Who's the Boss?

Cook Japan had a "Bring Your Child to Work" day.  We ate lunch with the employees and their families.  Then the kids received their own personal set of business cards to trade with the other children.  Jonas and Arpan are modeling theirs below...

A demonstration is made to show the proper way to give your business card.

Glenn performed a comedy routine where he prepared "atarashi nomimono" (3 part drink).  He put 3 vegetables in a cup, mixed it up, and asked what drink does it make?  Mittsu ya si da (play on 3 vegetable drink and the brand name Mitsuya Cider).  He scored big points :).

Then the kids went around the office where various employees gave presentations about their job.

Arrup

Kitamono

Jokura

Morita and Munekata

But the best part of all is when Daddy took us to get a yummy ice cream treat down the street!

Summer Aftermath

For my own sake, I need to document what it looks like when we return to Tokyo. Someday I will pine over our travels and I will truly miss this experience. However, I will have these pictures to remember it was not always so glamorous....

What am I bringing with us besides summer clothes? Lunch pails, Halloween costume supplies, a year supply of shoes, winter clothing, including winter coats, cake mixes, stain removal, feminine products and make-up, crystal light drink mix, medicine and vitamins, even brought dinner napkins... for some reason in Tokyo you either find super thick expensive napkins or else tiny, cheap, "don't work" napkins.

Jonas thinks he is modeling our mess... nope. He is modeling that things are so disorganized and crazy, he has mistaken my t-shirt for his t-shirt and has no clue whatsoever. This is because for the first week or more that we are back, when the kids need something, I tell them "go search the pile". Jonas proudly found his own undershirt :).

Diary of a Missing Tooth or Two

This summer, 5 year old Jonas lost his first tooth.  The first one came out when we were at my parent's land... he said, "I think I am going to loose a tooth" then showed me his TWO TEETH hanging by a thread. Next thing you know, POP one came out.

Ew gross!

But Toothfairy was a little busy that night or maybe she was confused by the NINE children sleeping with their mouths hanging open... so she was a

NO SHOW.

Next day, at the local FARMER'S MARKET Jonas lost TOOTH number TWO.

Never fear, TOOTHFAIRY is here!  He made up for his absence by bringing Jonas a few coins, a WOLVERINE t-shirt and a WOLVERINE action figure... he was a happy little camper!

(The biggest dilema was what to do about a toothfairy pillow?  Following the tradition of my mother, I make each child a toothfairy pillow with their name on it.  Problem is, the fabric store is here in Indiana but the sewing machine equipment is in Tokyo.  Jonas had to wait for his special pillow.  We bought the supplies and took them back with us to Tokyo for a future toothfairy pillow).

Once Bitten

Proof that Shailey has gotten way too into the TWLIGHT SERIES... only I think Edward missed his mark.  Shailey woke up and found these two holes in her leg... this photo is taken about a week later.  It never hurt her, but it was a little infected.  We have no idea where it came from... she had been in the forest near us the night before but.... we have our suspicions... Edward Cullens (although she wishes they were the mark of a wolf named Jacob :).

Ostlunds Stake their Claim

Well, we did it... we purchased land; two lots to be exact. We figured in the current economic crisis, that land is a pretty safe purchase. We bought a little less than 4 acres in a neighborhood called, Devonshire, very near our current house. It is a beautiful neighborhood with the best neighbors in the world (our good friends, the Cattani family live across the street :).

Our hopes and dreams are that we can save enough money so that when we are through living in Tokyo, we can think about building a home on one of the two lots and then sell the remaining lot. Time will tell.

Tennessee Summer Trip

Last stop on our tour of duty was Tennessee. We toured through the HERMITAGE, the home of our nation's 7th president, Andrew Jackson. If you ever get a chance to visit The Hermitage, it is well worth the stop. It really captures what a plantation was like during slavery times.

Jackson was an interesting fellow. He deserves some credit for his ambition and self-confidence. His father died 3 weeks before he was born. At age 13, he signed up to be a messenger during the American Revolutionary War. He and his big brother were captured and held prisoner by the British. While in prison he refused to shine the boots of a British officer who then slashed his hands and head with a sword, leaving him scarred. The brothers almost starved to death, but eventually were let go. Sadly, his brother died just a few days after their release. His mother then died a few weeks after that. At the age of fourteen, Andrew was an orphan.

With almost no schooling, and no parents, he worked his way up politically. He was smart as well as ruthless. During the war of 1812, he had a mismatched troop of soldiers, the bottom of the barrel, and yet he was able to defeat the British. This victory moved him up the ladder and onto the presidency.

