happy birthday nana helen!

When we lived in Waialeale Estates on Kauai, our next door neighbor was Helen, who welcomed us to the neighborhood and adopted us immediately.  When Ryan was born, she became his "Nana," playing with him, babysitting him when needed, and introducing him to her cats, Velvet and Phantom.  One of the hardest parts of moving back to Oahu from Kauai was leaving Helen behind.  She was a good friend to us as well, always looking out for us. 

This photo was taken in 2007 when we went back for a visit.

Helen keeps active and is a certified arthritis exercise instructor, teaching water exercise classes at the Kapaa pool several times a week.   A couple of weeks ago, Helen's friends and students from her exercise class surprised her with a special celebration for her 85th birthday. I was so happy to hear that she has such great friends who appreciate her efforts to keep them healthy through exercise.  We miss her and hope to see her again one day soon.