Holidays 2006

The holidays were unique and very special this year. This was George and I's first Christmas and New Year together. AND they were in Hawaii. As I mentioned previously, it felt a little strange at first to be in a tropical climate for the season. Luckily, it didn't take long to get used to the idea of a palm tree for a Christmas tree and sandals for church on Christmas Eve. In fact, I think we both liked it a lot. Who knew that Christmas carols could sound so lovely on the Ukulele?

I also made a rather short trip to St.Louis between Christmas and New Year to visit with my family. (Click here for the pics.) I admit it felt rather rushed, but I still had a nice time seeing with my parents, sister, and brothers. It was especially nice to get to see my brother Joe before he heads off to Thailand for a 27-month placement with the Peace Corps.

Also during my trip, my Mom and Dad and I made some headway with the initial planning for George and I's upcoming wedding celebration. We also had some time to visit a cool exhibit of South Pacific art at the St.Louis Art Museum with long-time family friends Cathy and Jerry Willie. Overall, it was a very nice, but all too short visit.

I flew back to Hawaii just in time to celebrate New Year's Eve with George. On my flight back, I took some neat aerial photos of both Santa Rosa Island off the southern California Coast as well as some shots of O'ahu. You can check them out here. After my return, George and I went to a New Year's Eve party with some of George's Army pals and then came home and watched the fireworks from our front porch. For the record, fireworks seem to be the one and only activity that people do here in Hawaii on NYE. It was really amazing and also trippy to see and hear fireworks constantly for several hours leading up to and following midnight. It literally sounded like rain with all the small explosions and at midnight the sound resembled a torrential downpour! I took some video of the post-midnight fireworks that you can see here.

Well, that's the news from my neck of the woods. I hope to see many of you in Hawaii or St.Louis in the coming year. But whether or not I see you in person, best wishes for peace, health, and prosperity, in the New Year.