Merry Christmas!! – 2002 
There were several significant events in our lives in
2002. The two major events were Naoki
quitting Intel in June to be a stay-at-home Dad and we made our marriage
official on June 25th after 18 years of living together.
Yes, Naoki quit his job.
It may be hard to believe that he did such a drastic thing when the
economy is so shaky but quality of life was more important to us. Naoki wasn’t happy with the work environment
at Intel as we stated in last year’s Christmas letter and it was impacting his
health and family. After several family
discussions, we decided it was in the best interest of the family for him to
quit and be a stay-at-home Dad to Cally and Megan. He gave notice in March so his boss could prepare for the
transition. Flo went back full time at
Pacificorp anticipating this change.
Shortly after, a manager position opened up and she applied and got the
job. In order for Naoki to be covered
by Flo’s insurance, we had to be married.
We know it’s not a traditional reason to get married but after 18 years
together, the marriage license was just a formality. Cally wanted us to get married so she could dress up for a
wedding but Megan did not want us to get married because she did not want to
dress up for a wedding (neither did her Mom).
We compromised and had a quick wedding at the county court house and
were married by a judge. Most people
aren’t lucky enough to have their kids at their wedding! In July, we had a party to celebrate this
event at our house. Flo’s parents came
from Michigan and we counted over 130 friends and relatives at our house even
though it was very short notice.
This was the 3rd summer in a row that Naoki was
able to stay home with the kids. It’s
nice not to have to worry about daycare at all and the kids enjoy being able to
do stuff with their Dad. In August,
Naoki, along with Cally and Megan, went to Japan to visit his parents (Flo
stayed home to work). We were there for
over two weeks this time, which was the longest we had ever stayed. Cally got
to spend her birthday with her grandparents and a cousin. The cousin, Tsubasa, is the same age as
Cally. He didn’t get to spend much time
with Cally and Megan the first week we were there because he had to attend a
supplemental school. It’s a very common thing to do in Japan especially when
nearing entrance exam for Jr. High, High School, or College. His usual day starts by getting up at 6am to
study and then he goes to school from 9am to about 6pm every day except
Sunday. He does go to swimming during
lunch to expend some of his energy (this is his schedule during summer
vacation!). He got a few days off so
the kids all played together. Again, we
all enjoyed the visit, shopping, and the Japanese food. The summer went by fast because of these
events. In addition we managed to
squeeze in a few rounds of golf (kids too), trip to Seattle for a Mariners
game, and trips to beach.
Flo went to Michigan for her Dad’s 80’s birthday party in
April. He is doing great and still
whips Naoki and Flo in golf. We can
outdrive him but he is very accurate and consistent…Naoki and Flo are wild and
inconsistent. For spring break, Flo and
kids drove down to California to visit Flo’s sister and family. Naoki had to work but managed to fly down on
business (one nice perk for Intel was they have private jets to go between
sites…he had people working for him and his boss in San Jose) and drove back
with them. We are all going to Michigan
for Christmas (this is the third year in a row that we were away for
Christmas. We are staying home next
year!). Also Flo’s Mom is turning 80 and graduating from college so there will
be a party for her. We don’t think
we’ll play golf though but maybe we’ll experience a snowy Christmas!
Cally is in 7th grade and Megan is in 4th
grade. Naoki is volunteering in Megan’s
class as a helper and in Cally’s school as a math tutor. Cally just got her report card and she got
all A’s. She especially likes her drama
class. She just auditioned for the
school play. Megan also did well on her
report card (they don’t give letter grades).
They both do well in Math. Cally
does most of the extra credit and does her homework without being told but
Megan is another story. She does them
but reluctantly and won’t do extra credit unless she gets told to do it. They both enjoy having Naoki at home. He cooks breakfast every morning and he’s
home when they get home. Also, this
makes it possible for an after school activity. They started to take Taekwondo
in October. They both enjoy the class
and work hard to get to the next belt.
They earned a yellow belt and now they are working on orange. Megan can’t walk around the house without
simulating the kicks. We are making
sure that we don’t get in her way.
We played softball in summer as we have been for many
years. Our coed team got placed in
B-league and we didn’t do too well. We
had a good team but we are just too old to compete with kids half of our
age. Flo says 2002 was her last year
playing. Naoki is still planning to
have a coed team and play on a men’s team.
We played golf and kids started to play also. They are not ready to go onto a real course yet but we are hoping
that it will be a family activity soon.
Naoki still plays tennis and complains about aches and pains the day
after he plays.
2002 was an eventful year for all of us and we are sure
that 2003 will be too. We hope that you
had a great year and hope you have a great 2003. Take care and hope to see or hear from you. Our email addresses
are n.kamiya@verizon.net for Naoki
and flo.hausler@verizon.net for
Flo.
Happy New Year!!!
Love,
Naoki, Flo, Cally and Megan
P.S. If you have spare Rose Bowl Tickets, let us know!!! ☺
Go Cougs!!!! 