Mio

Megumi & Daniel’s Wedding Weekend

June 3, 2015 By Misono in Family and Friends, Videos Tags: Ali, All of Me, bridal party, bridesmaid, ceremony, dan, Daniel, flower girl, Glendale, Granville, John Legend, kimono, LA, Los Angeles, Megumi, Mio, Mirei, reception, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, Sam, Southern California, Vertigo, video, wedding

After spending a week in Northern California, we drove down on Friday, May 22nd for the much-anticipated wedding of our dear friends Megumi & Daniel! The rehearsal dinner was on Friday evening, and the wedding was on Sunday, and we were honored that Megumi and Daniel had asked Mio and I to part of their bridal party — I was so touched that Megumi had asked me to a bridesmaid, and Mio a flower girl in what was to us the wedding of the year! We wereÂ all so excited to see them and our mutual friends again since it’s been so long since we were last together, but it was truly extra special to be there by their side as they tied the knot.

We drove down on Friday and got to Glendale in the afternoon, in time for the rehearsal at Vertigo, where the ceremony and reception would be on Sunday. The rehearsal went well, full of heartwarming moments and hugs with friends we had missed so much!

Megumi & Daniel's ceremony rehearsal — After the wedding rehearsal on Friday

After the ceremony rehearsal, everyone was invited to Daniel’s parents’ beautiful home in Alhambra, where a taco truck catered a delicious rehearsal dinner, along with lots of amazing sides and desserts cooked up by Megumi and her family and friends.

Mirei and Kanoa at the rehearsal dinner — We got to meet Ali and Tim’s adorable son Kanoa for the first time! He’s only a few months older than Mirei, so it was cute watching them play together.

Leila taking selfies on my phone — I loved meeting Megumi’s adorable niece and nephew! Here’s sweet Leila-chan.

Kaminaga kids' selfies — The Kaminaga kids! Leila and Julian. 🙂

They loved taking selfies with my camera, so I took a bunch of videos of the adorable kiddos.

On Saturday evening, we had dinner at Granville in downtown Glendale with some of the other bridesmaids and friends from San Francisco/Nakayoshi who were in town for the wedding. So glad we got to spend some extra time with them. 🙂

"Mama, take a picture of panda!" — “Mama, take a picture of panda!” Mio feeding a sprig of rosemary to the panda doll that accompanied our travels.

Sunday started bright & early for the bridesmaids, as we got breakfast together at the hotel and gathered in Megumi’s suite for makeup and hair.

Getting my hair done as a bridesmaid on the wedding day.

Sam enjoying some In-N-Out during bridal party prep! — Sam enjoying some In-N-Out during prep! The bridal party’s got to eat, and these were some pretty satisfying provisions! 😀

Gorgeous bride in her wedding dress — The gorgeous bride in her wedding dress.

The stunning bride! — Isn’t she just breathtaking? *sigh* Megumi was truly stunning!

Selfie with the bride! I don’t recognize myself with all the heavy makeup. lol

With lovely MOH Sam! — With the lovely Maid of Honor, Sam!

Room for the ceremony. Those hanging white flowers were made out of coffee filters and pipe cleaners, and many hours of hard work by the bride and the other bridesmaids (I only helped a little at the end when I came into town). They turned out gorgeous!

Even the bathrooms were gorgeous! — The venue Megumi & Daniel chose was so glamorous. Even the bathrooms were gorgeous, with these huge, ceiling-high leaning mirrors!

Daniel & Megumi's first look — First look between the bride and groom. â™¥

Of course, I had to get it on video, too.

Love my flower girl! — Mio getting ready as the flower girl!

Can't believe Megumi sewed the flower girl dresses! — Can’t believe Megumi sewed the flower girl dresses! The inspiration was Carrie Bradshaw.

Mio with MOH Sam — Shy Mio with beautiful Sam.

The happy couple with the kids in the bridal party. The cutest flower girls and ringbearers 🙂

pre-wedding libations — The bride & groom enjoying some pre-ceremony libations

Lovely wedding cake! — The wedding cake was gorgeous, with gold ombre and beautiful details. Everything was perfection — not a surprise, considering that it was Megumi’s wedding!

Mio being silly with the photobooth props

Mirei with Daddy — Dan arriving with Mirei. He was on babysitting duty during the ceremony, since Mio and I were in the bridal party.

Because I was in the ceremony, and Dan was busy wrangling a cranky Mirei, we unfortunately don’t have any photos from the actual ceremony, but it was beautiful and tearjerking, and so fitting for Megumi & Daniel!

