Summer vacation has come and gone, and it was a hot one. The weather in parts of Japan reached the highest temperatures in 74 years. Nagano's heat was not record, but it was hot enough to make our move to a new home very tiring. It's just about done, now, so starting today, we will begin the monumental task of unpacking everything.


The new house is a rental, costing us about the same as the small apartment we were in. We have double the size now, plus plenty of storage and a yard for the girls to play in. Moving was a task, and we owe lots of thanks to Paul and Leon Hale, who drove up from Nagaoka for a day to help with the large firniture items. And thanks to Tomomi's brother, Tadahiko, cousin Megumi and her husband Hayato who helped with the last minute items. The heat was tough at times, and I went through bottles of iced tea every day (barley tea, non-sugar). The only thing left to do now is disconnect the internet connection here and take the computer over to the new house.

In the middle of the move, we took a day off to go to the Gunma Safari Park and let Anri see some animals. Located in the next prefecture from Nagano, the Safari Park is the drive through type, and Anri had a blast seeing zebras and giraffes walking right past her window. Later on, we got a photo taken with a lion cub. Look in the photo below. That is a real lion I am holding. Anri was a big scared it would eat her.