My 24th birthday went very well. Other than a slight sunburn (it was gone by morning) and a headache it was a good day. I worked until four and then we went to a friend's house at six for dinner. Ryan made ribs, homemade french fries, and grilled corn-on-the-cob and there was fruit salad. Caleb and Maren are admiring my new puzzle from mom and dad.
Ryan gave me a "birthday hat" to wear for pictures.
We forgot to buy candles.
The birthday girl.
You start by hanging jingle bells on your door. My visiting teaching companion gave them to me.
You hang up the wreath that some friends gave you. It's real pine and smells so good! You also hang up the Christmas cards you got in the mail.
And you trim the two foot tree with whatever you have. In our case... earrings.
And some candy canes from church.
First we met them in Haleiwa where we had them try one of our favorite treats, rambuton. It's a fruit with a red spiky/hairy shell. It's similar to lychee (although Ryan and I think it's much sweeter).
Then we stopped by the ranch to show them where I work. This horse is Tommy Girl. She's in her own little pen while she recuperates. She was on a cattle drive Friday and was gored by a bull in the chest. We are very fortunate that the vet was able to come and stitch the severed vein before she bled to death. The wound is five inches deep!
She's a sweetheart!
Standing next to the office. Steve Lowry is Doug's older brother.
After going to the temple and BYU-H, we finished off the day with dinner at Lei Lei's over at Turtle Bay. We were joined by Janell's niece, McKae Joyner (Aunt Janell is a cousin to Wally Joyner for any baseball fans reading this). McKae is going to BYU-H.
Eden was "Where's Waldo?", Hannah just dressed up nice, and I was Princess Jasmine... again (I love my snake bracelet!). They had music, food, facepainting, cotton candy, coloring and stickers for the kids, giant inflatable jumping things, and the stables were converted into "The Haunted Barn".
I love this picture! I like the way the wind made my outfit "poofy". This was right after we went through the Haunted Barn. Ryan wore his Moroccan shirt and my scarf. I would point out his sandals but he wears them every day.
Jarett looked pretty dapper.
Hannah really liked my shoes.
And then we went home. When we left for Turtle Bay at 5:45 PM, the streets were already pretty full. When we arrived home at 7:30, they were packed! You know it's crowded when you have trouble getting through on a motorcycle! Some streets were even coned off so no vehicles would try to drive through. We didn't realize that many people bring their kids to trick-or-treat in Laie because it's a pretty safe neighborhood. There were people from Kaaawa, Hauula, Kahuku, and Sunset. We were ill prepared for the onslaught of traffic. Our first bag of candy ran out within twenty minutes. Ryan went to the store and purchased two more bags, they also didn't last long. So we decided to trick-or-treat people in the ward (most of whom were also out of candy). We were informed later that Iosepa and Moana streets receive around 1,000 trick-or-treaters every Halloween! There's a family that orders 950 light sticks to give out every year and every year they run out. People also count candy (it's nice that they print it on the bags). Halloween wasn't a "big deal" in Idaho, but it's HUGE here! All ages dress up and trick-or-treat. Adults in costume have babes in arms in costume. They're so festive, I love it!
Here's the gang coming down from the lookout.
Up at the lookout. Baagie & Scarlett, Margaret & Baron (yes thank heavens they've renamed him), and Ryan & Flaming Arrow.
I think Jarett has one of the best smiles ever.
I love the mountains here! The way Redman's mane is blowing in the wind reminds me of The Man From Snowy River.
See proof! I was there! My horse is Buttons, she can be a punk but she's a great little horse. And I have a soft spot for buckskins.
Hannah and Tommy Girl
Eden carved a pineapple with a tiki face. Then she started on a small pumpkin.
Margaret and Baagie hard at work.
Hannah unleashing her creativity. 
And the cake! I forgot to buy candles so we just sang. He doesn't look 28 does he? I couldn't have made the cake without Eden's help! It's actually an ice cream cake. There's a layer of cookies 'n cream ice cream between two layers of yellow cake (with crushed oreos in the batter) and all topped with a very sweet homemade butter frosting. He got a lot of great presents including caramel corn and a book from me, kool-aid from both Eden and mom and dad, cocktail shrimp from Hannah and Jarett, a Vermont maple-apple curry we can't wait to try from Margaret and Baagie, and (the only gift not food oriented) an underwater digital camera from his parents.