Afterwards, we had fun mingling with friends, and Mio had a ball playing with the photobooth props.

Megumi changed into a gorgeous purple kimono for the reception. It went perfectly with her wedding color scheme, and she looked absolutely beautiful in it!

Daniel & Megumi in kimono — The bride & groom looking amazing in their kimonos

The bride with her proud parents — Megumi surprised her parents with the kimono! So sweet â™¥

Mr. & Mrs. Xavier making their way to the reception — The kimono was gorgeous, even from the back. Look at that obi!

With the bride in kimono! — With the stunning bride in her kimono.

Table numbers made by Dan — Dan made the table numbers for the wedding. The centerpieces came out gorgeous!

During the reception, Megumi surprised Daniel by serenading him with John Legend’s “All of Me” during the slideshow. It was so romantic, and Megumi has such a beautiful voice. 🙂

Megumi and Daniel cakecutting — Cakecutting time! Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Xavier!

Megumi's bouquet toss — Megumi’s bouquet toss!

Flower girl Mio — Mio caught a small part of the bouquet… a single rose head. 🙂

Alas, we couldn’t stay too late into the wedding, as we had to catch a plane very early Monday morning, so we had to say our goodbyes and return to our hotel to pack and get a couple hours of sleep before we had to depart the following morning.

Saying goodbye to Ali and Sam — Saying goodbye to aunties Ali and Sam

Polaroid with fellow bridesmaids Ali and Sam — One last photo with fellow bridesmaids Ali and Sam

Congratulations Daniel & Megumi! We were so happy we could be there for your big day. Thank you for letting us be a part of it! â™¥

California 2015: East Bay

June 2, 2015 By Misono in Family and Friends, Foodie Love, Local Gems, Videos, Wanderlust Tags: Aileen, Alameda, Burma Superstar, Castro Valley, Cookiebar, David, East Bay, grandma, grandpa, grandparents, Jackie, Jason, Jinwoo, Kayo, Knudsen's Creamery, Mintleaf, Mio, Mirei, San Lorenzo, Sungkook, SunWoo, Tarrin, Ted, Theo

Although our time staying in the East Bay was short, we were glad we could see some of the faces we have so missed since moving away! There were new babies to be held and kissed, delicious restaurants to be visited (both old and new!), and a lot of catching up to do with dear friends.

Catching up with the Kims! — Lunch in San Leandro with the Kims! Our two girls + their two boys was a crazy mix! It was great seeing them and how much Jinwoo and Sunwoo have grown!

On the second day of our trip, we had dinner at Burma Superstar with Dan’s brother Ted and his fiancÃ©e Jackie in Alameda, because it was one of our favorite restaurants that we were excited to revisit while we were in the area.

Burma Superstar's samosa salad — We so missed their samosa salad! Just seeing this photo of it makes me salivate…

After our dinner at Burma Superstar, we drove over to Castro Valley to have some ice cream with Aileen and David!

The girls on the car ride — Mirei behind the wheel at Knudsen’s Creamery in Castro Valley

With Aileen at Knudsen's Creamery — With Aileen at Knudsen’s Creamery. It was so great seeing her again, and we have to also thank her for bringing us to this delicious ice cream parlor!

So glad we could meet up with Aileen & David! — We finally got to meet Aileen’s boyfriend, David! He’s the first other Yokoyama I’ve met (beyond my own family and relatives). Yokoyamas are all awesome, naturally.

This wasn’t exactly meeting up with a familiar face, but we have definitely missed our favorite taco truck! We had to make a stop in Oakland to get our fix of those amazing al pastor, chicken, and carne asada tacos (plus lengua for Dan).

Tacos from our favorite taco truck! — While we were shocked to see how much their prices have gone up in the past two years, the tacos definitely hit the spot!

Up there among our top most-anticipated moments of our visit was seeing a couple of our dearest friends, Tarrin and Jason, and their newborn son Theo! He was only two months old when we got to see him, and I was euphoric holding that teeny baby and sniffing his head. That newborn smell is so intoxicating! (Before you write me off as a complete nutcase, I urge you to try sniffing a newborn head sometime — I’m pretty sure you will agree with me.)

Loved seeing Tarrin & Jason and meeting baby Theo! — Meeting baby Theo for the first time. Tarrin and Jason make a pretty cute baby!

Dessert at Cookiebar — After eating dinner at Mintleaf, they took us to a new (to us, at least) dessert place in Alameda called Cookiebar!

Vietnamese coffee ice cream at Cookiebar. Amazing.

Mirei loving the ice cream! — Mirei was loving the ice cream!

