of my growing belly (picture taken at 27 weeks)!