Memorial Day

When I was young, Memorial Day was always celebrated on May 30th. Then a few decades into my life, it was changed to be observed on the last Monday of May in order to create a federal holiday on a three-day weekend.

Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service.

It was first enacted in 1868 to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), and was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.

Memorial Day weekend has come to signify the unofficial beginning of summer, and Labor Day weekend as the unofficial end of the season.

According to Wikipedia, there is a movement afoot to return Memorial Day to May 30th in order to re-emphasize the importance of remembering our fallen heroes. I think this is a fine idea, especially since I was born on this day, and it was always really special having my birthday on a national holiday.

Happy 60th Birthday, David

Today is the big day, the big 6-0, for my hubby. I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday (a safe question for which I already knew the answer :D), and he said, "Go to Maui!"

Since it's low season in Maui for us, with corresponding low plane fares, and high season for humpback whales, on their annual vacation trek from the frigid waters of Alaska...it was pretty much a no-brainer, and fly off to Maui we did, today.

It's also a business trip as we need to do a lot of little jobs getting ready for our realtors to sell two of our condo units. So we have our work cut out for us!

We weren't within view of the ocean for five minutes after arriving when we saw our first whale breaching. Dave was itching to get his hands on his new camera and lens and start hunting for the perfect whale shot! That's the best way to take your mind off turning 60 that I can think of...

Tonight I took him to Merriman's for dinner, up on the point by Kapalua Bay. The restaurant is situated on a cliff with the bar overlooking Kapalua, one of the most beautiful beaches on earth. The other side of the restaurant overlooks the ocean towards the islands of Lana'i and Moloka'i.  You can sit at tables up above for dinner, or sit in lounge chairs down on the rocky point with a drink and await the sunset. That gave Dave an opportunity to work on his Maui sunset photos...

The dinner was fabulous, featuring the finest Mauka (mountain side) and Makai (ocean side), freshest foods that Maui has to offer. It was topped off with a gooey, melted chocolate confection served with homemade vanilla bean ice cream, just enough to share.

What a way to bring in the next decade!! Happy birthday, Hubby.

And thank you so much for the surprise lei presentation at the airport!!

Aloha wau ia' oe, ku'u ipo.

 

Holiday Visitors

                                                                  Sylvia and Georgina

Part of the fun of the holidays is the special visitors that come by to visit. On Christmas Eve my honorary brother John (my sister, Jan, and I grew up on neighboring farms with John and his brother, Tom) came with his daughter Celia, her husband, Joey, and their baby daughter, Georgina. They live in New York City, and we had waited all year to meet the new baby! What fun it was to meet her, get some hugs, and show her our two puppies and our gingerbread man tree on the patio. Georgina reminds me so much of her mother, Celia, at that age, who was born just a few days after my daughter, Olivia. We'll have more of John and his family later, I'm sure!

                                                             Olivia, Sylvia, and Katie

The other very important people who dropped by to visit that day were Katie and her fiance, Vinson. Katie and Olivia have been best friends since second grade! Katie is a Stanford graduate, a medical school graduate, and is just about to finish her residency. She has accepted a position as an anesthesiologist in a city about an hour away from our home town. We are SO proud of her achievements. Katie and Liv grew up in each other's houses, so it was like welcoming home a second daughter. And it was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Liv's birthday together!

Happy Birthday, Olivia

Today is Olivia's birthday. She is our one-and-only, best daughter in the whole world, daughter! In this photo she is at the Sea House, Napili Bay, on Maui. That's why she looks so happy :D.

How do you describe this beautiful young woman? Well...she works in a small marketing firm in the East Bay, and she spends a lot of time running for a good cause, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training, where she is a mentor to new runners. She has run many half and full marathons, including the New York City marathon last year, which her family attended with her. That was an incredible day, never to be forgotten!

She has lots of hobbies: hanging out with friends all over the Bay Area and the state, camping and hiking, reading, photography, knitting and many more. When she was growing up she took dance, piano and cello and played in the orchestra all through school into college. She graduated from Santa Clara University and volunteered for two years in the Jesuit Volunteer Corp in Camden, New Jersey.

Olivia is the classic daughter, the kind people dream of having. Intelligent, tall, beautiful, funny,

sweet, organized, thoughtful, athletic, reliable, accomplished, with a ready, gorgeous smile...

How do you describe this young woman? "Awesome," that's how!

Happy birthday, Liv. We love you THIS...................................................................................much!!!!

Click on the video clip below to watch Olivia trying something new!

(If you listen carefully you can hear her giggle...)