Did you ever have a day....

That was so perfect you needed to blog about it just so you could remember? We have all had days that were so great that you wanted to go back and read about it when you have days that were not so great (mom...remember that time that CJ got sick and had doggy poo all over your new rugs? It was one of the only times I have seen you cry). Anyway - the past 2 days have been that good that I want to remember them always.

It started on Friday when it was time to celebrate Patrick's promotion to Major. There was a beautiful ceremony, Patrick gave a touching speech (in which he got very choked up talking about how much he loved me - which made all the ladies in the room go "Awwwwwww"), and more than twice the amount of people showed up! I swelled with pride as I stood next to our children and watched Patrick recite his oath (by memorization) as he was sworn in as the newest Major in the US Air Force. My favorite part though, was right before Patrick was officially announced (and we all had to rise as he entered) - Evelyn saw him and ran over to him with open arms and hugged him! The picture is awful - but again, it was something I just wanted to have documented so I never forget! When the ceremony and celebration were over, we went to the O Club and socialized with some friends, had some drinks, and then decided to go out for dinner. We went to a new place (new to us) called Sherlock Holmes. It was an English Pub type of place that had Guinness and Bass on tap, and a delicious 'hamburg steak' which was basically hamburger meat made into a steak shape and grilled in front of you served over rice with sauce. Very yummy! Then we grabbed some desserts at Chatelaine (a 'French' Bakery) and were home by 9 (yes, I know - we are lame). But it was a great night I will always remember.

Today, we woke up, Patrick made breakfast while I went for a run (ok - a walk with some jogging thrown in) and then we decided to get outside to soak up the gorgeous day. We decided to go to Showa Park again (we had been twice before during the week so it was empty) and Evelyn literally was there yesterday with her school. But we wanted to rent bikes, have a picnic and enjoy the day. So we packed up some lunch, threw on some sun screen, and headed out for some fun!

Much to our surprise it was not as crowded as we expected for a gorgeous weekend! We are getting much better at figuring out how to do things in Japan (buy tickets, rent the bikes, etc) so it did not take long to get on the bike path and head for the Children's play area. This area has the white jumpy cloud area, the dragon park and the rainbow nets. The kids ran and played and laughed and were perfect. We ate lunch under a covered pavilion and took off on our bikes again. I think the kids liked riding on the back of the bikes as much as anything! We went to the open area which had beautiful poppy fields, more play grounds, people laying out in the grass, some people in tents, people playing frisbee, etc. It was almost out of the Stepford Wives books...it was that picture perfect. Everyone was happy and just having a good time. No one got into your business. Everyone was friendly. Very nice. After that we headed for our last stop at the Bonsai Gardens. It was very neat, clean and serene. There was a koi pond, bonsai trees, bamboo trees, and - my favorite - the purple iris gardens. The kids were very well behaved, the bikes were easy and fun to use, and the weather was absolutely perfect.

When we got home, the kids relaxed and watched tv, Patrick tended to the yard, and I napped :-) Then we all worked together to help make dinner which consisted of BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, mac and cheese and applesauce! We ate outside, there were no bugs, and we used paper plates so there was nothing to clean up! After dinner we walked to the shopette to rent a movie for us and to get ice cream and gummy bears for the kids.

Throughout the past 2 days there was voluntary hand holding with parents, hugs between siblings, and shoulder rides. There were laughs, sharing, and pleases and thank yous. I know we still have one more day in the weekend...but so far - this has been one of the best weekends to date :-)