OUT WITH THE OLD YEAR AND IN WITH THE NEW YEAR

Today we took the kids up to Crystal Mountain for their first ski lesson of the season. For the same price of two kids in ski school one could also put the same two kids in a private lesson for two hour with the same instructor. We chose the later of the two.

While Mimi and Blake were up on the slopes with their instructor Bob, papa went skiing on his own. Mama and Keri took turns taking care of Bailey and watching the kids ski until Bob took them up the mountain on the ski lift chairs. That was the first time Mimi had ever rode on one of them.

Not long after the lessons is when Blake went home with his mom. Mimi and mama stayed while papa did a few more runs down the mountainside. Somehow when papa was done skiing, we kept missing each other they by the time we found one another it was quite late in the afternoon. Mimi was quite pooped by the end of the day and slept all the way home.

By the time we arrived home, she was rejuvinated. So much so that she had more energy to burn. Therefore papa took her over to Lisa and Neil's for their annual New Year's party. Mama is still feeling a bit under the weather and decided to stay at home. She's been hearing the fireworks go off all night long.

PAPAS NEW PROJECT

Since our move to the Seattle I've been working on a 43 story
office tower to be built in downtown Seattle. The photo at right are computer renderings of the building inserted into photograph of the Seattle skyline. It is the faceted silver building with the sloped top next to the tall black building. It's a big (and welcome) change from the hospital I was working on in Los Angeles.

Greg

SPEED RACER

Speed Racer is what Mimi reminds mama of. As most of you know, mama is from that generation that produced all of those Japanese cartoons that mama really liked such as Speed Racer, Marine Boy and Kimba the White Lion. As for Uncle Jim, it was Godzilla that he liked so much.

Actually this is a picture of Mimi's new ski helmet and goggles.

PAPA'S LITTLE HELPER

Papa has four days off for this New Year Holiday. Yesterday he and Mimi went around the house hanging pictures. Mama in the meantime is laid up with the bad case of allergies and laryngitis. She thinks that she got sick from the Christmas tree.

This year papa bought a gorgeous Noble Fir tree that looks and smells wonderful, except it seems that everytime we buy a tree, mama gets sick. For that matter, so does our Ollie who has asthma. Don't quite know what we'll do next year. We may end up getting a artificial tree which does not make papa too happy. But, what can you do? Hmmm?

Tomorrow we are all planning to take the kids up to the mountains to go skiing. Blake and Mimi are quite excited about that. Mostly likely we will go to Crystal Mountain. Hopefully mama will be feeling better by then.

"LUMPY" THE HEFFA LUMP

This is a Christmas gift from Auntie Setsue. Mimi has given the hand puppet the name "Lumpy" from the tv series "My Friends Tiger And Pooh".

I CANNOT BELIEVE IT !!!

I cannot believe it !!! That's been Mimi's new saying for

quite some time now. This morning we had a little snow mixed with the rain. Mostly rain. Grandma and mama decided that they would take the chance and drive to the hospital to get her Cortisone shot for her aching back. The roads were very clear. Mimi came along with us. She is such a good little trooper. I thing grandma was happy that Mimi came too. As we sat in the waiting room, grandma, instead of reading the magazine etc. kept watching Mimi play with her toy cars. Smiling the whole time. While grandma was recieving her shot in the back room a couple of other kids came (boy and girl) and Mimi had someone to share her toy cars with.

After coming home and a nap, Mimi went to play with Blake. That's when the snow started coming down in droves and is still coming down pretty hard. Mimi says that Santa will absolutely be so happy that the snow is coming down.

CHRISTMAS WITH GRANDPA AND GRANDMA

Christmas this year was spent with grandma and grandpa. Mimi just loves playing Santa. Mama cooked dinner for everyone and brought it to their house. It was just a little too bad that the whole family could not get together this year.

Uncle David and Auntie Setsue are in Japan visiting with cousin Mari who took on a job with the JET program that Japan has with the schools there. All of them will/are traveling around Japan visiting with Auntie Setsue's family. She comes from the Miyazaki area while mama's family comes from the Yokohama/Kamakura area. Someday mama hopes to go back and visit with her family.

Cousin Joe is staying back in Maryland with his fiance Nicole. They are planning to get married sometime in September 2008. They are planning a trip to Japan too. Possibly in January or February of next year.

Mama is not writing too much tonight. She came down with a bad cold. Has laryngitis too. That's too bad for her but good for papa.