Silly Mommy : Cali's Luau

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Cali's Luau

Now that I've caught up with house stuff(laundry and all that), I can finally blog about our Corpus Christi vacation! Traditionally in my in-laws culture(they are from the Pacific island of Guam), they throw a luau for babies first birthday. Aubrey and Ella both had luaus too and they rocked! Since we live further away now, the soonest we could have Cali's luau was this month. So, she was lucky and got to celebrate her birthday twice this year! And when I say luau, I don't mean just some Hawaiian themed party. I mean actual hired dancers, Kahlua pork, lots of great island food, shaved ice, the "Biba" money throw for the kids, candy leis, music, the whole shabang! My in-laws(and many others-Angie I know you worked so hard too)worked tirelessly to put this together. Joey and I want to say outloud to the world wide web-THANK YOU! The luau turned out wonderful and we appreciate everything you did. It was so fun!

The Birthday Girl

Rockin' the hula skirt

Cali really hammed it up and enjoyed the attention as you can see. She kept wanting to walk out to where the dancers were. I think she wanted to show everyone she has some moves too:)

The dancers

"Wow"

Our family enjoying the show. Cali eating her grass skirt.

The bbq man, Joe. He was barbecuing from sun-up to sun-down. The food was great Joe!

When Cali was eating, she decided to hide some of her food in her dress-yummay.

Ella enjoying her bbq

There was even a snocone stand with fresh shaved ice. The kids loved that!

I even got to meet a bloggin buddy, Amber! I was so happy she came. She is in my mom's ward and I had never officially met her. We just sorta hooked up through blogging. She is awesome! And we are even psychically connected(see our matching shirts?!) :) It was great meeting you and your family Amber!

Cali wanting to dig into her cake

Present time-this girl made out with presents!

Cali and her Nana and Tata

Our Three Chamorritas

I am posting all of our pictures from the luau in a slideshow(which will be my next post). We took a TON of pictures. I just decided to pick a few to post and then stick the rest in the slideshow for anyone interested in seeing them all!

19 comments:

Tara D. said...: Those are some great pictures. The luau looked amazing, as they always do. Cyndi and Joe always do such a wonderful job putting these together. It's times like these I wish I were closer to home. :(; 6/28/08, 11:24 AM
Jori said...: WOWSA! They really know how to throw a party! Cali looks so grown up!:); 6/28/08, 1:14 PM
cyndi/mom/nana said...: We had a blast and enjoyed watching all the kids having a grand time. It's so much fun when you can share a little bit of culture's combined. Thanks to all that helped and especially to Joey, Holly, Aubrey, Ella & Cali for making the trip down here for the party. We could not have done it all ourselves without the help of many. love and miss you guys :(

Hau `oli la hanau ~ Kali Keneke
Me ke aloha ~ nana & tata; 6/28/08, 2:44 PM
the duchess said...: Taloooooofa! Happy 1st birthday to your cute baby girl. Looks like y'all had a great luau. Man, what I wouldn't do for a Matsumoto Shave Ice right about now. Do you know the Terrills in the 1st ward? They're another young afakasi family with 4+ adorable kids. We should have a bbq all together sometime. Love your playlist ;o); 6/28/08, 4:25 PM
Grammy Staffy said...: What a nice party. I wish that I had some in-laws from Guam. I did have a niece who married a man from Samoa....and like your Nana, his family knew how to party. They threw the best birthday, wedding and funeral (yes I really said funeral) celebrations ever. The parties I gave my kids could not even come close. Unfortunately both Sesi and Sue have passed on now but I will never forget the great parties they had.

I was happy to get to see your Nana. Cyndi has made such nice comments on my blog that I feel like I know her....actually I'm getting to know several of your family...Patty, Tara, Christine, Cyndi and you. What a wonderful family.

