Thanksgiving

this is always a busy day....

stopped at lola/lolo's house...
couldn't resist what they were having for lunch-
which was a traditional meal shea's family has called bagna caulda
so we ate some...as an "appetizer" before lunch with my fam

lunch at my aunt's house
praying for the food
the kiddo's
and a bear

then it was back to lola/lolo's house for thanksgiving dinner...
where we had a non-traditional thanksgiving meal
family pic
(minus B and shea and doreen)

rain rain go away, we've got a bridal shower today

one of my dear friend's who i've known since middle school was finally about to tie the knot!

so for this shower, it actually showered. hahaha!!

reen
the beautiful bride-to-be and her sisters rasha and sarah
her cake made by her friend
and us

wow wow wubbzy

it was peyton's 3rd birthday

i wanted her to have a party
but not a big one
but i did want her to have one with some friends
and not just the traditional family dinner party

i don't want her to have that middle child syndrome...hehe

so off to party planning i went
i think i had only a couple weeks to plan

she loves the show wow wow wubbzy

so i thought it was appropriate to make themed goodie bags
and then order double-sided cakes from my fav cake person
1 side
2nd side
cake
her hair practically set on fire
i love this goofy face
friends and mama's

then on pey's actual bday we had our traditional immediate family over for a bday dinner

in the morning she requested pancakes for her bday breakfast
here's my attempt at a wow wow wubbzy pancake using what i had
then we visited papa at work and had bday lunch in downtown riverside
dinner time came.....
we catered food as usual...yummy italian food from Limoncello Catering
us with the italian chef, who is also a good friend
arancini balls filled with risotto and other stuff
and some pasta bolognese and spinach/meat lasagna
all the food, even the actual pasta was made from scratch which made it 10x yummier!!!

auntie krissa brought the ice cream cake as she does for each girl on their bday
she made a cute lil banner too
happy 3rd birthday!

board member

so you all know I've been praying for God's direction...
as to whether I start my own non-profit,
or somehow be the SoCal FFH rep,
or even just be a fundraising group that raises $ for other groups that support HPE (like Families for HoPE),
so the door God opened up was none that I had imagined...
I got an email from Shira Arnold the Families for HoPE, Inc (FFH) President...
in regards to the 5K fundraiser we had
and then asking me to be part of the FFH board members!!!!
i'd be one of their west coast reps...
their only CA rep...
what an awesome opportunity!
so this is my new journey...
please pray for me and my family
and nope...this does NOT end ReaofHoPE....
more to come!!!
still can't believe i'm a board member!!!

h a l l o w e e n

halloween this year started off with an early harvest festival at our church

this is tay and her friend livvy

then on halloween...
tay's school had a "literature day" parade
in which they dress up as a character from a book and carry the book parading around the entire school

that same morning peyton also had dance...
and they got to wear their costumes
they are sooo cute
alyssa, lexi, scarlett, katelyn and pey
tada

thirty three

i know i look like i'm only 23. hah!

can't believe i'm 33.

my birthday started early on thursday...
my sis and i went out for dessert with our good friends reen and sarah
at cheesecake factory
this was the only pic i got-haha
red velvet cheesecake
they also brought us these bday treats and sang to us...
and we sipped on some yummy sangria


then on tuesday on my actual b-day....

i ran errands in the morning and was feeling a tad of birthday blues...
cause i like celebrating my bday...guess i was wishing i had made breakfast and lunch plans...and was bummed the starbucks gal didn't give me a free birthday drink (shame on her-i got one last year)...so when i got home...i found this on the counter...some flowers and a sweet lil love note from the hubby!
when papa got home he took me out to dinner (along with my sis and tony)...to my favorite restaurant in downtown claremont
i LOVE sangria

not the best pic of the 4 of us...jino was feeling sicky but was a trooper

then on friday...
me and my sis had a few close friends come out to celebrate our b-day some more. we had some drinks and wings at buffalo wild wings (since i've never eaten there...and note to everyone: don't go on a friday night, especially when it's right near the movie theatre-soo many high school kids-aye).

barely snapped any pics
my sis and i with lisa...who we've known since middle school
and krissa, doreen, me and neen
maria and i
then we didn't wanna go home yet
so off to RA (which i've never been too either) to hang out and have some drinks to end the night...the waiter was cool-he brought us a special b-day dessert
hubby and i

then on saturday...we went out with jino's fam for lunch at my favorite filipino restaurant-Pondahan and then we grabbed some coffee and dessert at panera since it was cold and rainy

me and tay
me and pey
me and rea