Browse Category: family

Reverse Dinner

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We had the cousins (Pish, Debbie, Ishya, Billy, Marie, Kenji) and Brother over last night for some prime rib and poker. This was Ishya and Billy’s first visit to our house and we spent the evening trying to convince them to move down to the OC. (MOVE DOWN!) Cole got his fill of cheese and crackers and I think Koa did too. Unfortunately, the meat was so big that we had to wait a few extra hours for it to finish cooking. But have no fear! We were a resourceful group and played poker first, ate dessert (mmm, Harvest Pie), and finished the evening with dinner. It actually worked out well in the end since Cole was knocked out by dinner time and his parents were able to enjoy a peaceful meal with the rest of us. It was fun to have everyone together in one place and the food wasn’t bad either.

Here are the photos.

The holidays are here!

I think the holidays sort of crept up on us this year. I knew it was around the corner but just realized that Thanksgiving was this coming week. Apparently Jes was in Azeroth for too long to notice too because when I said we needed to buy our turkey he said, “Why?”. And when I told him that Thanksgiving was this Thursday, he said “What?! This Thursday?!”

So on Sunday, we went to the meat store to purchase the prime rib and fresh turkey. We also heard our first Christmas song of the year. This has to be a record. It was weird but also made me a little giddy. We have cousins in town this week so we’re having a cousin dinner on Wednesday night. On Thursday night, we’re having the parents and extended family over for turkey. And then on Saturday, we’re meeting up with Jimmy, Huy, and Holly for Thai food. Phew! To kick it all off, Jes and I went for a quick jog this evening in preparation for all the gluttony. I love this time of year.

Thanks for the Magical House

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It’s my Mommy’s birthday today.  We had cake at the cousins’ house on Saturday and took her out for steak at Kincaid’s in Redondo Beach on Sunday night.  We all had steak, prime rib, or BBQ ribs and Mommy had a birthday creme brulee, which she wasn’t a fan of.  We helped her finish it and also tried their key lime pie…yum yum.  Anyway, I wanted to thank my Mommy for all the home-cooked meals, trips to the mall, wake-up calls, and worrying for me when I’m still in “La La Land”.  The Magical House wouldn’t exist without you.  Happy Birthday, Mommy.  You rock.

pointing the finger

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We had dinner at Pish and Debbie’s house last night and we all stuffed ourselves silly. The topic of conversation was who spilled the beans about Debbie’s pregnancy and who spilled the beans about who spilled the beans. Haha. I got a good strangle from my dearest uncle once everyone was done pointing fingers. It was nice to see everyone together and the food was so yummy. We came home with lots of leftovers to last us the week. Here are the photos.

Monkeying Around

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Marie and Cole came over this morning for a mini-photoshoot. These are just a few of the photos I captured. Marie’s making Halloween cards to send to friends and family and this was a great opportunity for me to practice the new stuff I learned in my class. Isn’t the costume simply adorable? It came complete with stuffed banana and monkey feet.

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Afterwards, Cole enjoyed his favorite lunch, udon…yum. He also got to chase Koa around the house and made a fat mess on the kitchen floor with Koa’s kibble.

We can’t keep a secret.

Now that it has been confirmed and I’m allowed to announce it to the world, I’d like to congratulate my cousin Pish and his wife Debbie on their new and exciting journey.  They’re expecting their first child in mid-May and tried to keep it a secret for a while.  But I caught onto their game when Debbie asked me about website stuff and I stumbled upon her new site.  In the midst of updating her site, she was also updating her parents about her pregnancy through her website thinking no one else would check it.  Haha.

Anyway, if you think that the Chamkasem family can keep a secret, you’re wrong.  My mom knew, my uncle in North Carolina knew, my aunt in Thailand knew…we all knew.  So when my mom went to visit Pish for a dental check-up on Wednesday, she acted surprised when he told her the good news.  When I went in for my dental check-up on Monday, I told him that my mom knew and he said, “Damn, she’s a good actor.”  That’s awesome.  Well, they had their first ultrasound and it’s for real, they’re having a baby.  Congrats, you two!!