Madeline's 10th Birthday party!

We all had fun at Madeline's Gingerbread Party! All except the little man! hahahaha! The kids decorated gingerbread houses and made gingerbread ornaments! Madeline had a lot of fun and really enjoyed being with friends! I can't believe she's 10!

Merry Christmas!

Here's a little video from the girls and me. Don't look too closely, we did not take our showers yet! Hahahaha!

Christmas Day in Japan! Santa Found us!

Santa found us all the way on the other side of the earth! It was fun watching Santa Tracker this year! He came to us first! Madeline and Gracie had fun opening their many presents! They even got presents from Rudolph, Mrs. Claus, and the Bumble! Clara and Clancy got tennis balls from Donner and Blitzen! What nice reindeer! We had a great day. We missed all our friends and family back home, but it felt good to celebrate as a united family this year!

Halloween Night! What a fright!

Oh yeah! I'm a cheerleader! Oh Yeah!
No, I'm a soldier!

No, I'm a cheerleader! I'm mysterious!
ooooooooooooh! Midnight fairy and cheerleading chick! What a team!
Precious!
Scary!
Happy Halloween!

Ueno Park

The girls on the train to Ueno Park.
Overlooking the beautiful "pond." It was filled with lillies. We'll go back when they are in bloom. It is supposed to be spectacular.
The city in the distance.

Our own little monkey!

It took us about an hour and a half to get to Ueno Park by train. When we got there it was an amazing oasis of trees and people in Tokyo. We saw some pretty interesting characters performing in the park. They liked choosing Americans as their subjects, so we didn't stay too long! :) We saw a blimp flying high in the Tokyo sky. The girls found a shady park to play at. It was a great day!

Our trip to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo!

Queens of the Jungle!
Gracie? Madeline? Quit monkeying around!
I had to take this picture! This is a class of Japanese Kindergarteners. They were at the zoo on a field trip. The walked in precious pairs, holding hands and very well behaved! Wow!
Photo op #9,788!
Cool Gorillas. The Japanese have a T.V. show highlighting the fashion tastes of one of the Ueno Zoo Gorillas. We saw one that had a blanket. He wrapped it around his waist. Apparently, he liked to change his clothes for the newest fashion.

The girls loved all of the photo opportunities! And there were plenty...just keep scrolling down! hahahahaha!
An elephant! Our favorite!
The animals were very close at this zoo. It was amazing! This polar bear was a little too close!
More photo opportunities!
Again, more photo opportunities!

A last family photo op!

My kitchen in my classroom!

Off of my classroom is my very own kitchen! Well, actually, I share it with the other Kindergarten teacher! We have a dishwasher, a stove, a sink, a full microwave, a full size refrigerator and tons of cabinets!
Wow! Look at the storage for files! I'm in heaven!
How am I going to fill up those cabinets?
Another view!
My desk! Looking out into my classroom!