Last weekend, my family went to one of the more snazzier weddings I have been to in a long while.  Our friends Erika and Scott got married at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in Balboa Park.  Balboa Park is one of the most picturesque landmarks in San Diego.  My mom and dad used to take me and my sister there nearly every weekend because we loved walking around “El Prado”.  Our favorite museum was The Ruben H. Fleet Science Center because of all the interactive displays.

The MOPA is a very modern and sleek space, but the wedding party and all of the decor and settings were very retro.  Every picture that Erika was in was like an ad straight out of the 1940’s.  One of our friends who was in the wedding party said that when they were walking around earlier with the photographers that people thought they were models for a photo shoot of some sort.  Everyone certainly looked fantastic, but what I loved the most about the wedding was that they included Scott’s son Kai in the ceremony.

I always forget how beautiful Balboa Park is until I go back.  It was nice that the cocktail hour was outside the Botanical Gardens.  It allowed Dominic to run around a bit.  I loved that they picked such a picturesque location because Erika is so beautiful and her and Scott make an amazing couple.  Congratulations again and here’s to many years of wedded bliss to come!

First, I would like to say happy anniversary to my husband.  Today is our 4th year of married bliss.  In honor of our 4th year, I will share some pictures of our 4th of July celebration. 

There are two weekends during the year that we are guaranteed to be in Las Vegas: 4th of July and Thanksgiving.  Each year it becomes more and more fun as Dominic gets older, and this 4th of July was no exception.  We continued Aarika’s graduation celebration with a pool get together at the M Hotel last Sunday.  It’s a beautiful, newer hotel that is off the strip.  It was a nice, overcast day that started at 10:30am.  We spent the late morning and early afternoon in and out of the pool, lounging and eating.  Dominic was having so much fun that he didn’t want to leave, even though he was practically dragging his feet at 2:30pm and fell asleep immediately after being put in his car seat.

The following day was spent getting ready for our 4th of July celebration.  There was a rush of activity to get all the food ready to be grilled indoors (there was no way anyone was cooking outside in the heat).  After a late lunch/early dinner, it was cool enough to go outside to begin the noise making merriment.  We started off nice and easy with a couple of boxes of “Pop-Its”.  They are basically noise makers and do not have any spark or light to them.  Deon just had fun tossing them because Dominic would squeal in delight hearing the loud “SNAP!” as they hit the sidewalk outside. 

As the sun went down, it was time to break out the big guns.  First, we take out the sparklers to ring in the evening.  Then we all settle in and sit back as my husband begins the show.  These types of legal fireworks in Nevada are not the ones that shoot up into the air.  These are the kinds that can be ignited in an open area.  They have the same flare and noise as the bigger fireworks, just on a smaller scale.  As a precaution, we just have to stay several feet back and have a bucket of water available to douse and immerse the fireworks as needed.  After awhile, Dominic was starting to become overwhelmed with the bright lights & loud cracks, so we headed inside to get some much-needed rest before our long drive home to San Diego.

Because of the amount of pictures, I will be breaking down this “Weekend in Pictures” post into two parts.  Part one will be pictures of my sister-in-law, Aarika’s graduation celebration (luncheon and going out afterwards).  Part two will be more of the actual 4th of July weekend. 

Aarika’s graduation luncheon was held at the Brio restaurant, which is located a the beautiful Town Centre Mall on Las Vegas Boulevard.  I have eaten there before, so I knew to expect great food.  My favorites were the Pasta Davila and the lasagna (which reminded me of Rome).  Desserts were provided by Deon’s mom and consisted of red velvet cakes, tiramisu and lots of cupcakes!

Many of the guests we haven’t seen since our wedding, so it was very nice to catch up with friends and family who were all there to congratulate Aarika (the pictures here are mostly of our immediate family).   I didn’t realize that so many people there had not met Dominic yet, so our little boy was just a bit overwhelmed by all of the hugs and kisses he received.  The speeches of congratulations were heart warming and touching, and everyone had a great time. 

In continuation of the celebration later that night, Aarika’s friends were able to get us into The Beatles inspired Revolution Road lounge at The Mirage hotel.  I really like these lounge type clubs because there is room to sit and chat, or dance if you so desire.  The coolest thing about this lounge was the interactive light table.  We first received a demonstration by one of the “lounge attendants”, then we were left to play with the table for the rest of our stay.  I had become an expert after a few drinks, performing light table magic for anyone who sat next to me.

We then met up with our friends Nathan and Rosalie, first heading over to The Cosmopolitan.   I was feeling a bit tipsy and became overly excited when I saw a bar called “Vesper”, which reminded me of Kristy Elena’s cat (Full Time Fabulous).  My friends are not privy to all of my blogging activities, so they did not quite understand why I was so excited.

After walking through The Cosmopolitan, we realized that we should have been at the Planet Hollywood hotel to meet up with Deon’s friend Mike.  Once there, we were escorted into the Gallery Night Club.  Where we entered, we were met with a stage full of beautiful girls, clad in only lingerie singing “Dontcha”.  I turned and saw that we entered The Pussycat Dolls Burlesque Saloon.  I really did try to take pictures because the show was pretty cool.  But as you can see by the third shot, things became a bit blurry (for me and the camera).

We ended the night at Pink’s, which is an off-shoot of the famous Pink’s Hot Dogs stand in Hollywood.  My husband was in rare form that night.  My friend Rosalie stated that she was going to order a certain celebrity hotdog, to which my husband made a very funny, not-for-primetime joke that had the entire restaurant roaring with laughter.  I would share it, but I think it’s better left to the imagination.

Tomorrow’s post will be part 2 of our 4th of July weekend, which included lounging at the pool, more good food and fireworks!

A simple photographic tribute to my favorite fathers.  Happy Father’s Day to all!

My daddy.  I miss you so much!

My husband and son, loves of my life

Grandpa, Dominic & Goddaddy Nick

My niece, Mei-Lin, and her daddy, Jeremy