"stay w/ me...lets just breath..."

Aloha everyone. Blogging from beautiful seattle, Washington as the blue angels roar by overhead. The perfect time of year to be in Seattle, and for a great reason, to see a great old friend get married this weekend. This is our first posting since May i think, which I take responsibility for, but we have come a long way in our planning, although we (I) still have a lot of details to work through. But we do have some info to pass on so here we go...
1. If you still our planning to come to the wedding we are now under 5 months to go, so if you still need to purchase your tix's i suggest looking into prices, the longer you wait the more it will be. Once again we refer you to the Hawaiian Wedding Wings post to get a discount if you are flying Hawaiian.
2. As we mentioned previously we have rented a house a few minutes from downtown Kona where we will be having the ceremony in the late afternoon of the 21st. We will be there from the 15th-22nd, and there is some room there still, so friends if you still don't have a place to stay on any of those dates then give either me or shannon a call, and we can probably help you out w/ some very cheap housing at a beautiful place.
3. On the morning of the 19th we will be playing the "Rich Brackett Invitational Golf Tournament" at Kona Golf Course. Rich is the father of one of my oldest friends Ricky, and passed away in the Fall of 2006 from a brain tumor. Rich was a one of a kind personality, a true family man, and someone who had and continues to have a wonderful impact on my life. So please come join us in celebrating his life on the 19th. The tournament will cost 50$ per player, and we will have some great challenges and prizes, so it should be a really fun time for everyone.
We are planning to have an evening "out" in kona on the night of the 19th, so anyone who wants to check out the Big Islands...outstanding...nightlife is welcome to join us! So the 19th should be a fun, full day.
4. On the 20th we are planning to do an afternoon/evening (details to come) bbq/meal at one of the beaches in Kona, w/ the meal being provided by my parents. So that is a great way to get everyone together before the wedding, so people can get to know each other if they dont already.
5. We heard from a friend about a great tradition in Germany, where everyone who wants to brings a cake to the wedding. Then everyone eats the different varieties and gets to take some home. We loved this idea since we were already planning on doing a couple smaller cakes instead of one big cake. So we have decided that shanny and I will be judging and rewarding some different cakes, as well as making our own, so if you would like, feel free to make YOUR cake, and see if you can win "best cake". Worst case senerio you will be eating cake throughout your visit :) So if you are up for it, have fun w/ this!

6. After waking up s.l.o.w.l.y. on the 22nd we will be heading to Pololu Valley to camp on the nights of the 22nd and 23rd. Anyone who is interested is invited, its a BEAUTIFUL spot and our favorite place to camp. We will be providing as much camping gear as possible, and if you aren't interested in camping overnight its still a great to come for the day and relax. So plan to join us for one or both nights of fun! (google "pololu valley" to get a better feel for where we are talking about if you haven't been) Or if you aren't interested in this trip then have fun exploring the beautiful Big Island!

7. Lastly, since we are working w/ a caterer for the meal at the wedding we are trying to get a headcount on who is coming as soon as possible. We have heard some people have had trouble leaving messages on the blog, so we appologize for that, but please email us (matsonskej@aol.com, northrop@hawaii.edu) or give us a call (808)217-6838 (J) and let us know if you're planning to come ASAP. Thanks!

I think that is all the updates for now. We are excited to see everyone and have a great, relaxing time together.
Peace
john