don't mess with a man in a coconut bra

this weekend we said goodbye to summer in the family yard.

with a proper hawaiian luau.

you've never seen so many men in grass skirts.

hawaiian haystacks, shave ice, and a variety of other goodies were served.

complete with little hawaiian umbrellas for our drinks.

i just love an umbrella in my drink:).

my favorite part of the night was when the dancers came.

it was one of the dancer's birthdays,

and his mom, the leader of the show, had us all sing him "happy birthday."

she also explained how in Tonga {i think it was Tonga} that your nieces and nephews are called your sons and daughters and your cousins are called your brothers and sisters.

tighter of a bond than how we separate families in our culture here.

she said that if you never have any kids you will still have someone to take care of you when you are old b/c your brothers and sisters will have kids, and their kids will call you mom, and take care of you when you get old like they would their mom b/c that's how the culture is.

i loved that part.

she also said that the reason why Tongans are so large is b/c when you walk down the street you are always invited to sit down and eat with everyone in your family that you pass along the road,

and since everyone is in your family,

you stop and eat several meals on the way to everywhere.

b/c a Tongan has a big heart, and cannot pass up an opportunity to fill their tummies with their family.

i loved that part more:)

the Hawaiian portion made me want to go to Hawaii.

and let my kids get Hawaiian skin kissed tans.

and smell the flowers in the air when you step off of the plane.

and feel the humidity soak into your pores.

and become so relaxed that you can't ever imagine having anything stressful in your life ever again.

but sitting there in our lawn chairs,

the warmth of the day started to cool off, like we were sitting on a sandy beach of hawaii, with the cool ocean air brushing our faces goodnight.

and hawaii felt pretty close in the family yard.

BUT we got to go home and sleep in our own beds:)

aloha.

don't ever mess with a man wearing a coconut bra.

ever.

aloha.

as in goodbye.

or goodnight.

whichever.