happy birthday, kela!!

My baby is 5 years old!!

Ok, so she's no longer a baby anymore...but being that she's my firstborn, she'll always be my baby.

Having said that, I can't believe she's getting so big!!

I can still vividly recall the day we brought her home from the hospital. How surreal it felt at the time that we were parents of a little girl!

Flash forward 5 years and here we are with THREE girls!

Oy! How did that happen?

We asked Kela what she wanted to do for her birthday and she kept saying she wanted it at the beach.

If you don't know me, you may not know that I'm not a big fan of beach BBQ's. I love the beach. And I enjoy BBQ's. But BBQ's at the beach?

Not so much.

Why? There's the sand issue, of course. And I like keeping things simple. Staying in one spot. Not eating here, playing there, going back and forth...etc.

Okay, I'm just lazy. But enough about me.

So, Kela wanted a beach BBQ and that's what she got.

We had it at Ft. Derussy. If there's one place that I will forgive a beach BBQ, it's Ft. Derussy. They have BBQ grills, a big grassy area, a playground, Waikiki beach right across the way, and clean bathrooms nearby.

As you can see by the pictures, the weather was actually perfect!

It sprinkled rain a tiny bit here and there...but without any clouds and with the sun shining the entire time! It was beautiful!

Mitch helmed the BBQ as always.

On the menu? Hamburgers (I seasoned and made them-none of those frozen pre-made patties here!), avocados (for the hamburgers, of course!), chicken wings, hot dogs, and cupcakes for dessert!

Yummy food, great company, and an all-around great day.

Oh, and to top it all off...

Fireworks to end the evening!

I wish I could say the fireworks were for Kela's birthday...but it was just the weekly firework display the Hilton Hawaiian Village puts on each Friday.

It was still a spectacular way to finish the evening!

For more pictures from today, check out our photosite here!

Happy Birthday, Kela!