Today is our 10th anniversary. Marla and I were married on December 29th, 1996 in the Hollywood School House in Woodinville, WA. (See the engagement announcement here. Be sure and right click on the box that says “mandel-northcutt” and select “View Image” to see us in our early 90’s glory!)

We were snowed in by one of the worst storms the Pacific Northwest had seen in many years. Half our guests weren’t able to make it because of airport closures and I spent a good bit of the wedding day morning shoveling snow from the Schoolhouse steps.

It seemed only fitting, then, that we celebrated our anniversary in balmy Hawaii, don’t you think?

The day started out for Emma and I with a submarine ride. Poor Henry wasn’t quite old enough for the ride so we left him and Marla at the house. You’ll never guess who came up with the submarine idea. (Or maybe you will!) Emma decided that she didn’t want to swim underwater so a submarine was the logical alternative. Logically…

She had a great time spotting fish and then trying to identify them on the fish finder card. We reached a depth of 100 feet at one point. Curiously at that depth there were nearly no coral or fish. I guess that the sunlight at 100 feet just isn’t strong enough to sustain the algae that they feed on.

Following the submarine ride we were reunited with Molly. Sure enough, Emma’s sleepy recollection turned out to be true. Molly had spent the night at a gas station. The ladies running the counter were so excited to find an owner for Molly. They were both grandparents and knew that some little girl would be lonely without her doll.

For an anniversary dinner we attended a lu’au near the reconstructed Ahu’ena Heiau, the capitol of Hawaii in the early 1800’s.

Emma took hula lessons, we learned how to properly open a coconut, we were entertained by Polynesian dancers and we all feasted on kalua pig.

Life is good!