Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Birthday/Engagement

On August 18, 2008 Thyda and I celebrated my 27th birthday by going to a romantic dinner at Orange Hill Restaurant. The food and wine was great, the view was breath-taking, but nothing better than spending time with most awesome girlfriend in the world, who later that night became my fiance. So here is how the date went according to Thyda's exact words which can be found on her blog titled "The Proposal".

"So for a few weeks now, you've seen that I've made an entry saying that I am engaged traditionally. What that meant to me was that Sam and his parents have asked MY parents for my hand in marriage. Sam knew that this was something that had to be done before HE can ask ME for MY hand in marriage. That whole process was a bit crazy and scary to me... but it happened and it turned out pretty well for all of us. But even so, it wasn't really OFFICIAL official to me just yet until the actual proposal. My motto? "It don't mean a thing 'til I get the bling!" HAHA... jk! :) Yes, I expected a ring and a proposal. I was a bit disappointed because I thought that the whole thing wouldn't even be a surprise. But really, it was the ultimate surprise for me. Sam did a good job! ;) I've been told that Sam was planning to propose during our trip to Maui. Since ATA went out of business, that trip didn't work out and we had a replacement little trip to Lake Havasu, AZ with our friends instead. A few people suggested that this was where and when he was going to propose. I believed them for awhile... but as the time got closer, not so much. Sam knew how to throw me off. Even a few days before the trip, he still asked me which ring I wanted. I got a bit frustrated because I would think that he would have figured this out by now since the proposal is only a few days away! Ugh! Anyway... I gave him a hard time and I often told him that he was "all talk"! (haha) The Havasu trip was with our friends who were all either married, engaged, or are getting close, so the topic of engagements and marriages came up often. Some of them asked me, "so did he propose yet?". I told them NO because... well... he didn't! I also told them that its not going to happen anytime soon because Sam doesn't even have a ring yet... he still questions what ring I want! BLAH! On our way home from Havasu, we stopped in Barstow. Sam and I even went into a freakin' jewelry store! This made me realize... "nope... he doesn't even have a ring yet." :( Again, I was pretty disappointed. Booo! Yesterday, August 18th, was his birthday. We went out to lunch with some friends... and then finished it off at Yogurtland (of course)! We were going to see a movie, but changed our minds. Went home and I took a nap. I woke up and wanted to go do something. Sam took FOREVER to finally agree to leave the house with me. I was getting pisst off... I even changed into my PJs at 4pm to show him that I was annoyed and frustrated and just ready to go to bed! LOL! He asked me nicely to change back into the dress I had on earlier... and since I wanted to go out, of course I did! HAHA! We got into the car and I asked him where we were going and he said he doesn't know. What a punk! He just had me enter this address into his navigator thingy... and I did. I had no idea where or what it was... but I knew that it was in Orange and it was about 40 minutes away. Finally, we arrived at Orange Hill... and that was our destination. He had the valet guy hold on while he changed his shirt. WTF!?! I didn't know it was that nice... or else I would have dressed up more for the occasion. He wore the shirt that I bought him... in which I requested that he proposes to me in! LOL! Okay... I was just joking when I asked him to wear the shirt when he proposes just to give me a heads up... and when I asked him, he said that it was the only nice clean shirt he had available... and I believed him. Again, I knew that there was no ring in the picture since we were just at a jewelry store together the day before and there was no way he could have gotten the ring by then since I was with him the whole time. Blah. Anyway... we got in and apparently, he had already made a reservation... over a week ago! This punk had this planned! It was a BEAUTIFUL restaurant that sat on top of a hill and outlooked all of Orange County and Catalina Island. Candlelights and all... and the sun was just about to set right next to us. We had a really nice dinner accompanied by a bottle of my favorite wine... Riesling. We finished right in time for us to take some pictures of the sun setting outside on the balcony. Beautiful! Sam said that since we were already there... we might as well check out Laguna Beach. The sun had already set and it was already getting dark... and I told Sam that we didn't have to go. He insisted. We finally found the perfect place to park... and walked down the stairs down to the beach. Beautiful, Beautiful! The water was beautiful and the stars were bright from where we were. He also had a little rug and a little blanket he went and got from the house right before we left earlier that evening for me. We found a lit area and settled there... right in front of the waves. The stars were so bright, and I made a wish upon the brightest one I found. I told Sam to find one and make a wish too... and he said he made a wish on the second brightest star. Then after taking a few pictures, we walked out to the edge of the water and stood on this huge rock... where he just held me and whispered to me how much he loved me. I wished him a happy birthday again and gave him a kiss. Then he slowly said, "since its my birthday and all... can you help me make one of my wishes come true?". He lowered himself and got down on one knee and I was shocked... AND confused! He pulled out a ring box from his pocket and showed it to me, and asked me to marry him. It was so unreal and I really thought that I was dreaming! I made him get up and saw the tears in his eyes... and told him, "Of course I will marry you!" And we hugged and kissed there where he proposed for the best several minutes of my life thus far. It was the perfect proposal and I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful love in my life. Oh... and DAMN I love my ring! Its perfect... even for my big ass hands! Hehehe!"

