We wish you a joyful holiday season and peace in the new year.

This past year, we have had many joys: my Mom Audrey turned 90! Mailea and Daniel got married and bought their first house! We had multiple visits with Ariann, Eric, and our grandsons! and We loved traveling and having wonderful times visiting friends and family.

Through sorrow, we find peace: my father Robert passed away in March before his 91st birthday. We still miss Neil’s Mom but are happy to have Neil’s stepfather Morley living next door. We are sad that Ariann’s hospital closed its labor and delivery unit where she has worked as a nurse for over 10 years. We are happy she is enjoying time with her boys before she embarks on a new position in 2026.

At the beginning of 2025, I spent two winter months in Ohio with my Dad as he completed his life’s journey, passing away at home. I am so grateful for the precious time with him and with all my siblings who are currently living in Ohio. My Dad was alert and mindful to the very end. Such a blessing to be with him.

Another blessing was spending Mom’s 90^th birthday week in Hawaii along with her husband Bill plus my sister Pamela. Both my Mom and Bill are doing well and he wanted to gift her a trip to Hawaii for her 90th birthday, just like her 80th birthday. We had a fun birthday week celebrating Mom’s, Quentin’s and my birthdays all in the same week! We were thrilled to have a visit from my cousin Scott and his wife Sandra coincide with our join birthday lunch celebration.

Neil has had several family construction projects this year. He started designing a catio (cat patio) as soon as Mailea and Daniel made the offer on their house. Their house is in the newer area of Wailuku Heights and still needed the outside landscaping and concrete work done before catio construction could begin. In the meantime, Ariann and family wanted to replace the top boards on their back deck in Missoula. Neil and I flew there at the end of March and Neil’s high school friend Jeff drove up from Iowa to help. The repair became an unplanned complete rebuild of the deck when they found the wood underneath needed to be replaced as well. Neil extended his trip to work with Jeff, Ariann, and Eric to complete the project while I flew home to work.

Back home on Maui in April, Mailea and Daniel’s contractor backed out at the last minute, and Neil got recruited for help with concrete; a new experience for him. Mailea flew Jeff out from Iowa (bless his heart) and the 4 of them (along with the help of Daniel’s firefighting buddies on concrete pour days) transformed the yard into concrete patios, black rock pathways, and beautiful lawns in four weeks. All the experienced workers were amazed at how much they accomplished so fast.

Then the catio construction could finally begin. Neil and Jeff built an amazing pergola and enclosed it in wire for the enjoyment of our fur grandbabies. Mailea and Daniel and their 6 cats and kittens could finally move into their new home in June. Neil’s vision of the catio wasn’t complete yet, still needing interior perches, ramps, and walkways, but it was time for our summer travels.

We headed to Thailand to finally get my crowns on my upper molar implants. It is wonderful to be able to chew fully again! Neil also had some dental work done while there. We had two mini-trips planned between our initial and follow-up appointments over that 3-week visit. The first was to a hot springs resort on the River Khwae Noi, located between two national parks northwest of Kanchanaburi. The second was going to be a short jaunt into Laos.

For the first mini-trip we took the train on the route that became known as the Death Railroad. It got that name during World War II when the Japanese used allied POWs and Thai citizens as slaves to construct a railway route to Burma. Most of the 4-hour journey was through lush agricultural land, with the last hour or so becoming scenic along the river and among the hills and low mountains.

Finally, after a half-hour ride in the back of a pickup truck, we arrived at our resort villa with our own private hot tub overlooking the River Khwae Noi. We loved it. Beautiful, serene, relaxing, and many other things Bangkok is not. We are definitely nature people, not city people.

Sadly, while sightseeing I missed a step and twisted my ankle so badly I let Neil push me around in a wheelchair for a few days when needing to go to and from the room. It was much improved after a few days of alternating cold and hot water soaking. It was just as well because I needed more low-key time to recover from my dental procedures. It didn’t stop Neil though; he explored the nearby jungle and found an ancient Buddha cave along the river and someone’s pet elephant in a large corral near an indigenous community.

Dental work the following week was hard on both of us so we canceled our plans to visit Laos and instead we returned to our hot springs villa for another 4 days to relax and recover before our final appointments. I thought my work was finally done but then the dentist said my molar crowns are only temporary, and I would need to return for the permanent ones, sigh.

We returned home to Maui for a week and then headed to the mainland for our six-week trip, visiting my family in Ohio, Neil’s family in Minnesota, and Neil’s daughter’s family in Missoula, Montana. My Mom flew out to Ohio at the same time, and we had a large reunion on her side of the family. She has an older sister and younger brother still living in Ohio. Neil’s sister Cindy lives in Hastings, Minnesota, and her three children are all nearby. It was wonderful to spend time with each of them and their partners.

Our final mainland stop was in Missoula, where we got to spend fun days with Ari and Eric and our grandsons Patrick and Connor. Also, there was another unexpected construction project on the agenda. Ari spontaneously bought a metal storage shed from someone on Facebook, so Neil dug out a lot of dirt from the slope beside the garage and leveled the area with stones before he added a small wooden retaining wall and floorboards. We also helped Eric build a shade roof over a portion of their new deck.

I love visiting and traveling but it is always nice to get home. I had work booked for the Fall but my schedule wasn’t too busy. Neil figured that gave me plenty of time to help him finish the catio! His vision of more climbing ramps and walkways took form, and I was able to help support the woodworking as needed and do lots of painting. Mailea found the paint that exactly matched the house colors so it ended up looking gorgeously beautiful. The cats were so excited to explore each new addition as we finished them day-by-day. It didn’t take long for them to each find their favorite nap spots.

I enjoyed Mom and Bill’s October visit to Maui so much that I decided to join my brother Warren and visit them in California for Thanksgiving. I am glad I was there and had a good two weeks with them. Had I gotten to Mom’s a few weeks earlier, I could have also seen my sister Melanie and her husband Will, but Neil and I had seen them in Ohio earlier in the summer.

Neil had one more construction project to do this year and this time it was for us. Using nothing but spare lumber left from other projects, He built a deck adjoining the sugar shack. It gives us easier access to our storage area in the sugar shack as well as a nice deck for the BBQs and general use. I wonder what projects he will come up with next year!

Neil’s stepfather Morley still lives independently next door. In November he needed some extra caregiving, so his daughter Marylin came out for the month to help. Daughter Liz also came out to celebrate his 88th birthday in the middle of the month. It was great to spend time with them.

In December, Neil’s daughter Ariann came to Maui and stayed with her sister in her new home. We had a time with her during her five days whirlwind visit including hiking, snorkeling, dinners, and shopping.

Christmas is approaching so quickly. How did that happen? We are keeping gift giving to a minimum and focusing on spending time with family and communicating with friends. We send each of you much love and joy. We pray this world reaches peace that passes understanding, and that love shines brightly through all humanity.

Click into the website and then click on the first photo below and arrow through the album to read more about our adventures with family and friends. There are descriptions under each photo giving more detail.