Leon's Growth

Here are three pictures that Leon chose to take to school to show how much he had "grown" (in terms of abilities) in the past year. This was an assignment from his teacher, Ms. Torii.

The first picture shows Leon skiing in the Aso mountains in late January or early February of 1999. I think you can see the smoke from the Aso volcano in the background. This was Leon's first experience skiing on snow. He had tried to ski with "grass skis" (long roller skates that you use on a grass slope) but this was the first time to do the real thing. He took to it pretty quickly. After a few hours, he was able to ride the lift by himself and then ski down, turning left and right to control his speed, without any help. It was a fairly warm day which made the snow soft and forgiving. At any rate, the experience really boosted Leon's confidence.

The next picture Leon chose was this one of him driving a motorboat (with a little help from his Uncle Al). This was one highlight of Leon's visit to the U.S. in August of 1998. Leon enjoyed everything about Uncle Al and Aunt Cindy's hideaway -- especially the jetski, the pontoon boat, and everyone who came to join in the fun.

The third picture shows Leon on his mountain bike with his "cool" helmet and shades. You can also see Mia in her seat. We go cycling as a family from time to time when the weather is nice.

Leon's classmates seemed to be pretty impressed with his leisure activies. It's too bad that Leon hasn't been equally successful in impressing his teacher (who is a great teacher, by the way) with his academic skills. We're hoping that will come with time.