There's a way.

My husband gave our daughter a birthday present the day before yesterday. It was a pair of roller skates.

We went on a picnic and she was very excited to play skating. Kids can learn things so quickly! It was her first time skating, but she seemed to be no problem enjoying it.

Have you seen this type of Taiyaki before!? It's white. I was so amazed to see it.

Taiyaki is one of a kind of Japanese sweets. It often contains red bean paste which is called anko in it, and sometimes custard, chocolate cream and or white bean jam.

It turned out that this white taiyaki is made from glutinous rice. It tastes terrific and my son ate three all at once.

Yesterday was my daughter's tenth anniversary. Tenth! Time has passed very quickly. She was always crying all day when she was a baby. I couldn't sleep a wink day and night, and sometimes felt annoyed with her continuous scream. Oh, yes, this is one of precious memories as a mother now. We went to a mall together and had lunch there. After lunch, I bought a book for her. Purchasing a book is my way to celebrate my kid's birthday.

Happy birthday, Yui. May you have a wonderful year.

This is my son's calligraphy. "KOME" means rice that most Japanese live on. My daughter and son have been taking a class of calligraphy, but he's never been taught how to handle of brush.
"I can't!"
At first, he said.
"Let me try it again!"
At last, he replied.
I used to learn calligraphy when I was 7 or 8, but I gave up continuing because I found it a bit boring. I shouldn't have done that. I want my kids to keep at it as long as they can. Now I know that beautiful writing goes a long way in our lives.

We went swimming in a river again. My father is over 60, but he hasn't changed a bit especially in a river with my kids.

Rivers in Japan are a lot cleaner than they used to be, but I suppose they become artificial. We enjoyed spending time in an ideal river today.

A prospective Japanese swimmer, Kouske Kitajima, won the Gold medal again!

In Japan, many people visit their parents' place in summer. It is an annual event to get together, and grandparents are very looking forward to seeing their grandchildren.

I'm at my parents'home now. What am I doing? You can see my picture. (^^)v

Although my birthday was half a month ago, my husband came back home with my birthday cake. My daughter sang a song for me, and my son blew out three candles on my behalf. My husband gave me a pressure-cooker that I'd been longing for! I hate getting older, but I love my birthday.

We need to have fresh air, especially in the boiling summer season. I picked up some textbooks, prepared our lunchbox and drove to a river with my children. They love swimming there. We spent a lovely afternoon as usual...until they came.

They were accompanied by a dog. He looked decent, but actually he wasn't. Nobody could stop him from barking and his mad bark completely disturbed my study. To my surprise, the owner let him go in the river!

Don't get me wrong; I'm a dog lover. My parents have a dog which I found. I asked my parents to keep him and he is still alive at the age of 14. We used to take him to a river, but when people were around us, my father never let him swim in the river.
"A dog is a dog. He is an animal. We should be careful not to annoy someone who doesn't like him,"
he said, and would take him to a deserted stream. Although we considered him as a member of our family, we were well aware of the distinction.

Not everyone can accept your dog. There are many little children in a river. Are you really sure that your lovely dog will never go wild or never do a wee-wee? I know how much they love their dog, but we don't want to sacrifice our comfortable time because of their reckless attitude...