Christmas Family Vegas

It's that time of year! We're heading West to Vegas to meet the family for Christmas. Bryan got to tag along this time, his first Christmas in Las Vegas, and yes he survived. 

Here we go again

Snow

Lunch at Spago

Salmon pizza, salad and carbonara

Passion fruit and chocolate 

Surprise lift

Merry Christmas Caesar

Victory cocktail

Our view from the Rio

Aloha Specialties feels like home: Saimin and Hawaiian Sun

Christmas dinner at Lotus of Siam with Grandma, Aunty and Uncle

Family ice cream date at the California hotel

Absorbing the sun

At the "Trevi" fountain

Bellagio Conservatory

Dinner at the Wicked Spoon, family;s first time

Dinner with Erin and Brent

Buffet matters, but desserts matter more

Last meal in Vegas: Hash House A Go Go Brunch

Virgin Mary, my favorite

Chicken and waffles tower

Chicken Eggs Benedict

Biscuits and Gravy

Blueberry pancake bigger than your head

I'm so happy that we got to see so many of my family members. Living so far away is difficult, but I love that we can still see each other sometimes. I'm even happier that Bryan got to come along and experience one of my family;s regular vacation spots for the second time.  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season... even though it's a few weeks late. :-)

-Akemi-chan

November December Randoms

These past few months have been difficult in our family. But family gets through things together. 2015 has gone by and a brand new year is upon us. Here are a few last moments of 2015.

Chamoyada 

Tights and tweet

Pure new garden

Inspired by Mad Men 

Packed lunch

Stop by the food truck for some morning energy

Pumpkin croissants

Pumpkin bread

Beautiful pastries from Mirabelle's

Tomato, basil, goat cheese salad with balsamic dressing

Yellow cauliflower

Newf babies

Chicken thigh, green beans and Swiss chard

Date night at Wedge. 10 tacos for two

Butternut squash soup

Office time

Winter outfit

Goodbye Charlemagne

For the past couple of days we've had heavy hearts and an empty house. One week ago our love pup went to heaven. Charlemagne was my very first dog, and no other animal could ever replace him.

He was diagnosed with stage three lymphoma and could not handle the treatment from the Purdue University veterinary team. 

He was the best dog anyone could ever ask for. No excessive barking, always happy to see you and gets pets. He never chewed on any shoes or barked at the mailman. He always ate his food and medicine and was happy to lay down all day and cuddle. 

Even his little quirks were adorable to us. From the loud snoring, to gobs of drool. The heavy breathing in our faces first thing in the morning and his large body taking up the whole hallway. He was our best friend and we were happy to have him in our lives for as long as we did. 

Six years ago, my (now) husband brought home the most amazing Christmas gift: an eight-week old Newfie that was as bigger than some fully grown toy breeds. He was just a big pile of fluff.

I have so many wonderful memories of him, like when he was losing his teeth, or when he swam for the first time. He'd let us put hats and glasses and t-shirts on him and every Christmas we would lay in front of the tree. He'd "sneak" up on the couch or bed, but always loved the tile floor during the Summer. 

Everyone in the neighborhood knew his name and he made friends everywhere. Everyone wanted to pet the Newfie at Petsmart and even though we changed his food about 5 times, I was always happy to lug those 40lb bags of food home. 

He loved to "gopher" walks and had a little bounce in his step while lumbering down the street. When we would "gopher" rides in the car, his head could stick out on window and his the out the other, all while his jowls flapped in the wind. 

I'll always remember the thud we heard while he fumbled to the floor. And how he had a deathly fear of stairs. But he loved his milk jugs, ice cubes and cereal milk. 

Goodbye my baby. You'll forever hold a place in my heart.