9 posts tagged “family”

So August is chalkful of birthdays in our family! And it isn't just alot of birthdays in one month, ALL the birthdays are in one week! On the 21st is Great Grandma and a Sister, then on the 23rd is a niece, the 24th is a nephew, and the 25th is my mom-in-law! Crazy huh?!?! Not to mention two uncles who live far away are on the 23rd as well! Christmas time must be nice in this family...if ya know what I mean...lol!!

So for my mother-in-law all she wanted to do was have dinner at a little Thai place in Kapolei called Kularb Lao Thai Restaurant. I've only eaten Thai food once or twice before, but had heard alot about that Pad Thai noodles. So I figured I'd try that!

 

 

 

 

Here's my Pad Thai Noodles w/ Shrimp. It was $8.95 and okay. I'm not a Thai food connoisseur by any means. It had a peanutty flavor and my most favorite part was the cilantro on the sides! 

 

 

 

These are stuffed chicken wings. Basically they debone the chicken and add a bunch of carrots, sprouts, and other veggies with chicken. Bread it and deep fry it...it's YUMMY!!

 

Here's a Long Rice Salad that my sis-in-law ordered. I didn't try it, but she said it was pretty spicy! Good, but spicy and she can't handle alot of spice!

 

 

Regular 'ol summer rolls, but I LOVE the freshness of the mint!

 

 

Funny thing about my mother-in-law (pictured at the head of the table), she likes to try SO many different dishes that she normally will order 4 or 5 different types of food. It doesn't matter where you are, she even does that at Zippy's! LoL...but at least she satisfies whatever her craving might be! A few of us ordered the Thai Sticky Rice...I tried it and it just tastes like jasmine rice to me...not to mention all rice in Hawaii is "sticky" so I don't really get the appeal. We had a little sticky rice competition...

 

 

First contestant was the Sticky Rice Ring of Fire. Okay...its a ring made out of rice...how hard could that be right??

 

 

If you can't tell, this is a Sticky Rice Car. By far the hands down winner!! LoL...in an effort to get back into the competition my brother-in-law made this...

 

 

A Sticky Rice Cross...I dunno...kinda sad, huh?? LoL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like I said I'm not an expert on Thai food, but it was pretty decent. I probably wouldn't go back to that particular restaurant though. But it was pretty cheap so if you're interested in cheap and you're in the Kapolei area check it out!

So the last few blog entries have been all about family and spending time with my favoritest brother-in-law, Kula. Well Kula left tonight and I'm sad...He's the baby brother of the family. When me and Taei first started dating Kula was just 12 years old. Being a teenager and him a tweener, we didn't quite hit it off right away. But as the years have passed we've grown closer! Me and Tiff joke that we've said goodbye to Kula more than anyone else...but the truth is, at least for me, I have. I can remember 3 distinct times and tonight was the hardest. Maybe cuz he seems to be growing up alot more, maybe cuz he seems more set on making a life in Colorado, or maybe cuz this is another notch on the belt of airport goodbyes. I know its not forever...but it's still for a longer time than I'd like. Kula's just 24 years old, but has been through alot in those short years...in fact we all have...but somehow he seems to have been through more. He was living in Colorado with another one of our brothers and sisters, but now everyones moved back here and he's sorta alone...I know he's got friends and my sister-in-laws family there who I'm sure are always there for him...but for me its not the same! He's MILES and MILES away from us if he needs anything...or if we need anything. This past 10 days were full of laughs and jokes, a closeness only Kula can bring! If you're reading this...

Kula,  we love and miss you!! You're my favorite! LoL!! Be safe, be good, and remember the Gospel...it's the same for you there as it would be here!! Take care...we're just a phone call, text message, eMail, or myspace comment away!! And you know that we want you back...so whenever you're ready, lets us know!

Here's some pictures of our last night with our little buddy...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And our montage of goodbye hugs...

We were so bummed out afterwards...like even our kids were totally crying with puffy eyes...that we had to get some ice cream to ease the pain!! LoL!

He moved the cone, but Taei got a dipped Dairy Queen ice cream cone. It looked like a pile of poop! LoL!! I got a cookie dough/Reeses PB Cup kid size blizzard. I didn't snap pix of the blizzards, cuz honestly they don't look that appealing!! LoL!!

BYE BUDDY!! WE'LL MISS YOU!!

Sometimes we go on these weird streaks of togetherness...take this past weekend for example. We hooked up at Coconut Willy's around 9 pm Friday...hung out...hooked up at the Swap Meet around 10 am Saturday morning. From there it was the 4 horsemen, Taei, Kula, Me, and Tiff from Saturday 10 am...all the way 'til Sunday at around 11:30 pm!! LoL!! We hung out at my house, ended up sleeping in...played more video games Sunday, had some pho for lunch, went to my mother-in-laws and didn't part with each other until about 11:30 pm Sunday...thats a whole lotta family time!! LoL!!

