A 26th Birthday Dinner

My grandparents took my two cousins, Lauren, Nikki, and I out to dinner for our 26th birthday. Each of us are only 3 weeks apart, me being the oldest, followed by Nikki and then Lauren. 10 years ago, they had taken us out to lunch at Club 33 in Disneyland. This was us:

Gotta love that adolescent awkward phase.

So yes, let me explain because I'm sure many of you are thinking, "Wait ... those people aren't Asian!" I have been adopted as a granddaughter. My mother and my grandmother were really good friends before I was born. Hence, the following formula happened:

Simmone born + Nana & Papa claiming Simmone

= Adopted granddaughter

No, there were no legal adoption papers filed and yes, I did have relationships with my biological grandparents. So instead of 2 sets of grandparents, I had 3. Essentially if you're still confused, just smile and nod because it is what it is. They are my grandparents and Nikki and Lauren are my cousins (plus DJ, who is Lauren's brother, who's not here because he's a boy) and I've been a part of the family all my life.

We tried to re-create the photo from 10 years ago. Us girls are a little off center. Nan and Papa pretty much look the same. The rest of us, well, we're all pretty happy we've gotten over our adolescence. Haha!

Nan and Papa took us to Sakura in La Cañada, CA. Think Japanese flair cooking.

And the night begins!

Our chef didn't really do too many tricks. He liked to play pranks though, by pretending to throw things at us.

Our table was at a 90 degree angle so getting pictures of everyone in action was a little difficult.

Here's a picture of me getting nailed in the face with a shrimp. The chef was aiming for my mouth and missed.

Action shot of Nikki trying to catch the shrimp!

Picture of Lauren after she missed her shrimp. Our chef didn't have very good aim.

Nikki: "I totally thought I was out of the way. But apparently my chest wanted to be in the pic, haha!"

So the restaurant found out that we were celebrating our birthdays and they had us all hit their birthday gong. Then they brought us ice cream cake, which I didn't take pictures of because I refuse to perpetuate this Asian/tourist trend I've been noticing at Bubba Gump! ;0P

The cake was awesome though!

Aw, lookie! We're all growed up!

Thanks for an awesome birthday dinner Nana and Papa!

Wedding Adventure

"You've become a pretty girl. Don't be like your Aunt Judy and marry an ugly man like your Uncle Danny." - Mom, "Mom-ism" #1538

My Aunt Judy was apparently a very pretty girl when she was younger. So, um, thanks for the compliment, Mom?

My parents say the quirkiest things. Dad gives me back-handed compliments and Mom just says things that come from left field.

We went to a wedding. One of my mom's friend's daughter was getting married. I actually grew up with the bride. However, being that a bride is always crazy busy during her own wedding, I didn't manage to get a picture with her.

But I did manage to get a picture with the Maid of Honor, whom I also grew up with:

This is Rainbow. Yes, I actually know someone named Rainbow. And no, she's not a hippie (although her parents might have been) and she's really cool! So stop judging her name!!!

For those who have been listening to me vent/helping me with the ordeal of finding the right dress for this wedding, I hope these two pictures pacify all curiosity! Although I do find it ironic that during this frustrating quest to find that damn dress, I had asked my mother if it was alright if I got a white dress. My mom had said no because a) it would distract from the bride and b) white was the funeral color for the Chinese. And the color she's wearing is ... *shrugs* C'est la vie, no?

Graduation!!!!

'Tis the season for graduations! 

I suppose in the spirit of the season, one could say that I've decided to "graduate" to blogspot. (Okay, okay, bad pun.) I realized that since so many of my friends, including myself, are starting to move, blogging is actually an efficient way of keeping people informed of what you're up to. I also happily discovered that I can pretty much control the privacy settings across the board, so the only people who I give permission can read this. That rings well with me. So I'd probably blog on this a little more seriously than I had been on previous online outlets, just because I know random strangers won't be reading this. So here's to a new start for life's next chapter!

Back to the topic of graduations, I thought that for my first post, I'd share that Noel is now a college graduate! He graduated from San Diego State University on May 24th, 2008 with a degree in Graphic Design. I can't say that the word "excited" described my feelings when I went to my own graduation ceremony. I think I was feeling more "can we get this over with???". But in regards to Noel and his roommate, Mitchell, I'll let you come up with your own conclusions:

I've gotta say, I like the colors ... not as purple as mine. Hehe. And of course the Gomez Family came out to show their support. We're missing one sister and her husband, but her 2 year old daughter was there to represent! However, baby Amelie is quite the shy one and refused to look at the camera. Can you find her???

For those of you who have siblings, you may or may not understand what I mean by this, but it's nice to be a part of a family where there are more members than just your parents. 

CONGRATULATIONS, BABY!

I think I love him ... just a little. ;0P