WARNING!!!!

After much contemplating about posting these pictures on my Blog after knowing certain peoples PARENTS check this....I thought.....OH WELL - What's a wild party without some wild photos!?!

Thus, last Saturday SHAME had the SUPER 6 Birthday Party for some fine Niigata folks! It was one wild/crazy party....so FAIR WARNING ABOUT THE PICTURES TO COME!

BUT Happy Birthday to Natasha, Joyce, Troy, Tomohiro, Mary, and Patrick! Hope you had/have a great one!!!

Natasha living it up!!!
Natasha and Joyce (two of our Birthday Ladies for the night)

Tomohiro (one of our Birthday Boys for the night)

The Swanky VIP Room which had a lot of entertainment going on that night with the Albirex Basketball Team!




hehehe Yeah!

Agano N' April

Agano is Beth's stomping ground! This was my first time to visit the wonderful city that Beth calls home - not too shabby!!! :)

The girls hanging out by the lake.




These were all taken at Hyoko Park. It has a famous lake that is known for Swans since in the late summer/early fall they flock there like crazy. Beth says the whole lake is covered with them!


Classy, ne?!?

Agano's Eikaiwa

This past weekend Shanna and I got invited by Beth to join her Eikaiwa (Adult conversation class) she has once a month. Bascially we just talked about ourselves for an hour and 1/2, but afterwards the ladies were kind enough to take us out for a very traditional Japanese Lunch.

This was our waiting room at the Ikarashi House. It's an old Japanese home that was turned into a restaurant.

This was our menu. It had like 5 courses. Amazing!





This was probably my favorite dish! It's a liquid tofu heated up with a small burner. You then add a sauce to it and chow down....quite yummy!

Hakusan Park's Sakura Blossoms

On Tuesday, Shanna and I checked out the sakura blossoms at night in Hakusan Park. Took some pictures, ate some yummy festival food, and enjoyed the crowds!

Here's the reflection of the trees lit up in the pond.

Funny Pooh-chan stand selling only Stitch products. Boring job, ne?

The goodness of candy covered strawberries and grapes. Plus, the cute kids hanging around the stand as well.

I've had a weird last couple of days.

Monday I got flowers (red carnations) from one of my third graders at Ryokawa and then Tuesday I got ACTUAL flour from a group of 2nd graders who went shopping at an international grocery store in Tokyo. They wanted to get me something from America, so they got Gold Medal Flour. Yeah, so...hmmm!?! I guess it's the thought that counts more than the gift! Any-who, my Kyoto-sensei just peeked over my shoulder and saw me up-dating this blog....had to explain the pictures....gotta look busy and NOT on the computer now! Later all!