Bits and Pieces (of two weeks)

• Sashimi platter at a Welcome Party for my new coworker, Grady.
• My friend, Giovanni, playing drums for the band Triple S.
• Ethan, with fire.
• Nathan preparing himself for his big race.
• Mt. Yotei, looking all beautiful.
• Right before Nathan's race.  I hate how I look in this picture, but my boys look good.
• The night before Nathan's race, we camped at the base of Mt. Yotei.  Someone had this awesome teepee.  I want to be their friend.
• Miniture town at Hokuyo Junior High's school festival.
• Flowers for the Moon Viewing this Sunday.

Last Saturday, Nathan had his first 50K trail run in Rusutsu.  Our friend Kazunari was kind enough to drive us, and we and some other friends camped out the night before.  He ran the race in about 8 hours and 45 minutes, and ranked 27 out of 67.  Pretty awesome for his first time, I'd say!  While Nate was running, we went to an adventure park in Niseko.  We did tree trekking, which is walking ropes and bridges from one tree to another, and jumped on those giant puffy things, and played park golf.  The first two activities were a challenge for me, since I'm a huge scaredy cat.  But I tried it the best I could, and I was super proud of Ethan, jumping off stuff and zip-lining with no fear.  

Today, we're stuck in the house because there are some workers fixing some leaky pipes or something. They've been here since 10 this morning.  One even tries to speak English with us, which the other workers think is "really cool" (they said in Japanese).  But it's nice to have a lazy day.  Now, I should try to get Ethan off the computer!