leaving Yokota

 Casie & I at Banzai Burrito for a going-away dinner.  There were more pictures including other friends and neighbors, but I'd have to dig around for them.  It was nice to get together with them one last time.

 Waiting for our airport van at the TLF (temp. living facility): Casie & Theo, me and Ariel, Linda and Aubrey.

(and Ariel making a lunge for the juice box)

 Mike & Theo, Jeff & Ariel, Jun & Aubrey (Ayden was not present for this picture.)

I wish I'd gotten a picture of the Belts that morning because they came to meet us and help us down with all the luggage.  Thanks and sayonara to Laura, David, and sweet Ginny!

Oh, and there was a fun little "sake sendoff" with cold sake in cups.  We really needed that sake after all the move preparations!

Ralph and Nene ready to fly at Narita Airport.  They were so good, and rode under the seats in the cabin with us.  In case you're wondering, cats are amazing, and can hold all their bodily functions and appetites until arrival at destination.

last days at Yokota

 I'm finally catching up on some photos from our move.

This one is at Jeff's going-away lunch at Yokota Officers' Club.

 Our living room after all the stuff was packed out.

 Dr. Aki Shirai at Yokota Vet Clinic, who took loving care of all our cats, and saw us through two end-of-life ordeals with Ted and Doraemon (and three happy adoptions: Doraemon, Nene, and Ariel!)

 Nene with speech therapist Isabel.

Having rice with Aubrey Oh.

country drive

 On the day before we sold the Funcargo, we drove to the rural towns of Hidaka and Naguri, north of Ome.  We stopped at this spot by a creek that had a perfect spot for a teddy bears' picnic.

 Naguri reminded me a little bit of Floral, Arkansas.

On the way home, we stopped at "The Mall" on Route 16 to buy a Totoro doll and have Indian food.

I will try to post a couple more things, but then will take a break as we pack out of the house and leave Japan.  In the last few weeks I've seen a wild squirrel (rare here) in the mountains, and a raccoon dog (tanuki) that is semi-tame in Showa Park.  If we had left Japan any earlier, I would've missed out!

Update

Today marks 4 years since arriving in Japan.  We watched the Beijing Summer Olympics in our Kanto Lodge room.  Now we're watching the London Summer Olympics.

It's also about a year since I became vegan.  Still one of the best decisions I ever made.  I'm not perfect every time, but I try.  I've enjoyed lots of new flavors and cooking.  Jeff & Ariel like the food, too.

Ariel is 25.8 pounds and just under 3 feet.  She enjoys sitting on the potty while working on her iPad.  She especially likes Monkey Preschool Lunchbox and Monkey Mathschool Sunshine apps.

Jeff got his orders today, so we are finally on our way out.  We should leave very soon.  Nene will become an American citizen!  Well, maybe she'll retain dual citizenship, as she is a proud Nihonjin.

overnight in Chichibu

 Ariel & I gave Jeff some time to work on an Air War College test/paper.  We drove to nearby Chichibu.  It's northwest of us in the Chichibu National Forest.

 Our room.  We slept together in one little bed.

 View from our balcony!

They even labeled our room.  It says "Hey-zah Pak."  The last character must mean "silly gaijin" (foreigner.)  Actually, it's probably the -san in Heather Parks-san.

 Ariel asleep in the Funcargo while I looked at a dam.  We just sold the Funcargo today and are now borrowing our neighbor's Nissan Cube.

  At a nice rest stop.  It had shopping and a little farmer's market.

play at Bornelund

We've been going to the Bornelund playland in the mall a lot lately.  This day, we met up with our new neighbors, Emily and Benjamin.

bouncing and running on the bouncy surfaces (often replicated before bed in our bedroom)

rolling in the airy cylinder with Benjamin

Video of Ariel bouncing, then we saw our friend Saya:

a day at Disney Sea

 tasting water from the fountain at Arabian Coast

 Super Cute!

 The double-deck carousel was her favorite.  She wanted to ride it over and over.

 a little prayer for her horse

 Daddy head massage at Mermaid Lagoon

 Scuttle's Scooters

 holding Schmig tight

Relaxing at the Sheraton

 We got a good deal at the Sheraton on Tokyo Bay, which is right on the Disney resort property.  Ariel counted the money we saved: "One, two, tree!"

 Fueling up for her day at Disney Sea with Rice Krispies, almond milk, and peanut butter.

We had a nice kid-friendly room, with a heated toilet seat that we all liked.

Disneyland!

 Mickey Mouse shares a birthday with someone in our family.

 It's a Small World is one of our favorites.  This one is heavy on Japan imagery.

 The pigeons and ducks were fun.

I think Ariel's favorite ride here is still Alice's Tea Party (the spinning teacups.)  She was excited just entering the park.  At the end of the night, she got a Minnie Mouse balloon.

running on the Arabian Coast

Getting lots of exercise at the Arabian Coast (at Disney Sea):

Gabe's birthday bash

 Our neighbor Gabe (on the left) turned 3!  He had a birthday party with bouncy castle and blue cake.  Since we sold our fence, our backyards opened into one big play paradise.  All the kids had fun, and liked talking to the cats through the patio door.  Ariel likes Gabe's red tricycle.  They share well.  Gabe's sister Mallory is in the purple and white outfit.  Isabella is in pink.

Congrats on turning 3, Gabe!

(We had fun hitting the train pinata.)

Photo from last fall

I was just thinking about my friend, Klaine (2nd from left), who we'll hopefully see at our next assignment.  This photo is from last fall when Edel (left) hosted a small going-away lunch for Klaine and baby Marcus.

Also pictured are babies Yelena and Irina with their mom Edel, and on the right: Anna and Noah.

We don't have definite orders or a move date yet, but we're thinking Washington, DC, area sometime in July. Although Louisiana sounded nice, we're glad the assignment fell through and we're excited to get back to DC.  Which Smithsonian should we hit first?  Maybe Klaine and Marcus can meet us there!

Kawaguchi

 After two nights at Hakone, we drove around to the other side of Mt. Fuji and explored the Fuji 5 Lakes area (Fuji Go Ko.) 

 We stopped at a museum and tourist area.

 then visited the Saiko Bat Cave, which has a nature trail by it.

This time Ariel stayed awake for her picnic.

 The Wild Bird Park was very tranquil.

 View from our hotel room along Lake Kawaguchi.  We were the only guests that night.  We enjoyed tag team runs along the lake.  We went to a nearby Indian restaurant, and walked along the lake at night (where we met some monkeys!)

Ariel loves studying her books in the tatami room.