Today was the day that we finally got together with one of my cousins and her family. We've been talking about getting together since we came back to Japan, but the timing didn't work well for both sides until today. My husband doesn't have a relaxing weekend too often, and my cousin's family can be also busy on weekends with her husband's teaching schedule and the children's activities.
We took a train for about an hour to get to the closest station. Once we got to their house, the children were so excited to see us and they all welcomed us with heartwarming greetings. We had a combination of adults talking to one another, the children asking us to play with legos or to draw with chalk. We even had an English lesson for them for a little bit. My cousin's husband is a big fan of fishing, so is my husband. They talked a lot about fishing and kinds of fish that are available in Japan and in the US, etc, etc... We went to a shopping mall nearby and stopped by a park after lunch. We also took a walk in the neighborhood with the children, while their parents stayed back to get ready for dinner. Then, we played with playdough and had dinner.
The time went so fast and it was almost time for us to leave!! We told them that we'd make sure to get together sometime soon, and if it's not too much for them, they can come to our house next time. We don't have lots of toys, but there are lots of picturebooks that they can read or we can read to them.
Shoot!! I totally forgot about taking pictures of all the dishes she prepared for lunch and dinner. We were too busy eating, I guess... She cooked wonderful meals, and it felt like we were eating at a restaurant!! Another thing I can say, it's really nice to eat meals that someone else has prepared, like yesterday when my husband cooked. Since I cook at home almost all the time, it can get boring. It is a good opportunity to learn from dishes that I don't usually cook.
今日、やっとある従姉妹に会う事ができました。日本に帰ってきてからずっと会おうと話していたけれど、お互いの都合がなかなか合わず今日まで伸ばし伸ばしでした。私の旦那はゆっくりできる週末があまりないという事と、従姉妹のほうでも旦那さんが週末に働く事があったり子供達の用事があったり等で忙しくしていました。
最寄りの駅まで約１時間ほど電車に乗っていきました。家に着いたら、子供達は大喜び、みんなで温かく迎え入れてくれました。大人同士で話したり、子供達とレゴやチョークでのお絵描きをしたり・・・ちょっとした英語のレッスンまでやりました！従姉妹の旦那さんは釣り好きで、私の旦那も釣りが好きなので、日本やアメリカでの釣りの事やどんな魚が捕れるかなどなど話していました。昼食後、近くへ買い物に行き、それから公園に立ち寄りました。暗くなる前には子供達と私たちで近所を散歩して、従姉妹と旦那さんは家で夕食の準備をしてくれていました。家についてから粘度で遊び、夕飯になりました。
時間はあっという間に過ぎていって、もう帰る時間となってしまいました。また近いうちに会う事にし、もし無理でなければ我が家にも今度遊びに来てくれるように言いました。おもちゃはあまりないけれども、たくさんの絵本があるのでそれを読んだり、私たちが読んであげる事もできます。
あ〜、しまった！お昼や夕ご飯に豪華な料理を準備してもらったのに写真を撮る事をすっかり忘れていました。食べる事に夢中だったのでしょう・・・従姉妹はおいしい料理を作ってくれて、まるでレストランで食べている気分になってしまったのです。それに、昨日旦那が作ってくれたように、たまには他の人が作ってくれるものを食べるのもいいものです。家にいる時はほとんど私が作るので、つまらなくなってしまうんですよね。普段自分では作らないものを、学べるいい機会でもありますから。
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