celebration dinner

a month before my brother’s wedding, we received an invite to a party, in cali, in honor of the engaged couple. i love events like that! it’s such a great way to get to know others involved in huy and tashina’s lives. that is one thing i love about weddings – building relationships, feeling the love, experiencing the joy, and realizing how great life can really be with so many blessings.

and so it began: the packing. my not so favorite part. i get so stressed packing! i don’t know why?! maybe it’s because i don’t want to forget anything or it just takes too much time {and i always feel like i have so much to do before we leave on a trip!}? i also had the added stress of picking out outfits for each event we were attending each day we were there. it’s different from a beach vacation or whatever because those types of trips are more simple and easy. this trip was more high profile and very important!

i made it through and finished packing for myself and the kids {everything but the kitchen sink!}! our flight was early and it was so cold out. terrible combinations! hc went to my parent’s house to pick up my aunt, my mom, and my dad to make sure they were ready and got to our house on time. the transportation came early and we all hustled out and fumbled with getting the car seats situated!

we finally made it to the airport and had a hell of a time checking in our luggage. it probably took a solid 15+ minutes to figure everything out. the lady at the counter was actually doing us a favor by spending the time figuring out how she could get all of our checked luggage for free {because my aunt’s ticket wasn’t grouped with ours, hers was purchased separately}!

traveling in a large group can be so chaotic! we finally found our gate {and a huge thank you to the women who helped my dad get to the faaaaar away gate with the wheelchair} and settled in. olive ate a donut, ellie ran around like a crazy little baby, i got my starbucks, we all purchased some sort of food for the plane ride, and we were first to board because of my dad’s disability. wooooo hoooo. we made it!

olive was soooooo into the plane ride! she was so excited when the plane started moving! she screamed and laughed and said the cutest things. oh my heart just melted! she was amazed at the movement, how tiny the houses were getting, and the clouds in the sky. she is too cute!

once we arrived, we waited a hundred years for a shuttle to the car rental, and finally got to the hotel! oh my goodness…it was a gorgeous hotel!!! so chic, beautiful, and oh so friendly. this hotel has acres and acres of beautiful, scenic property! we walked into our spacious room and had fresh cookies waiting for us! yum! we had two king beds, a large bathroom, desk, arm chair, great amenities, and so many other luxurious goodies!

we ordered room service, relaxed, and then got ready for the dinner that evening.

we arrived at our destination and we were greeted by huy! yay! tashina’s friend lexi’s parents {marga & thierry} were the hosts and they were so darn sweet and kind! it was awesome to meet lexi {the senior food editor at rachael ray magazine} and her husband joe {the general manager of momofuku!}. i loved chatting with them…they were so sweet and nice and we were able to mingle with tashina’s family {her mom, nanae, her dad, kip, her brother, sister, and her sister’s fiancé}. marga and lexi did such an amazing job decorating the house, cooking the food, and being the best hostesses!

we had such a great time hanging out. definitely a wonderful night to remember. like i said before, i love festivities like this! it only brings everyone closer together! cheers to friends and family!

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[she was soooooooo excited to be on the plane!]

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[yeah, so graceful. bopping herself on the head with a magazine]

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[she loved looking out the window]

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[she kept peeking at the little boy behind her]

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[hotel bed jumping is mandatory]

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[entryway]

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[convenient name tags]

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[kim, thuy, don, and khai]

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[sweet cousins]

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[cute little congratulation flag]

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[olive, uncle huy, reagan, bennett, and grandma]

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[chu thong, huy, mom, chi thu]

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[chu thong, chi thu, mom, dad, uncle khai, and don]

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[you can never go wrong with macarons]

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[huy, dan, kim, and agata]

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[mom always has to squeeze into a photo]

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[the happy couple]

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[marga making a toast to the couple]

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[sweet ellie]

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[lexi and joe]

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[reply cards turned garland]

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[jern, kina, and tre]

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[sunny and nanae]

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[huy and his father in law, kip]

xoxo

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