My Grandmother absolutely HATES taking photos! I was lucky enough to convince her to be in at least one photo with me and my Mom. It's become my favorite photo since I really don't have any photos of the three of us together.
We started off the weekend going to my uncle's 7 year memorial service. I'd forgotten what a strong Buddhist influence the neighbor islands have - and that all of my relatives (except for my family) are very strong Buddhists. I remember as a child sitting through many Buddhist services for relatives who had passed away (some of whom I didn't even know) and, at the time, the services were all in Japanese and I didn't understand a thing. I think this is the first Buddhist service that I went to that was in english. It was pretty interesting.
There was A LOT of good eating this weekend, though! Mark & I must have consumed at least a billion calories! :P From the Super Loco Moco we ate at Cafe 100 to the delicious meal that my Grandma and Aunt cooked before we came home this evening, it was a weekend of non-stop great food. :) We even got our fill of Cherry Lemonade since there was a Hot Dog on a Stick in the mall in Hilo. :) We also had to try the famous strawberry mochi (with a full real strawberry inside) from Two Ladies Kitchen. It was SO delicious that we wished we had bought more. :P And of course we had to stop off at the famous Big Island Candies to get some chocolate dipped shortbread cookies! We couldn't go to Hilo and NOT go there! :)
I think Mark had a really nice time too. He told me he hadn't realized exactly how crazy my family was until this weekend. Whenever my family gets together, they're so hilarious - I was laughing so hard on Saturday night that I nearly lost my voice. :D My whole family is pretty funny when they're sober, but after a few beers, they're a riot! :D
We had a great time! :) With any luck we'll be going back for many years to celebrate my Grandmother's many upcoming birthdays. :D I'm off to catch up with all of you! Hope you all have a nice evening! :D