This is our current situation...
This is the current situation! The Dude broke his leg! Oh man! [Life in Japan Theme Song] THE BACKSTORY
2 Weeks Earlier Life has a funny way of doing things that are unexpected. Two weeks ago everything was going great and everyone was really starting to feel at home in our new place. Oh oh! Hello!
You gonna water the plants? Yea.
Alright, very good. So is this what we're going to water everything with here? Yea, it's so tiny. I can't water all this stuff with it.
Hi! So I'm going to do it like three times. Look at our flowers here! Look at how pretty they're coming up!
Wow! It's already full. Oh, here we go.
This plant... That looks very satisfying, doesn't it? Look at those! They are just doing so well in our yard, aren't they? It's because of me. I water them everyday.
Well... Well good! I don't have anything to do, I want to just sit in my hammock. My job is just to sit in the hammock. Getting in you need a step stool for it! My goodness! Yeah, it's so high. OK, next one. Oo, you're going to be super thirsty so here is some drink, flowers. We were settling into a good routine and really liked it. How's your piano lesson going Dude?
Good! Good? Are you working on it? Yea.
Alright. Way to go. Alright, I'll leave you alone so you can work on it, ok? OK. Bye bye! And Momma chan was really feeling at home in her new kitchen. You did done make a dent ... in all the dishes.
I did done it. Not in the counter, or anything. The kids had whole-heartedly embraced their new surroundings. Whoa guys, dinner outside tonight! It is not raw because, you see, it's not pink and it's very perfect. Oh, very good. How fun, huh? Oh no no! You have to pray before you eat! Oh my goodness darling, you just can't do that! Guys, I'm an adult! 'Cause, I'm an adult!
Whoa! I'm like "how can I eat [all that!]" If you eat all of that, you get 100.00% of protein. Does that even make sense? [Sarah continues talking] Careful Joshua, that's freaky! [Sarah continues] I think teacher Sarah is saying something that doesn't even make sense. It does. OK, I'll talk about the camera. How about you talk about your food. Pray for your food! If you're happy and you know it clap your hands! And Ruth was tackling bigger and bigger projects to make our house feel like a home. What is going on here? I'm trying to put picture frames on the wall. Put that next to it. Or just it. I think maybe just that.
It almost just looks to plain. Just by itself? Well, you're going to have pictures in it. I love this. This was in such a good place in my last house. Where indeed, where will it go? We caught a lizard! You got what?
It was in the yard! I found it! I saw something moving!
You got a lizard! You got a lizard?! Oh careful! Isn't that crazy?!
It's so cute! You going to let it go?
Yea. Wait, let's see. Bless his heart.
Bless its' little heart. God bless you. Nate, can you help me eyeball this? This is what I do. Somewhere right here do you think?
Can I change my picture? Alright! Very nice! Looking good! With things in good shape, I decided to take a day to do what I love: head out to enjoy nature. Little did I know just what exactly was in store. DAY "TRIP"
One Week Ago Today is a gorgeous day. I'm going to take advantage of it, And head up to Mt Fuji and see what's left of the Sakura. It's going to be sunny, there's going to be blue skies, It could be epic for some spring footage, let's see! And check it out: I've got my hiking shoes and pants on, ready for whatever we may find. I'm not really planning on hiking today, but there might be some trails, There might be a little bit of ups and downs here and there. We'll see. I will announce the results of your driving report. All of your driving is an "A." That's excellent. You know it. Please drive safely again this time. Oh I will. I'll drive very safely, and here we go! Let's take off. I was hoping to get out by 5:30 AM, it's 6:30 now. Well, at least we're getting off. Here we go. Heading up into the mountains, and everything's so green! And the higher up we go, the earlier into Spring we go. Signs of Sakura still hanging on, Mt Fuji in the background! It's funny pulling up to a traffic stop and this is your view! Ha ha! Soon I parked and made my way to the famous Chureito Pagoda, reached by climbing 398 steps. These streets through here are super tight, But it's because this pagoda is back in the back of a tight little neighborhood. There it is, way up on the hill! OK, the hike up has commenced. It's a lot of stairs to go so here we go! We're going to do this thing! I saw clear signs that I had missed peak bloom up here. But the area still had some big surprises in store — good and bad. Well the main Sakura snow may be over, But I tell you what's cool about getting her late in the Sakura season is all the Sakura snow that is blowing everywhere. Because that undoubtedly is beautiful! And it is — it's just blowing everywhere today. Very cool! We still have a long ways up to go, oh boy! These views are incredible so far and I haven't even made it to the top. In fact I'm probably only a third of the way up. But it's already looking awesome! The route is very cleverly designed to wind it's way up the mountain, So you don't take too many stairs at once. But it's still a good workout. And this is what you see all the way up: people stopping to take photos! Soon I reached the top of the trail and the back of the line. While waiting to gain access to the famous overlook, I made a friend. Just here for today? Here and then maybe I'll go near Lake Kawaguchi. And the Sakura?