Selfie with Mirei when she refused to go to bed that night.

On our last day, we spent the evening with Dan’s family after we came back from Fairyland in the afternoon. Mio had fun helping Grandma prepare dinner for everyone!

Mirei at the San Lorenzo house, after we came back from Fairyland on our last full day in NorCal.

yogurt mouth Mio — Mirei thoroughly enjoying her yogurt.

Helping Grandma with the California rolls — Helping Grandma making California rolls for dinner

Mio making rolls with Grandma — Mio and Grandma in the kitchen

Family dinner on our last night. Dan’s mom prepared quite a feast!

Mio saying goodbye to Grandma. She misses her so much!

Mio hugging Grandpa — …as she does Grandpa, too.

M&M with Grandpa — Mio messing with Mirei. I think she wanted Grandpa all to herself!

Saying goodbye to grandparents — Saying goodbye to the grandparents

Saying goodbye to Uncle Ted the morning we left for Los Angeles. Thank you Ted & Jackie for being such great hosts for us during our stay!

Getting an It's It at a rest stop — We grabbed an “It’s It” at a rest stop on our drive down. We couldn’t leave Northern California without eating one!

California 2015: Children’s Fairyland

June 1, 2015 By Misono in Local Gems, Recreational Fun, Videos, Wanderlust Tags: Alice in Wonderland, amusement park, animals, boat, California, carousel, Children's Fairyland, Chinese dragon, dan, dragon, East Bay, elf, elves, fairies, fairy, Fairyland, ferris wheel, Japanese Tea Garden, llama, Mio, Mirei, misono, Oakland, park, pirate ship, Rapunzel, reading room, rides, sandbox, sandlot, slide, Three Little Pigs, train, train ride, well, whale

On our last full day in the Bay Area, we got to take the girls to Children’s Fairyland in Oakland! I had heard about Fairyland while we lived in the area and that it was a really great place to take kids, but we had moved away before Mio reached the age where she could really enjoy a mini-amusement park like that. It was the first time going to Fairyland for all of us (even Dan!), so it was a new experience for all of us, and we fell in love with the quaint and charming mini-amusement park from the 1950’s, with its whimsical storybook sets, gentle rides, and friendly animals.

Arriving at Fairyland — “There was an old woman who lived in a shoe…”

In the whale's mouth at Fairyland — Inside the mouth of a whale!

Ferris wheel at Fairyland — The girls rode on the ferris wheel by themselves!

Mio & Mirei on stage in the hut — Mio & Mirei dancing in a hut!

Mirei crawling through a tunnel:

Children's Fairyland in Oakland — Mirei and Daddy by Rapunzel’s tower

Clothesline and windmill:

Mio at the "Fountain of Youth" — Mio at the “Fountain of Youth”

Llama at Fairyland — There were llamas there!

Sitting on the flower chairs at Fairyland. The girls look elated (especially Mio!) to be on their little petal thrones.

Sitting on the dragon at Fairyland — Sitting on the dragon’s back at Fairyland

Chinese dragon slide at Fairyland — Mio loved running up the ramp to slide down this giant Chinese dragon slide.

Pig Mio at Fairyland — Mio’s the piggy with the straw house in the Three Little Pigs

Fairyland Alice in Wonderland maze — Mio and Daddy going through the Alice in Wonderland maze.

Train ride at Children's Fairyland — Train ride at Children’s Fairyland

Snack time at Fairyland — Snack time. Eating a push-pop is serious business!

Western town at Children's Fairyland — They even had a Western-themed town at Fairyland. Here’s Mio going down the spiral slide.

Mio at the well in Fairyland — Mio cranking at the well

Riding the carousel at Fairyland — Mirei riding the carousel

Japanese Tea Garden at Fairyland — There was even a Japanese tea garden there that can be rented for private birthday parties! I loved that the mural had depictions of Japanese folk tales I grew up with, like Momotaro, Saru-Kani Gassen, Bunbuku Chagama, Kaguyahime, Shitakiri Suzume, and Urashima-taro. Mio recognized a lot of them too, since I’ve read a lot of the stories to her.

Mio looking into the Japanese tea garden:

Bookworms at Fairyland — Bookworms coming out of a wall of books

Daddy reading to Mio in the reading room

Looks like Miss Mirei is going to be a little bookworm, too!

Sandlot boat at Fairyland — Boat in the sandlot

Pirate ship at Fairyland — This pirateship playground was so neat! I love that Mio is steering the ship.