But sadly our time with Kula is quickly coming to an end. Sunday night was probably the last time this trip we could all hang out together before he leaves! So we used this time to torture the kids...lol!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't call CPS on us...they were having fun!! I dunno what it is, but somehow we always end up either roughin' up each other or the kids. And I'll have to give these kids credit, not only are they strong, but they're pretty tough for their age too!! Before more fun we had a small family home evening...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After all this we were ready for more action!! Spoons!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't do too well at Spoons this night...and I still got a cut on my left thumb!! Bummers!! Oh well next time!! The rest of the night was spent hanging out and playing another game called Pit...it's like the stock market, you gotta exchange cards with different commodities on it and try to get a whole hand (7 cards) of the same commodity...its a bit harder than spoons honestly! LoL!! But man am I gonna miss Kula when he leaves...*sigh*...but we'll probably still do spoons!!

I mentioned in an earlier blog entry that my favoritest baby brother-in-law is in town visiting from Colorado. So we tried to pack in AS MUCH hangin' out as possible! Friday night we ended up at Coconut Willy's for a friends fundraiser. There was supposed to be a "mala (drag) pageant" at 9 pm, I think it actually ended up starting at like 10:15 or something...so here's some flicks of us just hanging out for awhile! LoL!!

 

Taei's jus "posing" with it...it really is Kula's drink!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was an early night for me and Taei...we got home about 1 am, but Tiff and Kula and some of the others hung out later! But that didn't stop us from hittin' the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet early the next morning!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, Kula knows which one and even got a 5 finger discount! That ain't right Kula!!

Afterwards we stopped by the Guam Liberation Day Celebration!! My sister-in-law is Chamorro and her family is VERY involved with the chamorro community. So every year they help plan and coordinate Guam's Liberation Day...we got for free food! LoL...and fellowship!!

 

 

We stayed up late, woke up early, did 2 laps around the swap meet...yeah we were pretty tired walking up to Richardson Field...not to mention it was HOT!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know how "chamorro" people would feel about me sayin' this, but their food is alot like alot of local food. My favorite is the red rice and the chicken keleguen. My sis-in-law suggests eating the keleguen with chips, but never have chips, so I ate it with a fork along with a bunch of other yummy stuff...sorry no pix...hungry...lol!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was ready for a nap, but instead afterwards we hung out at my house playing, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Wii games!! Good times!

So we had SO much left over food from the party last night that we all went over to my mother-in-laws to finish it up!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sundays we don't do the tv or video game thing, instead we find other ways to preoccupy ourselves!! A few years ago our family started playing a game called spoons. How do you play spoons? You sit around in a circle, everyone gets 4 cards, you place spoons -1 person (sort of like musical chairs), in the center of the circle. The dealer places the unused cards in front of them, then flips one and passes one, everyone takes a card and passes a card. The object of the game is to get 4 of a kind and grab a spoon. Once someone grabs a spoon, its a mad scramble to get a spoon. Whoever doesn't get a spoon is out, one spoon is removed from the pile, and then the next round begins!! Our family takes this game to a a whole new level...there's been blood shed, sprained thumbs, a flipped over table...you name it! But it is SUPER FUN!! LoL!! Here's some pix...

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. Mike changed INTO this outfit, just for the Spoons game!! LoL!!

 

 

 

Maybe with "normal" people and a game of spoons, when you grab a spoon you won it, but in this family you gotta be prepared to grab, run, hold on, and fight for your spoon!! No one is off limits! LoL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile...Tiff started a camera war...again!! This time with a 3 year old and I think Teancum won!! LoL!!

My buddy for the entire night...

 

 

It took him a few minutes and about a dozen mini brownies to warm up!! But once he did, he was CUTE as ever!!

Our family loves to party and we're always lookin' for an excuse to do it! So even though Teyana's birthday was in June, we had scheduling conflict, but were determined to party!! LoL!! So tonight we rented out the Wheeler Bowling and partied up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kinda dark my picture! But here's my FAVORITE broteher-in-law, Kula, visiting us from Colorado!! I haven't seen him in over a year and this after he told me he'd be moving back!! LoL!! But man have we missed him!! He's so wild and crazy and brings so much fun to our lives...lol!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at how cute Alena is!! She's gettin' so big...seriously, don't let this picture fool ya!! She's about 5 months old now and laughs and smiles all the time. Well, except for when she's sleeping...then she's rough lookin' like her daddy! LoL!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know...I've been to how many parties at a bowling alley this past  year and I NEVER bowl! There's always so much people and the pressure and I help out and I can't bowl that well...lol!! But some bowled...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Others played those video games...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then we were silly with the camera again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course the reason we're all here tonight...

