Happy Friday Everybody! Today is the last day of school before Thanksgiving break. On Monday and Tuesday I will have conferences so it isn't like a week off, but the students will have a nice long break. Last year I taught my students a lot of stuff about Thanksgiving. I had accumulated a lot of good materials to use to teach about the holiday. A few minutes ago, I realized that I had forgotten to teach any Thanksgiving-related stuff to the kids this year. I must have been too preoccup...

Last night I went to play a golf simulation game with my friend Andy and my father in-law. It was fun. We "played" nine holes on a course in Banff, and nine holes on a course in Hawaii. Of course the simulation isn't as good as real golf, but it is as good as one can get in November in Minnesota. Surprisingly I tend to get the same score playing simulated golf as I do playing real golf, so I suppose that the simulation has some sort of validity. Today is Thursday. After work I will go...

Hello there. I hope that everybody is having a happy day. I am doing fine. I am a little sleepy. Kenny likes to wake up at around 10:30 at night. I really like to have time with him when he is awake, so I need to stay up later than usual so that I can enjoy some time with the baby when he is awake. He is so cute when his eyes are open and he is alert! (Of course he is awfully cute when he is sleeping too. He is a good cuddler.) I am hoping to get my computer back from the repair sho...

Last night Kenny, Kazuko and I enjoyed watching "Joe Millionaire." (Well, Kenny was there, but he wasn't really paying attention to the show.) I am really going to miss that show when it is over. I suppose that I will just have to look forward to watching "American Idol" next. "Joe Millionaire" is really turning into a weekly emotional roller-coaster. There is a lot of tension and suspense built into that show. Assuming that what is going on is real: I imagine that it is difficult for Da...

My wife's parents are visiting us from Japan. This is their first trip to Minnesota. They came to meet the new baby, but I am sure that they are interested in seeing some of the sights around Minneapolis and Saint Paul (as well as around Monticello.) On Sunday, my parents, Kazuko's parents, and myself went to the Mall of America. (The Mall of America is the largest shopping center in the USA. There are about 450 stores and restaurants, as well as an indoor amusement park.) At the mall we...

Hello there. I am at homewith Kazuko and Kenny. My mom and dad and Kazuko's mom and dad are also here. We're having a nice time. It is interesting that our parents are able to communicate somehow without speaking each-other's language. On Saturday night, we had a little party at our house to welcome Kenny and Kazuko's parents. I cooked some ribeye steaks outside on the barbecue. Ribeye steaks are awfully good! This afternoon we may go someplace nice for lunch with both parents. Ma...

Hello there! We have just taken little Kenny home from the hospital. He is such a cute, good little boy. Here are a few photographs that we have from our stay in the hospital. I will write more in here after I take a nap! Enjoy the pictures!

Hello there my friends! Here I am back at the library. I took my computer into the repair shop yesterday morning. They said that they'll call me when they get to it. (I imagine that I will have it back and running within a week.) It will certainly be nice to have that thing working again! As soon as I get it up, I will post pictures of baby Kentaro on this page. Speaking of Kenny, he is doing well. He is eating every two hours. He seems to be a very happy baby. He doesn't scream ...

Hi there! Well, the big news is that Kentaro Burnside was born on November 12, 2003. He was born at 8:20 in the morning. He weighed 8 lbs 3 ounces (3750) grams, and he was 20.25 inches long (51.43 cm.) He is a big boy. Mother and baby are doing well. Kentaro is eating well, and seems to be a very calm and relaxed baby. Kazuko is as good as one can expect after having the cesarian section operation. I am really enjoying the time that I can spend with them in the hospital. The bad n...

Hi there friends! The biggest news is that the baby will be coming tomorrow! How exciting! The time really flies by between the time we found out about it and the time that he arrives. It has been really hard to concentrate on my work during these past two days. An impending delivery is a really big thing to be preoccupied with. I hope to be able to post a picture of the baby on this very weblog tomorrow evening or on Thursday. It depends on when I am around my computer next. I supp...

Well, Kazuko and I just watched Joe Millionaire. We went out to dinner at Bonanza during the show, and we watched it on tape. (The show is a lot more enjoyable if you can fast-forward through the commercials!) The show ended with a cliffhanger. Who will be coming back next week? Let the speculation begin. I am becoming a Petra fan now. I think that she seems like an interesting lady. Have a happy evening!

Hey there friends. I hope that your day is going well. It is lunchtime here in Elk River, Minnesota. I think that the menu reads "Pizza Burgers." We'll see how those taste! After lunch I am going to have an important meeting, then I will probably be on my way home. We'll see how it all shakes out. Did you see the Christmas lights? Scroll down. Kazuko and I put them up yesterday. That was a lot of fun. They look so pretty in the dark! I think that I am enjoying my assimilation...

Happy Sunday Everybody! Kazuko and I had a busy day today. Our biggest accomplishment was putting up our Christmas lights. These are some lights that we put on a really tall pine tree in our yard. I wasn't able to reach the very top of the tree, so there aren't any lights up there. Eventually I think that I will have to get a ladder to finish the job. These are some icicle-type lights that I hung from the gutter. I think that these turned out really well. ****************...

Hey there! Kazuko and I took a trip into The Twin Cities today. Per usual, we stopped at the Krispy Kreme on the way home. I had been looking forward to getting a cinnamon-covered apple jam-filled doughnut. Sadly, that particular doughnut wasn't in stock today. I hope that the apple cinnamon doughnut isn't just a seasonal thing. If it is, I will have to find an alternate favorite doughnut. So I ended up getting three originals. I ate one of them in the store. I will probably have th...

It is Friday again. I am surprised at how quickly this week passed. Now it is lunchtime, and I only have half-a-day left. Amazing! Kazuko and I have some plans for the weekend. Tomorrow we will be in Roseville for our friend Julie's baby shower. Her baby will be coming in January (maybe December...) That means that her baby will be pretty close in age to our baby. Maybe they'll have something in common when they are able to talk. Since we'll be in the Twin Cities area on Saturday, w...