Merry Christmas from Japan! We are enjoying a white Christmas eve here now and looking forward to quite a bit of new snow tomorrow morning.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder… Isaiah 9:6
So for the last 6 months or so we have been talking about wanting to bust the wall down between the living room and the kitchen to make the room feel bigger and lighten up the kitchen. We finally did it and it looks much better. It is not all the way finished yet but now there is a makeshift bar counter that is serving us great for the time being.
Notice how dark the kitchen was before we took the wall down.
Before
After
This spring another staff and I were part of the Shimano XT Camp here in Japan. We helped guide some shop owners, media and industry people on some of the best MTB trails in Japan and it was a lot of fun. Since then about 6 magazines have come out with articles on the XT Camp and the trails in Nagano. Here is the latest one. I will add the other mag shots later.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
The other day my boy kept asking me to take him to the skate park so he could ride his kickbike there. We were down in the city and on the way home we had time to stop for a quick ride. Here are a few photos and movies.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Here is a little slideshow of the boys from Sep to Nov. They are growing up so fast, I can’t believe that number 2′s birthday is next week. Thank you all for your prayers and support.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Can you believe it? NORTHSTAR is celebrating its 10th year of operation in Norikura. We are starting a year-long campaign with a party every season to celebrate. Today we had a MTB tour and tonight we had a full lodge with a special “sloppy joe” menu that was once a staple at NORTHSTAR.
We are also celebrating because we are just a few weeks from NORTHSTAR taking the big step of becoming a new private company apart from the current parent company CSJ. NORTHSTAR could not have been started without the help of some key people like Scott who through his company CSJ helped fund this startup ten years ago. Also, without the hundreds of short-term interns and volunteers who have come and worked tirelessly NORTHSTAR would not be here without their efforts.
So we way a big thank you to God and all who have invested so much and we pray now that as NORTHSTAR starts its next 10 years that it would be filled with new friends, challenges, growth and memories.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ridenorthstar#p/u/0/IWyMbil5wC8
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Some big news around here, Brad proposed to Michie!!! And she said YES. We are very happy for them and looking forward to seeing them grow together. You can read Brad’s post about how he popped the question here.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Hannah has been asking me for a while now to take her and the boys to Kamikochi and we finally were able to go. I have been every year with guests but have never had the time to go with my beautiful with and kids. We got some great weather and enjoyed the day walking from Taisho Pond to the famous Kappa Bridge and back to the bus stop. Big brother walked then entire way and little brother enjoyed a ride in the back pack.
Here are some photos from the day.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
I took big brother biking today on a MTB trail for the first time. He loved it. We started at NORTHSTAR and headed out on the cycling path and then headed off to one of the beginner trials.
He did great on the trial and really enjoyed going down hill. At the end he told me that the best part was when he went too fast.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This year we ran the 3rd annual Norikura Century Charity Ride benefiting The Tyler Foundation and the LIVE STRONG FOUNDATION. We were able to raise about $2,000 for cancer research while riding 100 miles around Mt. Norikura. It was a beautiful ride with amazing weather and some great food at the celebration party.
This event is a meaningful one for us as our founder and director Dan Junker was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and he has been riding this event each year as a survivor. We are looking forward to this event growing and impacting more people with the message of hope.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
 | Toshio on Before and After – Kitch… |
 | ブラッド•Brad on Brad and Michie are engag… |
 | Akira Nagao on The Boys |
 | Bernadette Chow on MTB Ride Camp |
 | Chris Downs Director… on Spring Snow |
