Part 8: Golf!!!

My first time even on a golf course. At the Princeville Course. It was pretty nice! That`s me with my BIG BERTHA CALLOWAY!!! (Thanks to my friend Gan who gave it to me as a present!) I heard it`s a pretty expensive club!
My dad played one round of golf that day. I just walked with him. Well actually I played just one hole. It was the first hole of my life. It was fun. My dad shot a 101. I think he could have done better, but then again, he could have done worse too. For a big guy, he has a soft swing. But he drives the golf cart too fast!!! I like to drive slowwwwwwww!
Ed and Glenn Gross: First Golf Two-Shot (The caretaker took the pic for us...It`s a pretty dark pic so I guess he isn`t such a good photographer!)

My father putting on the green. NICE SHOT!!!

My father driving from the tee...GOOD SHOT!!!

"The Big Man", my dad`s nickname ;)

Part 7: Aloha style shirts...

My brother and I in separate pics with our folks. My father and I are wearing Aloha style shirts. I really like Aloha shirts and think they are cool. Sometimes I even wear one when I go out in Osaka or even when I am teaching. What do you think about Aloha style shirts?

Also, did you know that aloha=hello, and mahalo=thank you. That`s the only Hawaiin language that I know. Do you knw any more?

Part six: Random pics

Sunset on the balcony before the big BBQ dinner. We ate fresh fish and steak and a seafood pasta dish, and salad and drank some wine. It was delcious.
We rented a convertible car. (A car is necessary on this Island I think!) A Mustang. Most of the time, we drove with the top down, do the view was great and we could feel the wind and sun directly. It was nice!
On the Island, there are also many caves. I saw this cave from a boat. I saw many people also exploring inside the caves. It looked scary...

Part 5: "Grand Canyon" continued...

The photos really don`t do the place justice, but it really is a very impressive site!

The Gross Family doing the "tourist thing" and getting a group shot!

Part 4: Kauai`s "Grand Canyon"

One day we went for a long (I don`t like being in a car for a long time...) drive around the Island. The main spot was the "Grand Canyon"..Sorry I forget the real name of the place, but it was like the "Grand Canyon", just a little smaller. These pics really don`t do justice to the place. It was very grand and beautiful. We also stopped at many other good spots and finished with a little swim in the ocean of small town. The current of the ocean was very strong and I almost got pulled out to sea...DANGEROUS!

Can you see the waterfalls in the middle of this pic? It was pretty cool!

My Dad is a Big guy. Look at that tank-top and those pipes (=arms). He must have been tired because he drove a lot that day. The roads on the Island and long and narrow and have great scenery. At this spot, many tourists, I saw one large Japanese group too, took pictures of the scene and themselves.

Part three: My mother having a drink on the boat as everyone gets ready for snorkling and scuba diving. She was a pass...
Back to the Cataraman: My father and I snorkling outside the boat.
My brother swimming like a shark...
My father taking a rest before he goes in again. He doesn`t have a lot of stamina these days so he needs to pace himself...
My brother swimming like a ???

The boat again...

July 4th

Today is July 4th, Independence Day, in America. I was born and raised in Philadelhia, which used to be the capital of the United States before Washington D.C. Did you know that? There are many historical places in Philadelphia, for example, The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and much more... Every year in Philadelphia there are huge fireworks on the 4th. I like fireworks and I am looking forward to the summer fireworks in Japan soon. Where do you recommend to see the fireworks in Japan? If you know any good places, please tell me!

Part two...

Hiking: One day my brother and I went for a 6 hour hike. We saw a 1000 foot tall waterfall. And we swam under it. It was the tallest waterfall I have ever seen. It was great and the water was really warm.

Also on the hike there was a rest spot on the beach. We swam in the ocean. The waves were high and strong. But the ocean was peaceful...
















My brother and I on a cliff-like spot. What a view!!!

Kauai Part One

My brother contemplating and watching the sunset from the balcony. We watched the sunset from the balcony almost every night...
A wonderful mixture of clouds, sky, sun, water, air, and color...
One day we went on a boat ride. We road a catamaran. This is one of the views from the catamaran. It was gorgeous!
The catamaran. On the tour, we snorkled, ate some lunch, drank, relaxed and watched the sites which included cliffs, mountains, waterfalls, caves and on and on, saw a dolphin, saw the sunset (at least some of us did...me, i wasnt feeling so well at that time ;( I get sea sick easily...)
Another sunset pic...I like the clouds in this one...
The Gross family on the boat...

to be continued...

I`m back...

I got back from Hawaii last night. This is a pic I took from the balcony of the condo I stayed at. We had a beautiful view of the ocean and the sunset was very beautiful every night.

Check this site out to see the condo. http://www.kauaikevin.com/

Over the next few days I will try to put some pics from Hawaii on the blog and write a little about the ups and downs of the trip.

Hope everyone was well while I was gone! See you soon!

From now I will go on vacation...If you need me you can reach me here:

Aunt "Sho" got her second neice! Congrats!

