November 2012

We put a fish tank on Amane's head.  No, she seriously enjoys putting this plastic container over her head--hilarious!

Shaving or eating pudding?  Either way, nice goatee.

Hiro's Turkey hat

Thanksgiving Day Parade, Japanese School Float

No tears from Hiro; he's totally cool with a live snowman.

Amane will fall asleep anywhere.

Four cousins at Thanksgiving: Seamus Heaney, Hiroki Fingerhut, Henry Hawkins (Fingerhut), & Amane Fingerhut

Grandma Julie and Grandpa Joe love their grandkids!

Hiroki was a crab at his preschool class's performance at Japanese School.  He did an impression of McKayla--not impressed.

Christmas Tree up in November!  Hiroki loved it, and loved this sweet ornament.

Michiyo with some chef dude named Tyler.

October 2012

Hiroki in a good mood for a haircut

Loungin in pajamas with Grandma Julie

Hiroki's breakfast overseen by a Japanese robot named Shinken-O

Halloween fun at Grant's Farm

Hiroki the Blue Power Ranger, Amane the Bumblebee,  Daddy Joe the Cow

Darling pig tails on Amane

Our little flower

Amane the flower

Halloween playdate with Hiroki, Kaito, Kaisei, Elena, & Amane

With a special cow guest

Halloween party at Webster University's Japanese School

Does it get any better than Sugar donut in, on and around your mouth?

Changing oil at the magic house on a field trip.

Our old friend Big Joe Debeic was in St. Louis for a minute to attend a conference  as well as examine Mark's mustache in  person.

Pumpkin farm fun

Leaves with a shovel--Hiro likes it, Amane is confused.

Pumpkin faces in the style of Power Rangers--Hiro was loving it!

At Hiroki's preschool's Halloween party: "You want me trust this girl wrapping me in toilet paper?"  

The big night: Trick-or-Treating with cousin Seamus dressed as Robin with a Six-pack (abs, that is).

Our neighbor Carly was handing out candy.

September 2012

Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden

  At the top right, our friend Shota is the face of the Festival.

Shota, and barely visible to his right, another of Hiroki's friends, Asahi.

Family shot in front of the fountains

Karou Comes to Town

In 2011 and 2012, we were so lucky to host Michiyo's college friend Kaoru, who lives in Oregon.  We made the rounds in St. Louis, and were very lucky with the weather this year.  

Hiroki introduced Kaoru to the Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops at the Science Center.

Hiroki was not a fan of the hyper-aggressive goats at Grant's Farm.

Missouri Law dictates that any out-of-town guests are required to visit Ted Drewes at least once.  

We scored some bleacher seats on Craigslist for a BEAUTIFUL day at the ballpark.

Amane with a nice T-shirt for her first Cardinal game.

The right fielder for the Brewers was a Japanese player named Aoki.  He tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a home run (good for him, not for the Cardinals), but the Cardinals won it with a walkoff hit in the 10th!!!  Hiroki and Amane (with a short nap) stayed alert the whole game.

St. Ann Picnic at St. Ann Park

I've been the DJ for this party for years; it's always a huge event and a lot of fun.  This year, Michiyo brought the kids and met up with some friends.  We LOVE that Hiroki has outgrown getting freaked out by charactes like Fredbird and Ronald McDonald.

Wednesday night concert at the Botanical Garden with Papa Joe and Julie Mama

Suds and fun

August 2012

Naomi's Homestay

The University of Missourit-St. Louis holds a three-week program for students from Japan.  For one weekend, local families have the opportunity to host a student.  We had Naomi Kidosaki stayed with us, and  the weekend was a great experience.

Good time at Grandpa Joe and Grandpa Julie's house

We spent one afternoon in Illinois, first at Eckert's picking apples.  Hiroki built quite a bond with Naomi, and shed tears when we dropped her off.  

Amane makes everyone smile!

Quick stop at Ravendale Farm, where Hiroki and his cousin Luke conquered a huge sand pile.

On the ride home from a busy day, everyone was KICKED!

Love love!

Did you know these two were stars in Dr. Seuss books?

Is there anything better than messing with hair in the tub?

First Day of School for Hiroki's 2nd year of preschool: no tears this year!

What happened here?

Kansas City

We packed up the car and headed to Kansas City for a few days.  Besides the hotel pool, we went to the Hallmark Center, Legoland, Sea Life Aquarium, and a bunch of parks and fountains.

Stringing together Hiro's name at the Hallmark Center.

Michiyo helped Hiroki make this.

My memories of the Hallmark Center from when I was a kid are of a simple, big white room.  These days, it looks like Alice in Wonderland--the perfect place to bring little ones (and FREE!).

LEGOLAND!!!

Here's a couple of picks put together from Legoland, pretty self-explanatory.  I can't say enough good things about this place.  It helped that we had good timing: the place was practically empty, as it was the first week of school for most families.  It's not too expensive, and has plenty to do for families with little ones for a few hours.  We will definitely come here again!

 

Sea Life Aquarium

Unfortunately, Sea Life does not merit the rave reviews that Legoland does.  There are some good photo ops, as you can see below, but this place is basically a rich person's home aquarium.  Lots and lots of pretty small fish, some mini-sharks and little stingrays.  We tried to do, see and read as much as we could, and blew through here in one hour.  McKayla was not impressed with Sea Life.  But we did get fun pics!

The guy in orange is a lucky man.

 Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Your dang right we got yelled at for climbing on the giant shuttlecocks.  Daddy  set a bad example.

After Kansas City, we came home and spent a day at Elephant Rocks State Park in Iron County, Missouri, one of my favorite places in the state. 

Off the beaten path at Elephant Rocks--this was an old train station.

End of summer pool party at a friend's house.  Aoi-chan and family came back to St. Louis from Jacksonville for a visit.

All the kiddos together in one shot.  As fast as life evolves, and as young as they are, this pic is an instant classic for this playgroup.

Yumiko came back to St. Louis from Texas, and all these Mommies and kiddos were happy to gather at our house.

We are SO lucky to have such happy kids!