We're Headed for HAWAII 5-0 !!!

The plans have been in place since July 2007 that the Joel/Kent family would go to Hawaii to celebrate a very special occasion this summer. Ward & Janet (referred to as Grandma & Grandpa from this point on) are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary! Tom, Michelle, Courtney & Ryan Joel as well as Dave, Rhonda & Jason Kent will all be traveling with Grandma & Grandpa to Hawaii for 15 nights/16 days in July. For 4 nights we'll be on Oahu so the ladies in particular can do some hot bargain shopping. (Grandma & Michelle hear that Rhonda is a real wheeler dealer, so hopefully she can share some tricks of the trade with us so that we can pick up some great souvenirs at a low price.) The kids are excited about going to the Hawaiian Adventures Water Park on the north side of the island to get some water fun in. They have lots of water slides and activities and even a whole area geared to non-adventurous swimmers known as Keiki Cove. Courtney & Ryan had a blast there a few years ago and are excited to play with their cousin Jason there. After a few days on the hustle and bustle of Oahu, we will all relax for a couple of weeks on Kauai. We are ALL anxious to eat at our favorite pasta place on the island, Kauai Pasta. Our last trip there, we frequented this restaurant and declared it some of the best Italian food we've had. Ahhhh, can you smell the yummy garlic bread and italian seasoned dishes now??

One of the most important and exciting things we'll do while we are on Kauai, is renew each couple's wedding vows on Grandma & Grandpa's actual 50th anniversary, July 12th. This was something Grandma and Grandpa really wanted to do and they wanted us "kids" to renew ours there as well since the whole family would be there to witness it. Tom & Michelle just celebrated their #14 in February and Dave & Rhonda will be celebrating their 1st on July 27th this year. As of just a couple of weeks ago, they confirmed Pastor Harold Kilborn of the Old Koloa Church to do the honors early that evening. He has 3 wonderful ceremonies (a separate one for each couple) planned for Shipwreck Beach situated on Keoneloa in the Poipu area. It should be beautiful! They have also reserved the photographer so that we can look back on all these memories for years to come.

Everyone has their plane tickets now and the condos were booked back in August 2007 with Grandma & Grandpa's timeshare, so it is really becoming a reality now that we are going to be headed for Hawaii for the big 5 0 in just a few short months! ALOOOOOHA!

posted by Michelle