The Luau Finale

Why haven't I finished writing about our Hawaiian Cousin Camp? ...because I've been much to busy enjoying our trip to the actual state of Hawaii. 

Still, I'm determined to squeeze out one final post about camp:

On the last evening of cousin camp, Grandma and Grandpa had planned a big luau, to which all of the parents....

...., great grandparents (Grandma Cozy).....

(Little Cozy really wanted to tease Grandma Cozette and play with her hat. Naughty.)

....., and local cousins (Allicia and her kids - we were so lucky they were there visiting, with all of their moving craziness!)....

...were invited.

The Mom/cooks tried to make sure everyone had a brush run through their hair. All of the camp shirts had been washed and the campsite tidied and decorated.

My Mom's friend Paulette (along with her sister and niece) cooked us an authentic Hawaiian feast, with laulau, poi, haupia (the best I've ever had), fried rice, and all sorts of other dishes! Yum!

The campers provided the entertainment for the evening. They sang songs, danced, performed very silly skits, and Grandpa even did the Hawaiian war chant (which sounded very pretty and not at all threatening. It must have been performed differently back in the day.)

I still catch myself humming "pupu, hinu hinu". (Guess I'd better learn the lyrics. Then I could at least sing it as a sweet lullaby instead of having a phrase of a song just stuck in my brain!)

My parents have been working their master plan all year, to get the luau together. Beyond finding hula lessons, they made sure each family got a ukulele for Christmas.

Grandpa worked on learning to play enough chords and songs on his ukulele, while a few of his grandkids were doing the same.

The result was adorable.

All week, there were kids sitting around, strumming their ukuleles (which has to be the perfect camping instrument - so portable.) 

I often think that part of enjoying your family is developing enough common interests that you like hanging out together. 

And isn't it darling seeing Chloe sharing sheet music with her Grandpa!

Sofia, of course, cranked out her version of Imagine Dragons' Apocalypse. Just wrong. 

I told her it wasn't a happy enough song to play on that instrument. 

No one is going to be playing the ukulele during an apocalypse. No one. 

One Direction songs were a little more compatible.

And all of the work that went into this week...

...you could see it working...building and strengthening relationships between relatives who are usually far apart. They don't get to swim and camp and play together as often as we would like, so I hope they remember these fun times.

I know Cozy was loathe to give up her "buddy", who she never, ever wanted to share with anyone.

(Autumn may just become the sweetest Mom ever...someday.) 

Those sweet cousins were definitely all worth the drive. :)

I'm pushing for a "Camping on the High Seas" theme for the year after next. Then we can feed the kids hard tack and teach them sea shanties and knot-tying.