A few months ago, I mentioned that my son Andan was called to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Well, sadly, the time has come for him to leave. This Sunday is his farewell and one week later he will fly to Mexico.

At that point, Kathy and I will be empty nesters! We're not sure what we're going to do with ourselves because family and raising our kids has been priority #1 for so long that we can't even remember what it is like to not have kids at home!

So, we decided that, for our last hoorah, we would go to Hawaii before Andan leaves for two years. I have lots of frequent flyer miles so we flew for free.




We had fun at the beach throwing the football. Andan did some impressive backflips off the pier!




He did some side flips too! Oh man...I'm gonna miss this kid!




Andan had the chicks on the beach eating out of the palm of his hand...and tongue too!




We got some fast food. I mean...it was so fast that it ran out the door before we could eat it!




We did flips off a rope swing...




And, we did backflips off a bridge. You know...the basic stuff that all tourists do in Hawaii...




To make the trip even more fun, later in the week, my daughter and her two roommates and her roommate's brother joined us.




We went tubing through some tunnels and didn't let a little mud slow us down!



We went hiking to some waterfalls



The kids made it super fun. We played on the beach and even found a small crab.



And, we ate some amazing Hawaiian Shave Ice (it's literally called "Shave Ice" not "Shaved Ice").


While we were there, I had a birthday on February 28. And, the day before my birthday, Kathy said "well...it's your birthday tomorrow. What do you want to do?" I said "I want to learn to surf!"

Keep in mind that, at age 54, learning to surf is not the easiest thing in the world! But, being the supportive wife that she is, Kathy said "Well...then...let's go surfing!"

For my super athlete son, Andan, learning to surf was like a walk in the park! Even with a very small wave, he was able to get up. And, he even did a backflip at the end! What a show off! 😂


By the end of the day, he was switching feet and standing on one foot!



Needless to say, it didn't come as easily for me...even with Andan's help!



But, I'm pretty stubborn and I just wouldn't quit. And, after trying for 4 hours...I finally managed to get up and ride the wave.



I even managed to do a backflip like my son Andan (my other kids teased me and said it looked more like a backflop). 😂


I even rode one all the way to shore!



Well, it was pretty epic. That night, we departed on the 11:35 pm flight to head back home and...I'm not gonna lie...I had surfboard burns on my feet and knees and everything hurt (the wheelchair at the airport was looking pretty darn good!)

We celebrated my birthday with the whole family when we returned to Utah. And, Kathy made me the coolest surfing cake ever!!



What do you think? Isn't this cake epic?

To make the waves, she put waxed paper around a cardboard paper towel tube and spooned the melted chocolate on it and held it there till it dried. She said that she thought of this idea on her own. It wasn't something she found on Pinterest.

I was impressed. I appreciated all the detail too with the sandy beach, palm tree, umbrella, shark, fish, and, of course, a surfer dude. And, the cherry on top (so to speak) was that it tasted amazing! She poured ganache over the top of each slice when she served it and...OH BABY!! Bring the milk! YUMMMMM!!!

What a wife, huh? She knows that food is the way to my heart and this cake was my favorite!

Blessings!

    Dan Oaks
    Founder of DVO Enterprises
    Creator of Cook'n
    Father of 5. Husband of 1.
    Monthly Newsletter Contributor since 2024
    Email the author! dan@dvo.com