He was not only politically ambitious, but monetarily as well. He bought 350 and started a cotton plantation. In the end, he owned over 150 slaves and over 1000 acres. He was a successful plantation owner, but he was not kind to his slaves. When slavery was finally abolished, only 3 out of 150 slaves chose to remain with him at the Hermitage.

At the end of the tour, my Dad asked me, "so, was Andrew Jackson a good President?" That is a difficult question. Yes, he made progress for the US, but he hurt many innocent people in the process, so I would have to say "no".

The gardens were lovely but we all were eaten alive by mosquitoes... Emma was constantly dabbing "itchy medicine" on herself.   Greyson said, "THESE BUGS KNOW NO BOUNDARIES"... so funny.

I think my favorite discovery on our drive through Tennessee was the PIGGLY WIGGLY.  If you are a "Steel Magnolias" fan, then you will know that famous quote from Ouiser, "I'm pleasant. Darn it! I saw Drum Eatenton this morning at the Piggly Wiggly, and I smiled at the SOB 'fore I couldn't help myself."  Yup, pleasant.  Trish and I cracked up to see the Piggly Wiggly in person... we did not know they really exist.  They are a southern grocery chain.   "Oh Spud, I'm a chain!" 

Oh, it was fun to be in the south.... "Annelle, you can take your bible and shove it where the sun don't shine"... good times.

Tennessee Trip Summer 2009

Georgia Summer Trip

Next stop Georgia. We stayed with Michelle and Dallin in their little farmhouse. Michelle gave us the grand tour of the mansion and its surrounding gardens. Emma celebrated her 9th birthday in Georgia with a trip to American Girl with Grammie. We also took toured the CNN headquarters where we witnessed the news being broadcast live. It sounds more exciting than it actually was.... I do not recommend the tour. I think the best part of this tour is we got to see exactly how my Mom feels about Obama....

While in Georgia, we also toured Smith Plantation and later had a picnic at Stone Mountain. Stone Mountain has the largest bas-relief in the world. Three figures from the confederate army are carved on the wall: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis. This may look small, but the carving is actually three football fields in length (approx. 3 acres). For perspective, the rump of the horse is the size of a school bus. The carving was started in 1923 by Gutzon Borglum. He eventually abandoned the project and went on to carve Mt. Rushmore instead! Several other carvers worked on the project until 1972. Apparently, it was a more difficult project than anyone originally imagined. At dusk, we watched an incredible laser and firework show on Stone Mountain... definitely our highlight of the trip.

Georgia Summer Trip

Kentucky Summer Trip

Kentucky was our next stop. We visited our Uncle Bill and cousins and stayed at our Grandma Dorothy’s house. We had not been back there since she passed away in 2007. It was bitter sweet to stay there and I think we all shed a few tears. We had dinner that night at the original Mrs. Colonel Sanders home and ate REAL KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN. Needless to say, it was much better than the chain restaurant… shocker. In the morning, we headed to Uncle Bill’s to enjoy his famous biscuits and gravy for breakfast. It was my parent’s 38th anniversary and lucky them, they got to spend the day with us at MAMMOTH CAVES… how romantic.

We had the best time hiking and exploring with the kids. Mammoth Caves is world’s longest cave system. They say that if you joined the world's 2nd and 3rd largest cave systems, they would still be over 100 miles short of Mammoth Caves. Mammoth Caves are so large, there are parts that have never been explored, imagine that! It was incredible. I think one of its endearing features was the 200-year-old graffiti. People in the early 1800’s would lie on their back and use a candle to burn their name and message into the ceiling. The funny thing is that some people accidentally wrote their message backwards. I guess the desire to leave our mark on the earth has been part of our human nature for centuries.

And for a ROAD TRIP TIP.... cotton candy does not make a good driving snack!

Uh, now what am I supposed to do with it? 

Kentucky Trip Summer 2009

Illinois Summer 2009

First stop with the Louis cousins, Illinois.  We toured the Lincoln Historic sites in Springfield and the Mormon Pioneer towns of Nauvoo and Carthage.  It was hot and humid, but the kids were troopers. 

During the Nauvoo portion of our trip, we watched several musical plays.  One was particularly bad... very boring, lame songs, and loooonnnnnggg.  I was wondering how Jonas was handling all this.  About this point, he throws his hands up in the air and says "Okay, THE END, blah blah blah".  So funny!  I was completely on his page.  High Hopes and Riverboats can sink for all I care. 

During our road trip, I said, "you know its a small town when the Pizza Hut sign says "CONGRATS JEN, ITS A GIRL!"  You don't even need to know which Jen... apparently there's only one in the town and she had a girl.  Super funny, we died laughing.

Illinois Trip Summer 2009

Frog Plays Opossum

Tiniest frog in the world plays "opossum" in the palm of my hand.... hilarious.