A quick clip of our trip for a good laugh!

Here is a video from our trip that we got the biggest kick out of. It was taken on "Big Beach" of Maui where the waves are not easy to board in, I wouldn't even attempt them but Jim did.....

25th Anniversary in Maui~

Being a parent definitely presents new opportunities and challenges. For example, take this blog site my daughter has pushed me into. This is foreign territory for me! Our kids sure give us plenty of ways, wanted and unwanted, to learn as parents. I’m terrified of this keyboard!! But if I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times “PUSH THE BUTTON!! THE COMPUTER WILL NOT EXPLODE!! So I’ve gone and done it, I’ve pushed the “blog button”…..

It is a fitting year for me to begin a blog. I would like to start with the biggest milestone. Jim and I have celebrated 25 years of marriage!! Right from the get go we began our family, Bryce is 24. We have raised four precious children who mean so much to us. Being in our family has been my greatest joy! The experiences have been incredible, some were unplanned surprises and almost all have been so rewarding. As Jim and I have reached this significant year of our marriage we realize we are steadily moving into a new phase of our life together. With three children in college and only our youngest Cody at home, we are fading out of the day to day management of so many people.

In celebration of our 25 years together we spent our anniversary on the island of Maui! Jim has been planning this event since he was 17-and we weren’t even married yet! J Jim saw his parents leave to enjoy a significant anniversary in Hawaii, many years ago, and his thought at the time was “I’m gonna do that!” So we began planning this trip last summer but as luck would have it a job opportunity to work in Europe became a reality last fall. With a little adjusting we were able to still celebrate our 25^th in Hawaii, just a couple weeks earlier than planned (official anniversary date is August 17th.) We left on Sunday, August 2^nd, and returned on Monday, August 10^th, a week before our move to Germany. We loved our trip!! My favorite things were boogey boarding in the WARM water and watching the sunsets! I hope you enjoy some of the pictures.

Getting ready to play on the beach our first day on Maui!

A beautiful sunset at the Luau we enjoyed.
A fun night shot at the Luau.

Cody commented he thought the costumes might feel a

bit uncomfortable for these performers!

These young men put on a great show and we admired

them for the courage to wear their costumes!

Anywhere we stopped the water was absolutely beautiful,

we could stare at it for hours......

Some intense waves crashing at times in this spot.

While visiting this outdoor botanical garden we were told

the rock down behind and below us, not visible, was used in

the opening scene of "Jurassic Park."

Jim's lifelong dream of standing in a Hawaiin

waterfull became a reality!

I really enjoyed this black sand beach. The interesting

thing about it was listening to the waves pull the small

stones back towards the ocean, the sound was capti-

vating for me.

A close up of the black sand beach pebbles.

While on the beach we found a cave, of course Jim

wanted to see what was at the other end.....

This was the beautiful view at the other end.

This lava beach made me think of long dinosaur necks.

"Dinosaur Beach" and maybe a bunny rabbit statue in the

background.

A lone island that grew some trees.

More beautiful waterfalls.

Another beautiful beach view.

Our very comfortable condo we stayed in and where we

cooked most of our meals.

This man took us out on sea kayaks to spot turtles and

possibly some dolphins, we saw plenty of turtles while we

kayaked and snorkeled but unfortunately did not see any

dolphins. I would show the turtles but they were developed

on a simple water camera.

Jim loved the shaved ice (snow cones) here, his favorite

flavor was cherry. We tried lots of them!

Our favorite activity was boogey boarding, sometimes until

sunset.

Lookin' for that next great wave......

Jim's waiting for his big one.

A beautiful sunset while boarding.

Lovin' life at the beach!!!!

The last morning to ride some more waves! We were

sad to be leaving such a fun place!

Getting ready to throw our luau leis into the ocean to

ask for "special blessings." A custom we were told of

at our luau.

That's my Jim man!

This photo was acutually taken on our actual anniversary

date, Monday, August 17th, the day we moved to Germany!