Well... And the Sakura?
Well... but maybe still pretty. Here we go — coming to that famous place... The famous point to take the pictures. And everybody's here ready to take the pictures! So you only get about 5 minutes to get a picture here, A whole group comes in and then you can come have your turn And take some pictures, enjoy it, and then move on for the next group. On my way down to the pagoda, I slipped and fell, somehow getting my leg caught under my falling body and spraining it big time — Or so I thought. On the way down they take you down this road that winds its way back, So you don't have to take the stairs, But let me tell you what — it is a long winding road And if you can handle the stairs, just do the stairs, it will be so much shorter. And so I walked 40 minutes back to the car on my bum leg, resolved to go on. Alright I'm back to the car, going to get a drink, And now I'm going to head onto another spot where I went last year with my parents for Sakura, Mt Fuji... Even though it's not full bloom and it's ¥1000 to park here, it's like hey I'm here, let's get out. Let's get some shots. This is always fun. The sakura blooms are all but gone and done here. But it's still pretty, this is just a beautiful spot. The views were pretty, but getting around on my leg was becoming a bigger and bigger challenge. I was still determined to go on however. Now I'm heading around the lake to the last place I wanted to go to today. The observation point is way up on this ridge up here. Way up there on top. But near the top of the mountain I made a discovery that was disappointing at the time. Well coming up here was a bit of a bust. You can't get up the trail, it would be a long hike from here. So I'm going to turn around and go enjoy some more driving here. A little bit of lunch here: Onigiris, Fami chicken, orange juice, oh yes. I had a little snack, and now I'm heading back home. Here we go. And so I was finally on my way home, and that was a good thing for the sake of my leg. The next day would show a little bit of what I did. POST TRIP
It's Just a Sprain! I Think... I woke up with my ankle super swollen, yesterday I twisted it bad! And it's definitely swollen this morning. So I'm keeping it immobilized — like keeping off of it, And in the meantime I have a bunch of helpers to make this work today. Aww- look at this! Oh no, did you spill?
Yea. Yikes!
Here you go. You can't hardly take it! Thank you so much for the coffee.
OK, I hope it tastes good. Oh that's very good. Thank you, Rebecca, you did a great job. Well it's easy to go stir crazy when you're laid up for even a little bit of time. And I really feel for anyone of you who have been laid up for months on end. Boy, that is hard. I don't always get to the comments on the videos, but I do enjoy going through them at least quickly, Giving some thumbs up, some hearts, different things. We really appreciate your interaction on these videos, so keep it up. The following day I ventured outside of bed to find Momma chan putting finishing touches on pictures. I need a sticky thing to put right there. A sticky thing on the back of that. But look at how that's looking already! Now when you come in: pictures of the family! Oh yes! What do we have right here? The photos of Melbourne. Oh yes! Look at this! Noice! Auntie Rach, you're on our wall! You're on our wall! Oh yeah! We can all take a picture of Auntie Rach and make it super big and put it on the wall. That would be weird! We're all setup here for our very first marriage Alpha class. The marriage Alpha class helps anyone, whether you're Christian or not, to get better at your marriage. We did this course last year online and it was phenomenal. 20 years married and still we learned so much! And Ruth has everything setup super nice. Whew! And at the moment it's just me at home, the family went to church. Very, very rarely do I not go to church, But my leg—my ankle is still so swollen from spraining it the other day To put even a shoe on it hurts and I shouldn't be walking around on it. So it's staying up and elevated, So that I can recover fast and get back to normal life. DOCTOR'S VISIT
It's Not Just a Sprain But it wasn’t long before I thought it was time to visit the doctor. Foot update: look how purple it is around the toes there... All that bruising — oh boy! And it's still swollen. The doctor’s visit revealed a broken leg — a fracture to be precise. The remedy? Cast and crutches and come back in a week. This is our current situation. This is the current situation. The Dude broke his leg.
Oh man! So yes, my foot is broken! I actually fractured my fibula, Which is the small bone in the ankle, I fractured it going here... The doctor said with a cast it should heal up in the next month. Coming up on Life in Japan, Ruth begins building the garden of her dreams and recruits everyone to help... We're planting! What are we planting? Cucumbers...
Cucumbers, what?! Peppers! And I learn a brand new lifestyle This is the first time in my life that I've broken anything, so just having a cast on is strange and restrictive And learning to get around on crutches, especially on things like stairs, or in the bathroom, Trying to go to the bathroom — oh my goodness! Subscribe not to miss future episodes of Life in Japan. Unpause! Oh my goodness, we have the whole crew working!
Ah, so many bugs! I can't hold it!
