Friday dawned windy and rainy, and after a gourmet breakfast prepared by my mom's friend Sonny, we headed down the hill to Wailea, to hang out with my cousin Jackie, aunt Mindy, and Jackie's daughter, Victoria. My parents had plans for the afternoon, so DeAnne and I relaxed, catching up with Jackie and MIndy. It has been years since we've all had a chance to hang out, so it was fun to see how we've changed, and how we've stayed the same.

My sister DeAnne is like a little kid around water, so there was no holding her back when Mindy suggested that she join Victoria in the pool. The two of them dashed off to tackle every waterslide and other aquatic adventure available at the Grand Wailea while I sat in a lounge chair and admired the breeching whales just off the shore. Seriously, I must have seen 30 or 40 whales just from the comfort of my chair. It was amazing.

As the evening approached, we gathered in the lobby of the hotel to steer all the arriving families to the seating area for the Luau. My parents had planned a group attendance of the Marriott's luau as a pre-wedding get-together. It was absolutely beautiful. And that was just the hula boys.

We dined on purple sweet potatoes and roasted pig. We fed the baby poi and laughed when she spit it right back out. Ho-ho! Those babies are great fun! It wasn't so cute when I did it. Poi. No. Not for me.

We also connected with my aunt Merrilan and my uncle Chris - it is always a hoot to get my mom's side of the family together. We all were laughing ourselves silly.

The dinner was great. The dessert table? Amazing. We commandeered my brother's friend Ryan to hold the extra plates and use his longer arms to snag the treats with the most frosting from the center of the table, and then marched him back and forth several times. Poor Ryan. He didn't know what he was getting himself into when he sat down between my cousin Jackie and I.

After dinner, they called anyone who wanted to go up onto the stage for a hula lesson. I was torn between photographing it, and dancing. Look at the grace! The beauty! I totally should have gone up there and done it. Next time for sure, because I think I would be an awesome hula dancer. I just have an inkling.

The music quieted down and the guests mixed and mingled as we waited for the sun to set. We took advantage of the gorgeous backdrop to take a ton of photos and crack each other up.

Once the show started, we were very impressed with the costumes and dancing. We were not quite sure what the hell was going on with the guys sitting on the fire, but then again, maybe I missed something. It was like, okay, we get it! Roasted balls! Ha ha! Oh, wait, they are still doing it. Okay! We get it! Not done yet! Okay! Um....

When they announced the World Champion Fire Baton Twirler, my aunt Mindy scooted her chair back and placed her napkin on the table. "I better get up there!" she announced to the table.

They told us to yell "Hanaho!" when we wanted to see a trick again, so we blithely yelled Hanaho! again and again. That and the old favorite Kamonaiwanalaiya! We are a high, high class family, I tell ya.

On the way home, we managed to get turned around, and pulled into a gas station, where we found what I think was the only Mexican national on the island. Pedro knew exactly where to go, and we were soon back on the road to home.

That evening, we finished off the gallon or so of dark rum and made up stories about the people in this book. My stomach hurt from all the giggling and laughing. The night ended in a cheerful blur, with the howling wind and rain creating the perfect white noise.

To be continued...