As always thanks for stopping by my blog today. I'm sending (((hugs)) to you.; 6/28/08, 4:45 PM
-Melissa- said...: how fun is that?!! it looks like it was an awesome luau. Did you cut your hair? It looks way cute. that is cool you got to meet a blogging buddy.; 6/28/08, 6:43 PM
hoLLy said...: yep, i cut my hair(finally someone mentions it! :) you are a true friend, melissa, very true. thanks for the compliment!; 6/28/08, 6:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Thanks for the pediatric dentist referral. I'll call them Monday. I love the pics of Cali and the girls. What a fun 1st birthday! You sound like you have great in-laws!; 6/28/08, 7:50 PM
The Bright Family said...: We really had a GREAT time--thanks for including us for Cali's luau. :); 6/28/08, 7:57 PM
Kim said...: I remember going to Ella's luau and thinking it was pretty awesome. I think that is a very fun tradition. I'm so glad you are back to blogging. I missed you. My fam's been in town so I wasn't on the computer much, but I still felt a void.; 6/28/08, 8:23 PM
Jan said...: What a wonderful family tradition! I love the pics and all the sweet happy faces on everyone!; 6/28/08, 8:46 PM
The Kahumokus said...: Ah, the one-year luau. I love REAL luaus. So fun! It looks like a blast, great job.; 6/28/08, 10:17 PM
Unknown said...: WOW!!! that is uh-mazing! what a fantastic tradition.; 6/28/08, 10:58 PM
tiburon said...: Look at that grass skirt! That looks like a blast! :); 6/30/08, 4:13 PM
HIRSCHI FAMILY said...: Such a fun family tradition. And that is cool that you got to meet one of your blogging buddies!; 6/30/08, 5:31 PM
Anayansi said...: wish we could have been there. ya'll's luau's are always a blast. happy 1st bday cali!; 7/1/08, 9:54 AM
Emily said...: Sorry it's been a while Holly! For some odd reason I didn't type in your address right to my link list and it does not come up, I need to change that. Your Corpus visit looks like a blast, and how lucky to get a luau on every one of your childrens 1st birthdays. That is amazing and very fun. It looks like you guys had a great time.; 7/2/08, 8:39 AM
Patty said...: That last picture of the girls is sooo... cute.

MOM; 7/11/08, 10:44 PM
Patty said...: I'm glad you finally got to meet your bloggin buddy- Amber.; 7/15/08, 1:12 PM

Aubrey

Aubrey is our 15 year old big sis of this big crew. She is in the 9th grade(yep, high school. Unbelievable!) and shines at school! She is in the gifted/talented program and excels in it. She won the campus spelling bee and even placed first in ready writing last year. Go Aub! :) She is an amazing reader, writer, and teacher. She is a very sweet and tender-hearted little lady who is a good friend and example to othhers. She made the Jr High volleyball team this year and loves it! She has also recently been involved in Theater at school and has a love for singing, dancing and being on stage.She also loves playing the piano and is VERY good at it!

Ella

Ella is our 13 year old girly girl who loves to accessorize. She has a very sweet easy-going personality that everyone loves. She also has a mothers heart and is so nurturing to her little brothers. She is also very creative and can be found crafting at the table on many afternoons. She is in the 7th grade and is a very hard worker. She is one of the most "on task" kids I've ever seen and never has to be reminded to do her homework. She is also an amazing reader. She is in her second year of piano and is doing great! She also loves ice skating and is taking figure skating lessons. Its definitely a natural talent.She recently did a competition and won first place. She also loves basketball and is a great speller like her big sis. UIL Champ baby!

Cali

Cali is our 9 year old silly girl who keeps us laughing. And also keeps us on our toes:) She is a feisty little second grader with a mind and will of her own. She also has quite the sense of humor and makes us laugh at the funny things she says every day. She loves to be outdoors, read books, and make cards and pictures for her family and friends. She is very giving and loving. She is also cuddly and asks for "snuggle time" daily:) She started tennis this past Spring and is loving it! I think we have finally found this girls "thing." Shes got one mean backhand! :) Her favorite thing in the world, however, is CANDY, oh, and ponies and fish.

Ammon

Ammon is our handsome smart sweet 6 year old little boy that we can't imagine life without. He is so very loved by us all. Now that he is five, he is really starting to show us just how darn smart he is. He is learning how to read at an incredible pace. He can count to 9000 already(he tells us this, but we make him stop at 100:)! He started preschool this year and just LOVES going! He wishes everyday was preschool. He has a heart of gold and is so loving. He is a Mama's boy that I can always count on to give me hugs when I need it most. His favorite thing to do is draw/write, read, play with action figures(star wars and avengers being his favorites), do puzzles, and play the wii/tablet when we let him:) He loves Skylanders!

Wesley

Wesley is our adorable energetic four year old son. He has the cutest dimple on his right cheek and the biggest smile. He is a ray of sunshine and makes us laugh at all of his funny antics. He is quite busy these days getting into everything he shouldn't be..sharpies included. Sometimes I'm just not sure I can keep up with him! He loves to climb on everything. And fall off of everything;) He is often seen with a bruise on his head! His favorite thing right now is cars. You can find him most days pushing a truck or car around the house as fast as his little legs will take him. He also adores being outside. We love this little guy so much!

Luke

Luke is our precious two year old little one who has blessed our lives immensely. He is always there to give a hug and a wet kiss. He is super cuddly. If you are sad, he will put his little arm around you and give you a sweet pat. He is silly and always makes us smile. He is learning little words like "mo" for more or "nana" for nightnight. He can say ball and uh-oh. Its so cute to hear him learn to talk! He has been an easy little guy too..never been a carseat hater and always takes good naps. And luckily is now sleeping through the night! We love our Lukey!