Hope everyone had a fun and happy Thanksgiving weekend! Full of food, shopping, family and friends, ManoaDNA had dinner at the parent’s house. This is the two turkeys our families went through, NO PROBLEM! My mouth is watering just from the picture!

Thursday actually started at 6:00am for me because I participated in a family golf tournament at Moanalua Country Club. It’s a 9-hole course in the middle of Moanalua Valley, so we played twice for a full 18-hole round! Too early though.

After a “Black Friday” of doing absolutely nothing, Saturday I headed over to Big City Diner to watch the University of Hawai’i Warrior football game. I had their new “Paniolo Burger” which is basically a western burger with their Guava BBQ sauce. I love onion rings on my burger!

Also this weekend, I headed over to a wing shop called “Dirty Lickins.” For those who know where Aiea Bowl is, Dirty Lickins is right next door and specializes in buffalo-style chicken wings. We had the medium spicy version, honey mustard and garlic versions which were all very good! But be warned, they have heat levels that will challenge any stomach!

Finally yesterday, a whole group went down to Tikis to watch Alex’s latest solo adventure. This is the last one for the year, so a lot of our friends came down to celebrate! It also helped that one of Alex’s friends was having a birthday.

A quick note of thanks to those who have donated to our toy drive. We have been receiving donations almost every day and would like to thank you VERY much for all your support. Last year we were shocked at how many people came down to support us, and this year we are again speechless at the support. We love you guys, and thank you always for being there for us.

Nick

This is a great week because its thanksgiving – my favorite holiday!! I don’t know why I love it so much, it must be the holiday season feel I get. One thing I don’t like is how stores skip thanksgiving and already sell christmas stuff…what is up with that?? I mean, c’mon, celebrate thanksgiving people!!

Sorry I don’t have pictures from last night but maybe Dad or Nick will post some. Thanks for looking!!
Aloha,
AK

We started off the weekend by having our last Lulus and Kani Ka Pila for the month. We are taking the weekend off for Thanksgiving next week and it will be some much-needed rest for the ManoaDNA kids. We are also done with Lulus for the rest of 2010 already, and only one more Kani Ka Pila! Where did the year go?!

Last week was also “Restaurant Week” on O’ahu, which featured some fancy dishes from restaurants all around the island! It was so good! Here’s my special hot dog from Hank’s Haute Dogs; white beans, chiccharones, portugese chili and a chorizo sausage was so delicious. They also featured a spicy portugese sausage hot dog with ghost pepper ketchup. If you don’t know what a ghost pepper is, you don’t want to know. Hottest pepper in the world!

Finally, we ended the weekend out at Lanikuhonua on the west-side of O’ahu. A very, very beautiful place out by the Ihilani hotel, and a perfect setting for a Hawaiian wedding! Congratulations to Lauren and Sean, and thank you for letting ManoaDNA be a part of your special day!

Look for Thursday’s blog post as I will be doing another episode of “Nick in Pictures,” showing off more beautiful pictures from Lanikuhonua and ManoaDNA!

Aloha for now,
Nick

Now the title of this blog entry may seem general and overused, but a wave of appreciation has overcome my emotions when I woke up today.

Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with tedious, tear-filled, post-menopausalish details, but let’s just say I realized I don’t take many steps back and appreciate what I have. Try it, it’s weird. That’s all I’ll say about that, and leave you to create your own thoughts.

On a less-serious note (while still beautiful), Hawai’i football is unstoppable (*knock on wood*)!! With the best game of the season (so far) played on Saturday, Hawai’i keeps its slim bowl-game hopes alive. What a game though, and well worth the entire roller coaster of emotions that have summarized this season. Heck, I lost my voice! My precious music-creating voice was taken for granted and now I can barely talk. It was worth it. Now, Hawai’i has to get through nationally ranked (#26 USA Today) Wisconsin Badgers next Saturday and it’s off to the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl we go! Cross your fingers, send your prayers, and let’s go Warriors!!

Thanksgiving was a great time with the family! Plenty of turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and more. I didn’t eat as much as I usually do, but that was not due to the quality or quantity of food before me. Instead, I think I took it easy, decided to enjoy the company of my family and take the time to catch up with everyone (something I’ve never done before). What the? Beautiful Hawai’i? Catch up? Not eat? Am I getting soft in my old age?!

Anyway, that’s my report for this Wednesday (hump day) in beautiful Manoa. We have a great series of holiday events coming up this month, so check the schedule and head down!

Happy Holidays Everyone! Be safe and shop!
Nick

Happy thanksgiving everyone! Be safe and eat lots!

So this Thanksgiving, I reflect and give thanks. In this world of hi-speed, low-attention media, there will never be another Michael Jackson. Manoa DNA is very lucky to have even a small fraction of faithful fans, and this Thanksgiving I am thankful for each and everyone of you. I know we may never be able to produce a show like I saw last night, but to me that doesn’t matter. Don’t get me wrong, we will never stop working to try to get to that point, but even if I too died today, I would be grateful for what I have experienced. You guys keep this dream going, you guys are what help Manoa DNA grow, and for that, I am thankful a million times over.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope you all enjoy a safe and stuffed Thanksgiving day.