Oirase Salmon Festival

Last weekend Chris and I went to the Salmon Festival in Oirase. This festival has all the standard festival food, salmon racing, musical performers, and fireworks, but the highlight of the festival is the salmon catch. For about $13, you can catch and keep your own salmon. 

It was a terribly gloomy day, but we still had fun.

There were pools of salmon stocked just for us.

At first I was nervous that there wasn't going to be enough salmon for all of us... but there was PLENTY.

I was pretty selective with my salmon.

I got a fighter.

We're pretty proud of our catches! 

Mmm... dinner. We had cedar plank grilled salmon that night.

Summer Catch-up

I've been really slacking in blogging department lately. Chris was in the States this summer for some training, and Katelyn and I had a pretty uneventful summer.

We managed to survive yet another muggy Misawa summer without air conditioning.

Katelyn started eating baby food. 

...which wasn't as tasty as she had hoped.

We visited with family.

Katelyn took a lot of naps. Perhaps more amazing that the amount of naps she took is the fact that she managed to live through them without suffocating.

Bath time was always the highlight of the day.

 

Towards the end of the summer though, I think everybody was ready for Dad to come home :)

Chris got home in October. It's so good to have him back!

August Update

I don't have much to blog about these days... Chris is temporarily in Alabama, and Katelyn and I are pretty much in a routine of daycare, work, relaxing from daycare and work, and then getting ready for daycare and work again. It does make the time go by quickly though!

We did make some sweet purchases though, in preparation for upcoming adventures.

Daddy is pretty jealous that he can't get a Patagonia down jacket in his size, on clearance, for $40.

This jacket will have to wait a few months... or maybe she can use it as an emergency tent until she grows into it. 

On her last hike she got a bit squinty during the snow crossings... this time she'll be more prepared. 

And the days of Mommy just holding her hands over Katelyn's ears while on the flight line are long gone. 

This tutu isn't a new purchase; it was a gift at my baby shower. But we had to get it out of the closet for a five month old picture! 

Katelyn can't believe how fast her youth is passing by.

Katelyn's First Hike

We've been hiking in the Hakkodas several times. But Katelyn hasn't ever been there... well, unless you count the two times I went when I was pregnant. Katelyn's a huge fan of being outside, and the weather was nice, and we had the day off, so we decided to go for a short hike.

Katelyn does a good job of conserving energy before a hike.

She's fascinated by trees.

Cute little baby feet.

The huts along the way make great feeding/changing stations.

1,584 meters. No big deal.

Family photo.

First baby hike... a success!

Behrens Visit

Chris' folks came out to visit on June 14 for two action-packed weeks. 

Roger, boasting just a teeny bit that he got to hold Katelyn first :).

But Katelyn graciously offered to be held again. Only 5 minutes into their visit, and already Katelyn's getting spoiled:).

Okay, Katelyn. Make a liar out of me. Maybe not ALL of the visit was action-packed.

But we did visit the Hachinohe Fish Market, and then drove down to the Hachinohe coastline.

...Katelyn was really feeling the jet lag. She's a sympathy sleeper.

We went out to the flight line to watch the F-16 demo team practice. Then it started raining. And the jet broke. And the spare jet broke. So for the first time in the history of the Demo Team (as long as Chris remembers anyway), the demo didn't go on as planned due to maintenance issues. Boo, Hiss. That would have been really cool to see. Instead, you have a picture of Katelyn sleeping in the truck, out of the rain, waiting for something to happen that never did.

Later that day, on the way to Sapporo, Katelyn graciously offered to be spoiled by complete strangers.

I love Sapporo in the summer. The mild weather, the beer gardens, the clean and well-organized city, the food... I just wish it wasn't so expensive to get there! 

Beer Garden. Mmm.

Last time we went to the Olympic Ski Jump, it was totally in the clouds. This time we got a great view of the city.

This is why I will NEVER become an Olympic Ski Jumper. Or, let's be honest, even a skilled skier. The thought of skiing down that "hill" is terrifying!

What girl doesn't love a pony? 

Have I mentioned that I love the food in Japan? I think the next kitchen table we buy should have a pit of hot coals in the middle.

You really can't go to Sapporo without visiting the brewery, right?

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Hanging out with Dad.

Kiku Zushi, Oh how I love thee. It's pretty much guaranteed that if you visit us in Misawa, we'll take you to Kiku Zushi. Delicious.

One day we went to Aomori, to the big Buddha.

Yep. Turns out they don't call it "Big Buddha" for nothing.

Katelyn, learning to walk.

Ahh! Walking is just plain difficult! And dangerous! I can't believe you people do this every day!

We caught a baseball game in Sendai. I love Japanese baseball!

We also went to the Hakkoda Mountains, Oirase Gorge, Lake Towada... It was a great and (mostly) action-packed visit!