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Monday the 15th was my little brother-in-law, Bronson's, Birthday!! He turned 13 years old, a fine young age for any boy... a teenager finally. I sort of remember being 13, I remember that I was one of the youngest 13 year old kids in high school (october birthday.) I remember what i wore to school the first day of high school, green jean shorts with an orange short sleeve flannel that had a hood on it?.. anyway, Seeing Bronson turn 13 was very nostalgic. He really reminds me of myself when I was that age, hopefully I can spend more time with him this summer, since he'll be out of school and its the first summer since he was born where I dont have a job. Wait, wow thats wierd, I've watched Bronson grow up since he was 4 years old (younger than Bella now). Interesting. Well since Bronson has been reminding me of myself so much recently, me and Sam thought of the perfect birthday gift for him... read on,
we started out our morning in preparation for some birthday shopping with a great breakfeast at IHOP.
The thing I always loved about IHOP was the flavored syrups.. mmmm... still though, maple has to be the best.
Izzy B doesnt drink soda. (her choice actually)
I had the stuffed French Toast with Strawberry and whipped topping. Gangbusters!!!
Sammy had the Smokehouse Platter
I think the key to eating a big breakfeast is, to eat in moderation!! I think I could of finished the rest of my few bites and the rest of Sam's leftovers, but I resisted so I wouldnt feel like I had a sack of sand in my stomach for the rest of the day. Just walked away like a real man.
So we wanted to buy Bronson his FIRST surfboard for his birfday!! I knew there was a shop all the way in Kailua that sold used surfboards, so we drove all the way over there to check it out.
The shop is called 'Kimo's Surf Hut' and guess what.... they are closed on Monday's!! ack!!
So we drove all the way to Kailua for nothing. The good thing though about this mistake was, we got to take the H-3. The H-3 was voted one of America's most beautiful highway's on the Travel channel. Its true, its amazing if you actually pay attention to what you are driving around. Here you can see the two tunnels that bring you through these amazing mountains.
the view of Kaneohe through my dirty car window.
So our minds were set on getting Bronson a board so we drove all over the island in search of one. We stopped by this store in Wahiawa, you know the store, its the store you always drive by on 'california ave.' and wonder.. "what the heck is in that store?!". Well the answer is NOTHING, there is nothing good in that store, keep driving!
On the road to the North Shore..
Onto Haleiwa!! Haleiwa is awesome, its actually the first place that I bought my first surfboard. I figured we'd find a good used one at either Serra's or Tropical Rush.
...We actually found a perfect board for him at "wave riding vehicles" (where the 7-11 used to be by Mcdonalds). We found a 5' 10", Tokoro shortboard, barely used for a cool $100! sweet. (Isabella picked out a nice red leash for him too)
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..so dinner time came around and it was time to celebrate at Bronson's house. Being the 13 year old boy that he was, he wanted the party to be "Rasta" color themed. Ha, I remember being in that phase where I wanted EVERYTHING to be "Red, Yellow, and Green!" My school folders were red, yellow, green.. my hats, my slippers, stickers i bought, my clothes, everything! ha teenagers.
grandma, uncle, aunty, mom, sister, bronson
Cake.. 13 candles +1 for good luck.
Open some gifties, the kid got hooked up! New M.S. Viper fins, new guitar, new surfboard. stoked!!
His new board.. im not gonna lie to ya, I want to use this thing!!!
The first full board "waxing." One of the things that will always truly inspire me, is the smell of 'sex wax'... especially the one that smells a little like root beer. Bronson gets done with school on monday, so after that he's all mine. He's a 'goofy footer' too, so in the summer it'll be ala mo bowls, Coves, Wailupe, and if we're lucky- Shark Country. =)
aloha