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Ta-na-na!!

Well after a few months of the Top Star competition, my sister-in-law, Joann's, run has come to an end. She finished 3rd out of 12, which ain't nothing to bat an eyelash too!! Here she is belting out her farewell song!

It's okay girl...you're awesome!! LoL!! A bunch of us came out to support, hang out, and have dinner!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course every chance we get, we're cheesin!! LoL!! And we always gotta do one with the grandkids!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards we all headed upstairs for dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. Sorry no pictures!! I blogged about it before! But as a side note, if you're trying to be on a diet and do the low/no carb thing...this is NOT the place for you!! I was trying SO hard to be good. And you're probably saying to your computer monitor, well duh!! It is called "The Old Spaghetti Factory" But in my defense some italian restaurants have chicken or steak dishes where I could substitute veggies for pasta!! They do have salad, which I should've ordered, but didn't! Peer pressure sucks and I'm one of them that'll jump off the bridge too!! LoL!! But the most important thing is we were together...friends and family...and everyone was invited!!

 **WARNING...TODAY'S BLOG IS LONG & CONTAINS A LOT OF PICTURES**

One weird thing about our clique of friends...our birthdays seem to last over the course of a few days instead of just that one!! Stickin' with tradition today is my baby's 30th birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! lol!! I've been workin' with Tiff and my sister, Emily, to plan a throwback to the 70's Disco party!! So last night we had the party at Rumour's Night Club in the Ala Moana Hotel. For just $100 you can reserve the VIP room, which holds about 20 people comfortably, you get the room the entire night and your own server! It was great. We didn't go all  out on decorations, but we had some favors...

The idea was to make a CD, but make it look like an old 45 record. I didn't catch a shot of the inside, but here's what the lil man looked like on the CD...

LOL!! I crack up EVERYTIME I look at this!! Also decorating the tables were some of the prizes for the night. We had two lava lamps for the best Disco Outfit, 2 Goody Baskets for the Dancing King and Queen, and 2 Rubiks Cubes, but I can't remember what the category that prize was for. The goody baskets had candies from the 70's like Wonka Bottle Caps, Big Chew Gum, Razzles, Double Bubble Bubble Gum, Ring pops, Dip & Lick Sticks, and just a ton more!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I get more into the rest of our night...check out the food. For a separate charge, you can order one of two pupu menus. I opted to get nachos with cheese and salsa fixin's, potato wedges, shrimp wontons, assorted fruit, and buffalo wings!! It was SO good and a nice compliment to dancin' and whatever else you had going on!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So it was a disco party and one of the requirements were to come dressed appropriately...meaning afros, sun glasses, big hair, and just all out FUNKY!! Take a look at some of the outfits!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday night at Rumour's is called "Little Chill" playin' music of the 70's, 80's, and some of the 90's...we wanted more 70's, but we still managed to get down wit it! Here's a few from the dance floor...keep in mind, Rumour's has two cages on the dance floor for the the ummm...exhibitionist in all of us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had SO MUCH FUN...seriously...it was one of the first events in a long time where we had nearly our whole crew together. Weekends like this make me want to plan more functions!! Here's more random shots of the night!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope Taei enjoyed his Disco Party...he works really hard and deserves it!!

 

 

Birthday ShinDig Part II

So as I said...our celebrations go on for awhile. Taei's birthday is actually today, the 24th, so we had family over at our place for a BBQ. It was pouring rain in the morning so I wasn't sure how this would work out, but by the afternoon it had cleared up and was nice!! Here's some pix of Taei's Birthday BBQ!

 

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAEI!!

Well what did I do this weekend?? Friday was a not so good day so I ended up calling in to work. After staying in my bed ALL day Taei decided to take me to watch a movie.

We saw Tyler Perry's new movie, Why Did I get Married. Don't worry, I won't post any "spoilers" but in short the movie is about a group of friends made up of 4 couples who all went to college together. They've since all gotten married and started successful careers. The movie is about a lot of issues that couples do actually face. It was a pretty emotional movie and funny too. I thought it was one of the best of the three I've seen so far!

Other than that my weekend was pretty normal. Polynesian dance class, swimming at the pool, oh, we went to a family dance at our church on Saturday. That was pretty fun. A DJ was hired and was spinning all kinds of music disco, oldies, new stuff. It was great because couple who like to dance could bring their kids and just hang out! All the kiddies in our family like dancing!! Pictures to follow!