Thankful, Grateful and Full

Clay had their annual Thanksgiving Feast and for the first time, all of the kids were there to be with their friends and enjoy a meal together in celebration of Thanksgiving. 

Each class makes a placemat and each class has a long, decorated table at which to dine...

As you can see, Jason is loving school and he's happy to finally have his own friends (and playdates and birthday parties to attend).

I'm sure one of these days, Jason and Mason are gonna look at this innocent kindergarten "cheers" and have a good laugh.

Ben is still a sweet, smart, and sensitive little guy... and now that he's in third grade, he finally (to his delight) gets letter grades.  During parent-teacher conferences last week, we learned that he's getting straight As.  His first trimester reading goal (set by his teacher) was 10 points.  Ben finished the trimester with 104 points.  Overachiever??

Kara is also doing really well at school.  She came home with an A+ report card and no report of being too strong in her "leadership skills" during group work.  Ha, ha.

We know we have so much to be thankful for... One of the kids asked after watching a movie with Santa Claus, whether I believed in Thanksgiving.  My reply is that yes, we should be thankful and grateful every single day.  With these beautiful children, the wonderful friends they have, and their health and happiness, our plates (of gratitude) are definitely full.

Japan

We recently traveled to Japan with three generations of the Kozuki family... ten of us in total.  Some had been to Japan before, but for most of us, it was our first time visiting Japan and we were all very excited for the adventure to begin!

With an endless supply of movies, television shows and games all compliments of the airline, we had an easy flight and lucky for us, Auntie Betty was at the airport to greet us and she generously agreed to be our tour guide for the trip.

We saw and did many interesting things... one of the highlights was going to the largest fish market in the world.  I think Jason also found the largest knife in the world, which for him, looks like a sword.

Sho and I checked one off of our bucket list when we ate sea urchin out of the shell on the way to lunch after visiting the fish market.

At lunch, Todd had a piece of tuna that changed his life.  Incredible and true.

With all of the plastic food in Japan, we jumped at the chance to make our own!  It was a neat experience and definitely makes you appreciate how much work goes into making all of those plastic displays that are outside every restaurant.

Ben liked this burger that seems to have everything possible added on.

And I thought Sho would love to have this realistic bowl of natto and rice sitting at home... and I would love it too because since it's plastic, it won't smell!

We spent a night at a traditional Japanese inn and enjoyed the ambience, food and the amenities.

While some chose public, Jason opted for the private balcony bath.

We visited a beautiful zen garden...

Walked through bamboo forest...

And through lots and lots of tori gates.

We played video games and raced cars...

Went to toy stores that seemed to never end...

Enjoyed food...

We took way too many food photos.  And the food is ridiculously good.  Everywhere.  This is our last meal in Japan... at the airport!

It was wonderful to visit family...

And have this experience together as a family.  We have so many wonderful memories from Japan and too many photos to share. We are grateful to have had the chance to ride on a bullet train, jam ourselves onto the subway, see all of the tall buildings, eat delicious food on the street and in great restaurants, use clear plastic umbrellas (which is such a smart idea!), sight see, shop and just be together.

Speaking of together, I don't think we've seen these two holds hands so much in our lives!  Whether it was the rain, the large crowds or just being somewhere different, these two were inseparable.  We are grateful to Grandma and Grandpa for our bucket list trip to Japan!

What day is it today?

The kids brought progress reports home this week and I realized that I hadn't posted anything since the first day of school!  Where has the time gone? 

At Back to School Night, we learned that Kara scored a perfect score on her state test for English Language Arts last school year.  We were surprised and excited... and of course then asked why she missed 7 points in Math.  Couldn't help it! 

Kara is in 5th grade and she's playing soccer again this year.  She is growing up fast and even though she's still 10, we are getting glimpses of what it will be like to have a teenage daughter.  I remember when she was born and when I told my childhood friend that we had a girl, her response was, "it's payback time, Kari!"

Rather than do soccer, the boys opted to try judo.  So far, so good.  They seem to really like it!

Ben is in 3rd grade and he continues to be an avid reader.  When I roll out of bed, he's already up with his light on, reading a book.   He's become the encyclopedia in our house.  Jason will ask a question, I will tell him that I don't know the answer but then find myself saying, "go ask Ben."

Jason is our big kindergarten kid.  On picture day, he told us that he is the second tallest kid in the class, next to his friend, Lilly.  We've never had a child in the back-row!  Jason recently had his Suzuki Book 1 recital, where he played 18 songs from memory.  He was so happy to receive his award, which is said, "is like gold".

We decided to sign the kids up in 4-H.  I must admit, I thought it was all about livestock, which is not my thing, so I had never looked into it.  A mom from school explained the program and now that I'm more educated about it, I think it's going to be a great experience for the kids.  They've already participated in a community service project and loved it.  It was sweet to hear Jason say, "it feels good to help out."

Sunday was Clay School's annual Fall Festival fundraiser and the kids had a great time, but with Sho doing over 200 shave ice and with me planning and running the event... we are glad that it's over!

Now maybe I'll do better on my next progress report :)

I dont like kindergarten...

For the first time, all of the kids got ready for their first day of school at the same school!  Jason has been waiting for years to go to Clay with Kara and Ben... so today was a very big day.

I'm glad to report there were no tears... I am very proud, for I managed to hold it together as our baby started kindergarten!  In the last week or so, Jason has been consoling me saying things like, "don't worry, Mom.  I'll still come home."  He told me that he worried about me because he doesn't want me to be sad when he's at school.  And while driving home from our vacation, Jason patted my shoulder from the backseat and said, "it's gonna be okay."

Our tradition has been to take a photo at the school mailbox and soon they'll all be towering over that little mailbox... I know it.

When I asked Jason how kindergarten was, he said, "I don't like kindergarten... I LOVE it!"  We know that is because of Mrs. Harrell.  We also know that Jason will have a great year because she is the best.  We are so grateful.

Though the older kids said they were not ready or excited to go back, they were all smiles to see their friends this morning.

I know it's gonna be better than okay... these kids are going to have a great year.

Aloha to Summer

As our last hurrah before summer vacation ends, we went to Kauai.  Hawaii has always been a special place for our family and this trip was just how we wanted to end our summer.

We spent the first few days in Princeville and enjoyed the beaches in Hanalei.

Kara and Ben took surfing lessons and they said the best part of their trip was learning to surf and catching some waves.

And when the instructor literally "toes" you out there and you don't have to paddle out... well, what's not to love?

We spent the second part of our trip in Poipu and though we enjoyed Hanalei and Princeville, the south side feels like home.

The kids enjoyed snorkeling each morning and looking at all of the sea life!

Jason was lucky to celebrate his 6th birthday in Hawaii.  He kept saying, "if it weren't for my birthday we wouldn't be here."  He had just a few requests on his birthday... one was Spam musubi.  Without a mold, we just decided to do a little Spam hand roll and when that's coupled with bacon, you can't go wrong.

There was beach time...

A root beer shave ice that rivaled Daddy's back home...

And dinner at the place with the tiki torches.  Jason had a great birthday and our day wasn't too bad either.

I love that the kids still enjoy the simple things in Hawaii.

Like using the sand as your own personal canvas...

Being on the lookout for the other KBJ's on the island...

Playing in the water and the waves...

Venturing to the little cities to explore...

Finding the yummy local food...

 A shave ice to cool you down...

Morning walks from the condo to the beach...

It's always so hard to leave Hawaii and we just look forward to the next trip.

Now, we've have to get off of island time and get ready for school.