Skiing in Hakuba

Last weekend we rented four sets of skis and drove up to Hakuba to enjoy some deep snow. Hakuba is the ski town near Nagano where the Olympics were held a few years back. The girls were really excited to play in the snow and equally excited to go to Yeti Ski School.

It was a 3.5 hour drive from our house to the Mountains. We stopped at a rest stop to get lunch. 

Getting ready for ski school 

So excited! 

We signed them up for a full day at Yeti International Ski school. Most of the instructors were Australian and we found out that Hakuba was filled with Aussies. They come up during their summer to go skiing.... and it is apparently cheaper for them to buy plane and lift tix to Japan then it is to ski down under. 

After dropping off the kids, Shannon and I jumped on the gondola and headed up the mountain. 

It was a bit warm the day we skied and even rained. But only for a few hours. 

Nice views from mid-mtn with a rainbow. 

Shannon -- shredding the slopes!

I think it had been about 10 years since Shannon had skied last but it came back pretty fast. 

We skied at Happo One. It is the ski place where the Olympics were held. 

Lindsey Vonn.... I mean Shannon Campoamor in action

I ditched Shannon twice for a few runs all the way at the top. The views did not disappoint. 

Gondolas. 

View from the top. 

Last run of the day. 

We ended a little early, giving us some time to go spy on the kids. We saw E on the bunny slope and she was quite impressive! E is in the pink jacket. 

Walking up the mat for another run. 

LC was taken over to the bunny slope to do her lessons. Here she is returning for the day along with her sensei. 

E headed back to the lodge after her full day's lesson. They both had a blast and kept asking to go back. 

We went back to the lodge we stayed at and played out in the snow. LC wanted to build an igloo. 

Sno angels. 

On our last morning, we went to a kids snow park for sledding and fun. Here is the Magic carpet that LC spent her time on during her lessons. One side is for skiing and the other is for sledding. 

LC headed up. 

They also had a kids play area that was pretty fun. 

More snow angels. 

Then we followed up the snow park with Ramen and ice cream. Overall, a great trip and we had a great time. The girls had so much fun in the snow.

Birthdays, Onis, and Bears--Oh, My!

After downloading these pictures, I realized I haven't posted in awhile.  We've been busy with life -Ryan is working hard, Leyton is doing well in school (finally), and Ellis is being a giant pain.  (Un)Fortunately, I recall a span of a couple of months when Leyton was three-years-old, where she was basically a jerk and a not-very-fun person to be around.  I believe Ellis is in the same stage.  Don't get me wrong, she is certainly capable of being the sweetest, cutest kid you've ever seen.  She's also capable of senseless fits of rage, very loud kicking and screaming, and peeing her pants every day at school for more than three weeks straight (sometimes more than once or twice a day - but only at school- still completely dry at home and all night).  

It's definitely winter here, but we have the occasional nice weather and I am careful to make sure the kids get outside.

I bought the girls an Oni mask from Sanwa.

We woke up one morning to a surprise snowfall.  We wasted no time in bundling up to head outside.

The snow was very wet, so it made wonderful snowballs and snowmen.

We warmed up with hot chocolate.

We enjoyed playing in the leftovers for about a week.

E waiting for Daddy to come home.

Hopefully this is the last deployment.  Of course, he is gone all this week on a quick business trip back to America.

The ramen here is amazing.

Skillz

One of many fits of rage

My birthday was on Setsubun again this year.

The kids dress like Oni (monster's) and you throw beans at them for good luck.  Other than some bean-throwing, we kept my birthday low-key.  I did get a massage :-)  And new pajamas (I'm so old!).

A random picture of a random day taken by a random Japanese gentleman as we were leaving a restaurant.  Some of the 'fans' of the military and the squadron are very nice and very strange.  They treat the pilots like celebrities.  The gentleman framed this picture and delivered it to Ryan at work.  So nice... so strange...

Last deployment and IWO JIMA

I started off the new year with another short underway. I took my Det out for the last time and brought along the new guy to whom i turned over the keys too. We had a short trip down to Okinawa and back. It was a short 2 week underway and it was a good way to close out being an OIC. 

Okinawa is known for their "tacos." In the old days, to feed the Americans, they put all the fixings on a bed of rice. It was pretty delicious. 

It rained most of the 2 days we were in port but still neat to get off and see some place different. 

We found an arcade place and played a little bit of air hockey. 

Leaving port to get back home. 

Seas were angry. 

Goodbye USS CHANCELLORSVILLE. 

and hello Mt Fuji!

The squadron planned a trip to Iwo Jima. about 70 of us piled into a C-130 and flew down to Iwo To (name of the island has been changed). We left 30 degree weather and was greeted with 70 degree temps. 

The tour was all at your own risk and self guided. Old airplane parts. 

The beach was really nice and it had black sand. 

It was a pretty amazing experience to set foot on this island that has so much history.  

The walk/hike from the air terminal to the top of Mt Suribachi was just over 3 miles. The mountain is only 530 feet tall but it had very dense jungle and forestation. 

Views of the whole island. The bogs on the top were terrible. 

We then trekked down to the beach. We weren't allowed to get in the water because the rip currents are so bad. Again, pretty crazy to think this is where people ran up the beach during war. 

Coming up from the beach with Mt Suribachi in the back ground. 

A bunker that was on top of the beach area. Overall, an awesome and rewarding trip.