Aloha Party
10-15-2002, 3:37 p.m.

Aloha Party...

October 15, 2002

I can't believe how quickly our visit with Tonya and the girls went by. It seems like we spend forever planning and waiting for it to come, and then it is over before we know it. I am so grateful that we got this chance though, as this more than likely was our last weekend together as the Fab Four. Tonya leaves for Hawaii at the end of November, and while I am planning on going to see her the weekend before she leaves, in Tennessee, noone else is going to go with. Knowing this, saying goodbye was rough, and we all cried.. but yet at the same time, I feel very peaceful. I know that distance will not change the friendships that we share, and it just feels like it's going to be alright.

So, we had a great time this weekend. Friday night, we just hung out playing cards and yakking. I so enjoy our downtime together, and there is noone I like playing cards with more. Jen made a yummy dinner for us, and we just had fun spending the evening together. Chuck brought Chrissy and June over later that night, which was nice, since they originally were not going to get there until Saturday. Maddy, Nicole and Rachel were waiting for them to get there, and it's cute how well they all get along together. I am so very glad that we included the kids in on this visit.

Saturday was by far my favorite day, and no, not just because I got to see Skates either, hehe. When we woke up, we were all excited because we had a special plan (one I couldn't write about here before because it was a surprise). Jen's job was to get Tonya and all the kids out of the house for a bit, and we thought of all sorts of excuses.. things we forgot at the grocery store, movies for the kids, etc.. and while they were gone, Cory and I started the plans. See, we were throwing an "Aloha Party" for Tonya, Maddy and Rachel. Part of the reason we were so exhuasted last week is because we were spending a lot of time getting everything ready for that. We got them special gifts (an engraved photo album for Tonny, filled with pictures from previous visits, and birthstone necklaces for the girls). We also made banners, got decorations, and made grass skirts for all the kids. We were making carribean pancakes and a tropical punch for breakfast, and we were decorating too. We bought a luau CD as well, and just had lots of ideas. It turned out to be beautiful and Tonya was crying when they got there and saw it. We threw confetti at them as they came in the house, and well, it was exactly how we pictured it would be. I am so glad that we did that for them.. I know that it meant alot and that they will always remember it.

After breakfast, and cleaning up, we hung out playing more cards until it was time to get ready for our evening out. Chrissy was officially babysitting (but Stephen was there to supervise it, lol). Cory, Jen, Tonya and I were heading out to dinner at PF Changs and then to the wolves game for opening night, and the banner raising ceremony. Dinner was wonderful.. we really love going there, and our waiter was as yummy as the food, hehe. We tried to get him to come to the game with him (we had an extra ticket because Tricia was unable to go with us as previously planned). It was a good time, and we laughed and enjoyed each other, and of course the food. Then it was off to the game. Now *that* was so wonderful. I am so glad that we picked to go to the game, I so had the very best time. I will write all about that in a seperate entry with some pictures later on, but it was great. Thanks girls, for picking that to do, I really had the very best time.

When we got home, it was getting late, so we just settled in to play more cards. Man, I don't know if we were overtired, or just enjoying each other, but we broke into a laughing spell that lasted quite a while. I don't remember laughing that hard in a long time, and it felt good. It was just a perfect day.

When we finally went to bed, we stayed up playing games, and talking. Cory came up with a game where we had to ask questions about things in the past and all answer them. It was cute, and it was fun, and we stayed up pretty late doing that. A few of our answers had me cracking up, but eventually I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, and I drifted off to sleep. Morning came much too quickly, and when I noticed it was a few minutes after 9, I jumped up, hoping that Tricia didn't get there yet (she was coming to watch movies with us), but she had, oops. I just didn't want to seem rude, and I hope she wasn't put out. She was playing with the kids though, and seemed to be pretty okay with it. We had a really really nice pajama day, sitting around watching movies and eating. It was such a great weekend all the way around.

Daily Tidbits

1. Yesterday was my niece Amy's 10th birthday.. Happy Birthday Amy. I am going to stop over there after work to give her her gift. I have to take Stephen to his moms to pick up his car which we left there the other night, and he is going to cut her lawn. I have a few errands to run over there too.
2. I am going to go workout this evening, but then I am hoping to get some real sleep. I had such a hard time sleeping last night, and I am really pretty exhausted. I have a horrible migraine to boot and so it's not been a pleasant day. I need some sleep!!!
3. I stopped at Kohl's at lunch time to get a few things off of their clearance racks. They have what is left of their summer clothes there, and I got a few things for Vegas for pretty cheap, go me. I need to start packing in the next few days.. so much to do still. Man, I can't wait to leave for Vegas... this is going to be some much needed relaxation time with my honey.