What can I say?!...She granted my wish and it was the best birthday I've ever had. I know you're reading this...I Love You Babe! Here are a few pictures I took that day/night. Thanks again for dropping by. Enjoy!

The Beautiful view of the sunset






My Birthday cake with wine...
Want some cake, Babe?!...
Opportunity to catch the sunset


Where "It" Happened...
The Ring

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Lake Havasu 08

In lieu of the Maui trip, the Havasu trip was highly anticipated for all 12 of us who went. Its been planed for over a year and the day finally came! The trip was no Maui, but I can honestly say that we all enjoyed ourselves and each other's company. Let me go ahead and highlight some of the fun activities that happened during the trip.

1. The car ride with 12 people... taking turns singing to random songs while being video taped.
2. Arriving at the house at 12am, and I cooked Crawfish for the crew...it was pretty good. Yum!
3. Next day, driving the rental boat into the sand bar and having to push the boat out of it.
4. Playing with the tube, having the boat pull it. (I was the first to test it out)
5. The BBQ along the beautiful island, taking pictures, and playing in the water.
6. Getting lost for nearly 45 minutes looking for our launch station, and made it right on time.
7. Came back to the house, played volleyball in the pool, where the girls had to cheat to win...LMAO.
8. Eating the good food, drinks, previewing pictures taken earlier and watching the video from the car ride, and playing some fun games.
9. Next day, drove around looking for the London Bridge and things to do, but only to come back about 45 minutes later to take a nap and then play volleyball in the pool again, but this time for shots...
10. We all played more games (Assassin, The Rhythm game)...then all went to bed to get ready for our drive back home.

It was a great trip and I can't wait for the next trip with these wonderful people. Until then, enjoy the pictures and the slide show will follow later once I get a chance to put it together. Check back soon!



Our own island
Would you like some Crawfish?

How about some hotpot soup?
Can you believe we loaded 12 people on this boat?


Leena and Lyna ready to take flight
Morn attempting to wakeboard...lol

A few picture of Thyda and I taken by Lok.I.T.M.


Thyda posing for me...I love her smile :)


One of my favorite picture of Durand trying to skip the rock
with a beer in his hand...very talented I must say. =)
The Ladies...


...and Gentlemen

Good times...
Only picture we have of everyone



Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Tanya & Charles, I DO! 8/1/08

On Friday, August 1st, 2008 , I was given the opportunity to shoot Tanya and Charles' wedding in Downey, CA. It was my first wedding shoot, so I was nervous and excited all at the same time. Thanks to Mikal and Mark for giving me the opportunity to capture the memories for Tanya and Charles. I enjoyed every moment of it. Below are some of the special memories I'd like to share with you. You can also find a slideshow of some of my favorite photos. Enjoy!


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