What happens in Vegas sometimes leaves Vegas
I’ve been a bit remiss in blogging lately mostly because I went on vacation for a week and came back to a bees nest at work. I have my head mostly above water now so I can catch up on the rest of my life – including the sleep I lost the three weeks after my vacation.
My parents and I spent at week on The Big Island for vacation and to celebrate the marriage of my lifelong best friend, Erin Prentice, to some guy named Daniel Keller. OK OK so he is great, I ADORE him and he really is already part of the family but I still have to be my normal protective self. That doesn’t go away.
The first three days I told myself were strictly vacation. I did very little wedding stuff but instead enjoyed being in Hawaii. On Monday we went on a kayaking trip where we snorkeled and jumped off a 30 foot cliff. 
Tuesday was spent seeing a bit more of the island via helicopter – with no doors thank you.
Me and Crazy George – our pilot
We went over the volcano and got to see amazing views of the flowing lava. It was amazingly beautiful. I asked our pilot if there is any type of state or federal assistance if your house is taken out by the lava flow on the Big Island. He informed me that there is not, and in fact, you can’t even buy Volcano insurance. This is why there are many homes built on the lava plains. The people own that land and just because their houses were burned to a crisp one time it doesn’t mean they don’t still own the land so they rebuild. It’s crazy.
We also went into the Thurston Lava Tube which wasn't as great as Ape Caves but was still pretty interesting and we went to the top of the volcanoe where you can see steam coming out of the crater. It's sort of like being in Land of the Lost - only without the Dinasours. 
We also went to an incredible dinner at Mauni Lana which was to celebrate my mom and Erin’s dad’s great years with their company. I’m glad I got to tag along.
On Wednesday I slept in the hammock on the beach for as long as Daniel’s dad would let me. 
Then Erin, Daniel, Joey and Tiffany (the pastor and his wife – all the way from England and some of my favorite people I have ever met) and I went shopping in Kahulia-Kona. It was fun to get to see all the amazing local fruit in the farmer’s market. We definitely took advantage of that later in the week as you shall see. Emily (another bridesmaid) flew in from Boston that evening and in my mind the wedding officially began.
On Thursday Emily, Erin, Juli and I went to the Hilton and swam with the dolphins. It was a very neat experience to get to be that up close and personal with such neat animals and the Hilton was GORGEOUS. We took advantage of being there and used the pool for a few hours before heading back for our nail appointments. 
After that, my mom, dad and I went to a luau. I ran into Jamie, a friend from college who I hadn’t seen since 2000 and we enjoyed a very intimate luau. It was a lot of fun to have so much time with my parents. It isn’t very often we get a chance to vacation with our parents as adults. I have no idea if that will happen again so I enjoyed every moment.
On Friday the wedding got into full swing. We started decorating for the rehearsal dinner which was in front of the “cottage” and the tent went up in front of the big house. Erin, Emily, Kathy and I went to the farmers market and bought all kinds of flowers for the center pieces and the wedding site. Juli did an amazing job with decorating. I was very glad there were people like her around because I’m useless where that is concerned. 
The rehearsal was relaxed and fun and there was a live band and BBQ for the rehearsal dinner. It was a true precursor to the fun that was ahead.
On Saturday morning Emily, Erin and I got up and picked up Mira (the other bridesmaid) from the house where she was staying and then went back to the big house to have a breakfast of tropical fruit and mimosas. The fruit was a lot of fun because much of it none of us had ever tried before. People were buzzing around the house constantly getting things ready and the wedding site looked absolutely beautiful by the time we left to get our hair done.
The ladies at the salon were great. They took apart their potted flower to have flowers to put in our hair and we laughed and enjoyed the time of just sitting and getting ready for the evening.
Saturday night brought the wedding. Erin was of course beautiful and Daniel was thrilled. I don’t think he left her side for more than about two seconds the whole night. We all had a blast and danced until the rules required the DJ to shut down. At one point I looked across the lawn and my mom was dancing to Flo Rida “Low”. I almost wet my pants laughing.
It was a great time and I really couldn’t ask for a better husband for Erin. There haven’t been many men in her life that I approved of so for Daniel to make the grade is saying something. I wish them the best and know God is going to bless their lives together as husband and wife. I’m looking forward to watching them grow as a couple and learn what it is like to be married. 
And to think – it all started in Vegas.
Home again home again!
2 hours ago
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