Birthdays!

This Tuesday marks a month since we first arrived on Oahu and what a wonderful adventure it's been!  Right now it's pouring rain.  And I mean POURING, we don't get rain like this in Utah!  Reminds me of the Taiphoon season in Japan and I love it. :)  Here's a video of it.

Yesterday our Hana turned 7 years old.  We've been celebrating her birthday, along with mine all month and ended the celebrations for her with a little birthday party here at our rental home with her new friends in the neighborhood.  It was very simple but it seemed like everyone had a great time.  We had 7 little girls (including Hana and Aya) and 1 little boy, who is Aya's little friend and the younger brother of one of Hana's friends.  They decorated their own cupcakes and then ate them with ice cream sandwiches  played charades, went on a "lion hunt", painted everyone's nails (even the one little boy who didn't want to be left out!) and then Hana opened some nice gifts.  She was thrilled to get a Princess makeup set, Hello Kitty purse and arts and crafts set.

Painting nails while I tell a story.

Earlier in the month she was thrilled to get birthday cards and presents from family back in Utah.  Aunt Lisa sent her a Build-A-Bear Hello Kitty with a frilly heart dress and red sparkly shoes (just like the ones Hana & Aya wore at Aunt Lisa's wedding!)  With the birthday money Grandma Anderson sent she bought a little gum ball machine, some fuzzy Squinkies and Hello Kitty bubbles (Yes, Hello Kitty is the favorite thing right now!) she was really excited to set aside tithing and savings from her birthday money and use the rest to pick whatever she wanted at the store!  

Speaking of fun gifts, I was so surprised and thrilled to have a package delivered just in time for my birthday on the 15th that was a "birthday in a box" from all of my side of the family!  Hana and I were spoiled with cake mixes, candles, frosting, tiaras, wrapped presents, balloons, signs, party hats...everything we could possibly need for our birthday parties!  I was also given some delicious Godiva chocolate covered strawberries and a Costco gift card!  Spoiled birthday girls for sure :)

Even Mr. Parrot got a birthday hat!

On my actual birthday I couldn't think of anything I wanted to do more than go to our gorgeous beach so that's what we did and it was lovely!  After watching the sun go down (it sets around 6pm here) we went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant.

And if that weren't enough, on the 19th, Matty & Jess came down and Hana, Jessie & I  were all celebrated again.  (Jessie's birthday is on the 20th so she's a January Birthday Princess too.)  I loved the fact that we had birthday hats and crowns waiting when they came and the brought some with them too!  Good to know they know how to celebrate birthdays appropriately!  Once we were all bedecked in our birthday hats and crowns, we all went to a sushi restaurant of my choice, here in Kapolei.  It's the kind like we often saw in Japan where the sushi chefs stand in the middle and place sushi on a conveyor belt that goes around to all the tables so you just pick what you want.  Very fun!

Party!

Matty the cool, birthday dino

We learned this in Japan.

Hana watching the sushi ride by on the conveyor belt at Kazuko Sushi.

I can't end this birthday post with out wishing Happy Birthday to all of the other January birthdays that we usually celebrate with: Little Jake, Mom & Dave (Anderson), Mom (Bushman), BABY OLIVER!, Kimberly, Dallin and Kevin.  Love you all and hope your birthdays were/are just as fabulous!  Don't forget the hats ;)