Luau Report: 2008

From my perspective, this year's luau was our best. The stress factor went down significantly by having the luau at the Timpanogos Cove Park instead of at our house. The weather was beautiful. The park is at the zenith of Cedar Hills, overlooking the valley below. I arrived as the sun was beginning to set, which lit the whole park in a golden hue. It looked like a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting. Kids were sliding down the hill on ice blocks. People were meandering and talking. It was lovely.

Not one picture. Doh! I grabbed my camera after being with Lissy at the hospital, took one picture of Melissa, and then the camera's battery died. I wanted to take pictures of the food, the people, the sunset. But I've got nothing. Next year, the reporting will be better. I've talked to my editor, and he fired the cameraman.

In numbers:

• 150 pounds of chicken
• 50 pounds of sirloin
• 75 pounds of bread
• 10 Costco packages of sausages
• 20 pounds of potatoes and five pounds of carrots
• 140 pounds of pork
• 5 pounds of rice

From reports, we think about 200 people showed up. It was like a reunion for all of Kulani's little groups. There were biking friends, law school friends, family, and current law colleagues. I had a few family members show up, and one of my work colleagues. I may have had some old friends show up, but I was at the hospital so I couldn't report on that, and Kulani was manning the grill and probably wouldn't be able to spot my old friends (if you were there, give us a shout out in the comments). We had a great turn out from the neighbors and family friends. Some friends showed up with additional family members, which we welcomed. We still had tons of food left over, probably enough to feed another 100 people. A few friends didn't show who are usual regulars.

For next year, I'm planning on the following amounts of food:

• 140 pounds of chicken
• 40 pounds of sirloin
• 10 Costco packages of sausage
• 20 pounds of potatoes and five pounds of carrots
• 100 pounds of pork
• 10 pounds of rice
• Pop

Downsides: We ran out of rice, and we didn't have enough to drink. Also, we had lots of awesome haupia, but I wanted more brownies. That was my fault, because I was in charge of the brownie making, and I didn't get to it until Saturday, but then the whole Lissy accident happened, and I didn't get to finish.

Many, many people helped, and I am thankful for all your help! A big thanks to Kuhia, Lani, and Ben for pre-prep, post clean-up, and manning the grill. Susan and Angela stepped in when I couldn't be there. Lindsay Horne helped with some last-minute rice. Amy helped hold Lissy and helped me clean up. So many thanks to so many people, so here is my automatic-thankful machine gun blasting out to you and hitting you in the heart: THANK YOU SO MUCH BECAUSE WITHOUT Y'ALL, THE LUAU WOULD SEND ME INTO CARDIAC ARREST!

And I've determined this year that it is not the Kulani Fisher luau as much as it is the entire Fisher Family Luau. Kuhia made all the haupia. Kamika and Angela made all the lomi-lomi salmon. Lani made all the chicken long rice. All the Fishers contribute to this event, and we love 'em, so even though most of the turn out is from our family and friends, it is the Blanding-based Fishers who all help in making this possible. See you next year!