2019 year in review
With kids these ages (currently 6, 3, and 10m), not a lot happens in terms of exciting travels or such adventures. Nonetheless here is a self-indulgent year-in-review, mainly of watching our kids growing. (The videos are low-res because I thought I'd be uploading them directly, but that didn't work so I had to put them on Youtube anyway.)
Pre-February
Tomoki (5)
Taiki (2)
40-second video of T & T from January
INCOMING!
Yui's birth, February 14
Yui arrived a few days early so she was already about 5 days old when Granny arrived on schedule.
Springtime
I got into riding my bike up big hills.
All was well until my lower back and hips starting hurting like hell and I had no choice but to stop. After months of treatment that was doing nothing, it dawned on me that a few weeks after starting cycling regularly, I'd gotten a new mattress, much harder than the last. When I went back to a softer mattress, the pain disappeared and the regular excuses to not exercise went back into effect.
All was well until my lower back and hips starting hurting like hell and I had no choice but to stop. After months of treatment that was doing nothing, it dawned on me that a few weeks after starting cycling regularly, I'd gotten a new mattress, much harder than the last. When I went back to a softer mattress, the pain disappeared and the regular excuses to not exercise went back into effect.
Breakfasts moved out to the garden again as the weather warmed up.
Some very nice people came along and removed the tree that was impeding our view, making it much more commanding. If this were Australia, the value of our property would have gone up by about $100,000 that day.
I'm going to love living in this house long after the university down the hill has kicked me to the curb.
Golden Week barbecue parties
Tomoki finally got the hang of his bicycle.
Kaori's brother's wedding, May
Tomoki became the first Paton in countless generations to become a sumo champion
Taiki turned 3 in July
My major accomplishment of the summer. Must have taken close to twenty hours. I learned many things that will help next time I need to paint an outdoor dining setting with a cow pattern.
Granny and Pop came in August
Tomoki hit 5 - 0 in his second sumo tournament
Tomoki turned 6 in September
Unwelcome visitors. First a snake, then a monkey.
Conference season.
I became president of Fukuoka's chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching this year. Here I am presenting a poster at the national conference in Nagoya, and attending the Apple Distinguished Educators meeting in Tokyo.
I became president of Fukuoka's chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching this year. Here I am presenting a poster at the national conference in Nagoya, and attending the Apple Distinguished Educators meeting in Tokyo.
The next few months will see Tomoki finish Youchien (kindergarten) and start elementary school, and Taiki will start youchien full-time rather than just a few mornings a week.
Tomoki had a leading role in their end-of-year production of Pinocchio.
This 30-second video probably sums up the year. Yui steadily making her way in the world while the two boys go mental around her.
I continue to draw on the iPad. I probably did about a hundred this year, here are five.