Browse Category: friends

Spunky Kiddo

dsc_1616.jpg

Last Sunday, we gathered at Jimmy and Eleen’s house for a post-wedding celebration. Yong and Helen brought their 2-year-old daughter, Cara, and she was a hoot! From the minute she arrived, she burst into the house and went straight for each an every one of the 4 dogs that were in the house.

dsc_1783a.jpg

dsc_1804a.jpg

She’s quite a mover and loves to climb on people, crawl under tables, and give hugs to everyone including the dogs. She’s also quite a ham when it comes to taking photos, so I got lots of practice.

Oh, one more thing.  We took photos for the bet between Victor and Yong.  The person who loses the greatest percentage of weight by May will get a new iPhone with a full year of service paid for.

Here are more photos from the afternoon.

Wedding Recap

dsc_1035a.jpg

Whew! What a weekend. I feel like it just ended even though it’s already Tuesday night. Most people left on Sunday but Dayantha and Krissy stayed until this morning. I’ve finally sorted through my hundreds of photos. I don’t know if I reached 1000 but it was close. Here goes the recap…

On Saturday morning, we got to The Faculty Club around 10 am to help set-up. With camera in hand, I managed to get some cool shots of all the work that went into setting up a Do-It-Yourself Wedding.

dsc_1175a.jpg

Family members were assembling the floral arrangements while the boys set-up the lanterns and table settings.

dsc_1179a.jpg

The girls were arranging their own bouquets while Eleen supervised all the action as her hair and make-up were being done.

dsc_1213a.jpg

It really was amazing how much thought and hard work went into this wedding.

dsc_1198a.jpg

Eleen even made her own wedding gown, which was beautiful with hand-wrapped buttons along the back. At the very last minutes of wedding prep, Eleen was still rubber stamping and snipping thread off of the shawl she made.

dsc_1300.jpg

At the church, Susie coordinated while I helped her set-up. Fortunately, the rain had stopped the night before and stayed away until after the ceremony.

dsc_1308a.jpg

Here are the pillow rings that were also handmade and carried by a pair of very cute little boys.

dsc_1369.jpg

The church had high ceilings with a balcony that allowed for some awesome wide-angled shots.

dsc_1421a.jpg

The priest kept it short almost left out “You may now kiss the bride.” That was weird.

dsc_1449.jpg

Back at the reception, we got back to work with the placecards and slideshow.

dsc_1489a.jpg

Here are the name cards and homemade flavored lipbalm that was lovingly prepared, designed, and packaged by the bride herself. Jenn, one of the bridesmaids, made an awesome movie that included stop animation of little dolls that represented Jimmy and Eleen. I contributed by adding some photos of the actual wedding for a little surprise for the audience.

dsc_1460a.jpg

The homemade cupcakes (prepared by Clara, the other bridesmaid) were the talk of the evening and tasted so yummy.

p1010472a.jpg

The party was a lot of fun and Dayantha performed his little “Ditty” for everyone to enjoy…including the parents. Check out Victor’s dad getting into the action.

dsc_1577a.jpg

By the end of the night, we were all pretty buzzed and exhausted…as we should be. There was a requisite stop at Top Dog before meeting up at a local bar before heading home.

Here are photos of the pre-wedding activities.
Here are photos of the wedding ceremony and reception.

If you’re looking for some of my favorites at a higher resolution, go here.

Wedding Weekend

dsc_1423a.jpg

What a busy, fun-filled weekend! Jimmy and Eleen tied the knot on Saturday and it was quite an event. People started to arrive on Wednesday and Thursday and we’ve had a full house for a few days now. It’s always so fun to have everyone in town at once and boy did we make the most of it. We had rehearsal and dinner on Friday with drinks at a local bar until the wee hours of the morning. Then Saturday was just non-stop from pre-wedding preparations to the ceremony and then the reception. Today, we all woke up groggy and exhausted but ready for a Sunday BBQ at the Agustin residence where Jes and I prepared a Mexican BBQ for about 25-30 people.

I haven’t even begun to sort through all the photos so I will need to post them this week. I’ll also have to recap the highlights a little later as well. I’m pooped.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

HH and Shwag

p1010152.jpg

Last night, we went to happy hour to celebrate Susie’s birthday. It was a little surprise get-together for her and it was a wild Monday night for all of us. The birthday girl had lots to drink and I had my share along with very little to eat…bad combo.

p1010172.jpg

Afterwards, we stumbled over to a friend’s workplace for a little beer and shwag. I can’t say which office we went to but I got plenty of goodies to represent. Let’s just say that it rhymes with Help and I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It was like sneaking into someone’s house and eating their food. As Susie tried to recover from her many birthday drinks, we got a bunch of re-colored items. I can’t wait to wear my new tanktop with the bandana, sunscreen, and lip balm while taking swigs from my shot glass. Muhahaha. By the way, that’s Jes sporting his new bandana and drinking beer from a bowl. The office is small but they are set-up with a kitchen filled with snacks and a keg on tap. Looks like a fun place to work.

One more thing, contact me if you want to see photos. To spare us all from the embarrassing photos, the album will be shared upon request. 🙂

…and with Beakatude on drums!

dsc_0306a.jpg

On Sunday afternoon, I tagged along with Johnny and Joy.  They were headed over to Shane’s house where he had the new Rock Band game.  It was pretty entertaining.  I got to sing, play guitar, and play the drums (something I’d always wanted to do).  Some songs were pretty difficult and some were just plain funny.  I always have a good laugh when the dying bird (my brother) sings.

p1010008.jpg

Later in the evening, I went to dinner with my parents and Marie’s family.  It was at the usual Thai hangout with my parents being the “regulars” along with his other random friends that also showed up for their evening meal.  Marie and Kenji brought the boys and grandparents.  And once again Brandon was so relaxed in Jesse’s lap while Cole cried and pouted when it was his turn with “Uncle Jesse”.  It’s always fun to share a meal with my family.  Good times…

p1010013a.jpg

That same night, we met up with our old pals for some drinks.  There is no annual Christmas party this year so this was pretty much it.  The usuals were there: the Masayas (including Robert), Jimmy, Huy, the Bangs, the Sokol-Juns, Holly, and Roy.  We even got a special appearance by the youngest Fernando who happened to be there with some of her friends.  Unfortunately, we missed Dayantha, the younger Tranandos, Patti/Howard, and Patty/Johnny.  It was still great to see everyone together again.  It finally feels like Christmas is on its way.

Putts and Pie

p1000977a.jpg

This morning I played 9 holes with Jimmy and Tinou. It was a cold day and the course was pretty crappy. On Hole 5, the green didn’t really look much like a green. In fact, it was yellow and patchy. Overall, I had horrible day on the course but my chip shots weren’t too shabby for a change. The boys pulled through despite the yucky conditions and Jimmy managed to squeak ahead of Tinou by one stroke.

dsc_0021a.jpg

In the afternoon, Jes and I attended Ryan and Michelle’s Pie Party.  There were 3 savory pies and a grip of sweet pies.  We actually voted for our favorite and the savory pork pot pie won.  It was pretty good.  My apple pie didn’t win but it was almost gone by the end of the party so I’d say it wasn’t a complete failure.  Here are photos from the party.