JWS Family Reunion: Day Two, Part Three - The Luau

Because the theme of our reunion was story telling, we decided to end the event with the story of Grandma and Grandpa Smith's life (Extremely condensed) using Polynesian dances!

We had a little prep work to do first though, such as finding matching costumes and painting all the Uncle's faces.

And while we were prepping, family members enjoyed some AMAZING Polynesian food, as well as some fun games, and photo ops.

Soon we were ready to dance and began the show with the hula Meapa'ani Kinipopo (a sports song) to tell how Grandpa Smith met Grandma because he was looking for some people to play basketball with and found the LDS church. A group of men from the church told him he could play if he started to attend regular meetings. He agreed and it wasn't long before he met Grandma.

The next dance was Ku'u hoa (My Friend), a hula that talks about love and courtship. We used it to tell how Grandma and Grandpa soon fell in love and married in the Temple in Arizona!

The Maori Haka was next on the docket and was performed by all the sons in the family (minus Uncle Jim who was on his mission). The Haka represented the craziness in Grandma's home after she had six sons in a row and no daughters to speak of.

Then ALL the women danced Fakateretere to tell of the grace and femininity that entered the home when Grandma and Grandpa's first and only daughter was born!

Next the younger men danced the Fa'ataupati (slap dance) to tell how Grandpa's life was when he went off to war... hanging out with stinky dudes all day, sleeping in tents, and smacking away the mosquitoes!

After that, I danced E Tui/Terina (Poi balls) to tell how Grandma had to use and learn MANY skills to run her home on her own while Grandpa was off to war.

We ended the story portion of the show with a Sasa done by all the young grandchildren to show what an amazing posterity Grandma and Grandpa Smith have created!

And just for fun, my siblings and I gave a short show after the story telling to allow everyone a moment to relax and unwind after their own performances.

Soon the luau, as well as the ENTIRE reunion, was over! But not before we ended the night with a quick clean and push up competition. (Won by cousin Shawna...what an amazing woman!)

Thank you Smith family for helping us to have such a fun and successful reunion. It was an event to be remembered!