Happy Hearts

This is happy hearts again, hitting the night life of Japan. We're going to a new city now--Kyoto--spreading our color into yet another city that might want it.

Me

Fay

River and Chris

Vacation--Beach

These photo's are taken at one of the three most scenic places in Japan, called Amanohashidate. And we are lucky to be just 1 and a half hours from its location. Amanohashidate literally means "bridge on the heavens." It's a strip of land, approx.100m wide and 2 1/2 kilometers long that is seen going through the ocean, connecting two sides. One side is lined with pine trees; the other a sandy beach along the coast; the center, a wide sandy path.

You're so beautiful hony. This photo with the flower behind your ear reminds me of the photo taken at the PMA, of you with the white and purple flower I gave you.

Pine tree and beach.

This photo's a little dark. Sorry about that.

The water is clean as well. Still a bit cold to swim, but we had come at a good time.

Contemplating going into the water, hony?

Vacation--Photo's

A beautiful Japanese garden. Pleasant to the eyes

Outdoor hot-spring. Yep, that's you sweetie, on the phone again. ha!

River secretly made a small cake for Fay, and we snuck it to the beach with us and had a little surprise birthday celebration. Luckily, it was made possible for us to have vacation together with Jonathan and River as well. If you remember, I have photo's posted of them at Angiolino (our coffee/ice-cream shop)

Fay made the pasta, River the sandwiches, and we had great fun eating them. Especially, on the way home. You should have seen me scrambling in the back for a plate of pasta and the last remains of the sandwiches with the car moving. If the car was bigger and provided more space for me to move, I would have eaten more. But because Fay was tired and wanted to lie on my lap and my moving about wouldn't help her do that, I decided to be still.

On the way to the beach, we just had to stop at this place to take photo's, as the view was breath-taking. If you're wondering what we're doing in the photo above--I'm feeding a rasberry to Fay that we had picked wild.

Vacation--hotel

After the restaurant, I took you to a hotel. It was a world tour hotel, with 25 rooms--each with a country's unique design and style. We chose the room from Bali.

I think you're really special, and I feel really lucky to be together with you.

I want to use this occasion to wish you a happy birthday again. I hope it was special for you and that you liked it. Despite our busy lives in a pioneer home of 30 people, my brother and our good friend, Junior, helped to watch our kids while we were away. I packed a red table clothe and carpet, wine glasses, candles, lavander oil, and your present that you're seen holding in the picture above. It's a skirt that I bought you.

Just for the record, I planned all this from months before. Though my plans morphed into something different, I was able to make your birthday really special for you, which I hope you'll remember. From now as months pass, maybe even years, I don't know, I'm sure that there will be many hard times to come--times that we'll contemplate separation, times that we'll wonder if we even really love each other still. When hard times hit, let's remember these good times. I love you. No, we haven't signed those marriage papers yet, but my love for you is written, and it's a commitment.

I packed a suitcase with stuff to set up for you without you knowing. You were surprised when you saw that suitcase in the back of our car, weren't you? Ha! That skirt that I bought you. You were oohing and awwing over it, and when you and the kids were eating the car set at the little family restaurant, I snuck away and bought it for you. Same with the little bouquet of roses. I had that hidden. And on the morning of your birthday, you woke up to find it on the shelf with a happy birthday note attached to it.

These are memories that I will never forget.