Mio loves Beanie babies! — Mio’s obsessed with Beanie babies right now, so of course she was delighted to find them in the gift shop!

Fairyland was truly magical, and the girls had such a fun-filled day there! Our trip to California had been fairly grownup-centric with all the people and sights we wanted to see and places we wanted to eat, so I’m glad that we could set aside a day to dedicate to doing something that was all about our girls enjoying themselves. It’s too bad we no longer live in the area anymore, as Fairyland is definitely the type of place we would love to take the girls often!

California 2015: Moss Landing

May 31, 2015 By Misono in Family and Friends, Foodie Love, Recreational Fun, Videos, Wanderlust Tags: Allens, California, dan, family, fish, fish market, getaway, grandma, grandpa, grandparents, Jackie, lunch, Mio, Mirei, misono, Monterey, Moss Landing, Phil's Fish Market & Eatery, seafood, Ted, vacation

Wednesday, May 20 was the last day of our vacation within a vacation, and we packed up at the beach house in the morning and spent the earlier part of the day at nearby Moss Landing before starting the drive back to the East Bay.

Mirei eating grapes at the beach house while everyone packed and cleaned.

Phil's Fish Market & Eatery — Phil’s Fish Market & Eatery at Moss Landing

Lunch at Phil's Fish Market — We had lunch there and the food was pretty good!

Mirei was imitating the sea lions she saw earlier in the morning by barking like them:

Mirei loving the attention from Ted & Jackie — Mirei is loving the attention from Ted & Jackie

We’re so glad that we could spend this time with Dan’s side of the family, seeing the beauty of the Monterey Bay and Big Sur and enjoying each other’s company. They will be memories we’ll cherish for years to come!

California 2015: Big Sur

May 31, 2015 By Misono in Family and Friends, Recreational Fun, Videos, Wanderlust Tags: Allens, beach, Big Sur, California, cove, dan, family, getaway, grandma, grandpa, grandparents, Hyo, Hyosook, Jackie, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Mio, Mirei, misono, Pfeiffer Beach, Point Lobos, state park, Ted, waterfall, Whaler's Cabin, Whaler's Cove

Tuesday, May 19th was the highlight of our family getaway with Dan’s family, as we explored our main destination of the trip — Big Sur! We got to go to Point Lobos, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and Pfeiffer Beach. Dan and I had gone to Big Sur three years ago and we fell in love with the gorgeous sights there, especially the waterfall at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. We have been talking about coming back to see Big Sur for a while now, so we were thrilled to be able to return, and to get to show our girls the sights there, too.

Our first stop in the morning was Whaler’s Cove at Point Lobos. It was pretty cloudy and overcast in the morning (typical of Northern California), which only intensified the unsettling aura of the cove.

Whaler's Cabin at Whaler's Cove in Point Lobos — A small cabin built by Chinese fishermen from that era still remains and is now a cultural history museum.

With the whale bones by Whaler's Cabin — With the whale bones by Whaler’s Cabin

Mio & Mirei at Point Lobos — I liked the inscription on this bench: “Tell them how special they are.”

We then took a walk around the cliffs of Point Lobos, and took in some of the prettier sights there. It was my first time at Point Lobos, but I observed that it has a very rugged beauty to it.

Picnic lunch at Point Lobos — Enjoying a picnic lunch at Point Lobos

After eating lunch, we drove over to my favorite part of Big Sur — Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park! It was a bit of a drive from Point Lobos, but it gave the weather time to clear up, and by the time we arrived, the sun was completely out, making for a gorgeous day to see one of California’s most scenic locations.

Auntie Hyo holding Mirei as we make our way to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Our family at Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP — Our family at Big Sur’s Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park at Big Sur — Gorgeous view of the waterfall… this is my favorite view in California.

The girls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park — The girls taking a break on the bench

Us with Mirei at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park — With our little Mirei, almost 16 months old at the time.

Our last stop in Big Sur was Pfeiffer Beach, which looks like a beautiful beach set straight from a movie, with light shining through the Keyhole Arch rock formations and almost purple-looking sand.

Mio with Auntie Jackie at Pfeiffer Beach — Stunning Pfeiffer Beach

Jackie and Mio at Pfeiffer Beach — Mio walking with Auntie Jackie at Pfeiffer Beach

Mirei with Uncle Ted at Pfeiffer Beach — Mirei with Uncle Ted

The girls got to play in the sand with the beach toys that Grandma thoughtfully brought along for them.

The Allens at Pfeiffer Beach — Big Sur is so gorgeous! It was wonderful to be able to come back here with the whole Allen family, including our sweet girls.

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