Chiba Mother Farm

Yesterday we went with our friends to the Chiba Mother Farm in the Mountains north of Tokyo.  It was a trip with the recreation department on base so we took a bus with a group of people from base.  It was a great time.  First, we got to milk a cow and see lots of cows and calves.  Then, we went to a pig race.  There was a course set up and they were talking in Japanese and people started raising their hands, so Alec raised his and got picked as a volunteer even though we had no idea what he was volunteering for.  He ended up being assigned to pig #3 and when the gates were open, the kids/volunteers had to encourage their pigs to race through the track to the finish line.  He smacked his pig on the butt and yelled to him even though he had a very stubborn pig, it was a blast and one of the funniest things I have ever seen.  Alec also rode a horse, we saw a sheep being sheared, watch a sheep herding show, walked through gardens and tasted fresh milk.  It was a great day.  

Chiba Mother Farm

Chiba Mother Farm

Japanese Sports Day

On Friday night, I received an email from Adam's ships' family support group about a Japanese sports day off base and if we were interested, we could meet at the main gate.  I decided to check it out even though I didn't really know what it was about (this is becoming normal for me).  We ended up being the only Americans and were guided to a close by gym by a Japanese woman and her three year old daughter.  When we got there, we got a list of events and were very kindly greeted by one woman who spoke some English.  We took part in relays, songs and games with about 100 Japanese kids and at the end, they had planned on singing Head and Shoulders in English and asked Alec to sing it in the microphone which he loved.  One race he especially like was where they took goody bags and strung them up on a line and the kids had to get the bag without using their hands!  It was very cute and a good cultural experience.  The people here are just amazingly nice.  

Alec got a new bike and is already a pro.

Adam was home for a brief time and we went to the Aquarium in Yokohama. It was amazing. They had a huge tank with thousands of fish and sharks, two walruses, polar bears, penguins, giant sea turtles, and a dolphin show. We had a great time and hope you enjoy the pictures. We miss you all.