Lucille and Random Pictures.

I never ended up telling my "Lucille Ball" story. I will tel it quickly. I was paying for something at a store, and realized I left a mop that I had just bought at a different store in the back of the store I was currently in. So I tried telling the cashier that I needed to go run and get it, but she didn't understand when I was saying "Mop" in Japanese. I went ahead and grabbed it, and when I came back with it the cashier said "Oh, Mop!" in Japanese, exactly how I had been saying it!! Even when I'm saying the right word, my communication still doesn't always work! Anyways, as I was paying, she pointed at my skirt and said something I didn't understand. I looked down to see she was pointing at my zipper, which was wide open. As I went to close my zipper, I knocked over my wallet and all of the coins in my change purse went all over the floor, making lonts of noise. Cashier lady came out to help me and just as we had picked up all of the coins, Brayden decided to pour out his snack of crackers he was eating all over the floor-deliberately, not accidentally. So then we had another big mess to clean up and I was already thoroughly embarassed! I hurried up and paid and got out of there! That is embarassing in America, let alone in Japan when your not sure what people think of you. So, thus the Lucille Ball sighting, and although I have only written about two sightings so far, there have been many, many more. :)

The following pictures were taken while our friends Michael and Beth were here visiting. They were taking pictures right and left and got such good ones. I hardly ever take enough pictures (something I want to get better at) so I stole these from Beth's web album to post here on my blog. Some of her pictures also captured some of what Japan is like, so I included some of those as well.

This is at the train station, some kids are going or coming from school. Lots of kids ride the trains in groups like this, or even by themselves on a daily basis to go to school.

This is the busiest intersection in the world, in a part of Tokyo called Shibuya. Beth took this right before she left Japan. We were here in March, but I never got to a spot where I could capture a good picture like this one. This intersection is like this all day and all night long!

We had an American barbeque with some Japanese people that a teammate of ours had befriended. The girl on the left is our friend Beth who was here visiting, on the far right is Caitlin, our teammate.

This may be hard to read, but its an example of some of the wacky worded shirts we have seen here.

A picture of Brayden playing at a little play area at the mall. Its one of my favorites.

Here's a picture of Brayden and one of his teachers at the daycare where he goes a few times a week. He really likes it there, and I'm so glad he does.

This is the bike lot at the train station. I'm just amazed at how many bikes there are!

A picture from a random morning around the house.

These are my teammates and our friend Beth, when we went out for a girls lunch. It was so much fun. This restaurant is Italian, and its very yummy and plays good music. Its one of our favorites.

Eating at a ramen restaurant in Nagoya.

Michael and Beth eating ramen with us.

This is at the barbeque again. Brayden and Sterling got plenty of attention.


He's playing air guitar. He came up with this all by himself. It just cracks me up! He's so intense!