"Sho" is my student. The other day she got her second neice. Isn`t she cute? Luckily she doesn`t look like "Sho" ;) "Sho" studied English in New Zealand for a year or so and now works in a hotel where Foreigners come often. She speaks very well but now is studying with me for the TOEIC test. She wants to get 800. I think she can do it!

For America to advance tonight, basically America has to beat Ghana AND Italy has to beat Chech! For Japan to advance it`s A LOT more complicated...Read the COMMENTS below for the full low down....

Monaco

Everything looks pretty good to me.Read the COMMENTS for my student`s report!

A NEW MEMBER OF THE WORLD...Tokumaru (nickname: "Tokkun")
A NEW GRANDMOTHER IN THE WORLD: CONGRATS TO MY STUDENT!

VOLLEYBALL!

Ms. A played volleyball last weekend. She sent me this pic! I played volleyball in Gym class when I was in High school. I am good at setting but not good at spiking the ball. Actually I can`t spike, because I can`t jump ;) In Japan volleyball is very popular. Do you like Volleyball?

Stuffed Animals

My student Ms. A went to her friend`s wedding the other day. The bride is a nurse and the groom is a police officer. She made these stuffed animals to give to them as a gift! They are really cute stuffed animals and I think Ms. A put a lot of thought and effort into making them. Many Japanese people have favorite stuffed animals, like Snoopy or Winnie-the-Pooh. How about you?

The World Cup kicks off tonight!!!

It all starts tonight in Germany. The kickoff of the opening game of Germany versus Costa Rica. (A side note, did you know that Costa Rica is the only country in the world without a military...) I read that Germany`s top player won`t even play tonight. They are saving him for bigger mathces... Also I read in the "Osaka Sports" newspaper today that some players of Croatia have a mysterious virus and are sick and the entire team is endanger of getting infected. Good news for Japan, but then again, I read it in "Osaka Sports" ;). All kidding aside, I will give you my prdeictions. First Japan will go to the best 8. Here`s a BIG surprise; either Brazil OR Italy will NOT advance to the second round! And the winner of the World Cup this year, 2006, in Germany, is...............................the

U.S.A.

Bake-off Winner!!! $1,000,000!!!

Do you like cooking? This is a pic oif the Winner of the Pillsbury Bake-Off Competition in America last month. Check out here for the recipe of the Chicken and Spinach dish. http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/showRecipe.aspx?rID=41135

It looks delicious! The event was held in Orlando, Florida. And she won One MILLION DOLLARS! Now that`s some chicken!!! Do you have any recipes you want to share with everyone?

Lava Trails from Indonesia`s Mount Merapi Volcano

This picture was taken about 2 or 3 weeks ago in Indonesia. The volcano erupted and you can see the lava spilling out. It is realy something... Last year there were terrible hurricanes in America, and the year before a Tsunami (Giant tidal wave) in Thailand, and many other big natural disasters all over the world recently. In Osaka, everyone remembers the Hanshin Earthquake a little over 10 years ago. Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing at that time. Everyone!! The Earth is very beautiful at times, and also at the same time, very powerful and scary...

NAILS

Pedicure
Extensions
Manicure

One of my students Ms. Nc, is a nailist. She works in Honmachi. Her English is excellent and her nails are always beautiful! I feel selfconscious about my nails when she comes, well, because, my nails aren`t exacly a work of beauty...But I know many of my students do their nails or get their nails done, so I wanted to recommend her.

Her site is : http://www.comfortplace.net

Please check it out and call for a reservation if you are interested.

At the Zoo...

This is an Egyptian Tortoise that was born in an England Zoo. It is also on the endangered species list. It is so tiny, I can`t believe it! This is a Siberian Tiger and newborns(baby cubs) in a China zoo. I have been to the zoo a few times in my life. I like to watch the Tigers and Lions the most. One day, I want to go to Africa and go on a safari. How about you? Do you like the zoo? Do you like animals?

YOGA

Recently, Yoga became very popular in Japan. In America Yoga became very popular about 10 yeas ago. Now, everyone does Yoga. There are many different types to Yoga too, but I don`t really know the difference bewteen each one. The other day I met a woman who has a Yoga Studio near Honmachi. I want to try it but on the weekdays the class is women ONLY...;( On Sunday there is a men`s class but I can`t go on Sundays because of work. Have you ever tried Yoga? If yes, what did you think? Anyway, if any of you women are interested, please check out the site:http://ayul.net

Welcome to June! Garden of Dreams

This is a great photo don`t you think?! It`s from a flower and garden show in London. I have never been to London, or for that matter, anywhere in Europe. But recently I became interested in Europe because many of my students and friends tell me great things about their trips to Europe. Have you ever been to Europe? If so, where?

Speaking of Europe, the World Cup will begin in about 10 days. I was shocked to hear the other day that there is a "DANGAN" Tour. This means, BULLET TOUR in English I think. On this tour, you can go to Germany to watch a game, but you dont stay in Germany even for a night. You take the plane to Germay, arrive and go directly to the stadium, watch the game, and then return to the airport and take the plane back to Japan!!! Unbelievable!