The Mega Update

In the spirt of the recent campaigns by McDonald's Japan (plus the fact that I've been negligent in writing on this blog for the past two months), I've decided to stuff a extra bunch of stuff into this post.

Things have been busy as usual in the Mino household. However, even with all of the normal day-to-day activities and work commitments, we have still found time to have a fair amount of special family time in the evenings and during the weekends. Leif has become quite the character, teaching himself how to make faces, including his patented, "oishii kao" or "delicious face" in English (see below).


Leif has also been expanding his vocabulary considerably, although he's still at the single and two word stage. He's also been eating like a horse on most days, even eating more than Conan some days.

Conan has been doing well at daycare, making friends and enjoying the play time together. It's also been fun watching him react to my occasional work visits to have an English and "international understanding" lesson with the four and five year olds. In the past, the teachers would draw the blinds so that Conan wouldn't see me wandering the halls. Now that he's nearly four, there's no worry. In fact, Conan has taken to calling me "Mark-sensei" along with the other kids, even going so far as to correct anyone who points out that "Conan's papa" has arrived. During the day, I'm Mark-sensei. At pick up time, I'm papa. :)


In May, we spent a weekend with Junko's parents at a hot spring hotel near Sendai, to enjoy the nice Japanese food and the onsen baths. We also spent an afternoon at "Benny Land", which is a nearby amusement park. Conan and Leif enjoyed the various rides for little kids. Conan even tried the little roller coaster and was thrilled enough to immediately demand a second ride. However, it was the little coin-operated cars that most captured his attention. I think Junko's parents must have spent about 2,000 yen ($20) in 100 yen coins to keep Conan speeding along.

Conan and Junko try the bumper cars

Leif and Conan on the Ferris Wheel

Recently we've also been puttering around the house, putting in a series of flower gardens and a small area of patio stone. It makes the house seem a little more inviting in the summer, as wellas for early morning coffee. On a particularlyt hot weekend, the boys stayed cool using their old baby bath as a pool. They enjoyed themselves, but we soon realised it was a bit small for the two of them. We went out the next day to buy an inflatable pool at the local hardware store. I think the pictures speak for themselves.