If I could describe the perfect date...

Last Monday was one of the best days I (Emily) have had since coming to Japan...and that is saying something because we have had a lot of fun days here. For Valentine's Day, James gave me a homemade coupon for a free ski trip, so I cashed it in this week and took a day off work to hit the slopes. Though the trip was far from free (wow - who knew hurdling yourself and two sharp metal poles down a hill with boards strapped dangerously tight to your feet could be so pricey?!), it was worth every cent...or yen. It was the first time for both of us, so it was a great adventure to take together.  


Skiing is a lot of work! My legs felt like Jell-O a few times during the day, but it was so fun that I didn't want to stop (and let's face it - even if I had wanted to stop, I didn't really know how!). Amazing day that I hope I remember forever. Here are a few videos and pictures from the perfect day.

There were not very many people there, which was probably a really good thing because we didn't really know what we were doing at first. Can you see the fresh powder?! So awesome!

All decked out and ready to go! Oh wait, how do you put the skis on?!

Gotta love him! He was so handsome in all his winter gear and made the day so perfect for me.

Probably my favorite picture of James...ever.

Probably James's favorite picture of me. No, this is not how I spent most of the day, but when I fell, it was EXTREMELY difficult to get back up...obviously. 

Yes, we are riding on two different lift chairs. Why? Because the first time we went up the lift, we tried to ride together and ended up with James smashed on top of me and a bent ski pole. That's why. We eventually mastered the lift and rode together. I swear that was the hardest part though...

The next night, we had the missionaries and a couple friends over for dinner. Tomomi, a teacher from my base school and probably one of my best friends here, came over to learn how to make pie crust. We experimented with real banana cream pie (only because I couldn't find pudding mix here!). You can find the recipe here. I strongly recommend it.

I had an end-of-year party this week with the teachers from one of my schools. This school was a "satellite" school that was evacuated from the west side of Japan last March after the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown disaster. After this month, this school is being disbanded and the students will integrate into surrounding schools in the area. That means that many of the teachers aren't sure what their jobs will be next year or where they will be living. Needless to say, this end-of-year party was a bit emotional. These teachers are great and I'm really going to miss them. The party was fun - can you see all the food?!! It didn't even all fit on the table!

And a couple other random goodies. James and I decided to make smores for date night. I don't know if we were too giddy about it or what, but it resulted in some pretty horrid pictures that I just had to post because I thought they were so funny.

And finally, The Grad School Update: I had a great interview with the University of Oregon this week. It just solidified my excitement for grad school in general, and made me even more excited about the possibility of grad school in Oregon! I should hear back in about three weeks, so keep your fingers crossed for me!!! I'm also applying for a couple graduate teaching fellowships which would be a huge blessing to get, so if you could send a few prayers this way, it would be much appreciated.


Love to all our family and friends! Thanks for your support!