Hello friends!

I am back in California as of 10PM last night! We weren’t sure if we were actually going to make it due to tropical storm, Flossie. (Just an FYI weather folks: it’s hard to get people to take you seriously when you name the storm “FLOSSIE”).

A bunch of flights were cancelled and our friends got stuck in Hawaii for an extra two days. But, lucky for us, United Airlines powered through the storm (which was hardly a storm at the time. You couldn’t have PAID ME enough to get in a plane during a storm) and our flight remained on schedule.

I’m super exhausted today but so, so glad I made it back on time. I missed the first day of professional development yesterday which I was bummed about. But I didn’t want to miss today because Fred Ferrer was speaking on parent engagement and collaboration and it was fantastic. I also got to meet the other new teachers I will be working with. We meet the rest of the staff tomorrow – I can’t wait!

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I wanted to continue recapping the rest of the week in Hawaii. There were just so many events, so many pictures, so many memories that would just bore you to death if I tried to fit them all in one post. So:

Day 1 of Hawaii 

Day 2 of Hawaii

Day 3 of Hawaii 

Day 4 and 5 of Hawaii 

Friday was the rehearsal dinner but it wasn’t until the evening so we woke up early and went on a hike. We went on the Hau’ula Loop Trail which was about a 3-mile loop. It wasn’t that difficult of a hike since most of it was in the shade.

In addition to the great view, there were passion fruits and guava berries that we got to snack on!

After the hike we stopped by a fruit stand and ordered an ice cold coconut for each of us. I’ve gotta be honest – I’m not a huge fan of coconut water.

We met everyone back at the villa and then drove to historic Haleiwa town for some classic shaved ice.

The line for Matsumoto was out the door, despite the fact that there were other shaved ice places just down the road.

I got the classic rainbow flavored shaved ice on the left. With ice cream on the bottom.

I think I’d prefer it without the ice cream next time. I’m not a huge fan of when my strawberry syrup gets mixed in with vanilla ice cream. That’s just not okay.

After we got back, it was time to get ready for the dress rehearsal. Luckily, it was right outside our villa so there was plenty of time to get ready.

After the bridal party practiced walking up and down the aisle, we sat back to enjoy some beergaritas, hula dancers, and a fire show!

We ended up turning in by 10:30 because the bridal party had to be up early on Saturday to start our hair and makeup for the actual ceremony. I ended up waking up earlier than I thought I would so Jen, Chantra, and I went down to Ted’s and Turtle Beach to kill some time.

When we got back to the villa, I quickly jumped in the shower and got ready to be beautified.

I’m fairly certain that I still had my eyeliner on from the night before. I tried to joke with the lady saying that I was making her job a little easier by putting the first layer on. She, however, did not find it humorous.

Joy made the bridal party these adorable robes to get ready in. They all say “Bridesmaid” on the back of them and match the color of our bridesmaid dresses!

Isn’t she a beautiful bride?

The ceremony, itself, was perfect. Nobody in the bridal party tripped and ate shit (you’re welcome, by the way). There was a rainbow during the ceremony. And, right when the priest announced them husband and wife, the rain came pouring down. It was pretty much picture-perfect. Except some of these perfect pictures may be stolen from Chantra. Something about it being inappropriate to bring your camera up to the altar and snap pictures of the almost-married couple as a bridesmaid.

After the bridal party took a couple pictures, we had a quick cocktail hour and the reception started shortly after.

I don’t have many pictures from the rest of the night because 1) There were professional photographers that were sober, 2) Everything turned out blurry because I was too busy doing the Cupid Shuffle and 3) I wanted to hide evidence of the stolen champagne bottle being a prop in EVERY SINGLE photo booth picture. Embarrassing.

It was beautiful. The wedding. The ceremony. The reception. The friends. The sea turtles. The colorful fish. The dolphins. The island.  The entire week. Everything was perfect.

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Your Turn – Tell me:

• Favorite shaved ice/snow cone flavor? 
• Cupid Shuffle or Cha-Cha?
• Favorite photo booth prop?
• Favorite tradition from a wedding?