How did your love story begin?

Back in 2000 a young girl traveled west to follow her dreams of living on the coast. She found a place in Oceanside, Ca, & met the man of her dreams who lived right next door. It has been an adventure from the beginning. Starting with running into him on the way to beach, literally he ended up on the hood of her car. He was skating & she was in a hurry. Thus began our first date, to Mexico that evening. From there love blossomed & three kids came afterwords. We are still together 25 years later.

What is your favorite memory you've shared as a couple?

There are many, but our honeymoon is at the top of the list. We went to Fiji and ended up staying for two months, living off the land and bonding with the local tribes. It’s an adventure filled with shipwrecks, storms and fearing for our lives, but most importantly it taught us to be strong and appreciate all we have. From there we decided to start a family, after interacting with the village kids and falling in love with their joy for life, and gratitude for the smallest things.

What would you do with $20,000?

We would love to be able to take our kids back to Fiji & show them where we lived & where our love story started. To find old friends & introduce our kids to them & land we came to love. It’s been our dream to return one day, but the cost for 5 of us has always been too great. If we get to go back we would bring essential supplies to the people we met, as they are living in poverty, but showed us kindness and compassion. They shared their food, ceremonies & love. We want to return the love given