Keep Away at the Park

Friday August 9th

We finished unpacking this morning.
Sally and I went to see some friends after we unpacked.
Then we went to the park with our friends' mom and met some more friends.
We played keep-away.
Keep away is like dodgeball, only the other way around.
-- Colin

We had fun at the park.
I missed Japan when we were in America, but now I miss America.
When we came home from the park, Dad had to go to where he works.
So we went with him, too.
Uhm, not our friends, just us.
-- Sally

I guess we should try to explain the game Keep-away?
-- Mom

Ohh-kay. (C&S)

How many played? (M)

Six. Konoka, Shunsuke, Jun, and Yumi. And Sally and me. (C)

Now why are you writing their names? (M)

You and Dad asked their moms and dads if we could. (C)

And they said OK. (S)

And, did you ask your friends, too? (M)

Of course! You were there, too, Mom. (S)

I know. What about our cousins? (M)

Dad said there were too many to ask everybody. (C)

So we just didn't write any names at all. (S)

Okay, back to Keep-away. Did you divide into teams? (M)

Not really. (S)

Sally and Jun and I were "it" first. (C)

"It"? Now, what's "it" mean? (M)

"It" is like "oni" (鬼) in Japanese games. (S)

We were in the middle. (C)

Konoka, Shunsuke, and Yumi ran around us, and they threw the ball to each other. (S)

And we tried to get the ball. (C)

I caught the ball when Konoka tried to throw it to Yumi. (S)

So I went out and Konoka went in. (C)

Then Konoka was it and you were not? (M)

Yeah. Then she threw the ball to Shunsuke, but I grabbed it. So we traded places. (S)

Then Yumi threw the ball too high over Jun, so they traded places. (C)

If you throw too high, you have to be "it"? (M)

Uhm, it depends on who's playing. (C)

Yumi can throw really high. (S)

She's on the basketball team at school. (C)

Okay, I think that explains the rules pretty well. (M)


[Grammar and vocabulary notes -- 文法及び単語の解釈:

• 「friends' mom」 == 「友人たちのお母さん」
  • friend == 友達、友人（一人）
  • friend's == （つまり、一人）友人の
  • friends == 友人たち（複数）
  • friends' == （つまり、複数）友人たちの
• keep away == 離れさせる、防御する
• (backwards == 逆)
• the other way around == 逆まわり、逆方針
• miss == 恋しく思う

]

Jet Lag

Thursday Evening August 8th

I woke up about seven thirty.
I got up for a drink of water.
Everyone else was asleep,
Mom and Dad, too.
Mom woke up when I started unpacking again.
-- Sally

Dad woke up when Mom opened the fridge.
He said, no cooking.
So we went to a restaurant nearby.
We had oden, rice, and fish.
Oden is like stewed vegetables,
but with meat and other good stuff, too.
-- Colin

Back to Kobe

Thursday Morning August 8th

We got to Kansai International Airport about 4:20 this morning.
It took us three hours to get through customs.
We rode the airport Limousine bus to Sannomiya,
and took a taxi home from there.
I'm tired.
--Sally

Dad said no trains coming back.
Mom and Dad are still unpacking.
Dad said we could take a long nap after we finished unpacking.
I don't think we are really finished, either,
but Mom said to get some sleep anyway.
-- Colin

Over Hawaii, Again

Early Wednesday Morning, I think.

It's dark outside and quiet inside.

Well, we can always hear the jet engines.

That's a good thing, Momma says.

I'm going back to sleep.

--

Sally

I'm trying to watch movies. 

But there isn't anything fun to watch.

Listening to music isn't fun, either.

Maybe I should go back to sleep, too.

-- 

Colin

(I think we are over Hawaii, now. 

But there are clouds below us, so we can't see. -- Dad)

(Get some sleep, Honey. -- Mom)

LA Airport at Night

Late Tuesday Evening, August 6th

We put our bags in lockers,
Then we ate dinner at an airport cafeteria.
We wandered around the airport for an hour.
I think we saw everything.
--
Colin


After that we tried to take naps.
Sleeping on airport benches is no fun.
Our next flight leaves in about an hour or so.
My knees hurt.
I'm so tired.
--
Sally

Buying Books and Coming to the Airport Again

Tuesday August 6th

When we got back from camping, Grandma June fed us lunch.
Then we packed up again. (C)

Grandpa Bill took Colin and me to the bookstore
while Mom and Dad finished their packing and checked our luggage. (S)

We needed some books about American history and government. (C)

The textbooks we study from in Japan are all about Japan, of course. (S)

And we got some fun books, too. (C)

It's time to go back. (S)

Grandma June and Grandpa Bill brought us to the airport. (S)

We are taking a night flight. (C)

We are all tired! (C & S & M & D)

-- Colin & Sally & Mom & Dad
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

Dinosaurs and Camping!

