Christmas Eve Service in Tono

Off to Semi Onsen

..to celebrate 5 years of marriage. \(^-^)/

http://www.semi-onsen.co.jp/

This will be our second time to go to this particular hot spring.
Check out old pics:
We went there 3 years ago for or 2nd anniversary.

Aidan Born Nov. 2, 2006

Gabe here... been awake since 4:30 AM.... uploading pictures to flickr (a great site where you can privately or publicly store your photos without a limit for 25 bones a year)...

Well, flickr also allows you to upload and short video clips now (Yay!)

Here is a rare one from our archives:

My lttle bro Aidan Elizondo on his birthday (November 2, 2006)

Not Everything is Small Here

A big one from Yonesaki... near here.

Nativity by Steph

Our Church (in Tono)

Hoshigaki 2008

Recent Video from the Okirai train station:

My train ride and video from last year.

This is kaki (Japanese persimmon)-video from Gabe:

This is what the kaki look like after they have been peeled and hung outside to be dried for winter (now they become "hoshigaki")-video by Gabe:

First Snow 2008

November 5.2008

November 5. 2008 from Tarek Milleron on Vimeo.


http://november5.org/

School Lunch

Todays menu was "ika po po" (squid).... pretty rare actually...

Fun In Tokyo Airport Last Summer

Not the usual commute

Hey everyone this is Steph. Today as I was taking my usual ride home on the train I had quite a surprise. The train I take also provides scenic tours of the coastline. I am blessed because I get to ride it at least 4 times a week. The scenery is quite breathtaking and it allows me to observe the changing of the seasons from the comfort what is sometimes my own private train. Today, however, there was a tour booked for the time I needed to ride home from work. During the tour rides they sell different souvenirs and also tell the travelers about what they are seeing. Today there was something extra special though. The man leading the tour finished off the ride with our own private tiger dance. The tiger comes around and "bites" your head for good luck. He wasn't sure what to do to me though...being the only non-Japanese person on the train, so he "bit" my arm instead. Hopefully that will prove to be lucky too. (^o^)/ So here are some pics and a short video that I took. Enjoy!

Sanshin: Traditional Japanese Instrument

This elementary school teacher is a really nice guy and plays a mean sanshin (and guitar too)... :)




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanshin
The sanshin (三線, literally meaning "Three strings") is an Okinawan musical instrument, and precursor of the Japanese shamisen. Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings.

Early Autumn Bike Ride Around Town

Went on a bike ride today. You can see a little of our town--nothin'special but we had fun.
Hope to make a summer memory video soon :)

Brookgreen Gardens

Live Oak #2
Originally uploaded by beforethecoffee.

We went here while in South Carolina.
Highly recommended.

http://www.brookgreen.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookgreen_Gardens

Ofunato Fireworks Festival July 2008

We saw soooooo many of our wonderful students (together we both teach over 3,000 elementary and junior high school students). Then we watched over an hour of fireworks... here is short video with music from our local radio station:

Thanks to Steph for all the firework photos and videos:

Steph's Eyes

Gabe here... happy that my bride's eye were well-taken care of:

Dancing, Drumming @ Our Festival Part One

Our Town's (Ofunato) summer festival Part One:
Dancing and Drumming...

"Somen" Lunch @Tono Church

Sayonara Party for Alison & Patricia (;_;)

It's the 4th of July in Japan! Seems like yesterday that Alison & Patricia came to our neck of Iwate... Recently our good friends the Ozawa's had a goodbye party for them....

We arm-wrestled. Why? Why not?

Many Beautiful Sundays in Tono

We really enjoy our Sundays in Tono. Here are some pictures and videos of some memories with our dear parents here in Japan, the Yoshidas.

More Beach Recuperation

Another couple hours at the beach:

We stopped by after weekly shopping;


Sure is nice to live only 20 minutes from one the nicest little beaches in Northern Japan :)

Video: Stopped by our beach today

The rainy season has begun here in Japan. Last week we had many gloomy days but finally this weekend we had some sunshine. So we decided to head out to the local beach to soak up some sun! We had a great time, it felt like a mini vacation!

Video: Car/Flowers/Dinner in About 1 minute

A short update...

Thailand Pictures & Short Video (finally!)

Hey everyone...Steph here...sorry for the long absence.
School is back in session here and Gabe and I are getting back in to the swing of teaching after a month straight of days in the office. With, of course, the exception of the week we spent in Thailand! We had a wonderful time relaxing on the warm island of Koh Samui! Which sounds funny if you speak Japanese because samui means cold in Japanese! (^_^)
Anyways here are just a few pictures to wet your appetite! Gabe and I want to make a little movie with videos and pictures so we will post more later! Love you all!

Snickerdoodle Christmas Cookies

Hey everybody...I made this back in December but never got around to posting it. This is one of my favorite schools! The kids and the teachers are great! We had a great time making Snickerdoodles together.

Ikebana

Hi Friends and Family! A couple of weekends ago I was able to go to an Ikebana (flower arrangement) festival in a nearby town. It was really amazing. One of the best parts was being able to see some old friends and neighbors from Sumita (our old hometown). I went to the festival with my friend Teresa. She is also an ALT here in Japan. We enjoyed some "girl time" and really enjoyed visiting. Here are a few pictures from the festival. If you would like to see more please click on this album.

Anniversary Trip to Furofushi Onsen

To celebrate our 4th year of marriage we went to an onsen which was right on the Sea of Japan. Here's a video:



And....
Pictures from our stay at Furofushi Onsen

Video & Pics: Four Years of Marriage

Today we give thanks for 4 years of blessed marriage. Each year on our anniversary we are reminded of all you who made our wedding so perfect and we think of each one of you with love and give thanks. Thank you all so much for all of your support on that day---and continued prayers and support.
Love, Gabe and Steph



And...
Some Pictures from Our Wedding