Renton-Nishiwaki Exchange: Part 1

Earlier this month we welcomed guests from Nishiwaki, Japan. Renton and Nishiwaki have been sister cities for over 30 years, and a student exchange program between our two school districts has been going on for well over a decade. A delegation of two adults and 14 junior high school students stayed with Renton students and their families from August 16-August 25. While they were here we packed in as many fun activities as we could in Renton, Seattle, and the greater Puget Sound region. In October I will be traveling with one other adult and the 14 eighth grade students who hosted guests to visit our new-found friends from Nishiwaki.

My guest was Sawa Yamagami. Our whole family loved getting to know her. In fact, Miles became her little shadow, following her around the house all the time. I can't wait to meet Sawa's family in October.

Here are some of the fun things we did during their stay:

A highlight of the trip was attending a Mariner’s game and getting a tour of Safeco Field:

Back in Business

Trying on daddy's shoes.


Banging a drum at Renton River Days.

Good news! The camera is fixed. Now we can continue to barrage you with pictures of our daily goings-on. I know, I know...just try to hold back your excitement.

According to our unofficial, at-home measurements, Miles is now 2 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs in at 25 pounds. He's a lean, mean, talkin' machine. (Well, not really mean, but it's fun to say.) And the world is his drum. He loves to bang on everything!

For those of you who've been up nights worrying about it, you can rest assured knowing that Miles' hair has grown quite a bit since our experimental haircut in Colorado. In fact, it might even be time for another buzz with the clippers. (Hopefully not so extreme this time!) Keep your fingers crossed!

Oops!

Some of you may be wondering why we haven't updated the blog in a couple weeks. Well, as it turns out, digital cameras do not do so well when dropped on concrete. (Ouch!) So our camera was mailed off to the repair shop last week and we should have it back in "10-12 business days." We'll see.

In the meantime we're keeping busy with other things...Vince is enjoying his last couple weeks of free time before band rehearsals start up. He's been logging plenty of quality time on his new NCAA Football 2008 game and can't wait for football to start. I've been busy planning for our hosting responsibilities as part of the Renton-Nishiwaki Sister City exchange. (I'm co-leading a group of 14 middle school students on an exchange to Japan in October; our Japanese counterparts will be visiting here later this month.) Miles keeps us in smiling. His favorite phrases right now are "Oh, Man!" and "oops." It blows our minds to hear him put together short sentences and phrases.

Hopefully we'll have some new pictures to post soon!

The Carusos go to Colorado

On July 4th we headed to Colorado for 10 days. Our goal: to relax, take in a few sights, and catch up with old friends. We had a great time! Some trip highlights included a ride on the cog railway to the top of Pikes Peak (14,110 ft), the Coors Brewery tour, a day at the Denver Zoo, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, lunch in downtown Denver, visiting Fort Collins and Pueblo, hanging out with friends, Miles' new haircut, and escaping the Seattle heatwave that struck while we were out of town.

Here's a little bit of our trip:

Sightseeing in Colorado

The Denver Zoo

Friends in Colorado

A quick get-away to Lopez Island

A couple days after school got out, several gals from work--Carrie, Sarah, Anna, Sheri, and I--were able to get away to Lopez Island for a little relaxation. We stayed at Carrie's family cabin. And although Miles and I were only there for one night, we sure had a great time. Plus, Miles got to take his first ride on a ferry!

The Caruso Family is off to Denver in a couple hours and will be gone for about 10 days. We're looking forward to some fun family time and will definitely have stories and photos to share when we get back.

We wish you all a fun and safe 4th of July!