This'll Just Take a Minute

Eri was so worried about me driving Osamu to the bus stop this morning. She thinks I don't know how to drive in snow. And technically yes I am not good at it. Our neighborhood is basically all hilly streets, hence the name 山の寺 (mountain temple), and there's this one steep incline that Eri famously got stuck on last winter and called me in a panic and when I got my snow boots on and ran over there she was already safely away. This morning I hit that same incline and lo and behold I started sliding backwards and Osamu was in the back seat going woohoo. Luckily there were no cars behind me so I let the car slide back to the main street and I took a different route and we made it to the bus stop on time... except the bus was 40 minutes late due to mayhem on Route 4. So we had a pretty awesome snowball fight while we waited. The other moms barely tolerate me. After a while Osamu got cold and grumpy and started crying and grabbed my leg and told me he wanted to go home. Soon after th...

Just before 15:30 I could hear Eri downstairs worrying loudly about Kenzo not being home from school yet. He usually gets home around 15:00 or a little after, but this was later than usual. I wasn't worried since he was obviously slowed down by the snow we got today. So I figured it was time for a break anyway and I told Eri I'd wander about and look for him. I walked up the street and around the corner toward the community center and there was Kenzo and his friend Ruki who lives nearby. They were walking and talking and laughing and covered in snow and they didn't care. I was like hey guys and Kenzo shouted "Papa!" and the three of us walked back to our house. Ruki is the youngest in a big, complicated family so he just kinda wanders around the neighborhood all the time. He's a nice kid. Kinda feral and has crazy eczema.  Since the snow wasn't letting up we invited Ruki in and the boys played and had snack time together. A little later I went downstairs t...

The boys got new year money from grampa and grandma and Uncle Naoki and even from neighbors. Of course we also give new year money to family and friends with kids so it kinda evens out.  The boys know the drill: new year money goes in the bank but they can have a little bit to play with aaaand when it's gone it's gone . Well this time they somehow negotiated a deal that got them enough money to buy a new Beyblade toy so they gave their coins to Eri and she bought them online and they arrived today and man the house shook with excitement when the delivery guy showed up. Yesterday was a traditional celebration day called Nanakusa, which I've been aware of for years but never did anything. Today Eri changed all that by making nanakusa-gayu, a kind of symbolic rice porridge with special spices and man it hit the spot, especially since the snow started again and I have a toothache that I'm pretty sure signals it's time for my long overdue root canal.

Eri is digging in the sand to create an ocean. The boys and I are taking her sand and using it to build a giant volcano.  Ohhhhh the metaphors! The dinosaur exhibit at the Horseshoe on the Las Vegas Strip was made for Kenzo and Osamu. Mechanical dinosaurs, dark passageways, and coloring. This crazy digital sandbox was the best. I could've played with it all day. We visited the Bellagio Hotel and took in its wonders, one of the most notable being the dude outside smoking a serious jazz cigarette. Woooo weeee we're talkin' contact high level smokin'. We watched the Bellagio water show and Mr. Reefer provided the "atmosphere". I'm going through pictures from the day, as I often do, and delete the duds. I have to take between five and ten shots of everything with the boys in it, the reason being at least one of those is bound to be a decent photo.  Sometimes I'll take a dozen and every one is a bust. Today at the Bellagio Hotel conservatory Eri and my mom ...

Everyone was suitably pooped after yesterday's adventure, so we layed low today and hung out with grandma eating pizza and enjoying sangria. A major goal of the day was laundry, the least exciting yet most satisfying part of traveling, and I had a look at some old boxes in grandma's closet that contain old albums and books and journals and letters. I'm gonna need at least a week to properly go through those things. And a tad more bourbon. Some of those letters I saw through the neatly sealed ziplock bags are from over 20 years ago and from people who write sensational letters. It's gonna be better than any Netflix series I could imagine.  Grandma caught up on some business with the boys. Ollie dog got so much attention and tons of treats from the boys. He's such a good dog. Eri and the boys love grandma's house because it's so cozy and charmingly decorated. Everything on the walls, all the little curious items on the shelves, even the chairs, they all have a...