The Maidens of Lake Towada

 
 
We went with a bus load of base folk to the Lake Towada fireworks festival. There is a statue of women with hands reaching toward each other. It was created in 1953 and serves as a symbol of Lake Towada. The creator was a poet and sculptor and his wife was said to be a model for the statue. There is more of a sad story about this lady but Janet and Mary Beth-san want you to be happy in the thought of them as maidens of the lake.
MSV 

The Confused Hydrangia Plant

 
 
 
Our rescured hydrangia plant from condemned base housing was supposed to be blue but it can't decide to go white or blue. Some of the flowers are a mix of lite white-blue. We have another one blooming between our porches that looks like it will turn pink so that will make princess Grace happy.
MSV 

Viva!

 
3Vs finished up Vacation Bible School 2006 this week. This year they had a Fiesta theme and the kids loved it.

Mary Beth got to spend the week doing the bible story. We set up a fisherman's warf, a cave for Christians to hide from the Romans, brought Lazarus back from the dead and healed Saul's eyes. All in all, a pretty busy week!

Brock and Grace enjoyed their classes and I think we will be singing the VBS songs for many months.

Biggest news this week is that it hit 90 degrees here yesterday. Quite a surprise for us considering it has been in the 50 and 60s for so long. I guess summer finally got to Northern Japan!

Love,

4Vs 

Fiesta Girl

 
Little Ms Grace shows off her Fiesta VBS T shirt. She was in a good mood and excited about going to VBS all week. At the end of the day she was tired from running around with her girl posse and needed some rest.
MSV 

Polynesian Night at Misawa

 
 
 
The club hosted a Luau dinner and Polynesian show with dancers. The kids really enjoyed it and the food was very good. Grace was decked out with her coconut top and grass skirt. Brock was obsessed with trying to order a blue Hawaii with red punch. Thankfully the fire dance toward the end from the Island of Samoa did not burn down the club. Hopefully the next Luau we go to will be in the Island of Hawaii.
MSV 

Little Slugger

 
You should see Grace V smack the ball off the tee! Before this camera shot she hit the ball so hard it hit me in the head. That's what I get for standing close thinking she would hit a blooper in the dirt. It's fun to watch her run or sashay with her long legs down to first base after a hit.
Only 1 more practice and 1 more game for this coach and the pee wee T-ball season is over. I don't think I will miss repeating their names a jillion times but they sure are cute and have had a lot of fun.
Coach Mike 

4th of July Girl

 
Grace was very excited on July 4th. The first thing she asked after getting out of bed was "is it the nations birthday?" Then she immediately ran to get in her red, white, & blue sparkley shirt/outfit of the day. Later in the afternoon the base had a celebration at the club with pony rides and games for the kids. I played coverall BINGO for a Harley Davidson bike but the BINGO gods were not smiling on me. I guess they want me to focus on running & playing golf for now. Later in the evening the annual fireworks were postponed until Labor Day as usual due low visibility and sea fog.
Hope you had a Happy 4th of July,
MSV 

Hey Catcher!

 
 
Here is Brock dressed for his game. I never knew the catcher had to work so hard! Of course, since our pitchers are still really learning to throw strikes, much of our games are a strange game of catch between Brock and the pitcher... Very few hits in any given game.
He is enjoying this season and learning a lot.

More soon,

4Vs 

Coach Mike!

 
Coach Mike shares some inspirational words with The Fightin' Blue Jay t-ball team!

It takes Coach Mike, his assistant Mary Beth, Junior Coach Brock and about three other parents in order to get the game to run smoothly. There are almost as many grown-ups in a game as there are kids....and the kids still find chances to sit down in the infield, dig and even eat dirt!

Never a dull moment.....

Love,

4Vs 

Blue Jay up to Bat

 
 
 
 
Grace E Vaughn practices her T-Ball hitting skills prior to her game on Saturday morning. She is a very intense batter and works hard on her form and mechanics. I will try and get a shot of her running down the baseline.
MSV 

Hang in there baby!

 
 
Grace E V hangs on to a rope slide of what she calls "Statue of Liderty Park". Her technique on riding the rope slide is called the Fly. 

Orioles Baseball

 
 
Brock gets warmed up for the plate at his second kids pitch baseball game. He played catcher and threw a kid out trying to steal third and had walk to first. I will try and get a picture of him in his catcher gear for the next game.
MSV 

Want some fries with that Shake?

 
Grace E V worked up a powerfull hunger at Brock's baseball game making mudpies.
MSV 

The Pink Ladies

 
The weather is warm and the ladies are out on the roost. Ms Hanna, Grace, Burke, LeLaunie, & Connie hold court on the passers by. If you dont find them on the steps then they are usually picking daisies or busy doing the double swing on their playground.
Later,
MSV 

Statue of Liberty Park

 
 
 
Here are some shots on our Northern Japan tour in Momoishi at Statue of Liberty Park. The scaled down version faces her sister in NYC. Does anyone know their Roman numerals good enough to confirm that it says July 4 1776 on her book?
MSV 

Bottom Tingler Slide

 
 
 
Uncle Matt V came to visit and took Brock and Grace to Statue of Liberty Park in Momoishi Japan. They have a long winding roller slide that makes your parts tingle. We had fun going down in different ways. Brock went frontwards, backwards & almost hurt his jiggywatt.
MSV 

Roadside Garden Sculptures

 
 
We stopped along the road to see some sculptures. They were very big and intricate.
They had everything from Godzirra & Pokemon to life size tigers and other animals. My favorite was the sumos. Grace posed on a bench with some bunnies.
Later,
MSV