05.07.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:06 pm by Melissa
After going to bed at 2:30 a.m. (laughing and hanging out with Jason and my cousins, Chris, Eric & Catherine, and Caitlyn) I woke up at 5 a.m. to say goodbye to everyone. I was sad. I’ll see them again in July as we join them on their Disney Cruise.
I took Jason to the airport that morning as well. Thank God my friend Michael came with us. He drove me home. I was so exhausted.
Jason had to get back to work. My brother, David & Edi threw Zachary a birthday party at my parents house in Fannett. I love my nephews. When I finally made it back to the party, I went outside to check everything out, and Zachary yelled, “Moosie, Moosie!” He was so excited to see me. He’s so sweet. He turns 6 on May 9!
It was a pool party. Edi had rented a snow cone machine and a bouncy thing (not sure what it is called – it’s a thing that children can jump around in). We also had yummy Filipino BBQ, egg rolls, leche flan, and the list goes on.
I also got some great pictures of my new nephew, Christian. I have yet to post any pictures. They’re all on Jason’s work computer. It’s kind of hard to post pictures overseas since we pay for internet use. I’ll have to add them later.
Christian gets bigger by the minute. He’s such a sweet baby. I can’t wait to spend more time with him.
Uncle Nanding, Auntie Tessie, Auntie Cora and I then ventured off to Lake Charles to visit Auntie Esper and, of course, go to the casino. What wedding would it be without a trip to Louisiana?
Auntie Esper and Uncle Joe moved to Lake Charles after my aunt retired from dentistry. I think she might open a practice in Louisiana to work part-time. They both love to fish and crab.
Thanks for Auntie Esper for cooking such an elaborate meal – fish sinigang, egg rolls, lumpia, crabs…what am I missing? We also had Cajun sausage. They bought us some so that I could take it back to Germany. Yes…I know I’m bringing sausage into a sausage country, but I love spicy food.
This was also the first time I had been to their new home. I think they’ve officially moved to Louisiana after many months of moving out of New York.
After dinner, we went to L’auberge hotel and casino. Auntie Cora had a free room. We met my Dad there. He didn’t stay the night. The rest gambled. I lost $15 of my Dad’s money, and that was enough for me. I went up to the room and crashed. I was so tired.
What a fun weekend!
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05.06.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:05 pm by Melissa
First of all, I wanted to remember the birthday of my maternal grandfather, Paterno Arrieta – may he rest in peace. He passed away in 1986.
Congratulations to Celina and Nick! What a beautiful couple! The wedding was gorgeous. Our family friend, Lope Pidor and my Uncle Ramon were my Mom’s angels. They helped so much and deserve a round of applause. Lope worked on a lot of the decorations and miscellaneous things needed. He made our house look nice on the inside and outside.
The ceremony was so nice. The Brunettes did a wonderful job with the music program. The trumpets were making Celina cry right before the wedding. I had to take her mind off of it somehow. Nick’s grandmother, an opera singer, sang all the music. What a blessing!
Ms. Jerry Faye Blount did an outstanding job on the flowers – as always. The cake was yummy. The food was great. And, our favorite DJ was great. Thanks, Mom for picking all the best! We all had a wonderful time. We didn’t want the night to end. I finally ditched my heels around 10 p.m. The party ended at 10:30 p.m.
The only mess up that we had is that we processed in to the wrong song. We hadn’t rehearsed with the music, so I marched in right after the sponsors/godparents. Oh, well.
Celina was also trying to hand me her engagement ring, but I thought she was asking me what to do with her flowers. So, I told her to just leave the flowers on the kneeler. She later told me that she was trying to hand me her ring. We had a good laugh.
Celina looked gorgeous. She is so happy. I look forward to many fun adventures with them as a married couple.
Thanks for making me your Matron of Honor. My toast was only a glimpse of how I feel about my sister. I love my family!
It was also great to see family and friends I hadn’t seen in years.
One thing to note…my brother, David pointed out a few months ago that it rained on his wedding, my wedding and Rosanna’s. We were wondering if it would rain on Celina’s. Let me tell you – a storm came through! It stopped raining when the wedding time came around. Thank God. At least we had four blessed weddings! Good ol’ Texas humidity.
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05.05.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:00 pm by Melissa
Today was a day of running around. My cousin, Catherine (she’s my cousin Eric’s wife), and I went to get our nails and hair done. Celina had booked appointments throughout the day, but there are only 5 stations, so we split them up.
I then watched Zachary swim, and then my cousin Chris took over while I got ready for the rehearsal. Thanks, Chris! He taught Zachary how to play “Marco, Polo!”
I had to rush to get ready. It’s easy to procrastinate when you’ve got family around.
The rehearsal made me nervous about the next day. As usual with any rehearsal, we were all confused. I know it will all come together.
The fun thing was for me to see Caitlyn (my goddaughter from Eric and Catherine Mendoza) walk. She just started walking. She’s one of the flower girls. I can’t tell you how cute this girl is. What a sweetie! I was amazed that she still remembered me. She’s a hoot to be around. Her parents are a fun couple which is probably why this little girl is already so much fun at such a young age.
The Brunettes held the rehearsal at the Mexican restaurant Acapulco’s. This restaurant has changed hands many times, but it seems like the Mexican restaurant is here to stay – good ol’ Tex-Mex. In fact, it was an Italian restaurant years ago. For our rehearsal, it was a steak house. All those times, the food was always great.
It was a great rehearsal dinner. Nick has a huge family, and they are all such wonderful people. Thanks to Tim and Brigid Brunette for throwing such a wonderful party!
Jason finally arrived from Germany, and when he entered the rehearsal dinner, everyone gave him a hearty welcome. What a great, loving husband & brother-in-law…he has lots of love for my family.
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05.04.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:53 pm by Melissa
What an exhausting week so far! After taking care of myself (haircut and facial), my Mom and I struggled with wedding preparations. Celina had to work until Thursday night, so we were scrambling to make sure everything would run smoothly. We ran into some obstacles, but I was not in the mood to be messed with. I made sure that people knew we meant business. I guess if I had been around early on, I would have been more assertive with these people. Celina is, after all, the last one to get married, so we wanted to make sure to go out with a bang.
Celina also came home today and took care of some business. I know she was stressing out, but she looks great for a bride-to-be. We are all so tired, but that won’t stop us from having a great time.
And today, my cousin Chris called me to let me know that their flight had been diverted to San Antonio due to a thunderstorm in Houston. I thought he was kidding. They made it to Fannett around 10:30 p.m. I was surprised that all those Mendoza boys made it without stopping for food! Thanks to Tita Beth and Tito Manny for cooking all that great Filipino food the whole week.
It was great to finally see my California family. I miss them a lot. I’ll post some pictures as soon as I can.
One thing you can count on in times like this – lots of laughter. My cousins and extended family always make me laugh – even if it is at my expense. I can take it!
Plus, get my parents together with my aunts and uncles, and there is surely laughter to be had. That’s what I love about our family – how much fun we have together. We need more parties and reunions!
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05.01.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:41 pm by Melissa
Happy Birthday, Rosanna! Today, I traveled back across the Atlantic to prepare for my sister, Celina’s wedding to Nick Brunette. I booked the flight when we found out we were moving to Germany – not realizing that May 1 is Europe’s Labor Day. I booked my flight for 6 a.m. thinking Jason would be going to work. Poor thing. He had to get up early on his day off.
I really hate traveling internationally by myself. I’ve been fortunate with seat mates, but even I need quiet time.
It was a long and exhausting day. I’m ready for a week of fun.
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