Birthdays in Kauai

I finally had figured it out. And after wrestling with the idea for days and days and asking my families opinion, I decided to buy Erwin's birthday present. A plane ticket home to Kauai. I remember I called my mother-in-law who was about to drop Evan off at Seminary. I wasn't sure if I would get her or my father-in-law when I called. But needless to say, she was ecstatic when I asked her if I could take Erwin home for his birthday. She was so excited, that she wanted to keep it a secret from everyone, and show up and surprise even Gma Wright and Uncle Ernie and his wife and daughter. My heart raced with happiness as I thought about how happy Erwin would be, and that I knew this would be perfect. And perfect it was! The timing was great when it came to work, flying, prices and even getting to go to Evan's homecoming football game, which also turned out to be his last. I almost couldn't contain myself! I hid this surprise from Erwin for as long as I could, and told him the day before we were to fly out. 

I'm sure you will want to know how I told him, right? Well, I found the perfect card that said for a birthday surprise, that I would have loved to take him to wear there is warm sand, an ocean breeze and to a beautiful island far away. When you open the card, it said that it probably won't happen like that, and taped inside was a little beach umbrella. (The kind you stick in drinks) Then I gave him an envelope that had the typed word on a piece of paper: "Actually" and then another enveloped that said inside: "We better get started packing. Our flight to Kauai is tomorrow, and there are a lot of people there waiting for us."It was perfect! And I was so pleased with myself.

Well, you probably want to know how Erwin reacted to it as well? Needless to say, I had forgotten that Erwin gets...shall we say...overwhelmed? Speechless? Shocked? When it comes to either nice or expensive gifts. When I gave Erwin the surprise, I was expecting a reaction like I would give. Lots of screaming, jumping up and down and freaking out, all over happiness. Yeah, well...he just sat there. He kept reading the card and then kept asking me: "Really? Are you serious? How did this happen? What about work? What about the ward party? Wait....serious? Wait....really?"

I realized that when it comes to Erwin, he feels comforted with an explanation of how the gift was possible, what plans were made, that everything is taken care of and that we can really afford to do/buy whatever the gift is. I kept laughing as he asked all his questions and sat dumbfounded. So I literally sat there for 10 minutes giving him all the nitty gritty details about how I found the tickets, talked to his mom, got work off, planning to surprise everyone else, discounts and why this was the perfect time to go. 

Then, a smile crept over his face and he gave me a huge hug, and even shed a few tears. :) He was thankful, excited and very pleased with it. As time went on, all the excitement of jumping and nerves kicked in and he was stoked. I was so glad he was excited and happy. Because I was!

Thursday:  We woke up that morning and headed to the airport for our 11:00 a.m. flight. We parked our care there and went through security just fine. We boarded and then took off! It was snowing that morning, and I was less than happy about that. My nerves kicked in and Erwin really have to hold my hand as I felt uneasy. The flight was fine and we landed in LA. We left over an hour later then scheduled, since our plane's air conditioning wasn't working. Once they fixed the problem, we were off to Kauai! What a long flight, and I was so grateful to arrive there. Mom met us there and picked us up! We were off to Wrangler's restaurant  to surprise the rest of the family! They were all so happy to see us, and it was fun to be with them again and eat really, really yummy food!!

Friday: We woke up and went to Evan's homecoming assembly at his high school. The gym was all decorated with themes from Disney movies and they introduced all the royalty. There were skits and loud cheering. It was fun to see a different type of high school and ways of doing things than what I know. I was glad they had fans there hold while sitting. It was so hot inside.
After the assembly, Erwin's mom gave us the car keys and told us to go do whatever we wanted, and get home by dinner. Erwin and I went to Lihue and bought tons of candy, food and gifts to bring for people back in Utah. He then drive me around and we went to a place called spouting horn! It was so cool! (see video below) I had a good time seeing more of the island, shopping and enjoying the rain. Erwin is so good about asking me about what I want to do and making sure I see lots of stuff.
We returned home and ate lunch and then Grandma Wright insisted we go to Duke's for dinner. We made the drive there, and it was SO yummy! Sigh...I loved it. We decided to celebrated Erwin's birthday that night, with Hula pie and singing.

Saturday: We woke up, watched the BYU football game, and I took a long nap on Erwin's lap. After that we bought some food for mom, they gave Erwin a b-day gift, then got ready to go see Evan's football game! The only bad thing was there were nats everywhere! It was awful. They stuck to our clothes and everyone was covering their mouths and eyes. Ick!! They finally died down and we watched the game! They lost, but it was still fun to see Evan play.
After the game, they announced there had been a tsunami warning, and that we needed to evacuate. I panicked. But I will write a separate post about this experience, because it actually impacted me quite a bit.
We packed up, went to the high school with family and waited it out in the library. We then went home around 2:00 a.m. Mom then cooked for Erwin and me rice and hot dogs and we all stayed up chatting, and eating some of Erwin's homemade cake. Erwin then prepared his talk he planned on giving Sunday morning at church. It was a long night, but one I will never forget.

Sunday: We went to church, tired and worn out. Erwin gave a talk, and the whole family came to see him speak. It was great, and they said they were all very touched. We then went home, packed, cooked food and ate and chatted for hours. It was so fun. The missionaries came over and shared a message with us as well, and it was so nice. Erwin and I then had to leave for the airport, so we said goodbye to everyone and mom and dad drove us there. We loved the time we got to spend with them, and it was really hard to leave and part ways. Luckily, the flights home passed quickly and we all of a sudden were back in Utah. We slept the rest of the day, and felt so blessed to have been able to be in Kauai on Erwin's special day.

Here are the pictures from the trip. Enjoy!

Homecoming assembly

I really loved this tree!

We drove through the tunnel of trees. I loved it.

Part of the island. I thought it was beautiful.

The gorgeous sea

Us at Spouting Horn!

Erwin loved this hat. Goofy...

Steak at Duke's!

Happy Birthday Erwin! We love Hula pie!!

All the family at Duke's

Evan's football game!

To snack on during the game

A good battle boys! 

Like father, like son. Cheering loud!!

Evan and cousin Michelle.

Everyone right after the game!

In the High school library waiting out the tsunami. The yellow blanket is where Erwin and I are.

We had 3 cars full of stuff to last 3 days, just in case.

Watching the news announce we could go home.

The sunset on the beach, on our way to the airport.

I asked Erwin what were some of his favorite things about going home. And he said: going to Evan's game, and getting quality time with his parents. He said that he loved his little brother, and was so glad that he got to bond with him even more with his football experience and being there for his game.
He also elaborated that it's been a long time since he got alone time with both parents, without lots of other people or distractions of a busy life. He really appreciate being there with them, having intimate and personal conversations and enjoying their love and example.

It was a wonderful trip! I loved talking to Uncle Ernie and his wife and bonding with Michelle. I won't forget my time with gma Kua where we laughed and talked about some of her memories. I loved my time with gma Wright and listening to her bracelets that tinked together and listening to her tell lots of stories of family and friends. Everyone was kind, generous and loving. They made me feel loved and special. Erwin was so happy to be home and enjoyed his birthday spent there, and I am so glad that the Lord provided a way where we were able to go home to Kauai, and have the best birthday ever! :)