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Visitors
Willy
and Deanna
enjoy having visitors! Willy’s friends
from Jiu-Jitsu and Toastmasters visited as well as longtime friends
Dave and Brenda
Gleason. Nephew Austin and Melanie
came
with their friends. Willy shared some of the island with Cynthia and
her
parents. Kim Gracie stayed a night. A
big highlight for the year was 15 seated at our Thanksgiving dinner on
the
beach, including Chad and Jamie’s family, Willy’s mom Dorothy, brother
Larry
and sister-in-law Doris, and nephew Luke and Ivette’s family. John and Kristen came just after Christmas
and stayed through New Year’s and John’s birthday.
Dana Cummings and kids got picked up in
Waikiki and brought to the house by Willy’s boat. Carla from Willy’s
California
Jiu-Jitsu classes came with her mom and sister. Pete and Pilar’s
daughter Marissa
stopped in for a few days to play. Co-workers
Chris, Cammie, Sanjiv, and both Codys brought friends and family to
enjoy the
waves and learn to surf.
Surf-Jitsu
Every
Saturday
morning, Willy holds an event known as Surf-Jitsu.
From 7am to 9am it’s time to surf. Willy
has a few paddle boards and several
surfboards. It is attended by Willy’s
co-workers and neighbors. If someone is
a first-time surfer, Willy works with them and gets them on a wave. Speaking of surfing, Willy has caught a wave
every single day since moving to the beach house, except for the few
days he
was off-island. The no miss surf streak
count is over 500 days now. Following
surf time, after 9am, the mats are put down in the yard under the
Plumeria
trees. The Jiu-Jitsu training lasts 1 to
4 hours depending on the interest of the participants.
Sometimes the training is followed by a food
event. Kim Gracie was our special guest
in December. She rode a couple waves
tandem riding on a paddle board with Willy.
She was up on her feet like a pro.
She also joined us on the mat, and spoke to Willy’s Jiu-Jitsu
class. Other Jiu-Jitsu news includes Willy
attending
a seminar by Ryron and Rener
here in Hawaii and Rigan Machado awarding Willy his 2nd
Degree Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. The first
and second and third degrees of Black Belt are based on 3 years of
involvement
in Jiu-Jitsu in the previous belt level.
Fishing
Willy
has done his
share of fishing this year but no Marlin, Wahoo, Mahi or Tuna. He does catch other fish though.
Co-worker Robert Berry hooked a nice fish, but a
bigger fish wanted it more, and took its share.
Willy’s Mom Moves to Hawaii
Dorothy,
(Willy’s
mom) moved to Hawaii! She has her own
place less than a half mile down the beach from Willy and Deanna. She lives across the street from the beach
and has a great view of Honolulu, Waikiki, and Diamond Head, especially
at
sunrise! Willy and Deanna are glad to
have her close. Dorothy has been
spending a lot of time with Deanna, shopping and getting settled into
her new
home. They also have enjoyed her cooking
as well as sharing meals together. We all
look forward to seeing even more family and other visitors as they will
be
coming to Hawaii instead of Arizona to see her.
Kirk’s
Family Visits Hawaii
Kirk
and Melanie and
family stayed with us a few days along with time in Waikiki to attend
Melanie’s
cousin’s wedding. Willy and Deanna
enjoyed fun times with them and Melanie’s parents, Jeff and Jayne, who
also
came for the wedding! Willy loved taking
the family out on his boat. Hudson (7) jumped off a rock into the ocean
and
paddle boarded with his dad and Grumps.
Brooklyn (4) loved playing at the shoreline and boogie boarding!
Colorado Visits
Kirk
graduated from
Colorado University with an MBA. Willy
and Deanna flew over to join his family, including Melanie’s parents to
watch
the graduation ceremony. While there, they
all stayed in Kirk and Melanie’s Breckenridge place and skied. Deanna visited them for Brooklyn’s birthday
and Mother’s Day in May, and again in July.
Chad’s Family
Visits Hawaii
Chad
and Jamie
brought their three kids and stayed with Willy and Deanna for the week
of
Thanksgiving. It was the first time they
came since Willy and Deanna moved there in 2019. They
took in some sights including Waimea Bay
and Waimea Falls Park and enjoyed a boat ride and beach activities at
the
house. Willy, Chad, and Declan caught a
three-generation wave! On that wave,
Declan
(6) was on a board with Chad. Woohoo! Kason
(4) loved building sandcastles and paddle boarding. Zeya
(2) giggled with joy every time her feet
touched the ocean! With more family
staying just down the street at GG’s it was a busy beach!
Georgia
Visits
Willy
and Deanna
visited Chad and Jamie and their kids in Georgia. On another trip in
July, Deanna
was able to celebrate her birthday with them. There
is much to explore in their yard with a
creek running through it and a ninja course in the trees. The boys caught fish and turtles at a local
park and went kayaking with Willy at Lake Lanier. Kirk
and Melanie and their kids also went to
visit Chad and Jamie’s clan in October and enjoyed having the cousins
all
together for the first time in a few years. This year, Chad became a
licensed Optician
to compliment sales and management at his job!
Sights
From Home
Melanie
snapped a
quick photo of our place just before landing and Deanna framed it. Deanna enjoys taking photos of sunrises over
the water, sunsets against the mountains, and ships that go by.
We enjoy sharing our lives with all of you.
We hope you are well and are looking forward to 2023 as much as we are.
Willy
retires in less than a year and a half!
Please
give us your latest contact information. Come visit, call,
mail, or e-mail us.
We want to know what you are doing! We love
visitors. Each of you has impacted
our lives and are a blessing to us. May our Lord richly bless you all
in
2023!
End
