There are two pages of photo albums.

Luke and Mika's Photo Albums

Peter Retires: My father has packed it in. At least working for Foreign Affairs anyway. He has retired and so Mika and I hosted a retirement party for him in our house in Tokyo.

Curling in Kitami: In November Mika and I were once again selected to be on the embassy curling team for the NHK tournament in Kitami in Hokkaido. We had a great time with the men's team winning 2 out of 4 games but not making it to the finals and he women's team had a great time.

Shihan Tea Ceremony Test: During the weekend of Thanksgiving, besides cooking and turkey and all that, I also did my final level test in Japanese tea ceremony. It was a joint exam with the student of another teacher. The exam was over two days on two consecutive weekends.

Thanksgiving in Japan 2009: We had a 24 lbs turkey this year with 13 people over for thanksgiving. This year we were lucky to have both sets of parents in town as well as Mika's Aunt and counsin among others.

Nagano: The September labour day weekend we went up to the Nagano area to try and escape the city. It's a beautiful area but you do need a car if you want to get anywhere.

Mount Fuji: Matthew, Sandy and Luke successfully climb Mount Fuji in August 4, 2009.

Bali: Our one week vacation in Bali June 12 - 20, 2009.

HMCS Protecteur: At the beginning of June 2009, HMCS Protecteur visited Tokyo. They were very generous and gave tours to embassy staff and their families.

Tim and Lurene's Wedding: Tim Oldham and Lurene Bates got married on February 28, 2009 in Calgary.

Brisbane and the Gold Coast: We took a holiday to Brisbane and locations along the Gold Coast and the sunshine coast.

Mark Kotlarewsky and Nikko: Mark Kotalarewsky visited us just after Christmas for a week and we all went up to Nikko for an overnight trip.

Embassy Curling team:

Band Festival: The Japanese Self Defence Forces had a band festival in November.

Thanksgiving 2008: We hosted a thanksgiving party.

Henry: Recent (Sept 2008) pictures of Henry being cute.

Sado island: A small island off the coast of Japan (Japan Sea side) near Niigata. A nice relaxing and slow paced island.

Ikebana and Chabana: Pictures of flower arrangements from an exhibition.

Guam: Over my March break we took a 5 day holiday to Guam.

Mika's Christmas present: A three drawer jewelry box made of cherry with basswood and mahogany feet.

Trip to Geneva and Paris: Christmas in Geneva and a side trip to Paris in December 2007

Shoden: Luke in his new kimono from his tea ceremony exam.

Yamagata: Pictures from our trip to Yamagata prefecture.

Halloween: Pictures from the embassy halloween party for United Way.

Summer Trip to Canada 2007

In memory of Nick Hamilton who passed away May 9, 2007.

Fujiyoshida: A visit to our friends the Sekiguchi's in Fujiyoshida-shi.

Kyoto: Pictures from our trip to Kyoto.

Fukuoka: Pictures from my week trip to the Fukuoka mission.

Andrea and Toru: For those who know them, here are pictures of Kai and the new addition of Tomas to their family.

Tea ceremony and Sakura: Pictures from our tea lesson and then our trip with Mom to a garden with Sakura (cherry blossoms).

Kamakura and Sakura: Pictures from our trip with Mom to Kamakura to see the cherry blossoms and the temples.

Hanami: A Hanami party (Cherry blossom viewing) on a boat rented by some of the management team at the embassy.

Kauai Honeymoon: These are from our honeymoon in Hawaii. We stay on the island of Kauai for 10 days at a very nice place called the Waimea Plantation Cottages.

Wedding: From our wedding in Ottawa. Some are from the professional photographer and some are from our own camera.

Thanksgiving: Mika and my first thanksgiving in Tokyo with some friends.

Peter and Margaret's Fall Tour: Pictures from trips around Switzerland and Italy during the fall of 2006.

Embassy Christmas Pary 2006: From the Embassy Christmas party in Tokyo.

Christmas and New Year's: Christmas holiday and the New Year's Eve party.

Mika's Parental visit: Pictures that Mika's parents sent us of when they visited in the fall for Ikebana International 2006.

The Imperial Palace: The Imperial Palace is only open to the public twice a year. Once on the Emperor's birthday (Dec 23) and once in the New Year (Jan. 2) the rest of the year you can only visit the outer gardens. So I took this New Year's opportunity to see what there was to see.

My sidetables made out of Oak and designed and built by me.