We feel so blessed to live on Maui and enjoy our own little paradise. Past years we have had great travel adventures but this last year we treasured our time here. Next year will most likely bring much anticipated family visits to the mainland. For the time being we are loving the cool tropical breezes and the return of humpback whales to the Hawaiian waters.

The year 2009 started with Nan in California helping care for her mother who was recovering from a fall. She literally shopped till she dropped on Christmas Eve. She is now fully recovered and back to bowling and playing racquetball along with all her other volunteer activities and traveling. I returned in time to celebrate Neil’s birthday with our trip to Oahu our first ever skydiving experience. What a thrill. You can check out Neil’s Big 5-oh Birthday to share the experience in photos.

One reason we don’t need to leave Maui is the joy of having friends and family visit us here on Maui. We had friends from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California vacation here this past year. And relatives of Neil’s from Iowa surprised us with a call and dinner when they were here. Anyone know who these characters are? Mom and Bill cruised to Hawaii in April and were to spend a few days with us on Maui. Their trip was cut short flying to Ohio for the funeral of my Uncle Jim. We got to spend three hours with them from ship to plane.

Quentin and Vajra are living in Paia and I enjoy spending time with Quentin every other week. Sophie is in Hana with her dad and I get to see her every few months. Quentin went to California this spring and spent time with Grandma and Grandpa Beamer. Jason, Crystal, and Journey (Quentin’s sister) flew in to spend a few days with Quentin and they all got to go to Disneyland! What a treat; I know it has been on Quentin’s wish list. Jason and Crystal are living in Oklahoma with their two girls, Journey, age 2, and Justice, age1.Vajra graduated from Maui College in June with her Associate degree and is now working on her Bachelors. She is working as an intern with an DoD group doing research and development with one of the telescopes on top of Haleakala. (Link to webcam on Haleakala.) We had family photos taken for Vajra and family in June. Neil and I went to get couple of shots with them, then the photographer got several of Neil and I too. There was a nice variety of shots so I put some on a Tropical Plantation web page.

October was Birthday month: My mom, Quentin and I all have birthdays in that month. Mom flew in to spend a week with us while we pet/house sat for friends in Makena. Lulu, their black razorback lab, and their five cats enjoy staying at home when they travel. We enjoyed the beach walks, serenity, the hot tub and pool. For our birthdays, Mom and I pampered ourselves with trip to a spa for facial, body wrap, and massage. We had a little pool party to celebrate Quentin’s 9th birthday along with ours. (Sophie turned 6 in July.) Neil and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary in October.

Our gardening has evolved to herbs and flowers. It is hard to grow vegetables in Kihei. I enjoy the time outside. I also enjoy walks on the beach every morning for my exercise and meditation. We are pleased to have gotten a new roof on the cottage in the spring. That ends five years of having to put up a tarp every winter to cover the leaks, yeah!

Our latest project has been to reorganize and clean up our garage/shed area and get Neil a work area. He has built a work bench and organized all his tools so they are finally easily accessible. He has been thinking about this for a while but maybe working to build me a shower privacy shield and a new pallet platform for my birthday

Dad and Jane in Ohio both doing well. Dad works one to three days a week for building supplier and is still very active with the Lion’s Club. I am looking toward spring of 2010 for an Ohio visit and hopefully a stop in Santa Fe in April for a college friend’s reunion. Mom and Bill are also doing well and I hope to have them visiting us in February. Jean, Neil’s mom, and Morley are still wonderful neighbors and we spend many an evening playing a few games of Triominos with them. Mailea, Neil’s oldest daughter, is finishing up her Masters Degree in Rhode Island this spring. She and her husband Greg are hoping to move to Oregon for him to begin a Masters program. Ari, Neil’s younger daughter, continues to live and work in Santa Cruz after her graduation for UC Santa Cruz. She in applying to Nursing Programs to get her degree as a Nurse Practitioner. She and her boyfriend Eric are avid snowboarders and mountain bikers. Neil looks forward to getting to spend time with all of them soon.

We are not only blessed living in this beautiful place and having friends visit. We are also blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family here on Maui. We treasure the time we get to spend with each.