I can’t believe it’s already October! The end of September just flew by, as the past few days have been pretty busy. On Thursday evening, we met up with my cousin’s husband Devin who was visiting from Arizona on business. It was his first time meeting Mio, and it was great catching up since the last time we saw him two years ago, and hearing about how my cousin Yuko and their kids were doing. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to see Yuko, Beni-chan and Sakura-chan soon! I’m sure Mio would love them, too.

 

Devin was in town! Dinner with my cousin's husband last night.
Dinner with Devin at Blue Ocean Japanese Restaurant.

 

Friday evening, my sister and I met up with friends in Silver Spring, Maryland, to watch the Japanese rock band B’z perform live in concert!

B'z concert!
B’z concert in Silver Spring, Maryland

 

With Erri, Akira, and Erri’s friends.

 

They were great live! We got to see them pretty close up! (photo courtesy of Akira)

 

On Saturday, we drove down to Richmond to attend our friend Stephanie and Danny’s wedding! Before we left, we dropped Mio off with a family friend in the morning so they could watch her for much of the day. They have a daughter who is only 2 months older than Mio, so I heard that they played very well together while Dan and I were in Richmond!

What was supposed to be a two hour drive ended up taking longer due to a huge funeral procession that was on I-95, but we made it just in time for the ceremony, which was held at the beautiful Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in the heart of Richmond. (Apologies for the poor picture quality — I only had my phone with me to take pictures!)

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond

 

Waiting for the ceremony to start
Waiting for the ceremony to start

 

Groom coming down the aisle
The groom coming down the aisle!

 

Here comes the bride!
Stephanie looked stunning as she made her way down the aisle…

 

Wedding vows
A beautiful wedding ceremony!

 

"You may kiss the bride!"
“You may kiss the bride!”

 

Walking down the aisle as Mr. & Mrs. Om!
Walking down the aisle as Mr. & Mrs. Om!

 

Congratulations Stephanie and Danny!
Congratulations Stephanie and Danny!

 

Happily ever after!
They were the picture-perfect couple!

 

The cocktail hour and reception were equally beautiful — the venue was lovely and all the food was so delicious!

First dance as husband & wife
Steph & Danny sharing their first dance as husband & wife

 

Talking to the bride and groom
Talking to the bride and groom

 

Steph was so gorgeous!
We were so happy we could move back in time to attend their wedding!

 

With the beautiful bride ♥ Congratulations Mrs.Om!
With the beautiful bride ♥ I can’t believe I’ve known Stephanie for 11 years now – she was one of the first friends I made at Virginia Tech! Congratulations Mrs.Om!

 

With the lovely couple!
With the lovely couple!

 

Delicious cupcake!
One of the most delicious cupcakes I’ve ever had!

 

It was great seeing Mimi again!
Mimi and I – friends since high school! 😀

 

With the hubby
With the hubby!

 

Fun in the photobooth!
Fun in the photobooth!

 

Sunday was devoted to spending lots of quality time with Mio, as I hadn’t gotten to spend any time with her Friday evening and all of Saturday.

She's a special one. 

Sidewalk chalk with Auntie Miwa :)
Sidewalk chalk with Auntie Miwa. Mio’s first time playing with sidewalk chalk!

 

お姉ちゃんたちに囲まれて嬉しそうな美桜。Mio loved all the attention from the big girls!
お姉ちゃんたちに囲まれて嬉しそうな美桜。Mio loved all the attention from the big girls!

 

fall flats
Fall is definitely here!