On a note of celebration, my brother Warren got married on December 22 to a wonderful woman, Lauranna. Neil and I traveled to Ridgecrest, California for the happy occasion. It was a beautiful wedding and it was so wonderful to have the whole family together. I don't have many wedding pictures but will add to the web page later when I get them, including the WHOLE family portrait. My sister Melanie and her husband Will opened their home for the reception. It was a crisp cool afternoon in the desert but their large home and huge deck handled the 100 guests. It was great to see some old family friends as well.

Christmas was a joyous occasion, also at Melanie and Will's home. Everyone got stockings, including the adults. Santa says this might be the last year for adults as the family is growing. Mom said she doubled her grandkids in one day. Lauranna has 2 daughters, Anna and Laurita, and Warren has been reunited with his daughter Hailey, 16, whom he hadn't seen since she was 1 year old. Hailey spent 2 weeks over Christmas break with Warren and Lauranna. There is also a new great-grandson in the family; Anna gave birth to Antonio on December 27.

This was the first time I had been to a big family Christmas in 7 years. Working in the tourist industry didn't allow me to take vacation at one of the busiest times of the year. The wedding was a good excuse. What is even more amazing is Neil has a history in Ridgecrest too. He lived there for 11 years before moving to Maui 5 years ago. This was the first time he had been back since moving. His daughters, Mailea and Ari, came for the first few days we were there but returned to the coast on Christmas Eve, then came over at the end of the week to spend more time with their Dad. Ari was able to come to the wedding to meet the rest of the family but Mailea was finishing the second day of soccer tournament in Bakersfield (Neil got to watch the first day of it.) Neil had met my parents here in Maui but this was the first time he had met my siblings. We did a name exchange for Christmas gifts with the siblings and spouses/partners. Neil got a new dive mask, and he got a new pair of sunglasses so he is sporting both in this picture.

Dad was Warren's best man; he sure looked sharp in a tux (as did Warren.) This picture is Dad and Jane with Chris and Pamela opening presents Christmas morning. And on the couch are some of the cousins with Lauranna and Warren. On the left is Madison, then Lauranna, Warren, Hailey, and Jason on the right. (Jason is living in Ridgecrest currently.)

We ate and ate. On Christmas Eve afternoon, Mom served a big ham meal at her home for the whole family. Then she went up to Melanie’s early Christmas morning to put in a turkey and we had another feast at Melanie’s Christmas day. Everyone hung around through the day and evening (in between afternoon naps). Will just got a new pool table which was popular, plus games of cards and also the new DVD player got tested out. I helped Will IV (little Will) put together one of his toys, some kind of Hotwheels Astro-track. The cars get shot out and whiz around staying on the track even moving upside down. It was sure hard to figure out where all those plastic pieces went but we got it working. He then became more interested in his new Lego sets. But did get me to play a few games of Clue with him. He is either very good or very lucky! Oh, yes there was the afternoon exercise on the trampoline as Mom tried to make Will fall over (break-the-egg he calls it).

We stayed 10 days in California altogether. As well as having family time, we were able to see several of Neil's friends. One kindly organized an open house so I got to meet several of his friends at once. And we spent a few days in Lone Pine with other good friends of his. The girls came along too, and Mailea’s best friend Greg. They climbed a mountain of rocks and went hiking in the snow. I was feeling cold most of my time in California, so opted out of rolling in the snow.

Now I guess I should back up in time because I haven't written since last spring. In May, we went to San Francisco for Jeff and Suzanne Klein’s wedding. Neil's girls were able to come up for the weekend and we had a great time. See the separate web page for this trip.

The summer started with a new adventure for me: Learning to ride a motorcycle and getting my motorcycle license. I bought a Nighthawk, (Honda 250) from my neighbor when he moved back to the mainland, so I set about practicing in parking lots to weave the cones on the test. Neil has a Yamaha 535cc Virago (which I am riding in the picture.) He must trust my skills to let me ride his bike. Now we are a 2 car, 1 truck, 2 bike family.

We also had lots of family visitors for the summer. See the separate web page for summer vacation. We also decided that we would stop actively looking for a new place to live. We had wanted to find a 2-bedroom place but have tough criteria because we want to be on the ocean as we are now. We decided we are happy with our one bedroom cottage right on the water and with privacy. We just continue to try to get rid of stuff that has accumulated.

In September, Neil was supposed to have a training class in San Francisco, and I got a ticket to go with him. His trip was canceled a week before, but I had a non-refundable ticket and plans to meet my sister Pamela in SF airport for her to pick up Quentin and spend the week with him since she had never met her grandson. I was also supposed to return to Maui with Quentin but that changed too when Vajra decided to move to Seattle the day before I left for SF. There is more on Quentin's new web page. But the really wonderful news is that on Christmas day, Quentin and Vajra moved back to Maui! I have gotten to spend two days with him and hope to spend a day a week. He is such a happy baby, always laughing. He loves playing in the sand on the beach and decided to taste it the other day. Seemed to like it because he put more in before I could get a hold of his hand. He still isn't sure about the ocean and won't wade in the water with me.

In San Francisco, I spent a day on the bay with Jeff and Suzanne sailing. What fun. It was cold but gorgeous. I even took a turn at the wheel. I decided to spend some of my time in Mendocino and on the coast.  It was a wonderful get away. Brought back memories of when I used to go there weekends from Palo Alto. Jeff and Suzanne came to Maui for Thanksgiving this year (the past two years we have gone to Lanai to see them at Thanksgiving). They treated us to a wonderful banquet at the Four Seasons and other wonderful meals. Three friends of theirs came to Maui also. I took them for an intro dive and we had a great time the whole week. Neil and Jeff even went on a night dive. It wasn't good winds for sailing this trip.

October was full of surprises. Neil had lots of surprises for me for my birthday month. They started 3 weeks before my birthday and they kept right on coming until the dance performance tickets (series of 4 with the first one on my birthday.) His colleagues at work think I am really lucky. I know I am really lucky to be with such a wonderful man.

Here on Maui, we continue hiking and diving for “fun.” We hiked into the Haleakala crater one evening with friends, and hiked out by moonlight, 8 miles round trip and a 3000 foot elevation change (down and up). Last weekend, we hiked up over the pali ridge with a group of 12 others. It is usually very hot and dry on the pali but this day it was perfect “winter” weather and it was beautifully green with little wild flowers from our recent rains. Neil continues enjoying his work at the Pacific Disaster Center. I continue to work at the Maui Ocean Center Aquarium, and to teach diving part time privately.

We look forward this year to family and friends visiting us in Maui, Mailea’s graduation in June, and summer trips.
 

Written January 2002