A night to remember...

Well, here it is...the blog entry you've all been waiting for *drum roll please* (ok, ok, it's just been a few days BUT, I know that the anticipation has been KILLING YOU!!!!). OCTOBER HAWAIIAN LUAU 2006!! This last Saturday nite, a bunch of my crazy friends and I celebrated Janelle's 20th birthday, Hawaiian style. Janelle LOVES traveling. She loves the beach. AND she is going to Hawaii in January for photography school (how fitting). SO, I thought, what better way to celebrate her birthday than to throw her a luau!! Now, let's be honest here. This wasn't a "throw on a lei and do the limbo" style party...this party was hardcore. As someone (who knows who?!) once said: GO BIG OR GO HOME!! (or, as I prefer, go home big!!). With lots of borrowed supplies and some willing hands, we threw Janelle a luau she won't forget (that is, until she goes to Hawaii and has a REAL luau with a roast pig and some fire dancers and where the beach and sunset are the backdrop...*ha ha*).

After a few hours of set-up (and a slight tea light fiasco...dang the fast burning tealights!!) our birthday girl finally arrived!! The look on her face said it all: she loved it :) All of the preparation was definitely worth it ;) I thought I would include some photo's from the evening and share some of my personal highlights. However, before I do, I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone again for all of their help *I feel like I'm about to deliver an Oscar speech, haha* Thank you for lending supplies, bringing amazingly good food, delivering supplies, letting us use your home, bringing the entertainment to us *cough: Ryan*, etc etc. A MILLION TIMES THANKS!!



Some of my personal highlights:

- Attempting to salvage a buzillion tealights that were crapping out on me before the party began!!
- Seeing Janelle's face when she saw the backyard decorated hawaiian-style
- The lovely 'hawaiian' music (compliments of Corrie). We all know our favorite track: TINY BUBBLES!! *yuck, whoever wrote that song should be forced to sit in a small room with tiny bubbles FOREVER!!!!*
- The 'pigs in a blanket' (aka. chicken weiners in a blanket) made by Anna. Thanks for bringing the 'pork' to the Luau!! ;)
- Sarah Cherry's delicious chicken with pinapple salsa *loved it*
- After a few hours of sitting out in the cold, everyone decided to warm up (fully clothed) in the sauna. Let's just say this: IT WAS HOT!! We fit a lot of people into a very small space..hahah.
- Erin and I running into the sauna with red jub-jubs stuck all over our faces yelling "AHHHH, GET OUT OF THE SAUNA!!"
- Playing guesstures *enough said* BAHA...ok, there are a few highlights from that...
1. Ryan suddenly taking off his shirt. After the shrieking, the 'ahhh, look away's' and Kristians comment: "YA!! KEEP IT OFF!!" we learned that he had gotten the word stripper.
2. After trying for several minutes to act out some sort of instrument that resembled a trumpet/sax/clarinet Candace, exasperated, said "guys, it's a FIDDLE!!". There was a pause and an outburst of laughter. *uhh Candace, a fiddle is played like a violin, not a clarinet*
- Megan's 10:30 arrive and surprise: A PALM TREE SHAPED PINATA!! *heh heh*
- Ryan attempting to salvage the floating candles on the pool. 'A' for effort!!
- Taking 'fake laughing' photos with Natty (which, as we all know, leads to genuine laughter *sheer brilliance*)
- *insert cheesiness* Spending an absolutely wonderful evening full of laughter with some of my most favorite people in the whole world.