Monday, August 5

It was a long day.
We got up early and went north, to Ogden.
There's a dinosaur museum in Ogden, called Eccles Dinosaur Park.
We saw lots of dinosaurs and ate lunch there.
Well, the dinosaurs were all replicas, of course.
It was very interesting.
-- Sally
~~~~~~~~

Then we went further north, to Honeyville.
There's a hot springs resort there, called Crystal Springs.
We swam all afternoon.
I think I got a little sunburned.
Then we set up a tent at the campsite and had dinner.
We are posting from inside the tent.
-- Colin
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Family Decision

Sunday Evening

I watched the Dallas Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins 24 to 20 this afternoon, too.

American football is very different from soccer. (C)

I helped Mom and Grandma make bread for our flight back to Japan. 

Mom says it's hard to get good whole wheat flour in Japan. (S)

After dinner, Dad turned off the TV. (C)

And Mom asked Grandma to watch the bread in the oven. (S)

Dad asked Sally and me if we would help him finish his thesis. (C)

Mom said we don't have to help him write or draw pictures and graphs. 

But we can listen to him, and ask him questions. (S)

And tell him our opinions. (C)

Dad has to concentrate. (S)

So we'll have to be quiet while he works, sometimes. (C)

And help Mom with the housework. (S)

I think we'll have to do more chores. (C)

If Dad finishes his thesis by November, we can stay in Japan another year. (S)

I think I'd like that. (C)

-- Sally and Colin

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

Quiet Sunday

Sunday, August 4th

It was a quiet day today.
We met friends at Church and had our meetings.
At home, we read some scriptures as a family.
We watched some American TV, too.
I think I'm forgetting English, a little.
-- Sally

We walked to church today.
Church is very close to Grandma and Grandpa's house.
It took us less than five minutes.
Some people drive, but I don't understand why.
Dad says, maybe it's a habit.
-- Colin

Family Council

Saturday Evening, August 3rd

Dad called a family council on the way home from the canyon. (C)

We talked while we got cleaned up and put the picnic stuff away. (S)

Dad has a good job teaching English in Japan. (C)

The school wants him to come back next year, too. (S)

But his thesis supervisor says he needs to finish his degree.
A supervisor is a kind of boss, but the school doesn't pay Dad. (C)

I don't really understand what a thesis is. (S)

I don't either. But it's something Dad writes about his research. (C)

I like both Japan and America. I wish we could stay in both places at once! (S)

Me, too. (C)

-- Sally and Colin
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

Picnic in the Canyon

Saturday August 3rd

This is Millcreek Canyon from above:


View Larger Map

Grandma June drove us up to the Mt. Aire trailhead.
It's about 1.8 miles from the trailhead to the peak of the mountain.
At 0.6 miles per kilometer, that's about 3 kilometers.
It took us two and a half hours to hike up to the top.
We stopped to rest and look around.
I like hiking in the woods.
-- Colin
/////\\\\\

It's called Millcreek because,
a long time ago, there were lots of mills on the creek --
flour mills and sawmills, I think.
You can see a lot of Salt Lake Valley from the top of Mt. Aire.
But we couldn't see Grandpa's house.
We ate at the top.
I like eating lunch in the mountains.
-- Sally
/\/\/\/\/\

"Risky" Games (but no real risk)

Friday Evening, 2nd. Aug.

Dad and Mom got home about four.
Mom says we get to go up the canyon tomorrow!
We had to get food ready for the picnic, so we went shopping.
I had forgotten that American grocery stores are BIG!
Grandpa and Dad and Colin played Risk while Mom and Grandma and I made food.
Risk takes too long to play.
-- Sally
~~~~~~~~

Dad and Grandpa and I helped make food, too!
Risk is a thinking game.
We helped while we thought.
Everyone played Parcheesi after dinner, too.
While we played Risk.
We never finished the game of Risk.
-- Colin
========

The grocery store we went to:

View Larger Map
(It's as big as a football field.)

Duck Park

Friday, August 2nd

Mom and Dad had more business downtown this morning.

So we went to the park with Grandma and Grandpa.

It's named after a man that Grandpa knew, named Robert Fitts.

It only takes five minutes to walk there.

We saw some friends there, too.
In the afternoon, we visited our friends.

-- Sally

^v^v^v^v

The park is also called Duck Park, because there are a lot of ducks.

The ducks come to the creek that goes through the park.

It's not as big as Sherwood Park, and there's no place to play baseball.
But it's greener.
The creek is a part of Mill Creek, which isn't big enough to be a river.
I hope we can go on a picnic in Mill Creek Canyon.
-- Colin
<<<<>>>>

Fitts Park:

View Larger Map

Two Temples

Thursday, August 1st

Today we went into the city with Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa.
Grandpa Bill and Grandma June took us shopping while Mom and Dad went into one temple.
We walked around the artificial creek.
I looked at computers.
Sally looked at clothes.
-- Colin
========

Looking at computers was boring. Looking at clothes was fun.
The creek was too straight. It looks man-made.
We ate yummy cheesecake for lunch when Mom and Dad came back.
Well, the cheesecake was desert.
After lunch, we went to visit another temple, and talked with friends there.
-- Sally
~~~~~~~~

College

Wednesday, July 31st

Dad had to go to his school today.
He had to talk with his professor.
Dad is working on his Master's degree in teaching.
A teacher at the college is helping him.
We went with him and walked around the campus.
-- Sally
--------

At the college, we had to wait for Dad for a long time.
So Mom took us for a walk around the school.
We looked at lots of stuff.
We got to see models of dinosaurs at the biology department.
And we got to see a big Foucault pendulum at the physics department.
-- Colin
--------