Our First Hau'oli La Ho'omakika'i (Happy Thanksgiving)

Hau'oli La Ho'omakika'i!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone or should I say belated thanksgiving - a bit late I know but I, with a clear conscience, can blame my procrastination on food comatosis.  This was our first Thanksgiving on the island and anticipated it to be a memorable one - and that it was!


The planning started several days leading up, and since we had several families joining us, it was much easier to plan for the meals.  My dear sister Vangie had offered to make TWO turkeys, yes ladies and gents, you read that right, TWO turkeys.  One would be the traditional oven-cooked turkey, and the other Kalua turkey. I've heard of Kalua pork but never turkey so that hype my excitement and anticipation for this special feast.  


The night before Thanksgiving we went over to Amel and Vangie's house to help pull the turkey and after 1 1/2 hours and with wrinkled fingers, the men were done pulling every meat off the bone.  Needless to say, we HAD to sample the Kalua turkey and it was onolicious it broke da mout' (simply put it was very delicious!)  

Mike and Amel pulling turkey and sneaking some samples in between

The following day, we woke up early to get the house ready, and by noon, everyone started arriving.  As we laid out the food on the table, we were all reminded of God's faithfulness and provision for each of our families.  God had brought each of our families, within a span of a year, to Hawaii and looking back on how He did this for each family, we couldn't help but be thankful and be in awe.

Onolicious!

The Women working hard in the kitchen

The guys ready to rumble! 

I must say, this has been one of the best Thanksgiving we've had, especially in regards to the food. We had an array of different kines of food:  Turkeys, mash potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, shrimp, green beans, home-baked breads, corn bread, and pies!  My personal favorites were:  Vangie's Kalua Turkey - I don't think I'll ever want regular turkey again.  Chona's Sweet Potato - it literally tasted like candy (I think I ate half of the pan). And last, but surely not least, Christy's Hot Caramel Apple Cider with whipped cream!  Okay I'm getting hungry!




After lunch, we hit the XBox for some Rock Band action courtesy of the Boncatos; some of the guys went out to the lanai to relax, and the kids played in the backyard.  After a couple of hours, we noticed a flurry around table - yes, it was round two!  The festivities lasted through out the day and into the late night.  There were talks of hitting the outlets and stores for Black Friday but none decided it was worth the traffic and the long lines.  

Burning off the calories....

And more calories...

And although our immediate families could not be with us this year, thank God for technology.  We were able to Skype (video conference) both Chona's family and my family; so it didn't seem too hard being away from our families in California plus we WERE spending Thanksgiving with our new family here in Hawaii.