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Favorite Family Photos: Kids in a net
This photo was taken in early summer of 2011 at a new park playground near Toyama Station. They have this cool super jungle-gym thing that has nets and rope ladders for kids to play on. Here Luke and Max share a fun moment inside one of the nets. I took them there during one of my “carpe diem” weekends during work periods when I’d be away from home all week. I tried my best to make the most of my time with the kids, so I’d often be taking them to parks and stuff to play.
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If something bad happened and you could only save a handful of your photo collection, which ones would choose? That’s the question guiding this series of blog posts I’m dubbing “Favorite Family Photos”. It’s a chance to look back at the past 10 years and revisit special moments in our family’s history. These are our best and most precious memories.
Favorite Family Photos: Kids riding bikes
Max learned to ride a bicycle during the summer of 2011. We got here this little bike with training wheels, and she rode it with enthusiasm. Here’s a shot of her riding on the street in front of our home with her older brother. I really like this photo because it captures the kids’ smiles very well. Luke’s hand on his little sister’s shoulder is also a beautiful thing for me, signifying his love and support for her. Sure they squabble a lot, but in the end they are really close, something which shines through in this photo. I like this one so much that I’ve been using it as the wallpaper for my laptop and iPad.
Note: Color effects done with Colorsplash on my iPad.
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If something bad happened and you could only save a handful of your photo collection, which ones would choose? That’s the question guiding this series of blog posts I’m dubbing “Favorite Family Photos”. It’s a chance to look back at the past 10 years and revisit special moments in our family’s history. These are our best and most precious memories.
Favorite Family Photos: Under the Hat
Luke pay Max a visit at the 2010 Hikiyama festival. Max was only three, so I was wheeling her about in a baby carriage. Luke came over during a break and put himself nose to nose with his sister. What a sweet moment between these two! I love this photo because it brings you right there under Max’s hat and enables you to share in their connection.
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If something bad happened and you could only save a handful of your photo collection, which ones would choose? That’s the question guiding this series of blog posts I’m dubbing “Favorite Family Photos”. It’s a chance to look back at the past 10 years and revisit special moments in our family’s history. These are our best and most precious memories.
TFiJ33: Luke & Max’s 1st vegetable garden
For his summer English project, Luke uses English to tell the story of a vegetable garden he and his sister Max planted this past spring. Shinobu got the idea rolling, which was to create a small, manageable garden that the kids to help out with. This sort of “micro gardening” is currently VERY popular in Japan. Parents are using it as a way of teaching about and introducting nature into their kids’ lives, and since many people live on small plots of land, it also has taken off because it’s very easy and manageable. As for this video project, I wanted a way to kill two birds with one stone- share a family experience and help Luke practice his English. Seemed like getting Luke more involved in our family podcast was the way to to. I wrote the script, Luke worked hard to learn the lines, then we spent a couple of afternoons recording and filming. I also printed the script with a “schoolbook” font so that he would have some writing practice as well (by tracing over the letters). Overall it was a lot of good practice for Luke! He’s not totally smooth, but it’s so cool to hear him speak in only English for an extended period. This is a very rare thing, since he lives in a Japanese world most of the time. I’ve been finding it hard to motivate him to use English, so I’m hoping this project idea works out. If it does, I have some ideas for other projects. . I hope you like this little story. If you have some words of encouragement for Luke, please leave comments. This will give Luke some good reading practice!
Hey, get a load of this great new photo of Max and Luke. Cool, eh? Shinobu and I have submitted this picture to a local photo contest. We like it a lot- Max is wearing an iPod jumper that we bought online from iPopMyBaby. Luke is kissing her, like he always does. Cute, eh? He he he… or are you gagging with a spoon and rolling your eyes?
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Anyway, I thought this photo would bring a smile to your face. I’ll let you all know if it wins anything! (I’m rooting for 3rd prize, a new iPod Shuffle!)
