Crossing the line 行き過ぎ

We have gone too far. We have now attached a shelf to our window so Elmo doesn't get too board while we're out. We're calling it Elmo TV Channel 2. (Channel 1 is the view out the backdoor of the back yard) Elmo likes Channel 2 more since there is more action on the street than the back yard.

とうとう行き過ぎました。私達が留守の間エルモが退屈しないように窓に棚をつけました。私達はこれをエルモテレビ２チャンネルと読んでます。（１チャンネルは裏口から裏庭の眺め）エルモは２チャンネルの方がアクションが多いから好きみたいです。

Elmo's new collarエルモの新しい首輪

Renna sent Elmo a new collar! We think she looks smashing!
レナが新しい首輪を送ってきてくれました。すばらしく美人な犬だと私達は思います。

bye bye 1014, hello 413 さよなら1014こんにちは413

This week, we officially said good bye to 1014 E. Roy Street.
Our new home is located at 413 Dewey Place East, Seattle, WA 98112. Our phone number has not changed. Please come and visit us!

今週、前の家が売れたので1014 E. Roy Streetとお別れでした。
新しい家の住所は413 Dewey Place East, Seattle, WA 98112です。電話番号は変わってません。いつでも遊びに来てください！

Katrina's Wedding 友達の結婚式

We headed back East to see Nile's college friend Katrina get married.
大学の友達の結婚式に行って来ました。

Dianna was there with her son Michaelangelo and husband Melvin (not pictured).
大学の同級生は息子を連れてきました。

It was a small cerimony and very intimate.
とても小さくて素敵な結婚式でした。

The cake was exquisite. Andrew forced Katrina to shove it in his face.
ケーキはとても綺麗でした。花婿は花嫁に無理やりケーキを顔に付けさせました。（アメリカではケーキカットの後で食べさせる時に相手の顔にケーキをつけるのが普通です）

Katrina's dad was a great dancer, seen here at the father-daughter dance.
花嫁のお父さんはとっても上手なダンサーでした。

The other Washington もうひとつのワシントン

Nile's college friend got married near DC so went to the other Washington. First photo, the Capitol Building.
ナイルの大学の友達の結婚式がワシントンDCの近くであったからもうひとつのワシントンに行ってきました。写真はアメリカの首都の建物。

Next to the Capitol Building is the US Botanic Gardens
首都の建物の隣は植物園。
　


　

　　
Matt is super excited for he finally got to see a real Space shuttle.
念願のスペースシャトルが見れてマット大感動！


With this trip, we felt that DC is Disney Land for adults.
ワシントンDCはは大人用のディズニーランドと今回の旅行でつくづく感じました。

Cat at our door! 玄関に現れた猫！

When Nile got home today, she found a cat on our doorstep. It's a robotic cat from the 80's. We have no idea where this came from.

If anyone is interested, here is the original TV commercial.

So, if you know anything about where this came from, please let us know.

We turned it on for Elmo to play with, and she barked and ran away. Petster is back in her carrier now. We hope to reintroduce them slowly, or we can use it to keep Elmo off the couch. (devil parents)

今日家に帰ってきたら玄関入り口に猫が！８０年代のネコ型ロボットが置いてあって誰が置いていってくれたのか謎です。

ネコ型ロボットのオリジナルのコマーシャル興味があったら見てね。

誰から来たのか情報がある方はぜひ連絡ください。　

エルモのためにスイッチを入れたらワンワンほえた後で逃げて行きました。今猫は箱に戻ってます。その内友達になってほしいけどそうじゃなかったらエルモよけにソファに置こうと考えてます（鬼親）

Request リクエスト

By popular request, here are some more Elmo photos:
リクエストに答えてエルモの写真をいくつかどうぞ：

Sad Bear 悲しいくま

This is the story of Sad Bear.
Sad Bear was one of three bears that came with Elmo. It was called that because it didn't have a smile on its face. There was however, a even sadder looking bear that we were calling Really Sad Bear. The incident happened when Elmo's friend, Cooper, came to visit. Photos were documented by Tinca (visiting from NYC) :

これは悲しいくまの話です。
悲しいくまはエルモと一緒に家に来たくまのひとつでした。笑顔じゃないくまを私達は悲しいくまと呼んでました。でもほかのくま（帽子もリボンもなくなったくま、別名凄く悲しいくま）よりはましと思ってました。これはエルモの友達のクーパーが遊びに来た時の事件です。写真提供者はニューヨークから遊びに来たティンツァです。

Photo1: Sad Bear loses to Cooper
写真１：悲しいくまクーパーに負ける。

Photo 2: Elmo watches what happens to Sad Bear from far.
写真２：悲しいくまの行方を遠くから見るエルモ。

Photo3: Kind dog, Cooper, shares cotton with Elmo.
写真３：優しいクーパーは綿の一部をエルモにあげる。

Elmo! エルモ!

We got a dog yesterday. She is a mix of Poodle-Dachshund-Shihtzu . Please come and play with her! A kid we met told us that she knew that the dog's name was going to be Elmo before she asked.
昨日から犬を飼い始めました。 プードルとダックスとシッ・ツーの雑種です。 遊びに来てね。 ちなみにエルモの名前はセサミストリートのキャラクターからきました。道であった子供の一人は顔見たらこの犬の名前はエルモってぴんときたらしい。

Masai Mara Continues...

We were very fortunate to see cheetahs twice in the same day. We saw one in the morning, and one later in the afternoon. The afternoon cheetah posed for pictures before making an attempt to kill.


Matt's favorite animal, the dik-dik. There were a couple that lived right near the gate. They are very shy, so it's hard to get a good picture.


Did you know that wart hogs eat on their elbows? Matt does that too.


Elephant shirt, elephants in the background.


And what better way to end the day than with a rainbow leading to a pride of lions?

Massai Mara Day 2

Last night it rained a lot. The sky was pretty impressive.


We entered the park through the Talek Gate not far from our camp


It was a really beautiful morning.


These are the chickens of Africa.


We took a break and had the opportunity to step out of the car and get a closer look at some of the plants.


We were very fortunate to see two black rhinos today.


The ostrich are the fastest running bird.

In some parts of the reseve the grass is very green.

We also saw a tortoise.


The thompson's gazelle have tails that constantly go like windshield wipers.

Masai Mara: Day 1

Our first full day in Masai Mara started early; we were so excited we woke up at 5. We had a hearty breakfast, packed our lunches, and were on the road by 7:30.


For our trip, Russell and John brough huge lenses that were the envey of everyone.



Hyenas love to sit in the mud. Some of the best mud is on the road. Elephants like mud too.


This marker is the border between Kenya and Tanzania. We had to drive in to Tanzania to see the Mara River and its hippo pools.


We love hippos. It's not often that you see them out of the water in the day.



The Mara River is a crossing point for the Wildebeest during the migration. Many die in the river from crocodiles or hippos. Their carcases wash down to a few points where they collect like this one. These storks have been living off the carcasses for 3 months.


After the carcasses, we stopped by this tree for a nice picnic.


Ariving back home we saw a new born calf.